Chapter 20

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‘It’s because of the curse.’

He wanted to kiss her because his body was in heat. However, her heart was shaking this much solely because of her.…. Her feelings had nothing to do with the curse. 

“Frisia.”

Her heart plummeted at his passionate, sweet voice calling her name, full of heat. Again and again, his gentle, feverish lips ceaselessly landed on her cheeks, eyebrows, bridge of her nose, and forehead.

Shall I just let you kiss me? Kissing doesn’t change anything.

But Frisia knew it wasn’t true for her. If that last barrier were left unattended, the rest of her would crumble down into rubble.

“I love you.”

His eyes filled with naked pain and raw ecstasy were looking into her eyes. Her eyes trembled from the impact of his affection. But, even so, in her sight, he looked endearing.

The hero—’that’ Aslei… is in love with me.

Her heart quaked. Frisia struggled to calm down.

The human heart is not everlasting. Once fate’s ‘plot armour’ kicked in, the hero would manage to find a way to go to the novel’s heroine, Marianne.

He might be a suitable once-in-a-lifetime—but temporary— companion, but he wasn’t the right person for her to fall in love with. Of course, it would have been different if she had been ignorant of the future, but she didn’t want to crawl into a trap pretending not to know about it.

‘I am Princess Atreille, and currently the Duchess. Even if I’m jealous, I don’t think I would try to kill Marianne like in the original, but… … afterall people act in unforeseen ways.’

Frisia was well-positioned to pick on Marianne.

Even if she didn’t use that power now, who knows what she would do in the future. Power and might made people arrogant.

Frisia was not immune to jealousy, even though it wasn’t currently as intense as the original Frisia’s envy. When she was jealous of someone in her previous life, she neither had the strength nor the spare time to intimidate someone.

Still, she had wanted to rip into the woman her boyfriend had cheated on her with.

Of course, she hadn’t been able to put it into practice, but the problem was that Frisia now had the power to do such a thing with ease.

In the setting of a medieval ropan, as daughter of a duke and now a Duchess, there were many ways to punish someone without putting a drop of blood on her hands.

So Frisia was going to leave Aslei. She would work on ending his curse from now on, and after completing the period, she would go away as she had vowed.

Aslei wasn’t an obsessive character, so she thought he’d let her go even if he didn’t like it.

‘He will meet his true love afterwards anyways.’

Frisia had never been in a relationship since she had reincarnated into this world. She was afraid of her father’s eyes and concerned about her brother’s criticisms, so she hadn’t even dared to try.

As a ducal princess, there was nothing her life lacked but… autonomy.

She saw that she would gain true independence when she left Aslei. Even as a Duchess, she had to care about the eyes around her… … .

‘I will do whatever I want to do.’

And that was how she was able to resist Aslei’s allure, who had unparalleled looks, ability, and character. Because nothing shined to her like freedom.

“Frisia?”

A gentle hum breathed into her ear, piercing through her insides and reverberating within her. His honeyed tone seemed to reflect the extent of his emotions. Her heart was pounding in her ears.

‘No, I can’t.’

She wouldn’t trade freedom for mere love.

Tempting whispers said she could be happy at Aslei’s side—but was that really the case?

Just from Aslei smiling beside Marianne, Frisia was sure she would feel anxious and insecure.

If she didn’t and couldn’t trust him, their life together would be hell. She would only make herself and Aslei unhappy. Frisia had no intention of making that choice.

‘I know everything, so I have to restrain myself.’

Of course, there was also the possibility that Aslei would not betray her. Because the male lead had an upright heart.

But this world was for the heroine. Marianne was already shining as the master of this world. She already obtained the title of Viscount in her own right, was an acting noblewoman, as the head of her household, and not as a ‘daughter of a nobleman.’

She was not the only woman to have earned her title, but that’s what it looked like to Frisia, who read the novel.

‘Even Aslei will eventually fall in love with Marianne.’

His heart for Frisia was like a first crush. After that, it would be a vague nostalgia of a time that would eventually disappear with his passing days of youth.

Frisia wrapped her arms around Aslei’s neck in silence. She couldn’t stop her body from swaying and shaking as sweet euphoria bloomed from the heat building up from deep within her body.

Although Aslei’s hot eyes stared at her piercingly, Frisia avoided his gaze, and she buried her face in his chest.

Her heart was pounding ominously.