I'll Just Live On As A Villainess

Cassian sat in the carriage back to the capital and bit his lips tightly. The step back to the capital without any results was so heavy that he felt like he was being pressed on the ground.

He didn’t expect this ending until he arrived at Erelle. Cassian Geraint had always looked down on Evaria Oberon. He thought it would be the same this time because she was a woman who easily listened to him when he asked for something with a smile.

‘All I had to do was kiss her and squeeze her skirt tightly.’

Until now, Cassian has been faithful to her demands. Since that kind of physical affection was natural during the engagement. He thought it was also a compulsory obligation. That level of service was cheap in exchange for empowering his succession to the throne, but it was the only way to make Evaria listen.

However, he also felt very lucky to have such a cheap card rolling into his hands. His mother also agreed. He was lucky that Evaria liked him, not Lyndon. And his mother has always urged him to hold her until the end.

But he fell in love with Catherine and notified Evaria about annulling their engagement. He wasn’t too worried even after the annulment. After all, wasn’t it Evaria Oberon anyway? She blushed whenever she saw him, and couldn’t make eye contact. She was a woman who didn’t know what to do because she liked him too much. He thought if he approached and twisted her, she would simply bend to his wishes.

‘But she’s completely different…….’

Cassian recalled Evaria, who was looking straight at him. Not only that, the woman’s face looking at him didn’t even turn red.

‘She really doesn’t like me anymore?’

Cassian always thought Evaria’s affection belonged to him. He had never valued that affection, but now he felt as if he had lost something valuable from his hand.

In addition, Evaria’s affection was strategically important to him. He recalled his mother’s words, which emphasised that securing power was more important than anything else.

“Cassian, do you know how many times in the history of the kingdom a Crown Prince has been crowned as a king? Twice. Only twice. Many of the princes were pushed out by other princes. Of course I’ll make you the third Crown Prince of history to be crowned as a King.”

His mother spoke confidently, but at the same time cautiously.

“But you have to remember, too. Being a Crown Prince doesn’t mean your war is over. Until the moment you wear the crown on your head, the throne is not yours. We must gather strength and stand at the center of it if we want to succeed.”

Among many forces, Oberon Household was in the top. Honour, power, strength, wealth. It was a family with everything. He couldn’t miss this.

The Queen certainly opposed Cassian’s engagement annulment. But Cassian could not give up his marriage to Catherine. So he bragged. He said even if the engagement was annulled, he had a firm grip of Evaria’s heart. Therefore, they could still use Oberon.

‘She loved me once. It won’t be hard to get it back.’

* * *

As Cassian went back, peace came again. Flavored tea, sweet cake, warm fireplace. The person who was talking nonsense in front of me was also cleaned up neatly.

Is there a more perfect routine than this? I don’t have to do anything. All I have to do is eat, sleep and waste my time doing nothing. Nobody won’t even dare to point it out. It was a very satisfying routine.

Except for one demon who’s been tormenting my hair with his fingers.

“Contractor, are you happy?”

“Yes.”

“Really? I see. The contractor is happy. I’m this depressed but the contractor is happy. Good for you…….”

Harry murmured faintly. It was his signal for me to ask why he was depressed, but I had no intention of falling for it.

‘He wanted to see blood but couldn’t. He wants to kill someone, that’s why he’s depressed.’

It would be annoying if I responded once. As I savored the tea, ignoring him as if I hadn’t heard him, this time Harry began to complain exaggeratedly.

“I’ve done everything for the happiness of the Contractor! I’ve hit that unlucky blonde! But the Contractor doesn’t pay attention to me even if I’m depressed! Oh, I’m sad! I’m sad! What has become of my life!”

“I appreciate that. Thanks to you, I humiliated him properly.”

Remembering Cassian, who was lying on the floor, with a blank expression and the dazed faces of the knights who were anxiously supporting him. It was an exhilarating moment just thinking about it. As I couldn’t help but let out a smile naturally, Harry put his face in front of me, smiling as if he had been waiting for me to do so.

“If you think so, why don’t you reward me?”

“Reward?”

“Yeah! You’re not going to let your dog do something petty but not reward him, are you? If you have the morality of a master, you shouldn’t do that.”

“Morality of a master. Is that what a demon should say? Demons are the most immoral beings.”

“There must be at least one demon in the world who speaks of morality.”

“And that’s you?”

“That’s right.”

If it is the demon’s nature to seek morality when they need it, it isn’t something good. Well, he did throw Cassian on the floor because I told him to.

‘Should I reward him?’

“Yes. You did a great job, my Harry.”

I reached out and patted Harry on the head, praising him. The fine silver hair was scattered between the fingers.

‘Even his hair is silky. His skin also looks so fair.’

I mechanically ran my hands on his head in admiration. Harry’s eyes, which had been shaking not knowing why, began to grow bigger and bigger, and his face began to redden quickly. Harry pushed my hand away and took a step back.

“What are you doing?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted a reward? That’s why I patted your head and praised you.”

“That’s what you do to a dog!”

“Didn’t you say I should reward my dog who did petty things for me?”

Harry began to huff with a red face.

“Contractor may not know but I’m not a demon to be treated so lightly!”

“Oh, yes, of course I know.”

I nodded as if I knew it and pointed to the sofa opposite.

“I understand, so sit quietly and eat cake, Harry. It tastes pretty good.”

“What do you mean you know? You have no idea.”

Harry sat down on the sofa across the table while grumbling. He lifted the plate and finished the cake in one bite before snorting with cream around his mouth.

“Yeah. It’s my fault for expecting something from you. Give me some more cake.”

“Okay. How about a chiffon cake?”

“……with strawberries.”

Harry turned into a dog after making his preference clear with a grim face. I pulled the rope and called Emma, swallowing my laughter inside.

Emma, who had come to the room before long, opened her eyes wide as she looked at the empty table. She had a face as if she couldn’t believe that all five pieces of cake had disappeared. Of course, four out of five pieces went into Harry’s stomach, but Emma was not aware of the situation. In the eyes of her and other servants, I was just a big glutton.

But professionals are also professionals, and Emma quickly adapted to my food preference – actually Harry’s food preference. She asked me so calmly as if she didn’t look surprised a moment ago.

“Does My Lady need more cake?”

“Yes. Can you bring me a chiffon cake? in an unfragmented circle.”

“Yes.”

Emma smiled as she sorted out the empty plates.

“The kitchen is a little busy, but I’ll bake all your cakes with pleasure. Would you like some more tea?”

“Yes, please. But is the kitchen very busy?”

“We have to welcome a lot of visitors soon, so we’re in the middle of preparing the ingredients. It’s an annual event that we have to take part in. But My Lady doesn’t need to be concerned.”

“Annual event?”

“Yes. The knights from the capital will be coming to clear the Black Forest.”

If it was the Black Forest, it must be the huge forest directly in contact with the North of Erelle. It was also the place where Black Ironwood, which was burning in my fireplace, was found.

“Why do the knights from the capital come here?”

“Oh. You are not from Erelle, so you must not know.”

Emma began to explain, saying that it was natural for me not to know the details since I’m not from here.

“You know Wyvern lives in the Black Forest, right?”

Of course I didn’t know. Not only I didn’t know that Wyvern lives in the Black Forest, I didn’t even know what a Wyvern is. However, Emma spoke as if it were too natural to know about a Wyvern, so I had no choice but to nod. But I asked Harry in my head instead.

[Harry, what’s Wyvern?]

[Wyvern? You don’t know what that is?]

[Yes, I’ve never seen one.]

[No way. You said you’re from the capital, right? Then, it must have been hard to see one there. They live in a deep forest.]

Harry began to explain unexpectedly steadily. He looked excited to brag about his knowledge for the first time in a while.

[They’re a kind of a dragon, but it’s hard to tame them because they’re too strong. They’re a natural enemy for humans because they eat human meat. Winning against them is hard because they’re big, strong, and fly in the sky.]

[Even Harry can’t beat them?]

Harry looked dumbfounded at my question. There was nothing to compare, but he looked like he was comparing me to something as he snorted and replied.

[You’re looking down on me. I’m Theo Harris, the Great Wizard of Blue Flames.]

[Oh, sorry. I forgot for a moment.]

[Good, it’s a relief that you remember now.]

Emma’s voice followed as Harry slung on the sofa, scratching his ears.

“When it’s time for the weather to warm up little by little, the eggs that Wyverns laid start to hatch. Freshly hatched young Wyvern are also quite strong, and the growth rate is very fast, so we have to break all the eggs before hatching. Otherwise, the population will grow quickly and it’ll be impossible to control them.”

“……knights come from the capital to break eggs?”

“It’s not as easy as My Lady thinks. Adult Wyverns protect their eggs in the nest. Our knights alone aren’t enough, so we receive royal support every year. If Wyvern attacks the northern trade route, the goods to be supplied to the royal family will be cut off. Therefore, the royal family is also helping us for their own good.”

The royal family was helping me.

‘I’m worried.’

I asked Emma, hoping that my anxiety would be discouraging.

“I see. Do all the knights live in our mansion?”

“Yes. But they will stay in the annex, so they won’t run into My Lady. Oh, but the two will be staying in the main building.”

“The two?”

“The First Prince and the Royal Knight Commander.”

“……First Prince and Royal Knight Commander?”

It was the two fishes in Catherine’s fishing grounds that hated Evaria.

‘I just kicked out the Crown Prince, and now it’s those two?’

From afar, I could hear my peace breaking down.

* * *

The news came that the subjugation team from the capital to destroy Wyvern eggs had arrived at Erelle. The party included First Prince Lyndon Geraint and Royal Knights Commander Eli Roytz. I get tired just dealing with just one fish, but I couldn’t believe they’re coming in pairs this time. A headache was already rising with a terrible feeling that something troublesome was going to happen.

The relationship between Lyndon and Evaria was already known to be the worst. But the relationship between Eli Roytz and Evaria was also as fragile as an eggshell.

The epitome of an upright knight, a man who believes in laws and rules, the noble among the nobles. It was all words that described Eli Roytz. How did Evaria, who had not hesitated to do all sorts of evil deeds to torment Catherine, look in the eyes of a noble knight? He even had a considerable affinity for Catherine, who was as good and upright as a Saintess.

‘In the novel, he almost thought of Evaria as trash. No, it was like seeing a human being worse than a horse.’

Fortunately, he only thought of that in his heart and did not show any outward hostility. Eli firmly believed that it was the duty of a knight to defend and protect a noble Lady. For his part, Evaria was also a lady to be protected by a knight. So he always despised Evaria in his heart.

His hatred could be said as moderate compared to other fishes who directly wanted to rip Evaria to pieces. Nevertheless, their relationship wasn’t good.

‘I’ll try to stay in my room as much as I can. That’s what I’m best at anyway.’

Although they are supposed to live in the same main building, the size of the main building is considerable. Therefore, if I minimize the radius of action, I will not encounter them. I nodded furiously, vowing to be stuck in the room.