Please Leave The Sickly Villainess Alone

The Duke approached us.

“So the Crown Prince is here as well.”

“Yes, I wished to remain by her side until we depart for the Imperial Palace.”

“Remain together, you say?”

Rather than answering, Luka simply smiled faintly.

True to the original descriptions, the Duke exuded a chillingly frosty aura.

However, this demeanor wasn’t his innate disposition, but a sharpness instilled by the incident twelve years prior.

From the moment he lost his wife and daughter, he had become a severe workaholic, a side of him that deeply unsettled the original Ria.

Initially thinking ‘So that’s just how he is,’ Ria was later informed by gossiping maids of his transformation after losing his daughter.

His consistent aloofness even after Ria’s adoption made her feel he was outright rejecting her existence.

Despite his ostensibly affectionate words treating her like a real daughter, the underlying notion that he harbored other intentions left Ria feeling blindsided.

The Duke did appear visibly fatigued with dark circles indicating his habit of working until dawn, offering some explanation for provoking such misunderstandings.

Seeming to sense my studying gaze, he turned to face me.

“Oh… Hello.”

Flustered as his deep azure eyes met mine directly, I blurted out a greeting first.

For an instant, those azure orbs appeared to widen slightly upon locking with my own.

“Emerald eyes, I see.”

In the original story, the Duke had resolved to adopt me not just due to my resemblance to his late wife, but largely because of my eyes.

Emerald eyes were a trait of the southern Tranze region, the Duchess’s homeland.

While not an exceptionally rare feature, he had undoubtedly been moved to see someone reminiscent of his wife’s birthplace after so long.

Beaming warmly, I replied:

“Yes. Though I’ve never met them directly, my parents must have been from the Tranze region.”

As I smiled radiantly, the Duke spoke up.

“The Tranze region, is it…”

I had no intentions of mentioning the ancient text likely hidden somewhere in his study just yet.

It would seem odd for a newly escaped orphan to know about records in the Duke’s private library.

For now, at this moment, I could only rely on the original story.

Of course, whether I became his adopted or biological daughter mattered not.

Either way, I needed to utilize the Duke’s resources to find a cure for my terminal illness.

“So you came from the same orphanage as His Highness. Then why come to my estate instead of following him to the Imperial Palace?”

“Luka seemed fatigued, so we required a place to rest for the night. The Rayes estate lies along the route to the imperial capital, after all.”

I nonchalantly threw Luka under the carriage, smiling lightheartedly.

We had agreed on this ploy beforehand.

Unaware of the Duke’s true character or how he would regard me, it was difficult to outright claim to be his long-lost daughter from the start.

So I presented him with the choice instead.

If he accepted me, I would remain. If not, Luka and I would depart for the Imperial Castle.

“As a loyal subject of the imperial family, I had faith Duke Rayes would receive us. We intend to continue our journey at first light, so please don’t trouble yourself on our account.”

Reiterating our intention to leave come morning, I left the decision up to him once more.

Upon consideration, it was unlikely the Duke would easily let go of me – a potential silver-haired girl bearing uncanny resemblance to his late wife whom he had desperately sought for twelve years across the entire empire.

Still, I harbored a touch of uncertainty.

“Very well, rest comfortably then. As for Your Highness, you shall return to the Imperial Palace with me tomorrow.”

By directly escorting Luka back to the palace, the Duke was effectively declaring his allegiance to the current power players – the First Imperial Consort Lady Jeria and her sons.

In the original story, Senia who brought Luka back had endured considerable hardships from the imperial princes strongly backed by the nobility faction.

As one of the founding nobles, the Duke’s firm stance came as somewhat surprising since the Rayes household had maintained neutrality.

‘But he has nothing to say regarding me?’

After instructing us to call for servants if we required anything, the Duke took his leave.

Once he was gone, Luka remarked:

“Don’t worry too much. The Duke is clearly concerned about Ria.”

As if sensing my inner turmoil, Luka’s reassuring words made me heave a deep sigh.

“Even after escaping that hellish place, it won’t be easy.”

Darkness as deep as Luka’s raven locks had already fallen outside the window.

* * *

Ever since leaving the room, Duke Rayes had been engrossed in recollections of the past.

That girl’s eyes and demeanor…

-Kaine, this child’s name is Laveria. Is she not a veritable blessing of the fairies?

…had so uncannily resembled his late wife.

He had met numerous other girls over the years.

Some had silver hair from albinism, while others were even illegitimate offspring of distant relatives.

For the main branch carrying concentrated dark elf ancestry, daughters were exceptionally rare. But among the cadet branches with more diluted bloodlines, silver-haired girls were occasionally born.

After meeting dozens of candidates, the Duke had inwardly resigned himself to his daughter likely being dead.

No matter that he still outwardly maintained the search efforts.

Which was why Ria’s appearance had shaken him as profoundly as the Crown Prince’s return after two years of disappearance.

“Leaving tomorrow, he said.”

Ria was clearly unaware of the famous Rayes family tragedy.

Had she known, would she not have insisted on being the Rayes daughter like any other child?

The Duke almost wished she would make that claim.

He wanted to believe his real daughter had returned.

And perhaps, that girl truly was Laveria – his long-lost youngest that he had desperately sought.

Was lacking the quintessential Rayes silver hair such a grave flaw?

Would those who once praised the Rayes as the embodiment of elves now condemn her for impure bloodlines?

If any dared voice such insults, he could permanently silence them.

‘I must have finally lost my mind.’

Pressing his brow, the Duke gazed out at the unnaturally large full moon.

He had to stop that brazen girl from leaving.

It felt like the only atonement for his late wife.

Spending another sleepless predawn plagued by anguish as always, he agonized over his decision.

* * *

Declining the head butler’s offer to prepare a separate room, Luka lay down on the sofa in Ria’s room instead.

Unlike Ria, he already understood the Duke’s inclinations.

From before Ria awoke, observing the Duke’s conflicted gaze told Luka he would ultimately be unable to simply let her depart in the morning.

Still, Luka had a contingency plan in mind. Bringing Ria to the Imperial Palace’s vipers’ nest seemed unwise for now.

“Luka, I guess we’ll be parting ways tomorrow.”

Lying on the bed munching on delectable pastries, Ria remarked.

“Well in that case, we can’t just fall asleep like this!”

She fetched a roulette game set from the table, having received it from the butler earlier.

Whenever Luka had suffered insomnia back at the orphanage, Ria would light a candle so they could play roulette games all night long.

Though far more luxurious than their old set, this new game clearly held enough fond memories for the two of them.

“If I win this time, does it count as 1 out of 100?”

“No, make it 2 out of 99 this round!”

The room remained filled with the children’s laughter until dawn.

* * *

Sunlight bathed Duke Rayes’s estate.

From the early morning, the rambunctious little guests who had upended the entire household the previous evening stood by the window, observing the bustling scenery.

“I’ve never seen such a huge carriage before.”

Ria commented, eyeing the Duke’s ostentatious black carriages visible from the second floor window.

“Those have high-speed teleportation magic imbued. What would take a regular carriage half a day to reach the Imperial Palace will only require two hours.”

Luka sat perched on the windowsill, looking down as he spoke.

The Duke’s servants were preparing to depart for the Imperial Palace.

Amid their preparations, a youth rushed urgently into the estate grounds.

It was the Duke’s silver-haired second son with deep azure eyes reminiscent of the sea – Miller Sen Rayes.

* * *

Knock-knock-knock, knock-knock-

Urgent rapping sounded at the Duke’s study door.

As always – or perhaps even more so today given his sleepless night – the Duke wearily ordered entry.

Miller burst inside in a hurry.

“Where were you last night that you didn’t return home? Have I not told you that even at seventeen, it’s too early an age to stay out without notice?”

Scolded by his father, Miller explained:

“There was a report of a silver-haired girl sighted in Camille Village, Father. I went to verify its veracity.”

“Camille, you say…”

“It seems the girl had run away from an orphanage deep in the woods behind the village. The director of the orphanage has been posting her portrait and scouring the area trying to find her. Doesn’t this face bear an uncanny resemblance?”

Miller slapped down a portrait on the Duke’s desk – the very one Luka had drawn of Ria that had earned widespread praise at the orphanage for its life-like accuracy.

Though the subject was unspecified, the Duke could discern it was her. Visions of his late wife’s countenance seemed to overlap the portrait, triggering hallucinations.

“Allow me to lead just twenty knights from our order. I will definitely find the girl. Oh, and-“

Miller produced another hastily folded portrait from his pocket and set it down as well.

This was Luka’s own self-portrait sketch forced by Ria’s insistence, though rudimentary, his striking appearance was clearly rendered.

“Isn’t this the missing Crown Prince? It seems he ran away alongside the girl. I could attempt to locate His Highness while I’m at it.”

Miller recalled the arrogant young Crown Prince seated on the throne during the knighthood inauguration ceremony for noble heirs at the Imperial Palace.

That brat who topped the Imperial succession as the child of a low-born Empress had defiantly eyed the much older heirs with beast-like crimson orbs and jet black hair typical of royalty.

By Imperial law, all noble heirs had to pledge fealty before the Crown Prince at their knighthood ceremonies. But conversely, it also meant the Crown Prince needed to impress the future family heads to ensure a smooth political career ahead.

At least, that was how it had been for previous Crown Princes.

Yet Crown Prince Arzenluka had been different.

Wearing his crown askance while slouching haphazardly on the throne, his contemptuous gaze down at the young heirs including Miller had made him seem the very seed destined to become a tyrannical ruler oppressing the Empire.