VPSML | CH 09

Chapter 09

“It’s… not like that.”

Jay clenched his damp palms into fists as he answered.

This time, he felt that if he didn’t reply, something instinctively dangerous would happen.

He didn’t know exactly what that danger was, but it felt like it could be worse than a dungeon prison.

“Hm, I see.”

Pdea let out a sigh, as if disappointed.

If he had said “yes,” she was ready to do it right away.

Feeling regret, she lightly tapped Jay’s lips.

She was itching to say, If you change your mind, tell me immediately.

But Pdea couldn’t bring herself to say it.

The more her desire grew, the more Jay’s expression looked like a frightened cat.

Since he seemed ready to bolt at any second, Pdea decided to back off for now.

The alarm bells that had been ringing in Jay’s head finally began to quiet down.

The unknown sense of danger coming from Pdea also faded for some reason.

He didn’t know why, and that bothered him, but he thought now was the right time to ask again.

“…If you’re not trying to imprison me, then why would you say something like that?”

Jay’s voice was full of question marks as he spoke slowly and clearly.

Pdea, who had been soothing her regret with a cup of tea, set her teacup down.

“After we marry, there won’t be enough time to teach you everything.

That’s why I thought you should live here in advance and prepare to become the Grand Duke.

Do you understand now?”

The teacup clinked, and Jay, as if it were a signal, suddenly raised his voice.

“Wait—wait just a second.

Do you really think there’s nothing wrong with that?

Isn’t it strange for me to live in the Grand Duke’s estate before I’m even qualified to be Grand Duke?”

Jay felt dizzy and looked around, even though he knew they were alone in the drawing room.

It felt like someone might overhear this absurd conversation and spread rumors—rumors that he would marry Pdea.

He thought of Elena hearing such nonsense.

She would definitely misunderstand and distance herself from him.

“With all due respect, Grand Duchess, I have my own proper count’s household.

I have never desired, nor even considered, the position of Grand Duke.

So, as a Count, I will never leave the Rettere Count’s estate to live here in the Grand Duke’s manor.”

Jay firmly declared that since he had no intention of becoming Grand Duke, he would not live here either.

He just hoped Elena wouldn’t have a reason to misunderstand.

But for all his courage, his words didn’t seem to get through to Pdea.

For her, there was never a possibility that she wouldn’t marry Jay.

“Hm.

You mean that because you’re a Count, you can’t live in the Grand Duke’s estate…

So you don’t want to live together before marriage?

Then fine—you can go back to the Count’s house just to sleep.”

Pdea had simply taken it to mean that he didn’t want to cohabit before marriage because of his title.

“Grand Duchess!”

The moment the topic of living together came up, Jay accidentally raised his voice.

He desperately wanted to stop her from bringing up such embarrassing topics.

Sure, he had seen people who were open about such things, but he was not one of them.

He had no immunity to this kind of talk.

“…I’m sorry for raising my voice.

But please—stop this strange conversation.”

His ears were red as he pleaded sincerely.

He didn’t want to keep talking about this.

There were other important matters they hadn’t even discussed yet.

Jay tried to calm his racing heart—it felt like every meeting with Pdea was turning into courage training.

“Rather than this kind of talk, don’t you have something you actually want to say to me?”

Taking a deep breath, Jay asked seriously.

He had been waiting for her to bring it up, but it didn’t seem like it was going to happen.

“You’re doing this because I refused your proposal that day, aren’t you?”

Jay lowered his gaze, looking at his fidgeting fingers.

Pdea tilted her head.

She couldn’t immediately recall what “proposal” he was talking about.

“No matter how much you try to trouble me, I can’t accept that proposal.

As I’ve said before, I don’t want to win Elena’s heart in that way.”

“Ah.”

Finally, realization appeared on Pdea’s face.

No wonder she hadn’t remembered—because she had never done it.

Or rather, the original Pdea in the novel had, not her as the person who had taken over.

* * *

In the original novel, the villainess Pdea thought she needed someone’s help to win over Claire.

She chose Jay.

[Count, join hands with me. I want Claire, and you want Elena.If we work together, we can both get the person we want.It’s not a bad deal.]

Pdea assumed Jay would agree—after all, he liked Elena.

But the “second male lead” Jay answered without hesitation:

[I refuse. I don’t want to win Elena’s heart through tricks. I’ll win her choice honestly.]

Being rejected made Pdea’s face burn with embarrassment, and she considered him a fool—because once he lost Elena, everything would be over.

Her outstretched hand closed into a fist, and she glared at him with reddened eyes.

[One day, you’ll regret not doing whatever it takes to get what you want.]

* * *

‘How troublesome.’

The current, transmigrated Pdea leaned back, remembering the fleeting scene from the original.

The ceiling of the drawing room came into view.

But for some reason, the ceiling felt lower than before.

She let out a quiet sigh.

The things the original Pdea had done felt like a weight pressing down on her.

Slowly, frustration welled up.

Ever since she had taken over, she hadn’t acted like the original villainess, and her memories of dealing with Jay were all positive.

If she put aside the past, hadn’t she done nothing wrong?

Even this mansion—everything she had shown Jay today had been prepared just for him: the blooming garden, the sunny bedroom, the study.

She had gone to great lengths to make the Grand Duke’s estate a place he could enjoy staying in.

So what “trouble” was he talking about?

If anything, she had been the troubled one for not being able to visit him while preparing all this.

“…Whether people are around or not, you’ve kept making the kind of comments only engaged couples would say—comments that would make Elena misunderstand.”

Pdea’s face crumpled like paper.

She finally felt the truth of it—her past life’s karma hadn’t vanished; it had come back to her.

Frustrated, she ran a hand over her face and briefly reflected.

Since her transmigration, she had mostly stayed in the mansion.

She hadn’t really thought much about how others saw her.

She had assumed nothing major had changed—she just lived a bit differently than before.

But because of that carelessness…

“So you’re saying everything I’ve done… is just revenge for you rejecting me back then?”

“…Isn’t it?”

Pdea was more shocked now than when she had first realized she was in the novel.

His tone held no trust at all.

No matter how much she’d stopped the villainess’s evil deeds, Jay clearly still thought they were continuing.

So he had decided her kindness was just petty revenge.

“I also know that you’re using me to get Claire’s attention.

And at the same time, taking revenge on me for refusing your proposal.”

Jay kept speaking in a way that scratched at Pdea’s nerves.

Her stomach boiled at having her sincerity twisted because of the original plot.

“What exactly do you think you know?”

Pdea frowned sharply.

It was infuriating to hear him state his assumptions as if they were facts.

“You don’t know anything.

Everything you’ve been thinking is wrong.”

Her eyes shone with a firm light.

She could guess when his misunderstanding had started—probably around the time she, as the transmigrator, began actively interacting with him.

So basically… from the very start.

But the timing didn’t matter anymore.

“From now on, I’ll show you clearly.

Watch closely and remember—there won’t be any lies in what you see.”

Her sudden resolve made her look a bit unhinged.

Jay, unable to understand why she was suddenly so fired up, asked without thinking:

“…What are you planning to do?”

Pdea suddenly stopped her angry pacing.

She looked at him steadily, then tilted her lips into a crooked smile.

“What else could I do?

At most, I’ll just prepare to get very, very tangled up with you.”

“….”

A chill ran down Jay’s back.

Despite her saying “at most,” her eyes were anything but ordinary.