I’m a Villainess, Can I Die?

A terrible scenario flashed through my mind in an instant.
I took a shallow breath in, then let it out.
No, stop imagining bad things.

There’s no point in picturing the worst before it even happens.
It felt ridiculous—maybe even selfish—that I, someone who had tried to die so many times, was now afraid of someone else’s death.
But what can I do? Humans are selfish by nature.

Or maybe… we’re all just selflessly selfish.
"Aiden… are you… Are you joining the subjugation campaign too?"
My words came out unevenly. My tongue wasn’t twisted, yet my speech was oddly sluggish.

I lacked the courage to meet his gaze, so I kept my eyes fixed on the teacup on the table.
"...No. I'm staying at the mansion. We still need people here."
I let out a breath of relief.

But at the same time, I felt a bitter sting, realizing that Aiden also knew about the subjugation campaign.
I’m always the last to know.
The childish complaint slipped out in my head, making me flinch at myself.

Stop it, Selina.
What difference does it make if you know in advance?
No—actually, mental preparation is important.

I stopped thinking.
There were too many thoughts, too many voices in my head—so many that I wasn’t sure if I was Selina, Jekyll, or Hyde.
I couldn’t focus.
"My lady, here. Use this."

Lost in thought, I barely registered the moment a warm blanket draped over my shoulders.
He had been sitting across from me just now, so when did he go to get a blanket…?
"A blanket… all of a sudden?"

"Just because. It's cold tonight."
Cold? Now that I thought about it, it was a bit chilly.
As the blanket started slipping from my shoulders, I raised a hand to hold it in place.

My fingertips were trembling violently.
So that’s why he brought me a blanket.
I hadn’t even realized my own anxiety was manifesting physically.

"Thanks, Aiden."
I watched my fingers tremble, then absentmindedly wrapped them around my lukewarm teacup, hoping to warm them.
Before Selina arrived, Aiden had been reading a letter from the Magic Tower.

The Magic Tower was, by nature, an insular place.
Most of the mages there were deeply absorbed in their research, which naturally led to an environment of secrecy.
Because of that, the tower was often surrounded by absurd rumors.

‘Even I used to believe them without question.’
Aiden thought as he skimmed the letter.
—There were faint traces of magic detected in the red orb you asked me to investigate. However, it isn’t pure magic—it seems to be mixed with something else. I'll need to examine it further.

Also, we may need to reduce the number of mages we promised to send for support. Instead, we’ll increase our supply of enchanted weapons and magic tools. I’ll explain the reasons below. Please review and relay it to the Duke as necessary.
The letter was blunt and to the point. Aiden immediately recognized his master’s handwriting. Clicking his tongue, he flicked his fingers.
As he did, words hidden in the blank space below flickered into view, burned onto the parchment.

—Mages from the tower are disappearing.
The missing individuals were mostly low-level assistants or those who had only received a basic magic license before leaving to live outside the tower.
But they were still part of the tower.

Given the empire’s current state, we’ve decided to handle this issue internally for now, since the monster crisis at the Duke’s estate is more urgent.
That means we can’t spare as many mages as we originally promised. Out of the six we planned to send, two will have to stay behind.
Aiden, do what you must to explain this properly.

P.S. Aiden, once this monster incident is resolved, why don’t you return to the tower? No matter how I think about it, your place is in research…
Aiden stopped reading and folded the letter back up, tucking it into his drawer.
There was no need to read further—his master’s postscript was always the same.

‘I appreciate that they still want me there, but…’
Leaning back in his chair, Aiden closed his eyes and replayed the contents of the letter in his mind.
A red orb…

Since he was the one corresponding with the Magic Tower, the young lord had already shared most of the details with him.
That meant Aiden had already heard about the red orb.
He had even seen it in person.

‘It contains traces of magic.’
It had looked suspicious at first glance, but he hadn’t expected it to actually contain magic.
Could this mean a mage is involved in the incident?

If there really was a mage behind the monsters’ erratic behavior…
Then the theory that the monsters were deliberately trying to instill fear would make sense.
Damn it.

Aiden frowned.
This translation is the intellectual property of .
If this incident led to more negative perceptions of mages, things would only get worse.

The Magic Tower already had its fair share of bad rumors.
"And now, mages are going missing."
Bad things always seem to happen all at once.

As a mage belonging to both the Duke’s estate and the Magic Tower, Aiden now had twice as many problems to deal with.
Just as his headache was worsening—
Knock, knock.

A faint yet urgent knock echoed through the room.
The moment he heard it, an image of Selina flashed through his mind.
Without hesitation, he leapt from his seat and rushed to the door.

And the moment he opened it—
As expected, it was her.
Her face looked paler than usual. Her body swayed slightly, as if she might collapse.

Selina’s eyes were locked onto his.
Her face was as expressionless as always, but in her eyes—
There was either a storm of unease or an eerie, unsettling calm.

Either way, the meaning was the same.
She was afraid.
"My lady?"

Selina stared blankly at Aiden before slowly reaching out and grabbing his arms.
Her delicate fingers tightened around him with unexpected strength—like a drowning person clinging to a lifeline.
A still, expressionless face. Hands trembling from the pressure of her grip.

A combination that did nothing but heighten the unease in the air.
Aiden simply stood there, supporting her weight.
He only looked into those pale blue eyes and repeated the same words over and over again.

"It's okay. You're okay."
Now, back in the present, Aiden silently watched as Selina fumbled with the teacup, her fingers shaking.
She radiated anxiety from head to toe, yet her face remained as impassive as ever.

A month ago, on the last day of the founding festival—
She had smiled, faintly but unmistakably.
Feeling an ache in his chest, Aiden briefly closed his eyes before opening them again.

It’s fine.
Once this situation is over, things will gradually return to normal.
He couldn't afford to let himself waver.

Since returning from the capital, Aiden had made a firm decision.
In this chaotic and dangerous time, his role was to provide Selina with as much peace as possible.
Unstable people are easily swayed by their environment.

And if her mind grew weak in a moment like this…
He feared that the fragile attempts she had once made to end things would resurface.
Strengthening his resolve once more, Aiden turned his gaze toward the window.

The moon was bright tonight.
She enjoys fresh air.
Though she preferred opening windows to actual walks… still—

"My lady, would you like to go for a walk?"
When your head is a mess, moving your body can help clear it.
I accepted Aiden’s suggestion without hesitation.

A walk might help untangle my suffocating thoughts.
Maybe it would even chase Jekyll out of my mind.
With the blanket Aiden had given me draped over my shoulders, we strolled through the chilly night garden.

Like the silent mansion, the garden was devoid of any signs of life.
This vast space, and yet—so quiet.
Even the insects seemed to have vanished.

The constant chirping that had made summer nights so noisy was completely absent.
Aiden must be happy about that. He hates bugs.
Under the bright moonlight, our shadows stretched long across the path, and golden leaves swayed gently before fluttering down onto them.

The one to break the silence was Aiden.
Walking at a slow pace beside me, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"My lady."

I had taken another step forward without thinking. Hearing my name, I turned back to look at him.
What? Why did you call me just to stare at the sky?
Is something up there?

Aiden had tilted his head back, gazing upward.
Just like I often did.
Just like me, he was looking up at the night sky.

Curious, I followed his gaze—
Ah.
It was beautiful.

Our territory was in chaos, but above it, the stars and the moon shone as brilliantly as ever.
As if nothing had happened.
As if everything was perfectly at peace.

"Do you remember, my lady? The night of the young master’s engagement party? That night, we walked through this garden at this very hour."
I remember.
That night, filled with the sounds of insects and distant chatter.

The wind brushing against my nose, the night sky looking particularly dazzling.
A night so unfamiliar in its beauty that I struggled to put my feelings into words.
I slowly lowered my head.

Aiden had lowered his as well at some point, and he was smiling at me.
Just like that night—his platinum hair bathed in moonlight, shimmering faintly.
"I walked behind you and Sir Lukas that night, watching your backs as you walked ahead."

That’s right.
Lukas and I had been in front, and you had followed behind.
When I had stopped walking, buried in the exhausting memories of my past life, you had asked if I was alright.

"From behind, the two of you looked like a perfect pair. But tonight, I'm the one walking beside you."
That’s true.
At some point, Aiden had become the one walking at my side.

So many things have changed.
I kept my thoughts to myself, answering only in silence.
His voice, resonating through the quiet garden, was something I didn’t want to interrupt.

"If someone saw us from behind right now, do you think they’d say we look good together?"
Up until now, I had intentionally chosen not to answer.
But this time, I simply couldn’t.

How was I supposed to respond? I couldn’t see my own back.
Instead of replying, I blinked and tried to picture it—our silhouettes.
Aiden, a head taller than me. Me, by his side.

His pale platinum hair, my pale blue hair.
The colors matched well.
Yeah, we probably looked decent together.

But I didn’t answer.
Or rather, I couldn’t.
Because just as I was about to open my mouth, Aiden took a step closer. Then another.

He closed the distance and stood beside me again.
I turned my head to follow his movements, then faced forward just as he did.
"Anyway, it was a peaceful night."

Without waiting for my response, he abruptly changed the subject.
Hey… I was going to answer…
For a moment, I debated whether I should still say something.

But at this point, answering felt pointless, so I just nodded slightly.
And with that, we resumed walking.
The same silence enveloped us again.

Step by step, at an unhurried pace.
Eventually, we completed a full round of the garden.
As expected, my head felt clearer, and the Jekyll inside me had vanished without a trace.

In other words, my mind had settled.
Of course, this clarity would °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° probably fade soon enough, and my thoughts would once again crawl out and make a mess of everything.
But for now, just for now—

Everything was quiet.
Taking that walk had been a good idea.