I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 104

Chapter 104

The man who had once been the Viscount of Wensbury glared at me as if I were someone he loathed.

He shouldn’t have done that.

“Klein, considering our past friendship, I’ll give you some advice. Don’t ever again raise your head so proudly and speak informally in front of the Marquis’ noble daughter. If you do, you’ll find yourself in deep trouble. Understood?”

“How dare you speak so arrogantly! Do you think I’ll just let this slide? I’ll make sure you pay for this humiliation!”

“Tsk-tsk, I told you, you shouldn’t do that.”

He frowned, as if he had seen something truly vile.

Even though I had deliberately provoked him.

“It seems I’ll have to teach you some manners. If things stay as they are, it’ll be difficult for Klein to adjust to society.”

I spoke in a tone that sounded caring, as though I were doing him a great favor.

“I sentenced Klein to 20 lashes.”

My tone remained as gentle as ever.

“W-what?”

Kleinlooked at me, his face twisted in disbelief, mouth agape.

“The crime is insulting a noble.”

I gave him a sweet smile.

He knew well enough. A commoner insulting a noble could absolutely warrant this.

“How dare you!”

“21 lashes.”

“What the hell!”

“22 lashes.”

“Bianca Croft!”

“23 lashes.”

I calmly increased the count with each word he uttered.

“…”

Finally, Klein fell silent.

“If you kneel and beg, I might show mercy and reduce the sentence.”

Despite my kind offer, Klein simply trembled in rage, showing no sign of kneeling.

Though still physically fit for his age, even a young and strong man would struggle to endure 23 lashes.

“You once said, didn’t you? That no one cares about the life of some lowly commoner.”

Those were the very words he had said when he dismissed Megi’s death as trivial.

“Well, now you’re that lowly commoner. You should check every morning to make sure your head is still attached, and be careful when you walk because you never know when a death no one cares about might creep up on you.”

I could see countless thoughts swirling through Klein’s mind from the expression on his face.

It seemed he was finally realizing the gravity of his situation.

“Take him away.”

Once he received those 23 lashes, he would understand just how far he had fallen.

“So, this is the end,” said Ricardo quietly, coming closer after the guards dragged Klein away.

“Yes. The villain’s final chapter.”

“The end? It’s a miserable fate, sure, but he’s still alive. Isn’t it a bit too early to call it his end?”

Ricardo spoke, but I could only smile.

I couldn’t very well tell him now that there was a book on my shelf that had predicted the future until just recently.

And that I had already read its final chapter.

I was the only one who knew that today was the last time we’d witness the villain alive—this was, indeed, his final chapter.

***

“I wanted to thank you.”

Maria finally spoke, after hesitating several times as though she was unsure how to begin. I had been growing nervous, wondering if something was wrong, but her words quickly eased my tension.

“For what?”

I asked, as I finally took a bite of the cupcake Maria had brought from Angela’s Bakery. As always, it was delicious.

Some people had suggested I might feel uncomfortable eating cakes from that place, but the cake was no fault.

Refusing to eat something so delicious just because of some bad feeling would only hurt me.

“For avenging my mother.”

“If it weren’t for your help, I couldn’t have done it. So it’s only fair to say we avenged her together.”

“All I did was help. If you hadn’t told me, I would have continued living as that man’s daughter, never knowing the truth. That’s a horrifying thought.”

“But that didn’t happen, so it all worked out in the end.”

“Yes.”

Maria nodded and sipped her tea. Then, glancing at me over her teacup, it seemed she still had more to say.

“Um…”

“It wasn’t me.”

I could already guess what Maria was going to ask, so I answered before she could speak. Her eyes widened in surprise, as if wondering how I knew.

“And just in case, I asked Ricardo. He says it wasn’t him either.”

“R-really?”

“Ricardo even though it might have been you.”

“It wasn’t me. I did consider it briefly, but the deed was done before I had the chance to act.”

Maria shrugged, looking somewhat relieved but also a little disappointed.

“Then who do you think killed him?”

Klein, after receiving 23 lashes and being left nearly dead, never made it back to Wensbury Manor.

“Could it have been the Viscountess of Wensbury?”

The Viscountess had been enduring him, feeling betrayed, but as soon as Klein was demoted to a commoner, she immediately filed for divorce.

“Maybe it was my brother, Raintar.”

Reintar had inherited the title of Baron Wensbury from his maternal grandfather and became the head of the Wensbury family in Klein’s place.

He had been abused by Klein as a child and had cut ties with his father.

Maria, of course, hadn’t given Klein any attention either.

Abandoned by his entire family, Klein had secluded himself in a villa. Technically, he no longer had the right to be there, but the caretaker who had worked for the Viscount for decades couldn’t bring himself to turn him away.

And while the caretaker was on his way to inform the Wensbury family, Klein was murdered there.

When he was found, there was a knife lodged in his neck, and his face was twisted in agony, as if he had witnessed something terrifying.

Moreover, the caretaker discovered his body long after he had been killed, so it was said that Klein’s body was already decaying, maggots crawling through the gruesome sight.

“It could be a completely different third party.”

“Who do you mean?”

“Perhaps the Duke of Winkaiser, who nearly lost his son?”

“Oh! He’s definitely a possibility. It’s a good thing he was the host of that meeting. I can’t even imagine what would have happened if someone close to him had presided over the trial that day. It was truly fortunate.”

“Maria, luck is something you create.”

“Excuse me?”

Maria blinked innocently at my words. I couldn’t help but smile at her adorable expression.

“Um… But I heard that it was definitely the royal family that granted permission for the trial. It seems inappropriate for the royal family to meddle in noble affairs, so they delegated the responsibility to the Duke of Winkaiser.”

“Yes, of course. But I happen to know someone in the royal family.”

That someone was, without a doubt, Asel.

Upon learning that Klein was the one who had harmed me, Asel had gotten angry, and when he realized that Klein had tried to kill me, he exploded with fury. Hearing that Klein had actually targeted me during the hunting tournament only added fuel to his rage.

Ricardo had pointed out that Asel had been the one actually struck by the arrow and asked him if he felt no anger for himself, given that they were friends. Asel had coolly brushed him off with, “You’re strong enough.”

In any case, Asel stepped up for us.

Thus, under the pretext of resolving noble matters among nobles, the trial was held that day, hosted by the Duke of Winkaiser.

Luck was something you built.

“Oh my goodness!”

Maria finally grasped the whole story and gasped, covering her mouth with her hands in surprise.

“Nobles are… really scary.”

After a while, she finally removed her hands and shook her head in disbelief.

“So, about that… I’ve decided not to be a noble.”

“Excuse me?”

This time, I was the one taken aback.

“I’m going to abandon the name Wensbury.”

Seeing my shocked reaction seemed to delight Maria, and she grinned as she replied.

“To be honest, I’ve disliked it for a while now. Maria Wensbury sounds like… like a name for jam to spread on bread, doesn’t it? One of those jams with very little sugar that tastes awful.”

“Pfft!”

Maria’s comment made me burst into laughter. In an instant, the illustrious Wensbury family was reduced to a flavorless jam.

“I’ll keep in touch with my only remaining blood relative, Raintar, but I dislike the name Wensbury that he gave me. Isn’t Maria Bellona much prettier?”

She was willing to abandon her noble title just because it was given to her by someone she disliked.

“Yes. Maria Bellona is much prettier.”

I supported Maria’s choice.

Her life was hers to create—not determined by a suddenly appearing biological father, nor by a prophetic book that existed somewhere, but by her own choices.

“Then are you planning to return to Ancini?”

“No, not at all. I’ve found a good job here.”

“Already?”

“Yes. I find it fulfilling to work there, and I can apply what I’ve learned. Plus, it seems like a job I enjoy and can excel in.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve taken a position as a childcare teacher at the Sprendo Orphanage.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. I thought I might have to go back to Ancini, so I went to say goodbye to the orphanage, and the director mentioned that they’re planning to expand the orphanage and would be taking in more children. She offered me a position because they would need more hands.”

“I see.”

It seemed the director planned to take in more children once the orphanage expanded. As she said, they would need more help.

Since Maria had been a good student in school, she would be able to teach the children as well. She was good at playing with kids, and the children loved her, so it was truly a perfect fit for her.

It seemed the director of Sprendo had a knack for taking in not only parentless children but also lonely adults.

“Actually, I’m hoping to get your permission, Bianca.”

“My permission?”

Maria nodded lightly.

“Since you’re the biggest benefactor of the Sprendo Orphanage.”

“But I’m only a supporter; it’s the director who runs it. She’s already taking excellent care of the children, and I believe she’ll continue to do so.”

“Then can I work there?”

“Of course. You’ll make a wonderful teacher, Maria.”

“Really?”

Maria beamed at my words.

Seeing the happy smile on Maria’s face made me smile as well.