The Villain Protects the Lady!

“You can rest here. The young lady is asleep.” 

The dark-haired maid who escorted her to her room spoke in a slightly chilly tone.

 “If you need anything, please call for me. Good night then.” *Click* 

The door slammed shut. All the while, Hermia clutched the contract in her hand as if it were a lifeline.

 “…….” 

She doesn’t

know how long it’s been since the door closed.

 “Haaaa!” 

She was breathing hard, like a dro

wning m

an who had just been rescued. She hadn’t realized she was holding her breath.

 “I’m alive.” 

Hermia blinked slowly.

 

She had finally survived.

 “Ha.” 

She burst out laughing.

 “Ha ha.” 

Hermia couldn’t tell if it was a laugh of accomplishment or something else, but she couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

 “Look how stiff I am.” 

After a long pause, she tried to sit up, but not a single finger would move.

 

In particular, the hand holding the contract was so stiff that she had to use her other hand to stretch each finger.

 

[Engagement contract]

 

Hermia checked the contract in her hand once more.

 

This was her lifeline to the future.

 

She read it, read it, read it, read it again, but it didn’t feel real.

 

But it was real.

 “I don’t understand why this is happening.” 

According to the original plan, she should have been o

n a carriage to the monastery by now.

 “Well, when has my life ever gone according to my plans or my imagination?” 

If life had turned out the way she’d imagined, she’d be living in a happy family with healthy parents and a brother who wasn’t out of the business.

 

But now she was Hermia Tekins, the fiancée of Grand Duke Leandro, who was trying to kill her.

 “Forget it.” 

She thought to herself,

‘Let’s do this anyway!’

 “I’ll make it to the end and be happy!” 

She clenched her fists.

‘I’m going to do something this time!’

 “Ouch.” 

Hermia’s joints screamed as she stood up. It was obvious how nervous she was in front of the Grand Duke.

 “Be-Belloa.” 

She got to her feet on squeaky knees and staggered over to her. Belloa was sleeping soundly, nose to nose, in the middle of the huge bed.

 “Sleep well.” 

She was sleeping just as she had before, in the arms of the woman who called herself Mrs. Doyle.

 

‘Has she been sleeping like that forever?’

 

Perhaps she should wake her and feed her.

 

Hermia thought for a moment, then shook her head.

 

It must have been a very difficult day for her.

 

Today was the first time she had left Count Tekin’s domain.

 

How scary, frightening and difficult it must have been for her to suddenly be out in the world.

 

‘Even the puppies I fostered with my friend had a very difficult first time.’

 

The pictures she sent of them were of them in cages or in corners, shivering.

 

The longer they were in their cages, the more they behaved like that.

 

Belloa must have been even more frightened.

 

She came out well.

 

Belloa took her hand out of nowhere, changed her clothes, and followed her out here without complaint.

 “You’re strong too.” 

Hermia looked at her sleeping face and smiled wryly.

 

She thought she was the only one who was brave, but she wasn’t. This little girl was as brave as she could be.

 “Good night, Belloa.” “Mmmm.” 

Belloa’s mouth watered as she pulled the blanket over her and patted her tummy.

 “Heehee…” 

She giggled and drooled.

 

‘Does she eat in her dreams?’

 

Hermia laughed and wiped Belloa’s drool away.

 “That’s a big bed, by the way.” 

It was big enough for three.

 

She’s sure it would be fine for her and Belloa to lie down and roll over on either side.

 “Besides, the room is in great shape.” 

She raised her eyes and scanned the room.

 

Even in the dim candlelight, the room was filled with luxury.

 “Even this table.” 

She ran her hand over the round table next to the bed.

 

‘Wasn’t it also in Count Tekin’s room?’

 

She remembered it clearly.

 

Hermia grabbed this table when she thought she was going to fall over from Count Tekin’s paddle, and she got a few more strokes for getting her dirty hands on fine things.

 “He fills his guest room with things that belong to the household.” 

She wondered if it was because he was the Grand Duke of Leandro.

 

She tried to think about it, but her brain wouldn’t let her.

 

Hermia also had a long day. She curled up next to Belloa, who had taken the middle of the bed.

 

She thought the bed was wide enough.

 

She’s too much in the middle.

 “Still, it’s nice.” 

No mold, no drafts, solid windows, no broken or wobbly furniture.

 

The bed is fluffy, the duvet soft and warm, and the pillows never go flat.

 “Wow, this is so nice.” 

Hermia clutched the blanket. She couldn’t hold back the laughter that kept coming.

 “So good.” 

She’d almost died today, but if the reward was this good, she was willing to go through it again and again.

 

“Hehehe.”

 

There are no humans here to oppress and imprison her, and none of them can touch her here.

 

She’s finally free.

 “Ah, I’m happy…” 

It was the sweetest, most restful sleep she’s ever had.

  

* * *

 

 

“How are you, Your Excellency?” 

As soon as the Grand Duke stepped out of the parlour, a man followed.

 

The man, who wore his dark scarlet hair cut short, frowned and pressed Leandro for an answer.

 “An engagement with that wench!” “Take Miss Tekins and my niece to their rooms. The east room on the third floor.” “What?!” 

The man stopped in astonishment. But when the Grand Duke did not wait for him and marched ahead, he quickened his pace to catch up.

 “Are you really going to leave this criminal here? Didn’t you see what you were investigating, the woman is a vicious person!” “Vicious?” 

The man’s words were cut off by the Grand Duke’s. But the man spoke quickly, as if he had received a satisfactory answer.

 “Yes! She smuggled, she set fire to people’s houses, she had several people killed, and she was even caught trying to kill her new family because she couldn’t accept them.” 

The man’s words poured out like a waterfall.

 “They say she’s not even invited to the smallest tea parties in social circles… I mean, is the child she brought here really your niece?” “She was wearing some of my sister’s things.” 

Maintaining eye contact, the Grand Duke pulled an amulet from his pockets and tossed it to the man.

 “This.” 

The man caught the amulet and stopped walking. He stuttered for a moment, perhaps in shock.

 “…It’s definitely hers, Hilda, but I wouldn’t be so sure based on this alone.” He said it, but his voice softened a bit, as if he was half convinced. “You’re right, we have to check.” 

The Grand Duke nodded slightly, as if in agreement.

 “Great.” 

Clearing his throat once, the man handed the amulet back to the Grand Duke and spoke again.

 “All the more reason to get rid of her then, isn’t it? She’s an evil woman. You never know what she might ask of your niece.” “Wicked?” 

The Grand Duke’s stride stopped.

 “Do you really think so?” “What?” 

He’s a big man too.

 

The man swallowed hard at the intimidation of the Grand Duke, who stood a head taller than most men.

 “You think Miss Tekins is as evil as she is rumoured to be.” “Quite, though she certainly doesn’t look like it.” 

The dashing man coughed once, then remembered the time Hermia Tekins had burst into the house of Leandro.

 

The urgency in her voice, the desperation in her eyes, the nervousness and desperation in her face, as if something was chasing her.

 

But what he remembers most is that even in the midst of the chaos, she was strikingly beautiful.

 

She looked as if she couldn’t kill an ant with her gentle, sweet face.

 “That makes it all the more evil, Your Highness,” the man said, “and the evidence is clear, isn’t it, so why don’t you just get rid of her…” “No.” 

The Grand Duke shook his head, cutting the man off.

 “Malicious? No. Quite the contrary.” 

The woman’s appearance was quite convincing, but her clothes, made of fine fabrics, were short enough to reveal her wrists and ankles.

 

It was as if she had stolen someone’s clothes.

 

Her nails were chipped and tattered, and her lips were chapped here and there, as if she hadn’t been eating enough.

 

Crucial.

 “She couldn’t make eye contact.” “What?” “Her head was down, looking at the ground.” 

It was the look of a woman who had spent much of her life lowering her gaze, keeping her head down, ready to submit to someone else’s will at any moment.

 “Dean, I want you to dig deeper.” 

The information Leandro now knew about Hermia Tekins was the same as what was being spread around the world.

 “There has to be something behind this.” 

From the moment he’d spoken to Hermia, Leandro had been certain.

 

It’s a lie.

 

The rumors were all lies.

 

So he made her a ridiculous proposal, something out of a novel, like a contract.

 

But he had to make sure there was some truth to it.

 

He also needed to see something in her that didn’t fit with her usual behaviour.

 

There was a hidden truth.

 

And there was something beyond that.

 “Find out everything.” 

Leandro wanted to find out everything.

 

And a little bit he was fascinated by this woman named Hermia Tekins.