Translator: Nox

The Villainess Enjoys Her Married Life

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Episode 19. An Old Dream

2023.12.19.

Having wrapped up his meeting at the hideout in the underworld, Lesvan turned to head back to the imperial palace when a strange, subtle sensation made him glance back.

A maid with silver hair tied high was entering a weapons shop.

A rounded forehead, a straight, delicate nose, slightly flushed cheeks, and a face brimming with life.

Lesvan’s fingertips twitched of their own accord.

Even without standing near her, that scent from before returned vividly to his mind.

The graceful curve of that pale neck, and those clear, vivid blue eyes.

It was her.

“…….”

Bearing fatal poison and thorns.

Yet utterly impossible to look away from.

Rooted in a tie from the past, she was the master of his oldest dream.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Standing behind him, his subordinate Phanix looked at the halted Lesvan with a puzzled expression.

“Is there something you need to attend to?”

“Go on ahead. It seems…… I have someone I must meet.”

At Lesvan’s command, Phanix stepped back.

Lesvan’s gaze remained fixed on the weapons shop the maid had entered.

A faint smirk curved the corners of his lips.

**

“A lover?”

Lesvan’s brow furrowed before he could stop himself.

The maid continued speaking, a cool glint in her blue eyes.

“Yes. I commissioned it as a gift for him.”

“…….”

“Did you come to buy a sword as well, Sir Knight?”

Watching the maid smile awkwardly, Lesvan’s brow twitched again.

He hadn’t expected a warm welcome, but a reaction like this only made him want to tease her.

An urge to make that lovely space between her brows pinch just a little tighter.

Just like any ordinary boy.

“No, I merely stopped because I saw you.”

At Lesvan’s words, Eshika’s eyes wavered faintly.

A long silence settled between the two of them.

As a cool breeze swept past, Lesvan’s black hair fluttered.

Eshika could not fathom what thoughts lay hidden within those golden eyes.

After a moment, Lesvan spoke again, his brow furrowed in a thoughtful scowl.

“If it would not be an imposition…… I would like to share a cup of tea for a moment.”

“……Pardon?”

Eshika asked back, a rather bewildered look surfacing in her eyes.

Eshika’s reflection was cast across the surface of Lesvan’s deep gaze.

The hint of amusement in his smile stoked her unease.

“Gifting a sword to one’s lover. It sounds like quite an amusing tale.”

**

“I already noticed you are no maid.”

Half against her own will, Eshika had followed Lesvan into the tea shop.

“I find myself wondering why you told such an adorable lie. Duchess…… of Klaus.”

He leaned in slightly closer as he asked.

It was the price of a blunder made in flustered haste.

In the Murim, it was commonplace for a master to gift a sword to a disciple, for family to gift one to kin, or for martial lovers to exchange them.

In this world, however, presenting a sword as a gift signified ‘hostility’ or ‘the severing of ties.’

Yet gifting a sword to a lover…… What an absurd tale that was.

And…… the Crown Prince knew Eshika’s true identity.

Though she had no idea how on earth he had figured it out.

“……I have my personal reasons, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Having conducted countless infiltrations and concealments in her past life, acting was not in the least bit difficult, but……

There was no reason to keep up an act before someone who already knew who she was.

And trying to hide that she knew his identity would be just as pointless.

At Eshika’s reply, the corners of Lesvan’s lips curved upward.

“Does that include the maid’s uniform you are wearing?”

His golden eyes dropped toward the frills resting near Eshika’s collarbone.

It was an overt, potentially insolent gaze, yet no one would ever suspect the noble Crown Prince of harboring untoward thoughts.

Eshika, too, made no effort to conceal what was already exposed.

“It does.”

“It seems the domestic affairs of Klaus are far more complicated than they appear. For the Duchess to don a maid’s attire.”

He slowly raised his teacup and took a sip.

Watching his Adam’s apple bob, Eshika thought to herself:

Today is simply not my day.

There are days when luck refuses to follow.

“Then.”

Lesvan parted his lips.

“Was letting your hair down in the dead of night and wading into the lake also born of those circumstances?”

At those words, Eshika’s brow twitched.

As expected, Lesvan remembered what had happened that night.

And the situation had already progressed beyond the point where lies could gloss it over.

“……It seems Your Highness takes quite an interest in the Duchy of Klaus.”

Masters of the martial arts almost invariably possessed keen intuition.

To begin with, those lacking sharp instincts could never attain such profound martial heights.

And the man before her, Lesvan Deon Lusane, could be called the greatest grandmaster in the empire.

At Eshika’s composed remark, a languid light shone in Lesvan’s eyes.

“Everything in the empire belongs to the Emperor. The Duchy of Klaus is no exception. And your husband, Kalian Klaus……”

Leisurely savoring the twitch of Eshika’s brow at the name ‘Kalian,’ Lesvan continued in a low voice.

“Is a loyal Duke of the empire. Thus, it is only natural to take an interest.”

No, he is merely an obstacle to the throne. In the future, Lesvan would lead the charge in relocating the capital, completely expelling Klaus from major politics.

“Surely you are not planning to demand information regarding Klaus from me?”

At Eshika’s calm question, a faint smile touched Lesvan’s face.

After a brief pause, Lesvan opened his mouth.

“My information network is hardly so flimsy that I must steal secrets through a woman. I merely……”

Reflected in Lesvan’s golden eyes was Eshika, sitting before him without shrinking back in the least, even in the presence of the Crown Prince.

Recalling her awkward acting when they had bumped into each other before, it was almost enough to draw a laugh.

She must have tried her best in her own way to pretend to be a maid.

“Was simply curious about you.”

At Lesvan’s words, Eshika’s eyes flickered momentarily.

Yet without showing much agitation, she merely shrugged.

“You must not be very busy with state affairs lately, to harbor curiosity toward the wife of a mere subject.”

A defensive posture telling him not to bother digging. It sounded almost impudent.

“I was born contrary. When someone acts as though there is nothing to be gained from them, I find myself wanting to extract something all the more. Regardless of who it may be.”

Eshika figured that while Lesvan would never discover her true identity from her past life, he had likely already seen right through her character.

“Especially with eyes like those. How could I not be intrigued?”

Thus, attempting further deception would be futile, and exchanging more words would only put her at a disadvantage.

“If you wish, I can introduce you to a lady suitable for conversation. Speaking with someone without complicated circumstances would surely be far more delightful.”

Lesvan’s lips moved once more.

“I wonder. More delightful, you say?”

His bored gaze, which had been wandering out the window, turned back to Eshika.

Lesvan’s deep voice flowed into her ear.

“A thoughtful offer, but I must decline. You are more than enough.”

For a fleeting second, a ferocious light stirred within his golden eyes.

A sudden shiver ran sharp and prickling down Eshika’s spine.

What if Lesvan was not merely a fleeting tie that would pass her by……?

In any case, it would be best to bring this meeting to an end as quickly as possible.

“……It has grown late, so I believe I must take my leave.”

“Very well. It cannot be helped.”

After spending time conversing with an unpredictable master whose thoughts were entirely unfathomable, she felt dizzy.

Fortunately, Lesvan yielded to her words without resistance.

Clink— The bell attached to the door chimed once as the two stepped outside one after the other.

Yet even monkeys occasionally fall from trees, and Eshika was not immune to mistakes.

Stepping down the stairs from the tea shop, her foot slipped, but Lesvan reached out and caught her arm, steadying her.

“…….”

Lesvan’s face framed against the sunset, his golden eyes shimmering faintly—that image etched itself deeply into Eshika’s mind.

**

In the end, it was not until dusk fell that Eshika managed to arrive at the ducal residence.

Because there were countless maids in the Klaus Duchy, and many were frequently dismissed and replaced at the Grand Duchess’s whim, Eshika was able to reach her newly assigned room without drawing suspicion.

What an exhausting day.

Just as she let out a sigh of relief and moved to close the door, Eshika’s hand froze.

Slowly, she turned around.

“…….”

Leaning against the wall beside the door stood Kalian.

As though he had been waiting for her all along.

Watching Eshika’s hardened expression, Kalian strode forward and seized her wrist.

Eshika knit her brows at the crushing force of his grip, but Kalian’s violet eyes were already seething with fury.

“Where did you go that you only return at this hour of the night?”

A harsh voice grated from between his lips.

“……Let go.”

Eshika frowned, but Kalian paid no heed and raised his voice instead.

“Tell me first where you have been! Disguising yourself as a maid—just who were you out meeting?!”

His furious roar was loud enough to make her ears ring.

“What do you mean, who was I meeting?”

“Now I finally see why your attitude has changed so much lately. Sneaking out like this and creeping back late into the night.”

Rage swirled violently within Kalian’s cold eyes.

“Are you seeing another man?”

That fury was undoubtedly born of suspicion.

“……You suspect me of an affair.”

Kalian did not deny it.

Looking at Kalian, Eshika could almost let out a hollow laugh.

Why was a man who hadn’t cared whether she lived or died suddenly acting like this?

“Whenever you went out, even once.”

“…….”

“Or whenever you came home late, did you ever—even once—to me……”

Eshika spoke to him with freezing eyes.

“Tell me where you had gone, or whom you had met?”

At Eshika’s words, Kalian’s violet eyes wavered violently.

Kalian looked genuinely struck, having never anticipated such a retort from her.

And seeing that expression only sickened Eshika all the more.

Though it was an event from before she had regained her memories as Yeongryeong,

when Kalian had once failed to return for three whole days, Eshika had waited for him without even being able to eat.

When she had pressed him upon his return, Kalian had flown into a rage instead, demanding whether he needed her permission even to attend a friend’s wedding—and flustered, she had ended up begging for his forgiveness just to appease his temper.

Yet he dared to fly into a rage over her being a mere few hours late?

“Furthermore, Duke…… do you have any right to suspect me of infidelity?”

Yuri Anesis—Kalian had gifted her the Allet Ring.

And he had warned Eshika to stay out of it.

After a brief silence, a thick, choked voice leaked from Kalian’s lips.

“……You and I…… are different.”