The Villainess Who Accidentally Stole Their Hearts - Chapter 9

Chapter 5.1

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‘I got turned down…’

Even though I tried to secure a meeting with the real Akelos through Yusril, it was a complete failure. I tried everything, from persuasion to threats, but nothing worked. Despite the sweat dripping down his face, Yusril didn’t even say, “I’ll ask the Grand Duke of Akelos.”

‘Well, if he were the type of man anyone could meet that easily, they wouldn’t have needed a stand-in in the first place.’

Still, if there was one thing I managed to achieve—

‘At least my story will reach the Grand Duke of Akelos.’

That was good enough for today.

‘Shall I head back now?’

One thing before that.

At the thought, I stopped walking and looked down at my shoes—the shoes Emma made me wear.

‘It would be better to deal with these before I go.’

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Mikarin stroked the back of Cleas’s hand as she glanced around the hall. The party was in full swing, reaching its peak. Glasses of alcohol were passed around, and with the overflowing drinks came even more scandalous stories.

‘But it’s still missing something. The main character hasn’t arrived yet.’

As if responding to that thought, Nikaearsha returned to the hall. By that time, the drunken guests had already made her the subject of their gossip.

“Have you heard the rumor? They say Nikaearsha broke a window the moment she saw the young duke.”

Even just glancing at the headlines, everyone was calling Nikaearsha a fraud. It was always fun to tear down a disgraced villainess.

“I heard she provoked Bear to go on a rampage.”

“And I heard Nikaearsha’s maid bought Arake incense. It’s a monster stimulant!”

Nikaearsha paused at the voices gossiping loudly, clearly meant for her to hear.

Mikarin smiled.

‘So, what are you going to do, sister?’

Would she slap them for daring to insult the Grand Duke’s family like she always did?

‘I’d prefer it if you just told them the truth.’

“It was Mikarin who brought the Arake incense!”

—That was what she would say.

‘Then, I’ll happily help you reveal the truth.’

“Ah… that’s right. It wasn’t my sister, it was me. I brought the Arake incense.”

“It’s all… my fault. My sister is innocent…!”

Of course, no one would believe that.

‘Sister, you really need to understand your place.’

At that moment, Cleas lightly tapped Mikarin on the shoulder.

“Mikarin, I’m going to go help Nike.”

“Yes?”

Mikarin looked up in surprise.

“I need to help her. After all, I’m her fiancé for now.”

“What are you talking about…?”

Her eyes trembled.

‘You’ve never gone out of your way to help her just because she’s your fiancée.’

Nikaearsha was always left to face humiliation. The only times he stepped in were when he had no choice because he was with her.

“…It’s the first time she’s been so openly mocked like this. Up until now, most people have shown respect to her face because she has the title of ‘potential Awakener’.”

“….”

“But now that rumors about her conflict with the young duke have spread, they’re ridiculing her openly. They probably think even the Grand Duke’s family won’t protect her anymore.”

That was exactly what Mikarin had planned. After all, she was the one who started the rumors.

And her plan didn’t simply end with Nikaearsha being insulted.

1. If Nikaearsha caused a scene in response to the mockery, it would soon reach the ears of Zerno and Akain.
2. Nikaearsha would be questioned, and as always, she’d protest by keeping her mouth tightly shut.
3. Mikarin would pretend to side with her, but in the end, she’d make it seem like everything was Nikaearsha’s fault.

That was Mikarin’s specialty.

4. When people saw Nikaearsha being punished by her family, they would think:

‘Ah, as expected, the Grand Duke’s family has finally given up on their useless troublemaker.’

‘It’s okay to treat Nikaearsha even worse.’

—That was how it would go.

‘And then the vicious cycle… or rather, the virtuous cycle begins.’

The more that cycle repeated, the more everyone would turn their backs on Nikaearsha. In the end, even her own family would abandon her!

“Mikarin.”

Cleas called out to her soothingly.

“It’s for our future.”

“Cleas…!”

However, Cleas didn’t respond to her and kept walking. Mikarin clenched her fists tightly and glared at Nikaearsha.

‘Why is she still just standing there?’

Unlike usual, Nikaearsha just stood there, silently watching. This only made the people more excited, and they gossiped even louder. They were thrilled to see the once-proud Nikaearsha reduced to silence, unable to defend herself.

“She failed her awakening ceremony, and now her family has completely abandoned her. So, she’s rebelling by breaking windows and even using a monster—”

“Oh my, was she trying to kill the heir?! She must be desperate to take over the family since she can’t be an Awakener!”

“How terrifying~! She’s so greedy, she even tried to kill her brother, who always cleaned up her messes…”

“Those words just now.”

In an instant, a low voice sliced through the sound of the sneering laughter.

“Can you take responsibility for them?”

The voice was heavy and icy, sending chills down to the bone.

‘It can’t be…!’

Mikarin quickly raised her head.

It wasn’t Cleas.

It was Akain, the second son of Delosif, standing there with his red eyes gleaming!

‘H-how did Brother get here…?!’

Step, step.

With each slow step he took, it felt as if a towering mountain was pressing in. The weight of his presence caused the entire hall to fall dead silent.

“Nike broke the window to save people.”

Akain’s large hand firmly rested on his sister’s shoulder as if to say, ‘I’m behind her.’

“And the one who brought the Arake incense…”

His piercing red eyes shifted silently to Mikarin.

“Was our cousin, Mikarin.”

“B-Brother…”

Micarin felt as if the sky was collapsing on her.

‘Is he really turning the blame on me…?’

Even though he must’ve seen her trembling eyes, Akain turned away and took Nikaearsha’s hand as he opened his mouth again.

“Those who dare to spread false rumors and insult the Lady of Delosif must face the consequences.”

“Y-Young Lord…!”

“Nika, there’s no need to stay in a place like this.”

Just as he began to lead Nikaearsha away—

“Ah…!”

As Nikaearsha rushed to keep up, the heel of her shoe snapped. She teetered, her balance wavering dangerously, but Akain quickly caught her before she could fall.

Seeing this, Mikarin snapped out of her daze.

‘This isn’t the time to stand around dumbfounded.’

In any other situation, breaking a heel at a party would be embarrassing, but this situation was different.

“S-Sister!”

Mikarin rushed toward Nikaearsha, her face filled with worry.

“Please, wear my shoes. I’ll be fine even if I go barefoot…”

With a pitiful look, she then took off her shoes.

〈 The villainess who forced her cousin to walk barefoot just because her heel broke 〉

It was a great opportunity to pin such a rumor on Nikaearsha. However, there was something even more important than that.

‘Brother Akain will look at me again.’

Right now, he was only acting cold because he was upset about the ‘Arake incense incident.’ Akain has always had a soft spot for things that seem delicate and pitiable.