I’m a Villainess, Can I Die?

"When are you going to tell Selina?"

At Lukas's question, Aaron's shoulders visibly tensed.
It was as if he were pressing down hard on a deep wound with both hands. Lukas let out a faint chuckle and flipped through the documents he had been reviewing, resuming his work.
Even as he did, he kept glancing at Aaron with a smirk.

Knowing full well that Lukas was teasing him, Aaron grew increasingly frustrated before finally giving up and getting back to work.
The sound of pages turning repeated a few times before Aaron's voice broke the heavy silence in the quiet room.
"I'm too worried to tell her."

"She still needs to know."
At Lukas’s calm and cool response, Aaron bit down on his lip.
Lukas was right.

Before more time passed, he had to tell Selina the truth. He had to do it now, while she could still take it in at her own pace, rather than being blindsided later.
But... but...
"Yeah... I know, but... you saw it last time, didn’t you? Selina smiling. It was—it was... I can’t even put it into words. It made me so happy. She smiled, Lukas. She actually smiled. Not forced, not out of obligation—just naturally.

For the first time, on that face that always seemed empty, the very first emotion to surface was a smile.
I thought, finally, finally, she's starting to feel at ease... But then, things got so busy that I haven’t even had a proper conversation with her. We've only exchanged greetings in passing, and before I knew it, a month and a half had already gone by.
I left that child alone just when she was starting to smile. And now, you’re telling me to bring up the subjugation campaign on top of that? I can’t. I just can’t."

His long speech ended in a voice filled with frustration.
Of course, that frustration wasn’t directed at Lukas—it was at the situation itself.
Understanding this, Lukas simply reached out and patted his friend on {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the shoulder in silent support.

By the time Lukas finally left Aaron’s office, it was already late evening.
Tonight, at least, he had managed to finish work relatively early.
Hoping that no sudden emergencies would come up, Lukas walked leisurely, holding a stack of documents related to the reconnaissance squad and the subjugation unit.
It wasn’t quite the dead of night yet, but the mansion, riddled with ominous rumors, was eerily silent.

Step, step, step.
Only the sound of his exhausted footsteps echoed through the corridor—until he noticed someone approaching from the opposite direction.
I had stepped out of my room for a walk.

No matter how hard I wracked my brain, I couldn't come up with anything today either.
Hoping that some fresh air might help jog my thoughts, I had left my room.
Since it was late, I had sent Jane back to her quarters and went out alone.

Well, stepping out so boldly had been great and all, but once I was actually outside, I realized it was colder than I expected.
Must be because it's autumn.
I quickly abandoned the idea of heading to the garden and decided to just take a few laps around the hallway instead.

If it's too cold, my brain will freeze up. Yeah, that makes sense.
As I strolled through the corridor at a leisurely pace, I spotted a large figure approaching from the opposite side.
"Lukas?"

At my murmuring, he stopped in place once we were close enough to see each other's faces.
"Selina?"
His voice sounded a little hoarse. He must have been working until now.

It wasn’t the middle of the night yet, but dinner had long since passed, and the moon was already up outside.
Damn, he must be exhausted.
As I took a few more steps closer, the fatigue on his face became painfully obvious.

"Have you been working this whole time?"
"Haha, I’ll continue once I get back to my room."
Lukas gave a weak laugh, shaking the documents in his hand.

I couldn’t tell if his sluggish smile was from playful teasing or sheer exhaustion.
As he shrugged his shoulders once, I debated what to say next when my gaze landed on the papers he was holding.
"A subjugation unit permit?"

Lukas's movements stiffened.
His casual smile turned awkward—he clearly hadn’t expected me to read it.
Or... did he think I was blind? Like I wouldn’t be able to read something from this distance?

"Wow, I must really be out of it.
Shaking this around like that."
But his muttered words cleared up the misunderstanding.

It wasn’t my eyesight Lukas had underestimated—it was his own mental state. He must have been so exhausted that he momentarily forgot what he was holding.
This is why sleep is important.
In any case, what’s been seen can’t be unseen.

"So there really is a subjugation campaign, then?"
Well, it wasn’t unexpected.
If the monster issue couldn’t be handled by regular guards or even senior knights, then a subjugation campaign was inevitable.

That’s why I had been trying to figure out the cause beforehand.
"Can’t you pretend you didn’t see this, Selina?"
"A subjugation campaign. It's happening, isn't it?"

I repeated myself, enunciating each word carefully.
I was a noblewoman. If a subjugation campaign was officially decided, my family would inform me.
But I had the right to know beforehand, too.

Lukas sighed and nodded.
"Yes. We’ll be leaving before winter sets in."
My god, this soon?

If it was before winter, that meant as early as the end of this month—at the latest, next month.
For a moment, my legs nearly gave out, and I almost collapsed. Lukas quickly stepped forward and caught me.
"Are you okay, Selina?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."
No, I wasn’t fine. It was a subjugation campaign. A war, essentially.
A war...

"Can I take a look at that document?"
Lukas hesitated for a moment before slowly handing me the papers. Beneath the large heading "Subjugation Unit Permit," two names were listed:
Commander: Arthur White
Vice Commander: Lukas Barnett

Father.
I unconsciously clenched the document in my grip.
When I noticed the slight crumpling of the paper, I hurriedly loosened my hold, but the damage was done—the pages slipped from my hands and scattered to the floor.

What an embarrassing mess.
"Oh, sorry."
I couldn’t think straight.

The moment I saw my father’s name, all I could picture was his face—smiling at me over and over again.
I couldn’t think straight at all.
As I clumsily tried to gather the fallen documents while sitting on the floor, Lukas stopped me.

"I'll do it. Just sit down."
I glanced at Lukas blankly, then at the scattered papers, before slowly nodding and crouching back down.
With the state I was in, trying to help would only make things worse.

Lukas quickly gathered the documents and then sat beside me. A noblewoman and the vice commander of the knights, both slumped on the cold hallway floor.
What a ridiculous sight.
"When's the date?"

"It’s not confirmed yet, but we're aiming for the end of the month."
The end of the month? That meant about two weeks from now.
"...Why so soon?"

I had only muttered to myself, but Lukas still answered.
"The monsters haven’t shown any real aggression yet. There are some strange signs, but nothing too alarming... Still, once winter arrives, they'll become more violent. It’s better to deal with them before that happens."
This translation is the intellectual property of .

I nodded stiffly, like a rusted machine. So, the monsters grow more aggressive in the winter… The hell, are they all just naturally resistant to the cold? I, on the other hand, hate it.
Unlike the monsters, people shrink away from the cold. Stiff muscles wouldn’t do them any favors in battle, and the frigid temperatures could even take lives.
And if it snowed? That would make everything even harder.

So, even if it seemed a bit sudden, it made sense to handle things before winter arrived.
But...
"But can everything really be prepared this fast? Even for a subjugation campaign, there’s a lot to organize."

"The monsters are a problem for the entire empire.
Right now, it’s only affecting the duchy’s territory, but if it spreads, the situation will escalate. That’s why various forces are supporting us—to make sure we can contain it within the territory."
Ah… Support. Right. That makes sense. Then there shouldn't be any issues.

Then… what else? I kept thinking, as if grasping at something—like a child looking for an excuse to keep their parents from leaving.
I kept going, and going.
Stop it. Stop this, Selina.

What the hell are you doing? This isn’t something that can be fixed by throwing a tantrum.
I scolded myself, pressing a few fingers to my temple to ease the dull throb in my head. Then I lifted my gaze from the floor.
"Alright. I understand. Just… don’t tell my family that I know. I barely see them as it is. No need to make them worry for nothing."

"...Alright, Selina."
Lukas’s voice was low. His profile, dimly lit in the dark corridor, was filled with silent turmoil.
Guilt, maybe—regret for being the one who accidentally let me find out.

What, this is enough to make the strong protagonist of a novel feel down?
I lightly tapped Lukas’s arm, signaling that I was fine, before getting up.
His gaze slowly followed me.

"You look exhausted. Go rest."
"What about you?"
"I’ll take a walk for a bit longer."

"Will you be okay?"
"...Yeah."
I personally escorted Lukas to his room.

Not because I was worried about him or anything.
It was just that if I didn’t shove him inside and shut the door myself, he’d probably insist on following me around.
I stood outside for a while, watching to see if the door would open again. When it didn’t, I finally turned away.

The place I headed to next was downstairs.
Downstairs, to a room behind a neatly polished wooden door.
With effort, I lifted my weak arm and knocked.

Knock, knock.
A soft rapping sound. Then, the owner of the room opened the door.
"My lady?"

Wide green eyes blinked up at me.
Something clenched in my throat, stopping me from answering.
Instead, I simply reached out and grabbed his arm.

I held on tight, as if grasping something I couldn’t afford to lose.
"My lady, are you alright now?"
Aiden’s gentle voice carried over from across the table.

Barging into someone else’s room out of nowhere made me feel a little embarrassed, so I nodded awkwardly.
I had no idea why I suddenly came to Aiden’s room.
I just… wanted to see someone’s face.

Before I knew it, I had knocked on Aiden’s door.
Among the people in the duchy, Aiden was one of the least busy. He had told me he’d been fully relieved of his guard duties by Lukas. Because of that, I saw him often.
Unlike the others, who had become too busy for even brief encounters, Aiden still visited my room, ate desserts with me, and chatted about pointless things like we used to.

Being with him made it feel—just for a little while—like nothing had changed.
Was that why I ended up coming here?
Because the words "subjugation campaign" had terrified me, and I had unconsciously sought out the one person who had been a constant presence lately?

Ah, the subjugation campaign.
The phrase surfaced in my mind again, making me blink. I shifted my gaze to Aiden.
Aiden was watching me.

His furrowed brows, his gentle eyes—everything about his face radiated warmth and concern.
But even that face… in the moment of death, would turn cold.