Reincarnate as the Villainess's Husband - Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Long story
Solara looked at the thread in her hand, a gentle smile forming on her face. Although she was incredibly bored, she had promised her master to spend her time resting. During this period, with the help of the servants, she had learned to make various things out of thread. Now, she held a tiny glove in her hand and glanced at the thread baby set she had spent her entire week creating. A little hat, a pair of socks, and other clothes—everything was tailored for a baby. Of course, it was for the baby she hoped to have in the future.

Even though she had been with her master a few times, each time, he had released his seeds deep within her womb.

This meant she could be pregnant at any moment, but it was still too early to be sure. Nevertheless, she had found a hobby to pass her dull and idle hours. As Solara carefully placed the tiny glove back in its place, she began to dream of the future. She thought about how much her master meant to her and how this baby would be a new beginning for both of them. These thoughts made her happy, yet there was always a lingering worry in the back of her mind. Did her master truly want to have a child? And what about herself?

Solara had always been a strong woman, but motherhood was an entirely different responsibility.

She took a deep breath and put the threads aside, turning her gaze out the window. The sky was adorned with blue clouds, and the cheerful voices of the servants working in the garden echoed. Solara tried to savor the moment with a light sense of peace in her heart. However, her heart raced with excitement when she saw a dozen carriages speeding toward the mansion across its vast grounds.

She immediately rushed out of her room and ran down the stairs. When she reached the garden near the main gate, she could see the approaching carriages more clearly. Solara was about to burst with joy—after all, she hadn’t seen the man she loved in a week. Of course, it was her fault; if she hadn’t pushed herself too hard during training, she could have gone with him.

As the carriages came to a stop at the main gate, the servants had already lined up, and at the forefront stood the incredibly beautiful Solara, wearing a broad smile. Neonidas stepped out of the carriage slowly, and Solara began to walk toward him. But the next moment, Neonidas turned around and extended his hand to a woman.

The woman, with green hair and green eyes, had a curvaceous figure that immediately caught the eye. Although her face bore an unhappy expression, she didn’t reject Neonidas’s hand.

Solara stopped in her tracks, the smile on her face slowly fading. Her heart felt heavy as a stone in her chest. She couldn’t guess who this strange woman standing beside Neonidas was, but she couldn’t ignore the closeness between them. The woman’s striking figure and distinctive green hair had already sparked whispers among the servants.

But Solara had always known that her master would eventually have more than one woman. This was the first time, however, that she had seen Neonidas approach another woman so intimately. Although she thought she had prepared herself for this, reality never unfolds as planned.

The fact that her one true love would be with another woman pierced Solara’s heart, yet she quickly wiped the emotions from her face.

Solara wasn’t his wife or even his fiancée. She was just one of the women Neonidas was with—that’s what she kept telling herself. Her greatest fear was being cast aside by her master. So she forced a fake smile, took a deep breath, and composed herself.

Still, deep inside, jealousy and heartbreak stabbed at her heart like thorns. As Neonidas guided the green-haired woman protectively by his side, his eyes finally met Solara’s. He paused for a moment, and then a warm smile spread across his face.

“Solara,” he said, his voice as deep and captivating as ever, yet tinged with a subtle sense of relief. “It’s so good to see you.”

Neonidas turned to the woman beside him and whispered something, prompting her to bow slightly and step back. He then walked directly toward Solara, his sharp eyes noticing the hidden pain and jealousy behind her forced smile. Seeing how much she had missed himself and how she was struggling to hide her feelings filled Neonidas with a wave of warmth.

“Have I worried you being away for a week?” he asked gently, his voice carrying a melodic tenderness. Solara bowed her head slightly before responding.

“Of course not, my lord. What matters is that you’ve returned safely.”

Neonidas sensed the unease behind her formal tone and took another step closer. Closing the distance entirely, he placed his hand under Solara’s chin, lifting her face. The fleeting wave of emotion in her bright eyes brought a soft smile to his lips.

“You’re speaking so formally to me as always, Solara,” he murmured. “I should punish you for that.”

With those words, Neonidas leaned in without hesitation and pressed a light kiss to Solara’s lips. Her eyes widened as her heart raced. This kiss wasn’t just possessive; it also carried an unspoken declaration of pure affection.

The kiss was brief and tender, yet it warmed Solara to her core.

“Neonidas…” she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. While she felt an overwhelming joy at being so close to him, she couldn’t forget the presence of the woman he had brought along.

Neonidas wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. “We’ll talk soon,” he said. “But know this: you mean so much to me, Solara. I’ve missed you, and nothing has changed that.”

Solara felt as though she were dreaming for a moment, overwhelmed by the words she had heard. While trying to gather the courage to turn and look at the woman Neonidas had brought with him, she resolved to better understand what this woman meant to Neonidas. At that moment, however, Neonidas’ sincerity sparked a glimmer of hope in her heart.

But then, behind Neonidas, she saw another incredibly beautiful woman. When Solara looked at her, she felt a familiar sensation but couldn’t quite place it. As she gazed at the woman who had appeared behind Neonidas, she felt as if time had stopped for a moment. Her eyes followed the woman’s elegant silhouette, but she couldn’t fully recognize her.

“Solara, it’s me, Soren.”

“Soren?” Solara looked at her master, trying to understand what was happening.

“It’s a long story… I think you two should talk alone for a while.”

With these words, Neonidas entered the mansion and went straight upstairs. He introduced Yuanna to the servants and ordered them to help her settle in. He also instructed the guards to ensure she didn’t escape before summoning his steward. Once alone, Neonidas reflected on how he had only one steward left to assist him with his affairs.

In the past, the duchy had many advisors and staff, but Neonidas had frustrated each of them to the point of resignation.

Of course, the real reason for their resignations was the better conditions offered by other duchies. This allowed rival duchies to believe that the original Neonidas would ruin his own territory even faster—and in a way, they were right. In the novel, there was hardly anything the original Neonidas hadn’t destroyed.

Even the advisors had, in a sense, left Neonidas for money. However, the steward had stayed. It was likely that others had made him generous offers too, but he had chosen to remain loyal to Neonidas. In reality, he probably didn’t go because of his loyalty to the late Duke Leonardo, not because of Neonidas. Neonidas made a mental note to reward this loyalty by raising the steward’s salary later.

Meanwhile, 9,000 gold coins out of the 10,000 belonging to Marquess Alexsaz had been brought to the duchy. To Neonidas, it still seemed more logical to invest the money rather than pay off debts, especially with an impending war on the horizon.

The late Duke Leonardo, in fact, had built a remarkably modern and well-trained army, strong enough to rival even the emperor’s elite forces. Through extremely clever reforms, he had strengthened the military and practically rewritten the chain of command. The more Neonidas read the late duke’s writings, the more certain he became of one thing:

The late Duke Leonardo—known as the emperor’s closest friend—had actually aspired to be emperor. All these preparations and investments had been for that purpose. He had planned to overthrow the emperor and seize the throne. In the final years of his life, he had grown strong enough to challenge the emperor outright.

However, he needed an excuse to launch a coup. Despite all his efforts, he could never fabricate a pretext for war. The main reason for this was the emperor’s indulgence toward his closest friend, fulfilling all of Leonardo’s requests and granting him every concession. At one point in the writings, Leonardo even speculated that the emperor might have suspected his plans and was deliberately acting this way to placate him.

Even so, had he lived a little longer, Leonardo would likely have forced a pretext and attempted a coup against the emperor. Unfortunately, he didn’t live long enough to see it through.

What remained, however, was a book detailing how such a coup should be carried out. The only problem was that the modern army, created by the late Duke Leonardo, was no longer in its former glory because of the original Neonidas.

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Sorry for not releasing an chapter yesterday. For the first time in my life, I got food poisoning from eating at a damn Greek restaurant… Damn, it was such a terrible experience. By the way, I added Sorenna’s (Soren) new look.