Seriously, How in the world can he escape from this terrible fate..?

Three stored mansion of Earl Wicce in Capital. 5 years had passed yet the rooms still feels familiar. Valentine lay quietly in his bed, staring blankly at the canopy curtains that growled with subtle colors like a dragonfly wings, engrossed in thoughts.

The Empress wants him to be the mate of third Prince, while third Prince and his lover hates him.

In order to think clearly and rationally, he converted the objective facts into sentences and go through it in his head.

Moreover, the lover Abner Luan had the power, smarts and the influence to make his life difficult.

On the returning train, Dalton answered Valentine’s questions very diligently,even the information about Earl Luan was included among them.

[Earl Luan. Despite being a similar Earl like us, the status is different. The clan have been standing since the founding of the Empire, it has a deep heritage. And a long term political companionship with Duke Heather Field sharing the same philosophy as him . In all likely hood there had also been some matrimonial relationships in the centuries followed by the Founding. Which concludes, they are also closer as families.]

[Seems like there is no corner for the Empress to dig benefits.]

But again, as an Empress she can’t openly offend them even if she doesn’t like it.

[Exactly. They are already allies, so how much benefit can they get from being related with them? Ultimately from olden times, whether a royal marriage or an arranged marriage among high ranking aristocrats, they are all based on mutual benefits.]

[That’s true…]

[Besides, Abner Luan is a recessive omega, which should be the aspect the Empress Beatrice hates the most. After all it is a factor that stimulates the complex of not only His Majesty but also herself. ]

Her son’s consort to be the same recessive omega s herself… Unlike the external noncommittal reaction to their love relationship, internally she must be extremely opposed to it.

‘Well, even in the fiction, it was often described that they achieved their love despite the opposition from the parents.’

Valentine thought, recollecting the hazy contents of the original novel which was already blur in his memory.

Above all, Abner Luan who was friendly with everyone except Valentine was very popular among the socialites for his beauty, gentleness and wit.

He only shows hostility towards Valentine, but no one criticize it or point at him. Well, who would like an arrogant villainous omega who covets the lover of an innocent soft looking omega? Thanks to it, everyone looks at him with sympathy and took pity at him while Valentine who goes around with his nose towards sky thinking it was only natural for him to stand beside the third Prince was despised and hated.

Besides, Abner’s friends who defends him and likes him… Though there are only friends in name, they are more like lackeys. He can’t count how many times they messed with him  and tormented him… Of course, the previous him really deserved it, even after suffering he won’t let go rather does more aboveboard, so it could be said self-inflicted…

Before Valentine recovered his past life memories, thinking about his boyhood self, he pressed at his forehead. Aigoo, this idiot…  without a doubt he really brought the disaster upon himself.

Fortunately he came to his senses after regaining past life memories…

Now Valentine won’t be swayed by anyone praising his beauty or attribute or by those who leeches to him for his family.

The life in Sorence where he lived without revealing his Family name, can’t be anymore abundant.

‘These are the people who really look at me for who I am.’

Valentine could vividly feel such an emotion.

After recognizing his past life, when he left for Sorence, he had the ability to control and hide his pheromones. Hence the people over there just treated him as a very beautiful boy who came from Heston with his young uncle to study. His friends, teachers and emotionally rich days he spend with them, such images filled Valentine’s mind.

[Valentine, The masked wandering troupe from Tenencia will perform at Central Square this time! Let’s go together.]

Three or four of his classmates who were receiving apprenticeship under Pontormo, a great maestro in painting of that period as well as Valentine’s teacher, came rushing in and wrapped around Valentine who was painting.

[Good, Bring the sketchbook along?]

[Of course! It is a great opportunity to experience something different.]

[Unfortunately we can’t bring along the easel.]

[Titian, You are the one to speak, the one weakest in croquis…]

[Rosso! How can you openly disclose our dear friend’s weakness like this!]

[Can’t you just pass with a laugh, Cellini you just killed me twice!]

In order to express his anger, Titan rubbed Cellini’s face with his hands covered in black conte, and his other friends, running around almost to the extend of destroying the atelier vouching to get revenge… In the end, the the most innocent Valentine, his face was covered with conte and charcoal, of course he wasn’t the only, each one looked like a chimney cleaner. They had a lots of fun then…

‘To live freely like then is my real dream…’

Valentine smiled bitterly recalling his free life in Sorence.

He was happy and enjoyed each moment there, but he can’t keep running away leaving all the responsibilities to his parents in the pursuit of so called freedom. Even though he wasn’t the heir to the clan, as a member and descendant of an aristocrat family, as much as he enjoys the connivance it brings him, he was liable to fulfil his duties.

He realized the most important fact that, unless the situation of the royal family changes or his attribute, otherwise the marriage with third Highness was impossible to be resolved by just running away.

Thinking back to the original novel, it wasn’t just a personal problem of Valentine. The strange things that started with the engagement with third Prince…

The villain Valentine of the novel gained a lot of momentum since the engagement, but the opinion about him among the socialites didn’t change much. The ‘arrogant Villain’ became the engaged ‘Arrogant Villain’, that’s all. Rather, the real change occurred in his family. Boycotted by clients, betrayals from business partners, frame ups by third parties. Such terrible events started with the engagement.

And when the family became difficult, hit with such unfavorable conditions and incidents, the opinions about Valentine among socialites became stronger. No one offered a helping hand towards his family, rather everyone turned their back against him, giving full play to their contempt against Valentine Wicce. It was like being ordered by someone to hate Valentine, to outcast him… Especially the ones around Abner Luan, they did their parts exceptionally well. It was like a crusade commenced by everyone to defeat the Great Villain.

Was it because he was the Villain in the original novel, just a supporting role? There was no detailed descriptions about how it happened. But he could guess some, that the engagement was the beginning of all his ruin.

This was the reason why Valentine wanted to escape from the engagement even with the sake of his death. Because the awareness from reincarnation, thoughts as ‘Engagement = Start of his ruin’ almost filled his mind.

So the meaning of the world lies within the protagonists…! So the Villain can only be destroyed? Valentine blamed the novel author for poor description of the supporting role. Well, he shouldn’t have expected such details from a simple novel which emphasis the triumph of a hardworking protagonist and the catharsis of the Villain’s ruin. In such stories, the Villain’s circumstances or how did the Villain got destroyed are not important.  What the readers expect are just ‘I wish that bastard would get fu*ked up as soon as possible..’. Explaining the situation of the Villain would only bore them.

Only if he could know it well, he would have already come up with better solution… Damn Original novel. Valentine wiped of the tears streaming down his eyes. Because all he could do now was to get away from that ominous engagement.

If not for the family getting entangled as per the fiction, Valentine would have stayed in Sorence for good. He would have completely retired from the story with a belief that everything would go well as long as he disappears.

However contrary to his wishes, the destruction of the Villain was deeply entwined with the family. It wasn’t one-dimensional, that everything ends with his death rather the ending was the destruction of his whole family and family members. Maybe without the engagement his family would have prospered as it was now.

He doesn’t know the exact cause and effect between the engagement and his ruin, but Valentine felt he was responsible.

‘I must save my family from this absurd ending.’

After facing the past life memories and realizing the unchanging reality, such thoughts have been dominating Valentine’s mind.

For 5years, he always had this doubt. His situation, leave it. But his family which had a strong and wide influences, a strong social and business foundation, how could Abner Luan easily shake it?

Was it simply a stroke of luck? Or were they riddled bad luck? So that even with a weak push from him, every thing collapsed like a helpless domino, as if one removed the central beam?

‘If that’s not the case, is there another hidden enemy besides Abner Luan?’

Valentine pondered as he regularly tapped his stomach with a finger.

From a rational point of view, it was correct.Whether they joined hands with enemy, it was a more of a rational conjecture that it was impossible for a mere Earl family young master to cause downfall of such a big family.

Valentine felt it all the more the necessary to consult with his uncle to prepare for the future.

How much to disclose and how to persuade him is a question to Valentine’s competence, and responsibility.

‘Yes. I should not be lying here muddled headed and doing nothing.’

Regaining his senses, Valentine brushed his hair and got up to move.

As soon as he rung the bell on the side table, Dawson a young butler who was solely incharge of Valentine, came in with a knock.

“Did you call, Young Master?”

“Are there any invitations in my name?”

Dawson answered readily as he was prepared for such a question.

“As the Young master just came back yesterday, there is no personal invitations. But if you wish to socialize, there are some convenient invitations named to the esteemed Wife1.”

Competent.. Before Valentine left, Dawson was just one of the prospective stewards being trained under an old Butler. After 5 years he has grown into an excellent butler.

“Good. Bring me the convenient ones, also help me prepare to go out. Seems like I also need to match my cloths2.”

The capital was further North than Sorence in latitude wise. Unlike over there  where it was okay to mix and match cloths as one likes, here he was bound by a number of formalities. Furthermore the fashion is also different…

Thinking that Valentine needs to step out and there were many things waiting for him to do, Dawson said enthusiastically.

“I will grab an appointment with the dressmaker shortly. Is it Madame Delacroix was always?”

“Is Madame Delacroix still the best in the capital these days?”

“Whether back then or now, the reputation is not bad.”

“It seems I would be bothering Madame for a while.”

With a brief bow, Dawson left closing the door to hasten the tasks assigned to him.

It was time to take action for the future.

T/N: Edit : Ch 4, the part where Dalton asks whether the statue of Madame Delacroix wet by tea, its not status but dress made by Delacroix. I updated the ch.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like