The Villainess Does Not Want to Die

Chapter 25

Raphael, who had been dangling in the director’s grasp, wriggled free and dropped to the ground.

Out of habit, the director raised his hand to smack the back of Raphael’s head, but after catching my gaze, he calmly lowered it again.

He’s grown a little taller.

Still shorter than me, though.

As Raphael looked at my face, his expression shifted from disbelief to tentative recognition. Slowly, he approached.

He seemed stunned by my changed appearance and asked hesitantly, “Wait… are you really Marie?”

“Who else would I be?”

His failure to recognize me immediately stung a little.

I had known it was him at a glance, yet he couldn’t recognize someone he’d spent five years with just because I’d cleaned up and put on better clothes.

Raphael looked embarrassed at my curt response but soon sighed and laughed.

“When you meet someone after a long time, you’re supposed to start with a proper greeting.”

“Well then, it’s been a while, Raphael.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while, Marie.”

Kesel, standing nearby, seemed unable to accept that this impudent boy was speaking so casually to a young lady of the Duke’s household.

He might have tolerated it if Raphael were just another child, but the fact that Raphael came from the slums likely didn’t help his opinion.

Kesel’s rigidity was definitely a flaw.

“Take a seat and have some tea,” I said.

“Oh… okay.”

“You too, Director.”

“Of course.”

Fortunately, the room seemed to be equipped for frequent visitors, as there were plenty of teacups.

With the director’s permission, I poured tea for him, Kesel, and Raphael.

“By the way, is it really okay to just take Raphael like this? No issues?”

At this, Raphael looked startled and tried to say something, but he caught the glance between me and the director and kept quiet.

He did, however, nervously bounce his leg.

“If it’s someone trustworthy, there’s no problem. After all, most people here would leave if given the chance—except for those who have completely given up on life.”

“And you, Director?”

The director gave a troubled smile and shrugged without answering.

He must have his reasons, though I wasn’t particularly curious.

I pulled out a rolled-up bill from my pocket and placed it on the table.

“Use this to buy the children something tasty. And feel free to pocket a little for yourself.”

I didn’t know the exact value of the money, but I figured it must be significant—enough to buy and furnish an entire house.

I suddenly felt a twinge of guilt for the harsh words I’d flung at that girl earlier.

Hopefully, some good food would lift her spirits.

“This is… far too much…” the director stammered.

“You didn’t sell the children to the brothel, and I stayed here for five years. Consider it a small token of gratitude.”

“A small token, you say? Haha. You’ve truly become a proper young lady.”

He pocketed the bill.

While Raphael and the director finished their tea, my cup remained untouched, still full.

The thought of drinking the bitter tea repelled me.

The sun was beginning to set, and I had no intention of staying here overnight.

There wasn’t much in the way of good memories in this place.

The Duke’s estate wasn’t much better, but at least there, I had a soft bed.

I stood and extended my hand to the director.

He awkwardly shook it, bowing slightly.

Raphael, who had always seen the director as an authoritative figure in the orphanage, seemed stunned by the sight of him bowing and deferring to me.

He stared blankly at me with wide eyes.

The director told Raphael to gather his belongings and prepare to board the carriage.

Raphael shrugged, saying he had nothing to pack, and simply followed.

As we left the orphanage, the stares of the children bore into me.

Had I been born a noble, I wouldn’t have received such looks.

At the Duke’s estate, I had endured disdain and mockery; here, the gaze of envy and jealousy burned just as fiercely.

Ignoring the children, I gave the director a brief farewell before taking Raphael’s hand and leading him to the carriage.

His clothes were filthy rags, and his face was caked with grime, but that wasn’t my concern. Someone else would clean him up.

The carriage would get a bit dirty, but the coachman would take care of that too.

Looking up, I saw the sky turning yellowish—dusk was approaching.

I’m a bit hungry.

After seating Raphael in the carriage, I gazed silently out the window, watching the slums pass by.

Raphael spoke first.

“Marie… Why did you come for me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I just… I thought you’d forget about me. Even though I always said I wanted to become a knight…”

His voice trailed off, tinged with self-deprecation, as if he didn’t believe he could ever achieve it.

I realized I’d stolen him from his path.

In time, Raphael would be conscripted into the coming war. He’d survive countless battles, awaken magical powers, and eventually meet the protagonist beloved by the world.

But my memory of the exact events was hazy.

“Raphael, do you still have that embroidery?”

He immediately pulled a crumpled piece of embroidery from his pocket, as though it were a treasure.

The stitching was a mess, hardly recognizable as a flower, yet Raphael had cherished it.

“I told you, didn’t I? I’m a higher-ranking person than you think.

If you bring this to me, I’ll take you in.

But don’t get too hung up on becoming a knight. We’re friends, after all.”

Kesel, who was driving, interjected.

“Miss, it won’t be easy for him to become a knight.

He’d have to serve as a squire for years, then become an apprentice knight. If he doesn’t show enough promise, the Duke will dismiss him.”

“Kesel, do people often tell you you’re tactless?”

“Ah… yes.”

Raphael, overhearing, burst into laughter.

I took the embroidery from Raphael, studied the uneven stitching, and handed it back.

“Anyway, let’s head to where I’m staying.

You’ll get three meals a day and a warm place to sleep.”

The carriage crossed the bridge dividing the slums from the city.

Looking up, I saw that the sun had already set.

I might be a bit late for dinner again today. Alina is probably waiting.

The thought of her dozing at the entrance again filled me with guilt.

As we neared the house I’d purchased, a distant shout reached my ears.

Kesel stopped the carriage and tied the horse to a post.

In this area, there wasn’t anyone bold enough to steal a carriage or a horse.

Even if they managed to take them, there was no market for such items here.

Raphael, seemingly uncomfortable walking the clean streets after leaving the slums, hunched his shoulders as he walked.

Kesel, gripping the rattling scabbard of his sword, looked uneasy. Meanwhile, each step I took echoed with a sharp, grating clack, clack.

As we approached the house, a woman’s scream became increasingly clear.

Then, suddenly, the sound of a heavy blow cut off the screaming entirely.

I had intended to chat casually with Raphael on the way back, but the tense atmosphere left both of us silent.

The Duke’s estate streets were lit with gas lamps, but there were no such luxuries in a small area like this.

The only way to find out what was happening was to follow the sounds.

“Kesel, do you think something’s going on?”

“We’ll have to check. Please stay close to me.”

When we reached the house, my unreasonably sharp instincts pieced everything together in an instant.

“Ah.”

The young knight, his face flushed from drinking, was gripping Alina by the hair and beating her.

“Ugh… argh…”

“…If you’d just, hic, been more cooperative, snort, none of this would have…”

His gauntleted hand groped her chest, then slapped her face. He laughed as if it were a game.

Alina’s lip was bleeding, and she flailed weakly, trying to resist, but her body seemed too exhausted to respond.

I remembered the Duchess’ words:

Knights are beings of honor, protectors of the weak, and loyal to their lords.

The shocking sight rooted me to the spot for a moment.

But after a brief pause, my thoughts raced, and I acted.

Rather than ordering Kesel to do something, I reached for the sword hanging at his waist.

The sword, which Kesel wielded effortlessly with one hand, was heavier than I’d expected.

Even with both hands, I struggled to lift it, dragging it along the ground as I moved forward.

Kesel grabbed my shoulder to stop me.

“Let go, Kesel. Unless you want to lose the hand on my shoulder.”

Why did Raphael want to become a knight?

Honor, he said. As if that weren’t meaningless when money could turn even trash like this into a knight.

I’m sure there are good knights out there, but they’re rare.

When our eyes met, Kesel released his grip.

“Raphael, knights, you see…”

Before I could finish, the young knight noticed me. His face twisted into a mocking grin.

Even from this distance, the stench of alcohol wafted over.

He didn’t seem to register the sword I was holding.

“You… hic, why the hell would I… care about the likes of you? A whore’s daughter… dragged to some shitty… hic… a place like this…”

What was there to say to a beast?

Nothing.

“Some lowly maid playing hard to… hic… huh?”

I thrust the sword forward.

With my frail strength, it barely pierced his abdomen, entering as easily as a butter knife into soft cake.

Though the contents were red rather than white.

I steadied my breath and pulled the blade free, which elicited a wailing scream.

“Honor, heroics… when you hear about knights in stories, they sound so amazing, don’t they?”

“P-please… spare me…”

The smell of blood mingled with something vile—likely urine. 

The stench made my stomach churn, and in a flash of irritation, I stomped on his face with my shoe.

Let’s finish this quickly and get Alina to a doctor.

“And, of course, in fairy tales, most of the heroes are knights.”

Even after all that, the young knight squirmed, desperately trying to crawl away from me.

Disgusted, I stomped on the back of his head, pinning him in place, and brought the blade down on his neck.

“Aaaaaahhh!!!”

The sword was too light, and my strength was insufficient to deliver a clean strike. Instead, the blade merely gouged his flesh.

Blood splattered onto my face and stained my white clothes.

“In the end, they’re all just idiots swinging swords and acting tough.”

If I were an executioner in the square, I might have decapitated him in one strike.

But unfortunately, I was nothing more than a fragile girl who had never killed anyone before.

It took several attempts, each more exhausting than the last.

By the time the blade reached his neck bone, exposing its pale white surface, his body shuddered violently, and the faint sounds he made stopped altogether.

With my arms trembling and my wrists on the verge of giving out, I let the sword clatter to the ground. Then I collapsed, sitting on the floor.

Kesel stared at me in shock.

“Kesel, don’t just stand there. Take Alina to a doctor immediately.”

Snapping out of it, Kesel nodded as if in a trance, hoisted Alina onto his back, and ran off.

Raphael remained, watching me with trembling eyes.

“You’re so bad at reading the room, aren’t you?”

Trying to ease the tension, I forced an awkward smile, hoping it would reassure him.

But his expression didn’t soften.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

I hadn’t done anything wrong.

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