FBBV 01

CHAPTER 01

“I’m Looking for the Backing of the Betrayed Villainess — ”

In the end, life is something you live alone. Friendship? Love? Throw all that nonsense to the dogs.

I couldn’t believe I had met such an ending, swayed by those things without substance—friendship, love, whatever you want to call them.

“Does the accused admit to the charges?”

My unfocused eyes slowly regained focus.

The view filled with the round courtroom and the packed audience came into sight. Among them were those I had trusted and cherished so deeply.

You damn bastards. Are you satisfied now?

“Violeta Cichlein.”

“What?”

Murmurs and jeers erupted from all directions.

But I didn’t care. I hadn’t done anything wrong.

I stared blankly at the judge looking at me in disbelief, then spoke again.

“Why did you call me?”

“Violeta Cichlein!”

“What!”

My confident response made the judge’s face flush red. His clenched jaw trembled, his mustache shaking with anger.

“Do you truly have no remorse for your crimes?”

I habitually fiddled with my left wrist—but I was only wearing a rag-like prisoner’s uniform. The empty sensation only made my mind more unsettled.

I dropped my hand in resignation.

“I already told you. I have nothing to regret.”

“Those who drank the potion you made coughed up blood and were brought to the brink of death. Even the Crown Prince of this kingdom was affected. Are you aware that this almost caused the failure of the subjugation of the Dragon King?”

“How many times do I have to say it? It wasn’t because of my potion!”

The judge clicked his tongue and turned away, as if to continue the trial.

I snorted at him and looked around the courtroom.

Far away, I saw the traitors sitting high and mighty, looking down at me. Their expressions were unreadable.

Those were the people I once called my friends. People I thought I might even die for.

Leonhardt was holding Vanetta—whose eyes didn’t even blink as she stared at me—pulling her into his arms.

‘What a pathetic sight.’

Vanetta, Leonhardt, Calix, and…

“Witness, step forward and swear your oath.”

…Ligretto. Even you.

Your silver hair, shimmering like falling starlight, and those blue eyes—I once thought they were the most beautiful parts of you.

He stepped into the witness stand wearing the outfit I used to love most, and began testifying about my “crimes” one by one.

“Violeta—no, the defendant has long been committing acts of wrongdoing.”

From the lips that once said he loved me came blades that would completely sever my breath.

And all the while, he never once looked in my direction.

I understood. I understood clearly that this was our end.

And our end was more pathetic than I ever imagined.

“Does the defendant have anything to say for her final statement?”

I had countless things I wanted to say.

But what was the point? They had already decided to cast me aside.

So there was only one thing I needed to protect.

I curled the corners of my lips upward. My dry, cracked lips split slightly, bringing a faint sting.

“My potion is perfect, you idiots.”

Bang, bang, bang.

The judge solemnly delivered the verdict.

* * *

“Damn it. Of all days, it has to rain.”

What a miserable day.

The sky had been gray all day, and now it finally poured down in torrents.

It had already been two years since I was trapped in this wretched hut.

Two years since the judge—wearing a ridiculous wig—declared, “Violeta Cichlein is stripped of her noble title and sentenced to 500 years of exile!”

“How did I end up like this…?”

Well. It was messed up from the very beginning.

My life had been tangled from the start.

I was born into a perfectly drawn noble family, lived recklessly… and then one day, after a sudden fall from a horse, I remembered my past life.

Why did I even have to remember something like that?

Thanks to it, my childhood was at least a little less stupid. I gained things too.

But—

No. Maybe it would’ve been better if I had just lived stupidly. That might have been better for me.

“Ah, young lady! Are you awake?!”

“…Ah. What is this situation?”

“Waaah… Young lady, you finally woke up after a week… Are you hurt anywhere?”

“My heart hurts… I just want to die.”

“Oh my goodness. Madam! The young lady is sick! Seriously sick!”

That day I realized this was a story world—and I was a minor villainess who bullied the heroine destined to save the world and was eventually exiled to a remote borderland—my world collapsed.

But I didn’t give up. I struggled to survive.

I stopped acting like a spoiled noble and tried to live properly.

That meant switching sides and supporting the protagonists.

And for reference, apologizing to the people I had bullied and suppressing my personality wasn’t easy at all.

“Apparently Lady Cichlein has become much calmer lately.”

“She even apologized to Lady Vanetta. Prince Stellan looked very pleased.”

“That’s not even the point—did you hear her talent has awakened?”

But I did it. I even improved my abilities far beyond the original storyline. I should’ve been a success story!

Damn it. Then why did I still end up broke at the ending? What did I even do wrong?

“If I was going to be exiled anyway, I should’ve just stayed a villain…”

It was so frustrating that tears almost came out, seeing all my efforts end so miserably.

Clatter, clatter—the window shook violently in the storm.

It would be a problem if even the windows of this already collapsing hut broke, so I stood up.

I still had 498 years left to live here. Well, I was human, so I probably wouldn’t even make it 100 years.

Frowning deeply, I got up and searched for nails and a hammer.

Bang, bang. I hammered with all the anger I’d grown used to.

The frame trembled pitifully before slowly holding in place.

Bang!

“I just… I wish there was someone I could trust and share my heart with. Even just one person.”

It was something someone from my past life once said—someone who was neither quite a friend nor a stranger, but something in between.

That person, who had a chronic illness, died on a day just like this—when rain poured endlessly.

The funeral was quiet. With no family or relatives, I stayed there alone for a long time.

Not because we were especially close, but because we were similar in a strange way.

I was lonely. Maybe that’s why I longed for that kind of relationship.

Bang, bang!

The nails went in easily.

“Violeta… hng.”

“Leon, Leon! What is this—don’t tell me, Violeta, you…?”

Bang!

Bastards.

“Were you deceiving us all this time?”

“This was a matter of life and death. How could you—”

Ridiculous.

What they called friendship, what they called love, was what abandoned me.

Anger surged inside me as I stormed toward the door and flung it open.

“Aaaah!”

At that moment, I kicked away a stone lying in front of the door with all my strength.

“Aaaaagh! You damn bastards!”

Whoooosh—

The storm swallowed even my shouting.

I stood there blankly for a moment.

Maybe because of the raging wind and rain, my suffocating feelings eased a little.

Feeling slightly refreshed, I closed the hut door again. The sound of rain softened.

It was almost comforting. Silence without even the sound of beasts could drive a person insane.

It was surprising I hadn’t already gone mad.

“…Fine. On days like this, I should just work.”

I brushed off my damp clothes and walked to my workspace.

A worn desk, a cauldron, and scattered sheets of paper—my space.

I gathered the papers neatly and brought out the material I had been studying recently.

A black, hook-shaped object emerged from my inventory. At the same time, a translucent blue window floated before my eyes.

[Claw of the Dragon Lord]

Effect: ???

Description: The claw of the cursed Dragon Lord who once ruled all dragons.

A status window.

A “unique ability” I gained the moment I became aware of my past life—my ultimate achievement, the distilled result of blood, sweat, and tears from my life as a graduate student number 17, once grinding like a slave under professors.