Living a Scheming Marriage with a Mad Villain - Chapter 90

“Just for the record, this competition wasn’t created by me. I heard it’s been passed down from a long time ago. It’s changed a bit over the years, though.”

“Ah, I see…”

“I was just worried you might misunderstand.”

Misunderstand? What kind of misunderstanding?

The cryptic words made me tilt my head in confusion. But it didn’t take long after the fencing tournament winner, Ansley, left, for me to understand what Helen had meant.

A wave of excited anticipation spread through the crowd that filled the circular arena seats, and soon two knights walked into the arena.

But something felt… off.

This was supposed to be a fencing tournament, yet both knights were holding wooden swords. Not only that, they weren’t even wearing armor or light protective gear—both were shirtless.

At that moment, I suddenly remembered Reus asking me if I really knew what kind of tournament it was.

‘So that’s why he asked me that…’

I had wondered why he was looking at me with such a strange expression—but now I realized that look was one of someone seeing a shameless person!

The fencing tournament in the Kingdom of Leveren was actually a sort of popularity contest for all the knights in the kingdom who held titles.

‘I’m doomed.’

The memory of Reus giving me pointed looks for something similar during the festival came to mind, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I had no idea how he would react this time.

After the tournament ended, preparations to leave the palace began in a hurry.

During my stay, Helen had made it possible for me to live comfortably at the palace for nearly two weeks, and I made sure to thank her for that.

“Next time, I hope you’ll invite us to the duke’s estate. We won’t be able to stay long, but if you invite us, we’ll find a way to make it work.”

“Yes, I’ll definitely invite you.”

I desperately wanted to stay at the estate and wait for the day Helen would come visit—but deep down, I knew I would probably be the one to leave first.

That thought made this farewell even harder. Helen seemed reluctant too, lingering beside me with a slightly sad expression.

I turned my head to see what the men were doing. But instead of saying goodbye, they were standing apart from each other. Reus, sure—but…

‘Claude’s not bothering Reus?’

Helen had once told me, shaking her head, that Claude always made up ridiculous excuses to stop Reus from leaving. But now he was doing the complete opposite.

Was it just me, or did Claude look a little pleased that we were leaving?

“I don’t know what’s up with Claude. Maybe he’s finally grown up a bit? Or maybe he’s trying to save face because of you, Loelle.”

Helen spoke with a strangely satisfied smile.

“Anyway, Loelle, you’re always welcome at the palace. You don’t even need to let us know beforehand. Come for a long stay or a short visit—it’s all fine. I really hope you’ll come whenever you feel like it.”

“Thank you.”

Then Helen stepped in closer and whispered secretively.

“If Reus ever bothers you too much, you can come by yourself. Seriously, don’t hesitate. Anytime, okay?”

“Huh?”

Reus bothering me? If anything, it’d be the other way around. Of course, that would never happen, so I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m not joking.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’ll ever happen.”

I even waved my hand to reassure her, but Helen furrowed her brows as if genuinely concerned.

“If it does happen, please come to the palace.”

“Okay, I promise, Helen.”

Now it was finally time to leave the Leveren royal palace. After saying our heartfelt goodbyes, we boarded the carriage that had been waiting.

As it began moving, I watched Claude, Helen, and the palace fade into the distance through the window. Feeling sentimental, I gazed out silently until Reus spoke beside me.

“Are you feeling sad?”

“A little…”

“If you ever want to come back, just say the word.”

I knew now that he didn’t say those things just to be nice. I had seen how much thought he put into this trip to Leveren, so I just smiled.

But then his next words froze me in place.

“So, did you enjoy the fencing tournament?”

Of course! I let my guard down, thinking it was a harmless question to start conversation.

Reus continued with a tone that felt suspiciously familiar.

“I already knew you liked that kind of thing, but still…”

“W-What are you talking about! No, I don’t!”

“You didn’t care at all before going, so why are you so embarrassed now?”

“Because I didn’t know it was that kind of tournament!”

“It’s just like that pretty-boy contest you liked at the festival—”

“Why are you bringing that up again?!”

Panicked, I slapped both hands over Reus’s mouth before he could go on.

“I told you it wasn’t true then, and it’s not true now.”

I wasn’t even sure what I was denying anymore. But whatever Reus had in mind—it was definitely not true.

“I said no, and I meant it.”

I wondered why he was suddenly teasing me like this again—but looking at his expression, it seemed he genuinely believed what he was saying.

When did he even start thinking like that? I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

It was already late at night when we arrived at the largest hotel in the capital of Leveren.

The country was known as a great travel destination, so even at this hour, the lobby was full of people from different nations. Since Dwyn had arranged everything in advance, we went straight to our rooms without checking in.

Because of the time, the staff went to their own rooms, while only Dwyn and Millie followed us to our floor.

Just as we reached the hallway—

“Oh my! Isn’t this Duke Rochester?”

A middle-aged man with slicked-back brown hair ran up to us with a friendly look. He was dressed head to toe in expensive clothes—it was clear he was quite wealthy.

‘Was this the business contact Reus mentioned meeting? Did he ask him to come to the hotel?’

But judging by Reus’s face, he had no idea who the man was. The man seemed to notice too, because he quickly added an introduction.

“Ah, I forgot to introduce myself! I’m Asenry, from the Kingdom of Monzeto. I was supposed to meet with Marquess Verdick tomorrow—”

“Ah.”

Normally, people would introduce themselves in return, but Reus let out only a short sigh. Even in that brief second, I could hear the annoyance in his voice.

Still, Asenry didn’t seem fazed. In fact, he kept talking like he expected this kind of response.

He carried the conversation well without making things awkward, but it clearly wasn’t working on Reus.

‘He really hates this.’

If he didn’t like the man, he could just walk away. So why was he still listening?

Just then, someone appeared behind Asenry.

“Dad! Why are you taking so long—”

A young woman walked up, whining—then suddenly froze in place as she saw something.

‘Wait a second… isn’t that the crazy woman?’

The same one who stole every outfit I picked, bought the things I touched, and then ran away from the watch store because she didn’t have money.

I recognized her immediately—but she didn’t seem to recognize me.

‘No… that’s not it.’

She had locked eyes with Reus and couldn’t look away. She must’ve fallen for him at first sight. It wasn’t surprising—it happened a lot.

Then Millie, who had been behind me, suddenly seemed to recognize her and yelled out loud—

“Wait, that woman—mmph!”

Panicking, I clamped my hand over Millie’s mouth a little too hard and silently warned her not to say a word.

Still, I could feel a sharp stare on the back of my head. I turned—and sure enough, Reus was squinting at me suspiciously.

The long silence made the woman turn her eyes to me as well. Her pale red eyes widened in sudden shock.

“Ah! This is my daughter. Come on, dear, say hello to the Duke and Duchess.”

“I-I’m Rose Asenry.”

The crazy woman had an oddly lovely name. Even as she introduced herself, Reus kept staring down at me. Millie had only made one small noise, and he had already sensed something was off.

‘His intuition really is terrifying.’

Then Asenry turned his attention to me.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Grace. I’ve heard of your marriage, but I never imagined I’d meet you in person.”

“Ah, nice to meet you too.”

How long is he going to stare only at me…

Worried he might just keep watching me forever, I gently squeezed his hand, hoping to break the moment. But Reus only kept staring at my profile.

Then, finally, he turned his head—to look straight at Rose, not Asenry.

“Do you know my wife?”

Asenry quickly answered in place of his daughter.

“Rose has never been to Ashelit, so I don’t think she would know Her Grace.”

“Yes, this is the first time I’ve seen her.”

Thankfully, she answered well. I tugged at Reus’s hand before he could ask anything more.

“We’ve been traveling for hours in the carriage, and we’re a bit tired. Would you mind if we left first?”

“Oh, of course! I should’ve thought of that. My apologies, Your Grace.”

“It’s alright. Then we’ll be going.”

After giving Asenry a polite smile, I led Reus toward our room. I was afraid he might refuse to move, like on the cruise—but to my relief, he followed along obediently.

As expected, Dywn sensed Reus’s odd mood immediately and rushed ahead to open the room door for us.

The moment the door shut with a soft click, I blurted out before Reus could say anything—

“I’m hungry…!”

Even as I said it, I wondered if that excuse would work.

Amazingly—it did. Reus immediately fell silent.

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