Chapter 528: Chapter-528
She knew she wasn’t going to live a long life. But deep down, despite all her shouting, threats, and irritation... she truly didn’t want to destroy this guy’s future.
Even after she eventually died and left this world, she genuinely wanted Samuel to live a long, happy, and peaceful life. She wanted him to be free of the villainous tragedy that had been written for him.
But as she watched the capital citizens pointing and whispering excitedly as the Vanguard carriage drove past, Heena knew the cold, hard truth.
By tying himself so publicly to the notorious Madam of the Vanguard, Samuel had painted a massive target on his own back. The Emperor, the Marquis, the rival factions—they would all see him as her weakness.
’Look’s like this guy’s life is not going to be easy after all,’ Heena thought softly, a rare look of protective resolve settling into her fox-like eyes. ’I suppose I’ll just have to clear as many enemies out of his path as I can before my time is up.’
Saying that you want someone to live a long, happy life, and actually letting them live when they are actively trying to destroy your blood pressure, are two completely different things.
The very next morning, Heena literally wanted to murder Samuel.
She wasn’t just annoyed. She was so astronomically, blindingly angry that she could actually feel her own heart threatening to stop out of sheer spite.
"Let me go!" Heena roared, her boots completely lifting off the floor as she lunged forward.
Two of her strongest martial maids were currently wrapped around her waist, digging their heels into the expensive carpet and pulling back with all their might just to stop her.
"No, My Lady, stop!" one of the maids cried out, terrified. "Murdering the Young Master before breakfast is bad for your digestion!"
A heavy, razor-sharp Vanguard broadsword was fully drawn and gleaming in Heena’s right hand. She was swinging it wildly, her hair escaping its neat ponytail, looking like an absolute demon of war.
Across the room, sitting at a small, sunlit patio table, was Samuel.
He was wearing a fresh, impossibly expensive white and silver silk robe—undoubtedly purchased yesterday on her tab. He was entirely unbothered by the screaming woman struggling against her maids mere feet away from him. He casually lifted a delicate porcelain cup to his lips.
"You fucking bastard!" Heena screamed, pointing the tip of the sword directly at his handsome face. "You dare sit there and drink tea?!"
Samuel looked up at her, the morning sunlight catching the infuriating, angelic sparkle in his dark eyes. He offered her a gentle, unbearably soft smile.
"Wife, don’t strain your vocal cords," Samuel murmured warmly. He elegantly blew on the steaming liquid, closed his eyes, and took another slow, deeply appreciative sip.
That completely unabashed, shameless sip was what pushed Heena beyond the absolute limits of human anger.
Why? Because lying completely open on the floor between them was the morning edition of the Capital Daily Observer—the most widely read gossip newspaper in the entire empire.
And printed across the front page, in massive, bold, incredibly dramatic ink strokes, was a headline that had utterly annihilated her fearsome ego:
THE YOUNG HEIRESS OF THE MARCUSE FAMILY—THE FIERCE VANGUARD GENERAL SUBDUED!
Madam Crazed With Jealousy Begs Breathtakingly Handsome Husband to Return Home in Prime District Spectacle!
Heena’s eye twitched violently as her gaze dropped to the sub-text, which was filled with the most humiliating, utter nonsense she had ever read in her two lifetimes.
Yesterday afternoon, the terrifying Madam of the Vanguard was brought to her absolute knees by the power of love! Witnesses in the prime merchant district report that the fearsome warlord was driven to a state of ’wild, desperate jealousy’ upon seeing the capital’s noblewomen admiring her stunningly attractive husband, Lord Samuel.
According to the terrified merchants, Lady Seera aggressively threw her unlimited financial jade token at him, desperately begging him to ’buy a mountain’ just to prove her unwavering devotion. When Lord Samuel shyly tried to refuse, the Vanguard Madam reportedly grabbed his wrist in a ’ferocious, trembling grip of a woman utterly terrified of losing her beloved,’ and dragged him into her carriage to shower him with affection.
One swooning noblewoman stated: "The Madam looked ready to slaughter anyone who even blinked at him. She is completely, hopelessly obsessed! The Vanguard military funds are nothing compared to a single smile from her beautiful husband!"
"A trembling grip?!" Heena shrieked, kicking a nearby stool across the room. "I was trying to snap your radius bone in half! I was trying to financially amputate you!"
Samuel gracefully set his teacup down. He leaned his chin on his hand, looking at her with an expression of pure, victimized innocence.
"I don’t know what you are so upset about, Wifey," Samuel sighed, tapping the newspaper with his finger. "I think the journalist captured your fierce, possessive love for me quite beautifully. It is very poetic. And besides, Grandma wanted a commotion. Are you not entertained?"
"I am going to make you drink that tea through a severed artery!" Heena barked, violently shaking off one of the maids and taking a step forward, raising the broadsword. "I am the Vanguard Madam! I extort princes! I beat up nobles! I do not ’swoon’ and I absolutely do not act like a crazed sugar mommy!"
Samuel just chuckled, a deep, musical sound that completely clashed with her homicidal rage.
"Well, according to the entire capital this morning..." Samuel smirked, picking his cup back up and giving her a devastating wink, "you are officially the biggest, most aggressive simp in the empire. Drink some water, Wifey. It is going to be a long day."
.
.
.
By late afternoon, Heena had finally managed to lower her blood pressure to a semi-survivable level.
She had confiscated Samuel’s tea, locked him in the courtyard to "reflect on his sins," and retreated to her private study. She sat at her heavy oak desk, rubbing her temples. In her previous life, she had worn high-power glasses for years, and right now, she found herself phantom-pushing up a pair of invisible frames on the bridge of her nose just to cope with the sheer, blinding headache this ancient world was giving her.
’Just breathe,’ Heena told herself, sipping a cup of calming herbal water. ’It was just one morning paper. Tomorrow, someone else will cause a scandal, and the capital will forget all about my supposed romantic desperation.’
A soft, terrified knock echoed at the study door.
"Come in," Heena sighed, not looking up.
A young maid entered, trembling like a leaf in a hurricane. In her hands, she held a rolled-up piece of cheap parchment.
"M-My Lady," the maid squeaked, refusing to make eye contact. "The... the Capital Evening Chronicle just arrived. Lord Marcuset requested that you... um... read it in a room without sharp objects."
Heena frowned. She set her cup down. "Hand it over."
The maid practically threw the paper onto the desk and sprinted out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Heena unrolled the parchment, squinting slightly at the incredibly tiny, poorly stamped ink. As her eyes adjusted to the text, the last remaining shreds of her sanity officially snapped.
EVENING EXCLUSIVE: THE GILDED CAGE OF THE VANGUARD!
Is the Fierce Madam Resorting to Financial Hostage-Taking to Compensate for Her Complete Lack of Feminine Grace?!
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