I Can’t Tell If She’s the Heroine or the Villain
Rukna confidently pointed at the window.
“Um, may I open the window? I think the smoke is making the young master’s cough worse.”
“Thank you for caring, but it’s alright, Rukna.”
“That’s right. The doctor said Brother’s cough will get better if he inhales the herbal smoke.”
Rukna tilted her head.
What kind of doctor makes a patient with breathing problems inhale this terrible smoke? Isn’t that a quack?
“Brother, please call the doctor right away.”
The voice Giselle used with Rukna was gentle, but when she spoke to Perta, it was quite blunt.
They really were siblings.
“Yes. Since Rukna is hurt, we should call him immediately.”
“N-No, I’m fine. My memory is just blurry. I’m perfectly alright.”
Rukna waved both hands quickly to stop him.
She wasn’t hurt at all, and she definitely didn’t want treatment from a quack. This life was too precious.
But Perta stretched out his thin arm and rang the small bell beside his bed.
“Cough… Still, before you return to the academy, you should be examined. I heard the school nurse only puts red medicine even on students whose fingers are cut off.”
At that, Giselle clenched her fist in anger.
“Please stop talking about the academy, Brother! I told you clearly—Rukna wants to quit!”
“S-Sorry. I forgot…”
“What’s the point if every graduate ends up sitting on piles of money? Is money happiness?”
What? There’s a school where you end up rich just by graduating?
This was an opportunity she absolutely couldn’t miss.
“Rukna said she doesn’t need money. She only wants happiness!”
Wait a second. What kind of naive talk is that?
Rukna’s eyes widened.
“Cough… There are only six months left until graduation. I thought Rukna might have changed her mind.”
Only six months left?
No matter how you looked at it, this was a golden opportunity. Rukna immediately joined the conversation.
“Yes, that’s right. I changed my mind for the sake of the Count family, Young Master Perta.”
Giselle’s eyes grew wide as she grabbed Rukna’s shoulders.
“What are you saying all of a sudden, Rukna?”
“I want to go back to the academy.”
She didn’t know anything about the academy, but it didn’t matter.
If she just endured six months and ended up rich, only a fool would refuse.
To live comfortably in a world where she didn’t even know the original story, money was essential for survival.
‘How hard could it be? Just endure training for half a year.’
In her past life, she had worked countless part-time jobs—from Coupang logistics to convenience stores—just to survive.
She had died from overwork, yes, but she had endured harsh society. What was a mere school compared to that?
Instead of struggling for pennies, she would graduate and earn a fortune.
Just then—
Bang!
A servant entered the bedroom without knocking.
The maid, dressed in a maid uniform, stood straight as if she were the true master of the house.
In contrast, Giselle’s face turned pale.
“H-Head Maid? You said you were going to your hometown. You’re already back?”
‘Ah, so that’s the head maid.’
Rukna stared at the doorway. The head maid’s solid muscles made her look somewhat threatening.
And beside her stood Mrs. Meln, the head maid’s right-hand woman who had dragged Rukna here earlier.
“I returned two days earlier than planned. And while I was gone, you were protecting that little thief cat!”
The head maid pointed her thick finger at Rukna.
Being called a “thief cat” again, Rukna scratched her cheek awkwardly.
Unlike Rukna, who still felt detached from reality, Giselle looked completely terrified.
“I-I… Rukna looked like she was suffering…”
“Sigh. How long will you continue causing trouble? How sad the late master would be. A reckless young lady like you needs discipline.”
“Charlie! Wilson!”
At her call, the two large men from the morning entered the room with fierce expressions.
The head maid and the servants were full of confidence like wild boars. Meanwhile, Perta and Giselle looked like sick chicks.
“Lock Rukna and Lady Giselle in the basement immediately. And don’t give them water!”
The men grabbed both of them.
But Rukna was not panicked.
‘I’ve seen this kind of scene so many times.’
A servant disrespecting the noble heroine.
In novels, this was always the moment when the heroine showed charisma, drove out the wicked maid, and delivered sweet justice.
‘This cliché is obvious.’
Rukna lifted the corner of her lips meaningfully and looked at Giselle.
‘It’s your time to shine, Giselle! Be brave like a heroine and save your extra!’
Finally, it was time for justice.
Rukna looked at Giselle with hopeful eyes. Encouraged by that gaze, Giselle clenched her fists.
“Head Maid, this is too much! Rukna is afraid of being locked up alone!”
Oh, nice one, Giselle!
“Then we’ll kindly lock her up together with you.”
“Together…? Like that?”
Giselle glanced at Rukna.
Hey, heroine candidate. Why are you blushing there? Argue properly!
Rukna widened her eyes meaningfully.
Perhaps understanding, Giselle boldly nodded and looked at the head maid.
“Give us water and blankets too, Head Maid!”
…Wait. That’s not the right point to argue about.
“Ha. Very well. Just this once, for our stubborn young lady. Mrs. Meln, prepare what she asked.”
The head maid spoke as if granting a favor.
Giselle smiled brightly and looked at Rukna sideways, clearly asking for praise.
‘…Maybe it’s not time for the heroine to awaken yet.’
It wasn’t like Rukna could step in herself.
Feeling frustrated as if she had swallowed a sweet potato, she was dragged to the basement together with Giselle.
‘Do mansions usually have prisons like this?’
The path to the basement felt like a dungeon maze. There were even large boxes placed here and there, looking like reward items.
‘This looks like a mandatory dungeon visit for a protagonist.’
The men opened one of the cells lined along the corridor, locked Rukna and Giselle inside, gave them water and blankets, and left.
Rukna looked outside through the bars.
Oil lamps hanging here and there cast a yellow light on the gray stone walls.
In the cold space, only she and Giselle remained.
‘I only wanted to survive. I didn’t think even that would be difficult.’
Was her goal too modest?
Maybe she should have set a bigger life goal after being possessed—like “become a millionaire” or “seduce all the heroine’s men and build a harem.”
Of course, that wasn’t the real reason.
“I’m sorry, Rukna. Because of me… sniff.”
Even while crying, Giselle wrapped her own blanket around Rukna’s shoulders.
From that small act, Rukna knew at least Giselle was completely on her side.
“Don’t think like that. How is this your fault? It’s the head maid’s.”
“Rukna is always kind. I’m happy to be locked up together with you.”
Was she the type who found joy in small things?
Thinking the heroine candidate’s taste was a little unusual, Rukna shook the bars.
Clank, clank.
They did not budge.
But she was not helpless.
‘Hi, Bisbi.’
She had a very special supporter.
‘Tell me how to get out of here.’
She expected the smart Holy Sword to show its power.
But the answer was unexpected.
「Unable to recognize Master’s request.」
Hmm? Was her pronunciation wrong?
‘I said, tell me how to get out of here.’
「I’m sorry. Unable to recognize the request of a shameless Master who won’t even lift a finger.」
‘Why can’t you recognize it when I’m clearly asking how to escape?’
「You have failed moral verification three times. Entering lock mode for five minutes.」
What is this? Why is an artificial intelligence asking for morals?
‘Is this some kind of world-adaptation tutorial event?’
Thinking about the reward-like boxes she saw earlier, the difficulty of this event didn’t seem high.
「Moral verification will be available again in 4 minutes and 54 seconds.」
‘Seriously. Fine. I’ll handle it myself.’
Rukna let out a long sigh and decided to assess the situation directly.
“Giselle, I have something to ask.”
“Mm. Ask me anything, Rukna.”
Giselle lifted her head from her knees.
Her makeup was smeared with tears.
‘Scary!’
Her black eye makeup had run down, and her bright red lipstick was smeared.
Her once pure face now looked like a wronged ghost, full of obsession and regret.
‘She really looks like a final villain.’
If she ever turned dark, it felt like she would at least end in a kidnapping ending.
A dangerous warning rang in Rukna’s mind.
‘Just in case, I should treat Giselle well from now on.’
Without a word, Rukna gently wiped around Giselle’s eyes and mouth with the back of her hand.
Moved by that, Giselle burst into tears again.
