Villain, Let Me Touch You! - Chapter 48
I was nervous, worrying about getting caught. I bowed my head, preparing for Demyr’s possible reprimand.
She was right to be angry at me for lying, and I knew she would turn against me if she believed Helios’s story. Although Demyr didn’t harbor affection for Helios, she was a proud woman. She wouldn’t want a daughter-in-law lacking in that pride.
She has other marriage candidates in mind.
Of course, I’m not keen on having a mother-in-law like Demyr. If we don’t like each other, I’d prefer to go our separate ways, but for now, I had to hold my tongue and listen.
In any case, I wasn’t easily hurt by people throwing harsh and mean words my way. Thanks to Helios, I had developed a certain resilience to it. Am I supposed to like this?
“That’s good, now that you’re part of the family, I’ll feel comfortable asking.”
Demyr lowered her fan. Her eyes and tone softened considerably.
“What? Family?”
“You said you’re marrying Helios, didn’t you? If that happens, you become my daughter-in-law, part of the family. But what about being a doctor? How could you not understand such a simple statement?”
Demyr dislikes me. Her words were laced with thorns, and her gaze wasn’t kind either.
But she doesn’t object?
Does she want me as a daughter-in-law to keep Helios in line?
It’s entirely possible.
It was a common setup in web novels. A son who was a contender for the inheritance would marry a woman from a lesser family, or a daughter who was considered a burden would be sent to the Northern Archduke. I felt a bit depressed that my life was following all the web novel clichés.
“I’m glad Her Majesty is willing to allow it. Rienna, did you hear that? Now, I just need the permission of His Majesty, the Emperor.”
“The Emperor won’t oppose either—that is if I were to step forward.”
With those words, our ‘friendly’ teatime became a negotiation meeting.
Helios released my hand and crossed his legs. Although he was sitting in a casual manner, he was very serious. His crimson eyes gleamed sharply.
“What do you want?”
“The pink-haired one, I could use her.”
“Apologies for interrupting your conversation, but my name is Rienna Harris.”
I couldn’t keep being called ‘pink-haired one’ forever, so I held up my hand and spoke.
Demyr looked at me. “Yes, Rienna.”
It felt oddly satisfying to hear my name naturally slip from her lips.
I suppose this was always Demyr’s personality—brazen and unapologetic.
“No, it won’t work. We’ll be busy with wedding preparations.”
“I wasn’t asking you, Helios. And I don’t know why you would need this pink-haired one for wedding preparations…”
It was strange how casually engagement preparations turned into wedding preparations.
Demyr looked at me. Could it be that she already forgot my name? I had a reasonable suspicion.
“It’s Rienna.”
Maybe I should wear a name tag.
“What’s Rienna doing? Let your staff handle the preparations. If necessary, I’ll even send some from my court.”
What request was so important that she was willing to do all that? I was a little curious.
“Even so, it won’t work. My Rienna is too weak, you see.”
“Weak? Is she sick?”
Demyr’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. I wasn’t sure what she was doubting.
“I’m physically weak. Not from an illness, though.”
I heard that in wealthy business families[1], they even undergo health check-ups before marriage. I quickly responded in case they requested something similar from me. After all, I wanted to avoid revealing my imprinting with Helios. We had agreed to keep that a secret from everyone else.
“So? I’ll send you some good herbs. There won’t be any further issues, right?”
As Helios seemed to be about to object again, I squeezed his thigh. He immediately straightened and frowned.
“I’ll hear it out first,” he said, finally easing up a bit. “What do you want from the future Crown Princess?”
“I’m asking for medical services,” said Demyr.
“Are you ill?”
“Not me, my nephew.”
“Nephew…”
I couldn’t recall who Demyr’s nephew was. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t think of anyone.
“You’ve already met once. He says you saved his life.”
“That didn’t happen. I am the personal physician to His Highness Helios, and I don’t see any other patients. Occasionally, I may attend to those working in the Crown Prince’s Palace, but that’s it.”
It was clear that Demyr didn’t know much about Helios’s palace, because there was no way that someone who was the Queen’s nephew would be working there.
“If I say you met in the Queen’s Palace garden, would you understand?”
No way…
“Benz Peter is the Queen Mother’s nephew?”
I jumped out of my seat.
¹The Korean source text specifically uses the term 재벌 or chaebol here. This can be translated to “wealth clan” and is a practice in South Korea of massive, multinational conglomerates such as Samsung and Hyundai operating primarily as corporate family dynasties. Since power is more or less hereditary, there are usually stringent expectations placed on people potentially marrying into a chaebol.↩
