This Villain Is Mine Now - Chapter 31

“There hasn’t been a single positive response despite sending out so many marriage proposals? So that’s why you’re upset. Don’t worry. If the Marquis of Redwood has proposed so many matches, soon enough, a proposal will be made to the gentleman you mentioned last time,” Elaina responded, feigning ignorance to Diane’s words.

On the day Diane heard that Lyle was coming to propose, she had cried bitterly, confessing that there was someone else she liked.

“No… that won’t happen,” Diane replied weakly, her lips barely moving.

The two of them were the only ones in the furniture shop, as everyone else had stepped away to give the noble ladies some privacy while they browsed.

Hesitant, Diane eventually confided her secret to Elaina. “The person I like isn’t of a high enough status for my father to consider him.”

Nathan Hennet. The second son of a country viscount. A man who hadn’t even received a title, and whose profession was a botanist. His modest circumstances were not likely to please her father’s discerning eye.

The day the marriage proposal with the Archduke had been discussed, she had been so shocked that she burst into tears. But now, she was slowly coming to terms with her feelings.

“I used to hope, in my heart, that my father would propose to him. But I’ve stopped entertaining such foolish thoughts. My father made it clear at breakfast this morning when the whole family was gathered.”

“What did he say?”

“He said that if every noble family in the capital rejects the proposals, he’ll send me to a convent.”

“What? That’s outrageous!”

Elaina jumped up, her anger evident. Diane, startled by her friend’s fiery reaction, widened her eyes before offering a weak smile.

“I can’t help it. If my father decides that, I have no power to refuse. At least I can attend your wedding before I leave for the convent.”

“But how can your father decide your future so arbitrarily? It’s your life, Diane!” Elaina grasped Diane’s hands firmly. “Are you really okay with this? You said you have someone you love. Are you really fine with going to a convent and growing old there instead of marrying him?”

“If that’s what my father decides…”

“Don’t say that!”

Elaina held Diane’s face, ensuring she couldn’t look away. “Do you really mean what you just said?”

Diane couldn’t lie to Elaina. She quietly shook her head.

Elaina sighed and released Diane’s face. “Don’t give up on your future so easily. No matter what your father says, it’s you who has to live that life. Make a decision that won’t leave you miserable. I know your father and family might seem intimidating now, but if you just go along with what they decide, all you’ll have left in the end is regret.”

Fixing the past is far more difficult than mustering the courage to act in the present. Diane may have avoided a marriage with Lyle, but if she didn’t change, similar situations would keep arising.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s frustrating. I hear it all the time… that I have no merits except for my looks.”

“Who says that? And you just stood there and took it?”

“But it’s true… I’m just hoping that all the people my father proposed to will reject me. I don’t want to be anyone’s wife if it’s not him.”

“You’d rather go to a convent?”

“Yes.”

“Diane!”

Elaina couldn’t hold back anymore and shouted. The low self-esteem that had been trampled on for so long wasn’t easily mended. Hearing Diane’s resigned words, Elaina could sense what kind of treatment she had endured at home, and it made her clench her fists in anger.

“There are other choices besides that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nathan. There’s a future where you could marry him, too.”

Diane smiled weakly. “That kind of future doesn’t exist for me.”

Nathan spent most of his time at the Hennet estate and only came to the academy during certain seasons in the winter and summer to use the laboratory. Now that it was winter, he wasn’t teaching students but was likely back at the academy as a research professor.

“He’s probably heard the rumors by now. The news about my failed marriage proposal with the Archduke, and how my father is proposing to every noble family in the capital. The rumors have spread like wildfire.”

And yet, there wasn’t a single word about it in Nathan’s letters.

“…You’re sending letters?”

“Yes, we exchange letters through a carrier pigeon. The pigeon, named Gugu, is really smart,” Diane said, forcing a smile as she squinted her eyes. “Maybe we can still exchange letters even after I go to the convent, at least until he finds a wife…”

“Listen to me, Diane. You’re not going to that convent,” Elaina said firmly.

Right now, there might be many who reject the proposals, calculating their interests, but Diane was still the daughter of a marquis. That title alone was valuable in the marriage market.

Unless everyone had lost their minds, someone would accept a proposal soon enough. And if not, there was surely someone who would propose to Diane directly.

“Why don’t you talk to Nathan first?”

“No. I can’t burden him with that,” Diane replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

It’s not a burden. Elaina stifled her frustration.

If Diane married another man, Nathan Hennet would likely throw himself into his research with an obsessive fervor, becoming a recluse. While he might achieve unprecedented success in his field, eventually, he too would take his own life.

This wasn’t just about Diane—it was about Nathan Hennet’s future as well.

“So what if it’s a burden? He should feel burdened! After stirring up your feelings like this, pretending not to know is just cowardly.”

“Elaina…”

“No. We should go to the academy and see him ourselves. You need to talk to him face to face,” Elaina insisted.

Diane’s face turned pale. “W-what? But…”

“He’s in the capital, isn’t he?”

“But I’ve only seen him in person once…” Diane began to stammer, quickly recounting their first meeting.

The two had met several years ago at a ball. Nathan hadn’t attended for the socializing—he was there to secretly collect a rare plant that only grew in that garden.

Diane had slipped away from the ball and headed to the garden, where she encountered Nathan rustling in the darkness.

Startled, she screamed, and Nathan, who was too focused on his task, accidentally cut his hand with the knife he was holding. Diane had quickly offered her handkerchief to stop the bleeding, but afraid that the Marchioness might catch her alone with a strange man, she had fled the scene.

The handkerchief was returned to her a few days later.

Coo, coo.

The sound of a bird tapping on her window had startled her. When Diane opened it, there was a white pigeon with something tied to its leg.

“Gugu had a well-laundered handkerchief and a letter attached to its leg. That’s when we started exchanging letters,” Diane explained, though Elaina already knew the story.

“Diane, the fact that you’ve only seen him once is part of the problem. You might be disappointed when you see him again.”

“No, I don’t think I will.”

“How can you be so sure? Honestly, I don’t even know if that man is a good match for you. But this is your life, Diane, so your feelings are what matter most,” Elaina said, holding Diane’s hands.

“So, meet him in person. You have the right to choose your own future, Diane, not just wait for someone else to decide it for you. And if he’s not the one, then end it and look for someone else. Stop sending letters, too.”

Elaina’s words were sincere. She couldn’t stand how Nathan, fully aware of Diane’s situation, was content with merely exchanging letters.

‘Cowardly and despicable coward,’ she thought.

After stirring up Diane’s emotions, he didn’t have the courage to take the next step. No matter how much she criticized him in her mind, it didn’t ease her frustration.

“Lady Winchester, Lady Redwood. The furniture you requested in bright colors has been prepared upstairs. Shall we?” The shop owner approached them, ready to show them the items.

Elaina raised her hand to stop him. “I’m sorry, but I have to leave today. I’ll return in a few days, so could you hold onto them until then?”

The shop owner nodded readily, agreeing to the request. Elaina took Diane’s hand and led her out of the shop.

“E-Elaina…”

“Do as I say, Diane. Talk to him face to face—it will make your feelings clearer,” Elaina urged.

Diane, unable to reply, simply nodded weakly after a long pause.