How To Survive As a Villain on the Verge of Death

Sorel went to the fireplace and opened the pouch containing the spices. She planned to fill the place where the firewood was placed and the entire surrounding area with spices. When the firewood burns, the spices around it would melt in the heat. There would be some scent, but it would be overshadowed by the smell of scented candles that fill the room. Even if you smell the perfume, you wouldn’t think it’s strange and would think it’s just a faint lingering scent of perfume. She was digging through half-burned firewood and applying spices to the bottom of the fireplace.

 

A deep voice came from behind along with a clicking sound.

 

“Her Royal Highness.”

 

Sorel was so startled that he fainted and hurriedly turned around. There was an unexpected person standing behind her. He was the old butler she saw at the front door. Next to him was a young man who appeared to be a servant. Both people were looking at Sorel with surprised eyes.

 

‘Why are those people… How are you here?’

 

Sorel froze, stunned by the sudden situation. The place where the butler and servant were standing was the entrance leading to Diane’s dressing room. Could it be that those two were hiding over there? But the butler was downstairs a little while ago. At what point did they come here? As Sorel was rummaging through her memories in her confused head, the bedroom door next to her burst open. Her eyes instinctively followed that direction. The Duchess stood beyond the open door.

 

“Her Royal Highness.”

 

The duchess approached her with a menacing look on her face.

 

“What are you doing now?”

 

Diane’s face was also visible behind the Duchess. Diane was glaring at Sorel with a stern expression. Sorel suddenly came to her senses at that moment. She tried to hide the spice pouch she was carrying. However, the servant standing in front of the dressing room was faster. The young servant grabbed Sorel’s wrist without delay.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Sorel looked at him in horror and tried to pull her hand away, but the attendant would not let her go. The butler who followed took Sorel’s pocket away. The butler handed it to the Duchess and rang the bell leading downstairs. The Duchess looked into the cloth bag that contained half of her spices. A faint scent wafted from the crushed spices. It was a fragrance that other people were not familiar with, but the Duchess knew what it was. She remembered in detail all the foods, spices, and herbs that were bad for Diane. She knew that anything could make Diane’s illness worse, even the fabric that touched her body or the plants she placed in her room. She remembered in more detail than Diane herself that in some way she was harmed by this disease.

 

‘I’m glad I got word of it in advance.’

 

If she hadn’t done that, she wouldn’t have even thought about it and she would have been hurt. She would never have imagined that Princess Sorel would do something like this.

 

The Duchess questioned Sorel with her astonished gaze.

 

“What on earth are you saying that our Diane did wrong to the princess?”

 

Sorel said nothing. It seemed like she didn’t really understand the situation yet. Urgent footsteps were heard from the hallway. It was the Duke of Rohan and Michael. There were also imperial knights who came with the group. The Duke, who came in with a stern expression, went straight to Diane without even asking what happened.

 

“Honey, are you okay?”

 

“I don’t mind.”

 

Mikhail and his knights were perplexed by the sight in the room and approached the servant.

 

“What is this…? Let go of your hand right now.”

 

The knight standing behind Mikhail even drew his sword. The valet let go of Sorel’s wrist while watching the Duchess. The Duchess opened her pouch containing the spices for all to see.

 

“The princess was putting this in the fireplace here.”

 

The duke was not at all surprised. He just looked at Sorel with eyes full of anger.

 

“What is that?”

 

Mikhail’s green eyes wavered in confusion. He looked back at Sorel as if he wanted answers. For a moment, Sorel avoided his gaze. The person who answered Mikhail’s question was the Duke who was comforting Diane.

 

“This is a spice that is making my daughter’s illness worse.”

 

Mikhail and the other knights looked at Sorel with shocked expressions at the Duke’s hateful tone. Princess Sorel was trying to make the ducal princess’s illness worse? Why?

 

“That can’t be possible. I wonder if there is some misunderstanding…”

 

The person who rebutted was Mikhail.

 

“Do you think we’re looking at this wrong?”

 

“But why is the princess like that…”

 

As Mikhail was about to ask why she would do such a thing, he saw Sorel’s tired face. 

Sorel was avoiding his gaze with his pale face. A rumor came to mind that Princess Eve, who later became Grand Duchess, had discovered a way to cure the Princess of Rohan’s illness. He also remembered that Sorel had asked him to come with him here. Although it was a bit strange, Mikhail tried not to suspect her. The Sorel he knew was a truly kind and gentle princess.

 

“Princess…”

 

Mikhail called to her, his voice trembling. Sorel excused herself, avoiding his gaze.

 

“I brought the wrong incense… I was just trying to get rid of it here!”

 

“Do you think that makes sense?”

 

The Duke, who heard those words, asked back as if it were absurd. Even for Sorel herself, the excuse was too stupid. Mikhail said nothing. The other knights were looking back at Sorel and Mikhail with puzzled faces. However, the duke’s butler and attendant were not at all embarrassed. They just stood still and waited for orders from the duke and his wife.

 

‘You already knew.’

 

Sorel belatedly realized what had happened. Actually, it was natural. The butler and servant were waiting, hiding in an empty room. And then the Duchess and Diane opened the door and came in as if they had been waiting. It was obvious without even having to think deeply about it. The Duke and Duchess knew what she was going to do today.

 

‘How did they know?’

 

Only Sorel knew about this. She did not tell her maid the details of her plan. Her mind was jumbled in her confusion. However, she did not have time to ponder for long.

 

“Now that things have come to this, why don’t you guys go back first?”

 

The Duke of Rohan spoke to Mikhail and the imperial knights.

 

“I will personally take the princess to see His Majesty the Emperor.”

 

Only then did Sorel realize that she had done something terrible in a moment of jealousy. If this became known, she would be publicly shamed and would be in an even more awkward position than she was now.

 

* * *

 

“So that’s what happened in the end.”

 

After Sorel visited the duchy’s house, she was able to hear the duchess’ detailed explanation. She said that the Duchess herself came to the Grand Duke’s residence and explained to her what had happened at her residence. What happened in the mansion was as expected from beginning to end. In fact, there was no need to listen to a long explanation. Because she actually saw that situation.

 

‘I’ve already confirmed it several times with foresight.’

 

As she went in and out of Duke’s House to see Diane, she checked her prognosis twice more. The new preview features dialogue about how Sorel mixed the spices in the fireplace. She never thought she would take perfume and pour it out.

 

The Duchess looked at her and sighed, something close to her relief.

 

“If Terence and Her Highness hadn’t told me in advance, we would have been caught unawares. I really don’t know how to thank you…”

 

“Don’t say that. Terence was just lucky enough to find out.”

 

She had a premonition, but had no way of explaining how she figured it out. She couldn’t help but speak as if Terence had noticed while spying on Sorel. What she lacked, she filled in with what she imagined. Sorel’s maid said she had found the spice and she said she was wondering if she was trying to mix it in the fireplace. With only that hint, the Duchess had her butler watch Diane’s room as soon as Sorel arrived. It seems she was very wary of Sorel because of what happened in the glasshouse last time.

 

“It happened because of me in the first place. It’s rather shameless.”

 

Sorel did this because she didn’t want Eve to be praised for finding Diane’s cure. It was a truly pathetic and absurd motive for the crime.

 

“Not really. If Her Highness hadn’t helped Diane, we wouldn’t have dreamed of curing her illness so quickly.”

 

“How is Miss Diane?”

 

She was worried that this incident might have made her depressed. The Duchess smiled calmly.

 

“She is getting angry,” she said. “She is hoping that she will recover faster and attend the banquet because of Princess Sorel.”

 

“I’m glad she perked up.”

 

She thought it was like Diane. Because of her illness, she was always at home, but considering the time of the wedding, she was surprisingly active.

 

“What happens to Sorel?”

 

The Duke of Rohan half-forced Sorel to the imperial palace and had an audience with the emperor. And he formally denounced Sorel before the emperor. The emperor, who heard the circumstances of the case, was embarrassed and ordered them to lock Sorel in her room.

 

“I don’t know what decision His Majesty the Emperor will make. It won’t be a big punishment. Because no one died.”

 

The Duchess spoke calmly, but there was a faint hint of resentment in her tone. She seemed to resent that Sorel was not punished harshly. She said Diane wasn’t really hurt so she wouldn’t be treated as seriously as the Empress, but this time she wouldn’t be able to escape her punishment. There was also a possibility that she would be imprisoned somewhere or exiled to the distant countryside, at least for the time being.

 

‘Thanks to this, the social world has become agitated, so the emperor will have no choice but to punish Sorel in some way.’

 

The Rohan duchy’s incident was immediately spread throughout social circles. It was said that everyone was shocked to hear that Sorel had done such a thing. It was so absurd that everyone would have been surprised.

 

“The Duke also said that he would visit Her Highness soon and express his gratitude. It’s all thanks to her highness and Terence that this incident was resolved safely.”

 

The Duke of Rohan and Terence were both at the imperial palace, so they might be meeting there by now.

 

‘The Duke of Rohan will continue to side with Terence.’

 

Due to this incident, the Rohan family became entangled in a bad relationship with not only the Empress but also Sorel. If the imperial family and the grand duchy start fighting in earnest in the distant future, the duke will have no choice but to side with the Grand Duchy. Aside from the political benefits, she was truly happy that it was helpful. Now Diane could attend the dinner.

 

The Duchess said that and stood up from her seat to return to her mansion.

 

“I’ll go see Miss Diane tomorrow.”

 

“Yes, please come visit.”

 

The Duchess held her hand with a friendly smile. That was when she also smiled a friendly smile. Suddenly, a black curtain appeared before her eyes. It was a new foresight.

 

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