I Want a Happy Ending Even as a Villainess

Chapter 2

‘Should I say I’m sick?’

If it was something that could be canceled just by saying I was sick, the maid wouldn’t have come all the way to my bedroom. In the face of the immense power of the royal palace, I had no choice.

“Come in.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, the maids opened the door and entered. 

One poured warm water into a basin, two prepared my change of clothes, three brought the dress stand, and four stood beside the bed holding jewelry boxes. 

All the maids bowed, never looking directly at me. They never spoke first either. They moved quickly and accurately, with no faults to be found. They were far too efficient to be called mere maids. 

While washing my hands and face with warm water and having my tangled hair combed, I glanced at the dresses and jewelry boxes out of the corner of my eye.

Each piece was dazzling, almost blindingly bright. If I wore all of that, I’d sink under the weight.

I chose the plainest dress and refused the jewelry. Though among Lilith’s dresses, what I considered plain was still quite extravagant by normal standards.

The maids, familiar with Lilith’s personality, should have been surprised by my choices, but they didn’t show it in their expressions or actions.

‘It’s still the same.’

Nothing had changed in the past month.

The mansion I was in now was more like an annex of the duke’s house, meaning there was no one here but me and the maids.

Right after my reawakening, I almost fainted from the suffocating atmosphere of the mansion.

The maids were like emotionless machines, and the knights seemed to offer only the bare minimum of protection. It wasn’t due to a lack of friendliness but genuine fear of her.

If there were a tyrant’s palace, it would look like this: a place devoid of humanity and warmth. That was Lilith’s mansion.

‘The apology I made didn’t seem to have much effect.’

It was Lilith who caused the trouble, but now I have to live here. So, I gathered the mansion’s staff and apologized.

I couldn’t say the apology was entirely heartfelt, but I did promised to change. And to prove it, I had behaved well for an entire month.

‘I didn’t expect their attitudes to change easily.’

They had suffered under her for so long. It would be wrong to feel disappointed in them.

After getting dressed, I boarded the carriage heading to the royal palace. It was my first outing in a long time.

When I first fell into this time, it was a desolate winter, but now spring flowers are blooming in the garden. Early spring blossoms passed by slowly outside the window.

‘So this is what it feels like to be a cow led to slaughter.’

It didn’t matter to me how beautiful the spring scenery was. What mattered was that I was being led to an imperial palace with a cast of characters.

I thought it was a duke’s carriage, but it turned out to be a royal one. This meant I wasn’t going voluntarily; they were taking me.

‘That damned god…’

It was all because of God.

In this world, gods are real. The Empire, the only one on the continent blessed by the gods, had sky-high devotion.

One day, the omniscient and unique god gave his first and last oracle.

‘The bloodline of the Crescent Duke must marry into the royal family for the Empire to prosper.’

Is this for real?

The Empire was turned upside down, but no one objected. The combination of the inviolable realm of the oracle and the god-following emperor was too powerful to resist.

“But for a long time, those words never came true.’

It seemed cursed as the royal family and the duke’s family only had sons. Due to the complex succession issues, having many children became taboo, making it unlikely to happen in the future.

‘…… Unless Lilith was born.’

It was nothing short of a miracle. A cursed miracle born to the duke’s family.

Because of this, Lilith had lived in the royal palace since childhood. She needed to receive education necessary for her future role as a crown princess or empress.

A year ago, for some reason, she returned to the duke’s mansion.

In the original story, there was no mention of Lilith going back to the royal palace, so there was only one possibility.

“Leschel Lovelant…”

He was the only person I could meet.

The Empire’s second prince and Lilith’s long-time friend. He was Lilith’s likely marriage partner, so it made sense for this semi-forced meeting to happen.

‘The problem is, he’s the villain in the original story.’

Leschel was Lilith’s staunch supporter. Whatever trouble she caused, he covered it up and backed her in all her endeavors.

At a glance, it seemed like simple words, but Lilith, blinded by jealousy, was no ordinary person. Her actions grew increasingly excessive towards the ending.

She bullies the heroine, she murders, she tries to burn a country to the ground, she breaks a temple’s blessing, she destroys a sculpture of a god, she steals imperial treasure, she sells vital information about the empire to the underworld, and she…….

Leschel turned a blind eye to all of this and supported her.

“Ugh…I wonder if this is okay.”

The protagonist isn’t the only main character. The villain is also a main character.

In other words, Leschel was someone I had to avoid.

And even if that wasn’t the case, there were plenty of reasons to steer clear of Leschel.

“For example, the power struggle between the princes.”

The Empire had two princes. The first prince was no pushover either, so a clash between the two princes was inevitable.

If Leschel, the second prince, lost the power struggle, I, his closest ally, would also be killed. Isn’t this the one where shrimp’s back explodes in a whale fight?

The first prince might marry me according to the oracle and then kill me immediately!

Having seen his character in the original story, I felt even more anxious.

“No, absolutely not!”

I screamed.

I had to end this today, no matter what. I needed to refuse to meet Leschel, even if I had to throw a tantrum.

“Is it because you’re ugly and I don’t want to see you anymore? Or because the Empire is so annoying that I don’t want to live here anymore?”

The excuses I came up with were ridiculous, but I had to try something to survive.

* * *

As usual, a regular meeting with the nobles was being held at the royal palace. In the emperor’s absence due to illness, the second prince, Leschel, was acting on his behalf.

His serious demeanor and the sharp look in his golden eyes beneath his golden hair made it hard to believe he was merely a prince.

During the meeting, the door burst open abruptly. A servant, looking panicked, rushed in. The nobles glare or clear their throats, annoyed at this breach of etiquette.

“Your Highness, the young lady of the Crescent family has arrived.”

Ignoring the looks, the servant approached Leschel and reported.

“Is it that time already?”

Leschel paused his writing and signaled to his aides to clear the room.

Although the meeting was abruptly interrupted, no one complained. The nobles merely sighed in displeasure.

“But…”

The servant hesitated, reluctant to continue.

“But?”

Leschel prompted, and the servant, sweating, finally spoke.

“The young lady said she would wait until the meeting was over.”

The atmosphere in the room turned icy. Everyone froze in place.

“Why?”

Leschel reflexively asked. The servant bowed his head, implying he didn’t know either. Leschel’s golden eyes widened briefly before calming.

“Nonsense. You must have misheard.”

“The young lady said it? What the hell are you talking about?”

The room buzzed with confused murmurs. Leschel, keeping his expression stern, was just as perplexed as the other nobles.

Lilith always barged into the meeting room as soon as she arrived, dragging Leschel out with her.

But now she said she would wait?

Now he couldn’t understand her behavior. No, no one here understood her intentions.

“…”

Leschel could think of only one reason for Lilith’s change.

Something had upset her, that was for sure.

“None of you have done anything to displease the young lady, I hope.”

Leschel’s cold voice silenced the murmurs instantly. The calm golden eyes now shone with anger.

“I hope not.”

The barely contained emotion in their voices and the fierce stares overwhelmed them. Desperately, they tried to recall what they had done recently, how they had no business being involved with the princess.

But they couldn’t think of anything they had done wrong. Everyone knew Lilith had been holed up in her mansion for over a month.