How To Survive As a Villain on the Verge of Death

“It’s a bit cold.”

 

“Shall we add more firewood?”

 

“No, it’s okay. Instead, bring me snacks. I want to take a little bit of everything I ate today and eat it after taking a bath before going to bed.”

 

She deliberately pointed to Chloe and gave her an order.

 

“All right.”

 

After Chloe got out, she took off her dress and washed herself with Nell’s help. Although she pretended to be calm on the outside, her tension did not go away even after entering the warm water. After finishing her bath, she went outside to find Chloe tidying up the bedroom.

 

“Princess.”

 

There was a bowl of sweets at the head of the bed.

 

“I brought you some cookies.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

She looked back at the two and said.

 

“Chloe is on duty today, right? Nell must be tired, so quickly go to your room and rest.”

 

Usually, one of the two waits in a small side room next to the bedroom. Today, she had arranged a special schedule in advance so that Chloe would be on alert. The idea was to send Nell, who knew nothing, back to her room because it could be dangerous if she stayed near the bedroom. Of course, Chloe wouldn’t be waiting in the bedroom attached today. Chloe was planning to hide in the room across from her and watch the hallway. So she sent Nell away first. Nell said goodbye and went out.

 

“Then sleep well, princess.”

 

After the door closed, Chloe came closer to her. Chloe took out a small sparkling jewel from inside her pocket.

 

“Princess, I will return the crystal.”

 

What Chloe took out was a white crystal. Crystal of Arcania. It was a mysterious crystal that could be tested to see if it contained drugs.

 

“Have you checked?”

 

“Yes. As you might expect, the only thing in my dinner was the drug.”

 

It was like that too. There was no need to test what kind of medicine it was. It’s definitely a type of sleeping pill that makes you fall into a deep sleep. There was a reason why the maid in the side room did not come to wake her in the premonition. She was afraid something like this might happen, so she took off a crystal from the bracelet and gave it to Chloe. It went as expected.

 

‘You got caught using drugs last time and you’re doing this again.’

 

She guessed she didn’t expect that she would even inspect the maid’s food. If she hadn’t seen the vision, she wouldn’t have taken Chloe’s crystal off and had her inspect the food. However, one question still remained. There was nothing like medicine in her food. But why couldn’t she wake up?

 

“Did you check the bedroom?”

 

“I checked the entire bedroom while you were taking a bath, but once again, there was nothing suspicious.”

 

She had Chloe check the bedroom every day to see if there was any device, but she found nothing. Were there any devices today as well?

 

“But there was something on the outside of the window.”

 

“There’s something buried there?”

 

“I wasn’t sure, but it seemed like a highly flammable powder.”

 

The intention was to make the fire spread quickly.

 

“Okay. Just leave it alone.”

 

She prepared fire extinguishing powder under the bed just in case. They said that the knights of the Grand Duchy house in the lodge also carry fire-fighting weapons with them.

 

Knock, knock.

 

While she was pondering her doubts, she suddenly heard a calm knock on the door.

 

“Come in.”

 

A young priestess opened the door and came inside.

 

“Princess, I came to take orders from the lady in charge.”

 

She was a priestess who had come to her room on errands several times before.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

“Today is a holiday, so I have been ordered to bring you new incense.”

 

“Okay?”

 

The maid took out a small container from her arms. It was an incense box for storing incense.

 

“It is a scent that helps you sleep well. If you smoke it before you go to sleep, you will be able to sleep comfortably.”

 

Deep sleep. It was the moment when the small doubt that had been in her mind the entire time was resolved. She smiled innocently and said, as if she didn’t know anything.

 

“I was already tired, but it worked out well. Then I want to try it now.”

 

After the priestess opened the incense burner and shook out the ashes, she added new incense and lit it. As the ends of the incense sticks burned black, a sweet scent began to quietly permeate.

 

“It smells so good.”

 

“This is an incense made from Rastana flowers to commemorate the holiday.”

 

You could also make incense with those flowers.

 

“Tell the minister that I am grateful.”

 

“Yes, princess. Then sleep comfortably.”

 

The priestess smiled quietly, bowed her head, and went out. She looked at the incense burner with incense rising. Now she saw that it was this scent that the criminals prepared. In her wisdom, she wondered why she was sleeping so deeply. She guessed it’s because of the scent. She guessed she couldn’t wake up from her sleep because she left this incense burning. Well, food could be tested through crystals, but there was no way to test whether the flavor contained suspicious ingredients. You might be able to find out if you ask an expert to test it, but there’s no way you’d need to test the incense sent from the temple to that extent. Chloe also looked at the incense burner with a calm gaze.

 

“Shall we put away the incense?”

 

“No.”

 

She stood up, taking out the embroidery thread she had packed.

 

“Just leave it alone.”

 

If she was going to stay in the bedroom, she would have to put the incense away, but she wouldn’t be here today. Putting away the incense may arouse suspicion, so it would be better to leave it alone.

 

“Instead, let’s weaken the embers.”

 

As the embers got weaker, the scent spreading in the air would also get weaker. Chloe heard what she said and turned the incense on a little lower.

 

“I’ll go to the other side.”

 

Chloe said goodbye to her and carefully went out. She was heading to the break room across the hallway. Left alone, she sat on the bed and looked at the clock. It was past bedtime, but instead of being sleepy, her mind was alert due to tension. She turned off the light, lay down on the bed, and tried to sleep. A few minutes after the lights went out in the bedroom, she opened her eyes and carefully looked around. Fortunately, there was no sign of presence inside the room or outside the window. She slowly got out of bed without making a sound.

 

* * *

 

The sweet-smelling incense stick was still burning in the bedroom. In the dark room, the embers contained in the incense burner glowed red like an ominous comet. She stood up covering her mouth with her sleeve to avoid inhaling the scent. Fortunately, she was still conscious, as if the effects of the medicine were spreading quickly.

 

‘Well, a scent that makes you fall asleep that quickly would arouse suspicion.’

 

Perhaps smelling this scent after falling asleep might help her fall into a deeper sleep. On the head of the bed were snacks that Chloe had brought. She took it and quietly opened the door to the bathroom. She went into the bathroom, opened the storage room next to her, and pulled down the stairs above the ceiling. She knew there’s a fire tonight, but she didn’t know exactly what time it was. What they could be sure of was that the temple would burn first and then the priest would appear. She checked the Rastana Temple visible across the garden through the glass window in her bedroom. Not only the temple but the entire garden was immersed in quiet darkness. Looks like there’s still some time left. She had no desire to wait in her bedroom for the temple to burst into flames.

 

That’s right. It seemed like no one was there, but there might be eyes out there watching. She walked up the narrow stairs and went up to the attic. The attic was dark without a single light. She couldn’t turn on the light, so she carefully looked around and moved forward. Still, as her vision became accustomed to the darkness, things around her gradually became visible. There was a wooden plank floor and a ceiling slanted in the shape of a roof. The attic was empty, but it was much larger than she thought. She approached the window, being careful not to fall. A small semicircular window was the only window that could look out.

 

“Princess.”

 

And there she heard a familiar voice. Even though he was wearing a deep hood, she could clearly tell who it was even in the dark. It was Terrence. She asked as she approached him.

 

“Did anyone see it?”

 

At the temple, she told Terence about this attic. It would be much better to hide in the attic than in a stuffy side room like a closet. Terence had said that he would wait here before her and the maids entered the bedroom.

 

“Do not worry. No one saw it.”

 

Terence approached her and took off his hood. He was wearing the livery of the Grand Duchy Knights. Even wearing those clothes did not obscure his handsome appearance and tall physique at all. If it weren’t for the dark night, it would have been too noticeable and would have failed.

 

“Have you checked inside the bedroom?”

 

“Chloe checked and there was nothing in the bedroom.”

 

She told him about the powder in the window and the suspicious incense the priestess had brought.

 

“Instead, the priestess brought her incense. They say it’s a scent that helps you fall asleep comfortably.”

 

She hadn’t checked, but it’s definitely a scent with some kind of suspicious drug added to it. Terrence also agreed with her.

 

“I’m sure it would be difficult to find out if you used incense. If it burns, there will be no evidence left.”

 

She took her eyes off him and looked out the window. The garden was dark and quiet, not even a sound of breathing.

 

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