Chapter 13
Anyway, gratitude was still gratitude. I gave a small nod, carefully wrapped the shawl around myself, and stood up. Just as I was about to follow Percy, he stopped me.
“Wait.”
He grabbed me, then quickly let go as if startled himself. I tilted my head.
What’s wrong?
But what surprised me even more came next—he suddenly knelt down in front of me.
Huh?!
I almost let out a strange yelp, but I quickly covered my mouth with both hands. They said there would be a penalty if I kept making noise.
Why is he kneeling all of a sudden?!
A handsome man kneeling before me made my breath catch. As I bit my lip and looked down at him, his large hand gently brushed over my ankle. The ticklish sensation seemed to spread through my whole body.
“Your ankle must be hurting quite a bit.”
▶ Do you have too much time on your hands, worrying about useless things?
▶ Why? Planning to break it completely?
What kind of choices are these to say to someone kneeling in front of me?!
Ugh, my life…
A handsome man was kneeling before me, treating me as delicately as if I were fragile glass, and yet I had to say something like this.
I forced myself to speak, my face twisting unwillingly.
“Why? Planning to break it completely?”
Percy raised his head. His red eyes, clear like pure rubies without a single impurity, reflected me.
Would he get angry? Would he be disappointed that I returned kindness with hostility? It wasn’t like I wanted to say that. As I shrank back and watched his reaction—
His long fingers pressed lightly against the corner of my lips.
“You don’t have to try so hard to entertain me.”
“…?”
Does this guy actually enjoy being insulted? Why does he seem pleased every time I say something harsh?
I feel like I’ve turned into some foul-mouthed old lady.
Still bewildered, I frowned slightly. Percy withdrew his hand and continued examining my ankle.
“So that’s why you’re barefoot. With your ankle like this, other shoes would be difficult. I don’t see any slippers.”
Back in Korea, everyone walked barefoot at home, so I hadn’t thought much of it. But hearing him say it like that suddenly made me feel embarrassed about my bare feet.
As my cheeks faintly reddened, he spoke softly.
“Excuse me.”
Before I could even respond, he lifted me up effortlessly.
“—!!”
Another scream nearly escaped me, but I clamped my mouth shut again with both hands.
Holding me as if I weighed nothing, he walked forward steadily. Outside, a maid who had rushed over to attend me widened her eyes in shock at the sight of us.
Percy spoke in an emotionless voice.
“Lead the way.”
The maid bowed deeply, as if the emperor himself stood before her.
After possessing the villainess’s body, the thing that shocked me most was how openly the maids ignored me.
No matter how insignificant Sienna’s maternal family was, and despite her mother’s death, she was still a princess. Yet the nobles openly mocked and disregarded her.
It must have always been like this.
A maid’s main duties were assisting with grooming, serving meals, and escorting their master outside. But whether going to Count Bohanan’s estate or even to the imperial palace at the emperor’s summons, not a single attendant accompanied her.
If it was like this, there’s no way they served her properly. Maybe she didn’t even eat one proper meal a day.
Would they have prepared a proper meal just because Percy had come?
A sense of unease crept in, but I shook my head. Surely they had heard that Duke Percy Stewart was here. Even they wouldn’t act like that in front of him.
But the moment we entered the dining hall attached to my palace, I realized—
They ignored it. Or didn’t believe it.
The food on the table was pitiful. It barely looked presentable. Nothing was warm, and even the vegetables didn’t look fresh.
After setting me down, Percy’s brows twitched in displeasure.
“The meal is unacceptable.”
The maids, who had been standing around stiffly, flinched. Percy glared at them coldly and scolded them.
“How dare you serve such food to the First Princess of this empire? It is your duty to attend to her—how could you be this negligent?”
“D-Duke Stewart, it’s just that…”
They exchanged glances, pushing the blame onto one another. Finally, the weakest among them spoke, glaring at me as she trembled.
“Her Highness rarely eats in the first place. Even when she does, she only takes one bite and throws it away. And… it’s already long past mealtime.”
Ah… so the villainess had behaved terribly even during meals.
Still, she only ate one meal a day and still had the strength to swing a whip? Must’ve been naturally sturdy.
As I absentmindedly touched my thin wrist, Percy glanced at me and continued scolding them.
“Are you saying your skills are so lacking that you can only serve this kind of meal after the designated time? The more you speak, the worse it sounds for you.”
“…We’re sorry. This was entirely our fault.”
Watching Percy calmly but thoroughly tear them apart with words, I honestly felt touched. No one had taken my side since I possessed this body.
He’s way better than that hollow jerk Daniel Bohanan.
Forget a contract marriage—maybe a lifetime marriage…
Just as my thoughts drifted that far, his next words froze the blood in my veins and snapped me back to reality.
“Insulting royalty is punishable by death, regardless of reason.”
“D-Duke!”
“Please spare us!”
The maids immediately dropped to their knees.
Death penalty?
Startled, I tried to stand, but my ankle throbbed, forcing me back down.
Percy wasn’t joking. The terror on the maids’ faces made that clear.
I don’t like them either, but jumping straight to execution?!
Their eyes turned toward me—filled with resentment and fear.
I bit my lip.
They’ll definitely appear in my dreams…
If I let them die like this, I’d feel like I killed them. I’d never sleep peacefully again.
But Percy, unaware of my turmoil, spoke coldly.
“Call the imperial guards—”
No!
In a panic, I dropped the fork in front of me. The clatter made Percy turn toward me.
I wanted to say, “We can observe them a bit longer before punishing them.”
But the words wouldn’t come. Instead, choices appeared.
▶ This is my palace. Duke, please do not interfere.
▶ Simply cutting off their heads would be too boring. I’d like to beat them to death.
What kind of choices are these at a time like this?!
At this point, I should grab the system administrator by the collar and slam them into the ground.
If I picked the first, Percy might feel hurt after trying to help me. But the second… what if they actually beat them to death?
This is trauma in the making, seriously.
Time was running out. My throat felt tight, but I had to choose.
I picked the lesser evil.
“This is my palace—”
“As expected.”
“…Excuse me?”
My words were cut off.
As expected? What does that mean?
Confused, I blinked. Percy walked toward me and pressed his finger against my cheek.
“You cannot speak according to your own will, can you?”
“—!”
What did I do wrong this time? How did he reach that conclusion?
I looked at him with trembling eyes.
“Th-that’s…”
But my tangled thoughts refused to form a proper response.
Then—
※ The villainess does not stutter.
※ Despite repeated warnings, your behavior has deviated from your character.
※ A penalty will be applied.
Penalty?
Before I could question it—
The world went dark. A loud buzzing noise filled my ears, like a swarm of bees.
—Look at that lowly thing.
—She got so happy just because we let her call us “sister.” She must be stupid.
—Did you really think we’d consider you our sister?
—You belong there, fake princess Sienna.
Laughter poured down over my head.
※ Penalty: 1 traumatic memory unlocked.
Staring at the status window, I slowly blinked.
And then I collapsed backward.
Darkness swallowed everything.
