The Villainess' Ending Was Death

“I want to bury it in the ground, but… I’m just going to let it go.”

 

“Are you going to let me go like this?”

 

Lycaon gave an expression of surprise.

 

“Yes. Of course, not obediently.”

 

Fresa decided to return Jerome intact. No matter how much her family bullied her, there was no need to get her clean hands dirty. She decided to take a different approach instead.

 

‘It’s really easier to live in this world now that the original work is over.’

 

Fresa crouched down in front of Jerome, who was lying face down.

 

“Hey, can you hear me?”

 

Jerome pressed his fingers into the floor. It must be an expression of being heard or an insult or something like that. It seemed like he had been struck by a small lightning bolt and couldn’t speak properly yet.

 

‘The magic tower lord is definitely different.’

 

Fresa glanced at Lycaon. If it were the Empire, it would have been quite a long way from here, but seeing as how it flew all at once.

 

“Mr. Lycaon, can you remove this spell? I want to look at his face and talk to him.”

 

“…I don’t feel like it, but if you want.”

 

Lycaon flicked his fingers.

 

With a cheerful sound, Jerome’s body, which had been as stiff as wood and stone, was released. As soon as the magic disappeared, he sat down and took a step back.

 

“How do you live… There is, right?

 

The aftereffects of the procedure still lingered, and I stuttered and stopped speaking. It was like looking at something very terrible. Fresa stood up and looked down at Jerome. Jerome’s face was completely white. It was a very different attitude from when he ridiculed and harassed Fresa. It still seemed difficult to believe that his dead sister was still alive.

 

“You did that before. It’s amazing that people who suffer like me do. You’re so stupid that you just live with what happens.”

 

Jerome has lived with the pleasure of hurling harsh words at Fresa.

 

After being ignored by his father or older brother, it was always Fresa who took out her anger. Typical trash, weak to the strong and strong to the weak. Fresa would return exactly what Jerome said today.

 

“I know how you lived until now. What did you do last year?”

 

Fresa knew the entire contents of this original work. That meant taking advantage of all their weaknesses. Until now, she had no choice but to pretend not to know in order to save her life. But now there was no need for that.

 

“What, what? What nonsense?”

 

Jerome got angry and fired back. You react like that because you are being stabbed.

 

Fresa smiled brightly.

 

“The fact that you pawned a family heirloom. Who would have guessed that someone would do something like that just to pay off gambling debts?”

 

“Well, how did you…!”

 

Jerome’s pupils shook greatly. In fact, he worked hard to keep the secret hidden from his head. Jerome Thorpe was somewhat talented in swordsmanship, but he was clumsy and simple-minded, making him vulnerable to temptation. He turned to gambling to relieve the stress of being compared to his older brother. What started out as a small sum grew bigger and bigger, and he ended up tinkering with the family jewels. That wasn’t enough, so he even sold his one and only heirloom, the Sword of Winter. And Jerome made a fake that looked exactly like the sword. Thanks to this, no one noticed that the heirloom was missing until the original work was completed. However, since Fresa knew the contents of the original work, she noticed it already. Thanks to her tearful efforts, the original work did not change any settings until the end. So Jerome would have acted exactly as Fresa knew.

 

“I won’t touch a single hair on your body. But don’t you want to keep a secret? What will happen if my father and Elias find out about this?”

 

Fresa tilted her head slightly and murmured in her leisurely tone.

 

Jerome screamed.

 

“What? Evidence… Do you have any proof? Why are you talking nonsense without any evidence?”

 

“Then, shall we contact the family right away and check whether that treasured sword hanging on the wall is real or not? Oh, I also happen to have a crystal ball that can be used right away.”

 

Fresa replied calmly. Of course she was lying when she said she had a crystal ball.

 

Jerome, who had no way of knowing that fact, opened her mouth wide as if embarrassed. It was clearly a confused look on his face as he couldn’t tell if Fresa’s words were true. She didn’t give Jerome time to think, but instead drove him into a wedge.

 

“I think Elias would be more curious about whether his heirlooms are real or not than whether his sister, whom he had no interest in, is still alive.”

 

Lycaon watched Fresa with interest. Jerome’s complexion immediately turned pale. Fresa’s reaction was not at all what he expected.

 

“This person…! I won’t tell them anything, Fresa! So please don’t tell our brother. I did it all wrong, huh? I was crazy!”

 

The person Jerome feared more than his father, the Count, was Elias. Elias was such a cruel person that even Count Thorpe stuck out his tongue. When he finds out that he used the heirloom to pay off gambling debts, Jerome will probably have to give him one of his fingers? No, he might lose at least two.

 

“There is no need to apologize now.”

 

“I-I’m sorry…”

 

Jerome pursed his lips. It seemed like his pride was hurt after being attacked by someone like Fresa. Fresa deliberately took some time to admire the broken face.

 

‘Ah. I almost forgot something important.’

 

Fresa had to find out why Jerome came to Faro Village.

 

“I have a question, why did you come to Faro Village? You hate the countryside.”

 

Jerome rolled his eyes.

 

‘What?’

 

It was clearly a question he found difficult to answer. It’s probably a family-related issue. If so, how do you want to know more?

 

“Brother, you’re not going to answer? Really?”

 

“I’ll tell you!”

 

Then Jerome was startled and opened his dry lips.

 

“Not long ago, the family’s gold mining investment business… I got scammed…”

 

Fresa understood the situation just by hearing that sentence. They were truly great people. How could he get scammed? If Fresa had remained in the family, they would have tried to pay off their debt by selling her off to a wealthy nobleman.

 

Fresa clicked her tongue slightly.

 

‘He came to visit Count Gillespie, who was on his honeymoon. To ask for money.’

 

As soon as the original work ends, it falls apart spectacularly. She guessed this is why people should live good lives.

 

Fresa’s appearance reminded her of another troublesome problem she had forgotten about.

 

Rowan Gillespie.

 

‘What should I do with that person?’

 

Jerome tried to threaten him into silence, but Rowan was not one to fall for such obvious tricks.

 

“Hey, Fresa… You’re not going to hit me with lightning again, are you?”

 

Jerome looked at Fresa and Lycaon’s eyes and smiled servilely. The spirit that had appeared just a moment ago was gone. For now, the priority was to send this useless human back. Looking at this grumpy face made her feel uncomfortable.

 

“Goodbye, Jerome. If you want to protect your fingers well, don’t come here again.”

 

Fresa did not answer Jerome’s question but said goodbye.

 

“Yes.”

 

Jerome, who barely nodded once, tried to get up several times, but he kept failing, perhaps because he had been struck by lightning. Fresa took a step back and watched with her arms crossed. Jerome, who had been meaninglessly waving the air with both hands for a while, barely got up. And he ran to the carriage he had come in without even looking back. He stumbled around like a drunk person.

 

As soon as Jerome got on, the carriage drove away, kicking up a cloud of dust. Fresa even waved her hand at the carriage.

 

“Is that really enough?”

 

Lycaon asked, standing close next to her. Only then did Fresa looked back at him.

 

“I know Jerome best. He will never be able to tell them. He is the stupidest person in that family.”

 

A refreshing wind blew and gently shook Lycaon’s pure white hair. Even though she had only seen him for a few days, he already looks fresh. Fresa turned fully towards Lycaon and faced him directly.

 

“Then we have a lot to talk about. Mr. Lycaon, no, His Highness the Grand Duke of the Grenadines.”

 

Lycaon responded to the change in title with a shy smile.

 

“As you wish.”

 

* * *

 

Alicia felt a strange sense of discomfort. Rowan Gillespie, her husband has changed somehow. He was a man who had never once made Alicia feel uneasy. But something felt strange today. Ever since Rowan went somewhere alone, he hasn’t even made eye contact with Alicia.

 

Suddenly, the story people were whispering about behind her back came to mind. No one cheats just once. No, in the first place, Rowan and Alicia were not a low-level affair as others said. They were a destined pair, a special love that overcame the obstacles of Fresa Thorpe. How many disturbances there were, not only in Fresa Thorpe. The vassals who tried to bring down the count, the nobles who laughed at the difference in status and ignored Alicia, and the criticism and jealousy towards Alicia. He was a man who managed to handle it all.

 

Now, all she had to do was safely give birth to a child who would become the heir to the earl’s family. It wasn’t long before a maid from a commoner’s background became a true Countess. However, Rowan’s unpleasant and subtle change in attitude made Alicia anxious.

 

‘I need to check what’s going on.’

 

Sweet.

 

Just then, Rowan finished his shower and returned to the bedroom. Alicia lay down on her bed first and she was waiting for him.

 

Water was dripping from Rowan’s wet hair.

 

Alicia smiled brightly as usual and welcomed Rowan.

 

“Rowan, where did you go today?”

 

Rowan, who was shaking off his hair with a towel, looked at Alicia with indifferent eyes.

 

“I came to meet Lord Barrett. Because I want to invest in tourism business. Why?”

 

Rowan gave a fairly plausible answer. But Alicia didn’t miss the brief moment of hesitation before he answered. He clearly felt reluctant to speak. There was a very strong possibility that it was a lie.

 

‘How dare you lie to me?’

 

Alicia suppressed her feelings of betrayal and pretended that nothing had happened.

 

“I was just wondering if it was important enough to be away during the honeymoon.”

 

“I’m sorry, Lesha.”

 

Rowan was a kind husband. He came to the bed and kissed Alicia’s forehead and apologized. Alicia lowered her gaze with a cold expression, but the moment Rowan put his head back, she smiled innocently.

 

“It’s okay. Instead, we’ll still be together tomorrow, right?”

 

“Of course. Because it’s a one-time trip.”

 

Rowan answered obediently and lay down on the bed. As if Alicia had been waiting, she snuggled into his arms.

 

‘I need to find out where you’ve been.’

 

The day was already coming when she would have to open the tracking device that was attached to his outerwear just in case. Alicia bit her lip as she listened to Rowan’s heart, which had been beating fast only a few days ago, slow to a crawl.

 

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