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Chapter 39.
For a moment, silence fell.
“……What did you just say?”
“What did I just hear?”
The gazes surrounding Merina turned sharp and cold.
She had basically just said that all the men interested in her were hers — how outrageous was that?
I had to stifle the laughter threatening to escape.
Oh, Merina. No matter how many times I come back, you never change your answer. Should I be glad for that or not?
“What I meant was, I don’t yet know whom I truly like, so I’d like to meet everyone a bit more before deciding.”
“I understand your intentions well enough, Lady Ikel.”
“How shameless of you.”
Merina tried to patch up her words belatedly, but the reaction around her was ice-cold.
“Don’t insult Lady Merina! S-she could’ve misspoken!”
Violet, however, stared at the young man who had spoken up with a look of complete disgust.
“Congratulations, Young Lord Gerden. It seems you’ve become one of Lady Ikel’s many men. Though, since you’re not exactly popular, I suppose you’ll rank near the bottom among them.”
Laughter broke out around them at Violet’s biting remark.
“Lady Clen!”
“Young Lord Gerden, you’re not one to be angry after you insulted Lady Clen earlier, are you?”
“That’s right. Raising your voice at a lady—how disgraceful for a supposed gentleman.”
In high society, ladies and gentlemen usually kept to their own domains, but this time, everyone spoke with one voice — condemning Gerden.
Especially the young men who harbored feelings for Merina; Gerden was just another rival to them.
But among the men present, several began to lose interest in Merina because of what had happened.
That was how it needed to go — I had to keep pushing people away from Merina, until she had no one left to take her side.
Good luck, Merina.
Until I find a way to die, the role of “villainess” is yours to play.
The boating event had caused quite a stir, but the tea party continued nonetheless — only Merina and Young Lord Gerden could find no place to rejoin and had to leave.
“Lady Pink, it was such a delightful time.”
“It’s a pity the boating ended early. Still, thank you for arranging such a lovely gathering.”
The lavish boating event, possible only thanks to the wealthy Pink family, left a deep impression on everyone before it concluded.
From Swan Lake to the city gates of the capital took about twenty minutes by carriage.
But today, it would take far longer — the Imperial Knights had imposed restrictions.
An illegal gambling den run by Blue Bird had been discovered in the outskirts, and clashes had broken out between them and the knights.
Boom! Crash!
The explosions, clearly magical in nature, made my guards frown.
“I’ll go see what’s happening. Please wait here for a moment.”
Sir Bart stepped out, but when he didn’t return for quite some time, Sir Mary went out as well, telling me to stay put.
The carriage curtains were drawn, hiding me from view.
I quietly opened the door on the opposite side from where Sir Mary had exited, pulled on a hooded cloak I’d prepared in advance, and slipped away from the carriage.
Soon enough, Sir Mary would notice my absence and the two knights would panic — but that couldn’t be helped.
There was something more important to do.
“You there! Turn back! You can’t come this way!”
The street was filled with screams of terror, the noise of clashing blades, and magical blasts from both knights and Blue Bird members. Fragments of debris rained down as pieces of buildings shattered.
The city guards had arrived and were struggling to keep civilians away.
Blending into the crowd, I avoided the guards and the flying rubble, making my way toward the gambling den.
There were three entrances I remembered — two were already blocked by the knights, so I had to find the third.
That last entrance connected to the basement of a shabby tavern.
As expected, the tavern was deserted. Pathetic as I was — only able to forcefully return to the past — I carried nothing but a small dagger for protection as I headed down into the illegal den.
In Blue Bird’s territory, people wore masks and hoods everywhere, so no one paid attention to someone with their face hidden.
“Damn it! Burn all the important documents!”
“Hold them off! Don’t let the knights through!”
The place was in chaos — perfect timing.
I made my way calmly toward one of the many basement rooms — the storage where they kept their records and drugs.
I’d been here once before and had been injured during a raid, so I kept my guard up.
Once inside, I went straight to the innermost shelf and found a bundle of tattered papers.
I tucked it inside my cloak, then took three steps left and began sweeping my gaze over the shelves lined with potions.
I spotted a reddish liquid — a strength-enhancing drug — and drank it without hesitation.
Then I shoved a handful of glass vials and magic stones into a large pouch and left the storage room.
The stench of burning things filled the air as I slipped past the panicking Blue Bird men and headed toward the exit.
“Out of the way!”
Suddenly, someone shoved me hard against the wall.
I grabbed at my hood before it could fall, but dropped the bundle in my hands. The bottles inside clattered loudly on the floor.
“What the hell are you?”
A rough-looking man grabbed me by the shoulder.
“Who the hell are you, skulking around here?”
If I got stabbed here, I wouldn’t be able to move for a while — I had to get out of this smartly.
I didn’t know if he was just a worker here or a Blue Bird member, but I decided to gamble.
“Watch your tongue. Do you think he would tolerate such insolence?”
I lowered my voice on purpose, and the man flinched.
“‘He’? What are you talking about?”
But only for a moment — he shoved me again and crouched to check the bag I’d dropped.
“You don’t even know who he is? Then who the hell are you? You one of us or not?”
“What’s Blue Bird supposed to be? Don’t tell me you’re from another group—”
He really didn’t seem to know what Blue Bird was.
“So it’s you! You’re the bastard who ratted out our gambling den!”
His face twisted with rage as he saw the contents of the bag.
“You damn thief, trying to steal from us in the middle of this mess!”
I grabbed the dagger hidden in my cloak, but he struck me first — his blow heavy enough to knock the wind out of me.
Thanks to the strength potion, I managed not to fall.
“You little—!”
He seized my collar, but I slashed his arm before he could strike again.
“You bitch!”
Snarling, he pulled out his own knife.
People rushing past glanced at us briefly, but no one intervened.
With all the violence breaking out everywhere, one more fight didn’t stand out.
Of course things couldn’t go smoothly.
I waited for an opening to use the magical flare Ted had gotten me for emergencies, when suddenly there was a dull thud — the man threatening me collapsed to the floor.
Behind him stood a man who looked at me with exasperation.
“What on earth are you doing here?”
Panicking, I reached up to check if my hood had fallen — it hadn’t.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t recognize you?”
Even though only my chin was visible, the man before me recognized me instantly.
It was Lexian.
“I don’t know what you were doing here, but you’re coming with me.”
I quickly snatched up the dropped bundle.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A massive explosion sounded from deeper inside, shaking the floor beneath us.
“Roshia.”
Lexian spoke my name like a quiet sigh — then pulled me into his arms.
His solid embrace shielded me, strong and steady — but instead of comfort, I felt dread.
“Let me go.”
“Wait until the shaking stops.”
“I said, let me go right now!”
If he got hit by falling debris while protecting me…!
The memory of him blocking a rain of arrows with his own body flashed before my eyes. I tried to push him away, but he had the kind of strength that could render such resistance meaningless.
“Stay still, Roshia,” he said calmly, his voice gentle.
That only made my chest ache more.
I never wanted to become a villainess. But this world had decided I was one, and even the act of loving was something I was not allowed.
“AAAHHHH!”
“Who the hell used a bomb?!”
People were flooding out of the collapsing building. Lexian lifted me lightly into his arms.
“Excuse me.”
The embrace — one I’d known countless times — was still as warm as ever. For a moment, I relaxed.
“DIE!”
A man lunged at Lexian with a dagger.
Without even breaking stride, Lexian subdued him with one hand and continued toward the exit.
Or at least, he tried to — until another assailant swung a decorative spear, aiming straight for my neck.
