I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 70

Chapter 70

 

“I’ve come to apologize.”

 

Maria’s hand, which had been moving like a dancer on the embroidery frame, finally stopped. Slowly, she turned her head to look at me.

 

She seemed to be staring at me with an expression of disbelief, as if she had just heard something unbelievable or misunderstood something.

 

“I’ve come to apologize to you, Maria.”

 

To reassure her that she heard correctly, I repeated what I had just said. At that, Maria’s eyes and mouth widened even more.

 

It was as if she thought her ears were more likely to be wrong.

 

“Could you please look at this letter?”

 

I offered Maria an impolite, unacceptable ultimatum that could hardly be called a letter. When I first glanced at its contents, I was so angry that I put pressure on it, crumpling the paper, but it was still perfectly legible.

 

Maria, with a suspicious look in her eyes as if she doubted my intentions, eventually put down the embroidery frame she was holding and stood up.

 

Approaching me, she took the crumpled ultimatum from my hand. Following along with the few words written, her eyes moved, and soon after, she furrowed her brows.

 

“This!”

 

As if unable to believe the contents, Maria blinked her eyes several times and reread the message. Then, after confirming that there was nothing wrong with her eyes or ears, she raised her head to look at me with certainty.

 

“Is this for Ms. Bianca?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Is the ‘Lara’ written here the same ‘Lara’ I know?”

 

“Yes. As soon as I received this letter, I rushed to the Sprendo Orphanage to confirm, but the director said Lara was already gone.”

 

“Surely, the ‘mother’ written here couldn’t possibly…”

 

Unable to bring herself to ask if that ‘mother’ was my ‘mother’, Maria closed her mouth. Then, her expression turned fierce once again.

 

“What conspiracy are you plotting now? I would never harm Lara! What could I possibly do to that little girl? Besides, I’ve never written such a thing, nor have I ever sent anything to you Bianca!”

 

The letter was crumpled once again by Maria.

 

Just as I had confirmed the contents of the letter after receiving it, Maria expressed her anger and clenched the paper in her hand.

 

“I know.”

 

Receiving Maria’s fierce gaze calmly, I spoke.

 

“But when I first received that paper, I doubted you, Maria. That’s why I came to apologize.”

 

“Really?”

 

Confusion appeared on Maria’s face, which had resembled a fierce leopard moments before.

 

“I’m sorry. I should have trusted you more, Maria. When you were suffering from losing your mother, I should have comforted your heart first, instead of offering explanations about myself.”

 

During the journey to this point, I poured out the thoughts that had crossed my mind numerous times. Why Maria didn’t trust me, why we drifted apart like this.

 

Yes, undoubtedly, the cause was someone’s conspiracy. It was a sinister scheme to frame me, to drive a wedge between Maria and me.

 

But perhaps we could have avoided that conspiracy. Despite its cunning, we might have leaped over the trap or sidestepped it.

 

However, I ended up falling into the trap without a chance to escape. I couldn’t avoid it.

 

It was because I didn’t believe Maria, who had looked at me with shining eyes, calling me her ideal.

 

I thought it was because I hadn’t put her feelings first, hadn’t listened to her, had only listened to my situation and my story.

 

“But I didn’t do that. As soon as I received this letter, I thought Maria took Lara away, and I accused you of such despicable actions. I’m truly sorry.”

 

Apologizing didn’t feel as shameful as I thought it would. And it wouldn’t cause a catastrophe just because I apologized.

 

“Why are you apologizing to me? If Bianca hadn’t said this, I wouldn’t even have known that Bianca had such thoughts.”

 

“I know.”

 

“What?”

 

“Maria doesn’t know, but I know that I’ve misunderstood, criticized, and called her names in my mind for something she didn’t do.”

 

“…”

 

“And I know that if you’ve treated someone that badly, you owe them an apology.”

 

“I’m confused, Bianca, you’re apologizing to me.”

 

Maria couldn’t help but retain a suspicious look. It was understandable. She probably still thought of me as the vile perpetrator who killed her mother.

 

Today, I would unravel that misunderstanding. First, I would apologize, then comfort Maria’s heart, and then.

 

“Weren’t you originally a proud and arrogant noblewoman who looked down on others?”

 

“Yes, you’re right. I won’t deny that.”

 

I accepted Maria’s skewed gaze calmly.

 

“I am a proud and arrogant person who enjoys looking down on others. But I’m also an adult who knows how to accept mistakes and wrongdoings.”

 

As a child, I thought that apologizing, bending over to others, was disgraceful. I even used to think that a perfect lady would never apologize, that she should never create a reason to apologize.

 

But not now.

 

A sincere apology was a way to correct mistakes and a shortcut to restoring strained relationships.

 

“Bianca…”

 

Now, Maria’s lips trembled, and her fierce eyes softened.

 

As a representation of her complex thoughts, Maria bit her trembling lips several times. Despite the urgency of the moment, I waited while Maria pondered. She, who hadn’t listened to me at all before, was now deep in thought.

 

“One thing, I want to ask.”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“Did you kill my mother?”

 

“No.”

 

Maria’s question was simple, and my answer was clear.

 

“If, very, if you had killed my mother, do you think you would have apologized to me honestly?”

 

“Maria, there’s no need for such a what if. I don’t kill people, and I wouldn’t do it no matter what.”

 

I said quietly but firmly.

 

Once I thought it would be simple to fall in love with Ricardo and kill Maria before she even showed up, thinking that it would make Ricardo hate me and have me killed.

 

But I didn’t do that. Despite having the power and ability to do so, I didn’t act on it.

 

I wasn’t that kind of person.

 

I wasn’t a villain who killed others to save myself. I wasn’t a villain who sacrificed others for my own interests.

 

Although I valued myself the most, I didn’t want to become a selfish villain who only cared about myself.

 

That’s why I could stand confidently. Because I wasn’t a villain.

 

“I don’t believe in religion, so I won’t swear to God. But I can swear on my name, ‘Bianca Croft’. I didn’t kill your mother, that I didn’t kill Megi. I’ve never committed murder, and I never will.”

 

I swore my innocence while looking Maria straight in the eyes.

 

“I will never, ever tarnish my name. I’d rather choose death. Because as you said, I am a proud and arrogant noblewoman.”

 

Finally, Maria’s lips could escape the torment of the white teeth.

 

“So, is it really true that you didn’t kill my mother?”

 

“Yes. It’s just a misunderstanding.”

 

“But the evidence is too clear.”

 

“But I also have evidence that it wasn’t me but someone else who is the culprit.”

 

“Yes?”

 

Maria was shaken. Both her gaze and her voice.

 

“What evidence is that?”

 

“First, that letter.”

 

I still gestured with my eyes towards the letter tightly held in Maria’s hand.

 

“It’s written as if Maria kidnapped Lara.”

 

“I don’t know where Lara is.”

 

“Yes, I know. I believe Maria’s story. So, I’ll tell you. It’s written as if Maria did it, just like you said.”

 

“Who could have plotted such a thing?”

 

“It must be the killer of Megi.”

 

When Maria’s deceased mother’s name was mentioned, she hesitated.

 

“I’ve been trying to find the real killer of your mother to clear up the misunderstanding with you. I’ve received threats before. But I didn’t stop, and I even got attacked.”

 

“What? So I heard that you were hospitalized because you weren’t feeling well, and that means you were attacked by the killer, not just sick?”

 

I nodded at Maria, who looked surprised.

 

“And today, I went to the import department again to find Megi’s murderer. That’s where I received this second threat letter.”

 

“Was the murderer in the import department?”

 

“No. But there was a clue.”

 

“What clue was it?”

 

“I asked for a list of people who bought very high-end teas.”

 

At this point, I looked at Maria, expecting her to catch on. But surprisingly, despite following my story carefully up to now, Maria seemed even more confused.

 

“That very tea you’re talking about.”

 

“What tea are you talking about?”

 

Maria looked utterly puzzled, as if she had no idea what I was referring to.

 

“The tea from the report.”

 

“The tea? What do you mean?”

 

Maria’s expression indicated she had no clue.

 

“You know about the poison found in Megi’s body and the cupcake I gifted, right? I heard the report was given to the family.”

 

“Of course. I suspected you after seeing that report.”

 

“Then you must have seen something else in the report besides the poison and the cake. That tea.”

 

“The tea? I didn’t see anything like that in the report.”

 

“What? You said you saw the report.”

 

“Yes. But there was nothing about tea. I didn’t know anything about tea.”

 

What is she talking about? She didn’t know about the tea?

 

This time, it was my turn to be baffled, not Maria.

 

“Smile Love”