The Villainess' Ending Was Death

This wasn’t her first time visiting a home-buying guild. She went in and out secretly without the Thorpe family knowing until just before she faked her death, so she was quite familiar with it.

Fresa arrived at the parlor following the guidance of the guild secretary and took a quick look inside.

‘It’s such a lively place any time you see it.’

Gorgeous and dazzling gold wallpaper, unrecognizable patterns, and even strange tentacle-shaped ceiling lights. She didn’t know who did the interior design, but their taste was really strange.

‘At least he’s a guild master.’

Fresa had already adapted to this strange interior, but not the magic tower owner who came with her.

“The guild master has really strange tastes. I think the seasickness will get worse.”

A pale Lycaon covered his mouth with his handkerchief and coughed like a sickly young man.

“Is it okay to work with someone who has these kinds of tastes?”

Today, Lycaon complained too much. Fresa clicked her tongue and took a sip of warm tea before putting it down and saying.

“Mr. Lycaon, that’s why I said I would come alone. If I look at Lycaon’s face right now, I feel like I’m going to faint at any moment.”

“Not to that extent… Cough… It’s not…”

“No, it’s not like that. Can you at least get me a basin? Do you want to throw up?”

Fresa had a pitiful expression on her face and seemed ready to immediately ask the secretary for a basin. Then Lycaon immediately shook his head.

“It’s really okay. This crazy gold wallpaper is giving me a headache.”

“Oh, that goes for me too. It’s even more so because the sun is already shining. There are no curtains in the drawing room.”

Fresa muttered, indicating that she understood why Lycaon was having a hard time. Because there were no curtains in the living room, they were completely exposed to the midsummer sunlight shining down from the front. Moreover, he said he wanted to meet in person and apologize, but he didn’t show up at the appointed time. In fact, the guild master was a somewhat difficult person to deal with. Should she say that the person himself appears to be very sensitive and nervous? He was a man with moderate manners but a cool tone of voice and impressive facial expressions.

Now that she thought about it, what did he look like? She thought he was quite handsome… She remembered the harsh tone and expression, but she couldn’t remember the actual face. As Fresa was tracing the face of the guild master she had met last time in her memory, a newspaper placed on the table suddenly caught her eye. The Thorpe family was deeply in debt… Would it collapse like this? It was a provocative phrase that would make even people who had no interest at all feel curious. She quickly glanced at it without Lycaon noticing, and found that the Thorpe family’s business investment had failed and they were in huge debt. Even though she had already confirmed this with Jerome, it was new to her. It was even more so when she thought about the messed up faces of those arrogant people. Seeing them fall apart as soon as the original work ended, she realized how strong of a protection the original work had been for them. But now that that shield was gone, all Fresa had to do was sit back and watch their downfall.

‘But I don’t feel refreshed at all.’

She should have welcomed it since she could take revenge without lifting a finger, but for some reason, she felt uneasy. The face of Lauren, who she left behind at the family home, suddenly came to mind. How was Lauren doing? If the Thorpe family falls, Lauren would have nowhere to go… 

She was curious about what decision Rowan Gillespie would make. Since he was extremely close to the Thorpe family, he was naturally willing to help. In the newspaper, there were only articles written from a provocative and narrow-minded perspective. To find out the true situation of the Thorpe family, a slightly different method seemed necessary.

“Resa, are you okay?”

Lycaon was able to notice that Fresa was looking dull and asked a question. The moment Fresa, who had taken care of her expression, was about to reply that it was okay, an unfamiliar voice was heard.

“Sorry to keep you waiting so long, tricky acorn. There was an agenda ahead.” 

The wall inside the drawing room opened and the guild master appeared. Wearing a white cloak and a white suit, he sat on the chair across from him with a stern expression on his face, not even a service smile. Contrary to his grumpy appearance, his soft brown hair seemed to flow in a wavy manner, and perhaps because of his downturned eyes and clear green eyes, he had a neat appearance. However, because of his pale complexion, he seemed even more picky.

“Acorn, didn’t you come alone? I haven’t heard that you have company.”

The guild master continued speaking while casting a glance towards Lycaon, whom he had met for the first time.

“This is Isaac Cade. If you want to launder your identity or disappear without being noticed, we can help.”

It was a natural move since he probably saw Lycaon as a future customer. As a businessman, you tend to view everyone as a potential business partner. However, for a person like Lycaon, there would be no need for him to run away with the help of the guild. He must have taken care of things himself when he came to Paro Village. Unlike Fresa, it will have abundant wealth, reputation, and connections. Unlike Isaac, who spoke at least for business purposes, Lycaon’s reaction was quite cold. She didn’t know when he put the handkerchief away, but his face was still exposed, and the expression on his face when he looked at Isaac was quite serious. There wasn’t even a word of courtesy, let alone a greeting. He just stared at Isaac.

‘Are you still feeling unwell?’

Anyway, she told him to just stay calm and guard the pharmacy, so he followed her and made people worry. Fresa sighed softly inwardly and spoke to Isaac instead of Lycaon.

“He’s an employee at my pharmacy. Please understand that he is not in a good condition due to severe seasickness. And please call me Resa instead of that unfamiliar name.”

“Ah, Resa. I heard that you opened a pharmacy. Scala also gave us some interesting news. I heard you developed some pretty amazing drugs?”

Isaac tore his gaze away from Lycaon and looked at Fresa. It seemed like Scala Michi had listened to Fresa’s request. Fresa opened the bag that was on his lap and placed it on the table.

“As you may have already heard from Mitch, it is a hair loss treatment. It actually worked.”

Inside the bag were several bottles of Zara hair ointment and peppermint water.

(Translator note: from now on ‘Zara’ would be the name to the potion to grow hair)

Isaac naturally looked down at his bag.

“I should have listened. Does it really work? It is a treatment for hair loss that many wizards and temples have failed to use countless times. I can’t believe he made it alone.”

“I am very talented at dispensing medicine. There are several people in Paro Village who have benefited from this. “If my words aren’t enough, you can come and see for yourself.”

It was a new business, and the owner was no different from a beginner, so it was natural for Isaac to have doubts about its effectiveness. Since cameras had not been invented yet, there was no way to show the before and after, so the only way was to see it with your own eyes. Fresa confidently added an explanation. She added the effects of the medicine, ingredients, future possibilities, and the efficacy of peppermint water.

“Hmm.”

After the fairly business-like explanation was over, Isaac spoke softly.

“Great. I will stop by Paro Village sometime soon. And do you mind if I try the medicine? There are a few guild members suffering from hair loss, so let’s use them as test subjects.”

“Of course.”

Fresa readily accepted Isaac’s request and handed him some of the hair ointment she had brought with her. Isaac still seemed a little skeptical, but Fresa thought it wasn’t a bad start.

* * *

The guild quarters were on the upper floor of the same building as the guild. Fresa and Lycaon were in the next room, and after unpacking, they decided to have dinner together at a nearby restaurant. However, despite the fact that the business was going well, Fresa was in a complicated state of mind for one reason or another. From the moment she decided to set foot in the kingdom she never wanted to return to, Fresa was alone and worried. She couldn’t decide whether she should reveal the truth to Lycaon or handle everything on her own.

‘But you’ll have to say it someday.’

Perhaps this might be the only opportunity to step foot on the kingdom’s soil. She was worried about Lycaon’s reaction. On the other hand, she wondered if Lycaon really didn’t know Fresa’s secret at all. If she was someone of Lycaon’s level, he might have noticed to some extent.

‘Even if Lycaon found out, he wouldn’t have brought it up until I told him.’

Fresa now had something he wanted to achieve, and for that purpose he needed Lycaon’s help. After thinking about it for a while longer, Fresa finally changed into reasonably comfortable clothes and went to Lycaon’s room and knocked on her door.

“Mr. Lycaon, it is me.”

“Come in.”

Lycaon opened the door as if he had been waiting. Fresa naturally tried to go inside but stopped.

“Ah.”

Lycaon was dressed quite nicely. His dark blue suit and neatly swept-back bangs made him look quite different from usual. As Fresa could not hide her embarrassed expression, Lycaon laughed softly.

“Why are you acting like you’ve seen a ghost? Come in quickly.”

“No, I was a bit surprised.”

“Because you’re so handsome?”

“…Suddenly, my sense of surprise disappeared.”

Thanks to his shameless Lycaon attitude, Fresa was back to her usual self. Lycaon shrugged his shoulders and turned away, closing the door. Fresa began her sentence with a determined look on her face.

“I have something to tell you, Mr. Lycaon.”

 

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