How To Survive As a Villain on the Verge of Death

“Terence said he was away from the mansion today because of work. I think we should check among ourselves.”

 

“Okay. It can’t be helped.”

 

“But he said he would be back before dinner. If it’s okay, the four of us could have a meal together. How about that?”

 

“I like it.”

 

Then, she would be staying at the Grand Duke’s residence until late this evening. She changed into her street clothes and went outside with the cat in her arms. Diane laid out her own opinions about the wedding venue as they made their way out to the entrance of her residence together.

 

“I contacted the mansion, but they said they haven’t decided on the layout of the banquet hall yet. They said they would prepare a blueprint depicting the structure of the banquet hall today. I think it would be good to look at it and discuss it together.”

 

“…is it so?”

 

She walked down the hall, listening to an over-enthusiastic Diane plan. As she neared the entrance, Diane suddenly stopped speaking.

 

“Ah…”

 

She looked up a beat late. At the entrance to the dorm, a young woman with flowing light blonde hair stood. She was about 19 years old and she looked like a thin and beautiful woman. She instantly realized who it was.

 

“Sorel?”

 

It was Sorel, the female protagonist.

 

* * *

 

She was praised as a noble and beautiful princess by the people of the empire, but in fact, Sorel in the original work was a tragic heroine like Cinderella. Born as the daughter of a maid, Sorel lived in poverty with her mother during her childhood. She should be happy because a maid’s daughter became a princess overnight, but Sorel’s life in the original work was not very happy.

 

After entering the imperial palace, Sorel spends her difficult days being bullied by her violent half-sister and being swayed by her pretentious stepmother. The nobles supported Sorel on the outside, but behind her back, they ridiculed and disparaged her by criticizing her biological mother’s origins. Even her biological father, the Emperor, only used Sorel’s holy powers to suit her own tastes and did not give her true affection. No one reached out to Sorel for her kind and tender nature.

 

‘That’s why she became friends with Mikhail. Because he was the only friend she met when she came to the imperial palace.’

 

In reality, the Sorel she met gave the impression of being slender and frail, befitting her unfortunate circumstances. Light blonde hair like sunshine. Silver eyes as clear as crystal. Clean and white skin. She truly deserved the title ‘saint.’

 

While watching the original work, she imagined her as an innocent blonde beauty with a sacred aura, and she was similar to that. There were many comments that it was frustrating, but of all the characters in this novel, she was most attached to Sorel. She was kind and gentle, but also pitiful, so she hoped that Sorel would be happy with the person she liked in the end. But now she was Eve. An evil half-sister who tormented poor Sorel so hard.

 

As she approached Sorel, she thought fiercely about what to say in her first words.

 

‘What’s going on here?’

 

It seemed like they’re complaining about why she came.

 

‘If I had known you would come, I would have waited in advance.’

 

It may sound like she was criticizing Sorel for coming without even contacting her. After a short period of intense consideration, she managed to smile and say hello in front of Sorel.

 

“Sorel… You’ve finally come.”

 

Sorel seemed surprised to see her smiling. Did she laugh for no reason? She thought Sorel was scared… However, if she greeted her with an expressionless face like a stone statue, it seemed like she was berating her and asking her why she came.

 

“Sister Eve.”

 

Sorel looked down at her sorry face.

 

“I’m sorry for coming to you without being able to contact you. Her Majesty the Empress suddenly said that I would not be allowed to leave unless I left immediately…”

 

After speaking up to that point, Sorel lethargically trailed off her words. She realized what happened: the Empress was grumpy for no reason.

 

‘The Empress probably thought that if Sorel visited me without contacting me, I would get really angry and send him away.’

 

To Eve, Sorel was a kind of evil. Eve usually got angry over all kinds of trivial things, but when it came to things involving Sorel, she got ten or a hundred times more angry. But why did they order her to return without even being able to contact them… She guessed he did it on purpose to start a fight.

 

“It’s okay, don’t worry. Thank you so much for coming.”

 

Sorel, who heard her words, flinched and raised her head. It was only a fleeting moment, but shock and embarrassment flashed across her pretty face. But Sorrel smiled as pure as a lily again.

 

“I received the gift you sent me.”

 

“Yes, you had a lot of trouble on the battlefield, right? I’m glad you came back safely.”

 

“…Yes, thanks.”

 

Although her face was smiling, Sorel’s silver eyes were filled with confused emotions as she looked at Eve.

 

‘You might be confused and wondering why I suddenly changed like this and why I became kinder to you.’

 

Sorel’s eyes turned to Diane standing next to her. Diane took one look at Eve and then she bowed to Sorel.

 

“Greeting Princess Sorel.”

 

“This is Lady Diane of the Dukedom of Rohan. Have we met before?”

 

“Yes, we met once before.”

 

Sorel spoke to Diane in a welcoming voice.

 

“It’s been a while, Lady Diane. Are you feeling okay?”

 

“…Yes, it’s okay now. Thank you for your concern, Princess Sorel.”

 

Diane answered in a weak voice. Why did Diane react like that, she wondered, and then she found the answer. Sorel’s healing power was effective for wounds and injuries, but had little effect on old diseases. Although it didn’t appear in the original work, she probably tried to cure Diane’s illness in the past but failed. So she wondered if it was a slightly uncomfortable relationship. Diane said she felt uncomfortable somehow, but Sorel smiled innocently.

 

“When you say it like that, I don’t see any rashes. You seem like a normal person.”

 

For a moment, she saw Diane’s shoulders shaking.

 

‘What?’

 

She felt a strange sense of discomfort. But she didn’t have time to think deeply. When she saw Diane’s expression slightly hardening, her voice went out without her knowing.

 

“Miss Diane is ladylike and polite no matter what she says. She doesn’t say things like she’s not fine in front of people.”

 

She said and then thought, ‘Oops’. She’s been trying to mend her relationship with Sorel, but this was just total bullshit. But she felt like she had hurt Diane, so she couldn’t sit still and listen. Diane didn’t think Eve would intervene like this, so she turned around with a surprised expression. At her words, there was silence between the three of them for a moment. Diane smiled almost imperceptibly, and Sorel’s pretty face hardened slightly. After a few seconds of silence, Sorel suddenly began to cry.

 

“S-sorry. I made a mistake. I was trying to say it looked good, but the word came out wrong.”

 

Sorel bowed her head to Diane with tears in her eyes.

 

“Forgive me, Lady Diane.”

 

“Ah…”

 

Diane couldn’t hide her embarrassment and she glanced at Eve. She was also embarrassed when she saw that. Was Sorel like this? Her appearance was the same as the original, but her personality was a bit different from what she imagined while watching the original. She imagined a more pure and miserable saintly character.

 

‘Isn’t there malicious intent?’

 

Was she simply inconsiderate and naive? That was a bit strange too. Sorel in the original work was the embodiment of understanding, consideration and concern for others.

 

“Well, I’m fine, Princess. I’m not offended, so don’t worry too much…”

 

Sorel smiled embarrassedly and avoided eye contact as Diane trailed off awkwardly.

 

“Miss Diane is still very introverted.”

 

Then she found the cat in her arms. For a moment she wondered if Sorel recognized the cat’s identity. She might recognize the Divine Beast because Sorel’s holy power was strong… However, contrary to her expectations, Sorel asked while looking at the cat without much reaction.

 

“That’s a cute cat. Is this a cat kept in a temple?”

 

While she was contemplating an answer, Diane interjected, looking at Eve.

 

“This cat was lying in the garden, and Princess Eve saved it.”

 

“…really?”

 

Sorel looked at her and the cat in disbelief. Well, if someone would have told her that Eve picked up the cat that had fallen in the garden and took care of it… Even if it were her, she couldn’t believe it.

 

She looked closely at Sorel’s expression as she looked at the cat. Sorel was looking at the cat as if she thought it was cute. What was strange about her was that she didn’t seem to notice anything. Was it because Bayan’s holy power was still too weak? Well, Sorel had no idea even though he broke the seal of the Divine Beast. Just because she freely uses her holy power didn’t mean she could recognize the divine beast at a glance. She remembered Bayan’s words that Sorel had weaker holy power than Eve.

 

Now that she thought about it, that was also surprising. According to the original work, Sorel was said to have very strong holy powers.

 

“Huh. It seemed like it didn’t have an owner, so I decided to just take care of it.”

 

“Really well… That’s it.”

 

Sorel smiled while looking at the cat. She said it went well, but she paused for a moment, as if she wasn’t really sure. Well, it’s Eve’s pet. People like Eve should be legally prohibited from raising animals.

 

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Translator Note: