The Villainess Enjoys Her Married Life
Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Episode 16. If It Means Becoming the Duchess
2023.12.16.
It was an evening fading into twilight.
Strolling near the gardens after his meal, Kalian caught sight of a carriage entering the estate.
It was the family carriage. As Kalian wondered who could be using it when his mother was bedridden with illness, a servant spoke up to explain.
It was the Duchess, returning from a tea party she had attended in place of the Grand Duchess.
Eshika.
The moment her name crossed his mind, unpleasant memories of their last encounter surfaced.
Her cold, dismissive demeanor and the icy chill that had emanated from her gaze.
It was entirely uncharacteristic of Eshika Klaus.
That jarring discrepancy only amplified his sense of unease.
The lingering impression she left could be summed up in a single word.
‘Insolent.’
He had intended to withhold his attention to correct her behavior.
He knew all too well that what tormented Eshika most was his indifference.
Yet she acted as if Kalian did not even exist.
The shadow that had always trailed behind him was gone, leaving behind a strangely hollow absence.
“…….”
Silhouetted against the setting sun, Eshika stepped down from the carriage.
Unlike her usual shabby attire after being scolded by his mother for extravagance, she was dressed in a pink gown that blended seamlessly with the twilight.
As the wind blew, the gentle flutter of her hem strangely caught his eye.
And contrasting with the warmth of her gown were those blue eyes.
“…….”
Having alighted from the carriage, she was gazing at the distant sky.
Had Eshika always looked like this?
Kalian furrowed his brow slightly.
Her silver hair, reaching halfway down her back, swayed in the breeze, while her rounded forehead and straight nose created an ethereal side profile.
The texture of her skin was as smooth and fine as a glazed porcelain cup.
He suddenly found himself wondering what was reflected in her eyes.
For the first time…… Kalian was curious about what Eshika was thinking.
And why she was looking up at the sky with such a wistful expression.
Could that be connected to her insolent behavior of late?
Did it have something to do with why she no longer followed behind him?
As a rule, no effect exists without a cause.
“……Madam!”
Just then, he saw a maid running toward her.
What was that maid’s name again……? There was no way he would remember.
The maid seemed to be saying something to Eshika.
“You see…….”
Hearing her words, the corners of Eshika’s lips curved faintly upward.
It was a subtle, uncanny impression, like forcing a smile onto the expressionless portrait of a young girl.
Eshika looked at the maid with a trace of amusement.
Her eyes had certainly been cold, yet now they seemed otherwise.
The beautiful twilight was held within her gaze.
Something so radiant and fleeting, as though it might vanish at any moment…….
“…….”
Kalian’s brow furrowed deeply.
Slowly raising his hand, he touched the area over his chest.
As if stubbornly turning away from his curiosity about her, his feet did not move an inch.
That was Kalian’s pride, an unyielding stance he had held for years.
Yet why was such an unsettling energy surging around his heart?
“Let’s go, Sella.”
Eshika smiled at the maid.
Yes, Eshika’s smile had always looked like that.
But…… when was the last time she had smiled that way?
He remembered.
It seemed to have been on their wedding day.
**
“Why has he been glaring at me so unpleasantly lately?”
At Eshika’s mutter, Sella jumped in surprise.
“……Madam?”
“Never mind, it’s nothing.”
Sella thought to herself as she followed behind Eshika.
To be sure, the Duchess had changed so much that she seemed like an entirely different person.
The sight of her chasing after Duke Klaus, who didn’t hold even a shred of interest in her, had been so pitiable that every servant in the manor would shake their heads behind her back.
Yet the current Eshika seemed not to care in the slightest about where the Duke went or what he did.
“Um…… would it be alright if you met with His Grace for a moment? Earlier, I heard that His Grace was looking for you, Madam. It wasn’t passed on to me directly, but among the servants…….”
At Sella’s words, Eshika replied with clear annoyance.
“Sella, do you want me to win His Grace’s favor?”
At that question, Sella nodded without hesitation.
It was only natural. Duke Klaus was the master of the ducal manor.
Right now, the Grand Duchess’s maids openly looked down on the Duchess, but if the Duchess became a harmonious couple with the Duke, no one would ever dare to do so again.
Eshika’s lips twisted.
“You see, I can forgive someone who betrays my expectations once.”
She recalled a subordinate from her past life as Yeongryeong, who had committed wrongdoings against her simply because he had no choice under orders from above.
“Twice…… well, if it’s someone I’m quite fond of, I might forgive them. Though I’ve never actually done so.”
“Madam…….”
“But from the third time on, it’s over.”
Sella blinked.
Eshika looked at Sella with cold eyes and spoke.
It was a look that sent a chill straight down the spine.
“It means they are beyond salvage. And the Duke has betrayed my expectations ten, twenty times over.”
Before regaining her memories as Yeongryeong, Eshika’s desires had not been grand.
Only that the man who had pledged an eternal marriage with her would grant her an appropriate amount of attention and affection.
“By now, you understand what I mean, don’t you?”
Staring blankly at Eshika, Sella nodded.
His Grace would never, ever be forgiven by the Duchess.
Nor would Yuri Anesis.
And Sella realized something.
She herself had already been caught trying to put poison in the Duchess’s food once before.
If she disappointed her a second time, the outcome could be horrific.
For the first time in a long while, she felt thoroughly disciplined from within.
**
“Do you regret getting married?”
When she had followed Kalian to the ring shop, Yuri had asked him that.
At her question, Kalian had flinched before looking back at Yuri with a lonely expression.
Yuri could feel Kalian’s heart.
Soon, Kalian had picked up the Allet Ring, reached out, and held Yuri’s hand.
Then, he gently slid the ring onto her ring finger.
His unspoken affection was conveyed without words.
“Very much.”
The voice from that day still lingered in Yuri’s mind.
The twilight sky, the small sprout of hope blooming in her chest…….
And the greed that had consumed her.
‘Eshika, as long as you leave, the position of Duchess will…… undoubtedly be mine.’
Yuri had not given up hope.
Not once had she ever considered Eshika a friend.
To Yuri, the daughter of the Anesis family—lower nobles in name only, poorer than most commoners—Eshika was merely someone who made her feel the unfairness of life to her very bones.
That foolish, naive girl was born into the wealthy Brigitte family, raised in luxury, and married into the prestigious Klaus family of the capital, Torres—a house that looked down even upon the Brigittes who ruled over Freehats.
If only Yuri had been born a Brigitte instead of an Anesis……. It was a thought she had entertained countless times.
She believed that if she were Eshika, she would have certainly satisfied Duke Klaus.
‘Foolish Eshika. You’re finished……. There’s no way you can turn this around…….’
Knock, knock, knock—
As she gritted her teeth, a knock came from outside.
Opening the door, she saw the maid Emilia.
“What is it?”
Yuri asked, crossing her arms with an annoyed expression.
She had taken time off under the pretext of being sleep-deprived from nursing the Grand Duchess for days.
In truth, her plan was to follow Kalian’s movements and run into him whenever she received word of his whereabouts.
“The Grand Duchess has summoned you.”
It was an order she could not refuse with an excuse of fatigue.
“……The Grand Duchess?”
“Yes. It seems she has questions…… regarding the stomach illness she suffered last time.”
At Emilia’s words, Yuri flinched inwardly.
The reason the Grand Duchess had groaned in pain for days was because of the medicine Yuri had stolen from the kitchen.
“Didn’t she already speak with the physician about that?”
“She did, but it seems there are still lingering suspicions. She had never fallen that severely ill before…….”
“Well, that may be true, but…….”
“Besides, the Duchess who went to Madam Marshall’s party…… far from being intimidated, she supposedly exerted immense authority there. Because of that, the Grand Duchess is in a very foul mood.”
Yuri’s hand twitched.
Hearing that Eshika had gone in place of the ailing Grand Duchess, Yuri had mocked her inwardly.
Bolan and Marshall—those spiteful ladies were like natural predators tormenting Eshika.
What would happen there was obvious without even looking.
Yet Eshika had exerted authority there?
Could she have possibly crushed the pride of those wicked noblewomen?
“……Is that so……?”
Yuri stepped out of the room with a nonchalant expression.
Emilia followed behind her.
Yuri’s mind was in turmoil.
If so, the reason Riona was summoning her now was…….
‘Rather than suspecting me…….’
“…….”
Yuri’s tightly clenched fists trembled.
‘She’ll demand that I take the fall. Claiming that I fed her stomach medication under Eshika’s orders…….’
To Riona, Yuri was nothing more than a pawn on a chessboard.
A worthless piece to be used for her goals and discarded when no longer needed.
Now that Yuri couldn’t even offer her jewels, Riona would view her that way even more.
‘It’s true that I administered the medicine…… but I will never let things go that way.’
The stairs came into view before Yuri.
Thinking that it was Eshika who had backed her into such a corner, her fury toward her surged even higher.
To escape this situation, Yuri squeezed her eyes shut.
‘Damn it……!’
