An Unwelcome Encounter
Kyle Winfred's eyes met Isabelle's, who had appeared without warning.
"What are you doing here?"
I clicked my tongue in irritation. At my indifferent response, Isabelle's arms trembled.
"Did your maid get the date wrong again?"
I glanced at Isabelle and asked calmly, indirectly pointing out the rudeness of visiting someone else's mansion without any notice. A moment later, her face flushed as if it might burst, having caught my meaning.
"…I need to talk to you."
I swallowed the sigh that threatened to escape. What kind of conversation could we possibly have when we were about to break off our engagement?
What the hell is she doing?
My brow furrowed in displeasure. Having my meal interrupted by an unwelcome guest was the worst possible situation.
"I refuse."
"Why…!"
"Do you want me to choke on my food? Read the room."
When I gestured toward the table by the window where food had been laid out, Isabelle's eyes filled with shock, as if she had just heard something unbelievable. I slowly turned my head toward her.
"I don't want to eat a dinner that's gone cold."
Which meant she should leave immediately. But Isabelle only gritted her teeth in frustration, stubbornly ignoring my words and remaining where she stood. In the end, I sighed and walked toward her.
"What are you doing, standing there like a statue?"
"…I need to talk to you."
"If you have something to say, say it from there. I'll listen for a moment."
"Not here—let's have a proper conversation inside…!"
"Hey."
When I called her name in a low, heavy voice, her shoulders flinched. "Who do you think you are?"
"What do you mean…!"
"Why are you suddenly saying something different now? You used to treat me like trash and hurl every kind of insult at me, and now you want to talk?"
Isabelle's lips, which had parted to reply, closed as if by magic. I pressed on without losing momentum.
"Talk? Ha. Let me ask you something. What would change just because we talk?"
"Of course it would! First we clear up the misunderstandings, then we can have a constructive discussion about the engagement ceremony—"
"Nonsense."
A hollow laugh escaped me. Isabelle Ustia despised Kyle Winfred. That was an undeniable fact, one I had never doubted and never would. Isabelle was the brightest heroine in this world, while Kyle was nothing more than a bastard and a villain. They were never meant to be together. No matter how much Kyle Winfred insisted he was part of the ducal family, the stigma of being a bastard was not so easily removed.
He had dared to love a woman far above his station. In return, he had endured the hatred of the woman he loved most. That was the entirety of the relationship between "Isabelle Ustia" and "Kyle Winfred" as written in the official setting materials. No one cared about the villain's backstory—how Kyle Winfred had lived, how he had come to love Isabelle, or why he had become such trash.
The Isabelle from the previous run had been no different.
— Don't act so hypocritical in front of me. It's disgusting.
— You piece of trash.
— Stop deluding yourself! Just the thought of an engagement with someone like you is torture!
Isabelle's voice echoed in my ears like a hallucination. I had heard insults beyond anything I could have imagined, but it was fine. After all, I was an outsider. Once I played the villain as the system intended and died, I could return to my original world. I had never been able to say that I didn't want to be engaged while listening to such words either. Even when I was falsely accused of a crime, I could never openly claim my innocence—for fear that I wouldn't be able to return to my original world.
But now that I had chosen the Holy Relic instead of the system, was there really any need to clear up the misunderstandings with Isabelle? Whatever change of heart she had experienced, whatever reason she had for clinging to me now—everything was shrouded in mystery, yet I had no desire to hear her reasons or ask about them.
It's unnecessary.
I was human too. I could never fully trust the woman who had killed me. Isabelle could walk her own path. I would walk mine. That was the extent of our relationship.
"Whether there's a misunderstanding or not, what does it matter? Does that bother you so much? Enough to barge in at this hour and insist on talking?"
Step by step, I slowly approached her.
"You've always looked at me like I was an insect, and now what? You want to clear up misunderstandings?"
"That's because your past behavior was also problematic…!"
"Ha."
Kyle Winfred. The villain of the game who repeated his trashy behavior until he died like trash. Surprisingly, he had one hidden secret.
"Are you sure?"
"What?"
"Are you certain that the stories you've heard about my past are the undeniable truth?"
"…"
Kyle Winfred was a villain. But he had not been born evil. A commoner mother. And a bastard. What kind of treatment could a man of such lowly background expect in a ducal household? On the surface, he would be treated as a member of the family. But would the direct bloodline truly think the same?
They treated him like a dog.
They spread baseless rumors to ruin his reputation, deliberately ostracized him at every official family event, and orchestrated situations to provoke his misbehavior. Meeting Isabelle in the midst of all that must have felt like a ray of light in his gutter-like life. But when even the only woman he had ever loved treated him like trash, he must have slowly gone mad. In the end, the completely twisted Kyle Winfred became a true villain.
"Answer me."
For the record, at this point shortly after the regression, Kyle Winfred had not committed any significant misdeeds. At most, he had only made cute attempts to get Isabelle's attention.
"I… you…"
Isabelle's eyes reddened, and she struggled to continue. It was understandable. How could she possibly know the hidden setting that never appeared anywhere in the game—a truth I had only discovered by chance while living as Kyle Winfred?
"Worm. Trash. Pathetic human."
"…"
"I was surprised. You're the first woman who's interpreted me in so many different ways."
"…"
"Want me to keep going? Scum of the earth. Terrible human. A human who deserves to be cursed…"
"S-stop…!"
Isabelle's eyes gradually filled with tears. Her stubborn insistence on having a conversation vanished in an instant. Seeing her at a loss for what to do stirred an indescribable feeling in me.
"It's strange. Why was I so obsessed with you?"
I spoke words I didn't mean—speculative statements about how Kyle Winfred might have felt.
"Worm, trash… Those were the words I heard every day, but hearing them from your mouth made me feel especially miserable. Like I really was a worm."
Isabelle finally shed tears. Whether from shock at my words or not, her breathing grew rough and ragged. An eerie silence filled the room.
"Escort her out safely."
"Yes, young master."
I clicked my tongue in irritation and turned my back. Since the head butler had heard the entire conversation, there was a good chance its contents would reach the Duke. Just then—
"Kyle—!!"
Isabelle cried out as if wailing. When I turned my head, her gaze was fixed on something in the room. I followed her line of sight. On the nightstand to the right of the bed sat a brownish case. Inside was a ring identical to the engagement ring on Isabelle's ring finger.
"You said you threw it away—!!"
Was she crazy? That thing was worth a fortune. I planned to sell it later for a good price.
"We will escort you out now."
"Get rid of that! I still have things to say to Kyle…!"
"This is difficult, Lady Isabelle."
When Isabelle stubbornly resisted, the head butler signaled the servants standing nearby. A moment later—
"Wait, just a moment, please, listen to me… Kyle!!"
She was dragged out of the room, shouting in a voice that didn't suit her. Watching her retreating figure, I muttered quietly.
"Is it over?"
****
A few days after the commotion, the Duke, who had left to find the Holy Blood, finally returned to the mansion. And then—
"It was really there. Not a fake—the real Holy Blood."
The Duke admitted that he had found the Holy Blood in the location I had pointed out.
"I told you it was the real thing."
"I acknowledge it. Kyle, you've finally become useful to this family."
The Duke's face lit up with unmistakable joy, as if finding the Holy Blood had brought him immense happiness.
"I trust you haven't forgotten the terms of our deal."
I calmly demanded that he fulfill his end of the bargain. Since a Geas had been used, there was no chance the Duke would go back on his word now, but I wanted a definitive answer as soon as possible because of his impatient nature. I stared at the Duke, waiting for his reply. A moment later, with a faint smile, the Duke's tightly closed lips parted.
"I will personally demand the dissolution of the engagement from the Ustia County. The check can be issued at any time—just speak to the head butler."