My Villain Fiancé is Interfering With My Flowery Path

Hearing those words with raised voices, it was possible to guess what was going on. Thisbe’s cold gaze was drawn to the front of the Duke’s room.

The elders of Callist.

Carnivores who eat according to their age, and have outdated ideas all over their heads, and have no interest in anything other than the honor of their family.

One might think that this is a rather harsh evaluation, but surprisingly, this was not an evaluation made by Thisbe.

These were the words of Thisbe’s grandfather, the Duke of Callist.

‘I was quite surprised when I first heard it.’

Unlike other families that have their offices only on the top floor, which was the most secretive and inaccessible, Callist’s office was located on the first floor.

It was because of restricting the intrusion of foreign officials into the private space on the second floor, allowing guests to only access up to the first floor.

Because of this, the Duke of Callist used to carry out his high-ranking duties in the office on the first floor, so Thisbe also came and went and heard some stories.

For example, something like the poignant evaluation of the elders a while ago.

– The elders are noisy? People who don’t even pay taxes are still making a fuss over the revision of the tax law. These bastards don’t even die.

– Go, my lord. Still, they are elders.

– If you’re old, there is nothing special about a dog, a cow or a pheasant? If I put down my position, I would be an elder. Is that  a big deal?

Even then, perhaps less irritable, the Duke of Callist poured out a lot of cursing against the elders.

The office is basically well soundproofed, and it seems like he didn’t really care because it’s his house.

‘If you leave the long door slightly open, you can hear it quite well from outside.’

Thanks to this, they didn’t seem to even notice the presence of Thisbe, who was listening outside.

It was the first time she had ever heard of the elders, who did not take up much weight in the original novel, so she remember hearing about the elders through the Duke of Callist.

‘In the original, the elders were quiet… Because I was playing the Saintess role.’

They mediated for Estelle to be a part of Callist, and whenever Estelle was in trouble, they willingly lent the family power for Estelle.

One of Estelle’s helpers was the elders.

So, she vaguely thought that the relationship between the Duke of Callist and the elders would be good too.

“I understand how the Lord thinks of his granddaughter, but we can’t leave them like this forever!”

“If you don’t give up, please remember that we too have no choice but to go hard!”

Wow, their voice is good too. He must have been older than her grandfather, but he’s also correcting himself.

Thisbe stopped for a moment and thought with a smile on her face.

‘That’s probably the first step in kicking me out.’

In <Monster Flower>, things happen from Estelle’s point of view, so the details of what happened in Callist before Thisbe’s renunciation from the family are not revealed.

But one thing was certain.

When Estelle was put into the family register, Thisbe was pushed behind her.

Step by step, she will be deprived of her name that she is a Saint of Callist, her succession rights being taken away, and she will be pushed back and reduced to a situation where there is no one to cling to except Sor.

She was prepared from the moment Estelle’s abilities were revealed, but when she hears those voices pleading for her to be expelled, her feelings are subtle.

‘My grandfather got it.’

After carrying the heavy burden of her sainthood as a young child, she suffered from her murderous official duties, various assassination attempts, and slander from an early age.

Now that they’re speaking of honor, they’re leaving Thisbe and taking Estelle instead.

Is that any different from garbage?

‘Even so, I don’t know why grandfather would not readily agree to Estelle’s entry.’

She didn’t mean to listen more. Thisbe ripped off her pearl bracelet she was wearing, and threw the pearls on the floor.

Tuk tuk tududuk.

Pearl roared and rolled on the floor, and then the voices that had been shouting through the door of the office that was slightly opened suddenly stopped.

Instead, Duke Calixt, who had been silent the whole time, opened his mouth.

“…It seems that my granddaughter has returned. You raised your voice without knowing the place or time, so even if she has heard everything, there’s nothing to say.”

Only a hard voice could be heard through the door, but Thisbe knew it.

‘Hey… …’

Her grandfather is mad.

“If you don’t get out of my mansion right now, I’ll rip all useless inactions from your bodies.”

I wonder if there is any useful action in that sullen body.

In addition, a few old men were almost thrown out of the open door.

They frowned upon seeing Thisbe standing outside the door, and left without even saying greeting her.

Of course, unlike the owner, Duke of Callist, Thisbe is only a princess, so it was Thisbe’s side who had to greet them.

‘Do I really need to do that?’

She wish she didn’t come back at all.

And Thisbe was spinning inside, as the door of the office closed and an old man who looked a little tired appeared.

Although he is said to be an old man, his height and a firm physique that does not look his age made him look more like a soldier than an old man.

He looked at the pearls rolling on the floor for a moment, and then found Thisbe a step later.

“… Thisbe.”

“I’m back, Grandpa.”

Duke Callist answered those words by slowly lowering and raising his eyelids, then looked at Thisbe for a moment.

She also felt like he didn’t know what to say, and he seemed worried that Thisbe might have been shocked by the conversation she had heard from beyond her door a while ago.

“It’s late, where did you go?”

Of course, Thisbe was well aware that either wouldn’t be the case.

“I went to the appointment I arranged with Sor last time. Sore took me to his own carriage, so I sent my carriage back first.”

“Ah, is that so…”

“As soon as I got back, the bracelet broke and I was going to pick it up, but I think I may have interrupted conversations with the guests for no reason.”

“No, I was going to send them back slowly, so it was good. Rather than that,”

“…Did you hear that?”

The Duke of Callist took a break and paused for a moment.

It was a word that had neither a subject nor an object, but would such an explanation really be necessary in the first place?

She didn’t want to say she heard it straight away, but she couldn’t lie either.

Thisbe answered politely.

“You don’t have to worry about me, Grandpa.”

“No, it’s not because I worry about you.”

“Oh, I went too far. I’m sorry.”

She thought it wasn’t because her grandfather cared about her, but without realizing it, the words seemed to come out like that.

Thisbe was somewhat embarrassed, and added hastily.

“Of course, I think Grandpa will make a wise decision. I’m tired, so can I go upstairs?”

“…Yes.”

Is it because of his mood that Duke Callist’s expression seemed a bit disappointed at her answer, as if he had missed something?

It seems like he wants to make excuses for something, or he seems to be drenched in frustration.

‘Whatever it is, it’s not something she’ll be able to see.’

Thisbe hurriedly shakes off the subtle feeling and climbs the stairs.

Duke Callist’s gaze seemed to follow, but she didn’t have the courage to turn her back and check.

She has already experienced it countless times.

When she turned her back because of missing others, she realized that only black solitude remained and awaited her.

There’s someone who stay there sometimes, but that is an extremely rare case.

And the Duke of Calixt had never been seen in that situation.

‘Let’s not have unreasonable expectations or regrets.’

It was the resolution Thisbe made the moment she learned of her own fate.

Having neither expectations nor regrets.

It wasn’t necessarily because she was born the villain in the book.

To be precise, it would be fair to say it was because she was planning her escape.

‘I don’t have to worry about it since I’m leaving anyway.’

However, as is the case with the human heart, any firm resolve is bound to break once in a while.

For example, one day, the corners of her lips cramped from laughing all day. Hiding on the balcony and accidentally hearing a kind word from someone.

Or the day when the teacher who taught her gave a sincere compliment, saying that there will never be a disciple like you.

On her birthday, which she had forgotten even herself, someone offered me a small pincushion made by hand as a gift from her maid.

Thisbe wanted to give her heart away. She wanted to have hope in their favor, no matter how they later change when they finds out she’s not the real saint.

If it wasn’t for Baron Lunette, who tried to seduce the person who spoke kindly to her because of his sense of inferiority towards Sor.

If only she hadn’t known that the teacher who complimented her had just wanted the title of having had a disciple saint.

If the pin cushion given by the maid had not been poisoned…

“Let’s not think about it anymore.”

Flop.

Thisbe went into her room, changed her clothes roughly, and threw herself on the bed.

She doesn’t even need people as long as there is a soft and warm bedding; tomorrow will somehow come.

That was the fact that she had come to know while living as ‘Thisbe’.

As soon as she lay in her bed, fatigue overcame Thisbe as if waiting.

‘Oh, I can’t sleep yet.’

She had to listen to the progress report from Malone and read the magic book.

‘Really, I should write a letter to Sor saying it went well.’

Sigh. With that thought, Thisbe fell asleep.