TVIOWHFW 3

The body with its wrists bound tensed up and shrank back. John’s steady gaze slowly brushed over my eyes, nose, and mouth, lingering lazily before returning to my eyes again. I, stiff and tense, was unable to breathe properly while watching him. However, the words that came out of his mouth were completely different from what I had expected.

“Don’t wipe it.”

“Pardon…?”

“You don’t look well right now.”

John slowly bent his legs and sat down, meeting my gaze.

“Did you eat something that didn’t agree with you?”

Suddenly feeling the reality of the situation, my tension eased.

‘Ah, this isn’t Libertan.’

Because of the coercive training in Libertan, I had momentarily lost my rationality. That’s why habits ingrained in the body are so frightening. Only then did cold reason return to my mind.

‘Well, it makes sense. There’s no way this man would speak like he’s from Libertan.’

John wasn’t particularly understanding unlike the Duke and Duchess of Libertan. He was trying to seduce me to take revenge. Someone like him wouldn’t yell angrily in a threatening manner.

“I’m sorry for showing you a bad side from the first day.”

After hesitating for a moment, I slowly opened my mouth.

“When I’m tired, some foods just don’t agree with me. Today happened to be one of those days.”

“Does it happen often?”

“Not often, I think I was just a bit tense without realizing it.”

The long, slender fingers of the man brushed my hair gently and lightly grazed my earlobe. That subtle contact, confusing as if it had touched me, aroused a strange warmth.

‘I understand now why I was so naive.’

Looking at John’s attitude, it didn’t seem like he was treating me as a fake wife to toy with and discard. As he brought his face closer, my body tensed up immediately. John asked in a languid tone.

“So, there’s no problem with the food?”

“Yes. In fact, I was surprised because it was so delicious.”

At this moment, I needed to be extremely careful in everything I did.

‘It would be troublesome if the duke’s chef, who did nothing wrong, gets blamed.’

Honestly, I didn’t want to become the duchess who caused trouble for the estate staff right after getting married. Besides, the Blanchet family already had plenty of people who disliked me.

‘Is there a good way to let this go without things escalating?’

Smiling faintly, I cut a small piece of the Eleon fruit cake that was on a fork beside me and offered it to John.

“Please try it. It’s really delicious.”

John, looking at me with strangely indescribable eyes, slowly opened his mouth and ate the cake.

“…It’s okay.”

“See, isn’t it delicious?”

I wasn’t the one who made the cake, but I felt proud and couldn’t help but smile brightly. After finishing dinner, Estelle stood up to return to her room. Somehow, it seemed she was very happy just from having fed him the cake.

“Then I’ll be going now.”

As she was about to walk to the door, she suddenly turned back, fluttering her pink ribbon, rushing toward him. Hesitant, fidgeting with her fingers, Estelle’s cheeks flushed red as she said.

“I enjoyed tonight’s dinner. Let’s eat together again next time.”

John kept thinking about Estelle’s face, departing with a shy smile. For a moment, he looked at the cake she had left behind, then lightly dipped his finger into the remaining whipped cream and licked it. It was just the sweet taste of whipped cream—nothing more, nothing less.

‘This isn’t the taste I remember.’

Though the flavor shouldn’t have changed in such a short time, it felt different from when Estelle had given it to him.

‘It must be my imagination.’

However, there were a few things bothering him.

“Sorry, I…”

Her face, pale with fear, and her voice trembling with faint anxiety. Her hurriedly wiping the whipped cream off her dress with a white handkerchief showed a hint of desperation.

“Why did I say that?”

Honestly, something about the cake had felt strange from the moment she ate it. The Eleon fruit cake, enjoyed by all the family members of the Libertan Duke’s family. The spies had said that even the adopted Estelle enjoyed that cake and always appeared at family meals. That was why the cake was served as a dessert tonight.

“If she’s used to eating that cake, it would make her feel at ease.”

But the moment Estelle received the cake, her pupils subtly flickered. Her reaction was not like the expression she had when she saw her favorite dessert at home.

“Is that the reaction of a beloved daughter?”

Especially when she said she wasn’t feeling well, it was even more noticeable. Normally, a noble lady would have apologized to the person responsible for bringing the food.

“Yes. I was just surprised because it was so delicious.”

But Estelle didn’t try to apologize to the duke’s chef or anyone else. Instead, she tried to praise and smoothly pass over it.

“I don’t understand.”

Sitting in the office and reading the spy reports once again, John asked Erich.

“Erich. Are these reports really true?”

“They’re reports from spies sent to Libertan.”

[The Libertan Duke and Duchess are very fond of Estelle, so only trusted household staff have access to her.] [The reason the Libertan family suddenly spent a large sum of money is believed to be because of Estelle Libertan.] [It’s confirmed that Estelle’s yearly maintenance cost is higher than that of the Duchess of Libertan.] [Once a week, they always share Estelle’s favorite Eleon fruit cake for a warm family meal.]

“Yes. These are confirmed facts after multiple checks.”

Originally, the Libertan Duke was from a wealthy noble family. His land was fertile, and he always made a large profit from jewel mines. The sudden downfall of the Libertan family wasn’t solely due to John’s trap. At some point, the once-rich Libertan estate’s funds had completely run dry. The source was believed to be excessive donations to the temple. Considering the temple’s influence when falsely accusing the Blanchet family, it wasn’t hard to see why.

Erich adjusted his glasses and asked John.

“Is there any particular reason you’re suddenly suspicious?”

“Because my wife’s behavior seems odd.”

“Odd?”

“I suspect she might be allergic to Eleon fruit.”

Very few people are allergic to Eleon fruit. Moreover, her symptoms were different from typical allergies. Initially, she seemed to suddenly weaken, then later developed a fever and became ill. It’s a disease often mistaken for a mild fever.

John knew about the allergy because his nurse from childhood had suffered from it.

‘Could it be that she didn’t even know she was allergic?’

Perhaps she was trying her best as his wife and overexerted herself out of earnest concern. But even that wouldn’t be considered normal behavior. At that moment, Erich frowned and retorted.

“Then, are you saying she ate the cake despite knowing she was allergic?”

“Probably.”

“That’s a pretty stupid act.”

Erich sneered as if Estelle were right in front of him.

“Did she really think that showing such a reaction would make her look pitiful?”

John responded elegantly, leaning back in his chair.

“I can’t determine her purpose.”

“It seems you think the Blanchet family isn’t aware that she usually enjoys Eleon fruit. So even if she’s allergic, she eats it happily while holding her reaction…”

Hearing that, John’s lips momentarily stiffened. But it was a subtle change even he didn’t realize. Erich raised his voice further.

“Even without blood ties, Libertan is still Libertan. Do you really believe such tricks would change anything?”

“Stop.”

Erich’s pale gray eyes looked at John in surprise. But John’s expression remained as indifferent as ever.

“There’s nothing more dangerous than guessing without logic.”

“…”

“Anyway, there are discrepancies between the spy reports and reality. Whether she was scheming or not.”

“…That’s right.”

Erich reluctantly nodded at his justified point.

‘Yeah. That was an absurd accusation.’

Whenever Erich involved himself with Libertan, he often displayed irrational behavior. Perhaps he thought he was overreacting because he saw her as the hated daughter of Libertan.

‘As expected, the master.’

If anyone in the world hated Libertan more than Erich, it was John Blanchet. Yet, even in front of the despised Libertan’s daughter, John maintained a cold, emotionless stance without bias. It made me realize anew how remarkable John was. No matter what anyone said, he was the one who managed to rebuild the fallen estate of the false traitor’s family.

“I’ll contact the spies before the Libertan family is formally charged with treason and confirm the facts.”

Once Erich, his assistant, left, John’s office was engulfed in a somber silence. His desk, which tolerated no disorder when working, was meticulously tidy. But somehow, today, it seemed a little larger than usual.

‘Please try it. It’s really delicious.’

That innocent voice brought back warm memories with his lost family from the past. John’s grip tightened unconsciously. He looked at the portrait of Estelle on the report. In the portrait, she was smiling faintly as if gazing at John.

“Estelle Libertan.”

His long finger brushed the corner of the woman’s smiling mouth. If there were many uncertainties, it was enough to eliminate them one by one. If he shook her until she gave an honest reaction, it would be fine. There were many means to do so.

~·~·* . *^.^* . *·~·~

I returned to my room and lay comfortably on the bed.

‘Who would have thought I’d be so glad about this room.’

Honestly, the room I received wasn’t particularly nice. It wasn’t so much the furniture as the overall atmosphere—completely black furniture and curtains, which gave it a somewhat eerie feeling.

‘Still, I’m so glad I have my own space.’

In Libertan, I didn’t have a proper room of my own. As I was adopted into an aristocratic family, I had a personal room, but it wasn’t truly mine. It wasn’t even a room where I could sleep alone, as servants always stayed nearby, seemingly watching over me.

‘I couldn’t exactly run away anywhere.’

Sometimes, they even found petty reasons to pick fights, so I couldn’t sleep well. That’s why this quiet solitude felt like a rest. I stared blankly at the window, hugging my pillow.

‘Did I do well today?’

I didn’t earn any special points, but I didn’t seem to make any major mistakes either. I dropped my fork, which was a mistake, but I managed to recover it smoothly.

‘Let’s try to work a little harder from now on.’

Looking at my situation alone, I still felt hopeless, but compared to Libertan, I felt more at ease. Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door.

“Bettie?”

But it was John who entered my room. The man who rarely came unless it was something serious in the original story. It wasn’t his style as a mastermind to personally get involved.

‘What could be the reason for his visit?’

I sat up straight, wide-eyed, and looked at him. John shrugged casually.

“Is it uncomfortable that I suddenly came?”

His slightly unbuttoned, casual attire accentuated his bored atmosphere. I shook my head in response.

“I was a bit surprised, but it’s okay.”

But I probably looked more than a little surprised. It seemed better to show my genuine shock rather than pretend everything was fine.

“But, Lord Duke, why are you in my room?”

“Because it’s the first day your wife is here.”

John asked in a very worried tone.

“Was there any inconvenience?”

“No, everything was fine. Thank you for your consideration.”

“That’s natural as a husband.”

He spoke as kindly as someone who didn’t even realize they weren’t officially married yet. John, who had come closer, sat on the edge of the bed and smiled sweetly. The gap that softened every time the cold handsome man smiled made my heart start pounding. At that moment, John leaned back comfortably on the bed. I instinctively opened my mouth in surprise.

“Why are you suddenly in my bed…?”

“Why ‘suddenly’?”

John looked at me with an expression of bewilderment.

“Aren’t spouses supposed to share the same room?”

“Well, yes, but I heard this is my room.”

“Correct, it’s your room.”

John chuckled and looked at me.

“There’s no reason we can’t share a wife’s room, is there?”

His appearance brought tension instead of warmth into the bedroom. I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, but I felt my face flush with heat.

~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~

Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉

Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

~~~Next Chapter~~~

Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.

See you then!!