I Became the Villain’s Wife

“I have no intention to hide anything from you, Miss.
What I said earlier is a fact, that I could say that there was no slightest lie.
But of course, Miss has all the reason to make the judgement.”

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Johannes looked at her dumbfounded face and was incapable of saying anything as of the moment.
She then bowed her head to show courtesy.

Yet when she was about to turn and walk away, Marquis Eleanor immediately grabbed her hand.

“Wa- Wait a minute…! Johannes, when will the Duke return to the Mansion?”

Johannes then opened her mouth to answer her question, with her subtle curiosity arousing in her mind, but she didn’t dare ask why she questioned that.

***

Tashian got off the wagon gentlemanly.

The surface of the wagon was slightly wet due to afternoon drizzles.
With a soft sound, his shoes stepped on the ground despite knowing that there was a puddle where he just put his shoes into.
However, he didn’t hesitate and took a step forward.

 

“Your Excellency, have you arrived?”

A man who was lower in rank, approached Tashian from afar and put an umbrella over Tashian’s head.
Tashian then motioned to put away the umbrella, since it was barely raining.

“Didn’t I tell you to stop asking such annoying things?”

Tashian’s annoyed voice rang in the man’s ears and trembled in fear while he was busy folding the umbrella securely and sending it to someone else behind his back.

“About the Miss.”

The Duke brought up a habit-like question first and foremost.

Ever since Eleanor began staying in his Mansion, it has been a mannerism of the Duke to ask how she has been for the day, especially her daily routine.

As if he knew in advance what he would be concerned about, Subok delivered a detailed report about Eleanor.

From the time she woke up in the morning, he had written a very specific report, including how and where she woke up, where and how she had her breakfast, if what she ate were delicious enough and healthy for her body, and what she did afterwards.

The Duke nodded at once, satisfied at Subok’s specific response, which seemed much more thorough if compared to State Affairs.

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“Where is she now?”

The Duke asked indifferently as he headed upstairs to his office, addressed on the second floor.
And Subok answered right after his question.

“She had been eyeing the back garden earlier, so I suppose she’s still there.”

Whatever she did must be informed to Tashian, for he checked her every move.
It was implied as, if Subok won’t do this detailed report, then Eleanor would vanish and become a piece of dust from this eye-catching Duke.

Subok did not understand his compulsion.

First of all, Tashian pondered about her walking through the back garden after hearing her whereabouts.

He deciphered that it would be boring to have the same scenery with just one back garden.
However, whenever he asked where she was, the only answer would be that she was in the back garden.

‘Then should I make another back garden..?’

He gently opened the door to his well-decorated office, while thinking of such a petty idea.
And what greeted him was platinum blonde hair.

She was reaching towards a book placed on the high shelf.

Eun-woo’s eyes widened instantly in embarrassment like a jackal who met an elephant in the meadow, when she noticed the Duke looking at her with his opened eyes along with Subok behind him.

“Du, Duke!”

Tashian was antagonized for a very short time that the possibility of having her figure in front of him was his illusion, and when he saw her, who hesitated to get closer to him, he realized that she was real and not just a mere illusion.

He opened his mouth pretending to be indifferent.

“… What do you need?”

His office is an area where his permission is strictly needed before having to step inside.
It was surely prohibited to walk in without asking for his permit.
And no matter how he trusted Johannes, she was still forbidden to enter unless accompanied by him or had given the permit to do so.

Eun-woo then realized the solemnity of the situation she put herself in, when she saw the look on Subok’s face.

She replied quickly.

“I, I am very sorry Duke.
I, I didn’t mean to step in without your permission… I, I was just wa, waiting for you.
And I heard from Johannes that you’d be coming around this time…”

Eun-woo nervously gathered her hands and opened her lips with her wiggling hands.

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“When I arrived, and knocked on the door, you weren’t there, hence I thought that you’d be back after I waited briefly..
just suddenly, I saw a book that looked interesting..”

She quickly realized that what she said made no sense and painted her cheeks red.

“I, I will never again walk in without your permission.
I really didn’t mean to go in…”

Tashian was silent at all.
Eun-woo slightly raised her head and peeped at his expression, reckoning if he was angry.
But he had an expressionless face as usual.

Suddenly, he made a stride.
Eun-woo was surprised and stepped back.
But his steps were toward the shelf where she was reaching out, and not to her.

“Was it this?”

He asked, touching a half-picked book, revealing its title slightly.
Compared to her, who had to lift her heels to the fullest and even whine to reach the book, his hands reached the shelf so easily.

When Eun-woo nodded slightly, the book was pulled out by him.
He read the title of the book in a solemn voice with a slight frown plastered on his forehead.

“… A small music textbook for little ladies.”

Silence fell.
Eun-woo couldn’t overcome her shyness and muttered upon her breath.

“… I was thinking about practicing piano.”

Tashian decided that he would later ask Johannes why this book with this kind of title was stuck on the top of his shelf, and then handed the book to her hands.

“You waited for me, didn’t you? What’s going on?”

Upon receiving the book, she flinched at his slightly reminded voice and looked at him in the eyes.

Tashian found her face looking up at him with an unknown sense of guilt and shame.
He raised one eyebrow.

“Did something happen?”

He immediately noticed that she was different from her usual self and asked quickly.
Eun-woo looked at Subok who was standing behind him and crossed her feet.

She came here with a purpose of apologizing for the fact that Diego Miller, her Older Brother, had left all of his works to the Duke and so far had been hanging out with the Crown Prince.

But how can she say that in front of Subok?

Tashian, who saw Eun-woo’s eyes headed toward Subok, who was standing behind him, gave him a sharp look.
The quick-witted Subok twitched and stepped back in haste.

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He also did not forget to close the door of his office, where only two people were left.

“What’s going on now? What problem do you have that makes you look like you’re going to die?”

Tashian, who showed Subok away, took a step toward her and asked seriously.

“Du, Duke… that…”

Tashian frowned his forehead, as if urging her to say her business to him.

Eun-woo plucked up courage from her expression.
She opened her eyes wide and declared before him.

“Tashian! From now on, I’ll take care of my family affairs!”

Tashian stared at her, who had her determined eyes and was clenching her fists.

“What did you just say?”

“I heard it from Johannes.
I heard that you’ve been taking care of my Older Brother’s work that should have been done by him and I also should have known it! No matter how shameless my brother is, I never imagined that he would have entrusted it to you, the Duke.”

Eun-woo closed her eyes in embarrassment and shouted with the feeling of vomiting blood, from what she was doing right now.

“But don’t worry now.
As the eldest daughter of the Marquis, I will take responsibility and take care of the work that my Brother had neglected over the last years!“

Tashian was left speechless to witness her acting like that.

Now he didn’t know whether to laugh or to suppress it.

Of course, it was true that he took over Diego’s work, although he knew that he also had priorities regarding his own, but he still took it, and it has been about five years from now.

However, that had a reason for why he did that, and that would need a lot of explanation.

It was deeply related to Marquis Miller, who pretended to travel around the continent according to the mission given by Crown Prince Ikshid and carried out the secret orders given to him.

Due to Diego’s nature of work, which means he has to go to different countries every day, it was difficult for Tashian, who was more attached to either the battlefield or the duke’s affairs, to do that job.

But Tashian couldn’t tell her that now.

“….
Were you waiting for me to say that?“

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Tashian barely said one word after much consideration.

He had to use extreme strength to keep himself composed, gritting his molars to keep his lips from twitching while speaking.

“Yes.
Really… because of my brother.
I’m very ashamed.
My brother, including me, has always been a bother to you Tashian.”

Tashian reached out and paused to soothe her, who was now almost about to cry.
His hand, which was about to touch her cheek, paused in the air and went to his back.

“I didn’t know you thought of me this much.”

Eun-woo wondered when she felt that his voice had a pleasant sign that could not be hidden.

Is this a conversation to have him smile like that?

 

She avoided his eyes with a coy look and spoke as if to notify him.

“Nevertheless, that was what happened.
I decided to get Johannes to train me in regards to carrying out the work I will do.
Class starts this week.”

‘Hang in there, Tashian! I will certainly save you from those piles of documents…!’

Eun-woo added with her lips opening to hide her gloomy voice.

“I’ve been very inconsiderate to you in the past.
Please wait a moment until I can play the main role for my brother’s stead.”

Tashian answered quietly with one hand covering his face to prevent the corners of his mouth from blurring out a laugh.

“Oh… Well.
That’s right.
I’m thankful enough.“

“No.
It’s a serious matter that needs to be done.”

Tashian desperately prevented his laughter from bursting out and coughed in vain instead.

(TN: About Subok, I am still unsure if that’s his name.
If I was wrong, I will quickly change it.
But for now, I’ll stay with Subok.)