TBVL 05
The Villainess Who Was Betrayed Is Looking for Someone to Have Her Back – Chapter 5
“Let’s see… something suitable…”
Nothing.
Looks like I’ll have to test it myself after all.
I swallowed nervously.
Right.
I’ve already decided to escape.
There’s no reason to hesitate now.
“Hmph. At worst, I’ll just die, right?”
I looked back at the cabin one last time before tightly gripping the empty potion bottle I always carried like a lucky charm.
It felt surprisingly light in my hand.
“No.”
“I won’t die.”
“I didn’t die last time either.”
“It’ll probably just hurt enough to make me wish I were dead.”
“I can endure that much.”
Let’s go.
I slowly stretched a hand into the air before taking a cautious step forward.
The hand clenched into a fist to hide its trembling had gone pale.
One step.
Then another.
The boundary drew closer.
“Stupid Violetta. If you were going to kill yourself, you should’ve chosen another method. Did you really think that would work?”
“I never intended to kill myself.”
“Out of respect for old times, let me give you one piece of advice.”
“If you’re going to die, do it all at once.”
“At least then you’ll have an excuse.”
“Don’t make everyone come and go because you couldn’t even manage to die properly.”
I’m not going to die.
Before long, I reached the very edge of the barrier.
One final step.
Without hesitation.
Without faltering.
I walked straight ahead.
At last…
I crossed the boundary that had imprisoned me here for two years—
and was meant to remain for another four hundred and ninety-eight years.
“Haha…”
“I really…”
“I really crossed it.”
A sharp, crushing sensation spread across every inch of my skin.
Yet laughter escaped through my lips.
My knees buckled.
The pressure was still overwhelming.
But I gritted my teeth, steadied myself, and remained standing.
“See?”
“I told you.”
“I can endure it.”
“AAAAAH!”
The first emotion to burst forth wasn’t joy.
It was rage.
I’d thought it had only been two years.
But the resentment that had built up during that time was far greater than I had imagined.
Two years.
Two years of being locked inside a prison without even a jailer.
Branded with crimes I never committed.
Living while longing for people…
Longing for the outside world…
It had been unbearably long.
“AAAAAH!”
“Haha…”
“Hahaha…”
The water running down my face had to be rain.
I refused to believe I was crying over something like this.
Only after laughing until it sounded almost like sobbing did I finally calm down enough to think.
I wiped the rainwater from my face roughly.
Maybe it was only my imagination…
But the longer I remained beyond the barrier, the weaker its pressure seemed to become.
My body felt noticeably lighter.
“God.”
“This probably isn’t the opportunity You intended to give me…”
“But either way…”
“I’ll make excellent use of it.”
“Amen.”
Making the sign of the cross in an order I could no longer remember properly, I finished my prayer.
For the first time in two years…
It felt like everything was finally going to work out.
I practically floated back toward the cabin.
There was so much I needed to do now.
But…
“…That brat—”
“No…”
“Where did my patient go?”
The moment I opened the door, I was greeted by a completely silent, empty cabin.
The place where the man had been lying was vacant.
“…He left in that condition?”
“He could barely move.”
Had seeing him all been a dream?
No.
That couldn’t be.
I’d crossed the barrier just moments ago.
That had been undeniably real.
Something so vivid couldn’t possibly have been a dream or an illusion.
The equipment I’d used to treat him was still exactly where I’d left it.
Which meant…
He had truly disappeared under his own power.
“I went through all that trouble to heal you…”
“You shouldn’t even be out in the rain with your condition…”
Letting out a sigh, I looked around.
“Hm?”
“What’s this?”
Fortunately, the man seemed to have a conscience.
He hadn’t simply accepted treatment and run away.
A neatly placed note sat on the table.
“‘Wintergarten?'”
“…What’s written after that?”
Judging by the shaky handwriting, he must really have been weak.
It was obvious he’d tried his best to write neatly.
In other words…
His handwriting was a complete mess.
The only word I could recognize was Wintergarten.
Wintergarten…
Wasn’t that the Grand Duchy in the northern part of the Empire?
My thoughts immediately began racing.
“I’ve heard the Grand Duke was stripped of his position as Crown Prince because he was cursed.”
“A curse?”
“It’s true.”
“Apparently he completely lost his mind around the age of sixteen.”
“They say God Himself cursed him.”
“Sounds like God had way too much free time.”
“Violetta… could you stop committing blasphemy…”
The territory of the cursed Grand Duke…
“Hm.”
“Not bad.”
Wouldn’t it be the perfect place to hide?
I couldn’t return to the Kingdom anyway.
A wide smile spread across my face.
It seemed I’d found the perfect place to begin my second life.
* * *
The Kingdom of Ludencio.
After the subjugation of the Radiant Dragon—the Kingdom’s greatest crisis and source of endless trouble—the nation finally found peace.
Day after day passed without incident, and the people’s satisfaction only grew with each passing year.
The five heroes who had defeated the Radiant Dragon—
No.
Now only four remained.
They had been hailed as the Kingdom’s heroes and were housed in the finest quarters of the royal palace.
Inside one of those rooms, raised voices echoed.
“Have you completely lost your mind?!”
“So what if I grabbed her by the collar?!”
“Is that really such a big deal?!”
Hearing the hot-headed Calix shouting wasn’t unusual.
What was surprising…
was that he was arguing with Rigreto.
The handsome silver-haired, blue-eyed man was normally gentle and composed.
Now he was visibly furious.
“Calm down, Rigreto.”
“I’m sure Calix regrets it.”
Baneta stepped between them.
Beside her, the Kingdom’s Crown Prince, Leonhardt, sat with one hand covering his forehead, his eyes closed.
“But, Baneta!”
“Calix hit Violetta—”
“That’s enough, Rigreto.”
“Your Highness!”
Leonhardt’s presence was as sharp as a drawn blade.
The youthful immaturity he had once possessed had long since disappeared, replaced by the imposing authority of a future king.
Though they had been his friends for years, neither Calix nor Rigreto dared to speak carelessly before him.
There was only one person in the world who could.
“Leon.”
“You should calm down too.”
“Baneta…”
“Calix.”
“This time, you were wrong.”
“How could you do something like that?”
“Especially you.”
Unable to contain himself, Calix exploded again.
“Can’t you see this, Baneta?”
“I got hit too!”
“That vicious woman poured a paralysis potion all over me.”
“I still can’t feel anything below my ankles.”
“That’s because you provoked Violetta.”
“You brought up Rigreto’s engagement.”
“You know how much Violetta loved Rito.”
At those words, Rigreto’s fists tightened.
Feeling suffocated, he loosened the cravat around his neck.
She had loved him.
Violetta had been his fiancée.
If none of that had happened…
They would probably be husband and wife by now.
But Violetta…
Rigreto forced himself to stop thinking.
Countless memories of Violetta painfully resurfaced.
Even the green eyes with which she had looked at him in the courtroom that day.
Back then…
He hadn’t hesitated.
Now…
It hurt unbearably.
He wished he could turn back time.
“The engagement has been called off.”
“Rito.”
“So you were the one who refused?”
“She seemed like a good woman.”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he clenched his teeth.
He wanted to see Violetta.
His resentment had long since crumbled away.
Only a love with nowhere to go remained, tormenting him.
Every night, a mocking voice echoed inside his head.
“Didn’t you know this would happen?”
Whenever it did…
Rigreto spent another sleepless night.
Morning was the only relief.
As soon as the sun rose, Violetta’s lingering image always scattered like frost at dawn.
Biting his lip, Rigreto looked out the window.
The cloudy sky looked as though snow might begin falling at any moment.
“Did…”
“Did Violetta seem all right?”
“What?”
“You hit Violetta, didn’t you?!”
Looking dumbfounded, Calix pointed at himself.
“Me?”
Then he sighed.
“I don’t know.”
“She looked a little pale, I guess.”
“Calix!”
“And then she knocked me down with a potion.”
“When exactly was I supposed to examine her face?”
“I’m the one who got hurt worse!”
Rigreto abruptly stood up.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to see Violetta.”
“Rito.”
“I already told you that’s not a good idea.”
That was true.
For two years…
Rigreto had never once gone to see Violetta.
At first, he couldn’t bear to face her, so he refused the opportunity himself.
Later…
His friends stopped him.
They said it would only give Violetta false hope.
The truth was…
He simply didn’t have the courage.
He was afraid of how she would react.
“I didn’t do it.”
“I swear.”
“……”
“Do you suspect me?”
“I still love you.”
“So… you don’t believe me.”
Hadn’t he slapped away the hand that reached out to wipe away his tears?
Now…
He regretted it.
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