Maybe the saying “a thief feels guilty when his own foot hurts” is right after all.
Ever since I helped Ascan escape, I deliberately didn’t call for him, fearing Orland or Zen might find it suspicious.
I knew it was unnecessary worry, but I still wanted to avoid drawing any undue attention.
After sending Barunen and Matela away, who had suddenly shown up, I realized evening mealtime was already approaching.
‘Father said he’d let last night’s incident slide, so I should be able to relax a bit now, right?’
Orland wasn’t the type to say one thing and mean another—he firmly believed a person’s credibility was their most important trait.
Since I hadn’t been able to dine with Ascan all day, I thought I should at least share dinner with him tonight and finish the conversation we’d left hanging from last night.
As usual, I had two portions of food prepared in my room and called for Ascan.
Since dining with him wasn’t a rare occurrence, Zerin and others likely saw it as just another ordinary day.
Knock knock—the low voice of Ascan came from beyond the door, accompanied by a gentle knock.
“It’s me.”
“Come in.”
As soon as I gave permission, Ascan entered the room.
His expression was as blank as ever, his attire neat, his movements restrained—but upon closer inspection, something was different.
Dark circles under his eyes suggested he hadn’t slept well last night.
‘Did something happen that kept him awake?’
Thinking simply, I gestured for Ascan to sit down.
Once he took his seat across from me, we began eating quietly. He was naturally taciturn, and I wasn’t the type to chatter needlessly, so this silence was nothing unusual.
Only the occasional clink of cutlery broke the quiet.
When the meal was mostly finished and only dessert remained, I quietly said to Zerin, who had been assisting us.
“Step out for a moment.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Despite my lack of explanation, Zerin obediently left without question, leaving only Ascan and me in the room.
If there was one good thing about being a villainess, it was this—people never argued with me and always listened attentively.
Alone together, I immediately poured out all the questions I’d been holding back since our earlier silence.
“Anything unusual happen today? Did anyone come looking for you, or watch you? Did you hide the jewels I gave you last night well? You must conceal them carefully—someone might misunderstand if they see them.”
Ascan seemed slightly taken aback by my sudden shift in demeanor but soon nodded and replied in his flat, even tone.
“Understood. Nothing unusual occurred.”
“Good. It seems we’ve weathered the crisis, so no need to worry. I spoke with Father, and we agreed to let last night’s matter go.”
“Miss, you yourself…”
Uncharacteristically, Ascan hesitated as if choosing his words carefully before continuing.
“Are you alright? The person you encountered last night was no ordinary opponent—Lord Marquis may have noticed something strange.”
“It’s fine. I don’t know what Father’s thinking internally, but everything ended well.”
Ascan’s deep golden eyes gazed quietly at me. Strangely, his gaze carried an unfamiliar emotion, unlike before.
Was there something more he wanted to say?
I felt puzzled, but I couldn’t read minds or pierce through his thoughts.
Rather than trying to deduce his hidden feelings, I stood up to say what I’d long wanted to tell him since realizing he wished to leave Brellof Manor.
Flutter—
I pulled out the map I’d hidden in my pocket and spread it on the dining table for Ascan to see. Since most dishes had been cleared except dessert, there was plenty of space.
Though we’d begun dinner facing each other, I walked over to stand beside Ascan’s chair.
It was easier to explain things while both of us looked at the map from the same direction.
“Have you decided where to go?”
“…….”
Ascan remained silent.
Ignoring his lack of response, I pointed to what I considered the safest region.
“How about here?”
It was the location farthest from Kalua Empire. Located at the southernmost edge of Arwen Empire, bordering another country, it seemed secure.
“I looked it up—southern region, warm climate, pleasant to live in. Though it’s rural and distant from the capital, the people there are said to be simple and kind….”
“Miss.”
While I recited my findings, Ascan called my name in a deeply subdued voice.
What’s wrong?
I turned to him with a puzzled expression.
“Why did you call me?”
“Too… close.”
Huh?
Only then did I realize I was standing right beside Ascan’s chair, my finger pointing at the map spread across the table.
But this proximity was no more than what a tutor might have while instructing a student. We weren’t even physically touching—was this really too close?
I didn’t understand, but if Ascan felt uncomfortable, then it must be so.
I straightened my posture away from the map and said,
“Oh, sorry.”
“…It’s nothing.”
Glancing down at him from the side, I noticed his ears had turned bright red.
What’s this? Is he unwell?
His slightly unusual behavior today naturally worried me.
“Are you okay? Are you feeling ill somewhere?”
I couldn’t help worrying—he’d recently been assaulted by Reiana and passed out.
I also knew all too well, from having read the novel, the content of the nightmares he suffered nightly.
Could those dark circles under his eyes be from another nightmare?
He claimed he rarely fell ill, but regardless, he was still a boy not yet fully grown—these burdens were too heavy for him.
“Could you be running a fever again…?”
Unconsciously, I reached toward Ascan’s forehead, concerned he might be feverish like last time.
Thud. In the blink of an eye, Ascan caught my hand.
For some reason, he frowned slightly, though the corners of his eyes were flushed redder than usual.
“Do you do this with other people too?”
His voice sounded agitated, almost angry.
I tilted my head, bewildered.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m asking—do you casually touch people’s foreheads to check for fever with just anyone?”
“What are you talking about? Why would I care if someone else has a fever?”
I wasn’t Mother Teresa—I wasn’t universally kind to everyone.
“It’s because it’s you.”
At my words, Ascan’s golden irises trembled. He seemed to be suppressing something, his eyes crinkling slightly at the edges.
What? What kind of reaction is this?
Honestly, I was the one feeling utterly flabbergasted.
“You dislike me checking your fever? Or rather….”
I had many things I wanted to say, but the heat radiating from Ascan’s hand—still gripping mine—was so intense it felt like a hearth fire.
“Your hand is way too hot.”
As if startled by my words, Ascan abruptly released my hand.
Even after he let go, the warmth lingered noticeably.
“At this point, I don’t even need to check your forehead—you’re clearly running a fever.”
“It’s not a fever.”
“Then what is it?”
“My head is… a bit muddled….”
His head was muddled, yet his hand was burning hot?
I couldn’t comprehend it and could only stare at him with a confused expression.
Perhaps wanting to escape this situation, Ascan turned his head away to hide his flushed eyes and abruptly stood up.
His sudden rise made me realize anew how much taller he was than me—I was startled. When did he get so tall? Was he always like this?
“I’ll consider the region you mentioned, Miss. Since dinner is finished, may I take my leave now?”
“Y-yes.”
I had many more thoughts about Ascan’s escape that I’d prepared alone, but sensing his clear desire to leave, I couldn’t hold him back.
I watched him leave the room at a quicker pace than usual.
Suddenly remembering the map still spread on the table, I hastily hid it.
Even if someone saw the map alone, they couldn’t deduce our conversation—but I didn’t want to leave any suspicious evidence behind.
Whoosh—barely a heartbeat before Ascan opened the door, I slipped the map back into my pocket.
But Zerin, waiting outside, seemed to have noticed me hiding something. She might not know it was a map, but she’d definitely seen me conceal something.
After watching Ascan leave, Zerin hurried over to me.
“Miss, was something going on?”
“No, why?”
“Ascan’s face was incredibly red—I’ve never seen him like that before.”
“Really?”
Why was he acting like that all of a sudden?
Utterly baffled, I glanced briefly in the direction Ascan had disappeared before turning back.
That’s when I caught Zerin eyeing me with a suspicious look.
“What’s with that look?”
“Ah, nothing, Miss.”
Zerin smiled awkwardly and began clearing the dishes from the table.
Only then did I realize what she must be thinking—she knew, from the original story, how cruelly Tanashia had tormented Ascan.
“No, why would I torment Ascan?”
“Heh, heh, of course not.”
Just from Zerin’s embarrassed laugh, I could feel she was suspicious of me.
Apparently, seeing me hide something had deepened her misunderstanding.
“It’s true! I really didn’t!”
“I didn’t say anything. Even if you did torment Ascan, what could I do? I was just surprised—you’ve been treating him so kindly lately.”
Why are you surprised?!
I didn’t actually torment him!
I felt so wronged I could die. Blocking Zerin’s path as she tried to clear the dessert, I protested.
“I really didn’t do anything, okay?!”
I genuinely only wanted to help Ascan escape.
And if you think about it, wasn’t Ascan grabbing my hand a far more significant physical contact than me trying to check his forehead?
“Yes, I understand.”
As Zerin gave me an awkward smile and tried to sidestep me, I felt utterly frustrated.
No, you don’t understand anything at all!
Bang!
Ascan returned to his own room.
The door shut harder than usual, but he had no energy left to care about such things.
Ever since leaving Tanashia’s room, his mind had gone completely blank—he couldn’t even recall what possessed him to walk back here.
‘How could she approach me so casually like that?’
Tanashia had explained things in her soft voice, standing so close he could’ve reached out and touched her. Her proximity had distracted him so thoroughly he hadn’t absorbed a single word she said.
Her scent was overpoweringly vivid; the sensation of her long hair brushing against his shoulder felt maddeningly real.
And her worried gaze, the small, delicate hand caught in his grip.
‘…Was she always this lacking in personal boundaries?’
It felt as though Tanashia had effortlessly leapt over the barriers he’d carefully erected to keep others at a distance.
In truth, telling Tanashia he’d hidden the jewels well was a lie.
He’d spent the entire night taking out the jewels she’d given him, examining them again and again—unless he saw them with his own eyes, the events of last night felt like a dream.
How could she so easily agree to let him go?
Regardless of his slave status, Tanashia—who knew the secret of his body—should have tried every means to keep him close.
─I don’t need Noxia’s supernatural abilities anymore. Noxia is Noxia, and I am me. I won’t care about such things anymore, so you don’t need to carry that burden in your heart. Were you still thinking that way?
Ascan couldn’t comprehend it, but those words were undeniably true.
He could tell just from Tanashia’s behavior today—even offering to help him escape successfully was unbelievable, even when witnessed firsthand.
Ascan had never in his life been treated so kindly by anyone—he was so flustered and confused he didn’t know how to react.
‘All this time… why didn’t I realize?’
For the first time since escaping the laboratory last night, he hadn’t suffered a nightmare.
Instead, Tanashia had appeared in his dream, smiling brightly. Her gentle voice calling his name, endlessly smiling—that image was unbearably beautiful.
‘How could I not have realized until now?’
Tanashia’s smooth forehead, her clear blue eyes meeting his gaze directly, her straight nose, her vividly red lips.
Not a single feature was anything less than beautiful. She seemed like a being born solely to enchant Ascan—so exquisitely, breathtakingly lovely.
‘Annoyingly beautiful.’
Until now, he truly hadn’t realized—Tanashia was so beautiful she constantly blurred his vision.
Ascan felt utterly flabbergasted at himself for even having such thoughts—he didn’t know what to do with himself.
Wanting to clear his mind, he buried his face into the bed. But whether he saw her or not, her very existence gnawed incessantly at his nerves.
Thump thump thump—the sound echoing in his ears since earlier was grating.
‘What is this? It’s been too noisy since earlier….’
Ascan covered his ears and buried himself deeper into the bed. Yet the sound didn’t stop—in fact, it grew clearer.
Only then did he realize.
It was the sound of his own heartbeat.
My Ex-Girlfriend Is The Regent In The Female-dominant World (Male lead transmigrates to the matriarchal world)
Two years ago, Gu Sui picked up a homeless woman in ancient costume from the street.
Apart from occasionally claiming to be a princess from a female-dominant country due to illness, her figure, appearance, intelligence, and martial arts skills were impeccable.
Naturally evolving from roommates to girlfriends, as time went on, Gu Sui found it increasingly difficult to tolerate her queen syndrome.
“Mu Jiulu, can you stop controlling me inside and out? Let’s break up.”
Gu Sui made a breakup call, and since then, he couldn’t find any trace of her.
A year later, Gu Sui, who was planning to move, woke up the next day and found himself in a different place.
“Young Master, today is the day you choose your Wife-master through martial arts competition at Jade Dew Pavilion. Please get up quickly.”
Gu Sui: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
As the only son of a general’s mansion in a female-dominant dynasty, the young empress personally issued a decree allowing Gu Sui to select his Wife-master through martial arts competition. Whoever could defeat him could marry him.
Gu Sui: “……”
He didn’t inherit the original owner’s martial prowess, so anyone could defeat him! And what the hell is a Wife-master?
Forced to come to Jade Dew Pavilion, the densely packed women below made Gu Sui’s agoraphobia act up, and his face was full of resistance.
Until he saw the Regent sitting on the second floor, with a smile on the corner of her lips, her eyes wicked and nonchalant.
Hmm… she looked a little familiar.
It turned out that the Regent also found him a little familiar.
Mu Jiulu fiddled with her bone clasp, her deep gaze locked on the man who was out of place in this world.
“Finally, I found you.”
Male transmigrates into female-dominant world
One-sentence summary: What goes around comes around, taking turns in the crematorium
