Previously
In an attempt to kill a fly landing on Kayden's face, Evgenia accidentally slaps him, leaving the insect's remains on his cheek. Kayden, misinterpreting her erratic behavior and the accidental physical contact as a sign of her deep emotional turmoil over his marriage proposal to Melissa, feels a strange sense of satisfaction.
Only after watching the Crown Prince turn on his heel and leave the room did my legs finally give out, sending me sinking onto the sofa.
Honestly, the moment I stepped into the lounge and saw his face, the urge to punch him had flared up inside me.
I hadn't actually planned on hitting him, though.
Even if I couldn't smooth over my strained history with the Crown Prince before my wedding, I certainly couldn't risk getting thrown into prison for the attempted assassination of royalty!
And so, clenching my teeth to rein in the mounting fury, I had tuned out half of his words to fixate on the wrong thing entirely—and that was when things took a terrible turn…
The moment he asked in that ominous tone whether I had just struck him, my vision went white at the thought of leaving this world before ever seeing the face of my bias.
Even through the panic, landing that blow felt oddly cathartic, and I was just about to force an apology past my numb lips when…
When the Crown Prince's cheek twitched with rage, the squashed bug stuck to it twitched along with it.
The sight was so terrifyingly absurd that biting my tongue to keep from bursting into laughter actually hurt.
Convinced that laughing would be my doom, I held it in, and by some miracle, disaster was averted.
( ‘Still, that was bizarre…’ )
I fully expected him to seize the opportunity to punish me, thrilled to finally rid himself of a thorn in his side.
Yet he dropped the matter without another word.
( ‘Even though he scoffed and accused me of lying, did my letting go soften him up without him realizing it?’ )
Still, something didn't sit right.
( ‘I'd love to think I'm overthinking it, but…’ )
No matter how I looked back on it, there was an unmistakable intensity in his eyes when he stared down at my hand a moment ago.
And within that intensity, there was even a flicker of… ecstasy.
Could the Crown Prince… be a pervert?!
A shiver ran down my spine, made worse by how genuinely pleased he had looked.
The absolute last thing I wanted was any insight into his twisted tastes!
While I was shuddering with revulsion over that smirk of his, the lounge door opened and someone hurried inside.
Flushing at the praise, Melissa smiled bashfully before asking in a hushed tone,
Calling it a proper conversation would be generous, but I had at least said what I meant to say.
Even if it only earned me scorn and the label of a liar.
I hadn't intended to give it away.
It was just that when his aide urged him to hurry, I saw him about to walk out with a dead bug plastered to his cheek, which felt like a catastrophe waiting to happen.
Slapping him was bad enough; letting him wander outside with filth stuck to his face was asking for trouble.
So I hastily offered Melissa's handkerchief, which happened to be on hand, for him to wipe it off.
When he asked me that, I was at a complete loss.
I couldn't bring myself to tell him there was a dead insect on his cheek, so I simply asked him to wipe it, but instead of doing that, he tucked someone else's handkerchief straight into his breast pocket.
At least the bug had safely fallen off when he touched his cheek at the very end, which was a relief…
( ‘Even if I didn't say it was Melissa's, he must've sensed it by instinct.’ )
Why else would he hold on to it?
Anyone could tell that delicate thing didn't belong to Evgenia.
Yet a strange unease lingered in the back of my mind.
Ever the angel, Melissa offered a sweet, unquestioning smile and placed a hand over her heart in relief.
Hearing that sparked a bizarre realization.
Naturally, I had assumed he summoned me to vent his anger after Melissa turned down his proposal.
Yet though he asked if I had seen the proposal, he never brought it up again.
And despite racing here before the news broke, he hadn't even asked to see Melissa…
In that instant, the source of my creeping dread finally clicked into place.
( ‘No way… It couldn't be, right?’ )
Leaving aside the Crown Prince's strange predilections, my biggest worry was the fact that I was a reincarnator.
Wasn't this an infamous trope?
The one where a reincarnated or transmigrated protagonist asks her indifferent fiancé or husband for a breakup or divorce, only for him to suddenly turn obsessively possessive?
And just today, I had firmly planted that very flag by declaring that my feelings were gone.
What if the Crown Prince, freshly slapped and perhaps awakened to some bizarre kink, suddenly developed an obsession with Evgenia the villainess?
( ‘Ugh, horrifying!’ )
A shudder ran through me at the mere thought.
Melissa tilted her head, watching my face with curiosity, but there was no time to explain.
I couldn't let this drag on any further.
I had vaguely heard that once he departed on this expedition, he wouldn't be back for three months.
It seemed I had to rush the wedding and move away to the Duchy of Rodion during that window.
…Not that I was making excuses just to satisfy my own fangirl desires! Truly!
The servants of the ducal estate threw bewildered glances my way.
Understandable.
Anyone would find it bizarre for the villainess, who had always kept her distance, to suddenly appear in the foyer right around the time her father was due to return.
The person who would find this most astonishing of all finally walked through the doors.
Just as expected, Duke Basilian looked thoroughly stunned to see me standing in the foyer.
To an outsider, his stern glare might look like he was scowling at a child guilty of treason…
But by now, I was familiar enough with this household to know better.
I could tell he was flustered and more than a little nervous.
( ‘I only stepped out to meet him after his work ended because my head was spinning after seeing the Crown Prince, and I needed to talk to him as soon as possible.’ )
A little embarrassed that my presence had caused such a stir, I glanced at Melissa beside me. She was beaming, looking far happier to be here together than if she were greeting him alone.
Originally, I had no intention of growing close to Evgenia's family, but somehow things had drifted in this direction.
Swallowing a quiet sigh, I spoke up hastily.
Taking whatever I said as a sign that I was merely shy or awkward, the Duke nodded repeatedly with an affectionate look in his eyes.
I was just about to frown, sensing that something was being sorely misunderstood, when…
Sionel, trailing just behind the Duke, fixed me with a sharp glare.
At first, his words sounded harsh, as if he were scolding me, but I now recognized it was simply his way of being concerned.
Why was everyone so set on treating me like an invalid?
Surprisingly, rather than taking Sionel's side, the Duke took mine and looked at me with quiet warmth.
“…?”
Yet a shadow suddenly passed over his face, replacing his gentle expression.
While I was briefly distracted talking to Sionel, the butler seemed to have whispered something to him. Did something serious happen?
As my eyes narrowed with curiosity, the Duke caught my gaze, cleared his throat, and spoke.
The moment he mentioned having something to discuss, only one thought crossed my mind.
It had to be the response to the marriage proposal sent to the Duke of Rodion.
My heart pounded violently against my ribs, but I forced myself to reply as calmly as I could.