I Got Reincarnated as a Villainous Noble, and When I Tried to Create an All-Male Academy to Avoid a Bad Ending, for Some Reason the Gender Ratio Reversed? - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: The Most Beautiful Fiancée Ever

After that, Marilyn officially became my fiancée.

Getting engaged to a villainess should’ve been a huge scandal, like a massive problem no matter how you look at it. But the reaction from everyone around us turned out pretty unexpected.

“She can reform anyone, no matter who they are.”

That weird reputation started spreading about Orufusen Starz Island—Ol-sama, the guy who somehow turns even the worst people around.

No doubt about it, this had Fran’s schemes written all over it.

As a result, my own reputation actually went up, and the whole mess involving the crown prince settled down nicely without any more trouble.

But things were completely different for Marilyn herself.

The bad rumors about her just wouldn’t die down. If anything, now that she didn’t have the shield of being the crown prince’s fiancée anymore, they got even harsher.

Staying in the royal capital like this was dangerous.

She decided that herself and chose to drop out of the academy and move to the marquis house’s separate villa instead.

The place sat way out in the countryside, surrounded by vineyards, far from the capital.

The breeze felt gentle, the sky stayed clear, and tons of flowers bloomed everywhere. It suited a flower-lover like her perfectly.

When we headed toward the garden of the villa, Marilyn took a big, deep breath. Then she turned back to me and said,

“It’s surprisingly nice here, huh.”

“…Yeah.”

“Hm? Why’s my hubby looking so unconvinced?”

“Stop calling me that. Fran’s gonna get pissed.”

“She’s not here right now, so it’s fine, isn’t it?”

True enough—today, aside from the guards and the coachman, it was just me and Marilyn who came.

Fran wasn’t around. Neither was Rose.

I figured Fran would’ve tagged along to keep tabs on us, but apparently she had some important business and couldn’t make it.

Still, even if she’s not here, you can’t underestimate Fran’s information network. She could find out about this anytime, anywhere.

Plus, I kinda got the feeling Marilyn was saying this stuff on purpose just to enjoy watching me squirm. Seriously, spare me.

“Anyway, it’s not like I’m not okay with how things turned out.”

“Oh really? Doesn’t look that way to me. You seem kinda down.”

“Definitely not.”

“You’re so bad at being honest. Thanks to you, I can finally move forward. The future that felt totally closed off opened up, so I’m good.”

“But in the end you still ended up as my fiancée. The things you can do probably got way more limited compared to when you were at the academy.”

“What? That’s what you’re worried about?”

“I’m not worried.”

The second I denied it, she gave this teasing little smirk. Getting stared at with that grin made me feel super awkward.

“You’re that worried about the girl you fell for?”

“I told you I’m not worried.”

I mean, come on—she’s strong.

Super proud, never breaks, and if you try anything she’ll bite right back. That’s the kind of tough woman she is.

She’d probably do fine anywhere, in any position. As long as that proud spirit of hers doesn’t get crushed, there’s no need to worry.

“You really are such a timid guy despite how you look.”

She laughed like she couldn’t believe it.

“You’re super humble, totally whipped, yet sometimes you pull off these insanely bold moves. Don’t your actions and your personality just not match at all?”

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

“Oh, so you’re aware.”

“Yeah.”

Honestly, I think they don’t match either. At my core I’m just a normal person.

And yet here I am, trying to dodge doom flags, save the world, all these ridiculous over-the-top things.

My goals are definitely way bigger than what I can actually handle.

But even so, I gotta keep going. Just gotta look ahead and push forward.

“You’re still such a weird guy.”

She said that and laughed.

But that smile wasn’t her making fun of me.

It felt soft—like flowers sparkling in the sunlight. It really looked a lot like the snowdrops blooming all around us.

The flower language for snowdrops is “hope in adversity.” It fit her perfectly now that she’d escaped the threat of the crown prince and started moving forward again.

Calling her flower-like might sound kinda cliché, but I couldn’t think of any other way to describe her.

“Hey.”

While I was kinda lost staring at her, she tugged hard on the hem of my uniform.

Not holding my hand or touching me anywhere—just lightly pinching the fabric like she wanted to say something.

“What’s up?”

“You’re gonna keep going to the academy. And I’m gonna stay here. So… we’re gonna be apart, right?”

“Yeah.”

“This is basically goodbye for now, huh?”

“Yeah.”

The villa and the capital are pretty far apart. No way I could commute back and forth in a day.

So I answered honestly, but something felt off about her.

Normally she’d throw some light sarcasm and leave, or just walk off without saying anything. Either way, she wouldn’t grab my clothes like this.

—Something’s weird.

Even while I thought that, she stepped closer like she still had more to say.

Then when we were super close, staring right at each other, she pursed her lips and finally said,

“I’ve never been in love. No—I’ve never even liked anyone. I hated everybody. Everybody was my enemy. That’s how I’ve lived my whole life.”

She closed the distance another step.

“That hasn’t changed even now. I can’t trust other people. Opening my heart? No way. Even so…”

She leaned in, grabbed my shoulders, then stood on her tiptoes and—

“I’m seriously thinking I wouldn’t mind marrying you.”

She pushed her face right up to mine.

“—!”

The next instant, our lips touched.

It felt like the whole world faded away, but her warmth, her tension, the soft feeling of her tongue—they took over everything inside me.

She attacked one-sidedly. Arrogant, selfish, and more beautiful than anyone, she just kept ravaging me.

—It was an intense, deep kiss.

After a while she pulled back. Her cheeks burned bright red, but her expression didn’t waver at all.

She kept acting strong like a predator, yet her eyes only held me in them.

“Now you’re mine. Got it?”

“…Yeah.”

“Even if we can’t see each other for a while, don’t you dare forget about me for even a second, okay?”

“Of course.”

“If you forget, I’ll come rushing over right away. Next time I’ll sneak into your room and push you down. Better be ready.”

“…That sounds rough.”

I caught her gaze and gave a wry smile.

And with that, one chapter closed.

But at the same time I couldn’t help thinking—

I definitely just added one more troublesome woman to my life.

—Marilyn Lily Crystal.

She was troublesome, incredibly proud, and the most beautiful fiancée I could ever have.

———————

Marilyn’s story ends here.