This Villain Is Mine Now

Chapter 21

“Hey! Look over there.”

At the sound of the astonished voice from his companion, the man turned his head. His eyes widened as if they were about to pop out. “What, what is that? Those two people.”

“Lyle Grant and Elaina Winchester,” someone whispered nearby.

The two hottest topics of the last social season were walking together. And they were affectionately linked arm-in-arm.

“Could the rumors be true?” the man muttered to himself, bewildered.

Their appearance drew the attention of many others. Everyone who noticed them wore the same stunned expression as the man. It seemed they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Elaina, thinking it was worth getting off the carriage in the bustling city to be seen, whispered softly, “Get closer, Your Grace.”

She pressed her body closer to Lyle’s stiff arm and smiled brightly. “We don’t want people doubting our relationship, do we? Quickly, get closer.”

Lyle looked at her with a tired expression. “Is there really a need to go this far?”

“Of course,” Elaina replied. “We’re supposed to be getting married, so we need to appear close, don’t we? This is all for Diane’s sake. You haven’t forgotten our agreement, have you?”

Suppressing the urge to ask why appearing close to him was necessary for Lady Redwood, Lyle closed his mouth. As he looked down at Elaina’s arm hooked around his, he noticed a sparkling pink ring on her finger. Elaina clenched and unclenched her hand, showing off the ring.

Her gaze seemed to say, ‘You promised to be a faithful husband, didn’t you?’

Lyle pulled her closer, making them look as affectionate and close as his bride-to-be desired.

Elaina led Lyle to the most famous tearoom in the capital. As soon as they entered, the atmosphere changed.

‘As expected, everyone is here,’ Elaina thought, smirking inwardly. She instructed the attendant to guide them to a table. The attendant led them to the best spot in the tearoom.

The tearoom was filled with prominent socialites, many of whom Elaina recognized. Soon, fine tea and luxurious snacks were prepared on the table. After moistening her lips with the tea, Elaina looked around and spoke loudly, as if on purpose.

“Oh my, reserving such a place. I’m really touched.”

As she sat down with a shy smile, Lyle raised an eyebrow. Elaina’s expression changed for a moment, silently urging him to play along with her act.

“It’s really nice to go out together like this!”

“…Anytime,” Lyle replied.

Elaina propped her chin on her hand and gazed affectionately at Lyle. The ring on her hand sparkled brilliantly. One of those who noticed the ring couldn’t contain their curiosity and abruptly stood up. She approached their table and greeted them cheerfully.

“Oh my, Elaina.”

“Huh? Gavi. It’s been a while.”

Gavi Baercret, one of the notorious gossipers, greeted Elaina with a radiant face.

“Since the Founding Festival, right? How have you been?”

“I’m good. How about you, Elaina?”

“Me too,” Elaina replied, nodding with a bright smile.

Gavi Baercret’s eyes couldn’t seem to leave Elaina’s hand. “But that ring on your hand, it looks special?”

“Oh! You have a keen eye. Isn’t that right, Lyle?” Elaina addressed him affectionately, and Gavi’s eyes widened.

“It’s the ring of the late Duchess. It’s not an ordinary piece, obviously.”

“The, the late Duchess?”

Instantly, the ears of everyone in the tearoom perked up.

“The late Duchess, you say. What do you mean, Elaina?”

“Hoho,” Elaina laughed softly, covering her mouth with her hand. “I received a proposal. With his mother’s ring, no less.”

“What?!”

Gavi’s voice rose in surprise.

“It wasn’t necessary, but he insisted on giving a meaningful ring. It was so romantic.”

“Lady.”

“Oh, come now, we agreed to call each other by our names, Lyle.” Elaina laughed again, as if he was still quite shy.

“So, Elaina, you and Duke Grant…”

“Yes.”

“Really? I mean, are you saying it’s true?”

“Yes, it is.”

Gavi glanced around nervously. She was the type who couldn’t hold back her curiosity, and everyone was clearly interested in their conversation.

“Congratulations, Elaina. But… does that mean the previous rumors were all false?”

Elaina felt fortunate it was Gavi who approached her. She tilted her head, pretending not to understand. “Previous rumors?”

“You know, about Lady Redwood.”

“Oh, that. Yes, there were such rumors.”

Elaina took Lyle’s hand. It stiffened at her touch, but she showed no sign of noticing and spoke to Gavi as if it were nothing. “It’s true that there was talk of an engagement. But what’s important is how the two people feel, right?”

“Oh my, yes, of course. The feelings of the people involved are most important.”

“Naturally, I do feel a bit sorry for Diane. Lyle is a good man. But this won’t affect our friendship. Diane is still a dear friend to me.”

It seemed the rumored love triangle between Diane Redwood, Lyle Grant, and Elaina Winchester had some truth to it. From what people gathered, Elaina had intercepted Lyle in the midst of his engagement talks with Diane and managed to secure a proposal.

‘Poor thing.’

Many thought Diane Redwood was somewhat unfortunate. She had to congratulate them in the name of friendship despite losing the man. Although Diane was the daughter of a marquis and had an enviable life, her rival being Elaina Winchester made it worse.

“Oh dear, look at the time.” Elaina glanced at Lyle, still holding his hand. “Let’s go, Lyle. Madam Marbella must be waiting.”

Gavi’s eyes widened. “Marbella? You mean Marbella’s salon?”

“Yes, why?”

Gavi swallowed hard. “Isn’t that the place where you need to book a year in advance just to place an order?”

“Yes, that’s right. But when I told her the news, Madam Marbella wanted to congratulate us and invited us to visit her salon.”

Elaina stood up, feigning a troubled expression. “We barely touched the tea. What a shame. Let’s come back another time, Lyle.”

With her arm linked through Lyle’s, Elaina gave Gavi a slight nod. “Have a lovely time, Gavi.”

Gavi and many others watched in stunned silence as the two walked off affectionately.

“My goodness.”

“Can you believe it?”

“Lady Winchester and Duke Grant? Is this for real?”

“Why would the Duke of Winchester make such a decision…”

“This isn’t the time to dawdle. We need to spread the news.”

After the two left, the quiet tearoom buzzed with excitement, the lively chatter echoing beyond the door.

“Let’s go, Your Grace.” Her previously affectionate tone reverted to its usual formality.

Lyle looked at her incredulously. “Why?”

“What do you mean, why?”

“That conversation just now.”

“Oh, that. It’s called acting. The most powerful weapon in social circles.”

“Acting. For what purpose?”

“Of course, it’s for Diane,” Elaina explained patiently to Lyle, who seemed to be struggling to understand. “Even though the engagement with you fell through, the Marquis of Redwood will never give up. He will ignore Diane’s wishes and find another suitor for her.”

Unfortunately, the Marquis of Redwood was powerful enough to pressure Lyle into an engagement.

“He won’t have much trouble finding a suitable substitute, even if it’s not someone as prominent as the Archduke.”

“…I see.”

“That’s why I’m doing this,” Elaina continued. “Would you like to hear an interesting story? Besides my parents not pushing aggressively, I’ve never received a proposal or even a common engagement offer.”

She looked at Lyle, inviting him to guess the reason.

“It’s too intimidating to approach you rashly,” Lyle surmised.

“Exactly. Everyone finds it daunting. They want the Winchester name so badly, but they’re also afraid of things going wrong. They just keep watching each other, hesitating.”

She gave Lyle a mischievous smile. “So, I made Diane just as intimidating. Imagine being the Marquis’s daughter, entangled with Elaina Winchester, who had an engagement talk with the Archduke. No matter how tempting the Marquis of Redwood’s power is, no one will easily decide to marry her. Not a chance.”