I’m a villain, but I want to live a long life.

chapter 4     “I’m a villain, but I want to live a long life.”

“Oh, my God, miss!”

Anna, who was nervously biting her nails by the side of the carriage, came running up to me as soon as she spotted me.

“What the hell is going on, do you know how surprised I was to get the call that you’ve suddenly collapsed!”

I shook my head in disbelief, not even having the energy to answer. Then Estelin, who was next to me, spoke up.

“I’m sorry, there was a small accident at the party……. I told you that we should stay here today, but Young Ae kept saying that we should go back.”

“Oh, my…… that’s right.”

Anna replied, studying my complexion.

She was looking at me and Estelin, hand in hand as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.

Conscious of the stare, I spoke cautiously.

“I…… Estelin. Can you let go of this first?”

Estelin exclaimed, “Oh, I’m sorry!” and quickly let go of my hand, fiddling with the hem of her dress.

“Well, I told you before, I want to make it up to you for what happened today, so I was wondering if I could write to you sometime soon?”

“Sure, anytime.”

“And again……, just in case…….”

Estelin trailed off with a puzzled look.

I realized what she was trying to say and whispered in a low voice so Anna couldn’t hear.

“……Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about what happened today. You’ll be embarrassed if it turns out that something like this happened, won’t you?”

Estelin nodded, a little surprised.

The Laurent family, for all its influence, had many enemies.

Many would do anything to discredit the duke.

“If word gets out to those people that there was a poisoning today…….

It wouldn’t take long for all sorts of nasty rumors to spread: that Duke Laurent’s prestige had fallen, that his security was lax, that his vassals were in trouble, and so on.

And this was what happened in the novel.

Soon after Eria’s death, malicious rumors were circulating in the islands that sought to discredit the Laurent family.

So Estelin had to suffer for a while, even as she grieved the loss of her sister.

‘Of course, in the original story, Selenea enjoyed that, too.

I clucked my tongue at the cruelty of it, then thought of a better idea and opened my mouth.

“Estelin. What if we blame my collapse on anemia?”

Estelin’s eyes narrowed.

“Yes, but, um, is that okay?”

“Sure. Anemia isn’t a death sentence.”

I almost killed her sister, and this was nothing.

But Estelin bit her lip hard and muttered in a shaky voice.

“Selenea…… thank you so much.”

She shook her head as if it was no big deal, but then she heard Anna’s voice in the distance.

“Miss, it’s cold out, you should get in.”

She had been waiting for our conversation to end.

I nodded, walked over to Anna, climbed into the carriage, and said to Estelin

“Come on in, Estelin. Thank you for today.”

“Oh, no, I should be the one to thank you, and…….”

She blushed and touched her earlobe, then added.

“……I guess I’ve been misunderstanding Youngae all this time, and I’m sorry.”

I shut my mouth, then smiled awkwardly and replied.

“Eh, I’m not sorry.”

Just then, the coachman cracked his whip. The carriage slowly began to move.

Estelin’s figure in the window grew smaller and smaller. Until I could barely see her.

I stuck my head out the window and whispered to Anna.

“……Anna, the maid who delivered the medicine. You know who she is, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes. If it’s her, I’ve taken her in. Why are you doing this?”

“Let’s get her into exile. Now.”

For now, I needed a full-blown crime.

* * *

“Hah…….”

I let out a deep sigh toward the ceiling. The first rays of dawn were already peeking through the curtains.

It had been around midnight since Anna and I had arrived at the mansion in the carriage, and I hadn’t been able to catch even a few moments of sleep.

I hadn’t been able to keep my eyes open for more than a few minutes.

Not the least of which was…….

“Why did he fall?

The Tear of God was a drug that did not affect anyone who wasn’t a manifesto.

“But I collapsed, and it hurt like hell.

The throbbing pain in his chest was still there. Though it was improving quickly.

‘It’s true that …… things went well.

Duke Laurent would investigate further, but there was nothing to suggest that I had done anything wrong.

There would be no evidence of my involvement anywhere.

For one thing, the circumstances had made it impossible for anyone to suspect me, and the only witness, the Duke’s maid, had long since fled the system.

‘What if I say that my family is ill with a deadly disease and that I must return home urgently?’

Thanks to Anna for coming up with a plausible excuse, which meant there was no evidence and no witnesses.

But…….

“The problem is going forward.”

This was a world I’d only read about in novels, but I’d been dropped into it overnight.

No matter how hard I tried to put on a brave face, everything was unfamiliar and scary.

And most of all, there was too little information.

‘No wonder I was confused about the characters’ names at the beginning.

This was completely understandable.

No one reads a web novel like they were studying it. We read like we’re studying a web novel.

‘Besides, Selenea wasn’t even a big part of the story. She was a moderately memorable character.

Yes, and even Selenea was a supporting villain who pops in and out of the story.

One of the many villains who appear and disappear to inflate the narrative of the main character.

I let out a small sigh and rubbed my forehead with the palm of my hand.

“A small hump after a big hump…….”

I guess that’s why they said everyone’s life is the same.

My eyes were puffy from lack of sleep and I felt a faint headache. I shook my head in disbelief.

“……I don’t know. I’ll figure it out tomorrow when I wake up.

Out of habit, I glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was already past five o’clock.

‘Shit. I’ll only get an hour of sleep at most…… wait.’

But then he froze in mid-sentence. My eyes grew wider and wider.

Come to think of it, I didn’t have to get up at six. I didn’t have a job to go to in this world.

The corners of my mouth slowly turned up.

No matter how dirty and sleazy it was, it was the company I loved and hated, the one I’d resigned from just to pay the bills for the next month.

But…….

I’m just a bum now? Really?

“…….”

A sigh escaped me.

I flopped down on the bed with a sour face, the soft comforter snuggling against my skin.

I can feel it now.

‘She must be a valuable girl.

The bed was fluffy, the quilt warm.

It was nothing like the cheap 10,000-won futon I used to sleep on in my previous life.

And everything was big and spacious. The room, the window, the bed. Maybe a king-size?

“So …… is why everyone was so into possession and reincarnation.”

It’s so funny. Life is exciting.

I closed my eyes in disbelief.

I heard birds chirping through the dusky dawn light. It must be dawn.

‘I’m afraid to fall asleep.

What if I woke up and it was all a dream?

But my worries didn’t last long. I quickly fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up, the sun was rising in the middle of the sky.

I sat up and saw Anna sitting in front of a blazing fireplace, knitting.

“Anna.”

I called out in a hushed voice, and Anna looked up and came over with a concerned look on her face.

“Miss, are you all right, I thought you were sleeping soundly and didn’t want to wake you.”

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine.”

Anna smiled reassuringly and smoothed down her disheveled hair.

“I guess Selenea doesn’t usually bother Anna.

If that were the case, Anna wouldn’t be this friendly to me.

Or had things not yet turned sour between them?

I stopped thinking about it. After all, it couldn’t hurt to get along with the person I’d be spending the most time with in the future.

“Are you feeling better? Word has already spread around the islands that you collapsed yesterday.”

Her green eyes were full of concern.

“Have you been anemic? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“……, what with the anemia.”

Then Anna sighed with a stern look on her face.

“Miss, your health is my top priority, so why don’t you see a doctor now?”

“It’s only temporary.”

Anna mumbled, “But…….,” and her eyes widened as if she suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, so what did you do about that diarrhea medicine?”

I asked, scratching my head.

“……, huh?”

“The one you said you’d make sure to give Lady Estelin.”

I blinked, looking away in surprise.

“Uh, that, that, that worked out fine, I changed my mind halfway through and got rid of it before Estelin could eat it.”

Anna opened her mouth in surprise.

“Then why did you send that maid back home yesterday?”

“Well, just in case……?”

Anna’s eyes narrowed slowly. Suspicion flashed in her green eyes.

She made a ‘hmmm’ sound.

“But, but, but, but, but, you didn’t like Miss Estelin very much, did you?”

“…….”

“Even on this one, when I was so against it, you pushed through. And then you had a sudden change of heart and quit…….”

I replied, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“Well, I don’t hate Estelin anymore.”

“What?”

“No, well, she’s not that bad…… and I’ve indeed been kind of mean to her, right?”

“……Ah, are you sick?”

It was strange when people suddenly changed, but this world seemed to be the same.

I coughed and pulled back, shaking my head.

“No way. I’m fine.”

Anna glared at me, then nodded reluctantly.

“……if you say so.”

Then she said, “Oh, my God!” and clapped her hands together.

I stared at her with bewildered eyes.