I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 69

Chapter 69

I informed the butler of the situation and sent all available soldiers to the Sprendo Orphanage immediately. I also instructed the necessary personnel from the mansion’s staff to accompany them.

Furthermore, I dispatched a fast-footed servant to the Winkaiser Manor to inform Ricardo of the situation.

While they searched the orphanage, wandered through nearby forests or mountains, and checked nearby alleyways, I unfolded a book in my room.

I hoped for even the smallest clue.

If this was a book about the future or a prophecy about what was to come, I hoped for even a tiny hint.

“…There’s nothing.”

But my hope was mercilessly crushed.

“This stupid book! Utterly useless!”

There was no mention of Lara. Despite the disappearance of that small, lovely child, the book seemed to dismiss it as insignificant, not bothering to allocate even a single word.

With a bitter heart, I threw the book, stomped on it in anger, but it didn’t flinch. It was a fact I already knew. This book, being fireproof and indestructible, simply remained.

But knowing didn’t stop me from persisting. Despite knowing it was futile, I was so furious, too furious to stop.

“Who are you to call me a villain!”

What does that paper-bound bundle know about me?

“Why are you treating her like she’s nothing!”

How adorable that child is, why treat her as if she doesn’t exist!

Just a mere bundle of paper and insignificant black drawings, yet it presumes to only jot down what it deems important. Despite pretending to be something important, in the end, it’s just a bundle of paper!

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, a sharp pain spread from my abdomen. Sharp pain made my back bend involuntarily, and my hand reached towards it.

I didn’t even realize if the intense movement caused another wound. As I held my stomach and took a step back, I hit the bed behind me. Exhausted, I sat down heavily on the bed.

Waiting for the pain to subside as I breathed heavily, I suddenly remembered that my injuries were not mentioned in the book.

My injuries, my hospitalization, none of it was written in the book. It seemed as though being stabbed, whether by a villain or the protagonist’s first love, was not considered significant at all.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Bending down, I picked up the book that had been lying on the floor. Then I turned the page. The names written in the book flew and stuck in my eyes.

Maria, Maria, Maria, Ricardo, Ricardo, Maria, Ricardo, Ricardo, Maria, Maria……

The names were all Maria and Ricardo. Every once in a while, I’d see my name, or Carlos, or Asel, or the crown prince, or a few other characters, but they were few and far between compared to Maria and Ricardo’s names.

The book was full of the names of the female protagonist, Maria, and the male protagonist, Ricardo, and the story was centered around them.

When I first saw the book, I focused on being called a villain, and later, I concentrated on the changing contents of the book, so I didn’t realize.

No, it could have been so natural that I didn’t realize.

It was natural for the story to revolve around the male and female protagonists. Conversely, if the events weren’t related to them, the stories of other supporting characters were not touched upon.

“Clearly……”

I turned the page to where I appeared. Obviously, it wasn’t at the very beginning. The beginning of the story was dominated by Maria and Ricardo’s first encounter. It was a scene from a ball where Ricardo and I were both present.

I appeared in the early part of the story, when Maria found out about Ricardo’s engagement. It was at the beginning of the story, and when I took Ricardo’s hand and entered the ballroom, people admired and praised us.

For just three lines:

Maria’s jealousy and admiration towards Ricardo and me were described in about five lines, while Ricardo’s gaze towards Maria took up three lines. Then, another five lines were devoted to describing Maria’s actions to reflect her feelings.

But it didn’t end there. The moment when Ricardo and Maria’s eyes met spanned a whopping fourteen lines, followed by another five lines about Maria’s emotions.

While my appearance was allocated only three lines, descriptions of Maria, spanning two pages, detailed her appearance, emotions, mind, and psychological state.

The story was thoroughly protagonist-centric.

“So, then.”

Quickly flipping the pages, events from the royal banquet were also written. Of course, this, too, was Maria-centric.

The words I spoke were changed to reflect my nervousness about losing my fiancé, and the atmosphere of that day was described as if everyone was captivated by Maria’s elegance.

Even Ashel, who showed excessive interest in me all day, and Carlos, who didn’t show interest in any woman, were written as completely infatuated with Maria.

“And then, next!”

The following events depicted Maria’s conflict when invited personally by Asel and her plea to Ricardo to choose her as his lady at the royal hunting competition.

“It’s not there.”

Clearly, it wasn’t there.

This book didn’t even touch upon the villain’s injury or the extra child’s disappearance. Because they weren’t protagonists. The story revolved around the protagonists.

Conversely, in terms of Maria, the book described her in such detail, even mentioning her innermost thoughts and trivial matters.

“It’s not Maria……”

If Maria had kidnapped Lara, the book would surely have addressed it.

It would have explained why she kidnapped Lara, her plans, and the reasons why she had to kidnap the frightened child in detail.

But there was no such content in the book.

Megi’s death was the same. Maria merely mourned Megi’s death and harbored revenge against me.

There was no mention of who killed Megi, why she was killed, or how Maria came to suspect me.

“There’s someone.”

The one who killed Megi, twisted the circumstances to make Maria misunderstand me, and now, kidnapped Lara to make me utterly hated by Maria.

Megi’s death and Maria’s revenge were not just random misunderstandings and conflicts.

Whoever it was, the mastermind behind the scenes, not even mentioned in the book, had crafted a cunning trap.

“But who on earth……”

My eyes involuntarily closed dimly.

I couldn’t even guess who the person smiling ominously in the darkness was.

***

“Maria!”

I couldn’t wait any longer.

Neither the maid, who pestered me to ask if I had come by appointment, nor the servant, who told me to wait in the parlor and she would deliver the message to Maria, no one understood my feelings.

No one would know how urgent it was for me right now, how much I was struggling.

So, I couldn’t help it. Pushing ahead almost shoulder to shoulder with the maid trying to lead me, I froze her with a glare, and the only option was to burst into Maria’s room.

“What’s the matter?”

Maria, who was sitting in my room, sewing, was slightly surprised when the door suddenly opened, but she soon realized who had come in and frowned.

Whether it was because of the rudeness of opening the door without knocking or guiding her, or because she didn’t want to see me, I couldn’t tell.

I didn’t want to know. That wasn’t the important thing.

“No, I’m not curious about what’s going on at all. I don’t want to see your face, so please leave.”

And Maria seemed to feel the same way. She didn’t seem curious about what was happening or why it was so urgent. She didn’t seem interested in knowing.

Maria withdrew her gaze from me and lowered her head back to her sewing, as if dismissing me.

“Maria.”

But whether she said it or not, I stormed inside.

“You, you shouldn’t do this!”

The Wensbury’s maid grabbed my arm.

How dare she.

“…”

Silently, I turned my head to look at her. She, smaller than me in stature, her waist bent awkwardly from holding onto my arm, visibly startled as I glared at her from top to bottom.

“Let go.”

With just one word, her hand trembled. Uncertainty blinking her eyes several times, the maid glanced at her mistress as if pleading for help with her peripheral vision.

Right. The important thing now wasn’t this maid. It was Maria.

When I forcefully pushed away the hand held by the maid, which wasn’t held tightly in the first place, it easily fell away.

“I have something to say.”

“I’m not interested.”

Maria simply pushed a needle through the fabric, tugging at the long blue thread, and bluntly rejected my attempt to speak.

“Maria!”

“Why? Do you want to give me advice again? Or do you want to justify everything as a misunderstanding, saying I’m misunderstanding things? Oh! If not, are you here to boast again about how Ricardo claims you as his women?”

With a smirk mixed with disdain, Maria spoke. Until now, she had been interpreting my actions like this.

My appeals were seen as arrogant advice, explanations to clear up misunderstandings were seen as excuses, and my desire not to lose Ricardo was seen as mere boasting.

There was something dark and cunning covering her eyelids. So perhaps dialogue was futile.

“No.”

I had to remove the darkness covering Maria’s eyes. And I had to save my little girl.

“I’ve come to apologize.”

For that, I could do anything.

“Smile Love”