Since When Were You The Villain?

Chapter 115

Sophia was in the cold attic, unaware of which household she would be engaged to.

Ian, in his frustration, once again contemplated doing something to prove himself in front of her.

Perhaps he would mock her pitiful state by boasting about his achievements in the recent battle, or he might summon her just to assign some trivial task while she was resting.

“Where is Sophia?”

“She went to her room earlier.”

“Bring her here.”

Ian instructed a servant to fetch Sophia. He intended to keep her by his side and find some chores to keep her occupied.

However…

“She’s not in her room.”

Sophia was nowhere to be found. Ian questioned the servants, but no one seemed to know her whereabouts.

Could it be that on such a grand estate, no one knows where she is?

She couldn’t have gone far, and she likely had specific places she frequented.

Ian even questioned the servant who usually attended to Sophia, but she seemed disinterested in Sophia’s whereabouts.

Ian ended up firing that servant and assigning a new one; as a result, Jenny, who had bet on Sophia’s engagement status, lost and became Sophia’s attendant.

Regardless, Ian decided to search for Sophia himself.

Despite being told she wasn’t in the annex, Ian thoroughly searched both the main and guest houses, but Sophia was nowhere to be seen.

With the winter shortening the days and heavy snowfall outside, the garden was dimly lit, with the servants staring blankly at the accumulating snow.

Surely, she wouldn’t be outside in this weather.

Despite thinking so, Ian’s anxiety grew as he couldn’t find Sophia, prompting him to put on his boots and venture into the snow-covered garden.

The attic of the annex was dark.

It seemed certain she was absent in this cold, but Ian even considered going up to the attic to check if she was there.

And not long after, he found Sophia behind the well at the back of the annex.

Her ears, nose, and cheeks were bright red, as was her entire face.
She sat by the well, her blue lips trembling as she exhaled breath, her expression vacant.

In her hand was a small glass.

Upon spotting Ian, Sophia stood up from the well.

“Sophia.”

As he called her name, Sophia hurriedly moved behind the well, as if trying to escape.

But whether it was due to her body being frozen or intoxicated by alcohol, Sophia staggered and collapsed under the thick layer of snow.

“Sophia!”

Ian rushed over and lifted her up.

Her hands were as cold as ice.

“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you inside?”

Ian, already angry because of the news of Sophia’s engagement, shouted at the pitiful sight of Sophia.

Sophia then lifted her head and looked at him.

Until now, Sophia had always shrunk her shoulders, lowered her head, and avoided his gaze.

But something was different that day.

Sophia met his eyes and stared at him with an unfamiliar look.

Then, she smiled mischievously.

“Ian… shall I grant you a wish?”

“What?”

“Coincidentally, it seems like the wish of a remarkable gentleman like yourself and my wish would align perfectly.”

Whether it was her lack of sobriety or her state of inebriation, Sophia mumbled faintly, trembling all over.

Then she withdrew her arm from Ian’s grip.

“You probably wish I’d disappear… right?”

Sophia grinned with her frozen and chattering lips.

Her smile was so unfamiliar that Ian felt confused.

“So do I.”

With those words, Sophia walked away from him and towards the well.

“Today, I hope our wishes come true. Don’t you think so…?”

The sight of Sophia’s weak smile made Ian’s heart race with unease.
And as if to prove the reason for his anxiety, Sophia’s body, standing by the well, leaned weakly.

“Sophia!”

It happened in an instant.

He reached out his hand quickly and caught Sophia. Then, he pulled her into his arms.

Sophia’s body was as cold as if it had embraced a snowball.

“Are you crazy!?”

Ian shouted, not letting her go.

His chest tightened as if the rope he had hung high had suddenly snapped.

Though Sophia struggled to break free, Ian did not release her.

“Let go of this.”

“Do you think I’’ll let you go?”

Sophia expressed her displeasure, but anyway, Ian’s hobby was doing things that Sophia disliked.

He forcibly dragged Sophia back to the annex.

He threw Sophia onto the worn-out sofa on the first floor of the annex, turned on the light, and glared at her as if he intended to kill her.

Then, Sophia looked at him with a mocking expression and said, “Wish unfulfilled.”

“Wish? Is throwing yourself into the well a wish?”

Sophia nodded slowly.

It was insane.

“Get yourself together and talk.”

“I am completely sober now…”

“Damn it, you’re not in your right mind. Just looking at me straight in the eye is abnormal!”

“Oh… I see.”

Then, Sophia thought for a moment and nodded. Then, finding something amusing, she burst into laughter.

Ian roughened his dishevelled hair roughly as he pondered how to deal with the madness before him.

Why was she suddenly behaving in a way she hadn’t before?

Then, he noticed the bottle firmly grasped in her hand.

“You, drinking?”

“Um, a little… There was some leftover behind the stables.”

He had never seen Sophia drink before. No, her parents had never given her the opportunity to drink. Sophia didn’t seem particularly interested in alcohol either.

So why suddenly reach for alcohol today? And not even proper alcohol, but leftovers that the coachmen had left behind…!

‘It was so bitter that I only had one sip. My throat was sore and sore….”

She said she only drank one sip, but what she was doing was like gulping down a barrel of rum.

“So why drink alcohol you never touched before…!”

As Ian vented his anger, Sophia looked back at him again.

Only then did Ian notice tears welling up in Sophia’s hollow eyes.

“Today is my mother’s anniversary.”

As Sophia murmured softly, Ian froze in place.

No one had thought about it.

Neither Rubisella nor Ian would remember the former countess’s anniversary. Count Fraus was too busy welcoming Ian back to bother with dinner. And amidst the talk of Sophia’s engagement, there was chaos.

No one in this household paid respects to Catherine, the former Countess.
Excluding Sophia.

“So I tried drinking. Alcohol.”

Sophia showed him the empty glass.

“It didn’t taste good, but it felt nice… I gained some courage that I didn’t have before.”

“Fucking courage to die?”

When Ian bit back, Sophia raised the corners of her lips again and nodded her head.

Ian, enraged, roughly snatched the glass from her hand and tossed it aside.

“Just try drinking again.”

“…You’re really mean, aren’t you?”

“Is this the first time you’ve realised I’m mean? Want me to show you more?”

“…No, I get it. Enough.”

Sophia buried herself in the corner of the couch, distancing herself from Ian.

As if he shouldn’t get too close to her life. Then she leaned her head against the backrest of the couch.

It seemed like her body was loosening up in response to the sudden warmth and the effects of the alcohol.

Sophia glanced at Ian several times, her eyes growing hazy as if she were about to fall asleep.

“….Ian.”

“What?”

“Am I… Fraus?”

Ian remained silent.

He believed that there was no one more like Fraus than her, but his tricks hid his sincerity from Sophia.

For some reason, anyhow, it was like that.

Sophia fell asleep like that, and Ian found all the blankets and quilts in the annex and covered Sophia with them.

And after that incident, he approved of Sophia and Kilian’s engagement.

It seemed like that was necessary.

So that Sophia wouldn’t go to the well again.

“Yeah. Good thinking! When you become a duchess and a son-in-law, it will be good for both of us.”

That’s how the engagement between Sophia and Kilian, following the count’s wishes, took place. Thoroughly, on paper. (T/L: This part was quite sad. I feel bad for the og Sophia.)

* * *

After that day, when he returned in a hurry after finishing the spring training again, Sophia had changed.

‘Do you want to die?’

‘So… are you going to kill me?’

‘What…?’

‘Are you going to kill me right here?’

‘Do you think I can’t do it?’

‘Try.’ (T/L: The og Sophia must have died back then😢.)

Sophia now knew that his threats were nothing but bluster.

No matter how much he said he would kill her, he couldn’t.

He feared Sophia’s absence.

So she shamelessly opened her eyes and stared directly into his eyes.

And that brave figure made him anxious in a different way.

Because now that she has gained courage, what if she uses that courage for something strange?

Fortunately, it seemed unlikely, but still…

“Am I… Fraus?”

He couldn’t bring himself to say those words in front of her.

You’re not Fraus.

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TRANSLATOR:

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