The Impact Of The Villainess’ Fake Marriage On The Ending - Chapter 104

Chapter 104

“I didn’t expect there to be a traffic jam here…”

Adeline stared out the window in surprise as the carriages began to stop in a place far away from the theatre.

“Looking at this, it’s no exaggeration to say that all the nobles in the capital are gathering.”

The opening party of the Mière Theatre didn’t become this much of a topic until the invitations were sent out.

It was a new large-scale theater, so many people were interested in it, but it didn’t look like all the nobles would come here like they are now.

However, since the news spread that Count Felix would attend after his long confinement at home and that Kael and Adeline, who had suddenly returned to the capital, had given a positive response, the nobles started saying they would also attend one after the other.

Everyone in the capital knew what Vanessa had done. But seeing that Vanessa’s brother and the grand duke and duchess were gathering in the same place, there was no end to the gossip.

“Everyone will just stare at us again. Even Count Felix.”

Adeline let out a small sigh as if her head was already hurting.

“Do you think Count Felix has something?”

Kael nodded right away.

“If you think about it, he doesn’t meet the conditions we found. He didn’t propose to you, nor did he have any contact with me either. He’s not even close to the emperor.”

In fact, based on the information revealed so far, Jeffrey couldn’t be part of the group of potential candidates.

But strangely enough, he attracted Kael’s attention. The more he looked at it, the more it bothered him.

“But I can’t get rid of the idea that there is something. Especially considering the poison that Lady Felix used to end her life or the dagger she brought to attack you.”

“Please explain.”

Kael narrated Jeffrey’s story while they were in the carriage at a standstill.

He also talked about the situation where he could not find a way for Vanessa to obtain the poison and dagger at all, so the only explanation is that she had found it inside the mansion; and that the time frame in which the incident with the emperor and Jeffrey’s confinement happened had intertwined.

“It’s the poison of a white viper. It’s such a hard poison to get, so if someone got their hands on it, they must have left a trace. But I can’t find that trace at all. The same goes for the dagger.”

“Then…”

“I heard that Lady Felix had a snake and that she used black magic, but I don’t think she had that much ability.”

“Do you think Count Felix could have moved behind the scenes?”

“Yes. And the Lady is just one thing. Your brainwashing, and what happened next… I don’t think Lady Felix was involved for no reason.”

This was something Adeline was also thinking about.

Vanessa played a very important role and part in her brainwashing, which would never have been a coincidence. Adeline also thought that Vanessa and the person connected to her might be the culprits.

“But the problem is that there is no point of contact with us. There was no reason for Count Felix to hate seeing us together. And he never revealed that he thought so.”

“And he’s not someone who would gain something from you and His Majesty being in a disagreement with each other.”

“You’re right. That’s also true. He has nothing to gain from the battle between me and His Majesty, and he has no reason to hold a grudge against me or you. He may hate us given what happened with the Lady, but the brainwashing was done a long time ago. The timing is not right.”

It looked like if one thing was right, the other would become wrong. No one could perfectly correspond to the hexagon Kael and Adeline had drawn.

“It’s difficult.”

Adeline sighed. As they were about to catch the culprit, their image became fainter, increasing her frustration.

“Hopefully we can discover something more today. Either he is completely erased from the list of possible culprits, or he becomes an even more probable candidate.”

Adeline nodded in agreement.

“That’s why, Adeline.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be alone tonight. I’ll stay by your side, but if anything happens, you should always be next to Melissa and the escort knight.”

He was anxious. Including Jeffrey, there were a number of other nobles who were suspicious. Anyone could be a candidate as the culprit had not yet been fully identified.

Since the culprit was constantly aiming for Adeline, they kept thinking that he wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

“I’ll do that. Don’t worry too much.”

Adeline smiled softly and took Kael’s hand as if to reassure him.

Feeling the warmth that had reached him, Kael wrapped his hands around Adeline’s.

He was trying to erase his anxiety as much as possible, but the thought that his curse might hurt Adeline was still growing in a corner of his mind.

Kael prayed and prayed with all his heart that nothing would happen tonight and that nothing would harm Adeline.

***

The grand opening party was to take place after the performance.

The nobles filled the theatre, and on the large stage, several actors sang, acted, and performed a play.

In fact, few people focused on the play. Everyone glanced at Kael and Adeline or looked at Jeffrey.

“It’s not going out of my expectations. I think everyone is looking at us and Count Felix.”

“I think so too.”

Adeline whispered in his ear, and Kael answered in a low voice.

They could feel the gazes pouring from all sides, so they could not examine Jeffrey as much as they wanted. The only thing that could be seen from Kael and Adeline’s position was Jeffrey’s back.

‘I thought he wouldn’t come to us first, and he didn’t. Is he avoiding me and Kael?’

Adeline looked at Jeffrey, pretending to be watching the stage with her opera glasses, and fell into thought. They were seated in the same direction, so it was easy to see him.

‘I never thought there would be anything, not even when he brought Theresa in his carriage.’

On the day Theresa’s carriage broke down, it was Jeffrey and Vanessa who took her to the mansion.

Up until then, Jeffrey had no presence at all. Although Adeline was distracted by Vanessa at that time, the person itself was not very noticeable.

‘If it really is Jeffrey, what is the reason? And he even used his sister like that… Or was the marriage between Vanessa and Kael his main purpose? Because he would become the older brother of the grand duchess if they got married?’

Her thoughts continued.

‘Then why did he brainwash me? If their marriage was his purpose, there was no reason to touch me. He would have rather used a love potion on Kael so that he could marry Vanessa. Even if he had to think of another way because the potion didn’t work on Kael, there was no reason to bring me into it. I wasn’t even engaged to Kael.’

Even if she asked and answered back and forth by herself, there was no great reason for Jeffrey to do it.

‘Is there anyone else who was close to Vanessa besides Jeffrey? Out of all the people hiding?’

Just as she was thinking that she might be missing someone because she was hung up on the relationship between the siblings, Jeffrey suddenly turned around.

In that instant, Adeline took her eyes from the opera glasses for a moment. Jeffrey had made eye contact with her just beyond the lenses.

It didn’t look like Jeffrey had accidentally turned around. He knew exactly where Adeline was, so he turned around accordingly and caught her gaze.

“…”

She had only met his gaze, but Adeline felt goosebumps all over her body for a moment.

“Adeline? Are you alright?”

“Ah… Yes. It’s just… I’m fine.”

Adeline finally realized why Kael was bothered by Jeffrey.

She was anxious. In so many ways.

***

“Your Grace. Can I talk to you for a moment?”

When Adeline and Melissa stopped by the powder room after the performance, Jeffrey was waiting for her.

When she encountered him in a completely unexpected place, Adeline’s body began to stiffen.

“Is something the matter?”

Although she was still far from Kael, Melissa and the female knight were by Adeline’s side. They were also more wary of Jeffrey than Adeline.

“I should have apologized a long time ago, but I missed the chance to do so. The pain of losing my sister was so great that I was out of my mind.”

Jeffrey slowly approached Adeline. Adeline watched him carefully.

For someone who had been sticking to home, someone who had lost his sister, he didn’t seem to have much sorrow. He curiously looked the same as before.

She had heard from Kael that there was a report that he was just skin and bones during the military police’s investigation, but from what she could see now, he wasn’t like that at all.

“I apologize for my sister’s faults, Your Grace. Please forgive her with your generous heart. Please consider that she paid for it with her life.”

Jeffrey leaned down with his right hand on his chest. Adeline didn’t answer. She just kept silent and looked at him.

“…”

But just as he was about to return to his original position, his sharp eyes turned to Adeline, just as they had when they found her in the theatre a little while ago.

Jeffrey quickly looked away, but Adeline did not miss that brief moment.

“I’ll be going now, Your Grace. You’re probably not comfortable facing me.”

After speaking politely, he turned away. But Adeline stood motionless, a surprised look on her face and her body stiff.

“Your Grace? Are you alright?”

The moment those sharp eyes turned to Adeline, something unbelievable happened.

“Kael. I have to go to Kael. Right now.”

She didn’t know why, but the moment Jeffrey’s gaze touched her, her body suddenly trembled and a blue moon appeared in her mind.

She saw the blue moon that was the key that opened the door to Repositio.