I’m a Villainess, Can I Die?

At Aiden’s words that my brother wanted to see me, I made my way to his room.
There were less than three hours left until the engagement ceremony.
“Selina.”

“Brother.”
Aaron stood there, looking at me with a bright smile. He was more put together than ever—his hair neatly swept back, his engagement attire perfectly in place.
And yet, this man was only a supporting male lead? That didn’t make sense.

“You look beautiful today.”
He blinked nervously after saying that, clearly gauging my reaction. I already knew why. The book had described this moment countless times.
‘Aaron looked at Selina in her pink dress, his lips itching to speak.

Beautiful. Cute.
Words meant for his beloved little sister hovered on the tip of his tongue, but he hesitated, afraid that if he spoke them aloud, she might tear the dress to shreds.’
Good lord, what a brat.

Selina, tone it down. Ripping a dress? Do you have any idea how much money and effort went into making this?
For today’s nervous protagonist, I opened my mouth in the most lighthearted way I could manage.
And surprisingly, my voice came out just as usual.

“Thank you. You look wonderful too, Brother. Congratulations on your engagement.”
“Ah…! Yes. Thank you, Selina.”
His face lit up with joy, his smile dazzling. A dimple formed at the corner of his mouth.

Selina, did you know your brother had a dimple? You didn’t, did you? Of course not.
How could he ever laugh freely in front of you when all you did was throw fits every time he so much as smiled?
Good grief. What a child.
I wanted to smile at this poor nobleman. But since I still hadn’t figured out how to make my expressions seem natural, I just nodded.

“So, why did you want to see me?”
“Oh, well… I was just feeling a little nervous… and thought I’d feel better if I saw you…”
What does seeing me have to do with his engagement nerves?

If that was the case, he could’ve just said so outright.
Even he seemed to find his excuse ridiculous because his gaze wandered awkwardly.
Looking flustered, he scratched the back of his head before glancing down at me again.

“I’m sorry.”
Another apology. Every conversation with him seemed to involve him saying sorry. At this rate, it felt like I was the one tormenting him. That hardly seemed fair.
And on his engagement day, of all times? That just wouldn’t look right.

“Brother. Are you planning to apologize to me in front of other people too?”
“…Huh?”
“You keep saying you’re sorry, though I have no idea what for. So I was wondering—are you going to do that in front of others as well? If you do, they’ll assume I’m still the same old spoiled, troublesome sister. I should at least prepare an excuse in advance.”

Aaron stared at me, dumbfounded. His expression was overly pure, almost laughably so.
What? Am I wrong? I thought I made a valid point.
To assure him he’d heard me correctly, I gave him a small nod.

I didn’t care if people whispered behind my back, but for the sake of House White’s reputation and my own standing as their guest, I should at least prepare a defense.
I wasn’t completely shameless, after all.
“Well… I…”

“Brother.”
There it was again. This was practically a habit by now.
I shifted my weight onto one leg and crossed my arms. This was the best stance for voicing complaints.

Just like those difficult corporate clients who used to nitpick at my company.
“You don’t have to feel guilty toward me. You know that, right? Loving, caring, and thinking about someone more isn’t a sin. I already know you love me very, very much, so stop apologizing.”
To further emphasize my point, I extended my hand and showed him my palm. A clear refusal.

Beep beep. No more apologies.
Aaron blinked in shock at my blunt, shameless, and yet utterly truthful words.
“If you apologize to me one more time…”

“…If I do?”
“I’ll kneel and beg for your forgiveness. Anywhere, in front of anyone.”
His mouth fell open. His reaction was so intense it was almost embarrassing.

Oh. His mouth’s bigger than I expected.
But no matter how he reacted, my stance wouldn’t change.
It would be exhausting to correct him every time, so he should fix the habit himself.

“I’ll even rub my hands together and plead.”
I demonstrated, rubbing my palms together in mock desperation.
“…Uh… Selina?”

Aaron hesitated, voice trembling slightly as he placed a hand on my forehead. But my temperature was perfectly normal. Gently, I took his hand and lowered it.
“Of course, I’m fine. More importantly, there’s not much time left until your engagement. I should get going, Brother. I need to greet Her Highness and also… pay my respects to our… parents.”
“…Ah, right. I’ve kept you too long. Mi—”

Aaron’s eyes darted around. Fortunately, he stopped before the ‘an’ sound could slip out. I tilted my head.
Mi… what?
“M…Make sure you don’t get lost.”

What kind of nonsense was that?
Still, quick thinking. Maybe my brother has a hidden talent for impromptu poetry. Along with his prestigious title as the academy’s top graduate, of course.
As expected of a valedictorian.

“Yes, I’ll be careful. Rest well, Brother.”
“O-Oh. Alright. See you later.”
He hesitated for a moment, then carefully patted my shoulder.

I watched his stiff, awkward movement—how he struggled to convey warmth, only for his hand to drop just as stiffly as it had risen.
I gave him a slight nod before turning away.
As I walked toward the door, I could feel his gaze burning into my back.

I used to scoff when teachers claimed people had ‘eyes on the back of their heads.’ But right now, it felt like I really did—his worried expression was so vivid in my mind.
And sure enough, when I turned my head, my eyes met his.
He still looked like he thought I was sick.

“…At least this helped ease your nerves for the engagement, right?”
I smirked.
For today’s protagonist, I even smiled.

Seeing my brother’s face suddenly grow pale, I turned my gaze forward again.
Yeah… even I had to admit, that was a bit weird.
But it’s fine.

When people see something scary, it tends to distract them from other anxieties. In that sense, this was actually a very efficient meeting. The time-to-effect ratio was excellent.
After leaving my brother’s room, I headed to see the princess next.
Since the wedding would take place in the imperial palace, the engagement ceremony was set to be held in the grand hall of the ducal estate.

Thus, Princess Ariel had been staying in one of the finest guest rooms of the duchy since early this morning.
“Your Highness.”
“Oh—Selina!”

Our kind, beautiful, dignified, and relentlessly positive heroine accepted me so easily and quickly that one might think she had never been harassed by Selina in the first place.
This level of friendliness…
For a brief moment, I wondered if Ariel might secretly be my long-lost older sister. I let myself be pulled into her embrace and lightly patted her back in return.

“I’m so happy you came to my waiting room.”
“Of course. I had to come and greet you. You look absolutely stunning today.”
Her golden hair was elegantly pinned up, and she wore a cream-colored dress adorned with countless diamonds. She was dazzlingly beautiful.

At my compliment, Ariel blushed shyly, averting her eyes before clapping her hands together.
“I think you look even more beautiful, Selina!”
She looked incredibly pleased with herself—just like Aaron. What a perfectly matched pair.

After the exchange of compliments, we spent some time chatting about trivial things.
This translation is the intellectual property of .
While standing.

Apparently, our ever-positive heroine was so happy to see me that she kept holding me in place for conversation without offering a seat.
My legs were starting to hurt.
Even though I had been trying to build up stamina through walks, I still had legs as wobbly as a newborn fawn.

If this was some sort of subtle revenge strategy, I had to admit it was quite effective. Bravo.
Only after quite some time did Ariel finally seem to realize, looking flustered as she gestured for me to sit.
But judging by the time, there wasn’t enough left to sit down and stay for long. Besides, I had already exhausted all possible reactions and responses.

“I appreciate the offer, but I still need to greet my parents and check on my dress one more time.”
“Oh…? That’s such a shame.”
Ariel clasped my hands, blinking her large eyes. The real fawn is right here.

“We can talk again later. After all, we’ll be family soon,” I said, offering a hollow excuse.
At that, a lovely pink blush spread across Ariel’s cheeks.
Ah. So this is what happens when a female protagonist blushes. It’s like she’s had an expertly applied touch of blush. Must be one of those protagonist perks.

“Well, I suppose there’s no helping it! Let’s talk again next time! Be careful, Lady Selina!”
Be careful on my way to see the Duke and Duchess?
How cautious. First, Aaron told me not to get lost, and now this.

Then again, protagonists—especially third-rate novel heroines—are walking disasters, triggering accidents and incidents wherever they go. Maybe she’s just naturally wary.
…Wait. Could it be that my brother has gotten lost in this house before? Maybe his warning about not becoming a lost child was actually genuine.
Completely oblivious to my ridiculous thoughts, Ariel pulled me into another quick hug before letting go.

“Yes, I’ll be careful. See you at the engagement ceremony.”
With my second visit complete, I stretched my arms.
These two were at least easy to deal with.

Maybe it was because they were so similar—talking to both of them felt like handling just one person.
As I made my way to my final destination, I walked alone down the empty hallway, only to spot Aiden approaching from the distance.
It seemed he had gone looking for me, realizing I hadn’t returned from my visit to my brother’s room.

“My lady!”
“Oh, Aiden.”
“Why are you wandering around without saying a word?”

Aiden’s face was full of concern as he questioned me.
To think that when we first met, he bowed so deeply it seemed like his forehead was his face. Now, he even had the nerve to grumble.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had this much freedom.”

“I see. Have you now enjoyed enough of this so-called freedom?”
“No.”
At my response, Aiden gazed into the distance, then silently fell into step behind me.

He must have given up on trying to argue.
I expected him to ask where I was going next, but when I glanced back, he was looking at me curiously.
“What is it, my lady?”

“Aren’t you going to ask where I’m headed?”
“…Aren’t you on your way to see the Duke and Duchess?”
“How did you know? Is that magic too?”

Aiden coughed violently, his face quickly turning pale—just like the day we first met.
Every time magic was mentioned, he turned ashen.
…Could that be magic?

“I… I don’t know anything about magic. I just assumed based on the direction you were headed.”
So he’s still trying to hide it.
He must know that I’ve already figured it out… yet he’s still going to great lengths to deny it.

It reminded me of a child playing hide-and-seek—covering their eyes and thinking they’re completely hidden while standing in plain sight.
Fine. If he’s so desperate to hide it, I’ll let it slide.
I had no interest in exposing him. I had only asked out of curiosity, not because I intended to push him into a corner over it.

“Alright, never mind. Oh, but let me remind you again.”
Aiden swallowed hard. The gulping sound echoed loudly in the silence.
“If you so much as mention the ‘M’ in magic, I’ll cut your tongue out.”

I had no intention of dying at someone else’s hands. That would be beyond miserable.
And magic… just the thought of it made me uneasy.
Right, Selina? What if it’s fire magic? …Okay, let’s stop imagining things now.

Turning away from Aiden, I resumed walking. Behind me, his footsteps hesitated for a moment before quickly falling into pace with mine.
The only sound echoing through the empty corridor was the slow, steady rhythm of our footsteps.