This Villain Is Mine Now

Chapter 102

“Are you an idiot?”

Elaina walked quickly down the hallway. She was so furious that every step she took sent the heels of her shoes clattering loudly against the wooden floor.

Idiot. Fool. The most arrogant man in the world. Bastard!

She was experiencing firsthand what it meant to be so angry that it brought tears to her eyes.

“You said it meant nothing. That I was an obstacle.”

He had acted as if he never wanted to see her again, claiming he would provide ample alimony.

“And now you’re saying it was to protect me?”

She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her soft palms. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to storm into the Archduke’s residence, grab him by the collar, and shake him until he confessed everything he had been hiding and enduring alone.

She was furious. She had thought she had been of great help to Lyle. She had wanted to be the shade under which Lyle, who had spent ten long years wandering outside his home, could rest. No, she had believed she had already become that for him.

But that damned man had not relied on her in the slightest.

Taking on all the danger himself, enduring, and bearing it all alone? And she was just supposed to remain ignorant and be protected?

By what right did he decide that all on his own?

“Hic… hic…!”

Her frustration finally broke into tears.

Why didn’t he understand?

Just as he worried about her, she also constantly worried that he might get hurt.

Elaina finally sank down in a corner of the hallway and burst into sobs like a child. Ironically, it was the very spot where Lyle had proposed to her.

***

As the weather turned colder, the Harvest Festival ball was held. Ordinarily, the attention would be on those who had debuted a few weeks prior, but that night, the focus was on someone else entirely.

That person was Elaina Grant—the woman who, before long, might once again become Elaina “Winchester.” Having abruptly left the Archduke’s residence and returned to her family home, she had shut herself inside for over a month, fueling endless rumors about their relationship.

She had neither attended any social gatherings nor even stepped outside, yet now, she had suddenly announced her attendance at the Harvest Festival ball. As a result, this year’s event was even more crowded than usual, packed to the point where there was barely room to move.

Those attending vividly remembered what had happened exactly a year prior. In their memories, it had always been Elaina who had pursued the Archduke. Indeed, if not for her will, there would have been no way for the declining Grant family to form a marriage alliance with the powerful Winchester family.

From the very start, their engagement had been deemed absurd, and yet, surprisingly, their marriage had been rather smooth.

Elaina had seemed genuinely happy, and the dark, brooding atmosphere surrounding Lyle Grant had gradually faded in her presence. Ever since he had taken Elaina as his wife, it was as if divine favor had been bestowed upon him—one good thing after another kept happening.

“Men are all the same. As soon as their pockets are full, they start thinking differently.”

“Still, isn’t this too much? The only reason Grant has recovered to this extent is because of the Archduchess and the Winchester family’s support.”

Many people sensed that there was a serious problem between Lyle and Elaina. The most obvious assumption was another woman.

Elaina had returned to her family without taking anything with her—clear evidence of just how much she loathed the Grant family now.

They discreetly glanced toward a corner of the ballroom. There stood Lyle Grant, dressed in a black tailcoat. Despite being married, the couple had arrived separately. There was not the slightest trace of Elaina around him.

That alone confirmed that something had gone wrong between them. The gossipers had expected Elaina to arrive looking utterly devastated. After all, she had fallen so deeply for Lyle Grant that she had ignored her family’s status, only to be betrayed. Surely, her pride must have been utterly shattered.

Yet, to their surprise, when Elaina arrived, holding her father’s hand, she was far from pitiful or broken.

“L-look at that!”

At the sight of Elaina, one noblewoman gaped in astonishment and nudged the person beside her.

Elaina appeared as dazzling as ever. She wore a gown that started in a soft lavender hue at the bodice, gradually transitioning into pink toward the hem. Her hair was elegantly styled in an updo, revealing her slender neck adorned with a pink gemstone necklace. Her expression remained calm and confident.

But what truly caught everyone’s attention was her left ring finger.

“I-is that… a ring?”

“Wait. That ring… it’s unmistakably…”

That was undoubtedly the ring said to have been given to her by Archduke Grant when he proposed—once belonging to the former Archduchess. Because it was a meaningful accessory that Elaina frequently wore to important social events, those with sharp eyes quickly recognized it.

“What is going on? If things had truly soured between her and Archduke Grant, she would never have worn that ring.”

The gaze of the one speaking naturally drifted in a particular direction.

Lyle Grant, who had entered the ballroom separately from her as if they were strangers, also looked at Elaina with a hardened expression, as if taken aback by the unexpected situation.

People alternated their gazes between Elaina and Lyle, wearing dazed expressions. A man who had erased all traces of his wife and a woman who arrived wearing her engagement ring. One thing was certain—something was bound to happen here tonight.

After entering, Elaina glanced around as if searching for someone. Her gaze finally settled on one spot. She smiled brightly, bid farewell to her father, and walked toward him.

Click, click. As Elaina approached him, an eerie silence fell over the ballroom.

At last, she came to a stop before the man.

Elaina spoke to the man, who stubbornly kept his mouth shut.

“This happens to be one of my favorite songs. If you’re not too busy, would you dance with me, Your Grace?”

Her golden eyes curved into delicate crescents.

***

A waltz in three-quarter time. Moving in step with the slow rhythm, Lyle took a measured step forward. And he thought—this situation felt oddly familiar, as if he had been through something like this once before.

Unlike him, who could not bring himself to smile, Elaina seemed to be in a good mood. Unable to contain himself, Lyle finally spoke as she hummed a tune.

“Didn’t Nathan tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

She lifted the corners of her lips in a smile. Lyle fell silent. It was the way she smiled when she was truly furious.

“That foolish story about how you did all this just to protect me?”

“Elaina.”

“You’ve mistaken me for the wrong kind of person, Your Grace.”

The way she addressed him had reverted to how she had spoken before their marriage. She twirled gracefully in his grasp.

“If I truly feared danger, I wouldn’t have married you in the first place. What truly infuriates me is…”

Elaina intentionally stepped on Lyle’s foot—hard. Madam Marbella had crafted the highest heels she could for this very occasion.

“That you didn’t even consider trusting me.”

Lyle silently gazed at Elaina. Her golden eyes, which he had not faced in so long, were reproaching him.

“If you wish to hold a grudge, do so after everything is settled, but for now, do as I say.”

Trust her? If he could, he would have. No, Lyle wanted to tell her everything this very moment.

But his primal instincts rejected the notion. Elaina didn’t understand his fears.

If he lost her, just as he had lost his family before—just the thought of it terrified him, turning him into a coward. To him, this was not a matter of trust.

As their eyes met for a brief moment, the emotions that had wavered inside him settled. Lyle’s voice was firm.

“Give up the rights to Nathan’s formula.”

“No. That won’t happen.”

“Listen to me.”

“If you wanted an obedient wife, you shouldn’t have married me in the first place, Your Grace.”

Elaina looked up at him with unwavering resolve.

“Elaina.”

“You want to protect me? Then go ahead. But don’t expect me to cooperate with you. The last time I did what you wanted was when I signed the divorce papers.”

Her voice carried undeniable determination.

“I don’t know why you’re so scared, but I am not a child, Your Grace. I am not so fragile that I need to be protected.”

“It’s not only children who deserve protection. I… No, let me say it again. Give up the rights to the formula.”

Elaina frowned. “Stubborn, aren’t you? There’s no point in this conversation if you refuse to meet me halfway.”

At this rate, they would remain on parallel lines, unable to find common ground.

The music was nearing its end. Elaina let out a long sigh.

“Honestly, I expected you to react this way.”

She leaned in and whispered in his ear.

“I gave you a chance. You were the one who didn’t take it. So don’t be too surprised by whatever I do next.”

With that, Elaina pulled away from Lyle. She lifted the hem of her dress and gave him a graceful curtsy, meeting his hardened gaze with an unwavering one of her own.