The Art of Reforming Villainous Men - Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Translator: Yonnee
—
In that brief moment, the arm Jack had wrapped around Adeline’s waist tightened.
Feeling the gradually increasing restraint, Adeline responded by pulling him closer.
‘I told you, didn’t I, Mister Hatzfeld?’
That someone else might be after your ‘collateral’ too.
As she repeated those words in her mind, a slow smile crept onto her lips.
Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.
* * *
If she were to be honest…
Adeline didn’t actually need to become Jack’s lover.
If all she needed was to resolve the immediate debt and bring Jack to her side, a vague romantic relationship wasn’t necessary.
After all, the contract with Jack required a written agreement, and it would clearly state that the entire Zeller Duchy was being used as collateral.
Even so, Adeline deliberately involved Jack as a lover.
For this very moment.
For the exact moment when Millein would witness her and Jack kissing.
So, after subtly mentioning Jack’s investment to Madam Victoria Tilleman, Adeline had excused herself from the banquet, pretending to enjoy the festivities.
She stepped into the garden, picking up a piece of finger food as she went.
And then, as she passed by a servant holding a tray, she discreetly slipped him a gold coin and whispered,
—Once I leave, find the young man with silver hair and tell him to meet me at the tearoom.
And make sure not to reveal who sent the message.
The servant, eager to earn his gold, followed her instructions to the letter.
He sought out Millein and relayed Adeline’s summons.
Which brought them to the present moment.
“…Haha.”
Milleinberg Ishmire Belov.
The eldest son of the esteemed Marquis Belov—a nobleman without a single flaw to his name.
A man known never to lose his gentle, relaxed smile.
And yet.
Though he still wore that signature smile, his gaze as he looked at Jack and Adeline was cold.
‘I haven’t seen her in a while…’
But to come across her like this, of all ways…
Of course, as a noble of the Crawford Empire’s high society, Millein was unmoved by trivial love affairs.
Had the circumstances been different, he might have simply scoffed at the midday tryst and walked away.
If the woman standing there hadn’t been Adeline.
The way her golden hair cascaded over her straightened back.
The elegant curve of her profile as she turned her head.
The fair skin that caught the light just right.
She had always been a strikingly beautiful girl, even in childhood, but as she grew older, she had only become more breathtaking.
‘It was the same back at the academy.’
How many foolish men had cast greedy eyes upon her?
The number of dogs in heat, desperate just to get their hands on even a strand of her hair, was far too many to count.
And yet, Adeline herself had been completely unaware.
All the trouble had simply fallen onto Millein’s shoulders.
‘I thought I had kept things clean around her.’
So where, exactly, had this filth come from?
With a cold scoff, Millein finally turned his gaze toward the man holding Adeline in his arms—Jack.
The moment Millein stepped into the tearoom, Jack had been watching him with a dark, menacing stare.
As if—
‘…Another damn mutt in heat.’
Millein clenched his jaw slightly, a muscle in his face tightening before slowly relaxing again.
What he saw as precious, others would inevitably covet.
Still, after going through all the trouble of keeping things clean, this situation was irritating beyond words.
“If you’re going to take a lover, at least wait until after the wedding, Renée…”
If she took one before the marriage, someone might start getting greedy.
The only person who belonged by Adeline’s side was Millein.
When will she finally realize that?
No matter who she met, no matter who pursued her, in the end, she would always return to him.
‘…Well, it wouldn’t hurt to let her play a little first.’
With that thought, Millein maintained his composed smile and turned away.
As he approached his carriage, his waiting servant bowed respectfully.
“Welcome back, Young Master Milleinberg. Are you returning to the manor now?”
“Yes.”
Originally, he hadn’t planned on leaving so soon.
But now, there was something he needed to take care of.
“Prepare a letter. It’s time to pay a visit to the Zeller territory.”
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