The Crazy Villainess in This Area Is Me

I headed to the mansion and looked around. I was planning to see Merilly, pretending to be a maid.

I sneaked into the mansion using invisibility magic, entered the quarters, and stole the clothes to wear. Then I glanced at the maids resting in the room and changed my face into one of them. Although it became dark because of my power, I planned to bring some snacks since it was still early in the evening.

As if nothing had happened, I leisurely entered the kitchen and brought some snacks the child might like. No one cared about me, perhaps because I changed my face into one of the maids. I sighed in relief and headed to Merilly’s room on the second floor.

“Lady, I brought snacks.”

Soon, standing in front of the room, I knocked on the door.

“Lady?”

No matter how many times I called, there was no answer from inside the room. With the weather like this, she couldn’t have gone for a walk or gone out.

I opened the door slightly. As I opened the door and entered, warm moisture brushed the tip of my nose. Steam was seeping out through the slightly open door when I turned my head to the side.

I smiled and gently pushed my face through the slightly open door. But at that moment,

I immediately covered my mouth to prevent any sound from escaping. My shocked eyes slowly scanned Merilly’s body in the bath. That child’s back was a mess. It was red, yellow, and blue, as if it had been dyed with paint. All of them were wounds.  

Tears streamed down my cheeks.

Only one person in this mansion could make Merilly like this.

Grinding my teeth, I lowered my head.

Why do my anxious premonitions always come true?

Since Magorit was playing with her food, I was worried that she might have touched my child’s body. And once again, my anxiety was accurate.

My sobs leaked out endlessly, but I pressed my lips together. My whole body trembled with anger, but now was the time to care for my child’s wounds.  

“…Lady.”

I changed my face back to my original state and called the child I gave birth to as ‘Lady.’

“Aah, w-who are you?” Surprised, Merilly covered her body with a towel in a gasp.

“…Don’t be surprised. I’m the one who came to live in this mansion. Um, I’m a friend of the Marquis.”

“M-my father’s friend…?”

“Yes. I came here to deliver snacks… and happened to see the wounds on your back.”

The end of my words became teary without my knowledge.

I gulped down my dry saliva and spoke slowly again. “I think I can treat you.”

“…S-Sister?”

“My name is Lobelia.”

I smiled sadly and bent one knee. The two eyes that looked exactly like they were taken with decalcomania looked towards mine.

“May I check your wounds?”

“…Yes. If the wounds can be treated.”

A dark shade hung over the child’s face. Merilly was only a seven-year-old child. But why on earth does she have a shadow on her face, which should be so bright?

I furrowed my brows in regret and gently rubbed my child’s back as she turned around. Whenever my fingers brushed against her, Merilly’s body trembled as if in pain.

I closed my eyes painfully. I wasn’t supposed to show tears, but without even noticing, my tears continued to roll down my cheeks.

“Just a moment… all the pain will be gone.”

Slightly sobbing, I placed my palm in the middle of my child’s back. Then, I slowly released my holy power. Merilly’s slightly wrinkled expression gradually relaxed along with a warm feeling.

“Uh…”

With incredible force, the child’s eyes opened wide like a rabbit. Before she knew it, all the wounds that had covered her back had disappeared.

“It doesn’t hurt at all, how on earth…!”

Merilly turned around in surprise. But the moment she saw my face, the child blinked her eyes wide without saying anything.

“Why…”

A small hand turned to my face.

“Are you crying…?”

Merilly’s fingers slowly traced my tears.

I just smiled while crying. “The fact I treated you…”

Then, I slowly put my index finger over my lips.

“It’s a secret between us.”

“Secret?”

“Can you keep it?”

“Ah… Of course! You treated me like this…”

“Thank you.” I bowed my head excessively.

Tears dripped onto the back of my hand, forming and flowing down like the remaining sorrow in my heart.

“Thank you, Lady.”

Still, I’m really grateful that she’s holding on so bravely.

My eyes closed sadly.

“I decided to stay in the annex. Come play when it stops raining.”

“Yes, I will. Lobelia. Thank you for treating me.”

“Yes, then…”

I slowly stood up from my seat.

After leaving the bath, I immediately went outside on the first floor. Through the heavy rain, my eyes, which had become hollow because I was so angry, were clearly looking toward Magorit’s room.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

At that moment, the candle lighting the room suddenly went out. Gray smoke rose above the candle as if someone had blown the wind.

“W-what…!”

Magorit, embarrassed, let out a loud noise.

Chelsea tilted her head curiously. “Yes…?”

“Didn’t you see it just now? I’m sure someone passed by! W-why is the light suddenly…”

“It’s very windy outside, Madam. I think it went out because of the wind. I’ll—”

“Someone just passed by, Chelsea!” She raised her voice once more, striking her stuffy chest.

It was a moment of lightning, but Magorit certainly saw it clearly. A woman passed by the window with the same eyes that she had been suffering for five years ago.

Magorit nervously bit her nails. Her nails, which had been taken care of, quickly became messy.

Chelsea looked at her and let out a small sigh. Magorit wasn’t like that from the beginning. Although she was arrogant because she was raised as a noble, she wasn’t so arrogant as to act as if she had lost her mind to such maids. Chelsea looked bitterly at Magorit.

If you were born into a noble family, you lived with love until you became an adult. Ordinary ladies said there was no love in an arranged marriage, but Magorit was different. She loved her childhood friend and fiancé, Endimion, dearly. However, Magorit’s world came crashing down five years ago. Her reason, morality, and even trace of goodness went missing.

“Who would pass by when it’s raining like this, Little Madam?”

Who is the victim, and who is the perpetrator? Even if she looked like the perfect villainess, Chelsea couldn’t tell anymore.

“It passed by. I saw it!”

Magorit gasped with great excitement. Then she stumbled as if she was about to collapse and immediately opened the window. Raindrops, like a storm, swirled around the room.

“Little Madam!”

If she caught a cold, her depravity would get even worse. Chelsea headed for her right away. Then she grabbed a thick shawl and wrapped it over Magorit’s shoulder.

“You’re going to catch a cold!”

“It’s definitely passing by. That woman!”

Magorit’s pupils shook as if she had lost her mind.

“I mean it. Somebody passed by.”

“The woman…!”

She kept biting her nails and shouted.

“That woman with emerald eyes! Merilly’s real mother!”

“L-Little Madam, sssh! Anyone could listen!”

Chelsea shook her hands in surprise. She was the only one who was by Kriella’s side that day who knew Merilly had a different biological mother.

“What on earth is wrong with her eyes… I was first, I was first…!”

When she first saw Endimion, she was struck by his handsome appearance, smile, and kindness. She thought if it was with someone like him, she would be able to love him for the rest of her life, not just an arranged marriage. He whispered that he loved her enough to give his whole heart. However, it appeared that Endimion had two hearts, not one.

“Little Madam!”

“Bring Merilly.”

“Madam…”

“Right now…!”

Right now, she felt like she couldn’t live because she was so upset if she didn’t at least vent her anger on the child who looked like that woman. Magorit squealed like a pig, suffering from the wound of the curse left on her neck.

In the end, Chelse had no choice but to listen to her master as a servant. Despite her guilt over Merilly, Chelsea couldn’t help but turn around.

It was then that the light of lightning flashed loudly, with a loud roar that made ears ache. And,

“Kyaaak…!”

Magorit’s eyes turned to the wide open window. At the end of it, there was Lobelia, drenched in rain, glared at her.