Chapter 11: You Are Such A Terrible Villainess

“Choose.”

My husband blinked and pointed to the beautiful treasures on the shelves.

“That’s something I don’t particularly like…”

He said he would buy everything but that.

“Really?”

I didn’t look back and said it with all my heart.

“Then I’ll choose this.”

It was a red diamond that my hand touched.

“You picked the one that I didn’t think would be the right answer.”

“Because it’s heavy.”

“…….”

My jaw trembled because I wasn’t able to speak. I managed to straighten my breath and open my mouth again,

“I’m sick and tired of red diamonds. I sold it because I didn’t want to see it anymore.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

“My wife gets tired of everything very often.”

He smiled slowly and wrapped his arm around my waist.

“Whether it’s jewellery.”

A languid voice scratched my ear.

“Or her husband.”

“…….”

“Where else can you find a man who can match this capricious temper?”

His stiff body touched over my tight dress and I blushed.

“You are such a terrible villainess.”

He was referring to what people in the social world were saying about Milena. I couldn’t believe I was looking at my reflection in the red diamond jewel. As I turned my head, he kissed my cheek.

“That’s why I like you more.”

I couldn’t think.

The smell of cigars wafted into my nose. It was too fragrant to be called a cigarette, but it was dizzying enough to make the mind numb.

“What’s wrong?”

He asked, looking at my pale face. Ha. Siegfried dismissed his question as he whispered.

“Your body is weak. Your arms are very thin, and your lungs aren’t very different.”

“It’s cute,” he laughed, his voice low.

“…I wish I knew.”

I looked back at him and raised my eyes.

“Don’t smoke.”

I regretted saying it. Somehow a shrill voice came out because of the cigarette’s strong smell.

“Are you mad?”

Soon an icy voice returned. I held my breath and didn’t answer.

“I won’t smoke in front of you.”

The kiss landed on the back of my ear.

“Don’t be angry.”

The submissive voice was so unbelievable.

“…I will treat you with great care.”

“…….”

“Don’t be mad at me.”

The kiss, which was as childish as the voice, was buried down on my skin. I said nothing, and Siegfried bought everything from Cornell Calvin, including the red diamond.

He shoved a check into the front pocket of Calvin’s suit, saying his wife was very pleased.

Even Calvin, who had maintained a businesslike attitude until now, stood there as if he had hardened and broke down. He thanked Siegfried several times.

“This.”

Siegfried beckoned to the red diamond.

“Cut it into pieces and throw the rest away. So that no one else but my wife will ever have this jewel.”

“I’ll do as you say, Lord.”

Siegfried left there with me and in the end he gave a nod to his accompanying aide. As he walked, the emerald ornament hit his foot once more, and he took it personally and moved on.

He threw it somewhere as soon as he went outside. He was like a man who threw away something worthless. Like the indifferent eyes of those who threw away garbage on the side of the road, clearly without any sense of guilt.

Behind him was a row of servants carrying jewellery boxes, moving busily.

“It’s a problem if it gets hit by someone’s foot.”

He explained kindly to me who stared at him.

“It doesn’t have to ruin other people’s feelings.”

He meant that it was very annoying for the Emerald to block his way.

***

“Milena.”

At the same time, a small but hard hand knocked on the door. When no answer was heard, Lancel tilted his head and kicked the floor for no reason. Then he shoved his hands into his pockets and spoke up.

“I got hurt.”

Still, no answer was heard. He raised his voice and opened his mouth.

“Madam, I’m telling you the truth. I hurt my arm and got a cut on my cheek. I’m bleeding.”

A loud voice echoed through the hall. Lancel roughly wiped his cut, bleeding cheeks with his shirt sleeves. He took a look at his dishevelled clothes and tucked his shirt into his suit pants, which were sticking out of his vest. The loose cravat was also neatly fastened. He pulled down the sleeve of his shirt, which had been roughly rolled up, and arranged his hair.

“…the other healers are all very capable.”

He declared, as he showed a bit of hurt in his pride when he stared at the door once again.. Still no voice was heard. He shouted, glaring at the tightly closed door.

“Never mind. I don’t need it either!”

He turned around with a furious face and walked without hesitation. Thinking that if he had known this would be the case, he wouldn’t have let the trash in the gymnasium climb. He looked at his bruised wrist.

“Annoying…”

He shifted his steps. He put his finger in the cravat, which he had been neat at best, untied it, and rolled up his sleeves again. Though he was only ten, he strode with long legs as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

‘How dare you.’

It was his first visit to the hostess.

She didn’t know how much he struggled with his grumpiness in taking this long step. He thought he would never do something stupid like this again.

Ever.

Then someone approached from afar. Lancel identified the other person and placed his hand on his chest to show courtesy to the woman. Jane’s steps, who was smiling happily and talking to the maids, stopped.

“Oh, it’s Lancel! Oh, my God….”

Jane’s eyes observed Lancel.

“It’s bleeding. Did you go to a healer?”

“…Yes.”

Jane’s eyes, who quickly grasped the situation, scanned Lancel as well as beyond the hallway.

“Oh, have you been to Milena’s?”

Jane’s smile grew brighter. No one in the mansion knew Jane’s tearful efforts. Jane wanted Milena to melt into Roam.

She cared for her family. And she thought of Milena as a sister who cared for her carefully.

“I see. But Milena is not in the mansion right now.”

“Did you say….. She isn’t here?”

Only then did Lancel raise his head up at Jane. Jane nodded and said kindly.

“She’s out with my brother. My brother must have wanted to give her a present before the ball because Milena likes jewellery. If it were me, I would visit her again this evening or tomorrow afternoon.”

Lancel had to struggle to deny that he was dissatisfied with having to wait so long. After confirming the fact, he replied politely with his usual face.

“Thank you…lady.”

“Jane.”

Jane said, tilting her head and stroking Lancel’s hair.

“I think that’s enough, Lancel.”

He bowed to her and moved swiftly.

‘She likes jewellery.’

His green eyes sparkled.

***

“Every medicine has its own temperature and colour.”

Without a moment to think about the circumstances of the mansion, I pondered on the lines of the original heroine, pharmacological genius Diana Kasser. A small drawer opened with a sound, and my eyes turned to the medicine in the drawer.

‘It’s just grass….’

I felt sorry for the owner of the drugstore, but the medicine was just medicine.

“…it’s Maypool. It’s superlative.”

I heard a voice right next to me.

“That’s right.”

When I answered, I slammed the drawer, took a step back and looked up.

The small drawers I just saw filled a wall. The wide wall where you had to raise your head and look up.

This was ‘Michelle Lochelle’, that is, it was the largest pharmacy in the Isle. It was a stopover on the way back to the mansion from the jeweller.

“Then this.”

I held out a small piece of paper with the name of the medicine written on it.

“Give me what you usually give me.”

As I said, I’m a regular.

“All right. Here, please sit down comfortably.”

The old man spoke too much. His eyes were shaking. It seemed to have made him very anxious that I followed him and opened the drug drawer, saying I wanted to check the condition of the medicine.

‘Why are you suddenly doing something you don’t do?’

I hadn’t talked to him for a long time because the old man was extremely common and regular, a small citizen who was usually afraid of the name Roam.

When I said I wanted to follow him into the pharmacy, he let me into the room with an almost stunned face.

‘Whoever sees it will know that I have come to thank him.’

I tried to walk, but I stopped and remembered why I walked in here. I turned my head and said, looking at the old man.

“Oliver.”

“Yes…yes, madam.”

“In Oliver’s eyes….”

I hesitated to say.

“…can you see the temperature and colour of the medicine?”

“No, of course not.”

The old man said, fixing his magnifying glasses. There was a brightness on his face that I had never seen before.

“Does the madam happen to see that?”

That was the joy of seeing a fellow mate belonging to the same field.

I shook my head at him, lowering my eyes. I changed the subject without answering any more questions.

“Oh, and…”

I took an old fountain pen from his hand and the paper I handed him earlier and wrote something on the back of the paper again.

A fountain pen that evenly spread blue ink over the paper that touched the wooden drawer.

“Prepare this, too.”

The old man nodded with a dazed face.

“Oh, my God….”

With a look of reflection on what he just heard, not interested in the medicine I ordered.

.

.

.

.

.

.

“Milena!”

Jane was the first to greet me when I returned to the mansion. Jane ran straight to me and hugged me tightly.

“Jane.”

Considering Roam’s family tradition, this kind of greeting was a very rare event. It was possible because Jane was always outside of Roam. She was a Roam, but she was the most distant girl from Roam.

“It’s been a while, but you don’t know how much I missed you, if only my cold-hearted brother hadn’t left me behind!”

Jane blamed Siegfried without any hesitation.

“Please take me with you next time. I was so bored without Milena!”

“Really?”

Siegfried patted Jane on the head and said,

“But my wife only thinks about leaving the mansion. I’m sorry.”

He said it with a smile, but there was a dagger in it. His persistent blue eyes swept through me.

Jane chattered, we caught up on how much she missed me and what she had done all afternoon without me, and I did my best not to reply so half-heartedly..

“Because I’m tired.”

With a smile of disappointment on her curious face, asking me to tell her more about the outing, she watched the door between us close.

“Does the madam happen to see that?”

The smell of bitter medicinal herbs was particularly strong. I put down the cup and looked at the small puddle in the bloody cup. The same one I bought at the pharmacy earlier. It was not even surprising. As expected… Diana, who would also sit here one day, was a great genius and there was no room allowed for children. So…

‘Not now.’

It was when I had made the decision and was practising the perfect smile I would make at the upcoming dinner party.

Something caught my eye when I turned my head inadvertently.

It’s yours to keep.

On the dressing table was a small note.

When I lifted the note, the shiny gold thread was tangled arbitrarily. When I untied it by hand, it was a bracelet, with a little heart-shaped ruby

My eyes that scanned the rough handwriting gradually became rounder.

‘No way.’

…Did the kitten do any favours?