A Fairy Tales For The Villains

 

Having reached the window, Venya grabbed the window frame with both hands, lifted his legs, and pulled himself out. 

 

“Stop!! Come down here now!”

 

“It’s okay! You come up too!”

 

“Are you crazy?! Get back inside!”

 

“Don’t wanna! I’m not going down until you come up.”

 

Do you really want to die!? The more scared and anxious I was, the more likely he was to do something dangerously crazy. 

 

I was sobbing. Had the benevolent Duchess been alive, she would have slapped that brat’s backside without mercy!

 

“Venn, please, just get down! You’re going to die!”

 

I tried to plead with the most pitiful and sweet voice I could, hoping that it would help.

 

“Why would I die? Just hurry!”

 

…Of course, it didn’t happen.

 

‘This future villain! Aaaahh! Should I just let him fall and die for the sake of future peace?’

 

But despite my murderous(?) thoughts, I was already climbing the shabby ladder before I’d realized it, caught up in an existential dilemma. Ugh! Did I do something wicked in my previous life to deserve this?!

 

I managed to reach the window, swallowed my grief, and the guy who was sitting there a moment ago disappeared.

 

For a moment, I froze in terror.

 

‘Did he…!?’

 

“Come on

!

“

 

Oh my gosh! My heart is going to jump out of my chest!

Seeing a sudden

hand protruding from under the outside of the window, I almost fell like the other day. Where the hell is he standing?

 

“How…”

 

“The view from here is great.”

 

I looked down when I was halfway through the window. Venya was standing under the window, stepping on the shoulder of a gargoyle stone on the roof. 

 

Needless to say, it looked really dangerous. The distance between the window and the statue wasn’t very far, but considering the height of the place, if I slipped and fell off the roof, it was all over.

 

“How am I supposed to get down there?!”

 

“You can just grab my hand and jump!”

 

“But if I fall…!”

 

“You won’t. I’ll never let you fall, so don’t worry.”

 

That’s a very reassuring statement. I cried and bit the bullet*. I grabbed the window frame above my head with both hands and slowly pulled myself out, just like he did before. I

was

glad I was wearing a chemise, if it was a casual dress, it would have been very cumbersome.

 

‘We’re getting out today anyway, so why all this fuss!’

 

“It’s okay. Take my hand and land here on the wings.”

 

Venya, who usually acted like he didn’t have a conscience, was speaking in a rather sweet tone. When I completely pulled myself out of the window, I was shaking with how close the sky was.

 

‘If I die like this, I will definitely become a ghost haunting you! Alright then, one, two…!’

 

“Kyaaaa!”

 

“Oh, you have a talent for this.”

 

I opened my tightly closed eyes slowly at the feeling of a solid stone statue underneath my feet. I was standing on one side of Mr. Gargoyle’s wide-spread wings. I had unintentionally made him into a children’s toy horse. It was fortunate that Mr. Gargoyle was fairly large.

 

There was a moment of silence while Venya watched me and I

stared in bewilderment. Then, in the end, we burst out laughing at the same time.

 

“So? Was it worth it?”

 

“But, I won’t do it again!”

 

Of course. Who would take care of our Estelle if I died? Shaking my head, I crouched on Mr. Gargoyle’s back and wrapped my arms around my legs. Venya sat next to me as well.

 

A fresh morning breeze blew and scattered our hair. By now the sun was rising. We sat silently for a while and looked at the sunrise.

 

“Was this what you wanted to show me…?”

 

When asked, he coughed shyly.

 

“It was even better last night. At sunset.”

 

Right. I don’t know about that, but

the view was

spectacular. As the dark, bluish sky gradually brightened, the puffy clouds and everything else around was dyed with the orange light of dawn. It had a different feeling from when I saw it from the ground.

 

“

Were you

out here all day yesterday?”

 

“Not all day… I was looking at some books, and suddenly, I was curious about what the outside looked like. I

just sat

here and thought for a while.”

 

“What were you thinking about?”

 

“Just, this and that, like… my parents.”

 

The drops of water that still hung from his silver-gray hair fell, reflecting the sunlight. He had the same hair color as the late Duchess… Suddenly, I felt a burning sadness.

 

Hesitantly, I raised my hand and placed it on his shoulder gently; his sky-blue eyes turned to me. His gaze was full of sadness and something else that I couldn’t discern.

 

“I’m glad you’re okay at least.”

 

His voice was so small that, for a moment, I wondered if I’d heard him wrong. Are my ears going bad? 

 

“Uhm, huh?”

 

“You know how much Estelle needs you. And to be honest, I wouldn’t be able to endure so well in this place without you either.”

 

Was that it?

Well, it

was obvious what would have happened if just the three of them were

confined here

. We used to hang out together when we were young, but to be honest, I couldn’t say that the siblings were close to each other.

 

Lettis and Estelle were kind of close, but Venya always hung out separately. It was only natural; he didn’t know how to be kind or gentle like his Hyung.

 

As the late Duke used to say, Lettis was so kind that Venya came to balance the scales. Maybe that’s why what I just heard was

so

surprising. 

 

You damn brat! If you come on so strong like that I just don’t know what to do with myself!

 

“Sasha.”

 

“…Uh?”

 

“I think you’re starting to drool.”

 

…Of course. This bastard

couldn’t

be so nice for long. He giggled childishly as I hurried to shut my open mouth.

 

“I heard that, in Pzeya, it’s fashionable for girls to roll their hair into buns, I think if you do that, it’ll be worth seeing.”

 

“Ha! Excuse me, Young Master, how can a humble nanny use such a lady-like style? I think it would look better on Estelle.”

 

“You think so? Well, it would be a waste of your hair to do something else. I’d love to see Estelle with it, too.”

 

Estelle would

look cute even if she rolled her hair like a bun. Should I learn how to braid her hair like that? 

 

Anyway, whether it had a bun or not, I was satisfied with my current hair. I wasn’t sure about the red eyes, but since I inherited my curly, reddish hair from my mother, I liked it very much. 

 

The sky, which felt like it was right above our heads, was now completely illuminated with sunlight. We crouched side by side on Mr. Gargoyle’s back

and watched

the morning dawn for a long time. It was a refreshing and hopeful sight.

 

The

anxiety

and suspicions I felt when I saw the tray cart earlier seemed to disappear. It would be impossible for someone to decide to imprison us forever. How could they explain it to other people? Even if they said we died

from t

he plague, our bodies must be identified. 

 

If they said that the Serpente siblings went to the vacation villa or to another country, everything would be revealed sooner or later. 

 

Therefore, instead of wasting my energy on useless suspicions, it was better to think about how to live in Pzeya.

 

I have to do whatever it takes to stop my dear baby Estelle from passing away. 

 

It was difficult to get out, but getting back inside was even more difficult. Unlike Venya, who skillfully grabbed the window frame and

jumped to

it as if he was in a circus, I had to grab his outstretched arm, barely climbing back up again.

 

As he went down the ladder first, I glanced over my head, clinging to the cramped window. Where was the

clapper

? 

 

As soon as we left the library after our little adventure, Lettis greeted us. He looked at us, scratching his disheveled hair and yawning.

 

“Huh? What were you two doing in there?” 

 

“There might be information that is important to our family, so I checked. Unlike Hyung, who is the successor only in name.”

 

At Venya’s sarcastic remark, Lettis immediately retorted with an embarrassed expression on his face.

 

“It’s not like I didn’t think about it!”

 

“Oh, sure you did. Why don’t you give the title of heir right away?”

 

“Are you insane? You want me to hand it over to you and screw up the whole manor?”

 

“Who said it was for me? We can give it to Sasha.”

 

‘Hey, why are you dragging me into your fights?’

 

“Yeah, then she’ll kick us out without even the clothes on our backs.”

 

‘Seriously, I have no idea what kind of image Lettis has of me. How can he say that?’

 

“Well, that’s true.”

 

Venya chuckled at Lettis’ words. Why is the conclusion like that again? It’s good that you guys made up, but I have serious doubts about how you see me.

 

Shaking my head, I headed upstairs to wake Estelle. We’re finally getting out of here, so we have to get ready early. 

 

No one will ever touch that damn meal. 

 

* * * * 

 

But in the end, we had no other choice than to touch that damn meal. 

 

No one came by the time the noon bell rang, and then the prayer time bell rang without anyone showing up. 

 

When the sky over the window on the ceiling was all darkened. 

 

There was still no news at all.

 

The next day. And the next day, and the day after that… 

 

It was the same.

  Gina’s Corner: 

*Bit the bullet means to decide to do something difficult or unpleasant that one has been putting off or hesitating over.

 Please save these babies.