Villainous Lady, The Obsession Begins

【Chapter 20】

 

Even as he gave orders, Esadien’s thoughts were wandering to the past. His mother had passed away, and in the meantime, the reigning emperor had taken pity on his orphaned nephew and adopted him as his own son at a young age. On the day of the funeral, the Wmperor wept as he saw the clear bruise mark left on Esadien’s neck.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Looking back, his tears were mixed with self-blame for not being able to prevent his ruined younger sister.

“Where are you suddenly going?”

“To the Grand Duchess of Karinen’s residence.”

The bruise on Esadien’s body disappeared without a trace. However, his mother’s teachings still remain deeply ingrained in his mind. So the emotions he feels towards Minuelle cannot be love. It just couldn’t be.

‘I don’t want to get hurt.’

He didn’t want to hurt like his mother did. And he didn’t want to hurt Minuelle as much. Perhaps the reason he kept thinking about Minuelle was that it was his first time borrowing something from someone else, and he felt pressure to return it quickly without realizing it. In other words, once he returned the book, he wouldn’t keep hearing Minuelle’s voice in his head. 

💧

However, Minuelle wasn’t at the ducal residence.

“I greet the Third Prince. I apologize, but Lady Minuelle is currently out for a moment…”

Honestly, I felt a bit discouraged. But since I had come this far, I thought that if I just turned back, it would make Minuelle feel disappointed.

 

“You’re so mean.”

 

As the image of a pouting face with lips slightly protruded came to mind, Esadien’s mouth warmed up like a tickle on a bird’s soft breast. Though it was a contrast to his earlier resolve, he didn’t realize it.

“I will wait.”

“Then I will prepare the tea for you.”

“No, no need.”

With a nod from the butler, Esadien moved past him.

“I’ll go to the library.”

Having remembered the way from his previous visit, Esadien entered the library easily. As he took in the distinct smell of books piled high, his unsettled mind calmed. The library was of a size incomparable to an ordinary household’s study, deserving of the title “library.”

‘It’s great.’

As it was his second visit, Esadien was still impressed by the size of the bookshelves that reached all the way up to the ceiling along the wall. It was a grandeur that was different from the palace library, which was built like a tower. He was browsing the shelves around him after returning the borrowed book to the knee-high-wheeled book cart when he heard a surprised voice.

“Oh, aren’t you His Highness the Third Prince?”

Esadien’s face hardened as he turned around.

The face was as he remembered, fiery red hair, eyes like gold coins.

“You are….”

“My name is Lafesch Celeste, Your Highness. We met briefly here last time.”

“I remember.”

He couldn’t forget her. Even if he wanted to, the strange feeling he had when he saw her was unforgettable….

“Oh my, what an honor. I’m happy.”

As Lafesch’s face approached, Esadien’s eyes scanned her closely. The soft, arched eyebrows, slightly upturned eyes were large but appeared gentle due to the unique double eyelids. Full lips, and even the faintly dotted mark on the edge of the lip line that was barely visible. It was the same face that he would believe even if his mother had come back to life with different hair and eye color.

“Ah…. Is there something on my face?”

At the persistent gaze, Lafesch seemed embarrassed and touched her cheeks which had become slightly flushed as she asked.

“No, nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

With a slight effort, Esadien tore his gaze away from Lafesch and turned his attention to the bookshelves. His eyes deliberately scanned the books one by one.

『The Definition of Golden Ratio』,『Understanding of Circles』, 『Extensive Applications of Trigonometric Functions』….

As Esadien turned to walk in another direction, Lafesch followed him slowly and spoke.

“It seems like you also like books a lot, Your Highness.”

Esadien nodded silently and checked the titles of the books on the new bookshelf.

『Burning Alphonse』, 『The Blacksmith and the Horse of Ajax』, 『The Salt Pirates of Malice』.

“It seems that Miss Minuelle reads during her breaks as well, Your Highness.”

As Lafesch mentioned Minuelle, Esadien, who was unconsciously trying to smile, stopped abruptly. The face of Minuelle, who used to smile while receiving sunlight by the nearby window, came to his mind, but something snapped in his head.

‘What…..’

As soon as Esadien felt something strange, the warm scent coming from beside him immediately enveloped his senses.

“Ah, hand…..”

Lafesch, who was standing close to Esadien, was frantically searching for a book, hesitating which one to pull out as her hand couldn’t reach the book.

“Wait a moment.”

Esadien tried to stop Lafesch from reaching for the book as he outstretched his arm.

“Is this the book you wanted?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Despite being slightly taller than Minuelle, is this too much for her?

With that thought, Esadien watched as Lafesch carefully held the book she had retrieved, hugging it close to her chest, and bowed to thank him.

“Thank you very much.”

“It was nothing.”

As Esadien tried to turn around, he felt a strange sensation holding onto his ankle, but he lightly feigned ignorance and turned around.

‘Why do I feel this way?’

A feeling of an invisible giant hand pushing his back and urging him to stand by Lafesch’s side, had taken over Esadien. It was an awkward feeling for him, as he already felt uncomfortable when his eyes met with Lafesch’s, who resembled his mother so much. Every time their eyes met, her golden eyes would curve, and Esadien would think to himself,

‘Did my mother used to smile like that before?’

As a result, when he looked at Lafesch, Minuelle did not come to his mind. It was as if there was only Lafesch in the world, as if she were the center of the world. His heart beat heavily.

“Do you ever feel lonely, Your Highness?”

“……”

Before he knew it, Lafesch had taken a step closer and was looking up at Esadien. He stared at her silently, as if frozen.

“Actually, I…. I don’t have any friends.”

Starting with that sentence, Lafesch went on to tell him about things she had not spoken about before. She was grateful to the family that had taken her in as a daughter, but she still found it difficult to fit in. She had hoped to make friends with people her age when she came to the Karinen Ducal House, especially with someone like Minuelle, but they hadn’t become close.

“I, I didn’t mean to be hated…..”

While Lafesch was talking, her long eyelashes fluttered. Esadien was biting his lips tightly. He was afraid that if he relaxed even a little, the words “I will be your friend” would burst out right away. During that time, Lafesch, who had finished talking, turned her golden eyes back to Esadien and made eye contact with him.

“……”

“……”

After a moment of silence, the book wobbling unsteadily next to the space where Esadien had taken it out finally fell.

Tuk.

Despite the sound being not particularly loud, both of them flinched and stepped back in surprise.

“Esadien?”

And as if it were planned, a voice that they both knew well echoed out.

“And…. Lady Celeste.”

Their shoulders trembled as if they had committed a crime. Minuelle and Theodore were standing together, and it was unclear when they had entered.

“You were going to find your purse. I thought something urgent had happened because you left the opera house so suddenly.”

“Oh, I just had a headache because it was a cramped space….”

“Do you have claustrophobia?”

“Yes, I really thought it would be okay. I’m sorry.”

With a pitiful smile, Lafesch apologized to Theodore as well, but he only nodded his head coldly in response. Seeing his reaction, Esadien felt a strange atmosphere.

‘Theo gets angry?’

Theodore is generally jovial and brushes off most things with a hearty laugh. It’s unusual for him to behave like that, so something must be bothering him. Moreover, from what I heard of the story, Lafesch seemed to have left alone without saying a word after the three of them met.

‘It didn’t seem like she would do that.’

While he was thinking so, Lafesch’s gentle voice continued.

“But it looks like you two came together. Have you gotten a little closer?”

“Yes, thanks to you.”

“Oh, that’s great. I’m glad.”

“But it was a waste of coming out in the middle of the play.”

“That’s fine…..”

Minuelle cut off Lafesch’s kind words with no hesitation while she was smiling genuinely.

“Next time, when you go with someone else, it’s better not to disappear without a word. Of course, it seems like Young Lady won’t be going to the opera anymore.”

“…Thank you for your advice.”

Lafesch glanced at Esadien with a sad expression.

‘Look, Minuelle doesn’t like me.’

With those looks, Lafesch gave a glance, hoping for a reaction that he would help her, but Esadien remained motionless and only looked at Minuelle.

‘You can get angry too.’

It was natural for Minuelle to experience emotions such as anger, as she, too, was human, but seeing her like this was a strange sight. Esadien found himself feeling unfamiliar with his own thoughts, likening her anger to that of a flower. And for a moment, he even forgot her face, leaving him feeling confused.

“I, I apologize again for what happened earlier today.”

Waiting for Esadien’s response for a moment, Lafesch eventually gave up and awkwardly smiled.

“Then, have a good evening. I’ll take my leave….”

In the suffocating silence, Lafesch slowly walked out of the library.

Tak.

Leaning against the closed door, Lafesch lowered her head and let out a deep breath she had been holding back.

“Haaa.”

A moment later, when she looked up, her face was twisted in a different expression than before.

“It seems like nothing is going well.”

The moment she entered the capital city after joining the Celeste family, she thought things were going smoothly. However, riding on the rope and struggling to get to the Karinen mansion, Minuelle, who she met, was undoubtedly a beauty that would make anyone’s jaw drop. To the point where she forgot about the beans that fell from the Duchess’s mansion for a moment. It was to the extent that she, who was confident in her beauty, was embarrassed. However, unlike Lafesch, who wanted to be friends with her in her own way, Minuelle avoided her strangely.

 

“Young lady, do you like opera? If you have free time, would you like to go together….?”

 

Theodore was a hopeless case who wouldn’t leave her alone. Amidst that, she coincidentally met Esadien, who was truly a beauty living in his own world. He had a radiance emanating from his face, causing even Minuelle who was next to him to be overshadowed. It was clear that the saying ‘love at first sight’ referred to this situation.

‘But it was unexpected.’

It was only natural for Esadien to fall for her as soon as he saw her, just like Theodore did. However, even though they were alone together and she had purposely stuck by his side, he didn’t hug her or confess his feelings…

‘Should I give him alcohol? He might become more honest when he’s drunk.’

Like that, Lafesch comforted herself.

Lafesch comforted her just like that. Above all, since her face was said to be a copy-paste of his mother’s, he could not refuse it.

💧

Thank you for reading!