I Give Up on the BL Novel’s Male Leads

“Men just need a pretty woman! I went through all the trouble of giving birth to you beautifully, and yet you can’t even live up to your looks! That’s what women are for! If you can secure a good husband and live in abundance, that’s happiness!”

“That statement is contradictory. You don’t live that kind of life yourself, do you?”

Illein’s last remark struck a nerve with Baron Thierry.

“Shut your mouth!”

Baron Thierry slapped Illein’s face. Both of her cheeks felt swollen and bruised.

Her head ached, and she couldn’t tell if it was from crying or being slapped.

“I really don’t understand you two.”

“We’re the ones who don’t understand you! Nobles all marry that way! Once you’re living together and sharing a bed, affection will naturally develop!”

“Then if Edwin and I did that, wouldn’t affection arise? Wouldn’t that make me a potential princess?”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop talking back?”

As Illein saw her mother’s hand rise again, she squeezed her eyes shut. But when she felt no pain, she slowly opened them.

“Thank goodness Marquis Wignum is a good person! If he ever heard your vulgar words and thoughts, he would’ve discarded you immediately!”

Baroness Thierry glared at Illein as she lowered her hand, still furious. Baron Thierry then issued a warning to Illein.

“If you break off the engagement with the Wignum Marquisate, we won’t let you go easily.”

“What will you do?”

Illein scoffed at Baron Thierry’s cold threat.

“I’ll make sure you can’t marry anyone.”

“If you want me to not marry anyone, then what?”

Baron Thierry laughed mockingly at her defiant response.

“Hah! How naive. Do you really think you can dictate what I’ll do to you? If you don’t want to marry, so be it! I’ll erase you from the noble registry. Then you won’t be able to serve as a royal officer, be anyone’s wife, or belong to the Thierry family.”

“…….”

“The legal system in the Empire doesn’t prohibit nobles from treating commoners poorly, so your life will be reduced to a pitiful existence.”

Illein felt a sharp pain in her chest from Baron Thierry’s cold and vicious words.

“You’ll just end up as a lowly commoner in the blink of an eye.”

“…….”

“People will believe the head of a noble family when they publicly shame you. No matter how much you deny it, who do you think they’ll trust? What will happen then?”

Illein couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at those words.

No matter how much she argued, it was futile. No matter how much she denied it, they wouldn’t listen, and their intentions were far more important than her words. Every time she felt this hateful and resentful situation, she realized that all she could do was despair, which was disheartening.

She wanted to push back and argue more, but she refrained. Illein forced herself to swallow her words.

Her goal was to leave this place, not to be tethered and dragged around like livestock. After all, she was the weak one, and she had to prevent disaster.

“Melias… said he likes smart women.”

Illein managed to speak through her trembling lips.

“So… I have to graduate from the Academy.”

Tears of misery welled up, causing her to bow her head. But she had to do this.

For the freedom she longed for. She planned to apologize to Melias in person for using his name now.

“What? He said that?”

Seeing the expression on Baron Thierry’s face soften made Illein feel a wave of disgust wash over her.

“Yes.”

“Tell me more. That sounds new to me.”

Baroness Thierry seemed taken aback and pressed Illein for details.

“On the day I first met Melias, we had that conversation. He said he likes intelligent women… and even if he can’t love them, he wants women who can handle their own work.”

“Oh my!”

“That’s why I want to graduate from the Academy. I have my dreams, but Melias… wants that too.”

As Illein spoke the lie, she felt a twinge of guilt, and her voice grew quieter.

Baron Thierry narrowed his eyes, suspicious of Illein’s words.

“Is that really true?”

Baron Thierry questioned the Baroness, trying to discern the truth. If that were the case, Illein should have mentioned it earlier. It didn’t make sense why she hadn’t spoken up before.

“Hmm… it does sound like a lie, but now that I think about it, Marquis Wignum seemed very positive about Illein’s words. Maybe that’s why…”

Baroness Thierry hesitated to confirm that.

“Melias said that as long as the dam is filled with water after marriage, I have fulfilled my duty. And he also said that as long as I give him the first child, he wouldn’t interfere with anything afterward.”

At that moment, Illein was skillfully mixing truth and lies. She knew they would believe her to some extent.

At the same time, she felt her situation was truly pathetic. Did she really have to go this far?