When The Cruel Villain Seduces Me - Chapter 124

“You must have been waiting for me.”

 

“Of course, I think I should hear an expression of gratitude from you.”

 

Carlos looked behind Nelia as he spoke.

 

“I assume you’re coming on your own today.”

 

“Yes, I’m here to express my gratitude and my last greeting.”

 

Carlos opened his eyes wide for a moment. But he soon refined his expression.

“We should sit down and talk for a while.”

 

Nelia sat on the sofa as he offered without any hesitation. She seemed to have accepted his offer straight away for the first time.

 

Carlos asked after settling down on the sofa across from her.

 

“Do you not work as the lady-in-waiting for the duke anymore?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I decided to marry His Grace.”

 

Carlos smiled bitterly and dropped his gaze.

 

“I see……”

 

Nelia knew that Carlos would probably put on that expression. However, she thought that she should let him know this personally, so that he could make a completely new start of his own life.

 

“Are your arms completely healed now?”

 

“It is, thanks to you.”

 

Nelia was mentally shocked when Carlos admitted it.

 

“Thanks to you who went undercover to the palace as a maid and convinced me that day, I was able to take Sigrid’s heart test.”

 

“……”

 

“Then, I actually have to express my gratitude to you as well.”

 

She wondered why she felt choked up upon his words.

 

Nelia was speechless for a moment.

 

If she could compare, it felt as if seeing her adolescent son grow up after going through a rough time of his life.

 

Nelia was able to speak again after gaining control of her feelings.

 

“I’m grateful to you, too, Your Highness. You give your wish to His Grace that day.”

 

“I didn’t give it up. I really didn’t want you to die, either.”

 

Was it because this would be the last time for them? Carlos was so frank in expressing his feelings that Carlos in the past felt so unfamiliar.

 

“And…… I want to apologize to you. For the things I did.”

 

“……”

 

“Especially when I called you to the detached palace. I know words of apology may not be enough, but I truly apologize to you.”

 

As he said, those words didn’t make it go away, but Nelia wanted to forget it for now, at least for her own sake.

 

Knock knock, someone knocked on the door and spoke.

 

“Your Highness, His Majesty has summoned you.”

 

Nelia got up from her seat.

 

“I should get going now.”

 

“The timing is bad.”

 

Carlos’ voice was laced with a hint of sorrow. Then, he stared directly at Nelia.

 

“I can’t congratulate you on your marriage because that would be empty remarks, but I want you to be happy as well.”

 

“……”

 

“When you came to persuade me, many things had changed because I wanted you to be happy when you said you wanted me to be happy.”

 

Nelia rubbed her fingertips.

 

She was slightly disappointed to think this was the end of their relationship. He was one of the few people whom she had a relationship with after she possessed Nelia’s body.

 

“I also hope you will be happy from now on, Your Highness.”

 

Nelia smiled softly as she said so. Then, she walked away after bowing her head in courtesy.

 

“Goodbye, then.”

 

Nelia, who left the room, stood and released a long sigh. She felt relieved and disappointed at the same time.

 

Nevertheless, she thought that coming to see Carlos by herself today was a good idea.

 

If she had come with the duke, Carlos wouldn’t have spoken so frankly.

 

Nelia braced the strength on her feet and walked toward the carriage.

 

She had a lot of work to do as the invited guests would come tomorrow.

***

 

It was evening on the next day.

 

The duke’s mansion became quite nosy with the arrival of two guests.

 

“It’s been a while, Marquis. You’re still tall.”

 

“You’ve become more beautiful within the time we didn’t meet.”

 

The duchess and the Marquis of Clint exchanged greetings. They also exchanged pleasant greetings with Nelia and the Duke of Hart.

 

“Shilian, what on earth could you possibly have to say to invite us all the way here?”

 

The duchess asked the duke.

 

From her excitement, she already seemed to anticipate the meaning of this party to some extent.

 

“I was looking forward to this day a lot, Young Lady Nelia. I’d be very disappointed if it wasn’t the news I was anticipating.”

 

The Marquis of Clint spoke.

 

Nelia already seemed to know what the guests were about to say, and she realized it was unnecessary to waste more time.

 

Nelia slowly opened her mouth when spotting Ton, who returned from arranging the guests’ outerwears.

 

Ton might already know about the rough part, but she wanted him to be here at this important moment as well.

 

“The reason we invited you two today is because,”

 

Nelia glanced at the duke, who was standing by her side.

 

“To announce that His Grace and I are going to get married.”

 

The first person to show reaction was the duchess.

 

“Oh, gosh!”

 

She freaked out while hugging Nelia. Nelia was stunned, but she turned to face her shortly after.

 

“Will you allow me to marry His Grace?”

 

“Of course. If you’re not the one taking care of Shilian, who’s going to take care of him?”

 

The duchess would be the only one who thought that way.

 

His weakness of turning into a snake has disappeared so he could marry anyone he wanted.

 

However, it didn’t matter anymore. The duke was going to marry her in no time.

 

Nelia secretly felt proud when recalling that fact.

 

“Thank you, Young Lady Nelia. I can finally pass over the duchess position.”

 

The duchess let go of her. Her eyes were red.

 

“I guess Her Grace doesn’t let me pass words of congratulations as well.”

 

The Marquis of Clint spoke mischievously. His lips were curved up in cool arcs.

 

“Congratulations on your marriage, Young Lady Nelia.”

 

Ton didn’t congratulate her personally, but she could tell that he was excited to see that he covered his mouth.

 

Nelia responded to the guests with a light smile and cleared her throat.

 

They still had one thing to announce.

 

“And there’s one more thing to celebrate.”

 

The duchess and the Marquis of Clint turned to Nelia. Everyone seemed to wonder what she was going to say.

 

“That is…… the duke will not turn into a snake anymore.”

 

The duchess and the Marquis of Clint opened their eyes wide as if they saw a ghost. She felt a slight pleasure in their expected response.

 

“Are you serious……?”

 

Nelia looked at the duke.

 

It was the duke’s turn to speak. It was a very long story, so it would be better for him to explain it composedly because he was good with words.

 

“I stopped turning into a snake just recently. In the meantime……”

 

The duchess and the Marquis of Clint still put on puzzled looks on their faces when the duke was done talking.

 

It was the duchess who recovered her senses first. She cried while hugging the duke.

 

“Shilian, you’ve struggled hard.”

 

The duke faced the duchess without saying anything while patting her slender shoulders.

 

Even the Marquis of Clint was quiet for a moment, he seemed unable to process the fact that the duke’s curse had disappeared.

 

Looking at the scenery in the room basked in emotion, Nelia turned to the sound of someone sniffling.

 

It was Ton. She was surprised to see Ton was crying and almost made a silly noise.

 

However, Nelia had a light smile around her mouth.

 

These people must have been waiting for a long time for this moment.

 

Tears of joy in the room haven’t dried up for a while.

 

***

 

After that, Nelia informed her parents about their marriage.

 

Sean and Lily were obviously delighted. It even felt as if they were expecting it. When she asked for the reason, they told her that they had noticed something special subtly on the day she came home.

 

‘Indeed……’

 

It was strange.

 

Thinking about it, she realized that most people around her already noticed it.

 

Especially on the day the Marquis of Clint had a party to celebrate when he said.

 

‘I was wondering when you were going to announce the wedding, but I’m going to tell you this now. Lady Nelia, you may not have known this, but the rumors about us already spread in town. When we visited the boutique, they thought we didn’t seem to have an ordinary relationship.’

 

It seemed that the store owner has created a rumor.

 

Of course, rumors have already spread. The fact that the duke came into the boutique with her on that day was enough to make her blush.

 

‘But I didn’t do anything weird……?’

 

Anyway.

 

After all, the date of the wedding has been set.

 

At the same time when the news about their relationship spread in the capital, some noblemen who didn’t know about their boutique dates reacted boisterously.

 

She couldn’t believe that they thought they, who appeared like the lady-in-waiting and the employer, received so much reaction. Some even said that she entered the duke’s mansion to seduce him, and their relationship already started even before she worked as a lady-in-waiting. Various rumors have been heard.

 

Although Nelia didn’t care, she couldn’t help but feel unfair.

 

“The duke seduced me first!”

 

Even if she wanted to explain, it was impossible…… and meaningless.

 

In the midst of feeling unfair, the duke’s gentle voice was heard behind her.

 

“Nelia, are you nervous?”

 

The duke wrapped his arms around Nelia’s shoulders.

 

Nelia turned her head. He was originally a handsome man, but he also could be more handsome than usual.

 

Although she didn’t feel nervous but unfair, Nelia suddenly forgot about everything when she stared at the duke as if possessed.

 

Seeing Nelia stare intently at him, the duke cupped his cheeks as if he was embarrassed.

 

“What’s on my face?”

 

Your handsomeness…… Nelia almost answered him with that.

 

He somehow seemed to be getting more handsome day by day,

 

‘Of course because today is the wedding day.’

 

The duke wanted the wedding to be held as soon as possible, and the wedding really proceeded much earlier than he had expected.

 

Therefore, today was the marriage they have been waiting for.

 

That must be the reason the duke looked more handsome than usual. He neatly brushed his silver hair with a dark gray suit wrapped around his body.

 

He was usually loose and laid-back, but now he had a somewhat stoic and solemn atmosphere.

 

‘Stoic……? It doesn’t go along with His Grace at all.’

 

Nelia gulped down her saliva while thinking so. Nelia gulped down her saliva while thinking so.

 

This was because she imagined their first night after the wedding.

 

Technically, it wasn’t their first night, but…… it would be her first night as his wife.

 

“I think the ceremony will begin soon. Shall we go now?”

 

The duke took Nelia by the hand and walked out of the room.

 

When they left the waiting room and walked out, she saw a lot of people who attended as guests.

 

Most were guests of the Duke of Hart, but there were also guests of Nellia, who were Most guests attended for the Duke of Hart, but there were also Nelia’s guests, although they were rare.

 

Charlotte, her parents……

 

‘There really aren’t a lot.’

 

Having faced the terrible truth, Nelia decided to attend social gatherings and increase her relations because she wasn’t as busy as she used to anymore.

 

The ritual was managed by the duchess herself.

 

Nelia and the duke walked to the platform where the duchess was standing. As they walked along the long carpet, people’s eyes directed on them.

 

It seemed that the thought finally sank to her.

 

‘I am marrying the Duke of Hart……’

 

Things that happened passed through her mind in a flash. When she met the duke for the first time, she could never expect this moment she was in.

 

Nelia looked at the duke. She wondered what was on his mind.

 

“I hope your future will be filled with blessings.”

 

The duchess’ congratulatory speech was coming to an end before she realized it.

 

Nelia realized at the same time.

 

‘Right……’

 

Marrying the duke wasn’t the final result of all this.

 

This marriage would be another process, another path for them to walk through.

 

“Nelia, thank you for marrying me.”

 

The duke said so, giving her a brief kiss.

 

“I’m also grateful, Your Grace.”

 

I heard people applaud for them.

 

Nelia thought whilst looking at the duke, who was staring at her with a warm gaze.

 

The new path would unfold again, but she didn’t think about it too much as long as there was the duke by her side.

***