The Villainess is Tired of Everything-Chapter 28

It had only been a few days, but the atmosphere between us had changed significantly.

The cheerful face she usually wore was gone, replaced by a somewhat cold expression.

In the heavy air, she was the first to bow her head in greeting.

“I’m sorry for everything.”

There was only one thing I could say to her.

“You shouldn’t have done something you needed to apologize for in the first place. Especially if it was something no decent person would do.”

My attitude towards her was completely different from before, but that was only natural. I had no reason to be polite to someone who had tried to stab me in the back.

Biting my lip, I glared at Letty and spoke through gritted teeth.

“Go back and tell His Highness the Crown Prince this: He’s the one who crossed the line first, so our agreement is off.”

“Our agreement…?”

“It means I’ll be going in and out of social circles and wherever I please from now on.”

I hadn’t isolated myself for Ryan’s sake in the first place; I did it because I was just exhausted.

But if it’s necessary—if it’s for revenge—I can endure a bit of exhaustion.

This action was a preemptive strike, a way to beat Ryan to the punch before he could say anything about my future behavior.

As I thought of his face, my brow furrowed.

“And….”

“….”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not because I want to see His Highness.”

“….”

“His Highness means nothing to me anymore.”

With those resolute words, I turned away from Letty, but a thought of Darcy suddenly crossed my mind.

Darcy, who had been an unknown existence in a desolate palace.

Why did he have to be a non-existent entity? What kept him alive all this time, and why did he have to die? There had to be more to it than just being hidden royalty.

What had kept him alive until now?

And why had the direction of his life suddenly shifted towards my happiness?

Was it really just because I was the first person he could befriend? Could that be all?

These were questions only Darcy himself could answer.

And why was I so preoccupied with these questions?

As I pondered, I realized I wanted to see him.

At the same time, I had to ask myself another question.

Darcy would probably explain everything calmly, so why was I so impatient to know?

At what point did I become so curious about him?

Why was I curious?

Was this just the natural curiosity one has about someone they know, or was it something more?

I didn’t know yet.

Both Darcy and I needed more time to get to know each other.

After being knocked unconscious by Darcy and waking up in his bed, Ryan clenched his teeth.

His arm was broken, and a nasty bruise had formed on his face.

But the person who had inflicted such ruthless violence on him was perfectly fine. Far from being imprisoned, no one had even questioned his actions.

The atmosphere in the palace had taken a strange turn.

Ryan began to doubt whether he would ever become emperor and reign over others.

As long as that man existed, things wouldn’t go the way he wanted.

Ryan, still lying in bed, muttered bitterly to the servant standing by his side.

“Where is His Majesty the Emperor?”

He needed the presence of Emperor Kyes to officially declare himself a crown prince, so he would be alive. Somehow, he had to find the emperor and talk to him.

There were magical tools that could break the mind control, even if they were rare and forgotten. These were also made using magic stones.

“He’s in his chambers.”

The answer came more readily than expected, surprising him. He had thought the emperor would be kept hidden until the day of the proclamation, but apparently, that wasn’t difficult to achieve.

“I must see him at once.”

As Ryan stood up, he grimaced in pain. His condition was worse than he had anticipated.

He was accustomed to sparring with knights, but this kind of physical brawl felt beneath him.

‘How could someone like that aspire to the throne?’

The emperor must possess the dignity and bloodline worthy of the throne. Ryan had worked hard to polish those qualities over the years.

He couldn’t allow a man who knew nothing of that to destroy everything.

Ryan was about to step into the hallway when he opened the door.

“…Leticia.”

“Your Highness.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. But….”

“But?”

Leticia hesitated for a moment before swallowing hard. She knew Ryan would lose his temper the moment he heard what she had to say.

But Marceau Etvar was about to resume her activities. Ryan needed to be informed.

“Lady Marceau Etvar said she would resume her activities.”

“What, what? How long has it been since she said she would isolate herself….”

People don’t change! It had all been his mistake, after all.

Ryan was about to raise his voice when Leticia hurriedly added,

“She also asked me to tell you that it’s absolutely not because of you, Your Highness.”

“What nonsense. That’s impossible.”

Ryan immediately rejected Leticia’s words. To him, Marceau’s love for him was an unchanging truth, as constant as a law of nature.

But even constants are bound to be broken someday.

This was one of those times.

“Your Highness, she….”

Leticia vividly remembered Marceau’s face as she spoke Ryan’s name. It was definitely not the look of someone thinking of a loved one.

“She’s really changed.”

Ryan needed to accept that fact.

“It’s true.”

Ryan exhaled heavily, realizing that he was beginning to believe Leticia’s words.

Because the last time he saw Marceau, she had seemed different too.

Maybe she really had changed. The thought, something he had never considered before, left his mind blank.

‘…Then how should I deal with Marceau Etvar going forward?’

Marceau had been so irrationally hostile towards Reshuan that it was easy to justify being irrational towards her. It was the only way to protect Reshuan.

But what about now?

Along with his confusion, a strange feeling lingered in his heart.

The person he had thought would always love him had changed.

…He should have been glad about that, but instead, he felt an odd emptiness.

‘No, that can’t be right.’

Unable to bear the thought of his world falling apart, Ryan refused to accept the truth.

This was Ryan’s truth, his sincerity.

Pitol’s ambitious play was finally set to premiere at the theater, just one day before Darcy and I were supposed to meet.

So much had happened in the past week.

I twirled the two invitation tickets in my hand, reflecting on whether my life had ever been this eventful.

The tickets were a gift from Pitol after he had finalized all the preparations with the theater troupe.

‘I know you haven’t been going out much lately… but you helped us so much with this play that I really wanted to invite you.’

Seeing Pitol’s teary face as he thanked me made me realize that I had made the right choice.

Although I had been watching the troupe’s performances through recordings, I knew this one would be different.

Enjoying it alone at home was fine, but there was something uniquely thrilling about experiencing a performance in the presence of an audience. It was a moment to feel the energy and excitement firsthand.

The positive impact of the troupe members honing their performances through constant monitoring was evident.

Despite being a debut performance, the play had already generated enough buzz among the nobility to sell out every seat. All the important figures would be there.

‘It’s a perfect opportunity.’

It was the perfect timing to reintroduce myself to society after my recent absence.

It was also an opportunity to subtly hint that I had provided the troupe with ‘something,’ piquing people’s curiosity.

I had to go see the play.

I had already informed Ryan, so there was nothing holding me back. I prepared myself perfectly for the occasion.

For the first time in a while, I stepped out of the plain dresses I usually wore at home, adorning myself with jewelry and bracelets before slipping into a luxurious dress. I even wore a lace-trimmed hat—I was fully armed for battle today.

This outfit wasn’t just for the occasion; it was my battle armor.

It took this level of preparation to reenter the social scene I had distanced myself from due to fatigue.

Especially since I was going alone.

I had wanted to ask Darcy to join me, but I didn’t.

The play was about the secret of his birth, something that could be traumatic for him. Ugh, I vividly remember the last time we watched a play together.

The unusually long silence.

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At the time, I thought he was just engrossed in the performance, but now I understand. It must have reminded him of his own life in some way.

Pitol had reworked the premiere several times, using the secret of the protagonist’s birth to inject life into the play, but I knew this subject would be uncomfortable for him.

I didn’t want Darcy to relive bad memories while spending time with me.

Knowing how much his decision to stay had impacted his life, I wanted to be as considerate of him as possible.

‘Well, it’s time to leave.’

I stepped outside to catch the carriage I had arranged to arrive in time for the evening performance.

…And then I froze, staring in confusion at the carriage already waiting for me.

This wasn’t my family’s carriage.