MAS 02

-chapter 2-

It was a novel I had read not too long ago.

A regress

ion story about a villainess who ruined her life over love—the story begins when she returns to the past.

I think it was pretty bleak.

To summarize the plot: regretting her past actions, the female lead decides to do nothing in her regressed life.

Sounds like she hit a massive reality check.

When someone suddenly becomes indifferent, people tend to pay attention.

No?

Even if not, it doesn’t really matter.

Because in novels, everyone ends up falling head over heels for the female lead anyway, even when she pretends not to care. It’s a cliché.

And clichés exist for a reason.

I’ve seen quite a few similar novels, but they’re still fun every time.

Anyway, romance novels always have a second male lead—and it seems the kid I’m engaged to is that story’s hidden villain second male lead.

How do I know?

I read it not that long ago. How could I not recognize it?

And since the novel has a rather distinctive setting, it was even easier to tell.

In short, I’ve become what people commonly call “the supporting character who gets brutally killed by the hidden-villain husband.”

I became Lilia Eisel, the only daughter of the backwater Baron Eisel family.

Is this that famous possession thing?

You do it, I do it—that one?

The more I thought about it, the more serious my expression became.

And it wasn’t because my husband was the hidden villain, nor because he was destined to kill me.

Well—no, the latter wasn’t completely irrelevant.

But if you look at other novels, even hidden villains are still human. They usually won’t kill you unless you seriously get on their nerves.

Take the reasons hidden villains kill their wives in novels, for example.

Most of the time, it’s because they were abused as children, abandoned, or otherwise formed deep grudges—so killing is part of their revenge.

At least, that’s how it was in every novel I’d read.

Right. In that case, I could just lie low, behave quietly, and ask for an annulment later.

Or I could carefully攻略—handle—the tragic childhood of the hidden villain and make him completely mine.

But the real problem was somewhere else.

The reason I die.

That reason is—

“Because my very existence is annoying!”

More precisely, because he needs to seduce the female lead, and having a wife gets in the way.

So I die. The me in the novel.

Sounds ridiculous, right?

But the insane bastard’s setting makes that nonsense feel oddly convincing.

He’s a psychopath who can’t empathize with other people’s emotions.

In short, I’m completely screwed. Hahaha.

How do I get possessed, and of all places, end up here?

Other people get possessed and—what? They’re kind to their future husbands when they’re young, and later they gain love, wealth, and a handsome spouse…

Why me? What’s wrong? What did I do wrong to deserve this massive middle finger?

I didn’t exactly live like a saint—but!

At the very least, I didn’t live a life screwing others over and causing harm!

“Um…”

But why me?!

“Madam…?”

“That’s just too much!”

“Huh? Wh-what is?”

Ah. I said it out loud without realizing.

I cleared my throat awkwardly and looked at the maid who had spoken.

Light brown hair with a faint golden sheen and bright, sparkling blue eyes caught my attention first. Then came the cute freckles across her nose.

She looked about fifteen.

Her name was Mary, the personal maid assigned to me by the Grand Duke’s household of Asytria.

This large room, which I had been given after finishing a short wedding that barely felt like a wedding at all, was also provided to me as the Grand Duchess of Asytria.

I blinked innocently at Mary, who was staring at me, and played it off.

“It’s nothing! More importantly, what is it?”

“Ah… the butler has been waiting outside the room for a while now. But—what did you mean by ‘too much’?”

“Oh, I was just thinking about the past a bit… Don’t worry about it.”

Shaking my head, I stood up from the sofa and walked toward the door.

As I turned the doorknob, my gaze briefly landed on the mirror beside it.

At the same time, the words my so-called husband had said to me a few days ago resurfaced in my mind.

‘What is this? This ugly kid?’

That bastard!

Suppressing my indignation, I turned back to the maid.

“Um… am I ugly?”

The maid’s eyes widened in shock, and she quickly shook her head.

“Madam? Of course not! I think you look like the reincarnation of a goddess!”

Really?

When I stared at her, she subtly avoided my gaze.

“…Well, maybe not a goddess, but at least a baby angel…”

Hey. You can’t backpedal there.

Seeing my deeply skeptical stare, the maid exclaimed loudly,

“Th-this is true! Anyway! You are absolutely not ugly!”

“…Okay.”

My trust plummeted. I answered weakly and looked at the mirror again. My shattered confidence recovered just a little.

Did they say I was twelve now?

Shimmering amber eyes. Fluffy, wavy orange hair cascading down to my waist stood out first.

Because I was still young, the baby fat hadn’t gone away yet, puffing up my cheeks and making me look even cuter.

And my facial features—small and well-balanced!

Honestly… isn’t this a pretty successful face?

And yet he called me ugly?

I briefly worried that my aesthetic sense was broken, but no—it was definitely him who was wrong.

“Um, Madam…?”

The maid’s urging voice from behind snapped me back to reality.

Right. This isn’t the time to be staring at mirrors.

I let out a long sigh and opened the door, immediately coming face-to-face with the butler standing stiffly outside.

“Goodness!”

“What’s the matter?”

“N-no, nothing…”

Wouldn’t anyone be startled if someone was standing that close?

In a small act of rebellion, I puffed out my cheeks slightly and looked up at the elderly butler.

With those bulging eyes, he looked like the type with a nasty personality.

He looks like he’s glaring even when he’s just standing there.

“So… what brings you here?”

At my words, he let out a slightly delayed exclamation.

“Ah, I seem to have forgotten to inform you earlier, so I came personally.”

About what?

“I will escort you to the bridal chamber.”

…What chamber?

Blinking blankly as if I hadn’t heard him correctly, I saw the butler’s expression turn strange.

Then, with a visibly annoyed face, he muttered something.

“No matter how backwater the noble family, I thought they would at least provide proper education…”

Hey. I can hear you, you know?

When I glared at him, he gave a short cough and continued explaining.

“As you know, Madam, according to imperial tradition, a married couple consummates their marriage on the third day.”

I thought back to the day I had gone through that so-called wedding with him, then quickly grasped the situation.

Ah. So he’s saying he’s going to take me to the room where that insane psychopath bastard is?

Is someone trying to kill me?!

Unable to say it out loud, I barely managed to express refusal with my facial muscles—

“Please proceed.”

The butler, utterly oblivious—or pretending to be—dragged me straight into that bastard’s room.

No! Save me!

The moment the door closed, I grabbed the doorknob and tried to open it, but it didn’t budge—it seemed to be locked already.

“…Why are you here?”

At the voice dripping with irritation, I flinched.

Clinging desperately to hope, I turned around—but of course.

“You’re annoying. Get out. Now.”

My thirteen-year-old husband, Cideron, was staring at me with murderous eyes.

That’s cruel. I’m still standing by the door…

A tightly shut door in front of me, a dangerous individual who might kill me at any moment behind me.

There was only one possible choice.

Knock, knock.

“Is— is anyone there…?”

Please save me.

“Is there anyone outside…?”

He says I’m annoying…

No matter how desperately I called out, there was no response from beyond the door.

Behind me, the wordless pressure telling me to leave immediately continued.

I wanted to cry.

…Mom.

“Um…”

“What.”

In the end, we reached a compromise where I squatted in the corner of the room—but no matter how I thought about it, this was way too much.

I muttered in protest.

“It’s really cold here…”

“So?”

“The bed must be warm, right…?”

I glanced sideways at the bed where Cideron was sitting. He wasn’t even looking at me. Bastard.

…Yeah, I didn’t expect much anyway.

I stayed crouched on the floor, resting my chin on my knees.

Since it was the Grand Duke’s room, saying it was cold was technically a lie.

What was truly cold was my heart.

No matter how I think about it, this isn’t right!

Clenching my fists, I sneaked another look toward the bed—but the moment I saw that ominous future villain, my resolve crumbled.

…Should I ask if he can at least give me a pillow?

People say you can sleep standing up when you’re tired—but he’s sleeping comfortably on the bed with pillows. Would it really kill him to toss me one extra pillow?

But of course, he wouldn’t.

Just as I was sinking into disappointment—

“You.”

Startled by the sudden call, I reflexively answered first, feeling guilty for no reason.

“I didn’t say anythi—!”

Thud!

Something large slammed into my face mid-sentence.

Only after it fell to the floor did I realize it was a pillow.

Staring blankly at it, I reacted a beat too late.

Did he just… give me a pillow?

I didn’t know how I’d ended up in a position where being tossed a pillow moved me so much—but the fact that he’d given me anything at all was shocking.

As I mentioned before, this guy couldn’t empathize with other people’s emotions.

The only thing that mattered to him was his own feelings—and even those, he barely felt.

The reason lay in the attribute of his eyes.

People in this world are born with one of four attributes: water, fire, wind, or earth.

These attributes strongly influence a person’s disposition, and Cideron, who was born with a powerful fire attribute, had difficulty feeling emotions.

Strictly speaking, he’s not exactly a psychopath… but it’s close enough.

There’s also a mutant attribute called “null,” which neutralizes the side effects of other attributes and amplifies power.

And that one belongs to the female lead.

Thanks to that, the emotionally dull Cideron was able to feel love.

“That should be enough. Don’t rustle around anymore. You’re noisy.”

…I’m so scared I can’t even breathe.