I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 95

Chapter 95

Was her slightly bowed head to avoid eye contact with the distinguished guests, or was it because of the guilt from offering poisoned cookies?

I watched the imperial maid, neatly tying her brown hair, as she placed cookies and tea on the table, lost in thought.

Could this woman be Marianne?

In the book, unless they were major characters, descriptions of people’s appearances were mostly omitted. Even their names, for that matter.

If it weren’t for the tense scene where Ricardo was searching through countless maids dressed exactly the same, I wouldn’t have known Marianne’s name either.

Thanks to that scene, I luckily learned that the person who switched the cookies with poisoned ones was named Marianne, but I still didn’t know what she looked like.

“Bring me some water, something cold.”

“Yes.”

When I addressed the maid who was about to leave, she answered quietly, grabbed a cup, and picked up a water jug.

After she poured the clear water into the cup, I frowned as I took it.

“I asked for cold water, didn’t I?”

When I spoke sharply and glared at the maid, her face immediately turned pale.

She was so shocked that she couldn’t respond right away, only swallowing nervously.

“Are you ignoring my words?”

“N-no, ma’am.”

“Then what is it about me that makes you give me lukewarm water when I say cool water?”

“I’m s-sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

As I furrowed my brow and pressed her further, she stammered in panic.

“Nothing by it?”

Quietly repeating her words, I picked up the cup and slowly poured its contents over the cookies, all the while keeping my gaze fixed on the maid.

The water, which had been halfway in the cup, quickly filled the shallow dish, soaking the cookies completely.

“I’m so, so sorry!”

The maid, now drenched in sweat, bowed deeply in fear.

“What is your name?”

“I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”

“I asked for your name.”

Ignoring the sobbing maid’s pleas, I pressed her again.

Having seen the behavior of the maids in my household, I knew well enough that when I asked for their names, they became frightened.

And eventually, they had no choice but to reveal their names.

Since palace maids were essentially servants employed by the imperial household, I figured it would be the same with her.

“M-my name is Jane.”

Sure enough, she tearfully blurted out her name. But it wasn’t the name I wanted.

“Who is in charge above you?”

Now Jane’s face turned even paler. She realized I wasn’t going to hold only her responsible.

“Y-young Lady, I’m truly sorry.”

In the end, tears began to fall from Jane’s eyes.

To be honest, I felt a little sorry for her. I was picking on her for no real reason.

But there was no choice. I would make it up to Jane later, but for now, I had to corner her.

“Why do you make me ask twice? I asked who’s above you.”

Steeling myself from feeling any sympathy, I pressed her once more.

“My superior is… *sniff*… Lady Marianne.”

Hearing the name Jane sobbed out, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.

Marianne!

The maid who poisoned the cookies under orders from Viscount Wensbury was Jane’s superior.

While Jane was crying out of fear that Marianne would get in trouble because of her mistake, that wicked woman had used Jane to avoid suspicion, fearing that if she delivered the cookies herself, she might be questioned.

Marianne must have known that Jane could end up taking all the blame, yet she did it anyway.

“Tell her to come to me after the hunting competition ends.”

After saying that, I turned my head away. Now, Marianne would appear before me, unaware of what awaited her.

She would only regret that I hadn’t eaten the poisoned cookie and might even blame her subordinate for botching such a simple task.

Bowing her head, Marianne would appear before me, apologizing for poorly training Jane, only to end up in the dungeons of the Croft family.

Or perhaps in the room next to Paulo’s, who was in a similar situation.

“Leave it.”

I stopped Jane, who was still sniffling, as she tried to clear the plate of water-soaked cookies.

“When your superior comes, I’ll show her what you’ve done. So leave it as it is.”

It was a bit unreasonable. After all, I had soaked the cookies myself.

But there was no other choice. If I left the cookies there and someone else ate them, or if I asked her to clean them up and some naive maid touched them, it would be disastrous.

Besides, since I knew that Paladin poison kept its properties even when mixed with tea, it would serve just fine as evidence, even soaked in water like this.

Later, I would tell Panya to take the plate and make sure to save the evidence, even if it was imperial property.

In the end, Jane left, still sniffling and shuffling her feet.

“…”

At the end of my gaze, I saw Maria, her expression slightly surprised. She looked at me as if she had many things to say.

I already knew what she was thinking.

She must have been shocked to see me picking a fight with a maid and hysterically snapping at her. After all, the Bianca that Maria knew wasn’t like that.

Oddly, I felt satisfied.

If the maids at my house saw me now, they would have kept calm and thought, “Our lady’s temper hasn’t changed.”

Perhaps the other noblewomen around were thinking the same thing right now.

Bianca Croft—beautiful, but cold, sharp, and temperamental.

But Maria didn’t think that way. That’s why she was so shocked.

‘There’s a reason.’

I silently mouthed the words to Maria. At that, the look of confusion on her face quickly disappeared.

Understanding, she gave me a quick nod and swiftly turned her head away.

Watching that scene, I felt a sense of satisfaction once again.

Even though Maria and I had once fallen out, she believed me with just one word from me—without any lengthy explanation.

As I struggled to suppress the smile that crept up unconsciously, I noticed a faint light seeping through the folds of my dress.

The book was changing.

I quickly looked around. The gazes that had been directed at me due to the earlier commotion had disappeared.

Sneakily lowering my hand, I parted the space between the ruffles of my dress, and there I saw the book faintly glowing.

It was as I had expected.

If I didn’t eat the poison, and thus didn’t die, the story would inevitably change.

‘Alright, let’s see what happens.’

Feeling as though I had won, I smiled and discreetly pulled out the book.

Between the tablecloth and the ruffles of my skirt, I quietly opened it. Since I had intentionally placed a bookmark at the part about the hunting competition before I arrived, the page I wanted appeared immediately.

The paper was faintly glowing, and the black letters were wriggling as if they were dancing. It was fascinating and a bit unsettling to witness the book actually changing before my eyes for the first time.

Then suddenly, an arrow flew.

An arrow shot through the forest, tearing through the air at lightning speed, and it lodged in Maria’s chest in an instant.

“What?”

The sudden turn of events caused me to shout without realizing it.

Because of this, the people around me turned to look at me. I quickly lifted my head and covered the book with the tablecloth.

Feigning innocence, I pretended to be curious about when Ricardo would return, looking out toward the distant forest.

Then, suddenly, my eyes met Maria’s.

She must have instinctively looked at me when I shouted.

Maria gazed at me, as if worried, as if asking if something was wrong. I smiled faintly at her.

Though the corners of my lips trembled slightly, it seemed Maria didn’t notice.

I was burning with curiosity about what would happen next in the book, but I suppressed the urge.

After some time had passed, I glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention to me anymore. Once I was certain, I lifted the tablecloth slightly.

The book’s glow had already faded. The dancing letters had returned to their proper places.

“Maria!”

Bianca screamed Maria’s name as though in panic. But by the time Maria heard her, everything had already happened.

An arrow, sprouting like a new shoot, was embedded in Maria’s chest, and from that wound, crimson blood flowed like a spring.

“Ugh… Urgh…”

Groaning in pain, Maria gripped the table. But soon, even that effort seemed too much, and her hand slowly slipped away.

“What is this? Maria! Maria!”

Bianca clutched Maria’s hand, but Maria no longer had the strength to hold on.

The light of life was slowly fading from Maria’s eyes.

“Oh my God!”

The last thing Maria saw was Bianca.

Her idol, her rival, and… the villainess who took her life.

“…What?”

I couldn’t help but ask in disbelief at the sudden absurd turn of events. What on earth was happening?

The female protagonist dies like this? So suddenly?

And why was I being portrayed as the villainess who took Maria’s life once again?

In complete astonishment, I rapidly flipped through the pages. What followed was even more absurd.

Right there, I was immediately accused of being the one who killed Maria.

The Viscount of Wensbury, clutching Maria’s corpse and weeping, declared that I was the only one who could be Maria’s enemy.

Even if I claimed that Maria and I were working together, standing against the Viscount’ schemes, it didn’t matter. Even if Ricardo sided with me, it was no use.

“What is this…?”

I was dumbfounded by the lack of coherence in the plot. I didn’t even need to read the rest.

I would die.

The villainess, Bianca, would end up dying again.