The Villainess Enjoys Her Married Life
Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Episode 34. Let’s Just Say I Was Betrayed
2024.01.03.
“Did you say your father… was Viscount Leogrant Anesis?”
Believing that question to be an answer to her proposal, Yuri smiled shyly and sat before Kalian.
The night scenery was pleasant, as was the gentle breeze.
“Yes. Leogrant Anesis is my father.”
He was a notorious womanizer in the region, with eight other children besides Yuri, who was born to his lawful wife.
“It is a humble family, but thanks to my deeply respected great-grandfather, there are many in Freehats who admire the Anesis name.”
“Respect and prestige are hard to build, and even harder to maintain.”
“Your Grace has also governed the estate admirably with great prestige, earning the trust of His Imperial Majesty as well. Ever since I was in Anesis, I have always wanted to meet Your Grace at least once.”
At Yuri’s praise, Kalian let out a small smirk.
“Having Eshika as a friend must have granted your wish, then.”
At the mention of Eshika’s name, Yuri’s brows twitched in slight discomfort, but Kalian failed to notice.
Pausing for a moment, Yuri lifted the bottle and poured wine into Kalian’s glass.
The soft trickle of wine filling the glass echoed in the quiet air.
“It seems… Eshika harbors a great deal of resentment toward me.”
A dark ripple stirred in Kalian’s eyes.
Eshika—even speaking her name felt awkward on his tongue.
Kalian had always addressed her merely as ‘you,’ and referred to her as ‘the Duchess’ in front of others.
That was the distance he had permitted between himself and Eshika.
Yet Eshika had always tried to cross that line, and only now, when she no longer showed any interest in doing so, had he begun to dwell on her.
“Thinking back on it, I suppose I was rather indifferent.”
He considered it his mistake to have blindly trusted his mother’s words without ever bothering to learn about Eshika himself.
Of course, his mother, Riona Klaus, surely must have had her own justifiable reasons.
Even so, he found himself thinking that, as her husband, he ought to have cared for her a little more.
Looking back, after all, it had not entirely been Eshika’s fault.
“……”
Seeing Eshika push him away so openly now made his chest feel stifled.
No, beyond merely feeling stifled, it throbbed with a dull ache.
Yet even as he felt resentment toward her, his own past actions left him with no right to confront her.
At Kalian’s words, Yuri lowered her cold gaze and spoke with measured care.
“It is delicate for me to say this as her friend, but… Eshika was always immature.”
Those words brought Kalian a strange sense of relief.
The comfort of knowing he had not been entirely in the wrong, vouched for by a friend she had brought herself… It was not sweet, but it was pleasing to hear.
Kalian brought the glass Yuri had offered to his lips.
The sharp scent of alcohol gently tickled the tip of his nose.
“She was always driven by emotion rather than reason. When she was around eight, Eshika came into contact with a first-class imperial fugitive and helped him, bringing a terrible storm upon the family.”
On that day, the Brigitte household had been thrown into sheer turmoil.
Had Eshika Brigitte not been a mere child at the time, it might have been treated as treason against the empire, punishable as a grave crime.
Of course, not a single soul in the Brigitte family knew.
That the one who had informed on the incident was none other than Eshika’s friend, Yuri.
“She hid a wanted fugitive?”
“Yes. A first-class fugitive is someone of immense consequence… the sort who would dare plot treason against the imperial family. The Brigitte family nearly vanished from history.”
Yuri shrugged her shoulders.
He had seemed like a boy with shaggy hair, around the same age as Eshika and herself.
She could not recall his face, but she remembered his gaze felt strangely unsettling.
“My heart truly sank back then. No matter how immature she was, to think she would do such a thing.”
The message she conveyed was unmistakable:
An Eshika Brigitte who acted purely on emotion could bring immense harm upon Klaus as well.
Kalian needed to realize this.
“So, the friction between Eshika and Your Grace is not your fault. I may be her friend, but…”
Yuri lowered her gaze with a sorrowful expression and continued.
“……there have been countless times when I simply couldn’t understand Eshika’s way of thinking and actions. Even now, it’s no different.”
“……”
“Your Grace is a good man, and the position of Duchess is inherently heavy and demanding. These were duties Eshika should have naturally endured upon entering the Duchy of Klaus, yet she failed to adapt.”
Yuri trickled more wine into the empty glass.
Kalian listened to Yuri’s words as he stared up into the pitch-black night sky.
Her words were as intoxicatingly sweet as wine.
“So it is not Your Grace’s fault. It is entirely because Eshika fell short.”
Though a sharp pang like an awl piercing his chest still struck whenever he recalled Eshika’s name, the flattery in Yuri’s voice was lulling him into a pleasant intoxication.
She was telling him precisely what he wished to hear.
“If that is the opinion of someone who has watched by her side all this time……”
Kalian picked up the glass once more.
“……then you must be right.”
Indeed, this was not solely his fault.
The image of Eshika’s face that had hovered in his mind, pricking at his guilt, suddenly seemed to be sneering arrogantly.
Heat surged within him, negative emotions like fury and indignation tangling together into a knot.
Yet… had this wine always been so potent?
“……”
Yuri watched Kalian’s hand grasping the glass.
Next, she looked at his sleek jawline, his Adam’s apple bobbing as the wine went down his throat, and the firm chest visible through his slightly unbuttoned shirt.
Watching the feverish heat rising in Kalian’s gaze, her red eyes flickered.
She had waited a long time for this day.
“Your Grace……”
Her red lips parted slightly.
**
The following day, the gardens of the ducal manor.
Eshika was receiving her older brother, Schwert Brigitte, who had come to visit her since morning.
Having been invited inside the ducal estate for the very first time since his younger sister Eshika married into Klaus, Schwert wore a dazed expression.
As Sella brought out tea, Schwert looked around the flower garden and spoke.
“The gardens of a grand manor are even more beautiful than I imagined.”
The Brigitte Barony located in the Freehats region maintained a modest manor relative to its immense wealth.
Partly because their wealth had grown exponentially in the current generation, but also because no one in the family harbored any interest in grand or extravagant things.
The only person who had ever complained about the cramped quarters of the estate was Eshika, and just as she had wished, she was now living in such a magnificent residence.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t invite you all this time. I was rather occupied due to circumstances.”
“I thought I would only be able to catch a brief glimpse of your face outside the manor, so I am glad you could make time for me like this.”
At Schwert’s words, Eshika smiled faintly.
The reason she had been unable to meet Schwert all this time was the Grand Duchess.
Claiming that no matter if they were blood siblings, it was improper for a married lady to converse with a man from another family, she had blocked Eshika from meeting her maternal relatives.
It was, of course, a preposterous claim.
She had merely intended to prevent any word of Eshika’s mistreatment from leaking out through meetings with her family.
After all, the Grand Duchess herself danced unhesitatingly with strange men at social gatherings.
“I was always wondering how you were doing. Even so, I deliberately refrained from visiting, worried it might make things uncomfortable for you.”
His silver hair fluttered gently in the cool breeze.
“I have always known how you felt, brother.”
Eshika nodded with a smile.
“I’m truly doing well these days. Please don’t worry.”
Gazing at the clear light in her sparkling blue eyes, Schwert nodded as well.
Then, with an utterly serious expression, he brought up the subject.
“By the way, regarding the letter you sent last time……”
Seeing Schwert’s expression darken, Eshika deduced why he had come.
With a slight chuckle, she replied.
“Yuri sent another letter after that, didn’t she?”
Startled, Schwert continued.
“Yes. You told us to report anyone demanding jewels in your name, but Yuri is your friend, so we couldn’t just report her. Besides, the letter Yuri sent us said you still needed the jewels, but must have sent that letter out of concern for the Brigitte family’s circumstances, asking us to keep sending jewels in the future… With that written, I had no choice but to come find you and confirm it myself.”
“It’s an outright lie.”
Eshika cut him off without hesitation.
Schwert looked at Eshika with surprised eyes.
In his memory, Eshika was bright and lively, yet somewhat frail of heart.
Yuri Anesis, the wet nurse’s daughter, was Eshika’s childhood friend—and Eshika had adored Yuri so much that if asked to choose between her brothers and Yuri, she would have chosen Yuri.
They had been so close that even Schwert had felt jealous of Yuri at times.
Yet at this very moment, not a shred of warmth toward Yuri could be seen in Eshika’s blue eyes.
“Did you have a fight with Yuri?”
“Rather than a fight…… let’s just say I was betrayed.”
Schwert’s eyes turned sharp and fierce.
