Episode 4

The sudden impact caught me off guard. My balance crumbled in an instant.

‘You always avoided getting directly involved.’

It’s interesting how the attitude changes with Aria right in front of us.

But this wasn’t surprising. At least, it was within the realm of expectation.

Crash!

Since I was going to fall anyway, I made sure to fall in a way that looked as painful as possible. The noise was loud enough to startle even the servants passing by in the hallway, making them peek inside.

“Ah!”

The lemon tea cup I was holding intentionally spilled towards me. My extravagant dress was quickly soaked.

‘I must look quite a sight right now.’

Which is exactly what I intended.

Anticipating this, I brought tea that was moderately cooled, so I wouldn’t get burned. The cup shattered into pieces as it hit the floor.

Smash!

Hearing the noise, Aria jumped up in surprise and rushed over to me.

“Mindia?”

The servants standing outside also hurried in when they saw Aria approaching me.

“Miss Aria! Step back! You might get hurt!”

“We’ll clean up the broken pieces!”

“My goodness, what a mess…”

Amidst the commotion, Servi glared at me with hostility and added,

“Aria. Stay away from that girl. You never know what she might do to you.”

“……”

In this chaos, as expected, Aria didn’t raise her voice or defy Servi.

‘You’ve always been a good and obedient child.’

Instead, Aria seemed at a loss and glanced at the carpet.

“…A stain.”

I followed Aria’s gaze. Not only was my dress stained, but the carpet in Aria’s room was also stained.

‘Does she have an attachment to her room?’

In the original novel, she certainly did.

Before becoming a noblewoman, Aria lived at a baron’s house, sharing a room with other children. The kind-hearted baron couple who adopted her were not well-off.

Even after turning eighteen, this lifestyle continued.

In those daily struggles and hardships, Aria often dreamed of having a space of her own. So when she became a duchess and got her own room, she treasured it like the finest jewel.

I looked up at Aria and whispered softly.

“I’m sorry. The stain on your room…”

When our eyes met and I spoke, Aria finally glanced at my dress.

“Hic.”

I deliberately quivered my lips and let a single tear fall.

Aria’s eyes widened at the sight. It seemed the situation was aiding me, as the servants who had been elsewhere gathered in the hallway outside the room, as if they had come to watch a show.

“What’s going on? Why is everyone here?”

“It’s Miss Aria’s room.”

“That woman must have caused another incident…”

From what I overheard, they were likely just here to gawk.

However, unfamiliar with such situations, Aria seemed flustered by the gathered attention. She probably felt quite pressured.

I spoke to Servi.

“…This is too much, Sir Servi.”

“……”

“I just wanted to get closer to Aria.”

“You?”

Servi’s eyes hardened.

“Of all people, you want to get closer to Aria? How dare you lie like that…”

“Why do you say that?”

I continued, looking at the anxious Aria.

“How could anyone not like someone like her?”

Aria was someone who was made to be loved by everyone.

As if it were a rule of the world. Just as it was a natural rule that I was a lowly villain.

And it was also another rule that a villain like me started to twist the original story to survive.

‘Yes. This is the way it should be.’

So I could suppress the small guilt I felt towards Aria and speak confidently.

“I care about Aria, too.”

“What…”

“Look, Sir Servi.”

“……”

“Aria is so kind. She’s worried about me.”

At my words, Aria’s ears turned red as she slowly helped me up.

“Mindia, are you okay?”

She seemed to be more concerned about the carpet than me.

‘Because you’re such a kind person.’

As expected, Aria showed me goodwill.

“Your clothes are all wet. I’ll help you.”

“Aria, I told you to step back…”

“Brother, please. Let me at least do this for Mindia.”

Under Servi’s watchful and wary gaze, Aria naturally led me to her wardrobe, brightening the atmosphere.

“Mindia, since your clothes are ruined, I’ll give you some of mine!”

“I…”

“Anything is fine. Whatever you want to wear, I’ll give it to you…”

As expected, Aria showed me kindness.

“Your clothes are all wet. I’ll help you.”

“Aria, I told you to step back…”

“Brother, please. Let me at least do this for Mindia.”

Under Servi’s watchful and wary gaze, Aria naturally led me to her wardrobe, brightening the atmosphere.

“Mindia, since your clothes are ruined, I’ll give you some of mine!”

“I…”

“Anything is fine. Whatever you want to wear, I’ll give it to you…”

“Aria.”

Servi gave Aria a cautionary look.

Meeting his eyes, Aria hesitated for a moment, then discreetly set aside the dresses she had received from the duke for the banquet. They were obviously the best clothes, meant for the star of the party.

‘Those would be too precious to give to me, of course.’

Aria showed me the remaining clothes in her wardrobe and smiled brightly.

“Here, you can choose any one of these!”

“Oh, my lady, you’re so kind-hearted.”

“You really don’t have to do this.”

The servants chimed in with admiration.

Even with the best dresses set aside, Aria’s wardrobe still contained mostly elegant and expensive garments. They were different from my own clothes, which, despite their flashy appearance, were mostly cheap.

‘Aria would look better in something bright and cheerful, though.’

I absentmindedly picked out a white dress with a subtle silver sheen. It wasn’t too flashy, but it appeared modest and well-made, with quality fabric.

‘This dress is perfect for a banquet.’

Fortunately, Aria and I had similar body shapes. I didn’t even need to try it on to know it would fit well.

“Are you sure this dress is okay?”

“Yes. Thank you, Aria.”

I wiped away my tears and smiled at Aria. Only then did she look relieved.

This was likely a loss for Aria. Her clothes looked much more expensive than mine.

‘But she’ll be fine.’

Aria had many more significant gifts from the duke and a happy future with the crown prince ahead of her. Even if the duke’s household were to fall, she would survive and have a happy ending.

She was a character destined for such a fate.

Unlike me, who would be endlessly slandered and slapped, no matter what I did, without any regard for logic or reason.

“What’s the point in worrying about it now.”

I was in my room, examining the dress Aria had given me.

“My lady.”

Marie entered quietly, watching me. I looked up and met her gaze.

“What is it?”

Marie seemed to hesitate for a moment before handing me a small note. Most of the servants in the duke’s household could read and write, making this possible.

—

[Be careful tonight.]

—

I nodded and smiled at Marie after reading the note.

Marie glanced around to make sure no other maids were nearby and then quickly left, acting as if nothing had happened.

—

That night, while I pretended to sleep, several maids sneaked into my room. They were the ones usually assigned to attend to me.

“Where’s the dress?”

As I had anticipated from Marie’s note.

‘So they can’t stand me having Aria’s belongings.’

It seemed Servi had ordered them to retrieve the dress I had taken from Aria. Even as I pretended to be sound asleep, I could hear the maids grumbling.

“Why did she take a dress she wouldn’t even wear?”

“It’s not even her style.”

“She always goes for flashy things.”

“Such greed.”

“Does she think this will make men notice her? Only someone like Miss Aria can turn heads.”

“Exactly. She even stole Miss Aria’s place.”

I nearly burst out laughing at their whispers.

These maids had spent years with me, but they hadn’t even known Aria for a month.

‘And yet, they already side with her so firmly.’

They had clearly been influenced by the welcoming atmosphere of the duke’s household towards Aria.

‘Or perhaps it’s another one of those rules.’

The rule that everyone loves Aria.

As I lay there, listening to them praise Aria, I shifted slightly.

“Eek!”

Clank!

One of the maids screamed, and the others hurriedly covered her mouth.

“Are you crazy?”

“If we get caught, we’ll be the ones in trouble! Do you think Sir Servi will protect us?”

“But my hand…”

It must hurt. I had placed a mousetrap, stolen from the kitchen, inside the wardrobe handle just in case.

I remained lying down and spoke calmly.

“There seems to be a rat in the room.”

“…!”

“So, there was one?”

As I slowly got up and lit the lamp, I saw the maids looking pale. Ironically, the maid who had called my appearance ghastly had her hand caught in the trap.

“Oh dear, that must hurt.”

“…We should be going…”

“Where do you think you’re going? You were caught rummaging through the duchess’s room at night, obviously intending to steal something.”

“That’s…”

“Even if I’m considered filth, theft is a different matter, isn’t it?”

I could feel the air freeze with my words.

‘They all know.’

As they had said earlier, getting caught doing something like this wouldn’t make Servi protect them. He hates scandals despite ordering such things. He would simply fire them.

“Please forgive us!”

The first to kneel was the maid with her hand caught in the trap.

The others, with pale faces, slowly followed suit. No matter how much they disliked me, losing their livelihood was a bigger deal. They didn’t have strong backing, after all.

I spoke calmly.

“If you were Aria’s maids, you would’ve been easily forgiven for something like this. Right?”

“…!”

As I said, if Aria’s maids had been caught doing this, Servi would have protected them. Aria would be upset if her maids were dismissed.

“Why do you think he didn’t have Aria’s maids do this? It’s Aria’s dress. If he wanted it back, he should’ve asked her maids.”

“…”

“Aren’t you curious?”

The maids slowly turned to look at me.