Chapter 7: The Villainess, Lady Grace
For the past month, Eleanor had been living very differently from before.
It was as if the cruel, villainous Duchess Eleanor Shell Tathier Carniel had returned from the dead.
Crash!
Something shattered loudly.
“Kyaa! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
Someone screamed in fear.
Once again, Eleanor was glaring at a servant kneeling at her feet.
“Well then, tell me—why should I forgive someone like you? You’ve stolen so many of my jewels I can’t even count them all.”
“T-That’s… I… Aaaagh!”
“Speak clearly. If you want to beg for forgiveness, you should be crawling like a dog!”
Count Grace had been testing Eleanor all this time.
He didn’t easily trust her. Was his adopted daughter truly on his side now
Was she just desperately trying to survive?
So Eleanor did exactly what he expected.
If there’s a role he wants me to play, I’ll play it perfectly.
As a result, Eleanor was now known throughout the house as the wicked, lawless villainess of the Grace family.
“A-Ah, my lady, please!”
“Filthy insect, how dare you touch me? Take your hands off my dress right now!”
“Please, have mercy!”
Eleanor blinked, looking down coldly at the servant who looked pitiful.
She lifted the corners of her lips into a wicked smile.
“Do you remember? That time in the dead of winter, when I was thrown out in my nightgown—and you splashed cold water on me?”
The servant’s face turned pale.
“T-That was…”
“Do you know how cold it was? How much it hurt?”
“But! That was the Count’s order—!”
“Hm? Why are you bringing up my father?”
Eleanor widened her eyes and turned to the people watching nearby, gesturing dramatically.
The servant turned even paler.
Then Eleanor shouted loudly.
“Look at this shameless girl! She dares to bring up my father? What are you all doing?! Drag this rude creature out immediately!”
“N-No, please! I’ve always been loyal to the Count—kyaa! Let go of me!”
Eleanor brushed her hair back as if bored.
She knew every action and word of hers would be reported to the Count.
“You’re so noisy. Hey! Get this lowly thing out of my sight. Or have you forgotten Father gave me full authority over the maids? Move quickly!”
“Yes, my lady.”
The attendants, ordered by the Count to support Eleanor no matter what she did, came forward without hesitation.
“Father wouldn’t want someone as nasty as you near him either. Goodbye. I won’t be seeing you off.”
“Aaah!”
As the maid was dragged away with eyes wide in shock, Eleanor smiled brightly.
That maid had once followed her father to the Duke’s house, spying for him.
She had a talent for twisting words and made Eleanor take the blame for things she hadn’t done.
That’s eight I’ve gotten rid of so far.
Of course, the Count would replace them with new people.
But Eleanor was managing to get rid of the especially cruel ones by making excuses and finding faults.
The Count thought Eleanor was acting cruelly out of desperation to survive.
He never suspected she was preparing to escape his control after marrying into the Duke’s house.
If he had, he wouldn’t have allowed her to make herself so hated by the Duke’s family.
That’s exactly what Eleanor wanted—
To make the Count let his guard down.
To keep him from watching her too closely.
And in the meantime, find people she could trust.
I’ve finally gotten my own maids.
She glanced at the two maids who now stood beside her and whispered as if they didn’t exist.
“Are you spreading the rumors like I asked?”
In her past life, Eleanor hadn’t had it easy growing up in the Grace household.
There were rumors that she wasn’t even the Count’s real daughter.
The maids, quick to follow the powerful, often ignored or bullied her.
If Eleanor upset the Count, they would take it out on her with cruel tricks.
But there had been two who helped her back then—
Laura, with brown hair, and Daisy, with blue hair.
They had helped her when she was caught and starved in a storage room after trying to run away.
They were beaten for helping and almost kicked out.
This time, Eleanor had reached out to them first.
And the two, who had always felt pity for her, took her hand again.
Of course, Eleanor made sure they were rewarded.
Because true loyalty and care only exist in fairy tales without a price.
“There are rumors spreading that Lady Eleanor is just like her father, and very loved by him,” said Laura.
“That’s not all, right?” Eleanor asked, pretending to yawn as she fixed her makeup.
Daisy, pretending to polish a vase, answered,
“Yes, my lady. The salons are buzzing with talk that you’re preparing for marriage.”
That was thanks to all the dresses, jewels, and luxury items Eleanor had bought over the past month.
It looked just like she was preparing a dowry.
The noble society must be full of whispers.
Could the Grace family really be planning to marry their daughter into that house?
Eleanor blinked as Laura brushed her hair.
“The Emperor’s faction must be nervous. What about the social scene? What’s Father up to?”
“Count Grace seems to be in a very good mood lately. There was one clash at the noble council.”
“I see…”
Eleanor smirked.
“Father despises the Emperor and his followers. He must be thrilled to see them nervous.”
The Count had a favor granted by the previous Emperor, which allowed him to request anything—as long as it didn’t involve harming the royal family.
He also had deep jealousy toward the Carniel family.
Even the young Duke made him feel inferior.
Watching the Emperor’s side panic must have been a delight to him.
And that pleasure would lead him to make a mistake—
Sending Eleanor to the Carniel family faster and more recklessly than before.
She could now go there sooner, and in a completely different way.
Just thinking about returning to that place made her chest feel tight…
But she had to go.
The best way to escape the Count’s grasp is still to marry into the Carniel family.
No other place gave her as much leverage, or knowledge.
She had lived there for ten years.
And now, it was time to meet her husband again.
“But this time, I’ll be the one using him.”
This time, it would be a completely different kind of relationship.
“I’ll use whatever I can.”
She didn’t love Kylus anymore.
His well-being meant nothing to her now.
She wouldn’t sacrifice herself for him, wouldn’t fake feelings, wouldn’t let herself get hurt.
“It won’t be like last time.”
Just as she tried to calm her uneasy, pounding heart—
“Cough!”
A sharp cough burst out of her, followed by a burning pain in her chest.
The pain slowly worsened.
Her face turned red, and it felt like her throat was filled with glass shards.
“My lady, are you okay?”
“It’s nothing. Cough.”
Eleanor waved her hand to signal silence.
She thought to herself—
That wretched man… He’s already started moving.
It was the soup she had just eaten. That was the problem.
“I can’t even eat in peace.”
Poison had started showing up in her meals.
It was a clear warning from the Count: I won’t let you go easily.
He had likely started poisoning her in small doses the moment the topic of engagement came up.
He had given her authority as the Count’s daughter—
But this was how he reminded her.
“Know your place.”
Still, she didn’t mind. She could handle this much.
“My lady…”
“I said I’m fine.”
Ever since she opened her eyes after returning to the past, Eleanor had known—
She was already poisoned.
There was no antidote yet
But it wasn’t as bad as before.
“I lived ten years last time. Maybe this time… I can live even longer. Maybe twenty years.”
She had unknowingly taken a lethal poison, believing it to be medicine.
Still, she had survived ten years of marriage.
“If I can end everything within a year…”
Then she could use whatever time remained to live just for herself.
She would throw away the cursed name of the Grace family and finally fly free.
Maybe she’d go on a long trip.
Or return to her hometown—not as the Count’s daughter, not as someone’s wife—but just as Eleanor.
But before that, she had things to finish.
She had to take revenge.
And she had to save the people she couldn’t save in her past life.
“Especially you, Siran.”
The one who had cried for her at the moment of her death.
She had to save her.
To do all that, she needed to fully commit to her role as the villainess.
The more scandalous the rumors, the better.
Eleanor picked up a flower vase and threw it against the wall.
Crash!
“I hate these flowers! Bring me something better—right now!”
Her eyes gleamed with fierce determination.
“Kylus… Your birthday banquet is soon.”
Her heart ached.
Soon, she would see him again.
Not the man in her memories—but the one he was now.
At that banquet, Eleanor would be introduced like a jewel.
A beautiful, dangerous flower from the gloomy Grace household—offered to him as a gift.
