I Don’t Want to be a Villainess

I helped Sara, who seemed to have lost strength in her legs, into the room. Thankfully, the door lock recognized her fingerprint properly. I opened the locked door and sat Sara down on the bed.

The maid, who always followed Sara, was nowhere to be seen. I couldn’t just leave Sara, sitting helplessly on the bed, so Yoo Ha-neul, Lee Soo-ah, and Shin So-hee joined forces to change Sara’s clothes.

Was it because of Sara’s condition? Still, I couldn’t think much about it. I was just worried about Sara.

After changing Sara into pajamas and laying her down on the bed, the three of us stood awkwardly for a moment.

But no one came into the room.

And it made sense; the only people who could enter this room, besides Sara, were the maid and the chairwoman. It was expected that the maid was absent.

“…I think it’s best if we leave for now.”

To be honest, Yoo Ha-neul wanted to stay by Sara’s side. I thought Shin So-hee and Lee Soo-ah probably felt the same way. But the atmosphere didn’t allow for it.

Sara, lying on the bed and looking up at Yoo Ha-neul, seemed to really want to be alone.

Sara quietly nodded at Yoo Ha-neul’s words.

Yoo Ha-neul, Shin So-hee, and Lee Soo-ah exchanged glances and gave a small farewell to Sara.

“See you on Monday.”

“Yeah, be careful on your way back.”

Sara quietly mumbled a response.

The three of them hesitantly left Sara’s room.

Click with a beep, the door locked behind them.

…That sound made me think a lot.

Yes, every time the three of them left the mansion, Sara would come out to the front gate with them.

Now, that locked door wouldn’t open until Sara unlocked it again.

“…Let’s go.”

How long had I been standing dumbfounded by the door? Yoo Ha-neul was the first to speak up. Once she started walking, the other two followed.

They walked down the hallway and stairwell, but didn’t talk to each other.

They were all lost in their thoughts. It was easy for Yoo Ha-neul to guess that their thoughts were likely about Sara.

It took some time to finally exit the ridiculously spacious mansion.

Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, aside from the personal maid, the rest of the staff seemed to still be there. Two staff members at the mansion’s grand entrance opened the door for them.

The three continued to walk in silence.

Passing through the large front yard of the mansion, the path to the front gate felt particularly long. It felt like just one person was missing, yet it significantly changed the atmosphere.

They passed through the mansion’s gate.

Just crossing that small threshold, it felt as though the stagnant air began to move. Many people outside were walking about and chatting. It was an entirely different atmosphere from the silence that had engulfed the mansion.

Now, they could begin to understand the kind of life Sara had lived so far.

All the assumptions they thought they understood were mere delusions. The only glimpse they had imagined was just a small part of Sara’s life. Beneath that, way below, in the depths where a reality cold enough to freeze hearts lay, Sara’s life remained submerged.

“…”

What should I say?

Yoo Ha-neul’s mind was filled with thoughts, and she couldn’t come up with the right words to greet her friends.

Just as they stood there hesitating—

“Everyone.”

Someone called out to them.

It was a young woman wearing a suit. Next to her was a small travel carry-on.

…Surely, that was the same person who had just been wearing a maid’s uniform not long ago.

“Um…”

As Yoo Ha-neul hesitated, she slightly bowed and spoke.

“I am Yang Hye-in, Sara’s former personal maid until just a moment ago.”

“Yeah…”

Did “until just a moment ago” mean she wasn’t anymore?

Shin So-hee and Lee Soo-ah also turned their heads in that direction.

Yang Hye-in slowly looked at each of them and calmly spoke.

“Could you spare a moment?”

*

After confirming the three had left, I quickly got up.

It seemed that strength had returned to my body. Thank goodness.

I pushed the blanket aside and quickly got off the bed. Then, I went straight to Ye Sara’s desk.

A few remnants of her records were left behind.

Though they were short notes, they contained Ye Sara’s thoughts. Reading them now, after having learned a bit about Ye Sara’s heart, felt entirely different from when I first read them.

Perhaps, reading them now might give me a proper understanding of Ye Sara’s thoughts.

If I were lucky, maybe it would help me recall Ye Sara’s memories—

However, in the third drawer I opened, there was just a single notebook inside.

There were no letters, no pill bottles.

“…Oh.”

After staring blankly into the drawer for a long while, I slumped against the desk.

Ah, I see.

This room wasn’t a place I could just enter alone.

If it wasn’t during vacation or on the weekends, this room was typically empty for longer periods.

A cleaning maid could come in, and…

…which meant she could open the desk drawer.

All this time, I had thought nothing of the drawer, as if it was completely normal not to touch anything.

No, wait.

This wasn’t the time to be like this.

For the moment, the chairwoman had returned as she was, but I couldn’t predict what would happen next.

Yang Hye-in’s response to me today flashed through my mind. The way she couldn’t quite meet my gaze, looking different from usual, awkward and uncomfortable.

If she had read the letter, it wouldn’t be surprising for her to react that way.

I stood up.

Had she delivered the letter to the chairwoman? Did she still have it with her?

Judging by the chairwoman’s reaction, it didn’t seem like she had passed the letter to her. There was no way that person could read it and act like it was nothing.

I opened the door and stepped outside. I was still in my pajamas, but it didn’t matter. I probably wouldn’t have to go outside anyway.

I had always been in this mansion.

However, that day, I couldn’t find Yang Hye-in.

*

Was it because it was the weekend? Most cafes were bustling with people.

After trying a few well-known franchise cafes and finding no seats, I stumbled upon a small alley cafe I had visited with Sara before.

Did Yang Hye-in know that I would be here?

Yoo Ha-neul thought she likely did. After all, she was someone from a family that treated Sara so poorly. It wouldn’t be surprising for them to have a watchful eye on her.

They each placed a cup of coffee in front of them and sat across from each other. It wasn’t intentional, but it seemed like it became Yang Hye-in against the three of them at the round table.

But Yang Hye-in didn’t seem overly concerned about that.

“Could I ask what you would like to talk about?”

Yoo Ha-neul asked, trying to keep the sharpness out of her voice.

“It’s about Ye Sara.”

Despite having resigned as a maid, she hadn’t changed her maid-like way of speaking.

“…What kind of story?”

“Before starting the story, may I ask you one thing?”

Yang Hye-in’s voice remained calm.

“How do you feel about Ye Sara? What are your thoughts on her?”

The somewhat unexpected question made the three pause and look at each other.

“…To me, I think of her as an irreplaceable friend.”

Yoo Ha-neul’s answer was somewhat passive. Of course, saying that she was an irreplaceable friend wasn’t a light statement—it meant she was the only one among all friends.

But at the same time, it was something that could be said to all friends equally.

In reality, a hidden feeling lay beneath that. But that feeling wasn’t ripe enough to be openly expressed. She wasn’t sure if that feeling was truly ‘that’ kind of feeling yet.

“I want to be like Sara.”

Lee Soo-ah answered.

Of course, it wasn’t that she wanted to be a caged bird. Rather, the opposite. A bird bravely opening the cage and soaring freely in the sky. To Lee Soo-ah, Sara was that kind of person.

“I like her.”

Finally, Shin So-hee responded.

She openly revealed her feelings.

“I want to marry her, too.”

With a nonchalant expression, chin resting on her palms. At first glance, it could have seemed like a casual remark, lacking sincerity, or an offhand comment.

But knowing her past actions, it would be seen differently.

For her, it was so natural that it wasn’t something she needed to feel embarrassed about or gather courage to confess.

Yoo Ha-neul felt a bit envious of that side of her.

“Is that so…”

Yang Hye-in paused for a moment before speaking again.

“In that case, how far would you be willing to go for her?”

“…”

None of the three answered.

But it wasn’t because the question was difficult to answer.

It was simply because they thought there was only one answer.

Noticing the atmosphere among the three, Yang Hye-in took something out of her pocket without waiting for a response.

It was a white envelope.

Could she possibly intend to slip them some cash for parting ways? Yoo Ha-neul thought that as she noticed the end of the envelope was already torn. The envelope also read, “To Mother.”

“Could you please read this?”

Yang Hye-in placed the letter on the table.

“…”

The three exchanged glances for a moment.

Yoo Ha-neul was the one who picked it up. The envelope brought by a former maid working under the wealthiest person in the country didn’t seem particularly fancy.

The letter paper inside was the same. It was thin and plain, something easily found at any stationery store in the neighborhood.

But the contents of the letter were definitely not common.

“Ah.”

After reading the first few lines, Yoo Ha-neul muttered blankly. Soon after, she continued to read with a stiffened expression.

“…”

The two others moved close to Yoo Ha-neul.

They couldn’t tell what type of letter it was. However, the fact that it was brought by Yang Hye-in and her prior words meant that even those who hadn’t seen the letter could easily guess its relation to someone.

“…”

Even glancing at the letter sent the other two into a similar reaction to Yoo Ha-neul’s.

With faces frozen stiff, they uttered not a single word.

That was how shocking the contents of that letter were to the three of them.

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