DVO 01

Chapter : 01 “Useless Things?!”

What should you do if you wake up one day and realize you’ve been transmigrated into a romance fantasy novel?

And not just any character—but the villainess who’s set to be punished by the male lead for tormenting the heroine?

It’s fine.

I can handle this level of hardship.

In short, all I have to do is avoid tormenting the heroine, right?

Honestly, the person I’d transmigrated into—Helena—was in a pretty good position.

She was the daughter of a respectable duke family and the empress of an empire.

There was no meddling mother-in-law to bother her.

She did have a husband she didn’t get along with, and his other wife, but…

That’s something I could just ignore, right?

After all, he wasn’t really my husband.

There’s no reason for me to give up the power and wealth that have fallen into my hands because of them.

If the original protagonists want to act out their tragic romance or rom-com…

That’s entirely their business.

The villainess is clocking out of this fiery romance drama!

I decided to inform my “husband on paper”—the original male lead, Jerome—of my ambitious plan.

“I won’t be bothering the heroine anymore. No, I won’t trouble the Empress.”

“……”

Instead of replying, Jerome furrowed his perfectly sculpted brows.

Expected reaction.

I looked him squarely in the eyes.

Platinum hair with a subtle glow, crimson red eyes, sharp nose, and defined jawline.

He was, without a doubt, the kind of man who deserved the title of male protagonist.

Judging by his serious expression, I could roughly guess what he was thinking.

With eyes full of suspicion, he was silently asking: “What scheme is this now?”

“I know it’s hard to believe me.”

Of course, it’s difficult to trust someone who suddenly changes overnight.

“But I hope you do. I’m sincere.”

Jerome still didn’t say anything.

Fair enough.

Helena had committed so many misdeeds that it would be difficult even for me to believe her words alone.

Naturally, I planned to prove it to him in a way that couldn’t be denied.

“If you want, I can even draft a contract. I can stamp it with the Empress’s seal.”

He had been looking at me silently, appreciating my posture like a work of art, and finally spoke.

“Why?”

“Excuse me?”

Why?

I was momentarily at a loss for words.

What is this reaction, as if asking why I’d want to do something useless…?

But the confusion didn’t last long.

Nah, that can’t be it.

Perhaps he’s asking sharply why a villainess would suddenly act kind—

“Why would you do something so useless?”

“Excuse me?”

…No, that’s not it?

Wait. Are you actually asking that?

“Perhaps you misunderstood what I said?”

Jerome’s expression shifted slightly.

“Well…”

He tilted his head and continued.

“You mean not spilling tea on the Empress, not embarrassing her publicly, not having others threaten her…”

Words that felt like bombs spilled out from his red lips.

“You mean… you won’t do those things anymore?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

No, you…

You know that way too well.

“So…”

Jerome stood up.

Intimidated by his imposing presence, I subconsciously stepped back until my back touched the wall.

He still looked down at me.

Trapped in the shadow of his figure, he asked in a calm, even tone:

“Why would you do something so useless?”

* * *

“Useless things?!”

The more I thought about it, the less I understood.

The book I had transmigrated into was a recommendation from a friend.

A typical story: the heroine, passing through a forest, saves the male lead in danger, they become close, and eventually fall in love… nothing unusual.

“Basic character relationships are like that! But the plot itself is shocking. Their love is so intense that—”

My friend had gushed all night.

Yes, it was really shocking.

“Try to run away as much as you like.”

“No matter how desperately you scream, I will never let go of your hand.”

To keep the heroine close, Jerome—the male lead—would go to any lengths.

“And that’s why Helena became the Empress.”

Indeed, a commoner heroine becoming Empress was virtually impossible.

The Emperor set Helena as Empress to bring the commoner heroine close.

And that chosen person was me.

Daughter of the Duke of Schwaben.

Helena Schwaben.

A socialite famous for her gorgeous golden hair and captivating violet eyes.

Everyone in the empire celebrated their marriage.

They called it a perfect match.

But contrary to the empire’s expectations, Helena’s arrival was the start of misfortune.

Having fallen for the Emperor at first sight, she tormented the Empress relentlessly.

Eventually, her jealousy went too far, and the Emperor’s anger peaked.

Helena met a tragic end in front of everyone.

And now, the Empress was already aware of Helena’s jealousy and schemes, and the heroine—the Empress—was extremely wary.

“So I told the Emperor I wouldn’t bother the Empress anymore. So why that reaction?”

If he had doubted my motives, I could have understood.

But the Emperor’s response was…

“Why would you do something so useless?”

It was overwhelmingly cold.

I felt like I’d hit an unexpected obstacle.

What should I do now?

After a night of deliberation, my conclusion was simple: just behave from now on.

“Thinking about it, all I have to do is avoid doing bad things, right?”

Every problem in the original story stemmed from Helena’s love and attention toward the Emperor, and the jealousy it caused.

I don’t love the Emperor, so there’s no reason to be jealous of the Empress.

Surely, if I do nothing, nothing will happen.

* * *

The next morning.

“What on earth is this?”

I asked, looking at the documents handed to me by the Empress’s personal maid, Mari.

Her expression was stiff, and she barely managed to speak.

“It’s a r-report… Your Majesty, the Empress!”

Hmm? Why is she so nervous?

I remembered she was the youngest among the maids.

I guess she’s still inexperienced and gets nervous easily.

But a report first thing in the morning?

Isn’t that too harsh for someone who just woke up?

Being an Empress isn’t easy, huh.

I swallowed and slowly read through the documents.

[5:30 AM. The Emperor awoke. Asked about the Empress twice.]

…Huh?

Did I just see that correctly?

But it didn’t stop there.

[5:35 AM. The Emperor took a quick shower (presumably cold water as usual).]
[5:55 AM. The Emperor checked his schedule with the Minister of Finance. Showed interest in the Empress’s security.]
[6:02 AM. The Emperor…]

The report continued in the same vein.

Confused, I asked Mari.

“…What is this?”

Her face went pale.

“W-well… it’s just that…”

She couldn’t even move her lips properly and began to tear up.

Another maid nearby answered instead.

“This is the report you instructed us to prepare, Your Majesty.”

It was Lady Chloe, the head of the Empress’s personal maids.

Wait. I never instructed anyone to do this.

I tilted my head.

“Have reports like this been made before?”

“We try to prepare them every morning.”

Every morning?

But since I transmigrated here, this was the first time I’d received such a report.

“Then why wasn’t it reported before?”

“It was temporarily suspended because Your Majesty was unwell. And previously, you didn’t request reports when feeling unwell.”

Ah. So they had refrained from reporting whenever I seemed displeased.

Makes sense; I had been quite out of it when I first arrived.

“Today I seem fine, so it’s reported as usual?”

“Yes. And previous records are properly stored. If you wish, we can provide past reports immediately!”

“No, that’s fine.”

I shook my head.

“So Helena really did instruct this, huh.”

Finally, I understood the situation.

I put down the documents and said,

“Don’t bother with these reports anymore.”

“Your… Majesty?”

Lady Chloe and the other maids were visibly shaken.

They were surprised by my sudden change in attitude.

But I’m not interested in Jerome like the real Helena was.

“Understood?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Chloe nodded.

Phew. That report was enough to wake me up this morning.

I never expected the Empress’s maids to monitor the Emperor’s every move.

This didn’t happen in the original story.

But it’s fine now—I made it clear to stop!

The rest of the morning passed without incident.

Then…

“Your Majesty!”

Mari ran up to me with a bright smile.

The same maid who had handed me the report earlier.

She seemed to have recovered her spirits.

“Your expression is bright. Good news?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“We finally succeeded!”

“Succeeded?”

Mari beamed proudly.

“Your Majesty, you know I’ve been waiting for the right chance all this time.”

What do I know about this?

I couldn’t think of anything related to Mari.

Did she succeed in confessing to her crush?

Or maybe she got praised by the head maid.

Either way, she had been sulky this morning, so seeing her happy made me feel better.

“Seeing you so happy makes me happy too.”

“Of course! It feels like a heavy weight has been lifted. Your Majesty should have seen your own surprised expression too.”

“….”

Heavy weight? Surprised expression?

I felt an ominous sense creeping in.

“Mari, can you tell me what good news this is?”

“There’s going to be a grand banquet at the palace soon, right?”

“Yes.”

“And because of that, the Empress’s residence got a bunch of new dresses, right? So I…”

“So?”

Mari pulled out a huge pair of scissors from her sleeve. Ridiculously huge.

“I went through all of them, snip snip! It was so much work!”

“Wait.”

“?”

“So… that success… you didn’t, by any chance…”

I asked awkwardly, face pale.

“You didn’t ruin the Empress’s dresses, did you?”

Surely not.

There were so many places to cut…

Maybe she just opened the wrapping or cut the ribbons…

I tried to ignore the ominous feeling creeping up.

“Yes! I turned them into rags!”

“…!”

No! Don’t say that with such a cheerful smile!