194: After the Exam (2)
“As a result, although those who knew of me kept their distance, they gradually started speaking to me. After the exam, I received invitations to their family homes.”
“Invitations to their family homes for a villainess… How strange.”
“Several other similarly strange things also happened. Everyone showed so much interest in me that I made sure to emphasize, ‘I was a villainess,’ but that seemed to only pique their interest further.”
Avril tilted her head as if to say, “I wonder what this means.” Dylan’s gaze appeared to grow even more distant. Perhaps, once again, she had done something wrong.
“Which invitation is the one from just now?”
“This one in the white envelope.”
Avril held it to him, and Dylan took it with a graceful, flowing motion. She watched, wondering what he intended to do, when he ripped it cleanly in half.
“!?”
The torn invitation gently fluttered to the floor. The gentle gaze he always directed at Avril was nowhere to be seen. His eyes were expressionless, to the point of exuding a cold and merciless air. His whole being seemed to radiate a quite anger.
In front of the astonished Avril, Dylan muttered in a low voice. It was a growling tone she rarely ever heard of him.
“So that stack of letters means there were that many such incidents… I was naïve.”
“I- I sincerely apologize!?”
Impossible, I never imagined Dylan would get this angry. At the same time, Avril was disappointed in herself. Even though she was a villainess, she went and collected letters.
Everyone interacted with me like a proper villainess, so I thought these letters were meant for a villainess and accepted them as such. It’s just as Lord Dylan said, I was too naive.
I’ve made such a disgraceful blunder!
“Even though I am here for a special mission, I lacked proper awareness. I deeply apologize.”
As Avril gave a wilted apology, Dylan finally seemed to notice the atmosphere he was giving off. His expression changed and he hastily denied her worry.
“…That’s not what I meant. Ahem, I’m sure most of those letters were given to you under the belief that you are indeed the villainess as the rumors claim. So, your receiving these letters themselves is not a problem.”
“Oh!”
When she looked up, she saw that Dylan’s stern expression had disappeared as he peered at her. Then he continued.
“You received these thinking they were letters and invitations meant for a villainess, correct?”
“Yes, of course.”
“The way you played your role as a villainess, it was so captivating you enchanted everyone. Honestly, you’ve surprised me. Despite the exams… as- as expected of you.”
“Yes, I did my best…!”
Avril could see Chris trembling as he tried to hold back his laughter. Grace, looking exasperated, moved to the corner of the room and started making tea. For the time being, she seemed to have had no issues passing as a villainess.
As she let out a sigh of relief, Dylan also let out a deep sigh, “Haa,” for some reason.
“However, there’s something that still worries me. It’s that… ah, others will genuinely develop feelings for the villainess.”
Dylan’s words were unusually a bit awkward and halting. She realized that it must be because he was genuinely worried. To have made him so worried, I am truly sorry.
“That’s true, Corinna made gentlemen fall for her so that they’d give her all sorts of offerings. Not just money and jewels, but also family heirlooms such as arms and ornaments. I believe each of those gentlemen wanted Corinna to turn her gaze towards them.”
Corinna, the wicked woman who made any man she got involved with feel compelled to lavish her with gifts. There might be something about her younger stepsister that defied common sense. As Avril wondered about such things, Dylan looked at her with serious eyes from the seat directly across from her and spoke.
“Avril. You are my wife. It’s only because you are such a talented woman that the Crown Prince took notice of your ability and sent you to a place like this. However, truthfully, I don’t want to make you do such things.”
“Y-yes…”
His sweet words and gaze were directed at her. It had been three days since she had last felt them. Even though they had only been apart a short time, she didn’t know what to do with herself, and her heart started to race.
Dylan gently held Avril’s hand and kissed her fingertips. Avril blinked in surprise as she watched.
There were many moments during the exam when Aril found herself wanting to see Dylan. As those memories came back to her, she finally felt the reality that the three-day-long test was over.
“I told you a while ago, didn’t I? Even if Avril is a villainess, I will endeavor to remain the number one man in your heart.”
“There’s no need for you to do such a thing, Lord Dylan.”
“Even if you think that, this is how I feel.”
Dylan’s gaze turned to the pile of letters and invitations. They were addressed to the Villainess Avril, and in that sense, they were nearly the same as the ones once sent to Corinna. To Dylan, however, they seemed to mean something else entirely.
“I’m certain you captivated everyone with methods I know all too well, yes? Regardless, there’s no longer any need to keep acting like a villainess before the sender of these letters anymore. Our stay is nearing its end. From now on, for my sake, don’t leave my side.”
“Yes…!”
Even though I am a respectable villainess, Lord Dylan seems worried about me. But, of course, he is. I’m his wife, after all.
Dylan seemed genuinely worried that Avril had ended up ensnaring others who weren’t His Majesty the King with her villainous behavior.
Oh dear, what have I done?
She reflected on her actions and resolved to behave like a villainess while keeping in mind that she was Dylan’s wife. She was really sorry.
The tension between them eased and they exchanged smiles. Dylan spoke up, as if he had just remembered something.
“Um, did you get close to Jeanne, the daughter of the Prime Minister?”
“No. Lady Jeanne and I were given different accommodations and had different exam numbers. I only had a chance to greet her.”
Claiming that was for the best might have been the correct, but she still found it a bit disappointing. Dylan seemed to instantly pick up on Avril’s feelings.
“I’m sure another opportunity will come again someday. You can come to know one another once you’re in different stations.”
“Yes…!”
That’s certainly true. I hope that there will be an opportunity to get to know Lady Jeanne when I’m not passing as a villainess.
Such might be impossible since she was the daughter of the Prime Minister, but Avril wanted to keep that hope alive. She had ended up attracting attention as a villainess and was sinking into that failure, but Dylan still praised her.
“His Majesty the King seems to have remembered the name of the villainess Avril. You’ve also become close with the King’s younger sister, Her Royal Highness Princess Emilia. That alone is enough.”
She wondered if it was just her imagination, or if Dylan’s voice sounded a bit strained.
If Lord Dylan says so, then perhaps it is.
Avril nodded obediently, but couldn’t help but somehow feel something was off.
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