Chapter 03
The boy’s face turned bright red.
He was around my age, one of the debutantes today, and I was expected to dance with the sons of our vassal families. It wasn’t exactly an obligation, but it was something I’d been taught was proper and polite.
As the boy escorted me to the dance floor, I glanced back over my shoulder. When my eyes met Schloitz’s, he tilted his chin slightly. I flinched, quickly lowered my head, and couldn’t bring myself to look up again.
‘So… he really can see now.’
Even in the middle of all this, that fact brought me some relief. When I came back after finishing the dance, Schloitz was gone.
I overheard some girls nearby chatting that he had been summoned by the king, exchanged a few words, and left without hesitation. I could hear sighs of disappointment all around.
‘So he really came all this way to check if Enrico Siedo’s daughter was here.’
Had he traveled all the way to the capital just to see if I, the girl from back then, was here?
I started to sweat slightly. But knowing Schloitz had left eased the tight tension that had been locked in my shoulders and neck. Slowly, I started to relax.
I was thirsty.
TI asked a passing servant for a cool glass of juice and sipped it to soothe my dry throat. Finally, I had the energy to look around.
All the debutante girls wore white, pale yellow, or soft pink dresses. They looked like sweet little fairies, laughing together, and it made me feel more at ease. As I glanced around at each one, I blinked.
‘Titania Rosienne.’
Today was also her debutante ball. People often say a beautiful woman is like a blooming rose, but Titania looked more like a whole bouquet in full bloom. Her red hair and bright green eyes sparkled with radiance.
‘But… why is she alone?’
It was strange.
Rosienne was one of the most prestigious noble houses in the kingdom. Even among the Tower families, there’s a hierarchy—and Rosienne was one of the top seven, the elite houses collectively known as “The Seven.”
Just below Lefebvre in status, one of the highest ranks possible.
Because of that, Titania had been a rising star in society since she was young. Even though she was adopted, the Seven Houses rarely had daughters her age, so she was special.
That’s why it was odd seeing her alone now. Shouldn’t she be surrounded by admirers? In the novel, she was always depicted in the center of a crowd.
Why was she just standing there by herself?
‘Wait… is it because I’m here, and I wasn’t in the original story?’
…That couldn’t be it.
Because I was also standing alone. Sometimes girls would catch my eye and quickly greet me with surprise, but that was it. I was close enough to overhear their conversations, but not close enough to be part of their group.
Honestly, I didn’t care. If that kind of thing bothered me, I would’ve been more active in society from a young age. I had no regrets about not putting effort into socializing. Instead, I simply wondered, ‘Why is Titania, the famous villainess, standing all alone?’ and sipped my juice.
But then…
Was it just my imagination?
It felt like Titania was walking toward me.
“Lady Blandea Lefevre. Hello.”
“Hello, Lady Rosienne.”
It was real. I looked at Titania, whose expression had gone slightly stiff. She said to me,
“It’s been a while since we’ve spoken. Forgive me for asking, but… why are you standing here alone?”
She beat me to the question I wanted to ask her.
And what was with her spiky tone? I thought she only ever got defensive around the heroine. Why was she acting this way toward me? Maybe it was because I was the only daughter from a house ranked even higher than hers. That would make sense…
But still.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you the same thing?”
“Are you teasing me? It’s because of you.”
“Me? What did I do?”
Titania’s eyes widened, as if she couldn’t believe what she just heard. Her small hands trembled slightly.
“You ignored me at an official event. Very openly.”
“…?”
I haven’t even seen you in years…
I tilted my head and asked,
“Are you talking about that royal banquet from a few years ago?”
“…”
So it was that.
I was speechless, but also starting to understand.
That event barely had any girls our age, but it was still a royal banquet—so all the noble mothers, aunts, and chaperones were in attendance.
I must’ve said something dismissive to Titania and turned away, and the adults gossiped about it afterward. And now, years later, she was still holding onto that?
‘Has she been like this the whole time I was absent from society?’
That would explain a lot.
I never cared much for social events.
Looking for a marriage partner?
Nope.
Trying to gain influence through networking?
Nope.
And most importantly… I didn’t even have time to socialize. I was busy surviving the hellish training with Knight Commander Balock, which was practically a death sentence.
“But no one’s coming to talk to me either, you know.”
“Of course not. You never smile. You’re scaring everyone off. If you gave just one little smile, every girl in this room would come running to greet you. Since we’re on the topic, why don’t you smile?”
Because I’ve been on edge this whole time thanks to Schloitz…
“I just don’t feel like it.”
“Must be nice.”
Titania’s voice turned sharp.
“You don’t even have to try. Everything just falls into place for you.”
I looked her straight in the eyes and said,
“Is that supposed to be my fault?”
“…”
Titania’s expression shifted. And in that moment, I had one clear thought:
‘As expected of a villainess—her expressions are intense.’
Her gaze was sharp with venom. She was like a fiery, dangerous version of the original villainess—always tormenting the heroine and even targeting the male lead later on. She’d caused such chaos in the military that Schloitz eventually had to exile her with a cold, merciless look.
For now, she was still young and just giving me dirty looks. But what if I made her spiral into darkness even faster than in the original story? What if I caused her to go even further off the rails?
The novel said that even after Schloitz died, the military couldn’t recover from his absence.
Which meant every disaster in the military was technically his responsibility, even if others caused it.
Maybe… I try calming her down?
But just as I had that thought—
“You’re the real daughter.”
Ah. I had overlooked one thing.
She was just a young girl who had barely made her debut today.
‘Oh no.’
That must’ve been something she’d been bottling up all day—and it just slipped out.
Her startled face said everything.
‘So this is before she becomes a full villain.’
In The Tragic End of the Beautiful Villainess, Titania’s descent into darkness had a clear reason. Despite her confident appearance, she deeply wanted to be acknowledged as a real daughter by her adoptive family.
‘That’s why she even briefly joins the military later.’
It was all for appearances, though.
Still, because of this strong desire to be accepted, she took on every responsibility expected of a proper heir. For example, she personally went on regular patrols of the family territory.
And during one of those trips, a horde of monsters attacked, and Titania was left stranded alone for several days. She believed her adoptive father let her go because she wasn’t his real daughter.
‘Well… surviving in a monster-infested forest for days as a kid would break anyone.’
No wonder she lost it…
Although judging from how she acts later with the heroine, it seems like she did go completely off the deep end.
There was one scene from the novel that no one ever forgot.
Titania Rosienne clearly hated anything “real.” Her coldness, cruelty, and poisonous words made even the military fear her. No one was more brutal. She trampled over everything—including a maid’s severed hands and gouged-out eyes—just to hurt the heroine.
Even the few fans who sympathized with her backstory disappeared after that episode.
‘Looks like she’s been socially isolated for a while.’
I never noticed, since I rarely attended social events. But seeing her discreetly wipe away her tears with a handkerchief made me feel uneasy.
‘Please stop crying… please…’
I had a trauma about making girls cry. I didn’t want to be the cause of another tearful breakdown. Why did everyone from the original story cry at least once when they met me?
I was starting to feel pathetic. But I couldn’t say anything to comfort her. With her pride, she’d only lash out more if I did.
And now…
Titania’s expression was growing darker by the second. It wasn’t my imagination—she was definitely going to spiral hard. Probably even worse than in the novel.
Am I accidentally setting off a time bomb in Schloitz’s military?
“….”
That night, after returning home from the ball—
I decided to send Titania a gift.
“Father.”
Enrico, standing beside his father Leonard and organizing papers, suddenly asked,
“Did Blan… used to be close with Lady Titania?”
“…?”
Leonard blinked.
“Enri, Blan doesn’t really have many close friends. She doesn’t smile much in public either.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Yes.”
“At least she smiles at home, thank goodness.”
“I think the same.”
Blandea was unusual. Since she was young, she couldn’t eat sweet things well, didn’t like soft blankets, and even had trouble eating at all. Once, they seriously consulted her physician, who diagnosed it as a sign of deep guilt.
The nightmares had become less frequent with time, which was a relief.
And after undergoing daily life-or-death training with Knight Commander Balok, she finally started eating normally.
Guilt.
Leonard paused and recalled a conversation he had once had with his wife, Anessa.
