The Villainess Enjoys Her Married Life
Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Chapter 27. Memory of the Wedding Night
2023.12.27.
On their wedding night, Eshika had sat alone on the bed for a very long time.
Kalian never came to the room.
She had spent countless sleepless nights filled with worry and anticipation, thinking only of this single moment…
Eshika gently bit her lip.
In the end, she rose from the bed and opened the heavy door.
She felt she had to go look for Kalian.
‘That chilly gaze he cast toward me… it lingers in my mind. If he has some kind of misunderstanding about me, I need to clear it up.’
When she first received word that her marriage to him had been arranged, she had been overjoyed enough to leap into the air.
Yet to be met with such a suffocating situation from the very first step… A sigh escaped her lips.
As she opened the door and stepped out into the corridor, she saw the servant standing guard flinch.
“Where is he?”
At Eshika’s question, the servant answered with a flustered look.
“Ah. Duchess. Today… well… His Grace has a great deal of urgent affairs, so he is working in his study.”
“Is that so? In that case, rather than just waiting around, I should—”
“No, my lady. You must wait.”
“What? Why?”
“That is… the Duke…”
His eyes darting nervously, the servant continued.
“He dislikes women who come seeking him unannounced.”
“…Women?”
Eshika’s brow twitched.
“Women, you say? …Could there have been someone other than me…”
Lost in thought, Eshika shook her head.
Right, how could it be any surprise that someone as splendid as Kalian had a few lovers before marriage?
He must simply have despised it when those women showed up without warning.
Judging by the awkward look on the servant’s face, that had to be it.
“I see. However…”
Seeming to accept it for a moment, Eshika went on.
“The bedroom window rattles and creaks every time the wind blows. Would you mind going inside to check on it? I will wait right here for a moment.”
At Eshika’s request, the servant nodded.
“Ah… if it is that, of course, my lady.”
He promptly opened the door and stepped inside the bridal chamber.
Watching the servant go in, Eshika quickly slipped away.
“…Perfect.”
She had been the mischievous youngest daughter of the Brigitte family, after all.
If she lived her life doing only what she was told, she would hardly be Eshika Brigitte of Freehats.
Having given the servant the slip, she recalled the path to the study she had committed to memory.
She had no intention of barging in to startle him.
She only…
“…”
Recalling Kalian’s handsome face, Eshika’s cheeks flushed crimson.
She simply wanted to see his face as he gave his utmost to his duties, even on their wedding night.
Since she would only take a secret peek before leaving, it would hardly provoke his displeasure.
‘I will never be able to fall asleep like this.’
Eshika placed a hand over her chest.
Her heart was pounding with a soft, rapid flutter.
The prestigious Klaus Ducal House. The first night she was to spend here as his wife.
She had traveled all the way from Freehats to the distant capital of Torres, thinking only of Kalian.
So tonight, at the very least, just a glimpse of his face…
“Ah, ah…”
Light spilled out through the slightly ajar door of the study.
And then came a strange, sultry moan.
Eshika froze in her tracks.
Thump, thump. Her heart began to beat violently against her ribs.
‘I must have… misheard, right?’
Eshika took a slow step forward.
One step, two steps—with every advance, the sound grew clearer.
“Mmh…”
It was unmistakably the thin, delicate voice of a woman.
She wanted to turn around right then and run straight back to her room.
Yet a cursed curiosity pushed her forward from behind.
Reaching the threshold of the door, Eshika caught sight of the scene inside, and her shoulders stiffened.
A woman in a deeply plunging dress, and a man with his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, kissing her passionately.
As if discarded in the heat of their embrace, a pair of red shoes lay cast aside on the floor.
The courtesans of the empire wore shoes that exposed their little toes, and those shoes, too, had an opening at the side.
“…Your Grace.”
The woman reached out her hand as though to stroke the man’s cheek, and the man began to kiss her fiercely once more.
Eshika slowly turned her gaze away.
She had not seen Kalian’s face.
“Since it was your wedding night, I was certain you would not seek me out…”
“I would rather be with you than hold a woman like that.”
All she had seen were broad shoulders and a back that looked terrifyingly like Kalian’s.
Just the same hair color, the same hairstyle, and the very same tunic he had worn earlier…
‘No, that cannot be.’
Eshika’s footsteps quickened.
Her lips trembled uncontrollably.
Since she hadn’t looked him in the eye, it was as if it never happened.
‘Kalian… the man I have cherished for so long would never do this.’
As she walked swiftly away, the woman’s voice trailed after her.
“Hold me…”
Eshika came to a dead halt.
Her shadow stretched far ahead across the cold floor.
The tip of the shadow was dark and murky, fading into nothingness.
Kalian’s cool violet eyes, swirling like a blizzard.
And the rough, ragged breath he drew while entwining his body with a courtesan.
Everything was sending her a signal that she had to flee this place at once.
Was it too late? No, perhaps not yet? No, it was too late. Far too late.
“…”
Eshika’s tightly clenched fists trembled.
Hot tears streamed down her cheeks.
If she had been a wiser, stronger woman, she might have taken action.
Yet Eshika could only stand frozen, as if her feet were rooted to the ground.
‘If I say I am ending it here… my family’s reputation will be torn to shreds…’
Her father and oppas would pat her on the shoulder and tell her she did well to return, but she would never again be able to live as the proud, beloved daughter of the Brigitte family.
‘…This failure cannot be undone…’
Tears dripped down onto the floor, one after another.
The fluttering excitement in her heart had shattered like brittle glass.
She brought a hand to her chest.
‘And I… still, Kalian…’
It felt as though hundreds of iron nails had been driven through her heart.
Because on this day, she had come to realize that she might never be loved by the man she had pined over for so long.
‘…Even so, I still care for him. I still want to remain by his side.’
Only after a long while did Eshika begin to walk forward again.
Her vision was blurred with tears, blinding her to her direction, yet she kept walking nonetheless.
Thoughts of throwing herself from a high ledge and ending it all flooded her mind.
‘My heart aches so much…’
“…”
Eshika opened her eyes.
The ceiling of her room came into view.
The place she had returned to after languishing in that dingy chamber.
“…”
Rising from the bed, Eshika stretched lightly.
It seemed she had dreamed of that day after such a long time.
That wedding day she had never been able to forget for the rest of her life.
The corners of her lips curved into a bitter, cold twist.
**
Toward evening, while Eshika was brushing her hair, Sella approached her.
Having received more than enough compensation for her younger sister’s matter, she no longer needed to work, yet Sella was determined to stay by Eshika’s side for the rest of her life.
After all, she was looking forward to the changes Eshika would bring to the Klaus Ducal House.
“My lady…”
Sella was holding a single folded note in her hand.
She held it out toward Eshika.
“Earlier… His Highness the Crown Prince stopped me.”
At those words, the corner of Eshika’s brow twitched.
Eshika took the note from Sella’s hand.
“While I had my head lowered, he asked if I was your personal maid. When I replied that I was, he seemed to ponder something for a moment, and then…”
Sella recalled what had happened earlier.
The Crown Prince visited the Klaus residence roughly once every week or two.
It appeared to be for inspecting the military forces and supplies related to the war.
This time, too, he had seemed to be on his way out after concluding his audience with the Duke, when he suddenly stopped right before Sella and spoke to her.
A moment later, he had handed her a twice-folded note.
The instant her eyes met those brilliant golden eyes, Sella had felt her knees turn to water.
The warmonger of Turesian… For what reason would such a terrifying figure tell her to deliver a note to her lady?
“He told me to deliver this to you, my lady.”
“His Highness the Crown Prince did?”
“Yes. Are you acquainted with His Highness as well, my lady? I was so frightened… I nearly lost control of myself. How can a person’s presence be so menacing…?”
Sella shivered, trembling as if seized by a sudden chill.
Well, it was only natural for ordinary women to find him frightening.
Eshika unfolded the note.
Written upon it was a single sentence, penned with deliberate, heavy strokes.
[I intended to see your face before leaving. Next time, do not hide; come out and receive me in person.]
Seeing the contents of the note, the corners of Eshika’s brows hardened.
‘Why pick a fight all of a sudden?’
They had merely exchanged brief words a couple of times; it could hardly be called an acquaintance.
While etiquette dictated that when royalty visited, the entire family should come out to receive them… Riona had always told Eshika not to show herself, standing beside Kalian to receive the imperial guest instead.
Having seen her dressed in a maid’s uniform, he must have guessed as much about her circumstances.
Besides… there was no good reason for them to see each other’s faces.
“My lady… It isn’t bad news, is it?”
Thoroughly spooked by the Crown Prince, Sella asked with a worried expression.
“It is just meaningless prattle.”
“Pardon? From him?”
They said he was busy with war every single day… Was that not the case?
She thought he seemed to have quite a bit of free time these days.
Eshika channeled inner energy to her fingertips and burned the note.
And from the parchment rapidly turning black, different letters revealed themselves.
“…?”
The moment the paper collapsed into ashes, Eshika’s eyes wavered sharply.
[Hasetz]
“…”
“My lady?”
Seeing Eshika’s brows suddenly furrow, Sella let out a worried sound.
Eshika looked down at the ashes scattered at her feet with cold eyes.
This note had been crafted from the beginning with the expectation that Eshika would burn it using inner energy.
Furthermore, the word Hasetz, revealed only for a fleeting split second, could only be caught by someone with exceptional visual acuity.
‘What is he trying to tell me? Or is this merely a jest?’
Hasetz… It was definitely the name of a region she knew.
The moment she recalled the name of that place, a sharp throb struck her temples.
