The Time-Limited Villain Supports My Breakup

Chapter 03

｡･:*:･ﾟ★ Translated by Sienna ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

I’ve lived diligently, yet here I am, collapsed in a heap of ruins.

“Life…… cough!” I muttered in a daze, then I jolted as the pain surged again.

What kind of poison did she ingest that even after taking the antidote, my body is still in this state?

Clutching my neck and grunting, I stood up. I knew I had to do something.

Despite being judged unworthy, Daphne wanted to become a saint no matter what. So she built her own greenhouse in the mansion and grew herbs. In the first place, the reason I started reading novels was because I found working with herbs fascinating.

Among the various part-time jobs I took on, the place where I worked the longest was an oriental medicine clinic. That clinic was not only large in scale but also paid well.

I had to personally brew herbal medicine and study medicinal herbs, but to me, who had mastered all sorts of part-time jobs, this was nothing.

“So, what’s this good for?”

“Bones! It’s good for your bones. Grandma’s knees hurt and shoulders ache. If you eat this, you’ll feel better. So, don’t forget to eat it. Got it?”

“Uh huh. Your voice is really loud and cheerful, Miss.”

Older people often forget things later even if you explain it to them. That’s why I have to explain a bit louder and more amiably.

Perhaps it was thanks to the skills I learned from my grandmother when I was young. I was amazingly good at catching who was hurting where and how.

“Grandma, have you been feeling a sharp pain in your lower back lately?”

“Hmm? How did you know about that? It’s not that painful, so I did not tell the director.”

“I have a pretty amazing eye for these things. My intuition is quite impressive.”

“Oh, you cheeky one~”

“Do you have a boyfriend? Well, my grandson got a job in a big company this year, and he’s at the age where he needs to get married…….”

“Oh, goodness. Don’t cut in line, I was going to ask her first!”

The patients liked me for being efficient and my granddaughter-like appearance, so it was natural that regular customers increased.

But that’s not all. I also carefully sorted out medications that were stored improperly in various compartments and vividly recalled the details of the patient’s pain during their previous visit.

With overwhelming support from the patients, good memory, and quick perception, it was only natural for the director to consider me a valuable asset. So, the director taught me various knowledge about oriental medicine to attract more customers. Things like where and how to use the herbal medicine I was making, and what herbs it was made of.

“I hid this family heritage tightly even during my university days. Do you know how valuable this is?”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m busy enough with my studies…”

“I’ll give you a raise!”

“But I’m only confident in memorizing.”

The owner and I got along very well, and thanks to that, I was able to work at that oriental medicine clinic until I graduated and found a job.

When I said I would quit, she clung to the hem of my robe, saying she couldn’t send away the apprentice she personally trained. Anyway, even though I wasn’t a professional, I had some knowledge.

‘So, maybe I can make an antidote. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?’

I received a clear order, but it didn’t say to stay confined in the room, so I thought moving around a bit would be fine. I explored Daphne’s memories and headed to the greenhouse.

The greenhouse is next to the mansion, beside the garden, but it seems endless even as I walk.

Why is this house so big? I might get lost at this rate. Muttering to myself, I walked forward, and I heard the bustling sound of footsteps.

Tap, tap!

“Come on, brother!”

“W-Wait, Julie!”

The voices were of young children. The problem was that the sound was increasingly getting closer to me.

“Haha! Brother, you’re a fool! How can you become a knight with such slowness?”

“You, you’re mean! I’m not that slow… J-Julie, be careful!”

At that moment.

Thud!

Someone popped out of the corner and collided with me.

“……!”

With no time to block, I crashed onto the ground, with my butt taking the impact.

That hurt!

I wanted to scream or at least make a sound, but my throat hurts even more. Instead, I tried to glare at the person in front of me who wasn’t paying attention.

“Ugh, it hurts….”

The other person looked so young that my intention to say something vanished. At most, he seemed to be about eight years old. He was a boy with thick, dark gray hair and the same emerald eyes as me.

“Julie! Are you okay?”

However, it turned out that the boy wasn’t alone; there were two of them, and they looked exactly alike.

Oh, I know who they are.

It was Daphne’s twin cousins, Ermano and Julios. The sons of my uncle, Lyas, the man who had given me the antidote, were mischievous troublemakers who often caused accidents.

Daphne and the twins had a considerable age difference because her maternal aunt had a difficult time getting pregnant and had suffered one miscarriage.

Besides, the hero families are naturally very precious.

During this time, the twins came like a blessing. Daphne’s maternal aunt vowed to give birth no matter what, and after much effort, the twins were born.

However her maternal aunt died shortly afterward…

Perhaps it was because of the love from such a mother. The twins were cute and beautiful, like angels. However they didn’t receive much love from their father, Lyas, and carried deep wounds in their hearts.

One day, the twins participated in an event hosted by the temple.

There, they met the heroine, Maria, and the twins, who were once little troublemakers, transformed into little knights protecting her and healing their emotional wounds.

Of course, initially, they almost got kicked out of the temple for bothering Maria.

When it came to bothering others, the twins were the liveliest. Little devils, troublemakers—those terms suited them well. In that sense, the person the twins liked to annoy the most was…

“What is it? Witch!”

It was me, Daphne.  Due to her lack of abilities, they took pleasure in provoking her, relishing her fierce reactions each time.

Whether in my past life or my present life, Why do twins keep becoming part of my family?

While I was pondering, Ermano hastily followed Julios and quickly helped him up.

Once on his feet, Julios shouted.

“You should’ve looked where you were going! Witch, don’t you have eyes?”

“D-Don’t you have eyes?” Ermano chimed in, belatedly supporting Julios’s words. For eight-year-old kids, their language was quite rough.

I let out a wry laugh. It was ridiculous, but seriously arguing with little kids like this was…….

“……what?”

It’s what I do best.

Do they speak informally to adults like that?

As the eldest daughter raised in a traditional family, it was unimaginable. Moreover, they remind me of the twins from my past life which made my blood boil a bit.

Staring at the little kids with fierce gaze, the children trembled.

“Did I, did I say something wrong?”

“Yeah! J-Julios never says anything wrong!”

It might have sounded more convincing if he didn’t stutter. Looking at them trying to act nonchalant but actually scared was both amusing and annoying.

“…….”

With a stern expression, I slowly rose up, looking at the two kids.

“……!”

Seeing the twins shrinking as if anticipating a hit, I reached out my hands…

Tap.

“Uh……?”

“……?”

I gently patted their heads.

The children’s eyes widened at my sudden action.

It seemed they genuinely thought I was going to hit them.

I clicked my tongue. What’s the point of hitting these pea-sized kids? It will only hurt my hands.

There’s a time and place for disciplining through physical means. Unlike the twins from my previous life, who were close in age, these kids were too young. If I were to act, it would just be one-sided violence.

“Stop causing trouble.”

However, to prevent such incidents from happening again, I added a warning in a relatively kind manner.

“I’m letting you off this time.”

“……!”

Then the face of one of the twins, Julios, turned bright red.

“W, who are you letting off, you witch.”

Julios flicked my hand away.

“Let’s go, brother, the witch is poisoning us!”

“Oh, okay……!”

Ermano quickly jerked out of my grasp and turned to Julios. Julios, holding Ermano’s hand, looked back at me and shouted in exasperation.

“I won’t leave you alone!”

And then he jerked away…….

Oh my, they hold hands even at home. To me, it just looked cute. And their shouting reminded me of the small dogs I see at my relatives’ houses during the holidays.

How cute. I smiled sheepishly and headed back to the greenhouse.

It was then.

“Seriously, where are they!” I heard a voice shouting, tinged with a sense of distress.  I looked up and saw a group of maids and servants scurrying about.

“Master Julios! Master Ermano! Where are you!”

“Oh no, class is about to start……!”

The servants spoke with troubled expressions.

“You go that way, I’ll check this way!”

They quickly headed in different directions. The direction they were heading happened to be where I was.

“Oh, milady……!”

The servants’ faces immediately turned white when they saw me. Judging by their frightened expressions, it was easy to guess how short-tempered Daphne was.

Plus, they need to take care of the troublesome twins.

It must be really hard…….

As an older sister of twins and someone who once worked at a kids’ cafe, I sympathized with their pain.

“That way.” I quickly pointed to the direction I’d come from. The kids move fast but they’ll be able to catch them in no time. I arched an eyebrow at the implication, and the servants blinked.

“T, thank you!” They bowed, then quickly walked past me.

Now, it should be a bit quieter.

I resumed my steps, and before long, I came into the greenhouse. The greenhouse…… was worse than I had imagined.

They completely blocked all the lights, even though it’s broad daylight I had to turn on the lamps. The land was dry, as if it had not been maintained for some time.

Furthermore, the condition of the plants was concerning. The leaves were drooping and the stems looked like they might break at any moment. In this environment, even healthy plants could be poisonous.

What the hell did you learn? You’re supposed to be studying herbalism, and this is how you do it?

I clutched my neck as the pain returned. This was not the time for this. I want to be free from this pain right now.

I quickly set up my makeshift laboratory using existing vials and research materials. I cherry-picked herbs that were similar to those I’d seen in my previous life, and made a literal ‘improvised’ antidote.

With things that can remove toxins as much as possible. And so, in the shortest amount of time ever, a cure was created. While the safety of the remedy was uncertain—

Even if I die right now, it wouldn’t be strange…

Closing my eyes tightly, I gulped it down without hesitation.

To be honest, I was willing to accept it even if it tasted similar to the antidote for the poison.

But…….

Huh? It’s delicious?

The medicine was more delicious than I had imagined. Of course, it was made in the same way as a decoction, so it would be very bitter in someone else’s mouth.

But for me, who had tried many medicines thanks to the director, it was very sweet and delicious.

Besides….

I gently caressed the nape of his neck.

“Aaah.”

The pain in my throat was gone in an instant. And my voice, which had been strangled, came out clear.

I made this?

I blinked in disbelief, and suddenly I felt another pain.

“B, blood!

There was blood on my index finger from where I had cut myself while cutting the herbs. The cut was deep, but the immediate pain in my neck was agonizing that I didn’t even realize it.

I quickly wrapped my hand in a bandage to stop the bleeding. Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the greenhouse.

What is it?

Puzzled, I approached the greenhouse door.