Chapter 2 – The Male Lead Is the Villain (1)
“Look at me.”
A firm finger hooked under her chin and tilted her face up.
That same finger slid down and brushed her cheek once.
It was a careful touch, absurdly gentle for this situation, as if he were handling something precious. Just like in the past.
It felt like staring at a glitched screen.
A kind touch while being kidnapped?
No matter how softly the man in front of her acted, his eyes were unhinged. And she was still trapped in some unknown bedroom by him.
‘What the hell is wrong with his eyes? How does this look like a happy newlywed?’
Even if she couldn’t imagine him hurting her—
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t.
“You even have the spare time to zone out.”
His fingers slid from her cheek and caught her earlobe. He pressed down just a little too hard. Edelene barely swallowed a scream and glared at him.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Now you’re finally looking at me properly.”
“How could I not? You kidnapped me, you bastard.”
“Still foul-mouthed.”
Even at her insult, Shane calmly played with her soft earlobe. Edelene bit the inside of her cheek so she wouldn’t get distracted by the sensation.
It would’ve been better if he had just crushed it painfully.
“At least when we were engaged, you never bothered to look at me.”
“…Shane, this isn’t funny. Stop it. You’re not like this. You’re not the kind of person who says things like, “I can’t go anywhere.” If you’re angry, I’ll listen—”
“I’m not like this? You know everything about me?”
He finally let go of her ear.
Edelene quickly looked him over as he stood up from where he’d been sitting in front of her. He was dressed casually in a simple shirt.
‘Judging by his clothes, this is probably his home… or at least a villa he stays at often. If he keeps casual clothes here, he must come and go regularly.’
His long, thick arms and broad shoulders were solid with muscle, but he didn’t appear to be carrying a weapon.
The room was lit by a single candle. There were no windows. It was dark. She had no idea how much time had passed.
‘Can I escape?’
She glanced at the door behind him. It was firmly shut. More importantly, she doubted she could push him aside and run.
As she bit her lip nervously, Shane’s laughter dropped over her head.
Something in her chest flared.
Did he just laugh at her? Him?
The same Shane Blancard who had once been endlessly gentle, who had begged her to tell him if he’d done anything wrong, even when his young fiancée pushed him away?
Shane said quietly,
“Edelene, you have no idea what kind of person I am.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
She knew his name, his status, his face, and his personality.
They had been engaged since childhood. They’d been close.
And even beyond that, Edelene knew Shane as a “character.”
She had known him before she was even born in this life. His past, present, and future—things the current Edelene shouldn’t know—she knew them all.
If that didn’t count as knowing someone, then no one in this world could claim to know anyone.
“You’ve always been like this. You never actually looked at me or tried to understand me, but you acted as if you knew everything about me.”
“……”
“There were times I was happy about that. There definitely were.”
He leaned in close, as if to kiss her.
Edelene couldn’t help it. She shouted sharply, almost like a scream.
“Don’t!”
“……”
“You’re married! Don’t do this!”
“…I doubt anyone would blame me.”
“Shane Blancard, don’t act like trash. It doesn’t suit you.”
“You’re the one scolding me? Calling my name like you’re disciplining a child?”
He let out a mocking laugh.
“The same person who kept encouraging me to cheat throughout our entire engagement?”
“That was—”
She faltered under his naked scorn.
She couldn’t understand the resentment and accusation laced through his laughter.
In the novel, Shane had been popular for his unwavering devotion to the heroine, Genevieve.
Like any typical male lead, he never so much as blinked at the temptations of other beauties. He loved only the heroine.
So of course, she thought it would be better for him if she made it clear he didn’t need to worry about her. She had wanted to make things easier for him. He was a good person.
“That was just me telling you to be honest about true love. And engagement isn’t the same as marriage, is it?”
“You’re still good with words.”
Shane smiled faintly and pressed his lips to her round forehead.
This time he held her chin firmly so she couldn’t avoid him.
The brief warmth of his lips against her skin made her want to scream.
“I’m glad you haven’t changed at all, Edelene.”
Then his lips brushed the corner of her eye.
Coldly, she muttered,
“You seem like a different person.”
“Really? I’m the same as always. If I seem different, it just means you’re finally seeing me properly. I’m happy, Edelene.”
“……”
He looked at her with something close to affection.
She glared at him like she wanted to kill him, but he didn’t care.
There was nothing normal about that gaze.
‘Who is this?’
He didn’t feel like the male lead from the novel. He didn’t feel like her childhood friend or former fiancé.
She didn’t know this man.
“You kidnap and lock someone up, and that’s enough to make you happy? Great. So you’re satisfied now?”
“……”
“I asked if you’re satisfied!”
“You think I’d be satisfied with just this? Not even close, Edelene.”
“Shane Blancard.”
She called his name calmly.
He met her eyes.
Looking straight into them, she said slowly,
“Don’t do something you’ll regret.”
She had no plan to make him regret anything. She couldn’t even think of a way to escape. But half her life since reincarnating had been built on bluffing.
“Regret?”
He suddenly burst out laughing.
“I’ve already done enough of that to last a lifetime. Since the day you died.”
“Is that why you’re like this? Because I deceived you? Because you thought I was dead? Should I apologize for being alive? Fine, I’m sorry I tricked you, but I had no choice—”
The smile vanished from his face instantly.
She stopped speaking.
“The image of you dying right in front of me is still vivid.”
“……”
“Yes. That you’re alive…”
He clenched his teeth.
Then he froze, pale and stiff.
Like someone staring helplessly at a wound that had suddenly split open.
‘I messed up…’
Seeing his face like a wax doll, her reason slowly returned.
She was trapped alone in a locked room with this unstable man.
And the man in front of her wasn’t her former fiancé. He was a stranger.
‘It’s true I tricked him. Maybe I should just grovel.’
The thought crossed her mind.
The scariest thing about a crazy person was not knowing what they might do.
But Shane simply stared at her quietly for a long moment.
He said nothing.
Then he suddenly stood.
“Wait, Shane!”
She called out instinctively.
Just before opening the door, he paused and looked back at her.
Those eyes she used to admire as sapphire-blue were now dark and sunken with heavy emotion.
In just five years, the smiling, gentle fiancé she knew had become someone else entirely.
“It would be better not to think about running. Unless you want to find out how far I’m willing to go.”
“……”
With that, he left the room.
Only after he was gone did Edelene let out a thin breath.
Her body, which had been taut with tension, finally loosened. She hadn’t even realized how tense she’d been.
The bed was soft enough to swallow her whole, but she had no peace to enjoy it.
The dark room felt like a reflection of her situation.
‘What is this.’
What the hell is this situation? How did it turn out like this?
If Shane had been the same male lead she knew, she wouldn’t have been afraid no matter what.
But that man—
She didn’t know him at all.
She wanted to believe Shane would never hurt her…
But judging from those eyes, it wouldn’t have been strange if he had been the one to poison “Edelene” in the original novel.
‘I don’t know where it all went wrong…’
She came back after five years expecting a happy ending, and instead the male lead was kidnapping people and acting like he was about to start an affair.
And when he said, “If I’d known you’d fall for an obituary…”
That meant the obituary had been fake.
‘Well, at least that’s good.’
If her mother were alive, that would be better than anything. Even Edelene, who had devoted herself completely to hiding for years, couldn’t ignore news of her mother’s death.
Shane must have known about the guilt she carried toward her family. That was why he chose that method—something she could never ignore.
‘What’s true and what’s a lie?’
She couldn’t trust anything.
Was the saintess truly happily married?
‘Is she really happy after marrying that bastard?’
A fundamental doubt rose in her chest.
The entire point of that brainless novel had been that the heroine, Genevieve, would be loved, healed, and purified in the world.
She had to be happy.
But if her husband was running around with crazed eyes, kidnapping and imprisoning his former fiancée, that didn’t look like happiness.
There hadn’t been a single line about anything like this in the novel she read.
‘I avoided the villainess’s bad ending, only to end up kidnapped and imprisoned…’
And the culprit was the male lead.
Had it been a mistake to believe that just because he was the male lead, he couldn’t possibly be the villain?
‘No… he really was kind when we were young.’
Was he?
Edelene slowly searched through her memories.
Yes. From the very beginning.
