A Runaway Villainess, Now Healing In An Enemy Country - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Episode 31】

 

And… what happened after that.

 

Davuer fumbled through the gaping void in his memory for a long time, but nothing came to mind.

 

He needed to know where the child had disappeared to.

 

“First, let’s go home, to Belmayer.”

 

Even while being led north by his sister’s guidance, he couldn’t escape the aftereffects.

 

Only when the Duke’s Castle was right before his eyes did his mouth finally open.

 

“…I have somewhere else to go.”

 

The light weight of the ring necklace around his neck.

 

The child’s request for him to become the Grand Mage in their place.

 

“I must go to the Mage Tower.”

 

The magical power raging like an angry tsunami in his heart.

 

The divine power that had vanished as if it never existed from the beginning.

 

Davuer felt infinitely strange about even the air he breathed in, even the cells that made up his being.

 

The experiment had failed as spectacularly as possible, his world had changed in an instant, and.

 

The child who had changed his world had disappeared like a phantom.

 

“Let’s meet again next time.”

 

He gripped the ring around his neck tightly. The proof of that child’s existence that he possessed.

 

“I want to become a mage of the Mage Tower.”

 

What he had to do going forward was very clear.

 

Because his fate had been decided at that moment.

 

* * *

 

“The ring…”

 

In the dead of night when both Ally and Jepi, who had been standing guard today, were asleep.

 

I lay in bed with my eyes wide open, muttering.

 

I was looking at the ceiling, but in my mind I kept picturing that ring the Duke had taken out.

 

Also the Duke’s appearance after his confession about killing someone with his first magic, seeming like he was going to tell me something, then suddenly clamming up like a clam.

 

The lesson had ended inconclusively, and from that point until now, I had been thinking about him in a daze.

 

Of course, I’m absolutely not being conscious of the Duke.

 

It’s all just because of that ring.

 

Why does he have a ring that looks so exactly alike.

 

Since ancient times, there have been two ways to drive people crazy: one is to stop talking mid-sentence, and.

 

“Ugh… Argh!”

 

The other is to confuse them.

 

And the Duke did both.

 

I eventually forgot that there were foolish guards in this room and clutched my head.

 

“Irene!”

 

Ally, who had been sleeping soundly on the couch, bolted upright and raised a dagger she had drawn from somewhere in her clothes.

 

Her eyes were ice-cold, not like someone who had been sleeping.

 

“Enemies?”

 

Jepi, who had already climbed onto my bed using his ability, tilted his head. As if wondering why there was such a fuss when he couldn’t sense any threat.

 

As soon as I saw Jepi, I immediately threw a pillow at him.

 

“Shoes!”

 

“Shoes?”

 

“You have to take your shoes off before getting on the bed!”

 

“Why do I have to do that?”

 

This world’s common sense, really!

 

I could never tolerate shoes covered in dust from who knows where being rubbed against the bedding.

 

Whoosh!

 

I sent my magical power like wind, blowing Jepi, who had been standing on the bed, down to the floor.

 

Jepi, who flew away obediently without resistance, said.

 

“Ah. You used magic.”

 

Oh my.

 

“Irene, I’ll educate that idiot properly.”

 

I answered my reliable maid with a bright smile, then even cast a cleaning spell on the bedding.

 

‘From tomorrow, I’m really going to seal my magic.’

 

As I resolved this along with the disappearing distracting thoughts, sleep came quickly.

 

I had a dream after a long time.

 

I could be certain it was a dream because even though the Duke’s silver hair was touching my cheek and shoulder, I couldn’t feel any sensation.

 

Moreover, for some reason, he was holding me in his arms.

 

Since he had buried his head, I couldn’t see his expression, but somehow I could sense desperation from him.

 

How much time had passed? When he finally raised his head, his face was stained with moisture as he opened his mouth as if spitting out words.

 

[I kept your request.]

 

Then he took out a ring connected to a necklace chain from his embrace and handed it to me. It was exactly that platinum ring that had troubled me until just before I fell asleep.

 

[I’ll return this to you.]

 

He grasped my fingertips very gently.

 

Unlike his stern lips, various emotions were revealed moment by moment in his bright ash-colored eyes.

 

He seemed both filled with joy like someone who owned the world, and precarious like someone driven to the edge of a cliff.

 

Finally, he poured out all those emotions.

 

[Marry me.]

 

* * *

 

“Why is she broken again?”

 

“Nishe, saying someone is broken? If anything, please say her mind has snapped.”

 

The next morning.

 

Not joining their conversation that had no nutritional value as usual, I just moved my mouth while resting my chin on my hand.

 

“Don’t you normally forget all your dreams when you wake up?”

 

My gaze wasn’t on Nishe or Ally, or even the other Winter Castle family members sitting around the dining table or breakfast, but just remained in empty space.

 

I had been in this state since waking up.

 

Because the content of last night’s dream was so absurdly outrageous, my soul had completely departed.

 

The diligent maid answered.

 

“I don’t dream much, so I wouldn’t know.”

 

I hadn’t expected much anyway, but as expected, she was only diligent and not helpful at all.

 

The intellectual witch who had been eating quietly asked.

 

“Irene, is this because of a dream? What kind of dream was it?”

 

“I dreamed of becoming a married woman.”

 

“What?”

 

Clang! Clang!

 

The sound of dropped forks hitting the table came from various places. For some reason, Giselle was extremely flustered and even stammered.

 

“Wh-who was… who was the other person?”

 

“It would be big trouble if I said.”

 

Then I got up from my seat and swayed out of the dining room. Just as I was closing the door, Ally’s shrill cry pierced my ears.

 

“What do we do, it must be that guy!”

 

Even so, he’s your master, so what’s with calling him “that guy”?

 

‘…Huh? Wait, they don’t know who they’re dealing with, do they?’

 

Where the hell did “that guy” even come from?

 

Even in the midst of all this chaos, a corner of my chest felt strangely cold, and I had a bad feeling about this.

 

I finally came to my senses in the afternoon.

 

That meant I roughly regained my sense of reality, though I still felt dizzy and restless.

 

‘Ah damn, that crazy dream. I can’t even forget it.’

 

The more I tried to forget, the more vivid it became instead.

 

In front of the study, arriving just in time for class. I hesitantly grabbed the door handle, then let go again.

 

The study door suddenly swung open from inside just as I was repeating that action for the third time.

 

W-wait a minute.

 

I’m not ready to see the Duke’s face yet.

 

“Why aren’t you coming in?”

 

I’m not ready!

 

“…”

 

I quickly swept my hair down to cover my eyes.

 

I mean, originally… When people get flustered, they sometimes do stupid things…

 

Through the hair covering my vision like a bowl, I could clearly see the Duke tilting his head slightly. Even the slight frown on his face.

 

I should have covered with my palms or closed my eyes instead. This way, blocking my vision was completely meaningless.

 

“…What are you doing right now?”

 

“…Surprise.”

 

I literally laughed “haha.”

 

I tried to act nonchalant as I fixed my hair and sat at the desk, when the Duke dropped a verbal bomb.

 

“Come to think of it, I heard you became a married woman.”

 

“What?!”

 

Before my heart, shocked by that thoroughly distorted story, could settle down, he threw a time bomb this time.

 

“Are you still unable to forget the Prince?”

 

I paused for a moment, unable to understand his words.

 

Why is Chessier suddenly brought up here?

 

“…What? Absolutely not.”

 

What’s this? Did I seem like I had lingering feelings all this time?

 

“I said no.”

 

The moment I denied it more strongly for the second time.

 

The bomb that had been ticking rapidly for several seconds exploded with a bang.

 

Puzzles pieced together in my head, and I realized like lightning the answer to my questions about the bizarre attitude the Duke’s crazy subordinates had shown me.

 

The reason they were reading books like 【Killing Your Cheating Husband】. The reason they were suddenly badmouthing the Prince as ugly and the Imperial Court as rotten!

 

How thoughtful of them, they were protesting to me to give up on him because he wasn’t worth it?

 

Because they thought I couldn’t forget Chessier?

 

“No!”

 

I got goosebumps and ended up screaming.

 

There’s that famous bullshit about strong denial being affirmation, but strong denial is just strong denial.

 

My one-sided love ended long ago in the prologue!

 

“Really… Wow, it’s not that. I got over those feelings a long time ago. Don’t misunderstand.”

 

However, the Duke didn’t seem to find my aggrieved protest very trustworthy.

 

His utterly cold expression was proof of that.

 

“Then who was the other person in that dream?”

 

‘You.’

 

But since I was quite delicate at heart to be that honest, I rolled my eyes around and replied.

 

“Th-there’s someone else.”

 

He doesn’t believe me.

 

“Excuse me, could you not make that ‘sure you do’ expression? Chessier really, absolutely isn’t it.”

 

He really doesn’t believe me at all!

 

I was frustrated enough to cry, but I held back since getting teary-eyed would only inflate the misunderstanding like eye bags.

 

‘Who told the Duke about me?’

 

These unnecessarily helpful tattletales.

 

Of course, it was mostly my fault for carelessly blabbing.

 

Without even knowing I was feeding their terrible misunderstanding, or that they had such a misunderstanding in the first place.

 

“Hah… Anyway, Duke. Let’s stop this topic now,”

 

“You’re calling him by name.”

 

The Duke pointed out coldly.

 

He was so cold that I could almost see the illusion of a blizzard raging around him.

 

I couldn’t help but be flustered.

 

“When did I do that? I’ve been using honorifics properly.”

 

“You called him whatever you wanted.”

 

“…Didn’t you say I could call him whatever I wanted?”

 

“I never said that.”

 

Finally, he completely denied his past self.

 

Then he took that ‘burdensome posture he always takes when he has something to say.’ That is, he approached me and brought his face close to mine.

 

“Why do you keep saying ‘Duke’?”

 

“Well, because you are the Duke…”

 

“Why is the Prince called by name then?”

 

The Duke pronounced it like he was chewing on the words.

 

His displeased gaze was sharp.

 

This was the first time I’d seen such vivid, raw emotion from him—not ‘slightly’ or ‘faintly’—so he felt like a completely different person.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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