I Will No Longer Live As Your Villainess

Taishar was instructed to bring Laurencia to the palace, but without specific directions on where to take her, he decided to bring her to his own quarters within the palace for the time being.

Once he laid Laurencia down on his soft bed, he finally began to feel a sense of relief. He informed a servant to relay the message to Charlotte that he had taken Laurencia to his room. Trusting no one else with her care, he quickly requested Charlotte to lend him Susanna, one of her trusted attendants. Fortunately, Charlotte agreed.

Only then did Taishar allow himself to sink into a chair and catch his breath. Instead of feeling triumphant at having found the child of the goddess Ella, his thoughts drifted to how Laurencia must have endured everything alone.

Regret overwhelmed him—regret for not finding her sooner and for doubting his father’s stories. Taishar clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, his gaze fixed on Laurencia with an expression of pained remorse. Agonized sighs escaped him repeatedly.

Every time Laurencia let out a faint, pained moan, Taishar flinched. The small black kitten that had accompanied them seemed equally restless, crying and spinning in circles as if it shared his worry.

“Ugh… stop…”

“Lady Laurencia, can you hear me?”

Laurencia slowly opened her eyes, forcing her heavy eyelids to lift. Her mouth felt parched, and a dull ache throbbed throughout her body. Her vision was blurry. With a trembling hand, she groped at the bed, disoriented from what seemed like an endless slumber.

“Meow.”

“Leonie?”

Hearing the familiar sound of her kitten, Laurencia let out a deep sigh of relief and stretched her arms out.

“Come here, Leonie.”

The moment of comfort was fleeting. Laurencia soon noticed her unfamiliar surroundings and the strange voice, prompting her to glance around cautiously. That was when her eyes met the gaze of Taishar, who was looking at her with sorrowful red eyes.

An indescribable silence hung in the air as they locked eyes. Taishar, unable to hold her gaze, lowered his head. Yet his pain and sadness were unmistakable.

Long, slender fingers tapped rhythmically against the armrest of a chair. Anne knelt before Luance, trembling visibly with fear. Luance tilted his head slightly and smiled gracefully.

But Anne knew all too well. When Luance smiled like that, it was when he was at his most terrifying.

“So you just let them take the monster away? My monster?” he asked, his voice dripping with malice.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop them. They had the Empress’s decree, so there was nothing I could do.”

“At the very least, you should know better than to say you’re sorry in front of me.”

Luance drew a small dagger from his coat and gripped it firmly.

“If you had died trying to stop Marquis Spencer, I wouldn’t have to hear these meaningless apologies from you right now, would I? Don’t you regret it? You should’ve died trying.”

“Ah! Hrk—!”

Something flashed by. Anne cowered in terror, shaking uncontrollably. But the scream she had heard wasn’t her own. Turning her head, she saw one of her maids slumped over, blood dripping onto the floor.

The maid gasped, clutching her wound, and collapsed in pain.

“I can’t kill you, Lady Anne, so I’ll just kill someone else instead,” Luance said, his gaze never wavering from Anne.

“Please… spare me,” the maid begged, her face pale as she lay flat on the ground, tears streaming down her face.

Luance paused and perked up his ears as though considering her words. He lowered his gaze, then asked coldly, “Then tell me, why should I spare you?”

“I didn’t do anything wrong…”

“You’re right. You did nothing wrong. But you’re going to die because of Lady Anne.”

The maid began sobbing uncontrollably. Luance frowned, but then, with a cold smile and pity in his eyes, he raised his dagger high. Those who witnessed the scene—including Anne—shut their eyes tightly, bracing for what was to come. The only one who remained unfazed was Luance.

Laurencia had finally begun to show signs of recovery, but if she were to fall into someone else’s hands, everything Luance had built would crumble. A storm of uncontrollable rage boiled within him.

“Damn it! Why did it have to be Marquis Spencer?”

Adrian had taken what was most important to him.

“I’ll kill him.”

As long as Laurencia was alive, Adrian’s life was his to take. But before that, he needed to bring Laurencia back to the estate. Luance couldn’t hide his growing impatience. If she was to be taken away so easily, then—

“Maybe I should just kill her.”

His emerald-green eyes gleamed dangerously. He quickened his steps, determined to reclaim Laurencia at any cost.

Laurencia blinked her wide eyes, recognizing the man bowing before her as Taishar. He hadn’t changed a bit from what she remembered. Yet she knew that, from his perspective, this was their first meeting. Carefully, she chose to say nothing.

“Lady Laurencia,” Taishar asked hesitantly, lifting his head slightly, “how are you feeling?”

His voice trembled as he gauged her response.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Taishar of the Spencer family from the Poloid Empire.”

Laurencia instinctively checked her body. The wounds and bruises she had sustained were gone, and the pain in her legs had disappeared.

“I’m sure you have many questions, but I’ll explain everything one step at a time.”

“Yes,” Laurencia replied softly.

Even though she already knew the story, thanks to the amethyst necklace, she listened attentively as Taishar spoke, nodding as he carefully chose his words.

“And that’s how it happened,” he concluded.

“So, Marquis Spencer,” Laurencia asked, “am I to return to the Paul Heredian estate?”

“I will not send you back.”

“You won’t send me back?” she echoed, surprised.

“I hope you’re feeling a bit better, Lady Laurencia,” Taishar asked cautiously, lifting his head with difficulty to gauge her reaction.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Taishar of the Spencer family from the Poloid Empire.”

Laurencia instinctively examined her body. The bruises and cuts had vanished completely, and the pain in her legs was gone.

“I’m sure you have many questions, but I’ll explain everything, one step at a time.”

“Yes.”

Although she already knew the story from the amethyst necklace, Laurencia nodded as she watched Taishar carefully explain each detail, his words slow and deliberate.

“That’s how it happened.”

“So, Marquis Spencer, am I to return to the Paul Heredian estate?”

“I won’t send you back.”

“You won’t send me back?”

“I have no intention of returning Lady Laurencia to the Paul Heredian estate.”

Taishar smiled faintly as he spoke. Laurencia found herself captivated by that smile, her gaze lingering before she turned her eyes away. She couldn’t shake the feeling that his crimson eyes were pulling her in. Just then, her stomach growled audibly, and her face flushed red.

“Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”

“I heard nothing at all.”

“Thank you.”

Taishar rang a small bell and gave an order to the servant who entered the room.

Laurencia met his crimson gaze once more. The emotions behind his eyes seemed far too intense to be mere concern. The sadness and anguish in his trembling red eyes bore down on her like a weight.

“Your meal will arrive shortly.”

“Thank you.”

An awkward silence followed. Unsure of what to say, Laurencia stayed quiet, gently stroking the kitten, Leonie, nestled in her arms. Taishar was equally at a loss for words. He had never been alone with a woman in the same room before. His palms began to sweat.

—Knock, knock.

Both turned to the door at the same time. A servant entered with a trolley carrying food and left it behind. Following him, a warm, motherly-looking woman with a gentle smile approached Laurencia.

“Good day, Lady Laurencia. I am Susanna from the Poloid Empire.”

“Good day.”

“Susanna is one of Princess Charlotte’s attendants,” Taishar explained.

Susanna expertly arranged pillows behind Laurencia to help her sit up comfortably. Laurencia blinked, surprised by the sudden touch.

“You must be quite hungry. Since your stomach is empty, I’ve prepared easy-to-digest foods. If there’s a particular dish you like, please let me know, and I’ll have it prepared next time.”

“I don’t have any particular favorites.”

Smiling, Susanna skillfully tied back Laurencia’s red hair so it wouldn’t get in the way while she ate.

“In that case, I’ll make sure to prepare nutrient-rich meals to aid your recovery.”

A small table was placed over Laurencia’s bed, and Susanna set the dishes on it with practiced ease. The enticing aroma of the food made Laurencia unconsciously swallow in anticipation.

“Start with the soup.”

“Yes.”

Laurencia took a spoonful of the soup.

“It’s… delicious.”

The memory of the horrible meals she had forced herself to eat came flooding back. Even after being adopted into the Heredian family, she often went hungry. The maids frequently “forgot” to bring her meals, leaving her starving for long stretches.

“This is potato soup, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I thought it would be the best choice for an empty stomach. Does it suit your taste?”

The sight of the potato soup triggered a memory. In the pitch-black darkness of a cell, with no food or water, when she was on the verge of starving to death, her final thought hadn’t been of Luance, whom she once loved, but of this very soup.

“It’s… so good.”

Laurencia took another spoonful, savoring the flavor as tears began to well up. She had never tasted such delicious potato soup before.

“Oh…”

Tears she hadn’t realized were there trickled down her cheeks and dripped into the soup. The blurry image before her was obscured by the tears brimming in her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I’m crying while eating…”

Taishar silently pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped away her tears.

“It’s alright. Cry if you want to. Eat if you want to. Do whatever you feel like, Lady Laurencia. If you want fresh soup, I’ll have them bring you a new bowl.”

“No, there’s no need for that.”

Luance had always told her how much he liked her thin frame. While he indulged in delicious meals, she had been forced to watch. Her allotted meal for the day was a single bowl of watery porridge.

Looking back, it was clear why he had starved her—to keep her weak and unable to escape.

Sniffling, Laurencia lifted the spoon again and resumed eating the potato soup. It was delicious. So delicious. And it was unbearably painful.

After finishing the soup and nibbling on the soft bread, Laurencia’s stomach felt full for the first time in forever.

“I’m sorry.”

Now that her hunger had been sated, she felt embarrassed for crying during the meal.

“I cry sometimes too when I eat delicious potato soup, Lady Laurencia.”

“You cry while eating soup, Marquis?”

“Of course. Good food always brings tears of joy. Isn’t that right, Susanna?”

Taishar cast a knowing glance at Susanna, who smiled warmly in return.