Chapter 02
I quickly straightened my clothes as a wave of nervousness finally hit me.
And when the door opened, I couldn’t take my eyes off the man who stepped into the drawing room.
The male lead, Rayton, was much taller and more mature than I had expected.
“Good day. I am Marquis Rayton Zynes.”
With light brown hair and blue eyes reminiscent of the clear ocean.
He was a perfectly handsome young man, his kind expression leaving nothing to be desired.
His smooth, flawless smile made it impossible to think of him as a villain.
“Big Sis, is that man the marquis?”
Ailee, seemingly surprised by his sculpted appearance, tugged at the hem of my dress and whispered timidly.
“Yes, Ailee. Let’s greet him.”
The man looking down at us with a gentle smile wore an even kinder expression than what the novel had described.
He didn’t look like a villain at all.
“I’m Selena Bennet.”
“And I’m Ailee Bennet!”
Rayton looked quietly at our two small hands, held out at the same time, then gently grasped each of them with both his hands.
And gave them a soft shake.
At that small gesture, Ailee burst into laughter.
As I thought.
Just like in the original story, the “villain” title was nothing but a false rumor.
His warm, lovely smile was far too kind to belong to a villain.
“Please, let’s have a seat.”
Even while the tea was being prepared, Rayton didn’t stop smiling at the two of us sitting across from him.
Perhaps comforted by his pleasant smile, Ailee began chatting away without hesitation.
“Marquis, I was really looking forward to meeting you because they said a wonderful guest would be coming!”
“Is that so? I’m very glad to be welcomed by you, Lady Ailee.”
“They said we’d get to see you often from now on. Is that true?”
“Yes, I will do my best to meet you whenever you wish.”
“Whoa! That means my sister won’t be lonely anymore!”
Though his words were formal, his soft voice kept them from sounding stiff.
“I like that very much!”
It seemed Ailee had taken a liking to him.
Thankfully, everything was progressing exactly as it did in the original story.
Rayton and Ailee’s first meeting.
Their relationship as guardian and ward would gradually become something special.
Starting from the moment Ailee slowly melted the villain’s heart.
‘The atmosphere feels great!’
As I felt the warm, friendly vibe between them, my tension quietly eased.
Perhaps noticing my smile, Rayton’s gaze turned toward me.
He stared at me in silence, then suddenly wore a sorrowful expression.
“I wonder if Lady Selena finds me agreeable.”
His downcast eyes and worried tone caught me off guard, but I immediately realized why.
‘Ah, he must’ve read the letter… What should I do?’
Feeling guilty, I wiped the sweat from my palm onto my dress and quickly nodded as hard as I could.
“Of—of course! I certainly like you. Ha ha.”
To my answer, Rayton asked in a meaningful tone.
“Truly? I was worried that perhaps you reacted so harshly because of the rumors about me.”
“Huh? Big Sis, do you dislike the marquis?”
“No! Of course not!”
I denied it as strongly as I could, but sharp-eyed Ailee seemed to sense something.
“Then… the marquis isn’t someone important to us?”
Perhaps she already liked Rayton quite a bit—just like in the original story—because her mood quickly sank.
‘No! If this keeps up, I might mess up the original storyline from the very beginning!’
Even though I had already deviated from the plot by not running away, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, since I was just an insignificant extra.
But I couldn’t ruin the male and female lead’s first meeting.
I could feel it—if I didn’t do something now, I’d completely derail the original plot.
So, I urgently called out to Ailee.
“Ailee! I just remembered—I have a gift I prepared for the marquis, but I forgot to bring it. Could you fetch it from the room for me? It’s a surprise!”
“Really? Then, Big Sis, you don’t dislike the marquis, right?”
Brightening immediately, Ailee sprang to her feet.
She looked at me with sparkling eyes that seemed to say, “Trust me!”
Confirming her excited expression, I quickly shot a glance at the butler, Hyle.
‘Just bring anything!’
Perhaps he understood my desperate look, because he gave a solemn nod.
“I’ll be right back!”
Ailee and Hyle rushed out of the drawing room like flying squirrels, and at last, silence settled over the room.
Only the soft clinking of a teacup awkwardly filled the space.
Unable to bear the silence, I was the first to speak.
“You must have received my letter. I hope it didn’t offend you?”
At my words, Rayton carefully set down his teacup.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment before shaking his head.
“Not at all. In fact, I completely understand your reaction. If you’ve heard the rumors about my family, it’s only natural you would respond that way.”
“What rumors?”
“The rumors that my family is a terrible one.”
At that, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
A terrible family, huh?
They weren’t even remotely bad enough to deserve that label.
Rayton looked slightly flustered by my laughter and furrowed his brow.
“Why are you laughing? The rumors about my family really are like that.”
“I know they’re not true. And I also know you’re not a bad person.”
“…Thank you for thinking that, but you might be jumping to conclusions.”
“Regardless, I know that—to me and Ailee—you’re not a bad person.”
I could feel his surprised gaze fixed on me, his eyes wide.
I smiled as sincerely as I could, wanting to make sure my feelings came through.
Because I knew the original story, I knew very well that Rayton wasn’t a bad person.
“I don’t judge people based on rumors. More importantly, I actually wanted to apologize for that letter. I’ve been worn out lately, dealing with too many greedy people… and I misunderstood.”
“It’s all right.”
“Then… may I ask you one more thing?”
Facing Rayton, who gave a small nod for me to continue, I nervously swallowed.
There was something I wanted to confirm directly with him.
“Why did you volunteer to be our guardian?”
“It seems the Grand Duke didn’t tell you.”
“No, he didn’t.”
It was a lie.
A complete lie.
‘The Marquis of Zynes owes our family a debt. They knew it well.’
That was all the letter Father left behind had said—but I knew the truth.
I knew exactly what kind of debt the Zynes family owed us.
It was Rayton Zynes’ life.
My father, a brilliant physician and herbalist, had discovered a way to calm the madness that plagued the Zynes bloodline.
When Rayton Zynes, as a child, was on the verge of death—consumed by his curse—Father was the one who saved him.
Since only our family knew how to ease the suffering brought on by that curse, we understood that the Zynes family would never look away from us.
That’s why Father made arrangements for us to co-exist.
So that if he died early, someone would still be there to protect his young children from the empire’s power struggles.
In return, our family would continue to treat the Zynes family’s curse.
‘Will Rayton tell me the truth?’
In the original story, Rayton never revealed it.
He worked tirelessly to find a solution within the Grand Duke’s household, unwilling to expose his family’s secret weakness.
He only confessed when Ailee, now older, eventually figured it out and treated him herself.
The reason was simple. He trusted the Grand Duke—but not the Grand Duke’s children.
Rayton did his best as a guardian to honor the Grand Duke’s wish, but that was all.
Of course, later on, he fully opened his heart to Ailee.
I knew that would happen eventually, but right now I wanted him to be more than just a guardian.
Not always—but sometimes—I wanted him to be someone Ailee and I could lean on.
I knew I was asking for too much, but we were still too young to survive in the harsh world of noble society on our own.We hadn’t even recovered from the sudden loss of our parents.
“To be honest, I received help from the Grand Duke. A great deal of help.”
As expected, he didn’t mention the curse.
I had already guessed that, so I calmly pretended not to know.
“That must have been an incredibly valuable favor—for you to take care of children you’ve never even met.”
“It certainly was.”
Rayton straightened his posture and quietly gazed out the window beside him.
Then, he turned back to me and offered a faint smile, as if he had figured out why I was asking such questions.
“So don’t worry. Even if you ask me to be more than just a guardian, I’ll gladly do that much for you.”
“…Can you read my mind?”
“Haha, no. I just saw that your eyes were filled with unease.”
He was a perceptive man.
But strangely, that didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. In fact, it felt better than dealing with someone who was indifferent.
“That’s good, then. That’s all I really needed. It’s not like we’re poor—we just need someone to protect us.”
Someone who wouldn’t leave us to face this cruel reality alone.
That alone would make this life different from my previous one.
I reached out my hand to Rayton.
He tilted his head slightly and asked,
“Another handshake?”
“The one earlier was a greeting. This is a handshake to ask you to please take care of us from now on.”
“Ah, if that’s the case, I should certainly take your hand.”
With a smile, his large hand slowly wrapped around mine—it was rough and cold.
But the moment I grasped his hand, my heart began to settle.
As if all my anxiety and confusion had been soothed.
‘Good. From now on, Rayton is part of my family.’
From the moment he became our guardian—and even after he eventually became Ailee’s husband.
Along.
Thinking of that somehow made him feel more familiar.
So, with the brightest smile I could manage, I said,
“Then, to celebrate becoming like family, how about living together from now on?”
