Duke Icardes did not make a single visit to me for three months after my arrival at his estate. During this time, I frequented the gardens and ate the occlasia tree fruits. Thanks to these fruits, I felt less faint and my bloody coughing fits had largely subsided. But I wasn’t fully cured yet.

Cough!

A single cough, and with it, blood.

“Oh no, not again!” My maid quickly patted my mouth with a handkerchief, looking horrified. Lisa, usually poised and rather resourceful, was in her early twenties and had hazel hair and eyes.

“I-I am fine,” I assured her as I cupped my forehead. “Let’s wrap up here and set off. I don’t want to keep the duke waiting.”

“But my lady...”

“Swiftly now.”

Today was the day I had to pick up Evan from the academy with the duke, my new father-in-law. It was going to be my first face-to-face encounter with him since the day of the funeral. I grabbed a fresh handkerchief for myself and hurried down the staircase.

I mustn’t anger him. I mustn’t... He’s the most powerful villain in this universe.

In the novel, after Duke Klaudin turned evil, he became so occupied with strengthening his power that he paid little to no attention to his son. It wasn’t enough that he had sent Evan straight to the academy as soon as he turned six; the man was fully committed to having his son marry me too—even though Evan hadn’t even graduated.

I do wonder how absurd this is for the boy. Imagine taking a wife for yourself at the age of fourteen—her face still a mystery to you.

Our marriage had sent a shock wave across the noble families. From an outsider’s perspective, the motive for the marriage was rather easy to see. Our mothers were close friends, so if the duchess were alive, she would have certainly agreed to accept me into her family. Well, it was no secret that the duke had a lot of affection for his wife, so naturally, most people accepted the justification, despite their gnawing suspicions.

Of course, that was merely an excuse. The real reason he brought me into his family was...

Klaudin knows my death will come at an auspicious time for him.

My fatal illness was a closely guarded secret, unbeknownst to all but my late mother.

Unfortunately, the duke learned about my illness when my mother was alive and visiting his wife’s grave. There, he accidentally overheard her mentioning the nature of my condition. This was why he didn’t waste a second coming for me after he heard about my parents’ deaths.

At that point in the story, Klaudin had quickly gained ground in politics and was beginning to encounter more and more opposition from his enemies. Malicious rumors—such as, “Klaudin is attempting to manipulate the royal family! We must crush him now before it’s too late”—had also started spreading. And the rumors were indeed true. So Duke Icardes, who hadn’t had enough time to gain sufficient power, needed to put an end to the rumors and the unneeded attention they brought him. He figured he could buy time while his son grew up by using me as a clever ruse.

After my marriage to Evan, most nobles let their guards down, saying things like, “Klaudin has no desire to hold sway over the royal family.” And because of their neglect, the duke was able to take all the power for himself until the day of my fated passing.

In seven years, Klaudin will have unmatched power. At which point, he’ll no longer need to be mindful of his political peers.

The ultimate prize, his true end game, was Princess Elani as his daughter-in-law, not me. After all, the only way to exert power and manipulate a royal family is through a royal wedding.

He’s planning to have his son wed the princess when I die.

Evan and Princess Elani did marry at the end of the original novel, exactly as the duke intended.

But here’s the thing... I’m not going to die this time around.

I was an entity, a deviation, that simply did not belong in this story—especially not in the archvillain’s plans.

Against the plot, against his schemes... What if... What if I don’t die by the time I turn twenty-one?

It was strictly illegal to get a divorce in the empire. So I couldn’t divorce my husband.

So... Say that I stick around long enough until he wishes to wed those two…

How would Klaudin react to that? A girl he assumed to be terminally ill, in fact, proves to be completely healthy. Frankly, I didn’t care much if I ruined the original plot, but I was a little scared to hinder the archvillain’s plans.

If I don’t die at a good time for him, he may just get rid of me anyway.

The undeniably logical theory left me feeling quite uncomfortable.

* * *

“Please forgive me. I’m terribly late, I know.” I galloped down the stairs, and the only thing awaiting me at the end was Klaudin’s steely gaze. His imposing aura was still just as severe as before.

Ugh, does he have to be so intense all the time?

“It’s fine,” he snapped, staring me down with his cold eyes.

Well, I was brought into his family as a facade. Of course, he had no interest in me.

No matter. In the original story, I spend the rest of my miserable years cramped up in this estate anyway. So let’s not get any silly ideas. Just fade away like I did before.

My purpose in the old story was merely to serve as a plot device. I helped illustrate his mad lust for power by showing he was willing to use his own son as a tool to achieve his goals—I showed he was a “by any means necessary” sort of character. That’s who I was—a character without any descriptions or characteristics, one who dies quietly without a fight.

“You appear to be in better health than when last I saw you.”

I almost hiccuped from his keen remark. It felt like a warning to me: If I did not die according to his plan, being killed was a sure possibility. I had to be mindful of the worst-case scenario and act carefully.

He mustn’t come to realize I’ve been remedying my illness on my own!

In fact, the medicinal properties of the occlasia tree fruits were proving to be remarkably effective, propelling my recovery at an astonishing speed. Besides, the food here was truly amazing, and I had been taking regular walks in the gardens, enjoying the beauty.

Should he now find out that I’ll be sticking around longer than he needs me to, he might kill me and find another fatally ill girl to play my role...

The doomed thoughts of a weak and powerless daughter-in-law continued to snowball in my head. The duke, unaware of my internal plight, added, “And perhaps you’ve even gained some weight.”

Not good. Not good.

Without waiting for a reply, he spun around and headed off toward his horse.

“F-Father!” I called him with all my might, hoping he would stop. Slowly, he wheeled around. I froze for a moment.

“Father?”

I was sure I had already called him that during our first encounter, but he looked at me as if I had just coined a groundbreaking new word.

“Yes, Father!” With great effort, I forced out a meek, little smile and clarified, “I-if the title bothers you... I could—”

“It’s fine. What do you want?”

I had been shaking to my core, afraid that something terrible would happen at any moment, so when he said it was fine, I let out a sigh of relief.

His dark-red eyes, which seemed more hawkish than ever, were impossible to look at. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t back down now. If he were to suspect the truth about my illness, even in the slightest, it wouldn’t end well for me.

Since I knew he and I would not see each other too often, I decided to pretend to be sick, hoping it would throw him off track. As soon as I made up my mind, I felt a tingle in my chest, a telltale sign that bloody coughs were about to erupt.

“I-I want to ride in the carriage with you.”

“What?”

“I wish to sit by you in the carriage, Father.”

“For what reason?”

What other reason would there be? I wanted to show you my performance—a coughing fit in front of your very eyes. You see, I had to hold onto this insignificant character, whether she was dying or not. So I couldn’t let him catch on to the truth. No, that wouldn’t do.

“I heard we can expect rain today. I don’t want you to catch a cold, Father.”

“It’s going to rain today? How peculiar, considering how clear the sky is.”

I chuckled awkwardly. “Oh, that’s odd. Hmm, perhaps it was tomorrow’s forecast I read.”

No luck. He didn’t move an inch from where he was standing. As a matter of fact, he even aimed a half-contemptuous stare at me. Hmm, my plan to talk about the weather was failing.

“Well! The truth is...” At my wit’s end, I decided to sell my soul to the devil. “I... I simply wanted to g-get to know you better, since we’re family now.”

Did that work?

I stood there, my heart racing. Then, he marched toward me and pulled open the carriage door.

“Up.”

“Pardon me?”

“You go in first.”

Wow. He bought it.

I was terrified to share a ride with the dreadful archvillain, but it was better than arousing suspicion about my recovering health.

And so there I was, sitting across from him in the cabin, rolling onward toward the academy.