10.

“Upon careful consideration, I realized that there’s nothing more pathetic than clinging to a man who doesn’t love me.”

I replied nonchalantly.

Upon hearing those words, Lucian displayed a slightly surprised expression.

Well, it’s possible to be surprised.

The original Elze acted as if he would die without the Marquis of Offenheir.

But I wasn’t that Elze.

“I am, for all intents and purposes, the lover of the Marquis of Offenheir. However.”

I declared firmly.

“It doesn’t mean that the Marquis loves me.”

A pang.

Once again, a sharp pain pierced through my chest.

Perhaps this emotion belonged to the passionate ‘Elze’ who loved the Marquis of Offenheir.

Therefore, I didn’t need to concern myself with it.

Ignoring the pain that felt like a knife to the heart, I continued speaking.

“The Marquis doesn’t love any woman. He simply keeps them by his side out of necessity.”

It was the truth.

The setting of the original work, Dante, was ‘a handsome, mentally unstable scoundrel.’

In the original work, until Dante meets the female protagonist, he constantly discarded women.

<Hello, my dear.>

Due to past traumas, afflicted by severe lack of affection, he didn’t even know how to love others.

Due to his deep loneliness, he frequently engaged in fleeting relationships with women.

<Don’t, please don’t go!>

<If we’ve had fun all this time, isn’t that enough?>

If he got tired of it, he would announce the breakup without blinking an eye.

In the midst of that, there were also women who couldn’t forget Dante and clung onto him.

Dante summarized such women in just one phrase.

<Persistently clingy.>

…that’s what he said.

‘For now, he’s meeting Elze, so he’s not meeting any other women…’

If I accidentally upset his feelings, a powerless woman like me might disappear without anyone noticing.

I no longer wanted to take such a risk.

“Above all, the Duke’s presence here is highly confidential. I’m one of the very few who knows about this secrecy.”

“…”

“So if you were to escape from here…”

I continued speaking evenly.

“The Marquis would do whatever it takes to silence me, even if it means killing me.”

When it came to imprisoning illegitimate children of noble families or losers of succession battles, people turned a blind eye and pretended not to see.

But the rightful owner of the prestigious house of Kalleid is different.

If it became known that Lucian was confined here, the whole world would surely become as noisy as a disturbed beehive.

Dante, who had a keen sense of money, wouldn’t want to miss out on this efficient business called the ‘Rose Cross Boarding School.’

“…Besides, there are personal reasons why he operates this boarding school.”

I stopped my thoughts around that point.

Now was the time to focus on Lucian.

“So, I hope the Duke will escape from this boarding school.”

“Me?”

Lucian’s face was a mixture of surprise and pain.

I nodded my head.

“If the Duke were to escape from here and reveal the fact that the owner of the Kalleid Duchy had been imprisoned here…”

I shrugged lightly.

“The secrets I know won’t remain secrets anymore.”

“Well, there’s some logic to it.”

“However, in that case, the Duke could hold me accountable for not properly managing him.”

I calmly added.

“Or he might pin the whole situation of this boarding school on me and withdraw.”

Upon hearing that, Lucian looked at me with a grim expression.

“Wouldn’t that make things dangerous for you?”

“That’s right. That’s why I want to propose something to the Duke.”

I stared straight into Lucian’s eyes.

His blue and transparent pupils met mine quietly.

Just on the threshold of adulthood, not yet knowing what falsehood even means…

It was a gaze that was purely innocent.

But I, who had already worn away and decayed, was using this young man for my own purposes.

…Perhaps I’ve already set traps within traps.

I hid my bitterness behind a smile.

“I’ll become the Duke’s accomplice.”

“What?”

“In exchange, if the Duke escapes from this school, please protect me with the power of Kalleid.”

Of course, this was a lie.

The moment Lucian escaped the boarding school, I planned to cut ties with all the male protagonists and flee.

But without presenting some reasonable basis, it seemed that Lucian wouldn’t believe me.

“Of course, the Duke might be so indifferent to everything that he’d just leave someone like me behind out of annoyance… But still, you never know, right?”

Honestly, I said that without much thought.

Lucian shot me a puzzled look in an instant.

“What on earth are you saying?”

“What?”

I tilted my head in feigned innocence.

Lucian, who had been staring at me with a disapproving gaze, closed his mouth and looked away.

“…It’s nothing.”

Well, that’s that.

There was no need to make things awkward with Lucian over something I wasn’t even curious about.

“I see. Shall we have some celery now?”

I smoothly changed the topic.

…Lucian, who had been sneakily trying to leave some celery, gave me a resentful glare.

* * *

Afterward.

Elze bid farewell with a “See you again” and took the dishes, heading outside.

‘…I never knew she had such thoughts.’

Lucian gazed at the closed door with complex emotions.

A woman blinded by love, a woman who would stoop to being the henchman of a dreadful criminal.

That was the prejudice Lucian held against the previous Elze.

But.

The words Elze whispered softly, her eyes lowered earlier, lingered oddly deeply in my ears.

[Upon careful consideration, I realized that there’s nothing more pathetic than clinging to a man who doesn’t love me.]

A man she loved obsessively, but in reality, he regarded her as even less than a worthless speck beneath his feet.

I wonder what her feelings were like when she acknowledged that fact.

Perhaps that was why.

[Of course, the Duke might be so indifferent to everything that he’d just leave someone like me behind out of annoyance… But still, you never know, right?]

The reason those words she said so casually sounded so poignant.

Naturally, I knew that I wasn’t in a position to worry about Elze, so I quickly swallowed my words.

“Sigh.”

Feeling strangely turned upside down, Lucian sighed repeatedly.

* * *

‘I never thought I’d successfully persuade Lucian to this extent.’

Having emerged from the isolation cell, I was in an unusually good mood.

And rightfully so.

Lately, Lucian had been approaching everything with fervor.

Indeed, nothing stoked a person’s motivation quite like touching their emotions.

Moreover, if those emotions were driven by a desire for revenge, it would be even more intense.

Now, Lucian would strive as if he were mad to reclaim the stolen Calraide and execute Marquis Craig.

In the process, his innocence would be worn away by rough storms.

Stumbling and cynical, he would become one of the male protagonists in this world, with only Duke Kalleid remaining…

‘Well, that’s not something I can do anything about.’

I shrugged casually.

Perhaps the original female protagonist would be adept at soothing Lucian’s wounded heart.

As the original villainess, all I could do for Lucian was to prevent the disruption of the love between the female protagonist and Lucian.

Rather than becoming jealous to the point of scheming due to the sight of the female protagonist receiving Dante’s love.

Wouldn’t it be better to disappear quietly without causing any problems?

And I had confidence that I could do that very well.

But then, at that moment.

“Elze!”

Someone called out to me in a booming voice.

‘Could it be, that voice?’

I squinted my eyes and turned towards the direction the voice came from.

And the moment I confirmed the person, a reflexive weariness washed over me, causing my brows to furrow.

“Victor.”

I met Victor’s gaze with a displeased expression.

“How extraordinary must the situation be for you to holler and summon people like that?”

Then I added as if to prompt him to speak.

“That’s impolite.”

With heavy steps, Victor approached me.

Blinding me with his intense stare, he blurted out.

“Are you Elze?!”

“What’s the matter?”

“The letter Marquis sent has disappeared!”

Victor accused me with a fierce manner.

“The one who took that letter, isn’t it you, Elze?!”

Oh, damn it.