The Villainess' Ending Was Death

Presa hurriedly hid behind the medicine cabinet before Lycaon could finish speaking.

 

Lycaon and her Zed followed her into hiding. Zed asked with a puzzled expression.

 

“Resa, why are we hiding?”

 

“There is a reason for that. But there’s no need for you to hide too.”

 

Fresa whispered back in her low voice and turned her arrow at Lycaon.

 

“Mr. Lycaon, why on earth are you hiding?”

 

“My body moved without me realizing it.”

 

What on earth were these people? Fresa was so dumbfounded that she burst into laughter. Anyway, what mattered now wasn’t Lycaon and Zed’s actions. These were the original characters who would soon pass through the front door.

 

“Who are they that you are so surprised?”

 

Reese couldn’t hide his curiosity and circled around Rowan and Alicia.

 

‘There are people I hoped I would never encounter.’

 

Lycaon and Zed were next to her, so she couldn’t answer, but that was what Fresa was thinking. But how could things in this world be so easy?

 

“Is there anyone?”

 

Alicia’s soft and warm voice came.

 

‘If we go on like this, pretending to be dead and running away will be in vain.’

 

No matter how the protagonists got over it, the rumor would spread to Count Thorpe’s family, so it wasn’t easy. At that time, Lycaon whispered softly to Zed.

 

“Zed, go out and deal with them.”

 

“Yes? Me?”

 

Zed stared at Lycaon with startled eyes.

 

“I don’t know anything about medicine. I’m ignorant.”

 

“I’ll tell you what kind of medicine it is, so pick up the bottle and show me.”

 

Even Fresa, who judged that there was no other way, agreed with Lycaon’s opinion. Zed looked puzzled, but when Lycaon pointed beyond his medicine cabinet with the tip of his chin, he went straight ahead.

 

“Welcome. What kind of medicine are you looking for?”

 

“Oh, hello! I heard that there is a good medicine for sun allergies. My skin is quite weak.”

 

Alicia answered, smiling as brightly as a midsummer sunflower. Fortunately, it seemed that they had come to buy an ointment that Zed knew well. Anyway, she never thought news of the connection would reach the kingdom.

 

“Please wait a moment.”

 

Zed headed to the medicine cabinet in the back where the ointment was stored. Fresa peeked at them cautiously. Alicia, wearing a light blue bonnet, was looking up at Rowan with her eyes shining. Rowan stood with an indifferent expression and looked inside with arrogant eyes.

 

“Has the proper permission been obtained?”

 

“Yes? Oh, of course. Lord Barrett gave permission directly.”

 

Zed, who took out the ointment and returned, raised his eyebrows crookedly and answered. She felt a strange thorn in his tone of voice. Zed was a model employee of a decent pharmacy. He seemed to be in a bad mood as he suspected the existence of a drugstore. Fresa was also dumbfounded by Rowan’s remarks.

 

‘It’s hard to pretend to be noble when you have an affair with your fiancé.’

 

To be honest, the fact that he cowardly cheated while being the main character in the original was already the worst.

 

‘I shouldn’t have picked up the thrown away trash.’

 

As she clicked her tongue, Rowan spoke again in his characteristic unlucky tone.

 

“I heard that the young woman was the owner of the pharmacy. No matter how you look at her, you are not the owner. Where did the boss go?”

 

Even the preliminary research was done thoroughly. Was it worth being needlessly meticulous just by stopping by a drug store in a small town?

 

“The boss is unwell and has left his post. As his best disciple, I have received thorough teachings, so don’t worry.”

 

She thought he would be embarrassed and just gloss over it, but Zed was very calm. Rowan showed his irritation and took a step toward Zed.

 

“Have we met before somewhere? You look familiar.”

 

“Well. I do not know. Because I have a common face. If you don’t need anything else, could you please leave? Because it’s lunch time.”

 

Zed and Rowan looked at each other without blinking. Even Fresa, who was watching them anxiously, became nervous. Then Lycaon tapped her shoulder and whispered.

 

“Relax. When Zed was young, his dream was to become a theater actor.”

 

She almost laughed out loud. She couldn’t even imagine Zed being a theater actor.

 

“Rowan, stop, yes? Today’s schedule is also busy.”

 

Fortunately, Alicia pulled Rowan’s arm and urged him on. Rowan stared at Zed with a disapproving look on his face, but obediently was led by Alicia’s hand and disappeared. They were a really nice couple. On the outside, of course.

 

Fresa then let out a deep breath that she had been holding. Zed came straight up and showed an unpleasant expression.

 

“Do you know that person, Resa?”

 

After thinking for a moment about how she should respond, she spoke sweetly.

 

“He was actually a customer.”

 

That’s also very low quality. Lycaon muttered, clicking his tongue.

 

“That is certainly true.”

 

Fortunately, Lycaon and Zed did not inquire further.

 

‘How long on earth are you going to stay?’

 

Seeing as they had a very busy schedule, they probably wouldn’t run into him unless Fresa was wandering around the village. As soon as Fresa and Lycaon and Zed got home from work, she sprinkled salt in front of the gate and prayed.

 

‘Please don’t come again, never again.’

 

Reese watched her behavior as if it was amusing.

 

“Why do you throw salt on the ground?”

 

“To drive away unlucky spirits.”

 

“What a strange act. Can we stop them with such a shallow trick? My innocent contractor.”

 

Whether Reese laughed or not, Fresa sprinkled the salt with all her might.

 

* * *

 

Fresa planned to relieve her discomfort by meeting the main characters of her original work with delicious food. The biggest problem was that she had no talent for cooking at all. Moreover, she had been living on a simple diet of eggs and tomatoes, and her pantry was empty.

 

‘I need to go grocery shopping.’

 

She couldn’t remember eating a proper meal since she was served breakfast by Lycaon.

 

‘This is why you will faint just because you haven’t taken the antidote a few times.’

 

Fresa carefully placed her dozing Reese on her shoulder. Her observations revealed that this little spirit spent more than half of the day sleeping. Since she was recovering, her energy seemed to disappear easily.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

Of course she wasn’t falling into a deep sleep. Although she took the utmost care to cover her with a handkerchief, she soon awoke.

 

“I’m going to go grocery shopping for a moment. I’ll be back soon, so get some sleep.”

 

“Then I’ll sleep a little longer. Please be careful.”

 

Reese’s yawn was heard softly. Fresa, who was watching her dainty actions, donned her hooded cloak. She was going to flip out if she ever ran into Rowan and Alicia. As she was leaving the front door with her shopping cart, Lycaon was out in the garden. He was standing still and looking up at the sky, wondering what he was thinking. It seemed like he needed some alone time.

 

Fresa did not want to disturb his musings, so she walked cautiously. However, Lycaon recognized it like a ghost and pretended to know.

 

“Resa, where are you going?”

 

Fresa stopped after a couple of steps and looked back at Lycaon.

 

“I want to go to the market.”

 

“Let’s go together. I also have to do some grocery shopping.”

 

Lycaon approached Fresa without hesitation. She had no reason to refuse, so Fresa headed to the market with him.

 

The evening glow fell on the quiet street. A boat horn was heard in the distance, and insects cried in every bush. It was a strange feeling walking side by side with Lycaon in the landscape that Fresa had dreamed of.

 

Lycaon was still thinking deeply about something. Even though he was with her, he had never seen this much silence for so long. Lycaon would always tell trivial stories or bring up interesting topics. Perhaps that’s why the atmosphere gradually became more awkward.

 

“The weather is really nice.”

 

Fresa opened her mouth to have a casual conversation.

 

“I know, right.”

 

Lycaon’s answer was very short, unlike usual. Fresa stared ahead, at a loss for words.

 

‘I feel a little strange today.’

 

Lycaon seemed to have left his mind somewhere else. Before she knew it, she was at the entrance to the market. There were quite a few people who came out to shop late.

 

‘I have to be careful not to bump into it.’

 

As soon as Fresa started to worry, Lycaon didn’t avoid the person walking from the opposite direction and almost collided with him.

 

“Mr. Lycaon!”

 

Thanks to Fresa’s quick pulling of Lycaon’s arm, his opponent, who was smaller than Lycaon, did not fall. Lycaon’s eyes blinked slowly. He apologized sheepishly, as if he had finally regained his soul.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

 

“What are you thinking like that from earlier? You almost got hurt.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

Lycaon’s lips closed for a moment and then opened again.

 

“Your thoughts.”

 

Fresa was taken aback by the unexpected answer and stood tall. Lycaon stared at her with a faint smile of his own. He seemed openly curious about what Fresa would say back.

 

Fresa grinned as she gripped the handle of her shopping cart with both hands.

 

“Did you insult me?”

 

“Why would I curse at you?”

 

“Employees usually curse at the boss.”

 

“You and I have more than just an employment relationship, right?”

 

“Then what is our relationship?”

 

Before Fresa could hear his answer, she picked up three tomatoes from the stand in stride. And after paying for it, she put two into his shopping cart and handed one to Lycaon. Lycaon took a bite of the tomato as if it were natural.

 

“It’s a pretty special relationship.”

 

Crunchy.

 

The sound of chewing fresh tomatoes was cheerful.

 

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