This Villain Is Mine Now - Chapter 13

“Your Grace,” Elaina greeted.

“Lady Winchester,” Lyle replied.

“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice,” Elaina said with a warm smile.

Lyle gave a subtle nod to the butler, signaling him to leave. The butler understood and quietly exited the room, closing the door behind him.

She had come to speak with him, but the topic was already clear. Somehow, she had learned about his plan to propose to Diane Redwood today.

The butler had been distressed upon discovering the deal with the Marquis of Redwood, more so than Lyle himself. There was no need for him to hear this conversation unless Lyle intended to trouble him further.

At Lyle’s command, the butler closed the door and left the room.

As she looked around the room, Elaina noticed the butler’s departure and remarked, “You didn’t have to go to such lengths.”

“Let’s get straight to the point. I have another engagement today and can’t spare much time,” Lyle stated.

“Oh, do you? It must be quite important,” Elaina responded with a hint of sarcasm.

“It is. My counterpart is quite upset with me for not keeping my promises,” Lyle retorted, matching her tone.

Elaina sighed, abandoning the pretense. “No need to beat around the bush. I’ll get straight to the point.”

Lyle thought he knew what she would say.

‘It’s probably a threat to stop me from proposing to Diane Redwood.’

He recalled her persistent interference during the social season. On the battlefield, it was common to abandon comrades to survive. Thus, he found her dedication to Diane, even to her own detriment, somewhat refreshing. Of course, the Marquis’s frequent protests were a nuisance, but tolerable.

“It would have looked good if rumors had spread during the social season that you were interested in my daughter, wouldn’t it? Tsk, you couldn’t even manage something that simple. Well, it can’t be helped. None of that matters now.”

He had visited Lyle personally, demanding he propose to Diane Redwood. The Marquis had thrown a paltry sum at him, as if almsgiving to a beggar, questioning if he even had money for a ring.

Despite the humiliation, Lyle had to endure. He couldn’t afford to refuse the Marquis’s offer.

When Lyle returned to the capital after the war, he was shocked. Although stripped of his title and forced to fight, he remembered the grandeur and elegance of the estate. Now, it was a dilapidated shell, with crumbling bricks and overgrown weeds.

Even after reclaiming his title, the situation remained dire. Most of the vast lands once belonging to the Archduchy had been seized by other families, and the Emperor had only returned the barren Mabel Mountain region to him.

The land was useless. When the Archduke had ruled, his knights had regularly hunted monsters and wild animals to protect the villagers, but after the fall of the Archduchy, the area was abandoned. The villagers had fled, leaving the land unproductive and without income. The Grant Archduchy remained poor.

To be considered a noble family of repute, one needed honor, power, and wealth. The current Grant Archduchy had none.

Elaina said she wanted Diane to be happy. It was natural that a loveless marriage wouldn’t bring happiness. But what did that matter? Lyle had no time to wish for others’ happiness when his own life had been miserable since he was fifteen.

Marrying Diane Redwood wouldn’t be a bad deal; at least it would help revive his family.

“Whatever you say, you won’t be able to persuade me, Lady Winchester,” Lyle declared.

Elaina Winchester was different from him. She was like a beautiful flower, nurtured in the warmth and light of a glass greenhouse. To such a sheltered flower, his survival methods might seem despicable, but they were necessary for his survival.

Love, or the moral obligations one ought to uphold as a human being—Lyle mentally listed these warm and soft concepts she might bring up, preparing his rejection in advance.

He glanced at the clock. There was still time, but he had no intention of arriving at the Marquis of Redwood’s estate at the specified hour. It felt demeaning, as though he were a servant obeying the Marquis’s orders.

“If you have nothing to say, come back later,” he said curtly.

“I heard you plan to propose to Diane. Is that true?” Elaina asked.

“Why ask when you already know?”

“You haven’t even spoken a word to her, yet you intend to propose?”

“Yes. How many times must I repeat myself?”

Lyle answered in an irritated tone. He was as displeased with the situation as she was. Proposing to and setting a wedding date with a woman he had barely spoken to felt like being led to the slaughter.

“Yes, it’s a conversation we’ve had several times, and a situation we’ve faced repeatedly. I’ve come to disrupt your plans again,” Elaina said quietly, listing the methods she had considered.

“Last night, before falling asleep, I thought of many things. The easiest way would be to help Diane escape to a place where no one could find her. But that would quickly be traced back to me, given how narrow Diane’s social circle is. The Marquis would immediately suspect me if Diane disappeared.”

She had thought of other ways, too. She considered sheltering Diane at the Duke’s estate and making their refusal of the marriage public. However, in matters of marriage, the parents’ will was paramount, and Elaina, an outsider, couldn’t solve the issue alone.

The Marquis and Marchioness cared greatly about appearances and had a stellar reputation. Could she win a public opinion battle against them? It was likely that she would be dismissed as a young lady throwing a tantrum over a marriage.

“I even thought of sending Diane to a convent.”

“You’ve thought of quite a lot,” Lyle remarked.

“Of course. I’m genuinely opposed to this marriage. But I realized that the Marquis might submit the marriage application to the temple faster than Diane could reach the nearest convent,” Elaina explained.

By skipping several ceremonies, submitting the paperwork at the temple would legally establish the marriage.

“So, you’ve come to persuade me because you found no other way?” Lyle asked.

“Half right, half wrong. I am here to persuade you, but it’s not because I have no other way,” Elaina said, smiling as she pulled a bell rope.

Before Lyle could react, the butler entered the room.

“Do you need anything?” the butler asked.

The reactions of the two were starkly different.

“No, I rang by mistake. You may leave. And don’t enter, no matter what you hear,” Lyle ordered.

Elaina, fuming, gestured for the butler to come closer. “No, I called him. Come closer, please. I have some questions.”

The butler hesitated, caught between conflicting orders. He glanced between the two before approaching Elaina.

“You’ve managed this household for ten years, right? You should know best what it needs,” Elaina began.

“What exactly are you asking, my lady?” the butler replied.

“How much money would it take to fully repair the mansion? Including replacing the furniture? And how many staff are needed to manage a mansion of this size?” Elaina inquired.

“Excuse me?” the butler stammered.

“It’s a simple curiosity. I won’t have another chance to ask if not today,” Elaina said, inspecting the mansion during their conversation.

Why is she suddenly asking about the cost of repairing the mansion after talking about marriage? Lyle felt a surge of irritation but was more puzzled by Elaina’s unpredictable behavior. When Lyle didn’t respond to Elaina’s question, the butler took it as permission to answer.

“…Approximately 500,000 gold. It’s a large and old mansion, so the renovation would require twice the funds of a newer house,” the butler explained.

“I see,” Elaina nodded, then told the butler he could leave.

“Lady Winchester, what is the meaning of this?” Lyle asked, glaring at her.

“……”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to leave now. As I said, it’s time for me to go meet Lady Redwood,” Lyle stated firmly.

“Let’s do this,” Elaina said, meeting his gaze steadily. “The proposal you planned for Diane, do it to me instead.”

“What?”

“Do you dislike the idea?” she asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Just because the Duke of Winchester keeps me from laying a hand on you…” Lyle began, his frustration evident.

“Then how about this?” Elaina interrupted, looking him directly in the eyes. “What if I propose to you instead?”