I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 60

Chapter 60

The carriage door burst open, and the man who leaped in was, of course, not Ricardo. He was a rugged man, utterly dissimilar to him, and he held a knife in his hand.

“…!”

“…!”

It wasn’t just me who was startled when our eyes met. The stranger who had burst into the carriage as if he were about to wield his knife in the carriage also opened his eyes in surprise.

Unless he was a complete fool who mistook the carriage, there was no reason for him to be surprised to see me in my own carriage. His surprise must have been due to Ricardo’s unexpected presence here.

“Who are you?”

Ricardo confronted him, blocking my path. And naturally, his hand went to his waist.

That’s when he realized. He came out here simply to meet his fiancée at the palace, so he didn’t have a sword.

But Ricardo wasn’t the only one who realized this. The man who initially seemed surprised to see him, once he realized Ricardo was unarmed, smirked knowingly.

Moreover, although they couldn’t come inside the carriage due to the narrow space, there were others behind him watching our exchange.

“Damn it!”

Ricardo gritted his teeth in frustration, but his eyes that gazed at the man didn’t lose their intensity. It was as if he didn’t even need a sword against someone like him.

“Bianca, can you get out through the window?”

Ricardo whispered quietly, and I glanced briefly at the carriage window.

“It’s impossible.”

It would have been nice to say it was possible, but it was impossible. Even if I were in my nightclothes, there was no way I could escape through that small window in my dress.

“All right then. We’ll have to clear a path.”

Ricardo quietly stared down the intruder before us.

“It’s dangerous. He’s holding a knife. You…”

I didn’t bother to say, “You don’t have a sword,” because Ricardo knew that too.

“Hey, Duke of Winkaiser. You’re not needed here.”

The man who had been eavesdropping on our whispers suddenly spoke up.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. We have business with the lady behind you.”

“What business?”

“Well, it’s better if you don’t know, isn’t it?”

With that, he chuckled. Although I already knew that his business was not about an invitation to a royal tea party or a request for a dance at a ball, hearing such words coming from his mouth gave me even more chills.

“I refuse.”

Contrary to him, Ricardo said with a face devoid of any hint of amusement.

“The lady behind me is shuddering at the sight of your face. So, as her fiancé, I’ll reject whatever business you have with her.”

Without even looking at me, Ricardo hit the nail on the head. And upon hearing his words, the man’s face contorted in anger.

“If you’re volunteering for a trip to hell, then I’ll gladly escort you both there peacefully.”

The man smirked, similar to before, adjusting the sword in his hand and taking a step towards us.

Seeing this, Ricardo pressed his body against mine protectively, and being in such a situation for the first time, I could only helplessly hide behind him.

I glanced around the carriage, wondering if there was anything that could help him. But all I saw were items completely unrelated to fighting or combat – directions, spare shoes, a wrap for the cold, and a parasol to shield from the sun… a parasol!

“Ah!”

As the man approached Ricardo in front of me, I instinctively reached under the carriage. Just as I felt the delicate lace of the parasol in my fingertips, I grabbed it.

“Ricardo!”

Calling out his name, I almost threw the parasol to him in a reckless move to block the man’s sword with his arm. Before he could even confirm what it was, Ricardo instinctively used the parasol to block the man’s sword with a movement bordering on primal instinct. The sharp blade cut through the fabric and lace of the parasol, but thankfully, the metal umbrella ribs inside deflected the blow.

“Tsk!”

The relief was short-lived. The man quickly recoiled his sword and immediately threatened to strike Ricardo again. But Ricardo wasn’t just going to stand still.

“Ugh”

Skillfully changing the direction of the parasol, he twisted the man’s sword and seized his wrist in a swift motion, causing the man to wince in pain. And as Ricardo further twisted his wrist, the man let out a pained groan, glaring at him even amidst the agony.

“It’s dangerous!”

Sensing danger in the man’s eyes, I shouted, and in that moment, the man swung the sword he held in his other hand towards Ricardo with all his might.

“Urgh!”

In a flash, Ricardo grabbed my parasol firmly in his hand. And then…

“Ugh!”

I had to turn my head away from the cruel scene unfolding before me.

More than when Ricardo had climbed onto the carriage, more than when the stranger swung the sword, my heart was pounding now.

Though I turned my head at the crucial moment, the subsequent scene played out vividly in my imagination. If I opened my eyes and turned my head now, I was certain the scene I had imagined would be before me.

The thought made my hands tremble. Maybe my whole body.

“Bianca!”

His urgent call made my closed eyes open, and Ricardo grabbed my trembling hand.

When I opened my eyes, he was there.

Ricardo, shielding a lifeless body pierced by the parasol with his own, urgently calling out my name.

And his hand was stained with blood. The crimson blood that had flowed from someone else’s body just moments ago.

“Are you okay?”

“I… I…”

If he asked if I was okay, I wasn’t.

It was my first time witnessing someone’s death. It was my first time seeing so much blood.

I knew the situation was urgent, that we had to act quickly, but my gaze was fixated on the blood on Ricardo’s hand.

I couldn’t be okay.

“We need to go, Bianca.”

Ricardo, noticing what I was staring at, quickly wiped the blood from his hand onto his trousers. Yet, traces of blood still remained.

“Bianca.”

His firm voice called my name again.

Still fixated on his hand, still fixated on the blood, he forcibly turned my head away with his large hand.

And then, my gaze was filled with something else.

Ricardo’s face.

His skin would have been fair originally, but it was now tanned dark from rigorous training every day. Faint scars visible on his cheeks, nose, and beside his eyebrows. And those solemn black eyes filled with concern.

Did you see these things?

The red blood and dying person, the person you killed. Did you see those things with these black eyes?

Just once, and I was overwhelmed by such intense shock. But you, you felt this way every day, every moment?

“Ricardo.”

The sight of the man before me was unbearable.

I understood acutely why he couldn’t meet my gaze.

If scenes like this haunted my eyes every day like residual scars, how could I see beautiful flowers? How could I gaze at the blue sky?

How could I even look at the handsome man before me?

All I would see is hell.

“Bianca.”

Ricardo’s hand gripped mine tighter. With his strength, he lifted me up, and I could barely muster the strength to stand on my wobbly legs.

“Be careful.”

With the sword in hand, Ricardo cautiously moved towards the carriage door. There, a man with a drawn sword was visible. Or rather, men.

At first glance, there seemed to be at least five of them. And among them, two were not aiming at us but rather at the carriage seats, their swords already stained with blood.

“Panya…”

Her name escaped through his lips like a groan.

Was it Panya’s blood? The blood of the girl with caring parents and many siblings, who was shy and teary, and who would shyly smile when given a gift?

“If you see an opportunity, run.”

Ricardo whispered to me quietly.

He seemed intent on creating an opening for me to escape.

There were five opponents surrounding us, closing in from all sides. It seemed impossible to escape.

But Ricardo looked at me with determination, as if he would succeed no matter what. With eyes full of life, he scanned the men surrounding us one by one.

Every time his eyes met theirs, they flinched or hesitated. They may not have known who they were, but they seemed to know who Ricardo was.

“Be careful.”

That’s all I could say. I was of no help in fighting or combat. Perhaps in this situation, I would only be a burden to Ricardo.

“Yah!”

Unable to bear the stalemate, or perhaps trusting their numerical advantage, one of the men charged forward, yelling. And as if that yell were a signal, another man also rushed towards Ricardo.

I simply pressed my body against the carriage, making sure not to hinder Ricardo’s movements. I busily scanned around, trying to find the opening Ricardo mentioned.

Right? Left?

Amidst the chaotic clash of blades and the sounds of battle, I tried to read the situation.

And I concluded it was on the right. Ricardo was gradually twisting his body, pushing the men towards his left.

“Ugh!”

One man crumpled to the ground. And almost as if being pushed, another man fell alongside him.

In an instant, the five men became three, and seizing the opportunity, Ricardo slashed at one of them.

As the man screamed and blood spurted from his arm, I twisted my body to the right and leaped forward.

But as I turned my head to check if Panya was okay as we passed her seat, I realized something was wrong.

A completely different scene from what I had expected met my eyes. In a moment of panic, my gaze met Panya’s.

“Bianca!”

Ricardo’s voice echoed in my ears. It sounded like a scream.

“Smile Love”