Because She Had A Time Limit, She Became The Villain’s Daughter-in-law

“…Locked up?”

Seymour jumped up, hitting the table.

“Those bad guys are imprisoning Lady Laria?”

“Well… It’s true that Duchy Icard’s background is a bit bad, but they’re not that bad.”

“I’m sorry. There is a bit of selfishness in it.”

“Why do people like you have an ulterior motive for Duchy Icard?”

As Elanie asked sincerely, Seymour hesitated a little before answering.

“…The Young Duke over there doesn’t like me very much.”

“Why? Does Young Duke Icard know about your existence as a mere baron?”

“It’s just… every time he sees me, his eyes become fiercer and he sticks next to Lady Laria.”

“You have a little cute jealousy. Well, it might feel a little bad from the point of view of being misunderstood, but the men in that family are naturally obsessive.”

Saying that, Elanie laughed.

Even though Evan was handsome, he definitely had a bad gaze, so it would make her feel bad, too, if he looked at her savagely.

“Whatever… Even the Young Duke will come to know that even though you are a little lacking in manners, you are not without sense…”

“It is not a misunderstanding because I confessed to Lady Laria on the day of the banquet.”

“…Are you a senseless crazy bastard?”

Hearing Seymour’s words, Elanie hurriedly rang the bell in the parlor.

“Bring me a cup of tea. Boil it very hot.”

As the maid hurriedly lowered her head and left at her words, Seymour smiled dejectedly before opening his mouth again.

“If you feel stuffy, wouldn’t it be better to have something cold?”

“I’m not going to drink it, I’m going to pour it on you…. Seriously, what are you doing with a married woman?”

She genuinely shot him a look of contempt.

“Is that why you were serious about the divorce law?”

Elanie, who had been screaming, put her hand over her mouth as if she had suddenly realized something.

“Ah.”

“…What?”

“I get it.”

“What, what?”

“I heard you confessed at the banquet! It was after the banquet that Laria disappeared!”

“What does it matter…”

“You got her locked up! That madman locked her up because another man was flirting with his woman!”

Seymour opened his mouth at Elanie’s words. It was because he had never thought of that. No… no matter how much it was, it was unimaginable that he would lock up his own wife for accepting a confession.

“Ah, that is nonsense…”

As Seymour parted his lips again…

“Once upon a time, Duchess Icard and the vice-captain of the knights happened to go out into town alone.”

Elanie continued in a grim voice.

“At that time, Duke Ikard ordered the vice-captain’s eyes, which had been looking at her all day, to be plucked out.”

“….”

“The incident ended only after hearing the rest of the escort knights say that something had come up, and the Duchess begged with tears so they couldn’t help it. And…”

She added in a whisper as she caught her breath.

“…Young Duke Evan is a son who looks very much like Duke Icard.”

“…What would have happened if someone gave a direct confession to Duchess Icard?”

“Yes, maybe…”

Elanie responded calmly.

“They would have ripped him to death. You will soon be found dead.”

“No way… no way. Even if I bought the title, I’m a noble, so it doesn’t make sense to do it like that.”

“For now, at least make a will. I will keep it for you.”

“I hope that you will never return my numerous assets to society and bury them with me.”

“…Terrible guy. If you’re going to bury it anyway, won’t you give it to me as well?”

“It’s a joke anyway, why are you talking seriously?”

“Hmm.”

“Oh, my will itself was no joke. I meant that the princess’ words were like a joke.”

However, it didn’t take long for Seymour to learn that Elanie wasn’t the type to joke about things like that.

That very night, an assassin broke into the Baron’s residence and Seymour was kidnapped. With his hands tied, he was locked in an unknown warehouse.

* * *

‘This is how I die…’

Seymour thought in the deep darkness.

‘It’s fortunate that I left a will.’

Certainly, he lived without fear because he didn’t lose his temper even in front of the Princess, Elanie.

His life had only worked out well so far. That was why he had the self-confidence that he couldn’t explain, saying, ‘it’s okay no matter what I do.’ Though that self-confidence was broken only when he was beaten…

‘In the meantime, I didn’t know what to do and had been really fooling around.’

Even in the midst of this, he was worried about what would happen to Laria if she was locked up in the Duke’s mansion. Looking at that, it didn’t seem like he was regretting his feelings just because he was kidnapped like this.

‘Is it possible to regret things in the first place?’

He thought, thinking of Laria with a pale face.

‘I didn’t like her because I wanted to like her.’

While he was thinking about that, the inside of the warehouse suddenly became bright. A man was sitting in a chair among the flickering torches.

‘That…’

Seymour glanced up at him from the floor and swallowed.

‘What a very dirty impression… He has been like that since he was little, but he grew up dirtier.’

Evan Linier Ickard. The thirteen-year-old boy he met in Borotna had already come of age.

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In the meantime, he hoped, ‘Please stop growing taller, and your face will change!’ but that didn’t happen. Evan was much taller, and his features were sharper, making him a handsome man with a cool impression. While his gaze was terrible, he was definitely handsome.

Evan was gazing down at him with an expressionless face as the torches cast dark shadows on his face.

‘Come to think of it, I think he looked older somewhere. The color is…’

Evan’s eyes were red and bloodshot, and the bottoms of his eyes were puffy as if he hadn’t slept for days.

‘He seems a bit thin…’

Seeing him like that, Seymour couldn’t help but think that his confession was really worth his life.

“Is Lady Laria…”

Evan in front of him didn’t seem to want to open his mouth, so he opened his mouth first.

“…Is Lady Laria okay?”

Evan glared at him with his arms crossed, and he spoke in a low voice.

“Why do you ask me how Laria is doing?”

“That, that’s…!”

The voice was so terrifying that Seymour had to seek God for the first time in his life. Still, he still had more feelings for Laria than God.

“Aren’t you confining Lady Laria at Duke Icard’s mansion?”

“…Confining?”

Evan asked with a smile.

“In what context does that word pop up?”

“Lady Laria has never been confined in Borotna.”

Here, Seymour chose to twist it slightly, as he would really die if he directly said that he had confessed to her. There was a moment of silence before Evan muttered as he ran his hand through his hair.

“I expected it.”

The hushed voice harbored deep anger.

“Very unpleasant.”

Suddenly, Seymour thought that Evan had lost a lot of weight since he hadn’t seen him in a very long time since the banquet.

“That attitude of talking as if you know Laria well.”

Evan’s aura was so precarious that Seymour realized at once that he was no match for him. He had been just a good-looking youngster who had only a knack for making money. It was only then that he realized that he had no knack for cowardice because he had never been in trouble.

“…But it’s true.”

Unfortunately, however, his cowardice was not agile enough to quickly return once he realized the truth.

“I’m sure… I’m sure I know Lady Laria much better than Young Duke Evan.”

Even though Evan smiled at him at those words, his eyes didn’t smile at all so it was a little eerie. He thought it wouldn’t be strange if he got hit, but instead, there was a very long silence.

He murmured slowly as Seymour pondered whether he should say more.

“It’s sad that I can’t deny it.”

Seymour put on an elated expression of strange triumph.

“Young Duke Evan wouldn’t know how clever Lady Laria is.”

“….”

“She is a master of investment and business. Hearing every insightful word makes me want to fall on her knees.”

“It’s not like I don’t know at all.”

Evan frowned and uttered curtly.

“I’ve also been instructed by her.”

“Uh, um…”

“But to think that your eyes saw that expression and that your ears captured that voice that I’ve only experienced once…”

Evan’s voice was strained, and his eyes were blazing. Only then did Seymour’s timid head, which had been coming slowly, finally arrive in whole.

“…I want to destroy you.”

“Please… please endure it, Young Duke.”

“I have endured it, of course.”

Evan slowly tilted his head at Seymour’s trembling voice.

“I’ve already endured it a hundred times.”

“What?”

“From the moment I first saw you until now, I have always felt the urge to kill.”

“Well—! I’m a good-looking and capable guy. Bu-but apart from me…”

Seymour rolled his eyes, thinking of words to say.

“Lady Laria really didn’t have feelings for me at all. So, please refrain from confining Lady Laria.”

“….”

As Evan kept his silence, Seymour’s reasoning suddenly brushed his head, and his whole body froze. If his complexion was that bad… could it be that Laria was really sick? Seymour was a little worried because she had often coughed and expressed that she was not feeling well.

Of course, because his wife was confessed to by another man, he wondered if Evan was crazy enough to confine her…

‘Even though he’s crazy, he’s too crazy… look at his expression.’

Evan’s eyes flashed with madness, and his rugged face was stern.

“She’s a person whose lungs aren’t good, so wouldn’t it be worse if she was confined? I’m worried, so please…”

“Worry? Why the hell are you worried about my wife? I brought you…”

“Are you not sending her to Borotna because I am a problem?”

Seymour wriggled and fell to his knees.

“Still, if you do, won’t Lady Laria’s body be worse? I’d rather not set foot in Borotna, so please treat Lady Laria appropriately.”

When Evan gave a puzzled look, Seymour gasped and bowed his head again.

“Is it possible that the reason you aren’t sending her to Borotna isn’t only because me, but also Baron Ravonis?”

The name of the person that he had been thinking about all this time.