Becoming the Villain’s Family - Chapter 307
Chapter 307
But his older brother was just wrapped up in madness and murderous intent, and yet Ella even welcomed him and even gave him kisses!
“Damn, I’m jealous!”
“…”
Amidst Aria’s bewildered reaction, Vincent’s remark brought a heavy silence among the men gathered, seemingly in agreement.
Unable to bear the silence any longer, she asked.
“So what’s the conclusion?”
“Whether it’s him here or him there, essentially they’re not that different.”
“…”
“So, Sister-in-law, there’s no need to feel guilty towards him. Since we can’t send him back immediately, we might as well continue living as we have been.”
Aria’s face contorted with complexity at Vincent’s conclusion.
Grand Duke Valentine was unable to adapt to this world and continued his usual behavior. The quick-witted servants, noticing his change, hurriedly expressed their concerns to Aria.
“His Grace seems, well, more violent.”
“I thought he was getting better. Could the curse be recurring?”
“He found some cigarettes in the desk drawer that the former Grand Duke used and has been staring at them all day.”
“And the wine cellar too.”
Normally, discussing a noble’s mental state was considered inappropriate, but for Valentine, it was an exception. The Grand Duke’s madness was linked to the fate of the house, and the servants, sensitive to such matters, felt compelled to report.
“It reminds me of the former Grand Duke during the time when the elder Madam was bedridden with illness…”
The mention of Tristan’s frenzied behavior when Sabina was ill made Aria swallow a sigh.
“It shouldn’t be that bad… should it?”
Amid the fussing servants, Dana, who had been silently observing with crossed arms, sighed and spoke up.
“Has something happened to His Grace? Like….He seems like someone who has lost everything.”
Aria was surprised that the chief handmaid hit it very accurately. Perhaps her experience with the history of Valentine allowed her to see something others couldn’t.
“Maybe… he had a dream.”
Aria reflected her recent memories that now felt distant. While traveling to Garcia in the carriage, Lloyd had mentioned having a bad dream.
“A dream.”
The servants were quite familiar with the stories of the Grand Duke and his wife predicting the future through their dreams.
When Dana heard the mention of a dream, she didn’t dismiss it, but responded seriously.
“Then please reassure him.”
“Reassure him…”
“His Grace has finally grasped what he has long desired, so it’s understandable that he feels anxious. He wouldn’t want to lose this precious everyday life again.”
Without knowing the full situation, she misunderstood the context and added.
“Just reassure him that he will never lose the Young Madam so tragically. That’s something Young Madam is good at, isn’t it?”
Dana chuckled softly as she brushed Aria’s hair behind her ear.
Despite being an adult and even having a child, to Dana, Aria still seemed young, always treating her like a child.
“…”
Aria reflected on Vincent’s and Dana’s words one after another and slowly nodded.
“Alright.”
Grand Duke Valentine and Lloyd are one and the same. Aria decided to accept and embrace this fact.
She decided to stop pushing him away for fear that he would permanently occupy Lloyd’s body.
‘After all, nothing will change by doing so.’
There’s no immediate solution available.
‘It’s okay. I know. Like Vincent said, even if Lloyd were to fall into hell overnight, he’d still be alive.’
Aria resolved to calm her mind and wait for the empire’s greatest minds and the highly capable Luca to find a special solution. It seemed to ease the discomfort and frustration that had been troubling her heart a bit.
She went looking for the Grand Duke.
He was sitting back against a cherry tree.
“Quite a scene.”
Grand Duke Valentine looked down at Aria, who had uncharacteristically sat right next to him, with a hint of surprise.
“You’re usually a step away.”
He was leaning, almost lying against the tree and he pulled Aria closer without hesitation.
“I came to talk…agh!”
She intended to apologize and have an open conversation, so she gasped as she was suddenly pulled into his arms.
She found herself in an embarrassingly awkward position, riding atop him. Lying back on the grass, Aria awkwardly continued her interrupted sentence to the Grand Duke.
“…I came here to talk.”
From the moment she first saw him, she thought this version of Lloyd from the other world was too quick with his hands. He acted like a man who lived only for the day, without any hesitation.
Every approach was a chance for him not to miss, and without warning, he’d try to devour, causing her to instinctively step back.
“Weren’t you here to kiss me?”
“No!”
“With that face?”
The Grand Duke gently traced Aria’s moist eyes and flushed cheeks with his finger.
Aria always had this look on her face, as if unsure what to say next, biting her lip.
Because of this, he found himself constantly tested by self-restraint he didn’t even know he had, as she chewed on her plump lips.
“Considering you’re my wife, it feels like a new kind of torture not being able to touch you.”
“You are touching me right now. You’re even hugging me.”
“That makes it worse. Is this what hell is like these days?”
The Grand Duke murmured seriously as his hand slid from her eyes.
His fingers, which had been playing at her lips, pressed firmly between them and forced their way in.
Aria bit his finger gently almost instinctively.
He raised his eyebrows and muttered a curse.
“Is that a rejection, or a temptation?”
“It means stop. We’re outside, you know.”
The Grand Duke gave her a look as if to say, ‘And what of it?’
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