The Villain Is Obsessed With His Fake Wife

Lotte widened her eyes as if she was surprised by the subdued atmosphere. And she looked at Chancellor Orteca and said:

 

“I guess everyone was waiting for us because they knew we were coming, Prime Minister.”

 

The noble ladies, who were looking at each other with embarrassment, welcomed Lotte and the Prime Minister with great enthusiasm.

 

“The two of them look really good together standing like that. If a stranger had seen them, they would have thought they were a married couple!”

 

“Oh my, it’s not just me who thought that. Are you sure you two really have nothing to do with each other?”

 

Lotte pretended to be embarrassed and said, ‘Everyone, don’t be so mean. It’s really nothing,’ she said, looking at Prime Minister Orteca’s feelings.

 

‘The Prime Minister doesn’t seem to be interested in Lotte.’

 

It was closer to a feeling of acceptance without being rude. Then, she made eye contact with Prime Minister Orteca. When she first saw him, he definitely had purple eyes.

 

‘Now that I see it, it’s dark green.’

 

It was such a strange color that she had mistaken it for purple. Chancellor Orteca slightly raised the corners of his mouth and nodded at her. She naturally greeted him and then focused on the tea party. Meanwhile, Countess Hettel brought her new tea and began showing off to Lotte.

 

“This is a tea that we obtained with great difficulty from the Hettel family. This is Sileon tea that my husband obtained from the Kingdom of Bayston while he was visiting on business.”

 

The Kingdom of Bayston was famous for being a closed kingdom that did not trade with the empire. So, in the Kingdom of Bayston, famous teas were treated as precious.

 

“Lotte, would you please pour Sileon tea for the guests?”

 

“Yes, mother.”

 

After pouring tea into the kettle, Lotte quietly got up and poured the tea in front of her. It was a gorgeous teacup with a colorful sun pattern and a golden rose engraved on the handle. Lotte asked with a kind face.

 

“I’m not good at it, but can you give it a taste?”

 

She calmly took a sip of tea.

 

* * *

 

Lotte was the most beautiful woman of Count Hettel. Her mother, Countess Hettel, had always ensured that she would be given in marriage to the best gentleman. And Lotte thought so too.

 

‘The opportunity will come.’

 

She realized this the moment she met Duke Blanchett, who had a noble appearance.

 

‘It’s that guy.’

 

A man with the arrogance of a ruler more than a member of the royal family. He was completely different from Prime Minister Orteca, who was handsome but lacked some masculine charm. To be honest, the lady next to him didn’t bother her one bit.

 

‘It’s fake anyway.’

 

Even though her face was prettier than hers, she was more confident about her own charm. Lotte felt that the story about them officially registering their marriage was a joke. Of course, Duke Blanchett was not an easy man. Even when she feigned shyness and asked him to meet her secretly, he refused with a skillful and cool manner.

 

‘I have no intention of being Miss Hettel’s escort. Because my beloved wife is waiting.’

 

‘I’ll give a good word to your wife.’

 

‘Hmm.’

 

Duke Blanchett, who was languidly stroking his slim chin, looked down at Lotte with a cool gaze.

 

‘Why is Miss Hettel talking to my wife?’

 

‘Yes? That’s it… Because we can talk more comfortably as women.’

 

‘That’s funny. Miss Hettel has no need to worry about my marital life. I’m sure you’ve already seen enough.’

 

In Lotte’s mind, the night she knocked on his room wearing only a thin slip came to mind. She honestly hesitated for a moment when she saw him with his wife. However, the man’s body seen through the crack in the door was so sensual. Blanchett’s body swelled like a beast. Feeling her peripheral nerves being stimulated, Lotte knocked on the door. She didn’t mind him being with his wife. She thought things would change if he saw her voluptuous body. But the two were so absorbed in each other that they didn’t even hear the sound of the door. At that time, the eerie red eyes that were looking at his wife looked at Lotte.

 

 

At that moment, Lotte got goosebumps and ran away from the spot. Somehow, without even knowing why, she ran away. It was not human life. It was a far-off fear that was more than human, like a monster.

 

‘This is the last warning. I understand the family situation, but the presumptuousness ends there.’

 

Lotte forgot all manners and ran away looking pale.

 

‘That man can’t be. It’s too… scary.’

 

Lotte decided to choose Chancellor Orteca, whom her younger sister Flora had been aiming for. She didn’t pay attention because she had Duke Blanchett next to her, but when she thought about it, there was no man like the Prime Minister. However, that did not mean that the grudge against Duchess Blanchett disappeared. This was because the Count Hettel family was humiliated by Duke Blanchett and Count Orteca because of Estelle. So Lotte decided to humiliate her with the help of her mother and further show her charms to Vizier Orteca.

 

“I’m not good at it, but can you give it a taste?”

 

Duchess Blanchett, Estelle, elegantly picked up the tea.

 

‘Lifting the car is perfect.’

 

Wearing a light purple dress and appropriate decoration, she stood out the most at this tea party. However, she was only an adopted child from a commoner background.

 

‘But just lifting the car isn’t enough.’

 

An etiquette test that any noble debuting in society must know. There was no way an adopted commoner who couldn’t even debut could do it.

 

‘Because it distracted my attention so I couldn’t see the teacup properly in the first place.’

 

Lotte swallowed her saliva and looked at Estelle’s tasting. Estelle put down her car gracefully and smiled softly.

 

“Entree (smells great).”

 

It was a long-standing custom to follow imperial etiquette when serving tea in a gorgeous sun-patterned teacup, a symbol of the imperial family, especially a teacup with a golden rose handle. It was meant to respect the history of the imperial family.

 

‘But it’s something that not everyone knows about because it’s rarely done these days…’

 

Estelle not only praised the car in ancient language, but also reviewed it in complete sentences.

 

“Bel nouiade hiwa isiaten (but the tea tastes bitter. You better adjust it).”

 

Perfect pronunciation, perfect etiquette. It was to the point where she became a model for an imperial lady. As the people around them were surprised by the sight, Estelle asked back as if she was suspicious.

 

“Tenrua (Is there a problem)?”

 

Navy blue eyes filled with innocence. Lotte suddenly became angry.

 

‘No, something… It was different.’

 

Lotte, who was embarrassed, thought back to what Estelle had said. Contrary to her expectations, she was surprised to learn that she spoke the ancient language fluently, but it was a little different from what she had learned.

 

‘She left out a word in the middle!’

 

Because the grammar of the ancient language was so irregular, Lothe used to memorize sentences that were commonly used in social circles. And Estelle’s ancient language was missing a word that a good lady would use.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s a little different from the sentence I had in mind.”

 

“Is there anything different?”

 

“yes. I guess you were nervous and confused because it was your first time attending a tea party. It is correct to say, bel nouiade hiwa isiaten loa.”

 

Lotte, being the kind lady she was, gracefully corrected Duchess Blanchett from her mistakes. And she grinned at Chancellor Orteca.

 

“Even though many people in the social world practice the ancient language, they often get confused because it is not a language they actually use often. Prime Minister, please be generous and understand.”

 

“…”

 

“Of course, you will need to devote more time to learning on your own.”

 

The noble ladies around her began praising Lotte’s excellence.

 

“As expected, Miss Lotte is amazing. I don’t usually learn ancient languages so perfectly.”

 

“The way you kindly taught her what she did wrong and apologized on her behalf was also very beautiful. She is also a model socialite.”

 

“That’s too much praise.”

 

Lotte maintained a humble attitude and looked at Estelle.

 

‘Hmph, where does it come from? Now I can’t control my emotions and I’m going to get excited.’

 

But Estelle was not what Lotte expected. As Estelle calmly put down her tea, she gracefully glanced at Lotte. Rather, she was giving her a pitiful look in her eyes.

 

‘Why on earth?’

 

When Lotte was unable to hide her embarrassment, Chancellor Orteca spoke up.

 

“Miss Lotte.”

 

Chancellor Orteca furrowed her brow. At that moment, Lotte felt an ominous feeling as if the floor was cracking and falling.

 

* * *

 

She looked at Lotte and clicked her tongue. A faint contempt appeared in the Marquis Orteca’s eyes.

 

“Miss Lotte is the one who should devote herself to education. Look back at how reckless you are.”

 

Lotte’s complexion turned pale.

 

“What does that mean? My-My ancient language is wrong?”

 

“People often make the mistake of adding loa at the end of every sentence in the ladies’ ancient language textbook, but it is correct not to add loa in this situation. It’s a situation where there are multiple people.”

 

“Well, then…”

 

Lotte’s eyes turned to her. Naturally, everyone looked at her. She lifted the corners of her mouth and smiled.

 

“Don’t worry, it was difficult enough.”

 

To be honest, she was embarrassed to suddenly have her tea etiquette pointed out. Because it was natural to use ancient language when drinking from this teacup.

 

‘If I hadn’t done anything, I could have easily gotten over it.’

 

It was a case of trying to stand out and failing. Prime Minister Orteca, who had been looking at Lotte with cold eyes, looked at her.

 

“Duchess Blanchett, you are quite well versed in ancient languages.”

 

“There is still a lot missing.”

 

“No. I was surprised by your excellent ancient language skills. Even a bachelor’s degree in ancient languages would not be able to speak this fluent language.”

 

Lotte couldn’t overcome her anger and her face turned bright red.

 

“No, that’s ridiculous.”

 

“Lotte, calm down.”

 

Countess Hettel, who had been humiliated after her daughter, jumped up. Her hands were also full of cold sweat.

 

“Hoho, thanks to Duchess Blanchett’s knowledge, Lotte, who has many shortcomings, has gained a lot of enlightenment. You’re still a lot younger than you look, so there’s a lot to learn, right?”

 

“Oh-oh my god. I was mistaken again.”

 

She opened her eyes wide, as if she was a little surprised.

 

“I thought Miss Hettel was older than me.”

 

“Our Lotte is older than the Duchess. But that’s because the Duchess is so outstanding. Our Lotte isn’t that…”

 

Countess Hettel, trying to cover up her mistake, studied the face of her Vizier Orteca. The Marquis Orteca, who was staring at Countess Hettel with his expressionless face, opened his mouth.

 

“Obviously the Duchess Libertan is amazing. Like Princess Armatis, she is wise and considerate. You were trying to hide Ms. Rothe’s mistake, right?”

 

Princess Armatis was the most desirable bride in imperial mythology, with her wisdom and beauty.

 

‘I didn’t mean to do that, but…’

 

Still, there was no need to decline since it was evaluated positively.

 

“I just trusted that Miss Hettel would protect her dignity. Countess Hettel I am glad that your daughter has regained her dignity.”

 

“That is correct. Next time, I hope she will show a great performance by working harder.”

 

Before the Marquis Orteca could finish, Lotte, looking pale, ran away, covering her face with both hands. However, it was not an attitude that a lady of marriageable age would display. Countess Hettel was in even more trouble.

 

“Lo, Lotte! Sorry. She is not really that kind of kid, but she is not feeling well these days…”

 

Is it so? No one would believe it anymore.

 

“Well. That’s sad. I hope she gets well soon.”

 

The noble ladies who were with Countess Hettel said nothing more. This was because they realized that Hettel was the one who got the job done in trying to embarrass her.

 

‘It looks like she put a lot of effort into her daughter’s wedding.’

 

The noble ladies gathered at the table exchanged meaningful glances with each other. A noble lady stood up, overturning her empty teacup.

 

“I guess it’s okay if I don’t get served Sileon tea.”

 

She was the noble lady who most enthusiastically took Countess Hettel’s side.

 

“Now that I think about it, I think there will be a better opportunity next time.”

 

“I also quickly remembered something that would happen tomorrow…”

 

Looking back, it seemed very difficult to forget what happened today.

 

‘Just looking at it, it will all be rumored by tomorrow.’

 

Then it would be more difficult to marry into a good family. It seemed like a family that used to take great care of its reputation… She smiled at Countess Hettel in a gentle way.

 

“Still, I was glad to be served Sileon tea. Don’t worry too much.”

 

A person didn’t necessarily have to get married, and if they couldn’t afford it, they could just not get married. The rest was all up to them.

 

* * *

 

John folded his arms gracefully with Count Hettel in front of him.

 

“So, what do you want to say?”

 

“I have some good information that you must hear, Duke Blanchett.”

 

Count Hettel shook his head and glanced around, lowering his voice to a whisper.

 

“This is the information that Prime Minister Orteca was looking for. If you have my information, you can push out Chancellor Orteca and gain the Emperor’s trust…”

 

“It’s not worth listening to.”

 

John stood up from his seat, smiling with his mouth twisted.

 

“You can talk about nonsense like that somewhere else.”

 

“But, Duke! You might regret it if you don’t listen to me-”

 

It was funny to see people installing things like that without even knowing the subject. They were not worth playing with.

 

‘I miss my wife.’

 

Estelle has been looking particularly tired since coming to this castle.

 

‘Quickly take her to the Duchy of Blanchett…’

 

John moved away from Count Hettel and moved into the room in search of Estelle. Betty was coming out of the room. Betty was startled when she saw John trying to enter.

 

“Lord, master?”

 

“Why are you so surprised?”

 

When John opened the door as if it was strange, he saw Estelle in the room, who was about to take off her dress. The white and transparent neckline was clearly revealed.

 

John froze on the spot.

 

Taking it off? As soon as John turned around, he saw the slip that Betty was holding.

 

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Translator Note: