Shael and I reported this matter to our families.

Someone instigated to kill the bloodline of the duke, and a poor maid got caught up in it. The duke and duchess of the Azbel family, who loved their daughter, were furious. What happened next was obvious.

Two dukes move to find the person who touched the bloodline of the Azbel family. The Azbel family, famous for magic, and the Baslett family, famous for swordsmanship.

It was obvious that somehow they would catch the culprit. Because they were two dukes with power comparable to the imperial family.

For now, leaving the work to the two families, Shael and I were in Shael’s room as usual. However, it was a little different from usual. It was because there was a maid, Astin, with us. Astin shuddered at the strangely terrifying atmosphere.

“It’s obvious that the Azbel family will find them first.”

That’s what the villainess told me. Of course, I couldn’t stay still. Even at this time, Astin was trembling as she shrank her body.

“Isn’t it obvious that the Barsletts would find out first?”

“It can’t be.”

“…”

“This is the Baslett family we are talking about, we are famous for our swordsmanship.”

“The Azbel family is famous for magic too, right?”

Astin stayed silent. ‘Do I have to stay here?’ That is what she must be thinking.

However, a crisis approached Astin, as the wicked woman made this docile sheep the scapegoat.

“Astin, it’s only natural that the Azbel family will catch them first, right?”

“Ah, that’s right, isn’t it?”

Astin looked at me and said. 

That is too much! If you ask the maid of the Azbel family about such a thing, it’s obvious that she would give you a positive answer. Even if she didn’t have a sense of belonging, no one would give a negative answer in front of their boss. Moreover, that boss was a villainess with a bad personality. Even with such a clear answer, the villainess was not satisfied.

“I’m sure it is, heh. But, that’s not an answer I’m satisfied with, Astin!”

“Hikk!”

The villainess glared at Astin as she talked like that. She caused Astin in too much trouble even after apologizing to her. Well, there’s no way the villainess would care about such things. She, was indeed, a wicked woman.

Shael demanded a definite answer from Astin, but…

But, of course, there was no way she could give a definitive answer. Because the blood of the Barslett family was looking at her as well. Astin, who was in a difficult position, shuddered at her misfortune.

It must be very difficult to be caught between two nobles. Moreover, it must have been even more shocking to Astin, who would have thought that Shael and I were affectionate, and would express only love.

Even the safety of her brother could be in danger.

But, it didn’t matter to the villainess. The only thing that mattered to the villainess was to defeat me.

“Astin.”

“Yes, yes?!”

The wicked woman urged for the answer. At the words that were colder than before, Astin responded with a fright. However, it was me who saved Astin from a situation where she was about to cry.

“Astin, go out.”

“Yes..yes!”

Astin stood up as if she had been liberated. She then hurriedly greeted us and ran out.

“Why did you make her leave?”

“If you ask such a question to the maid of the Azbel family, you will get an obvious answer.”

“Are you afraid of losing?”

“It’s not like that.”

“It looks like that to me.”

The wicked woman laughed at me. So I asked her,

“But, since when did you start to like Azbel?”

“Since I thought I could beat you.”

The wicked woman gave an absurd answer. She didn’t say that she liked her from the beginning, but that she suddenly liked her because she thought she could beat me.

“Haah, that’s absurd.”

“Are you sighing in front of me right now?”

Now she glared at me. But the snowball fight never started. Because there were strange rumors going around. 

The rumor was about Shael, the villainess, who was seen crying while looking at me. By the time rumors started to circulate, it was also rumored that I, her fiancé, was very upset when she was almost killed by poison.

That’s why it was rumored that the Azbel family and the Baslett family moved together. If such rumors circulated, it was clear how the story would play out. It was thought that Shael and I have a relationship where we can’t live without each other, that we’re longing for love. That was what everyone in the ducal family was expecting.

Of course, that was not the truth.

The villainess who gave up the snowball fight asked me a question.

“Why the hell did you get down on your knees?”

“I don’t know.”

“You did something so outrageous, but you don’t know why?”

I didn’t know what to answer, so I came up with an answer. Which was countering her with another question.

“Then why did you bow your head too?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s the same for me.”

“…”

A fitting counterattack. However, unexpectedly, Shael didn’t glare at me.

Maybe she was really just thinking about the reason.

It wasn’t long before Shael spoke.

“Why did I do that?”

“How would I know about that?”

“You’re really useless.”

Ah, now you’re glaring at me. It was the Shael as usual.

“I can’t help you, and would you trust me more than yourself?”

“That’s absurd.”

“That’s what I want to say.”

“Ha.”

Now she had given up on the glare and didn’t even look at me.

Knock-tock-

What broke the brief confrontation was the sound of a knock.

There was only one reason to call us at this time. It was to inform us that the culprit who instigated Shael’s poisoning was finally caught.

“Come in.”

“Yes. The Baslett family has contacted us that the person who ordered the poisoning has been arrested.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Shael and I stood up right away.

“Ah, the Barsletts caught the culprit. In the end, it’s my victory.”

“Be quiet!”

I’ll take this victory as a bonus.

***

“Estell!”

“Oh, sister!”

Astin hugged her brother.

Fortunately, Astin’s younger brother was unharmed. But it must have been very taxing on his mind, considering that he was just a little boy who had been taken hostage.

The man who committed the crime was tied up with ropes. Standing in front of the person was Shael and me.

At first, I wanted to stop Shael. It would not be good for her to see the execution. However, the wicked woman did not stop. Of course. There’s no way she would listen to my words.

The bound man saw us spoke up.

“Kuh… kuh… to fail without being able to feed the poison… what a useless bit*ch!”

I looked down and met his gaze. Even so, the eyes of the wicked man did not flinch. Rather, he looked at me as if he wanted to kill me.

I could feel the pure evil in those eyes, with no sense of repentance. This guy just wanted to kill Shael for his own gain.

If the Azbel family fell into chaos, all kinds of criminals could run amok in the duchy. It was rather fortunate that he was like this. If he had a miserable reason for trying to kill Shael, I would have had to feel pity for him.

Shael… was looking at him with cold eyes. It was a gaze I would often see in the past. But after I began to retaliate, that gaze gradually became less frequent. People would feel the chill even from just looking at it.

A wicked woman and a wicked man looked at each other. And the wicked man opened his mouth.

“Kuh, keuhuh… you survived the poisoning like the terrible poisonous woman you are! You’re a woman who’s more poisonous!”

Even at the last moment, he only spoke terrible words. Why the hell did this guy become such a villain?

I couldn’t tell. It was too late to fix him, and he had committed too many sins. So, looking at this person, I thought of Shael’s future. Because Shael, who was the villainess in a romanic fantasy novel, would also face a similar fate like this. That Shael didn’t even admit her fault even in her last moments.

Yes. Just like this wicked man, she left only all kinds of curses as her will. So I had several thoughts. As much as she is the villainess, she is definitely rehabilitate. 

‘I will not let her meet such a tragic end.’ I repeated that promise in my mind.

Then Shael spoke.

“That’s it? You have nothing more to say?”

“You too. You will meet this same end. And say ugly words like me…”

He had nothing more to say about that.

“Kill him. He’s not worth listening to anymore.”

These were the words of an infallible wicked woman. In her cold voice, there was deep disgust.

What was visible behind was the sword of a knight, as the wicked woman punished the wicked man.

At this point, Shael looked very upset. In a way, it was natural to punish the person tried to kill her. It was also very natural to be unfeeling toward such a person. Even if she saw that miserable end.

Still, I had a strange idea. ‘Was it true that this wicked woman was angry only because he tried to kill her?’

It felt like there was a different reason. Come to think of it, she seemed more angry when she heard about her maid’s suffering than when she heard about her own poisoning.

There’s no way Shael, the villainess, would do that…

Was she upset by the mental anguish her poor maid must had to suffer?

Of course I couldn’t tell. Because the villainess was more poisonous than poison. If I tried to dive in that deadly poison, I would surely get hurt.

I just hoped that the deadly poison would fade someday. In order to make that day a reality, what I had to do was somehow rehabilitate this villainess!