The Villainess Choose to Become the Duke

she became the crown prince future fiance

The imperial palace had never felt welcoming to Duke Ardent.

Its walls were polished, its halls bright, yet everything about the place reminded him that power here was measured in distance. Distance from blood. From loss.

He stood before the king with his back straight, his expression calm. Only those who had stood beside him on the battlefield would notice the tension coiled beneath his composure.

“She nearly died,” the duke said, his voice low but unyielding. “I will not watch her walk that edge again.”

The king studied him in silence.

“Your daughter’s feelings for the Crown Prince are well known,” the king finally said. “But marriage is not a small matter.”

“Nor is my daughter’s life,” the duke replied immediately.

There was no anger in his tone. Just certainty.

The king exhaled slowly.

“… Very well,” he said. “When they come of age, the Crown Prince will be formally engaged to Lady Elisa Ardent. Until then, she will be recognized as his future fiancée.”

The duke bowed deeply.

“For her safety,” he said. “And for her peace.”

The decision was sealed.

...----------------------------------------------------------...

Inside duke palace

Elina walked its outer corridors alone.

She moved slowly, pretending curiosity. The high ceilings, the painted walls, the noble crests carved into stone. This place was beautiful more than ever written on that novel.

She turned a corner—and stopped.

Three maids stood together near an open window, their voices lowered but careless.

They hadn’t noticed her.

“…I’m telling you, she’s different,” the first maid said. “She eats properly now. Even thanked me ”

The second maid laughed quietly. “Don’t be naive. That’s an act.”

“A bad one,” the third added. “Didn’t you hear? After the Crown Prince rejected her, she jumped straight into the lake.”

The first maid hesitated. “But His Highness didn’t even visit her afterward…”

“Of course not,” the second maid said. “He was tired of her tricks. Always playing the victim, always begging for attention.”

“And now she pretends she lost her memory,” the third said. “Give it time. She’ll show her real self again.”

The first maid lowered her voice. “I heard the duke went to the palace today. For her marriage.”

The second maid scoffed. “See? Father’s love. Without him, she’s nothing.”

Elina stood perfectly still.

Their words didn’t hurt her because it was for the real Elina

So this was how she was seen in this body.

A spoiled girl.

A desperate lover.

A liar protected by her father.

She stepped back silently and turned away before any of them could notice her.

As she walked, one thought repeated in her mind, sharp and unforgiving.

If the duke ever finds out the truth…

She didn’t finish the sentence.

She had read this story before. Duke Ardent was no gentle noble. He was a monster on the battlefield. A man even royal soldiers feared. If he learned that the soul inside his daughter’s body was not his real child—

She wouldn’t even be granted a peaceful death.

She thinks

So this is my position, she thought. Protected. Loved. And trapped.

For now, the duke’s love was her shield.

She straightened.

“Then I’ll use it,” she murmured.

She would act the part.

The daughter who lost her memory.

The girl who needed guidance.

The noble lady learning herself again.

Until she understood everything.

Until she was strong enough.