Since When Were You The Villain?

Chapter 101.

“This is too reckless!”

“Am I more reckless than my fiancee?”

He met her eyes, recalling the incident with the magical beast. In response, Sophia glared at him with a stubborn expression.

Killian found even that aspect of Sophia cute, so he gently stroked her head.

“It’s better if you don’t come to watch the match, Sophia.”

“If you don’t need to cancel, why?”

Sophia raised her eyes rebelliously.

“It’s my duel with Ian. Won’t it be awkward for you?”

“Not at all. Frankly, I wish Your Excellency would put that high-and-mighty nose of Ian’s in its place.”

“Still, it might be uncomfortable for someone with discerning eyes to watch. So… I won’t be sending an invitation.”

The size of the audience was significantly reduced, and strict security checks were in place, making it necessary to have an invitation to enter this tournament. Killian declared that he wouldn’t give an invitation to his fiancée.

In response, Sophia narrowed her eyes and asked, “Why do you keep saying you’d rather I didn’t see it? Is it ominous…?”

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Then you should invite me! I’m Your Excellency’s fiancée!”

“You might have been surprised today, and it’s better to rest.”

Killian insisted stubbornly.

Sophia had a gut feeling that he was concealing something she shouldn’t see.
“You seem to have forgotten; I am Ian Fraus’s sister.”

“….”

Killian’s expression stiffened at her threat.

Even if Killian didn’t give her an invitation, there was a place where she could get one.

“I’m going to see it, so don’t come up with any strange plans! Don’t overdo it! Participating in the tournament… somehow cancels it.”

“Sophia.”

“Fine, then should I set fire to the stadium the night before the tournament?”

“Sigh… Are you suggesting arson?”

He had no intention of turning his precious fiancée into a criminal.

Killian looked at her with earnest eyes, but Sophia firmly shook her head.

“Please know that I will be watching you with my eyes wide open. “If you do something strange, the engagement will be broken off immediately.”

“If that were the case, I would have already broken off the engagement with you.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“…That’s what it means. I’m not saying we’re breaking off the engagement.”

Killian lowered his gaze to Sophia’s twitching eyebrows.

At that moment, the carriage slowly came to a stop.

Outside the window, the Grand Duke’s residence came into view.

“…Then I’ll be going now.”

Turning away from her, Killian stepped down from the carriage.

It was an uncomfortable departure, as if leaving a battlefield.
“I apologize for not being able to escort you.”

Bowing his head to Sophia as he stepped down from the carriage, he expressed his apology.

In her heart, she wished she could step down with him and check if his leg was healing well. However, there were too many eyes watching.

If she returned, complaining of pain, who knew what rumours would spread or what stories would reach the Empress’s ears.

Therefore, Sophia clenched her fist tightly on her knee and met Killian’s gaze.

“See you the day after tomorrow!”

With a firm declaration that she would definitely go to the tournament, the carriage door closed.

—

On the way back in the carriage, Sophia, who was looking out of the window after seeing off Killian, suddenly had a curiosity.

“Come to think of it, why did Killian kill me in the original work?”

In the original work, Killian disguised Sophia’s death as a carriage accident.

He thought having an engaged woman’s presence was unnecessary to be by Estelle’s side.

However, looking at Killian’s current appearance, doubts arose about that story.

“Killian doesn’t kill innocent people.”

Fideut and Percel were not killed by Killian. The only one Killian killed was Liam, who was trying to attack him.

Moreover, he couldn’t even kill Nicholas due to their past relationship.

But did he really kill his fiancée for his personal motives?

‘Maybe Killian wasn’t the one who killed me.’

Like Fideut or Percel, she may have been killed by the Empress’s side.

‘But… why?’

What reason could the Empress have to kill Sophia Fraus? She’s just an extra character.

Sophia wore a serious expression and touched her chin with her fingers.

‘Has the relationship between the Empress and the Frouss family changed? Or did Sophia side with Killian even in the original work…? So, the Empress eliminated Sophia, who sided with Killian?’

Leaning her elbow on the window frame, Sophia touched her forehead.

She didn’t know the truth, but one thing was certain; she had to be careful.

It would be challenging for her to survive if she got caught on the Empress’s radar.

‘I need to appear as cooperative and agreeable as possible in front of the Empress. I should provide information about Killian as well, creating confusion. The key is to mix truth and lies appropriately.’

‘The fact that I was sent to Killian probably means there is some connection between the Count Frouss and the Empress.’

While Sophia was worrying, the carriage had already arrived in front of Count Frouss’s residence.

Exiting the carriage and entering the house, Sophia met Rubisella at the entrance.

The two of them looked surprised and stopped when they saw each other.

Since the ball, they hadn’t needed to seek each other out, so it was the first time they faced each other since that day.

As always, Rubisella tried to ignore Sophia and walk past her.

But.
“Where are you going, uh, miss?”

Sophia called out to Rubisella, who was trying to pass by.

Since Sophia had never called Rubisella before, the servants around her were surprised.

Even Rubisella, with a slightly puzzled expression, turned to face Sophia.

“You promised to teach me how to look after my family. And also said you would show me around the upper class…”

“What?”

“Well, of course, there’s no need for you to teach me directly or show me around. I find it more convenient to do it alone than together.”

As Sophia casually spoke, Rubisella’s temples trembled.

“Did you really believe that?”

“Of course. I trust the witnesses even if I don’t trust the lady’s words.”

Sophia shyly tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Anyway, whatever you said at the ball, I’ve already forgotten…”

“I sent you a letter just in case. Next time you come, I promise to give you a gift personally selected from the upper class.”

Sophia shrugged her shoulders.

“And I just met Empress a moment ago. I’m so happy that I’ve already bragged about it all. Right?”

It was all a bluff. But Rubisella had no way to confirm it.

In this era, there is neither KakaoTalk nor a phone, so there is no way to send letters and confirm it.

Nevertheless, Rubisella seemed to be struggling with the thought, clenching her jaw.

“Then, can we start learning from this evening?”

Sophia smiled brightly.

* * *

‘Yes, then go ahead and learn as much as you want in the study.’

Saying that, Rubisella ordered a servant to escort Sophia to the study, where all the family’s internal records were kept.

The unusual decision of the Countess caught everyone’s attention.

The young lady’s position is changing.

‘But, you can only access the third study. All the information about the upper class of our family is there, so it should be quite helpful for you.’

Rubisella was added at that moment.

‘The third study?’

Not knowing what it was, Sophia decided to be satisfied for now, at least gaining some authority. She followed the servant to the study.

“Madam said you are allowed to see all the documents in the third study. When you go up to see the documents, please be sure to leave a record.”
The butler unlocked the door of the study and said,

When the door opened, tightly packed bookshelves came into view. The air felt somewhat stifling due to the paper dust.

“Well, please enjoy your time, Miss.”

The butler treated Sophia quite straightforwardly.

“Just a moment, are there any records of dealings with the palace or official records here?”

“Well, I don’t know about dealings, but we don’t separately manage official records like that.”

The butler mentioned that such information could be found in documents like the Count or Countess’s diaries.

Sophia nodded, and the butler handed her the key, saying, “Feel free to look around,” before leaving the study.

The study was not very large. While the overall study was spacious, the third study was only slightly larger than Sophia’s room. Even so, it seemed cramped due to the tightly packed bookshelves and drawers.

The light coming in from the window was not well-distributed, making it a dimly lit place.

‘Why did they only allow me to see this place…?’

Suspecting Rubisella’s intentions, Sophia first pulled out a noticeable book and started flipping through its pages.

And soon, she realised.
‘I knew it would be like this…!’

Something felt off from the moment Rubisella willingly agreed to show her the documents.

And indeed, Rubisella had a plan.

‘They are all in foreign languages!’

The third study.

It was a place where the original ledgers of foreign transactions, that is, documents in foreign languages other than the imperial language, were collected.

Rubisella was confident that to Sophia, who had never received any foreign language education, all these numerous documents would merely appear as combinations of ink and paper.

However,

‘This is great!’

Sophia looked at them and burst into a wide smile.

Sophia, or more precisely, the original owner before the possession, had something she was confident about, to the extent that she wouldn’t yield to anyone. (T/L: She is talking about herself, not og Sophia.)

The reason she somehow survived in a poor family.

The reason she was able to go to college and get a job without much trouble, and become a self-made person.

‘I was once fluent in six languages.’

Although she had no holy or magical abilities, she could at least be confident in her ability to learn languages.
‘I was once fluent in six languages.’

 

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TRANSLATOR:

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