Episode 60.The Villainess and the Kidnapping Cliché (3)

At this moment, he, too, could change the world with a single word, just like Sienna.

The thought made his heart race and brought color to his cheeks. For the first time, he felt truly alive.

‘I want to confide in her, too.’

He wanted to tell her about his sense of unease, his fears, and his aspirations. But the words were stuck in his throat. Having never opened up to anyone his whole life, it was natural to be at a loss for words at such a crucial moment.

And as if reading his turmoil, Sienna offered an awkward smile and said,

“Of course, it’s still scary to show my true feelings to someone. Even now, I feel like you might push me away.”

“That will never happen.”

She was unaware of the changes she was causing within him, hence her concerns. Percy denied her worries firmly. Sienna smiled playfully and refuted his assurance.

“My mother always said relationships are about give and take. By that logic, you and I are the worst. I have nothing to offer you. Everything I have, you gave to me.”

“Is that really what you think?”

He thought she was simply carefree, unaware that she was struggling with such thoughts. Percy took her hand.

“In fact, there’s something I wanted to ask you. It’s something only you, with the blood of Julatan, can do.”

“What is it?”

Sienna asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Percy looked into her light green eyes, framed by thick red lashes.

When he first met her, she was incredibly interesting. Her anger at Julius Julatan, her kicking and fainting—he found it fascinating and approached her because of it.

In retrospect, that was when the change had already begun.

Realizing this, Percy smiled and brushed her hair back.

“But now I feel it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Oh, come on! Don’t keep it to yourself. Tell me!”

“It means I’ve lost.”

The long fingers that had been brushing her hair lightly now gently wrapped around it, eventually pulling it. As he kissed the end of the strand, Percy whispered,

“I love you, Sienna.”

It was a confession she wouldn’t remember.

* * *

Beth bit her nails. Ever since she found herself trapped in this world, things hadn’t gone according to plan, and she had developed a habit of biting her nails out of frustration.

‘[Victorian Love] was such a well-made game.’

It was so well-made that the corridors of the Bohan estate, where she was currently walking, felt familiar. The intricate graphics and meticulously woven storylines, each route filled with unexpected twists, made it a standout game.

Beth, gnawing on her nails, recalled the route she hated the most in that game.

‘The Count Bohan route was always annoying, but the bad ending was the worst.’

Like many games, this one had both happy and bad endings for each romanceable character. The Count Bohan’s endings were starkly different in their tones.

The happy ending involved catching the Count’s eye, sharing secret trysts around the house away from his sons’ prying eyes, and overcoming the opposition of the Count’s sister who disapproved of the remarriage to live happily ever after.

But the bad ending was incredibly convoluted.

‘Trying to secure victory, only to incur the wrath of the Imperial family and be branded a traitor.’

The game prided itself on its intricate settings, often explaining the political landscape in detail, which Beth found tiresome. She could summarize those lengthy explanations in one line:

The hierarchy among the Empire’s nobility was absolute. It couldn’t be changed.

To be honest, she couldn’t remember all the details even if she tried.

The only reason Beth remembered the bad ending so vividly was because of one thing:

‘Then, loyal dukes of the Imperial family collectively decide to attack Bohan, forcing them to flee.’

Beth didn’t know how that situation played out in reality. In the game, it ended with a single line of text.

[Daniel Bohan, fighting to protect his family, falls in battle against the dukes loyal to the Imperial family.]

The reason she remembered the bad ending so vividly was that her favorite character, Daniel, died while trying to protect his family.

Over the past few days, it seemed Beth’s whispered words about his fate had somewhat revitalized Daniel. Thinking about the now more compliant Daniel, Beth finally stopped biting her nails.

‘I have to eliminate that route.’

Daniel was now within her control. There was no need to keep the Count Bohan’s route alive.

Beth stopped midway up the grandest staircase in the Bohan mansion. In a place where most rooms were on the ground floor, there were only two rooms accessible via the staircase: the study and the office.

Beth was waiting for the Count Bohan.

She stood with her back straight, unsure when he might arrive. After some time had passed, a deep voice called out to her from above.

“Beth?”

“Count.”

Beth gave a demure smile, though inwardly she thought,

‘His voice is exactly my type. [Victorian Love] nailed Daniel’s character design but chose the wrong voice actor. How great would it be if he had a deep voice like the Count Bohan?’

She felt an urge to step out of the game and demand a voice actor change but suppressed the thought. While she couldn’t change the voice actor, she could embrace Daniel here.

‘And the happy ending of Daniel’s route is within reach.’

The villainess Sienna had mysteriously disappeared with another man, and the engagement with Daniel had naturally been called off.

‘Now I just need to nurse Daniel back to health and marry him.’

As Beth reminisced about Daniel, the Count Bohan calmly approached her. His thick fingers brushed her face.

“It’s been hard to see you lately.”

His eyes overflowed with affection for her. Beth avoided his touch and replied softly,

“My schedule has been full with lessons. Please understand, Count. The young master has been so eager to learn lately; it’s quite commendable.”

This wasn’t true. She had been skipping regular lessons to stay close to Daniel.

Unaware of this, the Count Bohan clicked his tongue.

“Foolish son. Not giving his new mother any time alone.”

Forgetting she had dodged his touch earlier, the Count now placed his hand on her waist. Beth twisted her lips in disgust, ensuring he couldn’t see.

‘New mother, my foot. How repulsive.’

She wanted to shrug off his touch but had learned better after making that mistake a few times in the beginning.

‘A misstep could earn me a penalty.’

Beth was the ‘angelic heroine’ and couldn’t say anything that contradicted that role.

‘But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way.’

Walking down the stairs with the Count, Beth suddenly feigned a stumble.

“Ouch, I missed a step.”

“Are you okay?”

The kind Count bent down to check her ankle. That was her moment.

“Aah!!”

Beth suddenly stood up and pushed the Count with all her might. The Count, who had been in an awkward position checking her ankle, lost his balance and tumbled over the railing.

His arms flailed as if swimming before he fell over the edge.

-Thunk!

As with any grand mansion, the staircase of the Bohan estate did not overlap with the lower floors. The Count’s body fell straight to the first floor, hitting nothing on the way down, and landed with a loud crash.

Beth stared at the scene for a moment before letting out a piercing scream.

“Ahh!! The Count has fallen down the stairs!!!”

After all, this was just a game character. She felt no guilt for killing someone, so pretending to be scared was quite challenging. But the household was in such an uproar over the critically injured Count that no one paid attention to Beth’s expression.

‘Now there’s only the happy ending left for me.’

Beth nervously paced the corridor with the others. That evening, the physician finally bowed his head and spoke.

“The Count has passed away.”

“Oh, my goodness.”

“Dear me.”

The Count’s death threw the house into further chaos. Preparing for the funeral was inevitable.

The maids whispered among themselves.

“What on earth happened so suddenly?”

“It’s creepy. Everything was fine this morning.”

All of the Count’s sons attended his final farewell. Daniel, proving he was somewhat better, sat quietly by his father’s bedside during his last moments.

The maids couldn’t hide their unease.

“Did you see Young Master Daniel? His face looked so gaunt.”

“I was a bit scared. He looked like a ghost.”

“Be quiet. Whether he’s a ghost or not, Young Master Daniel will be the next Count. From tomorrow, we’ll have to call him master.”

Yes, yes. Overhearing their conversation, Beth nodded to herself.

‘From tomorrow, Daniel will be the Count Bohan.’

And once he settled into his role as Count, he would propose to Beth.

-There’s only one person I want by my side, and that’s you, Beth.

It was her favorite scene in the game.

‘At first, I was worried things were going awry, but now it’s fine.’

Unable to sleep due to excitement, Beth took the wine she had obtained earlier and toasted alone in her room.

Everything was falling perfectly into place for her.

TL/N: guys Im sorry for the mess… I really am Im gonna add my Tl note here to clarify some things First is something did happen at salmon, so I had to shift my novels here… Ngl I was truly heartbreaking what had happened there … I wont go into details but Ill tell the truth I deleted all the folders on my drive of the novels at Salmons… I was angry about it.. Except for raws that were saved in my phone I have nothing… I wanted to complete my novels one way or another so I transferred them here Im asking for a little leniency regarding the names of the characters I cant recover my files or folder and the option left is reading all those chapters that will take me a little time… So please bear with me guys. Ofcouse I don’t want to leave my novels… it will be a waste of time for both you reading and me as well as we both have invested so much time… DOnt worry its a short novel 119 chaps at most Ill be sure to complete them