The Villainess' Ending Was Death

In the evening when the pharmacy was closed, a small party was held in the pharmacy’s living room. It was a celebration of Isaac and Lauren becoming new employees.

The main menu consisted of several dishes that Fresa had made herself, as well as cakes, bread, and snacks purchased from the town bakery.

Since Isaac had brought some fancy wine, there was no alcohol.

It was more like a small dinner with only three people attending, as Lycaon and Zed were absent.

Originally, it would have been a time for all five of them to gather and share their past events and reminisce.

Fresa felt a little regretful, so she kept drinking the wine.

“My dear, our kind and affectionate young lady…”

Unlike Fresa, who had a moderate drinking capacity, Lauren was very weak to alcohol.

She drank several glasses without stopping, saying that the wine was delicious, but soon got drunk and fell asleep on the sofa after repeating the same thing over and over again.

Fresa barely managed to help Lauren to bed and returned, then plopped down on the sofa.

The party became too quiet for a party, as even Lauren, who had been noisily chattering, fell asleep.

Reese had already gone down to the basement to rest, and Isaac had left for a moment to contact the guild. Even the small silver crystal ball that Isaac had brought was playing soft banquet music.

Fresa was staring blankly into space, holding a glass of wine, when Isaac came back.

“Resa, I heard that all of the Zara hair ointment has already been sold out. I think we need to increase the quantity. What should we do?”

The quantity that had been sent just two days ago was sold out, several times faster than last week.

Fresa nodded, placing her glass on the table.

“Now that we have two more employees, I think it’s okay to increase the quantity. I’ll do that.”

Isaac sat down across from her and said casually.

“Do you know that Resa’s fame plays a part in sales? It’s like a story of someone who was thought to be dead coming back successful. It’s been even more chaotic since the Thorpe Mansion auction.”

Fresa felt something strange and let out a small laugh. A novel? It’s true that this world was a novel, but Fresa wasn’t the main character in this story. However, this was also another world where people lived, so she was also the main character in Fresa’s new life.

Fresa thought for a moment and then suddenly brought up a new plan.

“Next, I’m going to try expanding my business to the Empire.”

“If it’s the Empire, wouldn’t it be easier to do it through the Grand Duke of Granadines?”

Isaac, who had picked up the cookies Fresa had made, looked Fresa in the eye and asked.

“Hmm. That’s true. I actually did get the offer at first, but I declined because I wasn’t confident. So I asked Mr. Lycaon. I just took a few and showed them to the people at the top.”

At the time, she was worried that Lycaon’s reputation would be damaged because he had gotten involved in a business that had no results.

“But thanks to Mr. Cade’s help, I’m now confident. I’m going to seriously request a deal with the upper echelons of the empire.”

The cookies crumbled in Isaac’s mouth. He stared at Fresa without saying anything, then quickly reached out and grabbed the wine bottle.

He then filled Fresa’s empty glass and said softly.

“It’s not thanks to me, but it’s almost like you did it yourself, Lady Resa.”

“Are you praising me?”

“…I’m just telling you the truth.”

Fresa let out a small laugh at the slightly late reply.

“Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Cade.”

Isaac stared at Fresa silently for a while before picking up another cookie.

He then tried to lighten the awkward mood with a random topic.

“The cookies are delicious.”

“I baked them myself. You’re good with your hands, aren’t you?”

“…Yes, well. It’s not bad.”

When she finally returned to praising Fresa, Isaac gave up and simply nodded. But for some reason, she couldn’t meet Fresa’s eyes.

‘I guess it’s embarrassing.’

Isaac was more innocent and naive than Fresa had expected. He didn’t know how someone like this could raise the guild like this.

Fresa filled Isaac’s glass with wine and started talking about something else.

The two talked about business, then babbled on trivial topics, then became quiet again, and so on until the night deepened.

* * *

“…resa, Fresa.”

When did she fall asleep?

Fresa barely lifted her heavy eyelids at the sound of the voice calling her. She thought she wasn’t drunk, but she must have gotten drunk and fallen asleep on the sofa without realizing it.

The surroundings were dark with only soft lights on, and soft music was still flowing out of the crystal ball.

Fresa rubbed her eyes and looked in the direction the voice came from.

A familiar person was sitting on one knee, staring at Fresa.

“Mr. Lycaon?”

“You must have had too much to drink. It must be cold, what if you fall asleep here?”

Lycaon smiled and whispered in a low voice. Maybe it was because of the dark atmosphere, but he looked a little more gloomy than usual.

His face looked tired and worn out, as if he had been through hardships when they first met.

Feeling sorry, Fresa unconsciously reached out and cupped his face as if she was holding it, asking.

“Are you okay?”

Lycaon didn’t answer, but covered Fresa’s hand that was cupping his cheek with his large, cool hand. And he leaned his cheek against her palm like a weak animal.

Fresa thought that he was still clearly drunk, but she quietly let him do whatever he wanted.

The two looked into each other’s eyes for a long time without saying anything.

Only after Lycaon’s palm covering Fresa’s hand had become lukewarm to some extent did Lycaon kiss her lips first.

“Fresa.”

“Yes, Mr. Lycaon.”

“Would you please dance with me?”

Lycaon said that and wrapped his hands around hers, pulling them down.

Fresa felt a little embarrassed, as if he was asking the most noble person in the world to dance. However, that didn’t mean he didn’t want to dance with Lycaon.

Rather, he felt like it had to be now, so he nodded immediately.

“Of course.”

As soon as Fresa gave her approval, Lycaon stood up with his waist half-bent. He then gently grabbed Fresa’s hand so that she could stand up.

The two moved to the center of the living room and began to dance slowly to the music.

It was fortunate that Isaac didn’t turn off the crystal ball when he returned.

It was impossible to dance without an accompaniment.

If the music hadn’t been playing in the first place, Lycaon might not have asked to dance.

Slightly nervous that she might make a mistake, Fresa moved carefully in step with Lycaon. The dance continued naturally, as if they had been dancing together for a long time.

Fresa spun lightly in place and returned to Lycaon’s arms, examining his expression.

Lycaon had a faint smile on his face, but he still looked somewhat uneasy.

“What happened in the Empire…?”

“Hmm.”

Lycaon didn’t immediately reply with a negative answer.

Well, if nothing had happened, Lycaon wouldn’t have made this expression.

Fresa swallowed hard and waited for Lycaon’s answer.

She was curious, but she didn’t feel like rushing him.

Lycaon soon opened his mouth with a small sigh.

“I have to go back to the Empire.”

“Ah.”

Fresa was a little surprised and stepped on Lycaon’s foot.

The music coming from the crystal ball stopped, and the surroundings were silent.

Lycaon grabbed Fresa’s hand and asked playfully.

“Why are you looking like that? Are you so sad?”

“…No, it’s just a little sudden.”

It was too sudden. She had thought that she would leave someday, but it felt strange when he was actually right in front of her.

Feelings of regret, disappointment, and indescribable emotions rose to my throat.

The silence grew longer and longer as I struggled to figure out what to say.

“I’ll be back. It won’t take that long.”

At that moment, Lycaon looked straight at Fresa with calm, unwavering eyes and said.

“Don’t worry about me not being here, and take care, Resa.”

Why did he greet her like it was the last time?

Fresa felt her heart sink even though she wasn’t going to see Lycaon ever again.

Lycaon had been by Fresa’s side ever since she fled here.

It didn’t feel real to hear that someone like that was leaving so suddenly.

Even though she had been away for days, this was the first time she had said she was going back.

“Resa.”

When Fresa couldn’t say anything and just bit her lips, Lycaon took a step closer and stood there.

Then he reached out and lightly stroked Fresa’s face with his thumb, whispering.

“I have something I want to tell you when you get back. So please wait.”

The earnest voice shook Fresa as if he had pressed down a heavy and complicated emotion and put it in a small box.

Lycaon conveyed an emotion that was too big to be contained in a box and seemed like it would squeeze through at any moment.

Fresa looked up at Lycaon silently and then smiled gently.

“Of course. But you have to come not too late. “I’m not good at waiting.”

“I promise. I’ll be back soon.”

Lycaon swore affectionately, then took his hand away and stepped back. Then he stood still, facing Fresa, and slowly turned his back to leave the mansion.

Fresa watched him until his back completely disappeared.

 

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