Chapter 10

Chapter 10 : The Villainess Needs A Tyrant

“Lady!”

“Nanny! Long time no see!”

Maribelle smiled widely after a long time. Her wide smile also showed how genuine her happiness was.

Pepper was Maribelle’s nanny with soft curly brown hair. As soon as she saw Maribelle she ran busily with a look that seemed like she would burst into tears right away, and hugged Maribelle tightly.

“I can see my lady! This nanny can die happy! Oh my, look at our lady, so skinny….”

“Why would you die? You should go to the palace with me.”

“Oh, right. You’re going to the palace. Isn’t my lady now becoming the empress? I have to make up for lost time. Ah.”

Pepper, who talks even with tears in her eyes, was burning with determination as if she were about to jump into the battlefield. In front of her ambitious appearance, Maribelle could not bear to say that she was just a “candidate” for the empress.

‘Will I ever be the Empress?’

It’s just a good way for Ethelred to keep her around or lock her up. If she really wanted to be the Empress, now that she accepted the marriage proposal, Maribelle had to be busy preparing for the wedding.

But that doesn’t matter. Being able to get out of that awful mansion and meeting Pepper again, she was already overjoyed with these two things.

‘It’s good to see you again. It really is.’

Maribelle hugged Pepper’s back and swallowed her tears. It took two lives to see her again. This sincere warmth was unfamiliar, so Maribelle couldn’t even bring out her overflowing sincerity.

‘I never thought I’d ever see you here again.’

There is a Duchess of Edinburgh. Maribelle stared at the majestic mansion with a long history, looking back at Pepper, who grabbed her arm and wiped her tears.

‘I was a lot smaller when I was young.’

Now Maribelle was a little taller than Pepper. She thought it would be good to ask her if they could live together. Wouldn’t it be worth living if there was someone who truly cared for her somewhere? Becoming a woman of low status would be more cozy than living in that large coffin-like mansion.

Maribelle clasped Pepper’s hand. She had a place to go.

“Don’t cry, Nanny. We have to go now.”

“Ah… I’m getting more old and stupid..”

Pepper pressed her eyes and dried her tears, and then raised her head looking at Maribelle like she was a long lost treasure.

“Okay! I won’t cry anymore. Who am I? Aren’t I a nanny? I have to be stronger than you are to protect my lady.”

Pepper gave off her unique grumpy smile, grabbed Maribelle’s hand and headed to the carriage.

“I’ll be with you wherever you go now, my lady.”

Listening to Pepper’s solemn pledge, Maribelle was forced to smile once again.

*****

“Oh, my God. This is the Calende Palace, right?”

“Yes, it’s where we’re going to live.”

“Oh, my! I’ve never seen such a beautiful building! Look at this marble! Oh, my God. What about these decorations? Everything all the way to the window frame is gold. Oh, my God—”

From the time they arrived at Calende Palace, Pepper already said ‘Oh my God’ 17 times.

“Oh my God! There’s velvet here!”

Even though Maribelle was the one who had just turned 18. Maribelle looked at Pepper, who was in a happy mood for some reason, youthfully walking around the palace. She didn’t know she could feel the worth of getting the most beautiful palace in this way.

‘I’m staying here now.’

Either dying or living, she would be continuing here. The home where she had her whole life on hold was colder than she thought.

‘Continue—’

Even after her revenge, she must live here once she enters the palace. With Ethelred.

‘Together.’

She felt sick for a moment.

“Lady? What’s wrong with your face?”

“Huh?”

Maribelle blinked. Pepper, who had just been admiring how luxurious the framing was, walked back to Maribelle and looked worried.

In other words, Maribelle was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice the changes in her expression until Pepper called out. That was embarrassing.

Pepper had made it her new goal to overprotect Maribelle, whom she met after a long time. She only released Maribelle after touching her hand on Maribelle’s forehead as if measuring heat, measuring Maribelle’s pulse, and wrapping Maribelle’s soft cheeks with her hands.

“I don’t think there’s a fever—Why don’t we take a walk if you don’t feel comfortable?”

“Uhm. Shall we—?”

Maribelle nodded, blinking her eyes blankly, and when she saw Pepper’s anxious expression, she leaned her forehead against Pepper’s shoulder. She felt so cozy. She was a little awkward at first, but feeling love for the first time in a long time was not so unfamiliar, so Maribelle raised her arms  and hugged Pepper’s waist.

Even if she said ‘hugged’, she was too tall to actually wrap her arms around Pepper’s waist, but it was enough.

“I thought our lady was all grown up, but you still have a young side like this.”

“I’m all grown up.”

“Of course, of course. You’re all grown up. My lady.”

Pepper’s mouth was filled with laughter. Maribelle, whose face was buried in Pepper’s arms, showed an invisible smile. There’s nothing she can do about it, but Maribelle didn’t want to lower her arms. If Pepper hadn’t hugged and let go of Maribelle as if she were struggling with this hug, Maribelle might have kept holding on like that until sunset.

Pepper smiled at Maribelle, whose cheeks were flushed with warmth, and rolled up the shawl she was wearing and wrapped it over Maribelle’s shoulders.

“Even if it’s inside the palace, wear it well because it’s cold.”

“Alright.”

“Right, let’s see. It would be nice if you wore gloves, a shawl, and a coat. But I’m sure that’s uncomfortable, right?”

“That’s enough. Thank you, Pepper.”

When Maribelle smiled, Pepper’s mouth spread into a smile as well. She had never forgotten that bright smile.

“Go out and come back soon, my lady.”

Maribelle laughed and went out, then came back and hugged Pepper and went back out. It’s been a long time since the wind brushing her cheeks and combing her hair hadn’t been cold.

******

“I know it’s off topic, but I’ll only ask you once.”

“If you know it’s off topic, you should shut your mouth.”

“Why did you save her?”

“Are there only those who have ten lives each here?”

Ethelred wiped the day off his face with an annoyed expression. Scuffed blood stains remained on his face, from his large swollen hand. Theovalt, who asked the question, was familiar with this expression.

At their feet was a servant who made sounds like he was gurgling blood. Though not completely dead yet, he used a bloody hand to grab Ethelred’s shoes and the hem of Ethelred’s pants.

“Your… Majesty… Please.. Give me… Your.. Mercy.”

With an expressionless look on his face, Ethelred tilted the sword he was holding and stabbed through the servant’s ribs. The immediate scream that came out was noisy.

But this place was sponsored by the Emperor, so no one but the two heard the scream.

Theovalt’s brows frowned as he was looking at all the sights.

If Ethelred was a living statue-with a calm demeanor and face, Theobalt was literally a statue. The level of emotional expression is barely enough to be called an expression, literally a statue.

His expression was one of displeasure, which is extremely rare, it also meant that he really didn’t like the scene.

However, he did not ask Ethelred about the reason for stabbing the servant. The answer he would likely hear is ‘he brought the tea cold,’ or, ‘there is residue left in the ink.’ Are you sure these are sins that require such punishment?

“You didn’t answer me. Why did you save her?”

“I’m very interested in other people’s lives, Theo.”

Ethelred pulled out the sword that was stuck in the back of the servant without any sign of irony -and as the servant screamed once more- pointed the sword at Theovalt.

“Will I kill you on her behalf?”

“My life is already yours, Your Majesty. It’s not right to ask me.”

The tip of the sword lifted Theovalt’s chin. He could have been stabbed in the neck, but Theovalt just stood with his eyes down without moving.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Ethelred finally lowered his sword. The only thing that proved that the earlier act occurred was now the fresh blood at the tip of Theovalt’s chin.

“You’ve been trying to save me ever since you asked me to join you. Do you believe in the weight of words? Is there any reason why her life was special?”

“Did you think you were going to die, and I’d let her live? You’re like a jealous little boy.”

“You know my life doesn’t matter to me.”

“People’s minds change more easily than words.”

Ethelred answered sourly and lifted the sword. This time, the end of the sword was the neck of the servant. As the servant choked on his own blood his groans died out. Instead, another sound was heard.

“….Ah.”

Maribelle stood, looking at the corner of the building’s outer wall.

Tuk, tuk.

Tears rolled down Maribelle’s cheeks.

******

Maribelle quickly grasped the situation. So, that’s the sword and that’s Ethelred. He did get some blood on it. She doesn’t know who the person standing next to him is… But that man looks a little familiar.

And their feet is a dead body. A person who was just alive a moment ago. The body was dressed like a servant of the Imperial Palace. Perhaps the blood on Ethelred belonged to that body.

‘I heard that one person dies everyday in the palace—’

The bloody scene of death and gore is shocking. No matter how different Maribelle is from the past, this is the first time for her to see the scene of a direct slaughter. The first death Maribelle suffered through was her own beheading.

So these tears must be because of the shock to her. Maribelle wiped away the tears from her cheeks. No matter how unfamiliar she was with death, this felt excessive. She was embarrassed by the tears she burst into.

The tears that had been building up to the limit dripped slowly down her face.

Leaving Pepper behind, Maribelle walked endlessly through the palace’s marble hallway. Her head was confused. She thought she’d feel better if she left the beggarly mansion, but it’s more frustrating now.

‘I haven’t even started taking revenge yet.’

Maybe that’s why. Because it didn’t end properly. It was just a declaration of war.

Maribelle’s plan was not very grand. She’ll take back what she had lost. What’s wrong with getting her things back? But for the things that were lost and irreversible, she was going to have them pay the corresponding price.

She will repay her gloomy past with their future. All the humiliation she is willing to endure will return to them in their inevitable misery, and she will allow them to beg for their lives, grumbling over the irreversible past.

She wanted them to only have hope left. When she had endured all the disgrace in her past it was only her faith in the family and the future that kept her sane. She would live on the faith that she would someday regain her glory from the past. The moment when they fell from the highest point to the lowest point they would look at the light of the distant sky, towards the promise of the future.

She was going to cut their throats at that moment.

‘Will I be relieved after that?’

She’s gonna be relieved, wouldn’t she? It’s not this stuffy, is it?

She already knew that people don’t cry only out of sadness, but it’s a little funny that she’s about to cry because of how frustrating it is.

“Ha..”

Maribelle captured the sentiment in her sigh. She walked enough so now she was thinking of returning to Calende Palace. Everything was peaceful until she realized that she had never been here before, and that she had taken a wrong turn at the imperial road and she had come to a completely different place.

“There’s no one here.”

There was a long hallway and no sign of people. There were no bustling servants or knights to catch and ask if they were on their way to Calende Palace. Maribelle was forced to walk along the road.

“Theo. Put this away.”

The road led to Ethelred.

That was Theovalt. Maribelle stared blankly at Theovalt, dragging a body outside, and rubbed her tearful cheeks with her hands. She had some makeup on, but it doesn’t really matter. The problem here is…

‘Why can’t I stop crying?’

Maribelle was rubbing her cheek. She only asked for a little makeup, so it’s definitely already wiped out. At first, it was a few tears, but the more she wiped away, the more tears flooded her face.

It was perfectly right to say that she was dripping. Like a glass bottle that had been filled until overflowing, tears fell and flowed without a break.

Tears began to come out even faster. At this rate, she would have cried like a child. If the tears are wiped away quickly, she would cry even more. Why, why like this, why.

“I didn’t call you here.”

There’s a strange warmth on her cheek. A big and somewhat rough hand compared to Maribelle’s. The tears that leaked out like a faucet  suddenly stopped.

There were some tears still left in her eyes, but after Maribelle blinked a couple of times her vision cleared. Right in front of her was Ethelred’s face leaving a deep impression.

“The death was so light, and then you barely saw the body and started crying?”

“—I didn’t cry.”

She wanted to add ‘I barely saw the body’, but Maribelle could not say it because her neck tingled, so she omitted it. However, because of that omitted part, Ethelred completely misunderstood.

“When you cry and lie about it, try to make it believable.”

Ethelred, still frowning, wiped the remaining tears off Maribelle’s cheek. It looked like he had no intention of touching the eye area, just her cheek.

Fortunately, the hand near her neck was also quite loose, Maribelle quickly thought up an excuse as she remembered.

“It just rained. It’s because I got rained on.”

“It must be a cloud of rain just above you.”

“Rain clouds are just clouds that become rain clouds when they get cold, so clouds above them are just a lot—”

Maribelle stopped talking gibberish.

This is because Ethelred hugged her. The warm heat was spinning in her head, which she believed would be cool. It was a close hug. It looked like he was comforting a child who was lost and didn’t know what to do, and there were angled corners in various places where he hugged Maribelle.

In the aftermath of the murder a while ago, Ethelred’a arms were smeared with fishy blood. But for a moment, as the wind passed over the two people, there was only one scent that she knew.

Maribelle glanced over his shoulder for a long time, barely raising her head. Ethelred pushed away to meet her eyes.

“Your Majesty.”

“Tell me.”

“Is this included in the ‘use’?”

She wondered at Ethelred’s brows, which had been frowning a little, but a cold smile soon came out stopping her thoughts.

“It’s a big loss for me to say I only use you like this.”

Ethelred’s arm against her waist tightened.