Chapter 30: Loyalty
"Oh! What about the person who fixed the memory card?" I straightened up, my eyes widening as the thought suddenly hit me. "What if ... what if he spreads it to the public?"
The video of Madeline pushing me at the café had already gone viral, and it looked like it would only get more attention. For now, my face wasn’t too clear on camera because my hair covered it. But sooner or later, people would figure out who I was, since Madeline had already called me her sister.
Once my name blew up, the person who repaired the memory card might leak the evidence too. Maybe he’d mean well, but that kind of reckless move could drag me into even more trouble.
"I’ve already taken care of that, don’t worry," Lando said. "He won’t say anything, and I’ve made sure he doesn’t have a copy of what was inside the memory card."
"I also asked someone to make sure your contract with Rosélle Beauty stays secure, even if your name spreads because of the café incident."
I went silent for a moment, staring at Lando without blinking.
Had he really done all this for me? For a woman who’d only been living in his house for a few days? For someone who hadn’t even given him a proper wedding gift?
"Why?" I asked softly. "Why would you help me this far?"
Lando didn’t smile, but his voice carried a warmth I’d never heard from anyone before. "Because you’re my wife, and it’s my duty to protect you."
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. We’d only gotten married through an arrangement, not because of love. For him to go this far just to help me felt so unreal.
"Besides," Lando added softly, "we share the same pain as illegitimate children of our families. I’m still looking for a way to take down my family, but if you’ll let me ... if you don’t mind ... I can help you take down yours first."
I blinked several times, touched by his words and the gentleness of his actions.
Yet, beneath the warmth in my heart, a question lingered in the back of my mind: if the real Helcia were the one married to Lando right now, could she have found happiness in this marriage? Could she have finally tasted a bit of warmth from this man?
After thinking it over, I realized I had stolen her life, stolen her chance to live a better life.
I—
[Host, you didn’t steal her life.]
[She was destined to die, and you simply filled an empty shell.]
[Even if your soul hadn’t entered her body, Helcia still wouldn’t have been able to experience this kind of life, because she had already died before meeting Lando.]
The system’s voice pulled me out of the drowning guilt swirling in my chest.
I closed my eyes for a moment, realizing that I didn’t steal her life after all.
Alright, I’ll remember that.
But still, I would do anything to get revenge on the people who hurt her. She was just an innocent young woman, who died because the pain in her heart was too heavy to bear.
If a devil could defeat an angel, then I would gladly crawl up from the depths of hell and become a demon who takes the souls of the wicked.
"Helcia," Lando’s voice made me open my eyes. "Do you hear me?"
I nodded at him at last. "Yes, I hear you." I took a deep breath before adding softly, "But if you lend me your hand, what can I possibly do to repay your kindness?"
He said it was his duty as a husband to protect me, but that wasn’t a good enough reason.
I waited for him to answer, my heart pounding so loudly it echoed in my ears. The office felt too quiet, the kind of quiet where even the smallest sound seemed to matter.
Lando’s ocean-blue eyes stayed on me for a long moment before he finally spoke. "I don’t ask for repayment with favors or money."
His deep voice wrapped around me, making it impossible to look away. "What I want is your loyalty ... and your trust."
The way he said it wasn’t just a request, but it felt like an order wrapped in a promise.
He had been betrayed so many times, especially by his own family. Maybe that’s why he wanted me—his wife—to be the one person who would never turn her back on him.
Maybe, deep down, he just needed someone he could trust, even if that someone was only a stranger a few days ago.
I looked at him and felt something shift between us, small but solid. This wasn’t just about favors or power. It was about two people who’d been hurt, learning how to hold something safe together.
"Alright." I smiled warmly at him, then reached out my hand toward him. "As fellow illegitimate children of our families, it would be my honor to stay by your side, husband."
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly when I called him "husband" again, but he immediately regained his composure before firmly taking my hand.
"It is also my honor to have your loyalty," Lando said. "As long as you don’t betray me, I promise you’ll always be under my protection."
I kept my smile, but inside my head I was screaming, AAAAAAAAAAAA!
He truly sounded like most of my fictional husbands who could make me roll on the bed and bite my pillow like a crazy person.
Now I couldn’t help but feel the urge to kiss him right then and there.
No! Get it together! Get back to your senses!
My heart was still racing, my hand tingling where his fingers had gripped mine. It was ridiculous, really.
We had only been married for a few days, bound by an arrangement that should have felt cold and distant, and yet, here I was, sitting in his office, feeling like a heroine from one of my own daydreams.
Why was I feeling this way about a man? I thought I’d hated men my entire life!
Before I could untangle the mess in my head, the system’s voice suddenly rang out.
[Lando’s favorability has increased to +5%]
My eyes widened. Holy crap, did that mean I was already almost halfway to winning his heart completely?!