The Villainess’ Beloved Plan: The Struggles to Avoid a Doomed End

Walking along the road to his house from the Duke of Voltio’s house, Theo looked at the bag of cookies that Sophia had given him as a gift.

The cookies were made by the cook of the Duke of Voltio’s family and were said to be delicious and rich in butter.

Theo felt a little sad, remembering that Sophia used to bake cookies with her mother and serve them to Theo when he came to visit her.

When Theo heard that Sophia’s mother had died and that someone had taken Sophia away, he kept looking for her.

Theo’s father and the ladies in the neighborhood said that Sofia’s family must have taken her in, but it was hard for Theo to believe that the “family” that had left Sofia and her mother alone until now would treat her well.

If Sophia was being badly, he would find her and bring her home. Though he was a little too young, Theo was sure that his father would not oppose him if he said he would marry Sophia, and he was determined to do so with the little love for Sophia that he had been harboring since childhood.

However, Sophia was hard to find, and more than a year and a half after she was taken away, Theo heard her name from an unexpected source.

Sophia was mentioned by a gambler and drunkard at Mikadukitei, a bar run by Theo’s father. He had been a common sight there for about a year. His name was Gassour, and he was an old man in his forties.

Gassour was a bastard who was always being hounded by debt collectors. Theo wanted to ask how this man knew Sophia’s name, but his father stopped him, and he listened in silence as the drunken man blabbered on.

Apparently, Gassour was going to have a “daughter” soon. Theo thought he was going to marry a woman with a stepdaughter, but was surprised when he heard Sophia’s name.

The name Sophia may not be uncommon, but no way.

According to the story, Gassour’s daughter (to be) named Sophia is married to the Duke of Voltio. Theo wondered if this is a link to the duke’s family, as Gassour generously begins buying drinks for the people nearby.

Theo wondered if it was possible for a woman with a child, who is a wife of a duke, to marry a bastard like Gassour.

Theo felt something fishy and was about to question Gassour when his father grabbed him by the collar to stop him.

“Don’t go….Don’t get too involved. Just recently he brought a hooded woman with him, and she gave him something. Now that I think about it, it must have been a bag of money. It looks fishy” he told him.

“Keep a low profile. I don’t want you to get involved”.

“But, Father Sophia…”

“Sophia is not the Duke’s wife. You are too sensitive to the name Sophia. Bring this drink to the table over there.”

Theo reluctantly accepted a glass of barley wine from his father and went to the table opposite Gassour.

Behind him, Gassour was laughing vulgarly. “What if…?” Theo was horrified by the thought that this man might be the father of Sophia, whom Theo was looking for. After all, he could not just stand by and watch. He had to be sure.

Theo was prepared to be turned away at the door when he got to the Duke of Voltio’s mansion, but was surprised to find Sophia, who used to live in the neighborhood. He never thought it was possible, but she had really married into the duke’s family.

Theo’s heart made an unpleasant noise and felt as if it had cracked open with a faint feeling of love disappointment, but he shook his head to ward off such sentiment and told Sophia about Gassour.

Apparently, Sophia knew about Gassour, and she looked puzzled when she heard Theo’s story.

According to her, Sofia had another man who claimed to be her father, and she was confused by Gassour’s appearance.

According to Sofia, Gassour told her that he was her real father. But Theo thought that this could not be true. Sophia’s mother, Liselte, was a beautiful, good-natured woman who would never have been caught having an affair with a scoundrel like Gassour. Nor was she the type of woman who would have relationships with more than one man.

Theo promised Sophia that he would investigate Gassour’s neighborhood for a while.

On his way home, he met a tall man at the entrance of the duke’s house, who might have been Sophia’s husband.

“…….”

‘She has always been beautiful, but… I feel like she was somehow unfamiliar, and I miss her’.

‘I was definitely happy to see the cookies, which were not in a fashionable bag, but had a slightly distorted shape on a plate’.Theo silently thought

Sophia seemed to be a sweet girl who hadn’t changed at all since he last met her. But she sounded distant, Theo could not really understand.

‘Her husband looked like he was a good man, that man. ……’

‘The man I met at the door. He was a red-haired man with hazel eyes and a fearless, handsome face. Even if he stood on his head, he would not be able to beat him’.

“Ahhh, …….”

‘I was a fool to think that I was going to find Sophia and protect her. Sophia is a very good friend of mine, and I’m very happy to have her as a friend’.

Theo gripped the bag of cookies tightly to shake off his sentiment and kicked off down the cobblestone pavement.