Chapter 5

Thanks to the red marks, when I went to see my dad the only skin that could be seen was my hand and neck.

I usually don’t wear dresses that reach my neck, but I had to take them out and wear them this time.

“Father!”

I might get in trouble but I had to go in as lively as possible.

When I checked the inside of the office, not only my father was there, but so was my brother.

“Brother?”

“Yulia.”

Me and my brother both had brilliant silver hair and pretty purple eyes that were inherited from our father.

All three of us had the same hair and eye color.

Since I often visit the office, there was a soft sofa and table in the room.

“I heard you were sick, are you okay now?”

“That’s why I told you not to go. You’d better refrain from drinking from now on.”

I was very happy to receive all the worries of my father and brother, but I would not reveal the truth even if I loved their concerns.

The fact that I slept with the villain was a secret I had to keep for the rest of my life.

Yulia, I’m just coming here to ask, so don’t be afraid.”

I listened to my dad while drinking the tea that was laid out. It was the moment I sipped my tea…

“The Duke of Siegbert sent you a letter of courtship.”

I choked on my tea.

The tea in my mouth flowed out of my mouth, and the teacup in my hand fell to the floor and shattered to pieces.

It seemed to represent my feelings.

I couldn’t understand what the hell he was trying to do. He said he would keep it a secret for a while!

“If you don’t want to, I’m thinking of using it as firewood’

“Dad, I’ve been telling you! I’m going to live with you  and brother forever!”

“Isn’t it different from other aristocratic daughters?”

“Of course! I’m going to live with you and brother for the rest of my life!”

“Other noble daughters said they would live with their father for the rest of their lives, but eventually, they left with their fiancées in the end.”

“You’re worried for nothing. Burn the ominous courtship letter.”

I wish I could burn it and get rid of it, because it made me psychologically uneasy if the letter existed.

I hope I don’t get tangled up with the villain from now on, but why do I have a bad feeling?

“Yulia by the way, if it’s the Duke of Siegbert, I’ll trust you and leave it to you.”

“No, I don’t want to. No way.”

“……Yes. If you’re so adamant, I’ll use it as firewood.”

Why would you say such a terrible thing?

I suspect it’s someone else, because why would my father try to tie me up with him.

But It’s not anyone else, it’s my dad!

“Yulia, Duke of Siegbert is not that scary.”

“Dad knows that there is someone I’m waiting for. Until that person shows up, I said I’d live with my dad and brother for the rest of my life.”

I really don’t remember him, but I was glad that he existed.

Because he was such a good excuse.

My father always tries to not let me leave the Imperial City because he wants to protect my innocence and pure heart.

“If that person shows up, will you go and live with him for the rest of your life?

“I will. Don’t worry though, I’ll never get married unless my dad or brother approves!”

My dad and brother laughed at me as if I were cute. Now that I am an adult, I did not hate them looking at me like that.

I thought it would be better if they continued to treat me like this in the future.

“Father, when you die, I’ll take care of Julia so you don’t have to worry too much.”

“What are you talking about? I still have a lot of days to live.”

(T/N: He means that he’ll live for more years, not literal days.)

“Don’t worry, I’ll have to work for a while before I take over.”

After spending a quiet dinner with my father and brother, my brother escorted me back to my room.

“Hey brother, did you come into my room yesterday?”

“No? Why? Did someone break in? Shall I tighten the security?”

“No, you don’t have to overreact like that. I think it’s a good idea to let our expenses increase a little more so there’s no need.”

I got goosebumps. If it wasn’t my brother, then who the hell was in my room? I couldn’t figure out how they would’ve entered and left without being noticed.

Feeling frustrated, I went to the terrace thinking that it would be better to enjoy the cool breeze. Then, I stopped because I felt like someone had intruded into the terrace.

I saw who the owner of the hand was.

“I guess I was worried for nothing.”

The villain came over to me in a natural manner.

It occurred to me that maybe the man who broke into my room last night was the villain.

Because his movements were so natural, as if it wasn’t his first time coming here.

How did he even find my room and come in without me noticing?

Even Cecil never came into my bedroom. Suddenly, more goosebumps than before came up.

“In your letter, you said you were sick and couldn’t meet up but your complexion looks nice.”

“No! I mean it’s, uh, it’s, uh, it’s, uh…”

Perhaps because I was confused, I started talking gibberish.

“……I’m relieved you’re all better. I was worried that you’d continue being sick.”

He then hugged me. His touch was cautious, as if he were stroking a very precious artifact.

Since it was a body that used swords, I could feel his touch through my clothes.

I shouldn’t have had such a thought, but I thought the villain was better than I thought.

“Yulia. I thought I was going crazy because I was away from you for a while, but I guess you were doing well.”

“……”

“The night breeze is cold. I think we’d better go inside.”

“No, it’s evening now so it’s alright.”

The villain forced me into the room.

I came out to the terrace to get some cool breeze, but I was forcibly kicked out of the place.

I suddenly remembered what I had to say to him.

“Hey, what are you thinking?”

“You were supposed to call me Chester.”

“Well, Chester, what the hell made you send me a letter of courtship?”

“My princess did not seem to have any intention of taking responsibility for me, so I warned her a little.”

His hands touched my cheek.

It felt similar to the touch of yesterday. I grabbed his hand and moved it over my face like yesterday.

“Yulia?”

“You’re the person from yesterday, right?”

At my question, he smiled languidly as if he was having fun. He then pushed his face closer to mine.

“Hm….. I don’t know?”

That’s right, the intruder who came yesterday was the villain.

I didn’t know that, and thought it was my brother. I was an idiot who couldn’t even tell the difference between my older brother and the villain.

“I originally didn’t have a hobby of touching sick people.”

He said something meaningful. At the same time, his lips overlapped mine.

It was quite different from yesterday.

If yesterday’s kiss was a rough, possessive kiss that didn’t give you a chance to breathe till you suffocated, now it’s a soft and gentle kiss.

It felt so different that I suspected that people had changed. And it wasn’t that I didn’t hate it.

It felt so different that I doubted if it was the same person. On the contrary, I didn’t exactly dislike it.

“I want to touch you when you act so pretty.”

He smiled alluringly like a languid wolf. I felt like I was going to be possessed.

It was only now that I realized what had happened. My face seemed to be burning up.

I thought I would be in danger if I was close to him.

I had no choice but to be wary of him, so I pushed him away from me.

“There’s a saying that a cold will get better if you move it.”

(T/N: I don’t really understand this part and had a hard time translating it correctly. Here’s the Korean version: “감기는 옮기면 낫는다는 말이 있죠.” If anyone knows a better translation, please tell me.)

“…If you’re going to make a weird move, don’t.”

“You don’t have to worry. Still, I don’t have a bad smell that bothers sick people so you don’t have to be so wary.”

I didn’t believe his words because they weren’t reliable.

“I’m not going to eat you right now.”

“Then….?”

“I’m here because I’m really worried about you. I’ll send you a present tomorrow.”

He smoothed my hair and kissed it. I felt burdened by the way he stared at me.

It wasn’t my favorite face, but it was heartless to ignore such a handsome face.

If it hadn’t been for that face, I wouldn’t have had such a  major accident or something I couldn’t ignore like this.

“Send a letter again, Yulia.”

He kissed me on the forehead. Then, as if he had no regrets, he went to the terrace and jumped off.

This is the second floor. The way he jumped without hesitation seemed like an illusion.

It was hard to believe, to the extent that I thought I might have seen something in vain.

Of course, in the original book, the villain was said to have exceeded the limits of human beings, but I didn’t know it would be this much.

In fact, there was some certainty.  If you’ve lived on the battlefield since you were young, there must be some scars on your body.

But there was no sign of a scar on his bare body.

Less scars on their body means the greater the ability. My brother, who is really good at swordsmanship, even has some scars himself.

I couldn’t believe it, so I came close to where he jumped, but although I didn’t intend to jump I already felt afraid looking at the distance.

I can’t believe he jumped this low casually.

“……”

I was dumbfounded. Only when I touched my forehead did I realise that it wasn’t a dream but reality.

Aside from going down, I couldn’t even figure out how to get up here.

It meant that it would be useless to strengthen security if he came up here from the first floor at once.

“You’re a monster like that. Was it correct that he was defeated by the male lead .”

He’s like a monster in many ways, so is it right to call him a person at times like this?

So how much more of a monster is the male lead.

It must be very difficult for Cecil to overcome the villain as a female lead.

* * *

“Princess! I think you should get up and check outside.”

“Huh?”

The nanny woke me up in an urgent voice. Worried that something had happened, I went out without a shawl over my pajamas.

At that moment, I realized why the nanny was making such a fuss.

No, I thought all the people who saw this would have no choice but to react like that.

When I went outside, there were lots of flowers and boxes that looked luxurious.

And on top of that, the name was engraved on them so that I could know who sent it.

“……Chester Siegbert?”

This crazy bastard! Did the gift he was talking about yesterday mean something like this?

No, it’s okay to send gifts, but I didn’t need such a show-like present so that everyone else could see it.

When I opened the box, I felt an urge to faint.

Of course, I couldn’t because I’m a princess!

I don’t know if it’s because of my dad and brother, but I felt a lot of pressure from the villain.

“Oh my God! Princess!”

“……”

“These are such pretty jewels!”

Yes, they were very pretty.

But the problem is that the person who sent these is not my father  or brother, but the villain.

I felt like I had to send these brilliant things back to the person who sent them.

While biting her teeth to suppress the anger in her head, she said…

“Nanny, send all of this back to Duke Siegbert.”

Right now!