The Crazy Villainess in This Area Is Me

“Could it be…!”

It was just a glass bottle containing some liquid. But in everyone’s minds, there was no doubt left that it was an antidote.

Among the astonished crowd, Patricia was the quickest to grab the antidote. Dark red blood was already trickling between her fingers, covering her mouth.

“Empress!”

“Mother!”

In a desperate situation and amidst suffocating pain, she hurriedly opened the antidote. Just as she was about to ingest it, Patricia’s eyes met with Frinel’s, who was watching her with folded arms.

His eyes, resembling those of the former empress, seemed to say to her. You’ve lost.

“I, won’t, lose.”

Bleeding and stuttering, she continued. The fact that she vomited blood had already exposed her use of poison. Moreover, with him revealing it, the fact that she had been abusing and attempting to assassinate him since his childhood would soon come to light as well.

“Mother?”

Perhaps it was better to choose death over living to see such a sight. Before it could even enter her mouth, the antidote she was holding rolled out of her hand.

“Mother!”

By the time Lawrence hurried to pick up the antidote,

“Empress…!”

“Your Majesty the Empress!”

Patricia’s eyes were already closed.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

“The empress was poisoned!”

“How could such a thing happen, Your Majesty!”

“Did you know about this, Duke Bonitare?”

“I had no idea! Please believe me, Your Majesty!”

The nobles in the council chamber each threw in their words.

The emperor pressed his temples, tired. After the Empress had fallen, the nobles hurriedly moved her, but Patricia’s life had already ended.

The atmosphere of the meeting turned chaotic instantly. Rumors about the empress’s attempt to kill the first prince spread rapidly among the spectators. Angered by the story, the spectators eventually demanded the empress’s body be presented, leading to protests.

“Hasn’t everything already been revealed? If you don’t depose her, not only the nobles but also the citizens will not stay silent, Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty, to depose the empress is too harsh. Is it necessary to be so cruel to someone who has passed away?”

The emperor’s faction and the Shinsu’s faction were sharply divided in their opinions.

“It’s all my fault. As a father, I failed to stop her from committing crimes… Please, just this once, show mercy to my daughter…!”

Duke Bonitare, known for his cold-blooded selfishness, forced tears. In fact, he felt no sorrow for his daughter’s death. What worried him was becoming the family of a deposed empress.

Being in the family that produced an empress and then a deposed empress was a great dishonor. Despite his built-up power, he knew he would start to be ostracized, starting from the capital’s social circles. No one would want to associate with the family of a deposed empress.

“The empress always loved Your Majesty. Surely you know her heart…” He shifted his target towards the emperor.

Recently, rumors had been rife within the imperial palace about the emperor reconciling with Duke Gracie. Though they claimed it was nothing serious, the change in atmosphere between them was evident compared to before.

“…

, the empress…”

The Emperor trailed off, perplexed. Truthfully, he had not loved her. He had married her out of necessity due to Duke Bonitare’s influence. Moreover, Patricia was a malicious woman who had abused Frinel. But setting aside all those facts, looking at Patricia just as a wife, he felt he was the one who was sorry.

Pushed by Duke Bonitare’s power, he had directed all his animosity towards the empress. He had never shouted or gotten angry, but the chill he radiated must have continuously fed her feelings of defeat. Now that she already died, he felt sorry for her.

He sighed deeply. Then, he opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

“Yes, the Empress is…”

“

…!”

That was when it happened.

After concluding the swordsmanship competition, Frinel and Lawrence entered the conference room. He was laughing delightfully, his face looking almost crazed. All eyes turned towards them.

“How utterly cowardly.” Frinel, still with a hint of laughter in his voice, mocked softly. “She placed the antidote right in front of her.”

Grinding his teeth, he threw documents prepared with the Duke Gracie towards the nobles. “I will reveal this to the lords.”

As they slowly picked up the dropped documents, Frinel’s voice turned cold.

“From a young age, barely memorable, until I became an adult, I was continuously abused by the empress.”

The contents within the documents swirled into their widened eyes in shock. The mouths of all factions, whether they were supporters of the emperor or the Shinsu clan, fell open.

“A-abuse? How could the empress…!”

“Not just abuse. I was also endlessly subjected to assassination attempts.” He continued, trying his best to suppress his anger and hide his emotions. “I never intended to accept an apology, but still…”

A lifetime of grievances flashed through Frinel’s eyes.

“I at least expected a word, but nothing.”

Those days were painfully suffocating. If they were human, if they had even a speck of conscience, they should not have died in such a manner. At the very least, they should have pretended to apologize, to beg for forgiveness with lies. But she was cruel and wicked to the end.

“I cannot forgive the empress for her less-than-human actions. Even tearing her body into pieces right now wouldn’t make me feel guilty.”

“…Frinel.”

“The decision now rests with His Majesty.” His gaze sharply turned towards the emperor.

The emperor was silent for a moment. Various emotions and thoughts tangled in his heart. His gaze slowly moved to the documents on the floor. They detailed how Frinel had been abused. To bring these facts to light, his son must have walked a path more torturous than a thorny trail. There was only one answer.

“The empress…”

Not to turn away from his son now.

“Will be deposed.”

It was to support his son, a victim of abuse.

“Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty the Emperor!”

“There will be no funeral for the empress as befits her status. Duke Bonitare, please retrieve Lady Bonitare’s body.”

“It’s too harsh to depose the late empress!”

“Please reconsider as her husband!”

The nobles of the emperor’s faction, including under Duke Bonitare, urgently responded.

Duke Bonitare himself approached the emperor closely. “Please, Your Majesty…! Please reconsider, just once…”

If things continued this way, his family’s honor would be utterly destroyed.

Poisoning, abuse, and numerous assassination attempts. The spilled water couldn’t be gathered back, but at least he had to prevent the deposition.

He turned to Lawrence, who stood beside Frinel. “Second Prince! Please, say something! She’s your mother, isn’t she…!”

Unfortunately,

“I’m sorry, Grandfather.”

Lawrence’s eyes, which still had tear marks, were extremely cold.

“Grandfather, you too will not escape punishment.”

“Your Royal Highness…?”

“You knew it all. What mother had done.”

“Se-Second Prince!”

“So why…”

He grimaced in pain.

“Why didn’t you stop her? You should have scolded her…!”

The situation surrounding him was agonizing. The mother who chose death in cowardice, the selfish grandfather, he hated them all.

“Please… let’s live a little more comfortably.”

He just wanted to be at ease. Having suppressed feelings of guilt, his dream was to live comfortably, casting them off.

Lawrence coldly turned away from Duke Bonitare.

“Your Royal Highness!”

Even with the final words of rejection, the duke saw Lawrence as his last hope.

It was the moment Duke Bonitare moved to follow Lawrence.

“Duke Bonitare.”

Frinel harshly grabbed his wrist.

“If you don’t disappear from my sight right now,”

Preventing Duke Bonitare from following Lawrence, he warned in a low voice.

“I might not be able to bear the grievances of the past any longer.”

Simultaneously, Frinel’s lips twisted into a slow, diagonal smile. Such a threat hardly sounded like one, resulting in the duke slumping on the spot.