I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 61

Chapter 61

“Bianca!”

Ricardo’s voice, like a scream, reached me just as something silvery flew towards me. I quickly realized what it was.

“Oh…”

As I lowered my head, I saw a sword piercing through my abdomen. The blood spurting out seemed to turn my beautifully prepared dress for today into soil and blossoming flowers.

When I raised my head again, I saw Panya.

“Ugh!”

She was struggling against the grip of the manservant, tears streaming down her face.

Today, Panya cried again, watching me closely.

Was she angry? Was she not?

Was she in pain? Was she not?

“Ugh! Ugh!”

Panya jerked her body, trying to break free from the manservant’s grasp. But she was just a small girl, and the manservant, skilled in handling horses, was much stronger than her.

He was a spy. He was a traitor.

He had been bribed with money in the name of Croft, living off that money while being a minion of my unknown enemy.

He was truly despicable. As the one driving my carriage, he didn’t need to follow me separately. He already knew where I was going and what my schedule was. It would be easy for him to leave threatening notes in the empty carriage while we were away. If he ever saw suspicious individuals or noticed our absence, all he had to do was act ignorant.

“Oh…”

With the sword stuck in my abdomen, I staggered backward. Strangely, I didn’t feel much pain, only a groan escaped me. It felt odd; being pricked by paper or a thorn would hurt, but oddly, despite a much larger sword piercing my abdomen, I didn’t feel much pain.

It was just a strange sensation.

“This is… “

The crimson blood was gradually staining my dress. My beloved dress…

I rarely wore it because it was so fancy. I only wore it on special occasions, in nice places. But now, it had been torn, and irreparable crimson blood was staining it.

“No, Bianca! Stay still!”

As my trembling hand reached towards the sword embedded in my abdomen, Ricardo’s voice rang out. It was as screaming as before.

I tore my gaze away from Panya, who was shedding tears, and turned my head. Strangely, it felt like my head was turning very slowly. And my vision changed very slowly too.

My maid, my carriage, and my man.

Ricardo gritted his teeth and was still fending off the men’s swords, and even striking back at them. Were there already three, or maybe four men lying on the ground?

I couldn’t foolishly count them.

Lara had just started learning addition and subtraction. She said she could ask me if she didn’t know something. How could I teach her anything if I became a fool who couldn’t even count properly?

No, it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t know what kind of technique they were using, but those men were definitely using some sort of trickery. Magic or sorcery, or something like that.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for one person to suddenly become two, two to become three, and then revert back to one.

“Ugh…”

It didn’t hurt. It just felt hazy and disoriented. And I couldn’t stand it anymore. Staggering backward, I finally sank down to my knees.

“Bianca!”

Ricardo’s voice echoed once again.

If my ears heard correctly, it was a desperate, tearful voice.

Tearful?

Ricardo? Are you… crying?

I turned my head laboriously. But I couldn’t see anything.

There were just blurry, colorful shadows.

“Ri… Ricardo…”

My lips didn’t move well. My tongue was the same.

Only pronunciation, like a person with a mouthful of jelly, barely flowed from my lips. Even though I had never eaten jelly so messily.

Slowly, my eyelids closed, and even the blurry, colorful shadows that I vaguely saw disappeared into the black darkness.

My body was falling backward. And barely, even my eyes, which were staring into the darkness, were also about to fall backward.

“Bianca!”

Once again, Ricardo’s scream, calling my name.

In the moment of almost fainting, his voice grabbed me. It was as if he was telling me not to go, not to leave.

“Ricardo…”

I struggled to lift my eyelids, but my voice still didn’t come out well.

I wanted to speak to him with clear pronunciation.

Don’t call me so desperately.

Don’t call me with such a trembling voice.

My heart ached so much, I couldn’t bear it. Please, don’t call my name like that.

“Bianca…”

This time, it was a different voice. It wasn’t as desperate as before, but much more heartfelt.

Blinking.

I struggled to open my trembling eyelids, and then, just like before, I saw the blurry shadows. In front of me, there was a figure, black, white, and indistinct.

That figure cautiously reached out a hand toward me.

“Oh my goodness… Just a little longer, please bear with me.”

The hand that touched my smooth cheek was large and rough. And it was trembling, just like his voice.

“Ricardo…”

Finally, I could call his name.

Ricardo. Ricardo.

My fiancé, my man, my Ricardo.

Is it okay to call you like that? In truth, I’ve never really thought of you as mine. You were just the future duke, and I was the future duchess.

When I was very young, just a little child, not yet a lady, I don’t think I ever considered you my man, even when I fell for you at first sight.

You were just a wonderful person, and I simply wanted to be the perfect wife of that wonderful person.

But now, I want to call you that way. If this is my last moment, I want to call you that way.

“My Ricardo.”

“Yes. I’m here. I’m right here, Bianca.”

The same large, rough hand that cupped my cheek tightly now gripped my hand.

And then, softly, tenderly.

Something warm touched my cheek. Then, the same thing touched my lips. It flowed into my mouth, and as the tangy and bitter taste touched my tongue, the shapes that had just been blurred by adulthood became a little clearer.

The first thing I saw was the black hair, then the furrowed brow below. Lowering my gaze a little more, the untrimmed black eyebrows and the deeply furrowed forehead came into view.

And a pair of black eyes, filled with tears.

The crying black pupils.

“Bianca.”

As our eyes met, Ricardo squeezed my hand even tighter. And then, tears poured from his eyes as if a storm was coming.

“Forgive me. For being so stupid to only realize my true feelings now that it’s come to this.”
Was it the wind? Or was it him moving? His black hair swayed. But it wasn’t just his hair that was shaking.

His shoulders trembled. His hands trembled. His eyes trembled.

Afraid of losing something precious to him, he trembled like a lost soul thrown naked into a howling wilderness during a storm.

“I’ll risk my life. I’ll risk it all for you, Bianca. Right now, that’s all I fervently desire.”

The stars twinkled in the night sky, and the round yet angular crescent moon hung over his shoulder. Despite the beauty of the night sky, Ricardo was crying.

“Oh Lord, I beg you. Take my life. Spare the innocent woman and take mine instead. I beg of you, please spare her.”

What a foolish person. Truly, a consistently foolish person.

I still remembered saying that one must be willing to risk their life for love. And now, he was willingly swearing to sacrifice his own life to the divine.

With my hand clasped in the middle, his hands tightly clasped together, he shook his body back and forth as if fervently praying for his wish to be granted.

And I closed my eyes, praying fervently that his wish would not come true.

“Bianca!”

Once again, Ricardo’s voice echoed.

But I no longer had the strength to lift my eyelids.

No matter how much he screamed in agony, no matter how many hot tears he shed onto my face, and no matter how tightly his rough, large hands held mine in desperation, I no longer had the strength to respond.

As I closed my eyes, hot liquid trickled down my cheeks.

I couldn’t tell if it was my tears or Ricardo’s.

The echo of Ricardo’s voice faded into the distance, and even the lingering image of Ricardo’s face in the darkness gradually blurred.

And finally, I succumbed to the peaceful darkness.

“Smile Love”