I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

There was gold in the petals of the rose.

It was just a cheap candy, poorly crafted with shabby skills, and yet, I couldn’t help but reach out because I felt sorry for the broken edge.

My hand, which was about to touch it, eventually returned to its original position in the air.

“Why…”

A sigh-like word escaped naturally.

It was difficult to understand Ricardo’s sudden change in attitude.

No, it was more challenging to comprehend why he had started seeing me in a new light all of a sudden.

Especially when there was no need for it now.

‘Perhaps… is this also from the book’s content?’

I chuckled.

When Ricardo started showing interest in me, to be honest, it felt good.

Even his change in attitude felt good, to be honest.

I was excited by his smile, and my heart fluttered at the anticipated contact.

Every time I witnessed Ricardo’s new side, old emotions gradually resurfaced.

It was quite enjoyable for me to discover a living Ricardo, not the future Marquess who was indifferent and uninterested in me.

Suddenly, I wondered if this joy might be a trap.

“Yeah, it could be.”

When I saw the book, I thought it was absurd.

Becoming a villainess? It was an impossible event.

And the ridiculous idea of me loving Ricardo so much that I would be willing to kill someone was simply laughable.

But if this continued to make my heart pound and flutter… I really didn’t know.

At that moment, a thought crossed my mind that this joy might be a trap.

“I can’t allow that.”

Although I shook my head vigorously, the stubborn thought stuck to my mind like glue.

“Like this!”

I gripped the candy that I couldn’t touch a moment ago.

I had initially thought of throwing it away for fear it might get worse.

I wanted to throw it away immediately. My hand was ready to toss it into the trash.

“But…”

I couldn’t let it go. I couldn’t throw it away.

I couldn’t discard the gift he had chosen for me for the first time.

“It’s just candy.”

I muttered to myself as if I were hypnotizing.

“It’s nothing special.”

I quietly got up from my seat, still holding the candy in my hand.

When I opened the door, I realized that something was strange.

Nothing had changed. The bed, bookshelf, and dressing table were all the same as before.

But something was different.

As I scanned the room more closely, I realized that a faint light was leaking through. Where there shouldn’t have been any light at all.

The source of the light was the bookshelf.

“The book!”

I rushed from the door to the bookshelf and stood in front of it.

And in one swift motion, I lifted the book emitting the light. Naturally, it was the book.

The book wasn’t hot or cold. It simply emitted light.

“It’s okay.”

I opened the bookshelf and trembled, reassuring myself with shaking hands.

It might actually be something good.

The contents could have changed to a scenario where I simply part ways with Ricardo without dying.

Didn’t he mention today that if he found someone else, we could break up?

It could have changed for the better.

Maybe it’s not Maria, but I became the protagonist.

In fact, I would be a perfect protagonist.

“It’s okay.”

Armed with positive thoughts, which were still not enough, I took a deep breath and flipped through the book.

Unfortunately, the beginning of the book hadn’t changed.

They still met because of a pickpocket incident, and it was described as if they had met very fatefully.

The protagonists were still Ricardo and Maria.

“Wait.”

Disappointed, I stopped flipping through the pages at the part that had changed.

Clearly, before, they exchanged their names and anticipated their next meeting, as exaggerated as it was, described as if it were fate.

But now it was different.

Ricardo was the one who had changed.

He didn’t tell Maria his name. He didn’t anticipate the next meeting.

“I don’t need repayment, so do something good for others. Help an orphanage or donate to a homeless shelter.”

“That’s my way of being repaid.”

“Oh, there!”

That was it.

After saving Maria’s life-like money, Ricardo didn’t reveal his name and walked away, advising her to help others.

He probably didn’t know.

His words that he didn’t need thanks, that helping others was his way of being thanked, made Maria’s heart beat even faster.

Arriving at the climax, how comforting it was for her, who had found everything scary and frightening, to know that there was someone willing to help others without expecting anything in return.

And this was their fateful first encounter.

Similar yet different.

The book still emphasized the destiny of these two, and Maria’s immediate affection was still mentioned, but Ricardo had changed.

As if the previous him and the present him were different.

“More.”

Like someone who hadn’t had a sip of water for three days searching for water, I eagerly devoured the text, frantically turning the pages.

Ignoring meals, dismissing the maids who came for bathing, I just read, read, and read.

“Bianca.”

At Ricardo’s call, she turned her head.

“Ricardo.”

With a sarcastic expression, she smiled.

Bianca Croft, Ricardo’s fiancée and his first love, was such a woman.

Bright and beautiful.

She was worthy of the title of the Empire’s most beautiful woman, and she was praised by both nobility and commoners alike, a perfect woman.

And she was Maria’s rival.

Surprisingly, Maria, with tremendous effort, had become a prominent figure in the social circles of the Sprando Empire.

In just one year, she achieved what I had been working on for twenty years. Nevertheless, the book claimed it was so.

If I was a glamorous rose, Maria was described as a pure lily.

And Ricardo was still between us.

If the previous book’s content was about defeating the villain who was disrupting the love of the beautiful male and female protagonists, and the two finding true love, this book was the story of Maria growing into the flower of the Sprando Empire.

And no matter how beautiful she became, Ricardo didn’t look at her.

Because he loved ‘Bianca.’

“I hated you.”

Maria looked down at Bianca with a cold expression.

A year ago, the innocent appearance of a pure country girl who had just come to the city was no longer visible.

With relentless effort, Maria had become a perfect lady.

Even if she stood by Ricardo, she wouldn’t be embarrassed.

“Don’t, Maria…….”

If it weren’t for Bianca, who now stood in front of her, clutching her chest in agony, Maria would stand by his side.

“Just because of this, do you think Ricardo’s feelings will change?”

Gasping for breath, Bianca said.

“No. They won’t change.”

Even if someone died in front of her, Maria didn’t even blink.

“But I can have his body, right?”

“Maria….”

Even if Bianca, looking at her with pitiful eyes, didn’t exist, Maria could be by his side.

“Oh my goodness!”

The first time I looked away from the book was at the part about my death.

I died again. This time, it was poisoning.

When Ricardo refuses to look at her no matter how hard she tries, Maria makes the wrong choice.

She poisons her rival and Ricardo’s favorite.

In the previous book, I, the villain, failed to poison Maria, but Maria, the heroine, succeeded. Thus, I died again.

Ricardo mourns my death, and Maria comforts him.

She seduces him, and in his clouded state of consciousness, he mistakes her for me and spends the night with her.

One night of mistaken identity, and Ricardo is stuck with Maria.

She took possession of the soulless Ricardo.

To love, and not to love.

The main characters get their ‘happy ever after’.

The story had changed.

“Why do I end up dying?”

Finally, my brief commentary after reading the lengthy story was just that.

While the story had changed, I remained the deceased character within the book.

“Anyway, it seems to have definitely changed.”

Upon witnessing the scene where Panya places flowers on my grave, I had a glimmer of hope that perhaps, even though the major plotline of my death hadn’t changed, the story could still evolve.

Despite my demise remaining unchanged, the narrative had shifted.

Moving forward, the storyline could continue to transform.

Depending on my actions, the content could undergo various alterations.

By showing kindness, did the narrative shift from portraying me as a mere formal fiancée to a reputable and perfect candidate for the Duchess?

Moreover, the previously rigid Ricardo, who had viewed me as a hindrance to his and Maria’s love, was also evidently undergoing a transformation.

“Ricardo.”

I quietly called his name, turning the pages of the book.

And I traced a certain passage with my hand.

“Bianca.”

A wet voice called her name.

Whether lying in a coffin or surrounded by vibrant flowers, she remained beautiful.

“I swear.”

A single tear fell onto her cheek, though not her own tear.

“The owner of my heart is solely you, Bianca.”

That vow was kept until the moment Ricardo died.

“Smile Love”