“Ha…”
I feel a little unsettled.
Abel Hardenberg.
He’s truly an unpredictable man in many ways.
Just earlier, when I was captured by kidnappers, he didn’t resist. Was he worried I’d get hurt? Or was it a ploy to gain my favor?
The latter makes no sense, as he had no reason to do that.
‘…Was he genuinely worried about me?’
But that’s ridiculous.
The Abel, known as the mastermind in the original story, wouldn’t worry about me, would he? Still, with no other plausible explanation coming to mind, it’s driving me crazy.
‘…For now, let’s just wait for him to return.’
Of course, I can’t ask him about it when he comes back. Asking someone like Abel, who doesn’t have any memories of that, would just earn me a scolding about nonsense.
As I pondered this, I opened my door and suddenly caught my breath at the sight of the man lying on my bed.
With ash-gray hair and a scar on his face, the man dressed in splendid clothing was deep in sleep, leaning against the pillow.
‘…Abel?’
Why is he here?
I began to rack my tired brain for an answer. Then it hit me; Abel is a grand sorcerer! Did he use teleportation magic to come back?
‘Lucky him.’
It took me over a year just to learn basic shield magic, while here he is, a grand sorcerer using teleportation.
I sighed and sat on the bed.
Abel, sleeping without a clue about anyone’s feelings, looked like an angel compared to the sharp impression he had when he woke up earlier.
If he were in modern times, he could easily become a top idol. Even if he is a villain, he does fit the typical handsome male character of a romance fantasy.
‘If he were as kind as he looks, that’d be great.’
Always teasing people, completely oblivious to their troubled hearts. It irritates me how he’s so perceptive in odd situations.
Filled with a bit of resentment, I poked his face with my index finger. He wrinkled his brow slightly and then turned his head away.
‘…Have I gotten a little more comfortable with him?’
I must be relaxed enough to play silly pranks like this. After all, I hadn’t suffered any painful memories in the entire month that I’ve spent with him.
Originally, I should have been subject to hatred and even threats against my life due to the label of a villainess. Most people around me simply ostracized me for being the villainess.
But those in the House of Hardenberg were different.
Everyone, from the maids to their owner, Abel, treated me as just me, not as the villainess Adele. Unlike the Count Este’s family, where most of the servants showed their disdain for me.
Now, this place feels like my sanctuary.
‘…I must have been exhausted.’
I seem to have grown tired of facing unfounded malice and threats to my life. That I could consider the mansion of Abel Hardenberg, the original story’s villain, as a sanctuary is astonishing.
“Hmm…”
At the sudden sound, I turned to look at Abel. He was grimacing slightly and mumbling something.
‘Is he having a nightmare?’
I couldn’t tell what he was mumbling, but it didn’t seem like he was dreaming of anything good.
Maybe he was cold? With that thought, I pulled a blanket from the closet and laid it over him.
Only then did Abel seem to relax his expression.
‘…So, where should I sleep?’
Under normal circumstances, I would have just slept in this room. But the fact that Abel was sleeping so soundly next to me felt distracting. Going to a different room wasn’t an option either.
After all, we’re supposedly in a good relationship as fiancés. It wouldn’t make sense for an engaged woman to sleep in another room when her fiancé is right there.
‘…That poses a problem too.’
I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
If I sleep here, Abel’s presence will distract me, but if I go to another room, the servants might doubt the fiction we’re portraying of being in a close relationship as engaged partners.
As Abel mentioned, only Allen and Evan knew about the contract.
‘Sigh… I’ll just endure the worry…’
Reluctantly, I burrowed into the blanket and lay down beside him. Abel’s sleeping face was right in front of me.
‘…He’s bigger than I thought.’
Even though we exchanged conversations often, it was my first time seeing him this close. Wait, didn’t I get this close at the ball today?
At that moment, I had been so preoccupied with dancing that I didn’t really notice how big he was. The broad shoulders and slim jawline made it undeniable.
‘…This is a romance fantasy novel.’
His looks were almost surreal enough to be jarring.
That made it hard to develop any real affection for his appearance. Even though I had reincarnated as Adele, I didn’t react much to the Crown Prince’s looks, as that feeling of disconnection lingered.
To put it simply, it felt like I was staring at a perfect doll. While people might say a doll is beautiful, very few would admit to having feelings for a doll.
That’s exactly how it felt.
‘And I’m well-fed.’
It seems I won’t be dating anyone, let alone getting married, in this world. My standards for normal men have risen too high, and I feel a disconnect with handsome men.
‘…I guess I’ll just sleep.’
I felt kind of pathetic, so I closed my eyes and decided to sleep. Before long, I sank into the plushness of the bed and drifted off.
*
“Ha…”
Was it because I was sleeping without a blanket?
I dreamt of my childhood memories.
The images of my biological father, Duke Ain von Hardenberg, who had abused me, seemed so vivid still.
Now I could curse and shake off those memories, but back then, it was incredibly hard. Perhaps due to my young body.
During such a sensitive time, going through that abuse caused a significant amount of stress. If I hadn’t gained memories from my past life, those would have been lifelong traumas.
He was that cruel toward me.
With that thought, as I opened my eyes, I noticed the unfamiliar ceiling and paused for a moment. Normally, I’d expect to see a white ceiling awaiting me. Why was there a pink ceiling instead?
As I thought this, I turned my head, and a woman came into view.
Wavy long black hair. Sharp, piercing eyes.
It was definitely Adele. But why was she in her pajamas, sleeping beside me? I quickly sat up and began to retrace my memories from last night.
‘…What was I thinking?’
No matter how tired I was, it didn’t make sense to be sleeping on my fiancée’s bed.
Thankfully, I didn’t have any memories of making a mistake.
Since I had shaken off the drunkenness before sleeping, I didn’t have to worry about doing something embarrassing. Plus, my sleeping habits weren’t that bad, so I probably didn’t cause her any trouble.
“Hmm…”
At the sound coming from her, I turned my head. Our eyes met.
“…Abel?”
Adele gazed at me with a dazed expression before slowly sitting up. She stared at her disheveled nightgown and then looked at me with a blank face.
Why does she still look beautiful even in this situation? Her disheveled nightgown and slightly messy black hair exuded a sense of decadent beauty.
‘Not good for my heart…’
While I thought that, Adele’s expression slightly furrowed.
“…No way.”
She hurriedly pulled up the blanket to cover her nightgown. At first glance, she looked genuinely shocked, but I could see the truth.
Her facial muscles were gleefully celebrating the chance to tease me.
“Whack!”
As I flicked her forehead, she let out a strange sound and shot me a resentful glance as if it hurt. Rubbing her forehead, she groaned in pain.
“Ugh…”
“Teasing your fiancé like that is not a good habit, Adele.”
“Tch. Got it.”
Adele sighed, her excitement deflating, and began buttoning her nightgown. As she tidied her bedding, an idea seemed to flash in her mind, and she looked playfully at me.
“By the way, Abel. Why did you come to my bedroom last night? Could it be… Perhaps?”
Remembering our little forehead tap earlier, seeing her playfully inflated ego made me sigh.
Adele snorted playfully and glanced at me slyly.
‘Sigh…’
Given her personality, facing this head-on was the best approach.
“Of course, it was to see my lovely fiancée.”
“…Huh?”
Adele made a silly sound, and I followed up with another comment.
“I must have held my breath in anticipation and accidentally dozed off.”
My somewhat cheesy line seemed to embarrass her, as her face began to flush with a deep red. Leaning in closer to her now crimson face, I continued.
“Unfortunately, I fell asleep first this time. But next time, you can look forward to it, Adele.”
With that, I offered her a slight smile, and she buried her head in shame.
“Okay, okay, I got it. I’m defeated…”
Hearing her surrender made me chuckle, as I pulled my face back to a comfortable distance.
This was my victory in a world of romance fantasy.
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