A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 212

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Commemorating the Webtoon Adaptation
Side Story – Episode 15
“Come in!”
Soon the door opened and an attendant brought in a plate of salad.
Edmund spoke as calmly as he could manage.
“Leave the salad on that table and go. I’m tired and would like to rest alone for a moment.”
All the servants of the Imperial Palace knew well that Edmund preferred to be alone in his room. However, the attendant was surprised for a different reason.
“Your Highness? Are you… feeling unwell somewhere?”
“Huh? What?”
“Well… you’re getting into bed while still wearing your outdoor clothes…”
In fact, Edmund never touched even a fingertip to his bed before bathing and changing into indoor wear. It was a completely different habit from Kiana, who would sit anywhere—on the bed, at the desk, on the floor—wherever felt comfortable.
But when he was with Kiana, even he was amazed at how none of that seemed to matter anymore.
“It’s… well… because of the poison!”
Edmund answered somewhat haphazardly.
“Because of the poison… my senses have become as dull as my sense of taste, so it seems my obsessive tendencies have faded somewhat…”
“I see… understood.”
Fortunately, the attendant left with a sympathetic expression, leaving the salad plate behind.
The moment the door closed with a bang, Kiana immediately kicked off the blanket and sat up. Then, furrowing her brow, she looked down at Edmund, who remained lying rigidly on the bed.
“What are you talking about?”
“Huh? What?”
“Poison? Your sense of taste has dulled? It doesn’t seem like a complete lie, considering Your Highness is eating chicken breast salad of all things! Is that also why you skipped three meals earlier?”
“Ah, don’t worry! I’m really fine, Princess!”
Edmund hurriedly explained in surprise.
He explained what had happened last night, why he had been poisoned despite being Tailizes, and why the Emperor had been ill during that time, among other things. After finishing his explanation, he quickly added:
“So this poison can be detoxified anytime, and it won’t threaten my life! I absolutely won’t die young! So I hope you won’t cancel the engagement out of fear of becoming a widow!”
“But why haven’t you detoxified yourself? You said you only needed to break the seal!”
“I’m… going on a diet…”
“Ed, where on earth do you have left to lose weight from!”
Kiana genuinely clicked her tongue and then placed both her hands on his cheeks with a soft touch.
“You’re going to lose this? Seriously?”
“I, I need to lose it for my health too. I am overweight, after all… Especially before the wedding, I really… I want to look attractive to the Princess.”
“If you’re thinking about my preferences, you really don’t need to lose it. Even with the extra weight, your features are so refined that you look cute and like a big teddy bear, and I really like you just as you are now.”
Edmund’s cheeks flushed deeply. This was the first time Kiana had said she “liked” him so actively.
Kiana, who always maintained a cool demeanor with expressions like “hmph” whether this way or that… And now, this close to him, and in his bed…
“Oh, and Ed. I didn’t finish what I was saying earlier. That secret I mentioned about being discovered a second time.”
“Huh? Yes…”
It was when Edmund answered hazily, with Kiana’s face filling his entire vision.
Kiana continued with determination.
“I want to explore the male body too.”
“Pffft—cough!”
“Lately, I’ve been so curious about it. Since the skeletal structure and body composition are fundamentally different, I really want to examine it in detail. That’s why I keep noticing Ed’s body these days, you see? I felt a bit embarrassed about it, so I kept it secret, but eventually my curiosity was bound to be discovered anyway, so I decided to just say it outright.”
“W-w-w-w-w-w-Princess… W-wait a moment….”
“This kind of thing… is different from a woman’s… something I could never touch unless it were Ed….”
Her hand slowly descended, pressing against Edmund’s Adam’s apple.
She spoke seriously.
“Hmm, it’s quite firm, living up to the name ‘laryngeal prominence.’ And, well, since it’s cartilage, it does compress when pressed…. Oh, so it goes in this far when you push it.”
Edmund could no longer breathe.
Kiana was practically straddling him as she peered intently into his face.
Edmund clutched the bedsheet tightly and pleaded with a trembling voice.
“P-Princess… please… couldn’t you get down? You might be uncomfortable….”
“It’s incredibly soft, so I’m not uncomfortable at all?”
“That’s my flesh.”
“Exactly.”
“I-I’m also suffering a bit…. Y-you, I, I’m fine with anything you do, anything goes, but we’re still minors!”
“Are minors not allowed to see their fiancé’s Adam’s apple?”
“Th-that’s not… ugh!”
At that moment, Kiana grabbed both of Edmund’s wrists and pressed them down. Then she brought her lips to his.
Just as Edmund’s body went rigid, her lips parted lightly.
“I’m already sufficiently attracted to your appearance, so don’t tell me you’re going on a diet because of me. Understood?”
Kiana smirked and got down from his bed. Then, looking at the chicken breast salad, she shook her head and remarked, “Wow, Ed really does look like he hates this.”
Watching her, Edmund made a silent resolution.
‘I’m definitely going on a diet.’
At this rate, after they married, Kiana would surely want to see his entire body, and if something went wrong, it could become terribly embarrassing.
“Oh, with this much belly fat… what would the body fat percentage be roughly? Is the composition ratio different from a woman’s? There seems to be a lot of muscle too… hmm, Ed, I really want to measure your circumference accurately. I’m curious how many times larger it is compared to mine. It would be fun to calculate the proportions of each body part too.”
It was truly touching that she loved his appearance as it was, but still, all his physical measurements would undoubtedly be dissected into numbers.
* * *
One year later.
“Ed….”
Kiana regarded her fiancé with a lukewarm expression.
It had been exactly one year.
In just one year, Edmund’s appearance had undergone tremendous changes.
Remarkably, his excess weight had completely disappeared, so now no one could describe him as ‘chubby.’ The weight had been stubborn because he naturally loved food so much, and Edmund’s exercise capacity was extraordinary. Once he adjusted his eating habits, his body quickly became lean and attractively muscular.
“…I still can’t quite get used to it.”
“Could it be… you don’t like it, Princess? Should I gain the weight back?”
“No. Actually, I don’t really mind either way. This is definitely better for your health, certainly.”
And there was one more thing.
Edmund’s eyes were no longer blue—they were gold.
Originally, he had simply agreed to be Kiana’s experimental subject as she wished. But it turned out to be far more painful than expected, and despite his claim that he could endure pain well, he had no desire to use that magical artifact again.
Moreover, every time everyone saw his eyes changed to gold, they marveled at whether Kiana’s magical engineering abilities were truly at that level.
Particularly, many magical engineering institutions showed great interest, and Kiana found herself having to bring Edmund along whenever she explained the principles of that magical artifact, partly by choice and partly by necessity.
Whenever Kiana participated in magical engineering events, Edmund had always harbored an anxiety—what if some sponsor obsessed with magical engineering tried to seduce her? This situation pleased him immensely, for it was an opportunity to demonstrate their deep bond before everyone present.
Moreover, whenever Kiana looked into his eyes and said, “Um… Ed, I’m really sorry. I didn’t know it would hurt so much. I’ll truly take responsibility for you my whole life,” he loved it so much that he had absolutely no intention of changing it back.
“But why did you change it to gold? Of all colors?”
“Ah, the Princess was wearing a one-piece dress with gold thread checkered patterns back then. I just thought the last color I saw was gold, so I chose it without much thought…”
It was a color selected lightly, thinking he would change it anyway. But now he didn’t want to change it anymore. Kiana chuckled softly and murmured.
“Silver hair, golden eyes… you’ve really become all sparkly, like a human jewel. No wonder you draw attention.”
“Why? Do you not like it?”
“No, it’s just that these days, whenever the Crown Prince appears, I can see the other noblewomen losing their minds.”
Kiana continued matter-of-factly.
“There were always many such noblewomen. Your Highness has always been a radiant person from the beginning. That’s partly why I never paid attention in the first place. But lately, it seems he’s become an openly coveted target for all women, and… I don’t particularly like that.”
“Huh? You don’t like it? Why?”
“Of course. The Emperor can have several Empresses, can’t he? I didn’t think much of it before, but watching a few noblewomen lately who keep making advances toward Ed… I don’t think I could bear to see that.”
“I won’t take any other Empresses!”
Edmund was startled and hastily shook his head.
In truth, he was always anxious that Kiana might break off the engagement, saying she disliked the position of Empress. Honestly, even after becoming Empress, if she found something displeasing, she seemed the type to mercilessly hand him divorce papers.
“I promise. No, let’s abolish the system of multiple Empresses entirely. I’ll submit the legislation tomorrow itself.”
“Well, yes. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Kiana answered nonchalantly, but Edmund couldn’t sleep that night.

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