CHILLIN' LIKE A VILLAIN

ZOE suddenly got a splitting headache.

Did her brain overheat because of the shocking bombs that Marquis Hendrix Rochester dropped all at the same time?

[I am the real Zoanne Rochester…]

And if it was true…

[Then the marquis is my real father…]

It was shocking, but it didn't feel as bad as she thought it would be.

Was it because she didn't get particularly attached to her parents as Kim Zoe? Oh, maybe she didn't get close to them because her soul (?) knew that they weren't her real parents.

Argh.

She felt a pang in her head.

[My mind can't handle all this piping hot tea…]

"Yeobo, are you alright?" Isaak asked worriedly while looking at her intently. "You look pale."

"My head is killing me," Zoe said while massaging her temple with her free hand. Isaak was still holding her other hand, after all. "I think my head is going to explode."

"You must be tired and confused," Marquis Hendrix Rochester said in an indifferent voice. But his eyes– eyes that had the same colors as hers– showed enough warmth for her heart to melt. "Go to your room and rest for a while. We can continue this conversation later."

She looked at her father, then she felt her cheeks burn.

[Why am I getting shy all of a sudden?]

The marquis wasn't nice to her, but he wasn't as bad as her parents when she was living as Kim Zoe. And after hearing his tragic story about how he lost his family, she felt bad for her father.

[Worse, my father was forced to bow his head to Vaughn Wilson and live quietly hoping to reunite with his wife and real daughter.]

If it happened when she was eighteen years old, then the marquis had been waiting for seven years– seven long years. And when his real daughter came back, she couldn't remember her life as Zoanne Rochester.

[The marquis must be in pain right now.]

"Father, I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I'm sorry that I can't remember my life as Zoanne Rochester."

Marquis Rochester's face softened up. "It's alright, Zoe."

'Zoe.'

The marquis was comfortable calling her 'Zoe' now.

She remembered the time when she arrived in this world, and she asked the marquis to call her 'Zoe.' He refused then. Now she understood why he didn't want to call her by her nickname back then.

"Father, did you realize that I'm your real daughter when I asked you to call me 'Zoe?'"

"I had my doubts at first," the marquis admitted. "But after observing you for a few more days, I finally believed that you're indeed my real daughter."

The marquis probably accepted the truth the day he finally called her 'Zoe' again.

Ah, dang it.

Why was she feeling emotional suddenly?

[In my defense, I can't help it. My father suffered for seven long years alone. He must have felt so powerless since he couldn't even raise a hand against Vaughn Wilson.]

Now she was getting angry.

"Don't worry, Father," she assured the marquis. "Now that I'm here, you don't have to bow down to Vaughn Wilson anymore. And…" She clenched her hands together. "And we're going to find my mother together."

To be honest, she couldn't believe that she accepted what the marquis said easily.

Her heart instantly believed her father when he said he was his real daughter. Was she being dumb? Or she just knew deep in her soul that she was indeed Zoanne Rochester?

"Thank you, Zoe," her father said. "Thank you for coming home safely."

Aww…

Zoe had to bite her bottom lip to stop herself from crying. And while in the middle of getting emotional, she remembered Empress Liane– the person who brought her to that world.

[Liane probably knows who I really am, right?]

***

AFTER ISAAK tucked Zoe into the bed, he went to Marquis Hendrix Rochester's study to have a private talk with him.

He still had so many questions regarding the soul of the fake Zoanne Rochester.

After all, he didn't know when exactly Zoanne Rochester married the Demon King. Thus, he wasn't sure if Zoe married the Demon King before she lost her memories, or if it was the fake Zoanne Rochester who did that.

"Marquis, I'll get straight to the point," Isaak said while standing in front of the marquis' office desk. "Zoanne Rochester is married to the Demon King."

Marquis Hendrix Rochester's eyes went wide. "Excuse me?"

Ah, the marquis didn't know.

"High Priest Yosef, the priest who blessed our wedding, was in a tight spot right now because of the demons that went after him," he explained. "Apparently, even the gods are angry because he blessed my marriage with Zoe when she was supposed to be married to the Demon King already."

"I know nothing about that," the marquis said, his eyebrows furrowed from confusion. "My daughter, before she switched her soul with the other girl, had never mentioned anything about the Demon King."

He couldn't really trust the marquis's words.

After all, the marquis didn't even know that Zoe inherited her mother's unique ability.

[I know in my heart that it wasn't my Zoe who married the Demon King, but I need confirmation.]

He was about to ask the marquis about the exact time Zoe disappeared when, all of a sudden, the door burst open.

"Anderson," the marquis said, frowning. "You didn't knock."

"I apologize for my rudeness, my lord," Anderson, the marquis's aide, said in an urgent voice. "But this is important– Duke Vaughn Wilson is here, and His Grace is requesting your presence."

He clenched his hands while growling lowly.

[How dare that punk show up here?!]

Marquis Rochester stood up, his face dark while his marigold eyes glowed menacingly. "I'll go and meet the young duke."

"Marquis Rochester, I'll come–"

Isaak was forced to stop talking when they felt a strange energy bursting out from the room next door.

It was the room where Zoe was supposed to be resting.

[Dammit!]

Isaak immediately bolted out of the room. "I'll check on my wife first, my lord."

***

"I FULFILLED my promise, didn't I?"

Hendrix clenched his hands tight when he heard what Vaughn Wilson said.

Right now, the young duke was sitting on the sofa while having tea. He was still an esteemed guest, so the head butler brought Vaughn Wilson to the drawing room reserved for important guests.

"My lord, didn't I tell you that the next time we meet, you would have been reunited with your real daughter already?" Vaughn Wilson said, smiling. Then he put the teacup down on the saucer. "So, how was your reunion with the real Lady Zoe?"

"Stop," Hendrix warned the young duke, his marigold eyes glowing menacingly. "Just tell me why you're here, Vaughn Wilson."

***

A PUMPKIN.

To be precise, Zoe was looking at a pumpkin head.

She didn't know where she was exactly, but the luxurious bed with gold pillars and expensive-looking curtains definitely didn't belong to any of the room in her father's mansion.

And who the hell was this person wearing a pumpkin head costume?

[It reminds me of the "pumpkin treat" I pulled during the banquet before.]

<"You're not my wife.">

The man wearing the pumpkin head said in a disappointed voice.

"Of course, I'm not your wife," Zoe said while getting up. "Who the hell are you?"

<"I'm Zoanne's husband,"> the man with the pumpkin head said, then he immediately grabbed her neck. <"Where is my wife, you fake?">

This villain had no chill, huh?

***

NOTE: Hi! Please consider ADDING 'I Won't Let The Ghoul Duke Go Hungry!' to your LIBRARY. Thank you! <3