I Reincarnated As A Villainess, But Why Did I Become A Cat Butler Instead? - Chapter 298

Chapter 149.2

Nigel ended up doing the same.

“Love… What a joke.”

It was as if a fuse had been ignited, and negative emotions related to trauma that had been building up inside me exploded uncontrollably.

“He claimed to love her so much… How could he give his wife to another man for the sake of status… What is that status even worth?”

It was Renée, not me, whom Nigel betrayed. Yet, my heart ached as if I had been the one betrayed.

His actions hurt me.

“Ha! So that’s what it is in the end.”

I gritted my teeth, struggling to hold back the tears that threatened to spill.

Even though I knew Dimitri was listening, I couldn’t hold back the surge of emotion. It felt like I’d been struck on the head with a hammer. Like a wounded animal growling to conceal its pain, I lost control and shouted. With no time to understand what was fueling my anger, I simply acted on my heated emotions.

“It’s all the same. Everyone is like this.”

“Rowaine.”

Although Dimitri tried to calm me down, I coldly brushed away his outstretched hand.

“Why?”

It would be unfair for me to be angry at him right now. Even though I knew that, I couldn’t stop being sharp.

“Why didn’t you tell me you met Nigel?”

“….”

“Tell me. Why did you hide it from me?”

Dimitri spoke reluctantly as I questioned him.

“I thought it would turn out like this.”

“Turn out like this?”

He was looking at me with calm eyes. I felt like I knew what he was thinking without him saying a word.

I remembered the words I had shouted at him one day.

“I don’t believe in love. It’s because of me that I don’t accept your feelings. It’s my own issue.”

“Rowaine.”

“It’s my lifelong commitment—let’s not do things like love. Let’s not believe in such things.”

“….”

“I can’t love you. It means I can’t accept your heart.”

Given what I had said, he wouldn’t have been able to talk about Nigel.

His judgment might have been right.

This situation once again convinced me that the end of love was always misery.

Love, that sweet hormonal rush, clouded a person’s judgment, made the other seem perfect, and led one to take the enormous risk of entrusting themselves to another. When the blindfold covering your eyes came off, and you came to your senses, you’d find yourself floundering in a pit of hell—that was likely the fate of anyone foolish enough to be captivated by love.

Every instance of love I’d ever witnessed was like that. Beautiful love stories, like fantasies, existed only in movies. Perhaps that’s why people were so drawn to romance.

I came to my senses as if I had been hit with cold water.

‘I’m the same. Being blinded by love will lead me to unhappiness, just like Mom. Just like Renée.’

I looked at Dimitri, trying my best to suppress my emotions.

‘It’s probably the same with Dimitri.’

Even though he seemed so kind and good right now, he would change the moment love ended. No, not change—he would simply return to his true self.

The way he was on the day we first met… that must be his true nature.

Back then, Dimitri was imposing, frightening, and sharp.

I imagined those kind, warm eyes turning cold as they looked at me. As I thought about how his playful smiles would vanish, replaced by disdain and mockery, my heart felt like it was breaking. Eventually, as I turned my gaze away from the window, Dimitri reached out his hand to me.

“Rowaine.”

I gently but firmly brushed his hand away and wiped the expression off my face.

“We’ve arrived. I need to go upstairs and get some rest. Let’s continue this conversation later.”

Then, as soon as the carriage stopped, I fled upstairs to my room, leaving Dimitri and Coco behind.

̊ · : * ✧ * : · ̊

Dimitri watched Rowaine’s retreating figure blankly as she ascended the stairs. It felt as if he had finally coaxed a wary snail to peek out of its shell, only for it to retreat again due to an external threat he couldn’t prevent. There was nothing he could do about Rowaine, who concealed her emotions behind an expressionless face.

“D*mn it.”

He felt a sense of emptiness as though he had returned to square one. Still, he couldn’t pursue Rowaine hastily.

He glared at Agaliaept, who was hiding in Rowaine’s shadow and grinning in that infuriating way, as if he wanted to kill it.

‘The problem the demon exploits is a person’s deepest weakness.’

Agaliaept was clinging tightly to the wound buried deep within Rowaine… Nigel was merely the trigger that caused her to unravel.