I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 76

Chapter 76

It was difficult, and it was impossible to stand still in one place.

My legs wandered around the room without rest, and my hands were constantly changing, alternating between praying, folding arms, and even clenching fists for no reason.

If someone were to see me, they would have called it emotional distress. My current state perfectly matched that description.

“Miss!”

The door burst open and Panya rushed in, out of breath.

“Wha… what… happened!”

Gasping for air, Panya barely managed to speak.

“Is Ricardo here?”

Panya vigorously nodded, and seeing that, I dashed out of the room.

Running down the corridor and almost stumbling around the corner, I couldn’t slow down. Finally, when I reached the stairs leading to the first floor entrance, I stopped.

“Ricardo!”

I shouted towards the tall man standing with a bright light behind him.

“Lara!”

And then I shouted towards the small, adorable child in his arms.

Both called names turned their heads to look at me standing on the second floor.

“Bianca.”

“Princess!”

I was called. Both of them smiled at me and called me.

Rushing down the stairs, I stood in front of them in one breath. I didn’t care that my skirt was fluttering awkwardly or that my hair was messy.

Nothing else mattered as my two most precious people called out to me.

“Lara!”

“Princess!”

As I approached, Lara spread her short arms wide. Looking at that, my arms mimicked Lara’s posture without hesitation.

Spreading my arms wide and exposing my vulnerable body, I embraced the child in my arms.

After a long wait, holding the child felt the same as before: small, warm, and giving the same comforting feeling as always.

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?”

“No! Princess!”

Lara replied bravely, as if nothing had happened.

“I’m sorry, Princess. You were so worried about Lara, weren’t you?”

Lara’s voice softened.

“The man said Uncle would give us something delicious, but it was actually someone’s like Nicole’s age who offered. I followed her. I won’t do it again.”

The child, who clearly knew her mistake, glanced at me and subtly lowered her head. Lara’s white neck pierced my heart with pain.

Lara must have been the most scared. No matter how much I wished and prayed for her safe return, she was the one who would have wanted to run away from those bastards the most, so apologizing to me was unreasonable.

“Yeah. You really shouldn’t do that again.”

I embraced Lara’s soft cheek and lifted her head. The eyes of the exhausted child, looking at me with brown eyes, pained me even more.

Lara hadn’t done anything wrong. The bad ones were the people who lured the child and the person who tried to use Lara to threaten me.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“I am!”

“Should we eat something delicious?”

“Yes, yes!”

Smiling at Lara’s enthusiastic response, I turned around, and Panya, who had followed me, was still standing by my side, trying to catch her breath.

“Take Lara to the restaurant and feed her something. Ask her what she likes and do anything for her.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Lara, go with Panya.”

“Aren’t you coming with us, Princess?”

“I need to talk to Ricardo. I’ll be there soon.”

Lara glanced at Ricardo, who was still standing in the doorway, then nodded.

“Where did you find her?”

I asked Ricardo, still looking at Lara walking away with Panya.

“They had locked the child in a building behind the market alley. Lara was sleeping when I found her. She didn’t wake up properly even after I dealt with them. Looks like they drugged her.”

“They drugged her? They gave drugs to such a young child? What if something went wrong!”

Angry at the mention of Lara being drugged, I turned around and looked at Ricardo.

“Well, it seems to have turned out for the better. Lara doesn’t remember much about them.”

“She doesn’t remember? But we just talked about it earlier?”

“On the way here, she woke up and asked Nicole, a girl of a similar age, to eat something delicious together. She only remembers that there was a scary man there.”

“So, does she not remember being captured or the kidnappers?”

“Yeah. Her memories are hazy even before falling asleep due to the sedative. I think it’s a good thing. Lara won’t have any scary or bad memories.”

“Well, that’s fortunate, but…”

“I know better than anyone how terrifying memories can be.”

I looked at Ricardo, who calmly shared his experience. Even without him saying it, I could easily guess that he was talking about memories of war.

Does the memory still haunt him?

“Ricardo!”

With a sad heart, I looked at him, and not only did I notice that his clothes at the waist were torn, but they were also damp.

“Are you injured?”

“Ah…”

Ricardo looked at his waist as if he had forgotten about it, in response to my voice and gaze.

“It’s nothing. Just a scratch.”

“It’s nothing?! You’re bleeding so much!”

Because his clothes were black, it wasn’t noticeable until now, but if his clothes were damp, there must have been quite a bit of blood. Nevertheless, seeing him talk as if it were nothing made me angry for no reason.

There was no way someone wouldn’t feel pain if they were injured. Even if he was a well-trained knight, it was natural to feel pain when bleeding. He wasn’t a senseless scarecrow!

“It’s better to treat the wound. Luckily, the resident doctor is at the mansion because of me, so get treated right away.”

I said firmly, looking directly at Ricardo’s face.

Of course, I knew. That the heir or would-be heir to House Winkaiser hadn’t left his wounds untreated because he wasn’t willing to show them.

Whether by going to the doctor on the way home or returning to the Winkaiser mansion and calling for a doctor, Ricardo’s wound would be treated.

I knew that he would receive appropriate treatment, just like the excellent doctor in Croft. 

But right now, I wanted him to receive treatment in front of me. I felt like I needed to confirm that his wound was being treated and see it neatly bandaged with my own eyes.

I didn’t know why.

“Okay.”

The word of permission slipped from Ricardo’s mouth, and the tension in my expression, which had been steadfastly staring at him, melted away.

***

“Come here.”

“Wow!”

Lara, entering the bathroom, opened her eyes wide.

Right. It must be her first time in such a large bathroom. And it’s probably her first time seeing a bathtub made of marble, not to mention that warm water comes out like magic…

“The lion is spitting saliva! And there’s a lot of it!”

“…It’s not saliva, it’s water.”

“But it comes out of the lion’s mouth?”

“It’s because it’s connected to the water pipes.”

“Wow! The lion’s saliva is warm!”

“It’s not saliva. Come on in.”

As I gently pushed Lara’s back, she still couldn’t take her eyes off the lion but entered the bathtub.

“Oops! It’s warm, just like the Princess said!”

The child, who had put her feet in the bathtub, exclaimed as if everything was fascinating.

“The water is heated by magic and comes out through here.”

“Wow, that’s amazing! Magic is really amazing!”

Lara’s cheeks quickly turned pink. Whether it was because the water was warm or because she was excited to see something amazing, I couldn’t tell, but one thing was clear: the child with rosy cheeks was cute.

As I entered the bathtub, taking up only a small space next to Lara, I dipped my feet in and sat down, feeling the slightly cooler water enveloping my legs than what I usually bathe in.

“Is the temperature okay?”

“Yes! It’s warm and nice!”

Lara replied as she splashed around in the bathtub, playing with the water.

It seemed like a good idea to have listened to Panya’s advice that young children don’t like water that’s too hot.

Normally, I would have said the water was too cold, but today, this temperature felt just right. Lara’s smile filled in the missing warmth.

“Hehehe, Princess!”

While playing in the water, Lara suddenly leaned against my leg.

“Princess, come in too! Let’s bathe together!”

“I can’t get into the water right now.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m injured. It’s better not to touch water until the wound heals completely.”

“Princess! Are you hurt?”

With her eyes widening, Lara asked, and I nodded lightly in response.

“Where? Let me see!”

Seeing Lara, who seemed like she might cry any moment, I wondered if I had spoken too much. I was worrying a child unnecessarily.

“Lara will make it better. Where are you hurt? Show me, okay?”

When I remained silent, Lara’s expression became even more worried than before, and she pouted at me.

“Here….”

With no other choice, I pulled back my robe to show her the wound on my abdomen.

“Ow, our Princess is hurt a lot!”

Lara’s lips pouted forward.

It was a strange feeling. Why was I smiling for no reason when the child was upset?

I should feel embarrassed for causing a child to worry about an adult matter, but why did I feel so good?

“Hurry, come here. Let Lara make it better and then hurry.”

With the spell, Lara’s small face and tiny lips approached my belly, breathing warm breath onto my wound.

At that moment, I didn’t feel any pain at all.

The wound, still fresh with scabs, that had been constantly reminding me of its presence with pain, didn’t hurt at all in that moment.

“Hehe, because Lara made it better, it won’t hurt anymore!”

The innocent child’s smile looked up at me.

Oh, God, thank you.

Thank you for allowing me to see this smile again, for returning this smile to me.

“Smile Love”