The Villain Is Obsessed With His Fake Wife

Match-!

 

Leandro’s head turned to the side.

 

‘What just happened?’

 

Leandro cupped his throbbing cheek, his eyes widening.

 

‘Did she hit me?’

 

Estelle didn’t even feel sorry at all.

 

“Why do you act like that…”

 

Match!

 

Without answering, Estelle slapped Leandro’s other cheek again. This time she didn’t hit hard, making it even more humiliating.

 

“Lady Estelle!”

 

Leandro’s blue eyes burned intensely.

 

“What on earth is this?”

 

“Do you feel better now that you’re right?”

 

Leandro grabbed Estelle’s delicate arm and glared at her.

 

“Have you really lost your mind? Doing something like this-”

 

“Why on earth are you surprised?”

 

Estelle raised the corners of her mouth and smiled.

 

“As if I had done something I couldn’t do.”

 

“Unbelievable…”

 

Leandro laughed as if he was empty and clenched his teeth.

 

“I never thought I would have been so affected by the devil.”

 

Leandro wiggled his eyebrows and looked at Estelle. That was a high-end auction house for nobles. It seemed like she was wearing a mask for camouflage, but it couldn’t hide the atmosphere he felt from Estelle. White-blonde hair sparkling pink under a gorgeous chandelier, and a light purple dress embroidered with silver thread on luxurious silk. The more he looked at Estelle, the more extravagant she seemed than he had seen her before.

 

‘It must have been the devil who did it.’

 

Or, as rumored, he may have framed the Count Hettel family and used the stolen money. If that’s not enough, she came to the auction house and tried to buy more jewelry. Now Leandro felt sorry for Estelle’s beautiful appearance.

 

‘She doesn’t know what’s truly precious.’

 

She tried to cover up her empty heart with expensive things, but Estelle would soon learn the truth about the devil.

 

‘Perhaps she came to this auction house at her father’s request…’

 

This may be because this was the last chance to save Estelle. Leandro calmly opened his mouth.

 

“To carelessly touch a person’s face is violence.”

 

“Then isn’t it violence for a knight to recklessly grab a lady’s hand or arm?”

 

Estelle answered calmly.

 

“What about scolding a lady who refuses or trying to drag her away?”

 

Leandro’s mouth became stiff. Estelle smiled brightly as she looked at Leandro.

 

“You wouldn’t think it was violence. You will think that this was done to save me.”

 

“I am-“

 

“Don’t be mistaken. I never asked you to save me.”

 

A cynical light appeared in Estelle’s navy blue eyes.

 

“It’s time to wake up from your illusions, right?”

 

“Who…”

 

But Leandro gave more strength to his hand holding Estelle. His heart felt like it was on fire. 

Leandro’s Estelle should not have treated him this way.

 

‘If she was who she was…’

 

Until she was captured by the devilish Duke Blanchett, she had her best.

 

“Do you think anyone would care about a villain like you?”

 

“But why is it like this?”

 

“I don’t want to pay attention to a wicked woman like you, a wicked woman with no morals!”

 

Estelle responded with a sigh to Leandro’s angry words.

 

“Then don’t worry about me.”

 

“But you’re my responsibility!”

 

“…”

 

“I can’t stand to see you behaving so foolishly that you don’t know you’re in hell.”

 

Leandro appealed to Estelle with eyes full of regret.

 

“If only I had saved you then…”

 

“…”

 

“I could have stopped you.”

 

The customers who arrived at the auction house murmured as they saw the two people. But in Leandro’s eyes, he only saw the foolish Estelle who did not recognize him.

 

“Please come to your senses! Do you think he really loves a villain like you? …You are a wicked woman. I am the only person in the world who can truly take responsibility for you.”

 

Leandro pulled Estelle close and quietly confessed his sincerity.

 

“Not that Duke Blanchett.”

 

The mask covering Estelle’s face fell. Her appearance was as pretty as a sugar doll.

 

“Maybe you’re right.”

 

Estelle lowered her white eyelashes and smiled bitterly. There was a dreamy atmosphere about her that seemed to enchant the person she was talking about.

 

“You might be the only one who can save me.”

 

“Do you understand now?”

 

Leandro’s heart was pounding wildly.

 

‘At las!’

 

But the words that came out of Estelle’s mouth completely betrayed his expectations.

 

“Even so, I hate you.”

 

“…what?”

 

“I don’t want to be saved by your hands. Like you said, I’m a foolish villain.”

 

Estelle stubs Leandro’s foot with a sharp shoe! She stepped on it.

 

“…Ugh!”

 

Leandro, who was suddenly surprised, frowned and let go of Estelle’s arm. Estelle said, elegantly looking at the arm that Leandro was holding.

 

“Even if everything you say is true, I would rather die in John’s arms than be saved by you.”

 

“…Do you call him by his name now?”

 

Leandro’s blue eyes burned with jealousy.

 

“I would rather die by his hands…”

 

“My lady!”

 

At that moment, Betty, who had gone to find out the auction time, returned. The auction house manager and security guards appeared behind Betty. Estelle, who had maintained her composure, was relieved.

 

‘Thank god.’

 

Leandro, the leader of the Imperial Knights, was unable to move carelessly as the number of people increased.

 

“Customer, you two.”

 

The auction house manager intervened between Leandro and Estelle and asked vaguely.

 

“What happened between you two?”

 

“Something happened.”

 

Estelle looked distressed and spoke to the manager.

 

“Suddenly this person lunged at me and got angry. Thanks to him, the mask I was using to hide my identity came off. Is it okay to do something like this to protect our guests?”

 

The manager’s complexion turned white.

 

“I apologize for any inconvenience caused at our auction house.”

 

The manager glanced at Leandro in shock. The manager, a nobleman, recognized Leandro immediately.

 

“It is difficult to judge the conflict between the two at the auction house…”

 

“So I deserved this?”

 

At that time, other auction house guests nearby joined in.

 

“Manager! It should be time for the auction to begin!”

 

“Since this was started by the men first, wouldn’t it be okay to send out the person who caused the disturbance?”

 

The manager looked at Estelle again, then approached Leandro and spoke to him. At that moment, a note fell out of Leandro’s pants pocket while he was talking to the manager. Leandro, who was talking to the manager, did not notice.

 

‘Undine Tier?’

 

Estelle’s eyes widened when she saw the picture drawn on the note.

 

‘Is Leandro here to buy the same jewel as me?’

 

Undine Tier, Water Spirit Undine’s Tear Jewel. It was a famous sapphire named after a legendary spirit.

 

‘I don’t know why Leandro wants to buy the Undine tier…’

 

The legend contained in the Undine tier was real. It contained the power of a true spirit.

 

‘I have to buy this jewelry.’

 

The trees said that the spirit’s power would help restore the fairy’s power. This was because spirits also have the opposite power of black magic curses. Leandro, who was talking to the manager, bit his lip and looked at Estelle. It seemed that Leandro had now realized that he had become agitated and acted unbecoming a knight. Leandro, with his chin strained, nodded his head.

 

“…I get it. I will put my position on the line and not cause any more trouble.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

After finishing the conversation with Leandro, the manager bowed politely to Estelle.

 

“I’m sorry you had to go through such a difficult time. I have received an appointment, but to prevent an incident in advance, I will take you to a private room upstairs.”

 

“Can I watch the auction there without a hitch?”

 

“We will take action to make that happen.”

 

The manager, who skillfully mediated between the nobles, quickly resolved the situation.

 

“Okay.”

 

Estelle nodded, lost in thought.

 

‘Even though I have a lot of money now, Leandro is the heir to the Marquis of Felsis.’

 

What if they even spent the Blanchett family’s money? There was no guarantee that she would get the Undine tier with her money alone.

 

‘Then…’

 

Estelle’s navy blue eyes sparkled.

 

‘I need to keep Leandro from concentrating on the auction.’

 

The manager politely guided Estelle inside the auction house.

 

“I will guide you right away. Please come this way.”

 

Estelle passed by Leandro, pretending to walk under the manager’s guidance. The moment when she was about to take another step. Estelle, who was indifferently walking in front of him, whispered softly into Leandro’s ear with her light pink lips.

 

“But did we only call each other by our first names?”

 

It was a small sound that could have been mistaken. But it was enough to leave a clear mark in Leandro’s ears. Leandro’s eyes widened. Leandro muttered absently, not even thinking about grabbing Estelle.

 

“What more than a name…”

 

In his imagination, the white and beautiful Estelle was defiled by the hands of Duke Blanchett.

 

‘I was foolish.’

 

At that moment, Leandro realized that he had been too complacent. Of course, the two were married. He watched Estelle helplessly as Leandro walked after the manager.

 

Estelle, who thought he was leaving without even looking back, turned around at him as if doing a light dance. Today, her particularly shiny pink platinum hair fluttered like a butterfly. Estelle put her index finger close to her lips and smiled brightly at Leandro.

 

 

‘After that, it’s a secret.’

 

Estelle moved away like an afterimage. Leandro stretched out his hand without realizing it, but Estelle was not there.

 

* * *

 

The auction has begun. She looked down at the auction house from the luxurious private room the manager showed her to. Betty said, sounding displeased.

 

“He showed up while I was away for a moment and threatened my lady. I shouldn’t have left Madam’s surroundings.”

 

“You went because I asked you to. And even you would have had a hard time stopping Prince Felsis.”

 

Betty was an outstanding talent, but Leandro was too high a nobleman. He was not far behind John even in terms of military power. Perhaps the situation would have been the same even if Betty had been by her side.

 

“Still… Ugh. Why is he so obsessed with my lady?”

 

“Well. I do not know either. We’ve never even had a proper conversation.”

 

Was it because of the original work? She couldn’t understand why Leandro was so obsessed with her, even though they weren’t really fiancés.

 

She watched the auction while drinking a drink prepared by the manager.

 

‘My thoughts should work out well.’

 

Honestly, what she said to Leandro was nothing special. That was the best thing that could be done in that situation.

 

‘But I thought it would work well.’

 

Everyone has their own quirks. Just as John has revenge, revenge was the most important part.

 

‘I don’t know much about Leandro’s evil either.’

 

However, having been hated for a long time, she generally recognized people’s vices. Hatred was closest to disgust, because it showed the deepest inner self of a person.

 

‘The noble knight Leandro would react greatly.’

 

Meanwhile, Leandro showed excessive awareness of John, calling him the devil. Just looking at the reaction to the name this time, it was like that.

 

‘I don’t know why, but I seem quite important to Leandro.’

 

Even more so when you see him obsessing over her even though he belittles her for being a villain. When she thought of Leandro’s coercive actions, the tips of her fingers trembled slightly without her realizing it.

 

‘As expected, I hate Leandro.’

 

Now, it was no longer just because of bad relationships in the past.

 

‘…John wasn’t that pushy with me.’

 

He listened to her attentively no matter what the situation was. Even in a crisis situation where a swarm of crawlins attack.

 

‘Sometimes I feel like he sees me as I am, not as a target for revenge.’

 

Maybe that’s why she started leaning on John.

 

“The item coming up for auction this time is the Undine tier, which is said to be the last thing Undine, the legendary water spirit, left behind in the world!”

 

Undine Tier was visible under the gorgeous chandelier light.

 

‘I really see something inside the jewel.’

 

It was a sparkling force that shimmers in aurora color.

 

“The starting price for the Undine Tier auction is 5,000 gold. All you have to do is hold up the number plate and tell us the price you would like to bid.”

 

She said, holding up the board.

 

“100,000 gold.”

 

The people below the auction house were buzzing. Because the price was too excessive. Leandro was seen among the people. Leandro was just staring straight ahead as if he was lost in thought, not even thinking about lifting the number pad. He seemed like he’d lost his mind.

 

‘Somehow I think it worked better than I thought.’

 

The host counted down and looked for other bidders. But no nobleman bid a higher price than her.

 

‘Thank God, I would have had to spend all my money for more than that.’

 

So she got the Undine tier right away without any competition.

 

* * *

 

As soon as the auction was over, Blanchett returned to the Duke’s residence. Erich immediately welcomed her at Duke Blanchett’s residence.

 

“Have you been caught by John?”

 

“I was looking for you, madam, but I don’t think I got caught. He also came back earlier than I expected.”

 

“By the way, Sir Erich. I think I might get caught going out today.”

 

“…yes?”

 

Erich asked back with a surprised expression.

 

“Did something happen outside?”

 

“There was a commotion because we ran into Prince Felsis. But the auction house nobles all witnessed it.”

 

If it’s that much of a rumor, there’s no way John wouldn’t know about it. But Erich seemed more angry at Leandro than at her.

 

“…That shameless guy. Even if you change it, it won’t be any good.”

 

“Erich?”

 

“Don’t worry too much though. I can prepare.”

 

Erich adjusted his glasses and answered neatly. She gave Erich the receipt.

 

“Just in case, I bought some jewelry separately in Duchess Blanchett’s name. Can I use this to excuse myself later by saying I went to have fun with John as a minor deviation?”

 

“You did everything so perfectly, so what could be difficult? Please feel free to come in.”

 

She felt at ease because she definitely had someone on her side.

 

“Then let me ask you a favor.”

 

After washing up, she prepared cookies with Betty and went to John’s office.

 

‘John’s reaction was pretty good last time, wasn’t it?’

 

But when she knocked on the door, there was no answer as usual. When she slowly opened the door and looked inside, she saw John lying tiredly on the sofa in the office, asleep.

 

“It must have been very difficult.”

 

This was the first time she had seen him asleep in his office.

 

“John?”

 

She walked up to John as quietly as possible so as not to wake him up.

 

“You’re really handsome…”

 

His ecstatically handsome face was perfect even when he was sleeping. Perhaps because John had particularly intense red eyes, the atmosphere felt a little different from when he was awake.

 

‘Should I say it’s a comfortable atmosphere where you feel like you can cross the line…?’

 

She unconsciously touched his handsome face and muttered.

 

“I missed John so much today.”

 

Strangely enough, John did not wake up. It looks like he was really tired.

 

“Even when I went out, I kept thinking about you.”

 

When she saw John sleeping, perhaps because she was tormented by Leandro, her heart trembled with something inexplicable.

 

“John. Maybe I…”

 

These were words she would never be confident in saying to John, who was awake. But this was something she wanted to say over and over again.

 

“I think I love you.”

 

She spoke quietly, but was surprised by her words and left the room, taking the cookies she had prepared with her.

 

* * *

 

After Estelle left John got up from the sofa and lowered his voice.

 

“…You think you love me?”

 

His two ears became red.

 

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Translator Note: