TOC I Next
redia Embergreen.
The only direct descendant of the sole duke family in the empire.
However, due to her inherently cruel nature and nurous bizarre rumors surrounding her, no one could easily approach her.
She was quietly gritting her teeth as she stared at her fiancé-to-be, who should have been carried away monts ago after falling victim to her poison.
“I’m sorry for causing a commotion. It seems there was poison in the tea?”
“…..”
“Fortunately, I managed to survive. Otherwise, it could have been a disaster.”
A suspicious man with black hair, black eyes, and dressed in a black suit, who introduced himself as a white mage.
With an appearance that made it hard to tell whether his eyes were open or closed, most people would assu he was bound to betray soone or harbored hidden sches.
Furthermore, he was an annoying figure, pushed forward as her fiancé solely to keep redia in check by the imperial family and the useless heirs cast aside from the duke’s succession race.
He was calmly wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth while whispering softly to her—the very person who had just tried to poison him.
“If I wasn’t careful, there could’ve been rumors that the lady tried to poison , right?”
He said it with a chilling smile that could make anyone shudder.
At that mont, redia couldn’t help but realize.
This dangerous-looking boy standing before her probably belonged to the sa category as herself.
“A benevolent lady like you would never do such a thing.”
No, perhaps he was even worse than her.
“Isn’t that right, Lady redia?”
And maybe, she had just stepped into the trap set by such a person.
“So, could you stop looking at with those eyes now?”
As if he knew it all too well, he narrowed his eyes further, gazing at her like a hunter eyeing prey caught in a snare.
“That expression is scary, you know.”
Seeing that expression—an expression she should’ve been wearing herself—redia’s eyes grew even colder, realizing she was no longer the hunter but the prey.
*****
Whitney Lingard.
The eldest son of the ordinary Count Lingard family, located near the imperial capital.
In truth, he had never done anything bad in his life, but thanks to his misleading appearance and manner of speaking, he had suffered countless false accusations.
He was quietly organizing his thoughts as he stared at the platinum-blonde lady, who was once his favorite character but now stood before him, alive and breathing, threatening his life.
‘…She’s seriously terrifying.’
The only way to change his twisted fate was to save this fearso villainess from her destined ruin.
The reason he regained mories of his past life just monts ago was probably because so divine force was trying to help him do exactly that.
“Anyway, shall we get back to the conversation we were having earlier?”
Summoning every ounce of courage, he put on a smile filled with pure innocence.
“We still have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”
*****
It seems like I’m living my second life right now.
I realized it right after I brought the teacup to my lips during my first eting with my fiancé-to-be, who was introduced to just a day ago, and then opened my eyes again.
“…Rather than getting back to our previous conversation, shouldn’t we first check your condition thoroughly?”
“Hmm.”
“Investigating how poison got into the tea is also urgent. So, let’s postpone our conversation for now.”
After realizing this, the face of my fiancé-to-be, which had felt awkward until now, slowly began to look familiar.
Among the maids, who were pale with worry, the one calmly maintaining her composure, fixing her jewel-like eyes on , was none other than redia Embergreen, the lady of the empire’s only duke family.
According to the mories of my past life that just resurfaced, she was the main villain of ‘Blacktail Fantasy 3’ and appeared as the final boss in almost every route.
“By the way, what’s with that expression?”
She was my favorite character, the one I desperately tried to save until the very end of my previous life, even though she inevitably t ruin in every scenario.
“Are you dissatisfied with my suggestion?”
That very character was now alive and breathing right in front of .
The fact that she had poisoned my teacup was just a bonus.
“Since you even coughed up blood before collapsing, you must be quite upset.”
“I’ve prepared the royal physician, so if you follow us, we’ll begin the examination imdiately…”
As I quietly closed my eyes to gather my thoughts, I could hear the maids’ urgent voices from the front.
Well, it’s not just who’s bewildered after nearly dying and recalling my past life—these people facing the situation must be equally confused.
After all, in this current life, ‘Whitney Lingard’ is an eyesore who must disappear for redia’s plans to succeed.
But as far as I know, they didn’t intend to kill .
They probably just wanted to knock out temporarily with sleeping poison and use the opportunity to threaten .
So, now that I’ve woken up, they’ll likely try to take sowhere secluded under the pretense of treatnt to threaten .
But no matter how much redia is my favorite, I have no intention of moving according to her wishes.
In fact, I plan to do everything I can to survive the bad ending.
Of course, alongside the villainess ‘redia’ standing right in front of .
The reason was simple.
It wasn’t just because she was my favorite; if the engagent with redia were to break, my fate would crumble too.
The Lingard family, where I am the eldest son, may appear fine on the surface, but it’s quite precarious both internally and externally.
If my engagent with redia breaks, we probably won’t last a few years before falling into ruin or ending up on the streets.
Therefore, for the sake of my own future rather than the family’s prestige, I must ensure this engagent succeeds.
No matter how bad her reputation is, being engaged to the empire’s only duke’s daughter is an undeniable advantage.
Honestly, since my mories have just resurfaced, everything still feels awkward, and I’m not sure if I’ll manage well.
The only relief is that my personality and character haven’t changed from my past life to this one, so at least I’ve retained my sense of self.
Well, I’ll take comfort in that and give it my all now that I’ve set my goal.
So, the first thing I need to do is clear.
I have to subtly inform redia that soone interfered with her plan, which initially wasn’t ant to kill , and tried to genuinely end my life.
Since there are eyes and ears everywhere, I can’t say it directly, but redia is smart enough to catch on with just a hint.
“We promise that the duke’s family will thoroughly investigate this matter. Now, if you’ll excuse us…”
“Please wait a mont.”
I hope this little performance will make it clear that I’m competent, useful, and, most importantly, on her side.
“I have sothing interesting to show you.”
But what if she just tells she’s not interested and sends ho?
That would be a bit troubleso.
*****
“Sothing interesting…?”
“You’ll definitely find it fascinating, Lady redia.”
Before Whitney reopened his eyes after collapsing in front of her, redia had no doubt that her plan would succeed.
After all, she was used to controlling everything and everyone around her.
That’s why the current situation was both unpleasant and frustrating for her.
“What if I don’t want to see it?”
“Oh dear, that would be a problem.”
The eldest son of Count Lingard’s family, who should’ve been unconscious and carried away by her pre-arranged n, was perfectly fine, sitting in front of her and fiddling with his teacup.
His tone suggested he knew exactly what would happen today, and his unsettling smile, which even made the composed redia flinch, was unbearable.
“If you really think that, you’re underestimating the duke’s family.”
“Ah, no. I ant myself, not you, Lady redia.”
At Whitney’s clearly provocative remark, redia snapped coldly, but he responded with an incredulous tone and a subtle deflection.
“Why would Lady redia be troubled? I’m the one who’d be in trouble.”
“Hah.”
Is Whitney holding the teacup, or is he holding redia herself in the palm of his hand?
Either way, redia’s patience had reached its limit.
“…Well, since you insist, I’m curious now.”
But redia wasn’t soone who’d easily show weakness or collapse under such pressure.
Unbeknownst to Whitney, the teacup he was holding was no longer valid as evidence.
Thanks to her extensive experience in poison crafting, the deadly masterpiece she developed couldn’t be detected after a certain period, no matter what thod was used.
So, whatever ‘interesting thing’ he had to show, it wouldn’t expose her cri today.
‘And even if it does, I’ll just cover it up.’
Of course, considering her opponent, it might take so effort, but even if the man before her managed to uncover the truth, nothing would change.
“Let’s see what you’ve got.”
With that confidence, she mirrored the man’s smile sitting across from her.
“Haha. Thank you for the opportunity.”
“Oh, don’t ntion it.”
Ti passed.
“Could the ‘interesting thing’ you ntioned be just sitting there doing nothing?”
After watching Whitney for a long ti with her chin resting on her hand, redia finally spoke with a cold smile.
“If that’s it, I’m disappointed.”
Since Whitney’s bold declaration, quite so ti had passed, but all he had done was hold the teacup and ditate.
It seed he had attempted so magic to detect the poison in the cup and failed miserably.
“Escort Sir Whitney to the infirmary. And…”
Smirking inwardly, redia signaled her subordinates waiting on either side.
WHOOSH!!!
“…Huh?!”
Just as her n were about to drag Whitney away, black flas suddenly erupted from the teacup he was holding.
“You might want to step back.”
“That’s…!”
Seeing this, redia couldn’t help but widen her eyes and rise from her seat, lowering her subtly trembling right hand.
Because the black flas burning in his hand were a sign of dark magic.
Regardless of status or rank, even imperial bloodlines were no exception to the severe punishnt that ca with this cri.
Of course, she had never considered using such a dangerous elent for today’s ‘small commotion.’
“You could die if you’re not careful.”
“…Ha.”
Apparently, the man before her had no intention of keeping this incident a ‘small commotion.’
“Of course, I an .”
‘…I’ve been played.’
The trap delicately set around redia had finally snapped shut.
‘No, wait, what the hell is going on here?’
Though, of course, only in her mind.
TOC I Next
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