Please Leave The Sickly Villainess Alone

Looking utterly suspicious as I clutched the thick ancient text to my chest and hurried away, Garnett and Sister Serine offered to carry it for me several times, but I adamantly refused to let the book leave my hands.

Perhaps it was fortunate they didn’t inquire about the text’s identity.

Upon returning to my room, I stashed the ancient text under the bed to read the remaining contents later tonight.

And now, soon, that time would come.

The debutante lessons were about to begin.

Typically for girls my age, it was the ceremony where they made their social debut by participating in high society parties under their own name.

A crucial moment to showcase their cultivated beauty and dancing skills, establishing their footing, they said… Yes, the crucial fact was:

‘I’m clumsy.’

This was a big problem. Even setting aside the rumor that my true self was a commoner already circulating in high society, if I made any mistakes at the debutante ball…

With a troubled expression, I looked down at my feet.

There had been a time back at the orphanage when we children tried to enjoy our own little prom night by dancing with each other.

I had initially tried to opt out by waving my hands in refusal, but the insistent children dragged me into taking a few steps.

And on that night, my dance partner Luka ended up with many bruises on his feet. I could still vividly recall Luka smiling as he told me:

-Ria is really clumsy.

Indeed. While I couldn’t predict who the ill-fated partner destined to share my first dance at the debutante ball would be, it was certainly time for immense practice on their behalf.

As the clock struck the hour, I sprang up from bed.

Then, following Garnett’s guidance waiting outside my door, I headed to the room where the dance instructor had just arrived.

* * *

“One, two, three…! No, that’s not it!”

Again. Dance instructor Miss Belly grasped her intricately pinned updo as it came undone.

Her formerly neat hairstyle had become a disheveled mess.

“You’re moving like a fluttering butterfly!”

Her distinctive accent grew increasingly familiar to my ears as my mind descended into chaos.

Being able to receive my first debutante lesson from Miss Belly, self-proclaimed empress of dance, was truly an honor.

Even now, there must have been households eagerly awaiting her every visit, one young lady per home at the very least.

Yet seeing such a prestigious instructor steadily lose her elegant demeanor before me, I momentarily felt sorry for her plight.

She should just give up… But Miss Belly refused to give up on me.

When I moved as instructed, reaching out like a butterfly, she finally let out a shriek.

“Oh, this won’t do at all! For a young lady to lack such flexibility at this age!”

And this was still just practicing the basics without a partner.

Garnett and Sister Serine observing from afar looked on the verge of tears as I drenched myself in sweat.

Reading their mouthed words carefully…

[Not a butterfly, but a caterpillar… Poor Miss, sniffle…]

[Garnett, our Ria will be alright, won’t she…?]

Yes. As I inwardly swallowed my own tears, I turned to look at Miss Belly.

“I’ll try again.”

And yet this was unavoidable. I disliked being the subject of ridicule. More than that, I didn’t want to sully the ‘Rayes’ name now attached to my own.

Seeing my resolve, Miss Belly offered to demonstrate once more, instructing me to closely follow this time.

Her waist arched back, legs gracefully folding beneath her as her arms and hands flowed like water in one seamless motion.

My initial goal was to successfully replicate even half of those elegant movements.

At Miss Belly’s cue to follow along, I moved my body while visualizing the imagery she had conveyed.

Like a swan in motion, my silver hair cascaded down my arched back in rippling waves.

Before I knew it, the setting sun cast elongated shadows through the windows, filling the room with only the sound of my footsteps.

“…”

After reenacting the movements she had demonstrated, I straightened my posture, wiping the sweat from my brow as I spoke,

“How was… that?”

“Lady Laveria, it was dreadful.”

“Huh?”

But the vibe was on point, wasn’t it? I’m certain I did exactly as she showed!

However, Miss Belly’s expression spoke only the truth.

“Lady Laveria, have you happened to study swordsmanship before?”

How did she…?

Seeing my surprise, she answered:

“In addition to dance, I have studied various martial arts, and I sensed techniques from the eastern continent across the sea in Lady’s movements.”

It had been a long time since I last held a sword. And yet, was my body still remembering those forms?

I looked down at my hands. Unlike my previous life, there were no scars marring these smooth, soft hands of Laveria.

“But more importantly! The issue is that your movements are hindered by your body being too tense. You must move fluidly like flowing water, not rigidly.”

After offering a few more pointers, Miss Belly, with her now disheveled hair that she had unwittingly fretted into a mess, informed me she would return to the Ducal estate in two days before departing.

* * *

After bathing the sweat from my exhausted body, I finally collapsed onto the bed. Too fatigued to go to the dining hall, I requested a simple meal be brought to my room instead.

However, by the time the hard-working Garnett arrived, I had regrettably dozed off from sheer drowsiness.

A few times, I vaguely heard Garnett’s voice, but like when my mother tried to wake me in my previous life, I repeatedly mumbled, ’10 more minutes-‘ about five times.

Then, on the sixth time I muttered ’10 more minutes-‘

Smack!

“Ow!”

A powerful palm struck my back, eliciting a shriek of surprise from me.

What, what was that?! Garnett, did you finally get angry? Is that it?

Well, I suppose it showcased the seasoned experience of an elder sister who raised multiple younger siblings. It certainly jolted me awake.

Turning over, I said:

“Sorry, Garnett. Thanks for your trouble bringing dinner.”

My drowsy voice sounded unfamiliar.

“What’s she going on about? Hasn’t woken up from her dream yet?”

“…”

In an instant, my entire body stiffened. And for good reason – the person I had longed for so desperately that not even dreams could manifest…

“Mom…?”

She stood before me with her hands on her hips, looking down at me.

“Mom, Mom… Is it really you…?”

Not just my strange voice, but the fact that I wasn’t lying in Laveria’s antique, expansive room, but rather the small bedroom from my entire previous life that I could barely recall the layout of anymore. Above all else, her utterly bewildered expression as she gazed at me!

I couldn’t believe this moment.

As a child, I had prayed dozens of times each day at the orphanage. Crying out loud, I had begged to convey greetings to my dearly missed loved ones, if nothing else.

But the indifferent heavens had resolutely turned a deaf ear to my futile wishes. So why, now…

I sprang up from the bed and flung myself at the woman I had yearned to see.

“Oh my, why is she acting like this? Did you have a bad dream or something?”

Though visibly flustered, she soon enveloped me in a warm embrace, her clothes dampened by my tears.

“Mom, I’m sorry… That day when you said you’d come get me, I didn’t listen, huu, I’m sorry!”

For several minutes, as I clung to her weeping, Mother could only awkwardly console me, utterly clueless.

“You need to get to kendo practice now. Come on, stop crying and get ready to go. We can talk in the car.”

“Kendo practice…?”

After Mom closed the door behind her, I opened my palms to look at them. Unlike Laveria’s soft, delicate hands, these were calloused in various spots, especially where the sword hilt would make contact.

More importantly…

“There are no scars…”

I was faced with an unbelievable situation. If I had truly returned to my original body, the major scar that had ended my athletic career should have been present on this palm.

Glancing absentmindedly at the calendar on the desk, an important date caught my eye – the 16th, circled dozens of times in red ink.

“No way.”

Even the operational details of my long-discarded previous life’s cell phone came back to me as the screen lit up the moment I touched it.

[20XX Year X Month 16th]

It was the day of the national kendo team selection tournament.

* * *

Throughout the entire car ride, remnants of buried memories resurfaced, causing me to recall a specific day from the past.

Unbelievable as it may sound, today from my former life.

A certain day at 23 years old.

The hard-earned opportunity to participate in the selection tournament, recommended by my dojo’s master.

I had strived relentlessly for this once-in-a-lifetime chance.

To become the proud daughter that would bring glory to my family of three generations of national kendo representatives. To continue wielding the sword I had first grasped as an ignorant child.

However, on the 16th with the summit in sight, I sustained a severe injury to my palm and wrist that required dozens of stitches and nerve rehabilitation therapy, leaving permanent aftereffects – all before even competing in the tournament.

It was an injury inflicted by another. A hot-tempered senior from my own dojo who frequently picked fights.

That senior likely never imagined I would sustain such grievous wounds. The accident that completely ended my athletic career even made the news.

[Promising young kendoka Lee Mo Yang was involved in a physical altercation with a senior from her dojo just before the national team selection tournament. There were shards of broken glass where Lee was shoved, resulting in a severe hand injury, reports say.]

[According to a medical expert, even if her hand heals, the extent of nerve damage may impede her future as an athlete.]

[Upon learning of the promising player’s injury, who came from three generations of national representatives, citizens expressed outrage and petitioned for harsh punishment of the responsible senior.]

[Concerns are also rising over construction site debris near public areas that threaten civilian safety. Had those broken glass shards been properly cleared, the promising young athlete may not have sustained such grave injuries-]

[With this development, what punishment might the senior face? An attorney’s perspective-]

[Following up on the previously reported incident, the unfortunate news is that part of her hand has become paralyzed, likely ending her athletic career for good.]

[Meanwhile, the perpetrator who was expected to face heavy legal consequences only received a suspended 6-month prison sentence with 1 year probation at the first trial before being released…]

[Citizens have protested that the punishment for ending the athlete’s career was far too lenient-]

[As a first-time offender who was deemed mentally impaired at the time…]

I had watched those news reports swaddled in my blanket at home. The lingering knot in my chest refused to dissipate no matter how much time passed.

Though my parents worked tirelessly to make me smile again, I could only force a bright demeanor for their sakes, seeing them anguish and shed more tears than I did.

At first, my frustration had even made me lash out at them, but I soon realized that smiling was the best I could do.

Deceiving my parents, deceiving myself, I had tried to brush it all off, accepting that this path wasn’t for me.

Even as my health recovered and I went out with friends, I would clutch my trembling hand with the other, feigning normalcy.

All the way until the moment I breathed my last in this world, dying in a bus accident after finishing a part-time job shift.

“…”

And yet, by some cruel twist of fate, I found myself alive and breathing on the very day that incident had occurred.