The Unlikely Imprint of the Villainess and the Male Lead - Chapter 12

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Chapter 12

Translator: Yonnee

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“About what…?”

She tilted her head in confusion, but his expression darkened even more.

Her attempt at feigned ignorance was quite convincing, but Lorrain had already noticed the subtle changes in Luciana’s demeanor every time her overnight stay was mentioned.

“Did that man who was with you last night threaten you or something?”

“W-What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Luciana was taken aback, first by Lorrain’s sudden questioning about Richt, and then by his misunderstanding.

“I noticed how tense you get whenever it’s brought up.”

“Oh…”

Darn it. She had tried to be as careful as possible. Was it impossible to hide anything from her older brother?

“If it’s too difficult, you don’t have to force yourself to tell me, but that guy didn’t make any unreasonable demands or act rudely towards you, did he? Hmm?”

“Brother…”

Despite his attempt at a nonchalant tone, his clear blue eyes were filled with concern for Luciana.

“It’s not like that. I was just kind of embarrassed.”

To think that he worried so much because of her. Considering her brother’s nature, he must have been really stressed out.

Luciana felt a warm, touching feeling that she had never experienced with her family in her previous life and sincerely shook her head.

‘It was my fault in the first place.’

Well, that night wasn’t entirely her fault, but perhaps because she had twisted the original story, her mind was in turmoil.

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Well, that’s a relief…”

Lorrain looked at the now grown-up Luciana with eyes full of mixed emotions.

“If you ever have anything troubling you, please tell me. I don’t know who that guy is, but I’ll make sure he never appears in front of you again.”

“Whaaat?”

“Don’t you believe me? I’m not joking.”

“Brother, seriously…”

That’s right. Lorrain was very protective of Luciana, even in the original story.

‘But Brother, what do I do? The person I carelessly spent the night with is Duke Cassio…’

Even though Lorrain was the marquisate’s heir apparent, he couldn’t possibly match Richt in status or influence.

‘If I were to spill the truth, he’d be stunned by the unexpected appearance of the male lead, right?’

Not just her older brother, but her parents as well.

As she parted ways with Lorrain at her door, Luciana swallowed the confession she could never make.

* * *

“This is a huge problem… I have to deceive my family too…”

Luciana lay on her bed, lost in thought.

“To think that such a thing as imprinting could happen from a meaningless night together.”

She recalled the conversation she had with Richt.

“Maybe it’s a mistake? Or could something have gone wrong?”

The kind of imprinting Luciana vaguely knew about usually happened when one felt a strong attraction to the other or when an emotional trigger occurred.

She couldn’t believe that they had become mates just because they spent one night together without being in love. Even with the visible evidence, she was still confused.

“As I’ve told you, intentions don’t matter.”

Richt had given her a brief explanation, which went as follows:

First, werewolves only ever have one mate in their lifetime. As descendants of werewolves, the members of the Cassio Dukedom feels a blind emotional pull towards others. However, this emotional stir alone doesn’t complete the imprinting. The two must physically bond to become eternal mates.

Second, as mentioned before, the act of imprinting is governed by s*xual intercourse. Therefore, regardless of feelings, if one engages physically with someone, imprinting occurs. Once this bond is recognized instinctively, emotional upheaval follows. But this only applies to those with werewolf blood—it doesn’t affect the mate partner.

“……”

In Luciana’s case, it was the latter, where she had unfortunately entangled herself in an imprinting situation.

Luciana sighed deeply, realizing that she had indeed become a part of this rare, unfortunate scenario.