How To Survive As a Villain on the Verge of Death

Sorel stood hidden next to the garden tree and watched Mikhail come out. Mikhail was walking down his corridor. It was a corridor leading from the emperor’s palace to the garden. Sorel hurried into the corridor as Mikhail approached.

 

“Lord Sheldon.”

 

“Princess Sorel.”

 

Mikhail, spotting Sorel, stopped in surprise. Another young knight who was following one step behind also hurriedly bowed.

 

“Lord Sheldon, do you have a moment?”

 

Mikhail looked at Sorel with a surprised face. He was amazed. Because Sorel had never come here to see Mikhail. It was because if other people saw it, rumors might spread. Because there were so many watching eyes near the emperor’s palace. Maybe the other knights guarding the garden were watching her today too. But now, even if she had to risk it, she urgently wanted to meet Mikhail. Of course, there was also the option of leaving a note on the stone wall where the two exchanged letters as usual. However, if Mikhail was busy and didn’t check the place quickly, it would take a long time before they could meet in person.

 

Sorel didn’t have time to wait like that.

 

‘It’ll be okay once in a while.’

 

Mikhail sent his subordinate who had been following him away without a word.

 

“Go back first.”

 

The young knight, who was looking at the two with curious eyes, lowered his head and walked down the path he had taken first.

 

“Come this way.”

 

The two went out to the garden together. There were always many visitors to the garden of the imperial palace. Maids and servants. Nobles visiting the imperial palace. Even the knights and soldiers guarding the surroundings. Several people spotted Sorel and Mikhail, said hello, and passed by. It felt like there were eyes filled with curiosity and questioning on the back of her head. They might be wondering why the princess was meeting the vice-captain, who was a commoner, in broad daylight like this.

 

Sorel walked with Mikhail to a quiet place where no one came.

 

“Mikhail. I’m sorry I must be busy.”

 

“Don’t say that.”

 

Mikhail smiled calmly with a nonchalant expression. This may be to relieve Sorel’s tension. There was a faint hint of worry in Mikhail’s green eyes as he looked at her. It was the first time they had seen each other so closely since Eve’s wedding.

 

Did he think she was still nervous and afraid because of that incident? The two went to the edge of a pond where a large zelkova tree stood. The long hanging leaves obscured the two figures. It was the middle of winter now, so the green willow leaves were dry and dry.

 

“Because I don’t have many people to talk to. In fact, I was scared to come here.”

 

“Is this because of what happened last time?”

 

Sorel nodded her head quietly.

 

“I heard that Her Majesty the Empress was dethroned and bad rumors were spreading about me.”

 

“Don’t worry about rumors.”

 

Mikhail spoke uncharacteristically firmly.

 

“Yes, it’s just a rumor. It will subside over time.”

 

“Do you really think so?”

 

“The princess was an innocent victim. I don’t think she needs to be intimidated by the gossip of such insignificant people.”

 

The last words somehow felt like they were being spoken to himself rather than to Sorel.

 

‘Mikhail also has doubts about me.’

 

Sorel intuitively felt that Mahil was shaking.

 

‘Well, you probably all heard that I tried to frame Eve.’

 

Anger surged along with her sadness. But Sorel managed to hide her seething emotions. She couldn’t be that honest in front of this man. Mikhail was the illegitimate son of a nobleman and spent a lonely childhood with his mother, who was his maid. The fact that they had a similar background made him more likeable. Unfortunately, no one knew who Mikhail’s biological father was. Mikhail’s unusual silver hair and green eyes also resembled his mother’s, so there were no clues to guess his biological father. Maybe Mikhail was the son of a high nobleman?

 

Sorel once imagined something like that. A future where Mikhail would inherit his father’s title and he would rightfully marry Sorel himself. At first, she approached him to take advantage of him, but as they got closer, she started to genuinely like this guy. But even Mikhail was suspicious of her.

 

“Well…”

 

“Princess?”

 

Sorel took out her handkerchief and shed tears. At that moment, she didn’t even need to act. Because she was so frustrated and sad that she honestly cried.

 

“Thank you for saying that. I was so distressed because it seemed like everyone was doubting me.”

 

Sorel continued, wiping away tears with her handkerchief.

 

“I’m embarrassed, but I actually don’t remember much about that day. Exactly what happened in the garden. The doctor said it was probably the aftereffects of being shocked and injured.”

 

Mikhail’s neat face turned pale at the mention of aftereffects. Even with his vague suspicions about her, he still worried about Sorel.

 

“Are you okay? Getting more treatment…”

 

“I’m OK.”

 

Sorel changed the subject, pushing aside her concerns about Mikhail.

 

“I heard that the Duchess of Rohan saw me and Her Majesty near the greenhouse that day. It would be good if I could go to her and hear the details…”

 

“Then, please visit the Duke’s house and ask about what happened that day.”

 

“But I heard that she, the Duchess, misunderstands and dislikes me because of what happened that day.”

 

Mikhail was speechless with his confused face. Sorel quickly continued the topic.

 

“Mikhail, didn’t you say that my father was sending a gift to the Duke of Rohan?”

 

“I heard he was planning to send a gift. There has been no such order yet.”

 

The Duke of Rohan went to war with the Emperor. He even fell ill on his return. Now that the only princess was recovering from her illness, the emperor would probably want to send her a gift as a way of greeting her.

 

“Can I come with you when you go to the duchy to deliver the gift?”

 

When conveying messages to ordinary nobles, the emperor simply selected any of the imperial knights and sent them, but when sending gifts to high-ranking nobles such as dukes, he sent Michael. In the first place, that was the royal family’s tradition.

 

“Don’t tell your father. He doesn’t like me going out of the palace, but he will hate me if I tell him I’m going to the duke’s house.”

 

Mikhail seemed to hesitate for a moment, but after seeing Sorel’s earnest expression, he eventually agreed.

 

“All right.”

 

“Thank you, Michail.”

 

This may be foolish. No, there was no denying that it was a foolish action. There was no benefit to Sorel herself in doing this. On the contrary, if she was caught, she would be in a difficult situation. Because she touched the ducal family without the permission of her father, the emperor. Still, Sorel couldn’t bear to see Eve recognized and praised. She couldn’t believe that Eve and others were praised while she herself was ridiculed and despised. She also felt particularly humiliated by the fact that Eve had succeeded in what she had failed to do. She wanted to do anything to stop it. Even if it was a dangerous thing that had no benefit to her.

 

“Then promise. When you go to the Duke’s house, you must take me with you.”

 

* * *

 

She returned his skates to the stall and walked along the riverside for a while, drinking some hot tea. The place where the street vendors were gathered was full of lanterns, but when they left there, a quiet sandy beach followed. While she was taking a walk, taking in the clear, refreshing air, she thought it was a good idea to stop by this place. After spending some time like that, she left the riverside and headed to the tea garden they had visited before.

 

The garden she visited after a long time was similar to before. The warm glass greenhouse was filled with garden trees and beautiful flowers, and a picturesque walking path continued along the artificial pond. But today was a little different. Because it was evening, the greenhouse was quiet and dark. The sky visible beyond the glass wall was a dark purple, and the artificial pond with lotus flowers was already dyed a deep navy blue. However, a cozy light shimmered along the path leading from the entrance to the greenhouse. A warm yellow light illuminated the surroundings from the entrance, along the walkway, to the pavilion in the center. It was a flower lantern. A beautiful flower-shaped lantern similar to those made in the past at temples. Small flower lanterns were connected to the garden trees planted along the walkway. There were lanterns like this hanging by the river, but they were just crude lanterns hung there. This place seemed to have been carefully decorated along the walking trail. Moreover, there were more than just lanterns. There were many more flowers planted near the walkway and pavilion than before. Flowers of various colors formed a dazzling wave on both sides of the walking path. In particular, there were so many flowers around the pavilion that it could be called a flower garden. All the flowers there were the familiar red color. It was a Rastana flower. The flower she received as a gift.

 

“…What special day is today?”

 

Was it actually a holiday in this world that she didn’t know about? Or maybe they held an event to celebrate the garden’s opening anniversary? She was curious and asked, and received an indifferent answer.

 

“This is how we usually do it in the evening. It’s been a while since I visited, so I changed things up a bit.”

 

Even with the lanterns, it was nonsense. Did they usually transplant this many flowers in the evening and then pull them out again during the day? She looked at him dumbfounded and Terence seemed a little disappointed.

 

“You don’t like it?”

 

He had prepared so much, but she couldn’t say no.

 

“No. I like it. It’s really beautiful.”

 

As she walked slowly, she saw that the pond next to the pavilion was also full of flowers. 

Between the water lily leaves, small pink flowers resembling lotus flowers floated leisurely. 

It’s definitely a charming landscape. She thought it would cost a lot of money to restore it tomorrow, but for now she decided to just enjoy it. Maybe other guests would think of it as an event and not like it? While thinking about that, she looked around and there was no one passing by. Aside from the people who looked like hired servants, they seemed to be the only guests in the entire garden.

 

“But there aren’t many people.”

 

“Because it’s past business hours.”

 

“Already? I heard the garden is open until late at night.”

 

She mumbled in a daze and belatedly realized the situation.

 

“No way. We are here, is that why you closed early?”

 

This time there was no answer. In fact, the answer was yes. Because plowing the garden just for one dinner wasn’t enough to close it down?

 

“Is that okay? What if business goes down like this?”

 

A store that closes at any time just because the owner was coming to eat. What if customers didn’t come because they wonder what’s going on?

 

“I don’t mind taking a day off. If you don’t like it, let’s go somewhere else.”

 

“…Is it okay to do business like that? You own the store, right?”

 

Why was he talking so indifferently as if he was talking about someone else’s house? It’s his store, right?

 

Terence answered calmly, as if it was obvious.

 

“There are countless gardens and restaurants I own within the system. You can go anywhere.”

 

“…”

 

That meant it didn’t matter because he owned the other gardens as well. At this point, there was nothing to refute. Since he was raised as a nobleman, she thought his way of thinking was different.

 

“…Well, since it’s only for one day, it’ll be okay.”

 

She roughly nodded and sat down in the prepared seat in the pavilion. And before the meal came, she brought up a topic she had forgotten about.

 

“Have you heard what Sorel is doing?”

 

“I heard that Princess Sorel has been living quietly in the princess’s palace these days. Why are you asking that?”

 

“I met Miss Diane and had a new vision.”

 

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Translator Note: