How To Survive As a Villain on the Verge of Death

Fortunately, Sorel did not seem to be very suspicious of Bayan. It’s really fortunate that Bayan’s holy power was weak. Anyway, she would look suspicious if she suddenly told her that she had picked up a sacred beast. In order to tell her the identity of Bayan, she must explain to her about her holy powers and tell her a story about the sap of her divine tree. She didn’t even know Sorel’s personality, and it was too risky for her to tell her the whole story. 

If Sorel finds out Bayan’s identity first, she couldn’t help it, but she didn’t seem to know anything at the moment… In fact, Bayan seemed to think he was being ignored and was still tapping my leg with his tail with his ears turned to the side. To change the subject, she asked Sorel.

 

“Oh yeah. Then, do you feel spiritual power in me too?”

 

This time Sorel’s face hardened in confusion.

 

“Yes, I always feel it.”

 

“Okay?”

 

“Yes, why are you suddenly asking such a question…”

 

When asked about her holy abilities, Sorel was visibly embarrassed and even stuttered. 

Well, Eve felt inferior to Sorel, so asking questions like this would be a bit uncomfortable for both of them.

 

“It’s no big deal, I was wondering if anything had changed in the meantime.”

 

When she answered casually, the tension on Sorel’s face eased a little.

 

“Nothing in particular has changed, but…”

 

Sorel hesitated for a moment and then added.

 

“It seems a little clearer than before. You wouldn’t know it if you didn’t look closely.”

 

“Okay? It’s a good thing that things have become clear, right?”

 

It didn’t mean that it had become cloudy or hazy, so she thought it must be a good thing. Sorel looked at her and nodded her head.

 

“I think so.”

 

Then the carriage stopped. Diane, who had been quietly listening to us, looked out her window with a very happy face on her face.

 

“Ah, we’ve arrived.”

 

Outside the window, she saw a gorgeous mansion standing tall against the backdrop of a sunny sky. It was the residence of the Grand Duke Lenz.

 

* * *

 

When they arrived at the Grand Duke’s residence, butlers and servants came out to greet them at the entrance, just like when they visited in the past.

 

“Princess, it is an honor for you to visit.”

 

The old butler bowed politely.

 

“His Highness the Grand Duke expressed his regret for not being able to greet the princess in person.”

 

“Don’t worry. I heard you weren’t at the mansion today.”

 

Before she got here, she heard from Diane that Terence was away today. The moment she passed through the large door and entered, a brightly lit and spacious banquet hall appeared. Cream-colored walls and smooth marble floors decorated with elaborate patterns. A chandelier casting dazzling light hung from the high ceiling, which was built over two levels. The walls facing the garden had large windows letting in bright sunlight. Pearl-colored curtains hung like waves on the bright sunlight-filled window. She looked around the banquet hall and was truly impressed.

 

“It’s a really beautiful banquet hall.”

 

When she saw it before, she didn’t know because she only saw her room and Rot’s room, but the banquet hall was also great. At this point, it seemed comparable to the banquet hall in the imperial palace.

 

“The wedding preparations are causing trouble to everyone.”

 

“Don’t say things like that, princess. It is an honor to prepare for your wedding.”

 

The old butler seemed a little nervous, but did not lose his calm demeanor. She asked as she looked around the banquet hall.

 

“Are preparations going well?”

 

“Do not worry. We are preparing without a hitch.”

 

The butler added in a tone full of pride.

 

“We’ve had weddings here several times before.”

 

“I see.”

 

It’s good that there’s already a precedent. Because they were not the first Grand Duke and his wife to get married in this mansion. They were going to get divorced anyway, so it seemed kind of ominous for the first couple to get married here to end up like that.

 

“Princess!”

 

She turned around at the sound of a familiar voice and saw a boy with golden hair entering the banquet hall door. It was Rot, Terence’s younger brother. Rot ran in front of her without any time to stop her.

 

“Princess, are you here to prepare for the wedding?”

 

“Hello, Rot. Yes that’s right. I came to check how the wedding preparations are going.”

 

Seeing the two of them conversing without hesitation, the butler next to them cleared his throat in embarrassment.

 

“Oh, Master Rot.”

 

Only then did Rot spot Sorrel and get away from her.

 

“Oh, sorry.”

 

Rot bowed politely and showed respect.

 

“You two meet the princess.”

 

That appearance was quite dignified. Was it true that he was the son of a Grand Duke? Sorel next to her was looking at them with a surprised expression.

 

“Ah, Sorel. This is Rot, the younger brother of His Highness the Grand Duke.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Rot.”

 

Sorel belatedly relaxed her expression and smiled brightly.

 

“I’ve heard a lot about you, but this is my first time meeting you in person.”

 

After briefly exchanging greetings, Rot found Bayan in her arms and asked.

 

“Princess, are you raising a cat?”

 

Suddenly she felt worried. Did Rot like cats? She would have to bring Bayan to this mansion and stay with him, but what if Rot didn’t like it?

 

“Yes, I’m thinking of bringing him here. What do you think about it, Rot?”

 

“I like it! I wanted to raise a cat.”

 

Rot carefully stroked the back of Bayan’s neck with his hand. He seemed quite familiar with dealing with animals. She was glad he didn’t hate it. And Rot looked up at her and earnestly asked.

 

“Are you going to choose wedding items? Can I join you too?”

 

She was about to say yes, but the old butler next to her made another bewildered voice.

 

“You’re in class right now…”

 

At those words, a look of disappointment appeared on Rot’s cute face. When she turned around, Rot laughed. Did he run away during class?

 

“Come back after class. I’ll be here until evening today.”

 

Rot seemed disappointed, but luckily he fell off smoothly.

 

“Yes. You must eat dinner before leaving!”

 

“Is it so? I promise.”

 

Rot went out of the banquet hall again only after receiving her promise.

 

“Now then, let’s go get ready in earnest.”

 

Diane said, pulling her arm.

 

“There are a lot of decisions to make. There is no time to waste.”

 

Yes, she said she had a lot of work to do. The butler immediately led them to a room next to the banquet hall.

 

“I will take you this way.”

 

Next to the banquet hall was a room used as a reception room. It was a cozy space filled with sunlight and elegant furniture. The three of them sat at a table by the window in the reception room. As hot tea and snacks were served, discussions about the wedding began in earnest. And within about ten minutes of the discussion starting, she changed her complacent and lazy attitude of thinking, ‘Wouldn’t preparing for a wedding just be about preparing the venue?’ There were many decisions the bride had to make on her own.

 

“Which way should I go?”

 

She looked at the ten tablecloths her maid had brought out. Since it was a wedding, the tablecloths and carpets were all white or gold anyway. But everyone said they were all slightly different and forced her to choose.

 

Tapestries, carpets, draperies, decorative vases, and curtains for the banquet hall on the wedding day. She even had to choose the fabric that would cover the altar and the chandelier. There was more to choose from at the reception. From the set of forks, napkins, vases, and dishes to be placed on the table, we had to decide on the menu, type, and order of food. The most difficult thing was the flowers. Deciding the type and shape of flowers to decorate the main ceremony was also complicated, and flowers had to be placed everywhere, including the reception area, the entrance to the mansion, hallways, waiting rooms, reception rooms, and even the garden. She couldn’t put the same thing in all of them, so she was asked to choose everything.

 

So many choices unfolded before her eyes. Numerous pearl colors, milk colors, cream colors, light gray, milk white, ivory, mint cream, floral white… It was very boring to constantly choose different colors. To top it off, even Bayan, who was sitting on my lap, was so bored that he went somewhere. She couldn’t ask where he was going because it was in front of people, but he was probably going to see the mansion.

 

“…The butler can just choose these things on his own.”

 

They didn’t have to give this much importance to her opinion, but everyone wanted her to decide from one to ten. Even the people at the mansion were ready and waiting for her to go and choose. So she understood why Diane had rushed over so quickly. There was so much to prepare, and if she had been lazy for two or three more days, she would have stayed up all night preparing for the wedding.

 

The butler was very embarrassed when he received her suggestion.

 

“But what should I do if I decide arbitrarily and the princess doesn’t like it…”

 

‘No, I trust your vision.’

 

She had only met him twice now, but the person who manages this mansion was trustworthy, right? While saying that, she was about to pass on all the troublesome things to the butler, but Diane, who was next to her, stopped her.

 

“What if you don’t like it and regret it later?”

 

Diane tried to persuade her in a strong tone.

 

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime wedding. It’s a wedding that will be remembered for a lifetime, so you need to choose carefully!”

 

“…I guess so.”

 

Diane’s spirit was so strong that she agreed without even realizing it. Well, for other people, it’s a happy wedding where she made a covenant with her loved one, so she would want to prepare everything carefully. But this marriage was not like that. Even if they worked so hard to prepare the wedding, they would have broken up anyway…

 

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