When A Villain Meets A Villain - Chapter 59

“Then, I’ll explain it, so could you come and sit next to me?”

“Can’t I just watch from here……”

“I can go over to sit next to Miss Atalante.”

“I’ll go over.”

With a long sigh, Atalante rose silently and sat next to him.

They weren’t even seated that closely together, but Atalante held her breath without her realisation.

It didn’t seem as though he was wearing any perfume in particular, but it was hard for her to understand why a grown man was giving off such a radiant scent.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

After confirming that she was seated, Lionel pulled out a short dagger that looked like a fruit knife.

So he’s hiding weapons all over his body… He was like her.

“Why the knife?”

Lionel answered Atalante’s question with action instead of words. He quickly grazed the tip of his finger lightly and soon red blood gushed from that spot.

“What are you doing!”

Has this man finally lost his mind? Astonished, Atalante grabbed his hand to stop the bleeding immediately.

Lionel looked down at her movements dazedly, and pulled his hand away with a slightly touched look.

“Thank you for your concern, but this kind of scratch won’t kill me.”

“The size of the wound isn’t the problem! Why are you harming yourself…!”

“I just wanted to show you how to use the Connector.”

With a gentle smile, Lionel allowed a drop of blood to fall onto the top of the compact-looking magic tool, and the blood that had spreaded like a flower disappeared after melting away like snow.

To be exact, the Connector absorbed his blood.

“Connectors need to absorb the user’s fluid before being able to connect to other Connectors. It doesn’t need a lot, a drop is sufficient.”

“…If it requires fluid, it doesn’t have to be blood.”

“Because I can’t just spit on an item belonging to you.”

Though that may be the case.

Just as Atalante was about to scold him more, a blurry image appeared on the Connector, which had been unresponsive thus far.

A woman with long brown hair and an intelligent gaze obviously was…

“Jenna?”

As she was wondering if it would only reflect a silhouette, a long-awaited voice appeared from the connector.

– Atalante! No, Boss!

“Is it really Jenna?”

— Why did you only contact us now? We were so worried because the boss was the only one that didn’t contact us! Your wanted posters were posted throughout the Empire, and the Boss’ marriage… Wait a moment, who are you?

Engulfed with emotion at being able to contact her family for the first time in a long while, she stared at Jenna’s appearance from the connector blankly, and made a perplexed expression when she stopped talking.

“What do you mean who, it’s me. Atalante.”

— Silver hair and sky blue eyes… A—are you perhaps, that Grand Duke of Blanc…?

It was clearly her that’s showing her face on the Connector, but Jenna’s screen seemed to be showing Lionel.

Bewildered, Atalante looked at Lionel, and he gave a nonchalant smile.

“Did I not tell you? The blood that was melted just now was mine, so this connector made me a user.”

“What does that…?”

“In the future, though it will be cumbersome, please look for me whenever you want to use the Connector, my dear Atalante.”

Jenna’s screen was still showing Lionel’s smiling appearance. She looked straight ahead with a blank face like she was bewitched, and Atalante couldn’t help but to let out an irritated sigh.

She was well aware of how persistent she was with her targets.

But Lionel Blanc was a much more persistent man than she was, and she was once again experiencing the fact that his sole target right now was, without a doubt, Atalante.

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Atalante, who glossed over the details by saying they would talk after they met, ordered the members of Argo to come to the Grand Duchy.

As the grand duchy was very different from the Empire, it wasn’t connected through the Warp Gate. As such, the carriage carrying the grand duke and the future grand duchess travelled towards their destination at a diligent and slow pace over the course of five days.

Throughout those five days, Atalante kept feeling a strange mixture of excitement, guilt and an inexplicable nervousness as they headed for the Grand Duchy of Blanc.

Whenever they had to spend the night in accommodations, Lionel’s expression was always dark.

Even though most of their accommodations were clean places. But if anyone else saw him, they’d think that she was sleeping in a stable.

“If I knew that this would happen, I would’ve connected the Grand Duchy with the Empire through the Warp Gates.”

After Paul happened to hear the words that the grand duke mumbled to himself, he couldn’t help but be taken aback.

Lionel, who had always ignored the trade route as he hated being associated with the Empire, actually said those words.

But fortunately, it seems to just be empty talk. In any case, being able to enter and exit another country was a double-edged sword.

“Good morning, Atalante.”

As soon as she opened the door, she was faced with the grand duke, who had an amicable smile on his face.

Atalante easily ignored the uneven look on Paul, who was standing next to Lionel, and now took his hand with familiarity.

“We’ll be able to reach the Grand Duchy by noon today.”

As evidenced by that, Atalante was fully dressed up today with the handmaidens’ assistance. The monarch of the Grand Duchy, who has returned after being away for nearly two months, was also dressed more handsomely than usual.

‘Although it’s uncomfortable, there’s nothing I can do but endure it.’

It’s obvious that news about the new Grand Duchess has already reached the Grand Duchy. From the fact that she’s a villain, it would already be in the infinite negatives, but Atalante’s was also human, and she wanted to avoid it.

“You’re always beautiful, but you’re especially dazzling today. Don’t you find the clothes you’re wearing uncomfortable?”

It’s uncomfortable. She wanted to take it off right away.

However, Atalante shook her head instead of insisting on changing into comfortable clothes.

Since she was already guilty of using an absurd drug like a love potion to turn Lionel into such a state, she didn’t want him to be disgraced because of her.

“The air is definitely cooler the further North we travel.”

Though it was a meaningless mumble to herself, a worried light appeared on the grand duke’s face.

“Are you sensitive to the cold?”

I have never experienced the bitter cold of the Grand Duchy, but I have heard of it.

“Fortunately, I’m resistant against the cold and the heat. You’re already aware, I’m from the slums.”

She had spoken it as a joke, but Lionel didn’t seem to find it amusing. A composed smile was all that remained in the place where a sorrowful light flashed past.

“Whether you feel the cold or the heat has nothing to do with your background. Although the Grand Duchy is extremely cold, you’re able to witness beautiful snowy landscapes in winter.”

“It doesn’t snow much in the capital, so I’m looking forward to it.”

“And every year we renew the magnificent view.”

“Hmm, I’m not stupid enough to forcibly maintain a marriage in order to look at the snow.”

That’s too bad, he added, and reached out to her while standing in front of the carriage.

She had only raised her arm to hold Lionel’s hand momentarily, and a subtle gleam filled her eyes as she looked at the carriage’s box seat.

“I heard that it isn’t a long distance to the Grand Duchy from here.”

“Yes, it’ll take around two hours in a carriage.”

“Then, can I ride a horse?”

Although the carriage was quite comfortable, she couldn’t erase the strangely suffocating feeling. Perhaps that’s the reason why she kept missing a horse that she can gallop with the wind for the past few days.

“Of course you can, but wouldn’t you feel uncomfortable in that outfit? Why don’t you change?”

Indeed, her outfit wasn’t appropriate for riding a horse. The dress she was wearing today was one of Gianna’s works, its point being the line by the loose-fitting sleeves flowing down and the small powdered jewels that twinkled brilliantly in the light.

Fortunately, there was an opening in the side of the dress, similar to the one she wore to the debutante, so she could ride a horse.

She’d never heard of a young lady riding a horse in a dress, but Atalante wasn’t a young lady.

“It doesn’t matter.”

At the sight of her face, which was filled with confidence, the corners of Lionel’s mouth drew a soft arc.

“In that case, please allow me to ride beside you.”

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Lionel was better at horseback riding than she’d expected. To the point where Atalante, who’d never lost to anyone when it came to horseback riding, felt embarrassed.

She acted unlike her, and increased the speed as much as possible, but he still remained by Atalante’s side leisurely.

‘It’s more annoying than being overtaken.’

After clicking her tongue, Atalante secretly picked up her pace, and Lionel continued riding at her rhythm, as he had done so thus far.

Just like that, she fought in a war of nerves alone and after riding for an unknown amount of time, the wall that announced their impending arrival into the Blanc territory appeared.

‘I heard that the heads of those that were purged used to be hung up there.’

She glanced up at the currently clean wall, and followed Lionel towards the guards defending the castle wall.

The reluctant knights that hadn’t seemed to recognise them at first gradually turned as pale as snow. What kind of aristocratic young lady would ride a horse in such a dress?

“Your Highness! We heard that you’ll arrive around noon…!”

“Open the gates.”

Instead of listening to the knight’s obviously panic-stricken words, Lionel gave an order calmly.

They immediately nodded their heads, and with a shout at the soldiers on the wall, the large castle gate opened with a majestic sound.

Atalante glanced at the knights that were bowing to her and Lionel, and she was overwhelmed by the exotic scenery before her as soon as she passed through the gate.

‘When I came to the Grand Duchy as Young Lady Sera, I was dozing off in the carriage and didn’t have a chance to look at the outside scenery.’

Although there weren’t many splendid buildings like in the capital, it was an eye-opener in a different sense. It was because the shape of the road was different, and the plants that thrived all about were very unfamiliar.

Even the scent of the air seemed different.

“Isn’t it amazing as it’s your first time in the Great Duchy?”

“It’s not my first time… Ah.”

Atalante had only covered her mouth with a look of astonishment after receiving his secretive glance.

Once she remembered that Lionel still loved her even though he knew about the inside details, she felt somewhat nauseated.

The pitiful grand duke, who’d fallen in love with a lowly villain that tried to kill him.

She didn’t know if Lionel and the word ‘pitiful’ matched well, but right now, Atalante’s sentiment was exactly like that.

Perhaps due to her relatively serious expression, Lionel stopped his horse and looked at Atalante with a worried gaze.

“Please don’t make that face. I didn’t mean to offend you by saying that. I’ll refrain from making uninteresting jokes in the future, so please cheer up.”

“It’s not like that… I’m still not very sure.”

“About whether I love you or not?”

No, about what the conclusion of this deception would be like.

Atalante tried hard to swallow the words that were on the tip of her tongue and trailed off the ends of her words.

Lionel stared at her profile and got off his horse swiftly.

Before she could be surprised, the grand duke held one of her hands gently and looked up at Atalante courteously.

“Atalante, I know you’re giving into my unreasonable requests. I’m also aware that you still don’t love me enough to want to get married.”

“…….”

“As such, please don’t hesitate to use me, or feel guilty. Since you’ve accepted my unreasonableness, you’re more than qualified to use me.”

“I…”

“But I won’t just be a devoted person, so I’ll grasp the opportunities I have and do my best to make you someone that’s mine.”

Before she could ask what that meant, Lionel gave an enchanting smile, and whispered with his lips on the scarred back of her small hand.

“And, I don’t have any intention of letting go of someone that’s mine.”

“What?”

“In this world, there’s only one person that’ll become my wife, and that’s you.”

The words from his mouth became a soft cloth that seized hold of her whole body.

As he looked at the flustered Atalante, Lionel’s lips formed an even deeper arc.

“You’ll fall for me sooner or later.”

My dear Atalante.

A ridiculous declaration from a mellow voice kept cloying at Atalante’s ears.

The sensation was so strange that she remained rigidly in place for a long while. Like a wicked spell was placed upon her.

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