That’s How I Became a Villainess - Chapter 53

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

Chapter 53

Julian Blake bit down on his lip, barely managing to push himself upright.
Bridget slipped from his embrace and steadied him.
“Haah.”
He drew a deep breath, leaning his back against the wall.
Now that the fit had passed, his entire body ached as though he’d been crushed beneath a boulder, and exhaustion hollowed him out—yet it was far better than before.
Ordinarily, he would have been bedridden for some time, unable to move a finger.
Now it was bearable.
Even within the pain, there was a strange clarity, as though a blockage in his chest had finally cleared.
It was a sensation he’d almost forgotten.
‘She Purified me.’
There was no doubt that Bridget’s power had washed through him.
Like a tree that shivers through a long winter, stripped bare by cutting winds, only to find new strength when spring arrives and green shoots push forth—when Bridget’s light touched him, vitality returned.
It was not merely mental. This was life-force that his very body could feel.
A spring-breath that promised he could live another full year with ease.
He had not forgotten the memory of how intoxicating Bridget’s light felt.
Yet whenever he actually received a Purification, he always discovered it was far more exquisite than memory had suggested.
It was the same now.
He felt as though he were cradled in a cradle.
‘Damn it—I could die here, and it would be worth it.’
He longed to surrender to sleep, defenseless and deep, in the warmth of Bridget’s arms.
But Julian Blake forced away the sweet temptation.
‘What was I even doing?’
He was bewildered.
Why had he been on top of her?
His mind had been scattered for a long while, when suddenly his heart had begun to race and his body grown weak with desire—and that’s what snapped him back to awareness.
It was a sensation that stirred base hunger.
That was when Bridget had pulled away from him.
It seemed as though she’d kissed him.
‘Am I out of my mind? Did I act like an animal?’
Dread seized him.
He’d never lost control like this before.
He glanced sideways at Bridget.
Her face was filled with concern, tears gathering so heavily they looked ready to spill, but she held them back.
Looking at those tears—where there seemed to be neither revulsion nor fear—he felt relief that he hadn’t done anything too terrible.
“Stop crying, now.”
He wanted to reach up and wipe away those pitiful tears.
Instead, Julian Blake turned his head away.
“Are you getting your wits back? Are you all right?”
“It’s nothing. Don’t make a fuss.”
Julian Blake pushed himself to his feet.
His words fell sharp and cold.
“How long do you plan to chase after me? Stop pestering me.”
She’d seen him like this now.
She’d understand how little time he had left.
He wished Bridget would run—that she’d refuse a Concubine Contract and flee.
“Now that you’ve learned my weakness, don’t think you’ll try striking from behind. Even if my last breath leaves me, as long as I draw breath, I won’t fall for your tricks twice.”
He spilled out cutting words.
In truth, he was speaking almost without hearing himself, too focused on studying Bridget’s expression.
He forced steel into his voice to make himself sound angry.
But Bridget didn’t flinch.
“I have no such thoughts. And I won’t let you fall for anyone’s tricks.”
She grasped his blood-stained hand.
“I won’t let go. No matter how much you frighten me or call me tiresome, no matter if you tell me to leave—I won’t. I’m staying with you.”
It was as if she’d read every thought in his mind.
He couldn’t understand why his words always dried up when speaking with her.
Julian’s lips parted, then closed without a word.
Bridget embraced him with quiet courage.
“From now on, I won’t leave you alone to suffer.”
Julian couldn’t bring himself to push her away.
He’d wished she would flee, yet he found relief in her promise to stay.
I love you.
Stay by my side.
Don’t leave me.
He swallowed the words that had risen to his throat with difficulty.
He couldn’t say how much longer he could hold back.
To Julian, who lived in winter, Bridget was spring itself.
A spring that seeped in irresistibly.

* * *

Mildea showed no alarm at the sight of the two of them soaked in blood.
She could guess well enough what had happened.
She already knew Julian suffered from occasional fits.
While Julian washed, Mildea didn’t entrust Bridget to Anna but tended to her personally.
She washed away the blood and changed her into a fresh dress.
Throughout it all, Bridget kept drifting in and out of focus.
The sight of blood everywhere, those terrible black hands—they kept flashing through her mind.
Then she’d remember the way she’d pulled him close, kissed him desperately, and her breath would catch.
‘He won’t remember it, will he?’
She’d meant to stimulate him when he couldn’t regain consciousness.
The moment she sensed he was returning to himself, she’d stopped.
When Julian came back to his senses, his face bore no recollection.
His manner remained as cold and distant as ever.
‘Would he have been angry if he knew what I did?’
She couldn’t fathom why she cared.
Bridget couldn’t decide whether to feel relieved he didn’t remember, or disappointed.
‘After seeing him in such agony, and all I can think to wonder is whether he remembers a kiss or not.’
It was absurd.
Mildea, having dressed her in the fresh dress, murmured while making final adjustments to the fabric.
“That other dress must have been to your liking…….”
At those words, Bridget snapped back to attention.
Now the dress hardly mattered.
It had seemed important that morning, but after what had just happened, such things felt trivial.
“What’s Isaac doing?”
The appointed time had long since passed.
“He said royalty enjoy keeping others waiting, so he could wait as long as needed.”
From the way Mildea spoke with such disdain, Bridget could imagine exactly what tone and expression Isaac must have used.
‘He must have been flattering terribly.’
He probably would have agreed even if asked to wait through the night.
She’d have preferred to leave Isaac to his own devices, but for the sake of Count Nicholas, who was coming as a witness, she needed to go now.
“Tell His Highness I’ll be there shortly. See you later, Mildea.”
Julian resented that Bridget had witnessed him in his fit.
He’d only continued to rage and push her away while speaking his mind, so he feared she must despise the sight of him.
That was why Bridget thought she should give him time to compose himself.
Or rather, that was all an excuse.
In truth, she found it awkward to face him now.
She was also worried about what ridiculous thing Isaac might do while left alone.
Without waiting for Julian, Bridget headed toward the reception hall.

* * *

Julian was little different from Bridget.
As he washed, dressed, and changed clothes, he couldn’t stop thinking of her.
‘It was definitely a kiss.’
As time passed and he reflected calmly, fragments of memory from that moment returned to him.
He remembered clearly the sensation that had pulled him from the unconscious world back into reality.
‘That kiss—it had jolted him awake.’
His ears flushed red as he touched his lips with an impassive expression.
He found himself biting down on his lower lip without thinking.
Life returned to Julian Blake’s face as he turned that kiss over in his mind.
He looked nothing like a man who had collapsed from a seizure mere moments before.
He suddenly became aware that he was savoring Bridget’s kiss, and stiffened.
‘I’ve lost my mind.’
Yet he could not stop thinking.
There had been times in the past when he and Bridget had kissed.
Those had been shy, playful kisses.
When had she learned to kiss with such bold intensity?
Who had taught her?
The moment his thoughts reached that point, Julian Blake let out a low, displeased groan.
If she’d learned it from someone, there could only be one man.
Isaac Winston.
‘I thought he left for the Ruessel Kingdom right after the wedding.’
Had he returned and laid hands on Bridget?
Even if he had, it would have been natural.
That bastard was Bridget’s husband, after all.
‘He had the right.’
He clenched his jaw.
Today he would sign a contract that stripped him of that right.
An official Concubine Contract was a legal instrument that seized the husband’s prerogatives through a loophole.
That son of a bitch would never lay hands on Bridget again.
Now he understood why Josephine had been so anxious about losing the throne.
The taste of power was this intoxicating.
He’d only realized it three years after ascending to the throne.
Mildea knocked on the door.
“Your Highness. Shall I help with your preparations?”
Julian Blake rarely accepted assistance with washing or changing clothes.
But today his preparations seemed to be running late, so she’d come to hurry him along.
“Bridget—is she ready?”
“Bridget has already gone to the reception hall to greet Baron Winston.”
“……I see.”
His expression hardened slightly.

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