Chapter 4 (4화):
The doctors couldn’t bring themselves to speak easily. After hesitating for a long time, one of them finally opened his mouth.
“…That too is unclear. Because Her Highness the Princess suffers from an illness… things that would pose no problem for others may very well become a problem for her. We cannot tell whether it was the food, poison, or simply pain arising from her condition.”
The Empress let out a deep sigh. By now, she was probably running poison tests. But really—why even do such a thing in the first place?
If she made a mistake, the truth that she had drugged Roel’s food would come out. No wonder she was so worried.
Of course, I didn’t think the Empress incapable of smoothing over something like this. She wouldn’t be the villainess for nothing.
With a weary expression, the Empress pressed her fingers firmly against her brow.
“Very well, you may leave. At least there seems to be no immediate problem with Princess Sienna, which is fortunate.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The doctors bowed their heads.
After sending them away, the Empress approached me. She sighed softly, then forced a smile.
“Do you feel better now? The doctors say there’s nothing in particular they could discover.”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I think I’m much better than earlier. My stomach doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“That is a relief, Sienna. Should you feel unwell again, you must tell me at once.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I hope you recover quickly. A renowned physician will be arriving soon to cure your illness.”
“Thank you.”
The Empress watched me for a moment before leaving. If she was going to feel this anxious and guilty, why put drugs in the food at all? She could’ve just let me eat a normal meal.
Well, if I hadn’t been here, the meal would have been the same as always. The Empress would have quietly tormented Roel, and Roel would have had no choice but to swallow poison again.
At that moment, the system window changed.
Your Villainess Points are increasing.
▶ Villainess Points +10p
Tip: When Villainess Points reach a certain level, Death Points are reduced.
For every 20 Villainess Points, 1 Death Point is deducted.
…What?
Roel sat deep in thought, his face grave. Right now, he was thinking about Princess Sienna, whom he had met for the very first time today.
“She definitely opened her eyes and smiled.”
Roel swallowed hard.
It had been a banquet no different from any other. Once again, thanks to the Empress’s scheming, eating the food was torment. The more he ate, the more his stomach burned in pain.
Had he eaten it all, he would surely have collapsed with a high fever. And in this empty palace, with no one ever coming, he would have been forced to suffer alone until he recovered.
Though outwardly splendid, the palace was desolate, with no permanent attendants. Roel was the only one living here. Normally, only a single servant came and went, bringing him spoiled or rotten food.
The Emperor was an indifferent man who cared about no one. Roel was no exception. Even if he died here, the Emperor wouldn’t care.
But…
“My child. Do not die—survive, no matter what. This world is more bearable than it seems. Go beyond this place, find people who are yours, and claim your happiness. Your mother will pray for you.”
Roel had promised his late mother.
That he would survive somehow and leave this place. That he would become happy.
But Roel’s happiness had ended the day his mother died. The Empress had taken everything from him—his food, clothes, friends, even the servants who once cared for him.
Roel clenched his fists.
He lived day to day by scavenging berries and roots in the palace grounds. It wasn’t good, but at least it wasn’t poisoned. Yet on banquet days like this, he had no choice but to eat.
If that princess hadn’t suddenly stepped in, he would have eaten the poisoned food and gone back to his quarters to suffer.
“She did it on purpose.”
And then, as if by chance, she’d said her stomach hurt, that she had a fever, and collapsed.
Had the Empress even gone so far as to drug a guest’s food this time? But then, the fainted princess suddenly opened her eyes and smiled secretly.
What on earth had that been? Why would she do that?
He couldn’t make sense of it.
“Was she… helping me?”
But why?
It was his first time ever meeting her. He had never been to Lespris, and Princess Sienna, due to poor health, had rarely appeared at public events. She had spent most of her life within the palace. Some didn’t even know she existed.
He simply could not fathom her intentions.
“…I’ll have to meet her directly.”
Roel clenched his small fists tighter.
He didn’t want to hope for nothing and be disappointed. And he didn’t want to believe and then be betrayed again either.
Hadn’t he already been betrayed and disappointed countless times before? If it was just empty pity, then he needed to tell her to stay out of his affairs.
“…But how did she know the food was poisoned?”
His mind was in turmoil.
I heard later that nothing had been detected in the food.
Of course—the Empress must have covered it up. Tch. So she could never be caught with such a shallow trick, huh? I pursed my lips.
It had been four days since I arrived here.
The promised physician had not yet come, but more than ten doctors came and went each day, examining me and discussing among themselves before prescribing my medicine. Just as he had promised, Setrit was doing his best to treat me.
I glanced at the system window.
There hadn’t been any quests so far, and even the Villainess Points thing had gone quiet. I even tried spilling water and breaking a cup just to see if I could earn points, but that hadn’t worked.
Ugh, how frustrating.
I felt like I needed to leave here to do anything at all. But ever since that day, I’d had no excuse to go out.
And how could someone supposedly ill just wander around? Besides, I didn’t have the stamina.
Should I attempt a secret escape?
But my nanny was watching me like a hawk. I glared at the closed door, imagining her beyond it.
Then it happened.
Thunk.
A strange noise came from the balcony.
I whipped my head around toward it. On the balcony, which had been empty, a head suddenly popped up.
“Wh-what the—!”
Startled, I grabbed a pillow. I was about to call loudly for help when the intruder’s face became visible.
“…Prince Roel?”
It was the very person I had wanted to meet. Roel had come to see me himself—by climbing over the wall, no less.
From beyond the glass, Roel stared at me with cold, expressionless eyes. Then he pointed at the locked balcony door and moved his lips silently.
“May I come in?”
“Ah!”
I’d been too shocked to think. I hurried over and unlocked the door.
Roel stepped in cautiously. I glanced outside, then shut the door tightly.
“…Forgive me for intruding like this.”
His tone was far too mature for a child.
“It’s fine.”
“I came because I was curious about something.”
I nodded.
“…That day. Did you help me?”
Roel asked hesitantly.
He looked so confused. Understandably so—suddenly, a foreign princess had stepped in, saved him, and collapsed. And then their eyes had met.
“Well… I guess you could say I helped.”
“…Did you know there was poison in the food?”
“I knew your food was poisoned, yes.”
“How…?”
Only three people knew: Roel, the Empress, and her head maid who acted as her right hand. That maid was the one who laced the meals with poison.
It was a scheme to show the Emperor how weak Roel was, proving him unfit to inherit the throne.
Ugh, I knew everything, but I couldn’t exactly say that out loud. So frustrating.
“Before the banquet, I got lost for a bit and saw them putting something in the food. At first I didn’t know what it was, but then you wouldn’t eat, so…”
Roel’s eyes were skeptical, but he had no reason not to believe me. After all, nothing else explained it. The Empress wouldn’t have told me, ‘I poisoned it, so keep quiet,’ and Roel himself hadn’t said a word.
Roel sighed. A tiny thing like him, sighing.
“Then… why did you help me?”
“What else could I do? Eating something like that and getting sick—how awful would that be? Being sick is bad. And it’s sad, too.”
Unlike me, Roel had no one to care for him. Even if he was sick, he had to suffer alone. Without medicine, his illnesses dragged on for ages.
But I couldn’t exactly say all that—he’d think I was strange.
“If you’re hungry or sick or struggling, come find me. I’ll help you.”
“…Princess Sienna? Why would you help me?”
“Well, that’s because…”
I rolled my eyes around. The truth was, it was all because of the system window, but how was I supposed to explain that?
“Be… because you’re pretty!”
I blurted it out loudly.
