I’m a Villainess, Can I Die?

My sudden appearance caused a ripple through the crowd. It was like an audience member had stormed onto the stage in the middle of a play.
Mia would have loved this situation.
I closed my eyes briefly before opening them again.

"And who the hell are you?"
"Watch your tongue when addressing a lady."
The man’s casual use of informal speech was met with an uncharacteristically hard expression from Lukas. His voice was laced with ice.

The noble, who had been so boldly swinging his cane just moments ago, flinched and stiffened.
I grabbed the hem of Lukas’s coat as he stepped forward toward the man, looking ready to escalate things.
No, not you.

Lukas glanced down at my hand grasping his coat, then took a step back.
"When did we get so familiar that you’re speaking to me like that?" I said.
The noble blinked, then scowled deeply.

So he was scared when Lukas spoke, but not when I did?
"Hah, I see. A noble lady too sheltered to understand how the world works… I was merely educating this child. I suggest you mind your own business and continue on your way, my lady."
He tilted his chin upward as he spoke, his teeth clenched like he was trying to intimidate me.

…He’s not actually Mia’s father, is he?
Probably not. A marquis wouldn’t go around making a scene in the White Duchy’s territory.
But if he wasn’t her father, he could definitely qualify as her godparent. Maybe I should introduce them.

In any case… If even Lukas didn’t recognize him, that meant he wasn’t from a particularly prominent noble family.
Yet he acted so high and mighty, looking down on me like I was beneath him.
If you’re going to wield your status to step on those below you, you should at least grovel properly to those above you.
Judging by his expression, he clearly didn’t see me as his superior.

I tilted my head slightly, eyeing him up and down before shifting my gaze to his cane.
Noticing my stare, the noble followed my line of sight to his cane.
Then, without a word, I took a few steps forward—

And yanked it right out of his hand.
The man barely had time to react before the weight was suddenly gone from his grasp.
His expression turned red, then pale, as realization dawned.

I held the cane firmly in both hands and—
Crack!
Brought it down against my knee.

The wooden cane snapped clean in half.
…Ah. My knee.
God, that hurts. Did I just shatter my kneecap? Why did I do this myself instead of just letting Lukas handle it?

Ugh… it hurts so much…
While I was busy regretting my life choices, the noble finally regained his senses and let out an ear-piercing shriek.
"Y-You…! How dare—?! Such outrageous, ill-mannered behavior! Guards! Guards!"

His voice rang out as he screeched for help, and the frail-looking coachman behind him immediately bolted off toward the back alley.
The onlookers were staring at me like I had lost my mind.
But once you’ve decided to cause a scene, you have to commit fully.

There’s no point in making a half-assed mess. If you’re going to do something, do it thoroughly so there’s no lingering hassle.
Amid the hushed murmurs, I caught a familiar sound—a muffled chuckle.
Turning around, I found the child staring up at me with wide, astonished eyes.

Following his gaze, I looked further up and—
Of course.
Lukas.

His hand was pressed against his mouth, his shoulders shaking as he struggled not to burst out laughing.
I sighed and shook my head at the kid.
He’s just insane. Ignore him.

Though to the child, I probably seemed more insane.
Turning back to the noble, I found him flailing wildly, drawing from every ounce of rage and indignation in his body.
What kind of noble claims to value dignity while throwing a full tantrum in public?

No sense of consistency at all.
As I endured the silent, absurd theater performance, the coachman finally returned, huffing, with two armored guards in tow.
"What’s going on here?"

This translation is the intellectual property of .
The guards briefly glanced at the flailing noble before their eyes settled on me.
Ah. They think I called them.

…Well, I suppose I could roll with that.
Before the noble could get another word out, I spoke first.
"That man struck my knee with his cane."

I gestured toward the broken remains of the cane lying on the ground.
The crowd’s expressions shifted in all different directions.
The noble’s face twisted into one of absolute disbelief, like I had just spoken the most absurd nonsense.

The guards, however, stared at him like he was the lowest kind of scum.
Behind me, the child let out a hiccup.
And Lukas’s stifled laughter grew even louder.

The murmurs of the spectators turned into confused exclamations.
What a colorful world we live in.
"W-What the hell are you saying?! This lunatic took my cane and broke it over her own knee!"

Now fully recovered from his shock, the noble jabbed his finger toward me, seething with fury.
The two guards glanced between me and him, then exchanged glances with each other.
"What kind of nonsense is that?" one of them muttered.

Exactly.
One of the guards turned to the surrounding onlookers, gathering witness accounts.
After a few moments, they returned, looking at me like I was some sort of anomaly.

"So… why did you break his cane?" one of them asked hesitantly.
At the guard’s question, the noble crossed his arms and looked at me triumphantly.
He must have been pleased to have the guards on his side, grinning as his eyes sparkled with delight.

"I didn’t break it," I said, keeping my voice casual. "That man’s cane struck my knee."
"Uh… well… the other witnesses say otherwise… even if you insist…"
Just then, the other guard, who had been silently observing me, suddenly widened his eyes and leaned in to whisper something to his colleague.

Ah. He must have finally realized who I was.
Honestly, what kind of guards in the White Duchy’s territory failed to recognize the duke’s daughter immediately? Same for this so-called noble—did he really not even know of me by reputation? My light blue hair and eyes weren’t exactly common. Had they never even heard of me?
A little disappointing.

My original plan had been for this noble to recognize me, panic, and quietly back down. Not to sacrifice my knee to snap his cane in half.
But since things had gone off track, I had to settle for my backup plan.
It seemed this noble had just been lucky enough to get an invitation—without ever even seeing me before.

"Selin—"
Shh.
I pressed a finger to my lips, cutting Lukas off.

"This nobleman was driving his carriage recklessly, nearly running over a child, and then blamed the child for it. I simply assumed that was the proper way of handling things."
I paused, letting my words settle in as I glanced around.
The murmurs in the crowd grew louder.

They must have noticed the parallel between my actions and the noble’s.
Whether it was a shattered cane or a nearly crushed child, the weak always ended up shouldering the blame.
In the end, both his excuse and my nonsense were equally ridiculous.

"I suppose I made a mistake."
The two guards, now fully aware they were dealing with the duke’s daughter, stood stiffly, looking utterly lost.
Their job must be exhausting.

But unlike these poor, overworked guards, the clueless peacock of a noble continued flapping his wings and approaching me with self-righteous indignation.
"Hah! As a noble, I was merely educating this common child!"
Does this man not have a shred of awareness?

Even in such a suspicious situation, with my identity still unclear to him, he just kept repeating the same nonsense.
This peacock clearly wasn’t cut out for success.
"Right, and I was so inspired by your lesson that I decided to do the same," I said smoothly. "Isn’t that right, Sir Lukas?"

"Indeed, my lady."
If the noble lacked awareness, then the people around him must have picked it up instead.
For example, Lukas.

Annoying as he could be, his sense of timing was impeccable.
Deliberately avoiding my name, he took a step closer, standing beside me.
The noble froze.

His hand twitched as if he was piecing something together.
"Sir Lukas…?"
The moment he murmured the name, his face drained of color.

So, he had heard of Lukas, even if he hadn’t recognized him at first.
Which made sense. The genius knight who dominated the noble academy would at least have his name spread around.
And now that he recalled it, he must have been connecting it to Lukas’s description.

Not that it mattered anymore.
"Sir Lukas, please ask for his full name," I said casually. "I’d like to reward him properly."
The noble began trembling violently, darting his gaze between the broken cane, me, Lukas, and the child behind us.

Oh? What’s with that look?
The way his head snapped in every direction, he looked less like a peacock now—more like a frantic chicken.
"I—Uh, that is… Well, Lady…"

"Here," I cut him off before he could say something regrettable.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a small pouch.
Inside were several gold coins—more than enough to buy another cane and then some.

The noble instinctively tried to refuse, but Lukas simply smiled and placed the pouch into his hands.
The man stared down at the pouch as if it contained poison instead of money.
"It was a pleasure meeting you. I hope we cross paths again. Perhaps next time, you could educate me as well—since, as you pointed out, I’m just an ignorant young lady."

Without waiting for a response, I turned and walked toward the child.
There was no point in sticking around. That man had nothing left to say.
The boy had been hiccupping the entire time, but as I approached, his body trembled, and he immediately dropped to his knees again.

He must have realized that I was of higher status than the noble who had been terrorizing him.
So, in his mind, I must have been even worse.
It seemed he assumed all nobles were venomous snakes.

Well, given what had just happened, I couldn’t blame him.
Lukas remained behind, speaking with the guards.
Judging by the look on his face, he was gathering information on the noble’s background—probably to ensure a proper reward.

Kneeling down in front of the still-terrified child, I whispered:
"Today, you got lucky. The world is full of strange people, so be careful out there."