Kill The Villainess

chapter 1

ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ, ᴡʜᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴏʀ ɴᴏᴛ, ɪs ᴍᴇᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ʙᴏʀɴ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ. ɪ ᴡᴀs ᴀʟsᴏ ʙᴏʀɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀʏ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʟᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ʟɪᴠᴇᴅ ᴍʏ ʟɪғᴇ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ, ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʟɪᴠᴇᴅ ᴀ ʀᴇᴀsᴏɴᴀʙʟʏ ᴏʀᴅɪɴᴀʀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ʟɪғᴇ.
ʙᴜᴛ ʟɪғᴇ ɪs ᴏғᴛᴇɴ ᴜɴᴘʀᴇᴅɪᴄᴛᴀʙʟᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀʀᴇ ᴀʙsᴜʀᴅ ᴇɴᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ʙʀᴏᴀᴅᴄᴀsᴛᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ʀᴀᴅɪᴏ sᴛᴏʀɪᴇs ᴛᴏ ᴡɪɴ ᴘʀɪᴢᴇs ᴏʀ ᴡᴀɴᴅᴇʀ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴇᴛ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴀs ᴀ ʟᴀᴜɢʜɪɴɢ sᴛᴏᴄᴋ.
ɪ ᴄᴀᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜɪs ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴀɢᴏ. ᴀ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇs sᴛɪʟʟ ᴇxɪsᴛ, ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʜᴇʀᴏᴇs sᴛɪʟʟ ᴡᴀʟᴋ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛʀᴇᴇᴛs ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴘʀɪᴅᴇ, ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴅɪᴠɪɴᴇ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ sᴛɪʟʟ ᴇxɪsᴛ. ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴘʀᴇᴄɪsᴇ, ɪᴛ ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴏғ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴏɴ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴀᴛ ᴀ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ’s ʜᴏᴜsᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʏ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ ʏᴇsᴛᴇʀᴅᴀʏ.
ɪ ᴡᴏᴋᴇ ᴜᴘ ᴀs ᴇʀɪs ᴍɪᴢᴇʀɪᴀɴ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴠɪʟʟᴀɪɴ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ ᴏғ ᴀ ᴍᴀʀǫᴜɪs ᴀɴᴅ ғɪᴀɴᴄᴇᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʀᴏᴡɴ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ᴄʜɪʟᴅʜᴏᴏᴅ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ ᴡʜᴏ ɪs ᴊᴇᴀʟᴏᴜs ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴀɢᴏɴɪsᴛ.
sᴏᴍᴇ ᴡᴏᴍᴇɴ ᴍᴀʏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇᴅ ᴏғ ɪᴛ, sᴏᴍᴇ ᴍᴀʏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʜᴀᴅ ɴᴏ ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ ʙᴜᴛ ᴛᴏ ʟɪᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʟɪᴠᴇs ʜᴇʀᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴍᴀʏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴍɪɴᴅs ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ sᴏ. ʙᴜᴛ ɪ ᴀᴍ ɴᴏᴛ sᴜʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜɪs ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ. ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴅᴇᴄɪᴅᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴅɪᴇ ᴀs sᴏᴏɴ ᴀs ᴘᴏssɪʙʟᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ.

****
“Are you up, Young Lady?”
Is it so with me, an infidel, in search of God? I longed to be allowed to go home at this point, but today, as ever, I woke up in a novel. Instead of my mother’s voice, which I wanted to hear, the head maid’s voice woke me up. The mouth, always stubbornly closed, curved softly at me, but I was not impressed. The part-time job I’d taken just to get by had, surprisingly, come in handy here.
“Yes. Did you say I was supposed to enter the Imperial Palace today?”
A polite smile tugged awkwardly at my lips. As Helena was the heroine of the novel and the authorised speaker, I had no idea of Eris’s character or surroundings.
But seeing that no one seemed to think it was strange, I managed to imitate the noblewoman pretty well. Dressing up usually took about two hours, but today I had to go to the Imperial Palace, so I started preparing an hour earlier than usual.
Perhaps I was making a deliberate effort to look beautiful for my fiancé, the Crown Prince. All in vain. The Crown Prince was in love with Helena, his official mistress. From the moment he first met her until now. His searing, pure love lasted until the end of the book, and he finally ended up with Helena as his Empress.
Eris, who loved the Crown Prince, or more precisely was jealous of Helena, went even madder… but the cliche novel was nothing special. One that wasn’t even my cup of tea. It was just enough to kill the boredom, but the mundane development and characters made it less complete. There were no twists, no memorable narrative. There was only a constant repetition of the sweet bromance between the three handsome and capable male protagonists, and the viciousness of Eris in sabotaging this.
There was no Eris’s narrative, despite the fact that she was the other female protagonist, who was in her own way in conflict with the female protagonist. She was inferior, hated the good Helena and never felt remorse until the end. She was nothing more than a plot device for the main characters to experience challenges.
Eris eventually succeeded in poisoning Helena, but she dramatically returned from her death, thanks to one of the male protagonists being a High Priest. The good and the bad. Eris died and Helena lived happily ever after. A story that nevertheless satisfied all those who loved Helena.
“What do you think, Young Lady?” asked the maid, who had somehow finished decorating and fixing her hair.
The hair was as black as ebony, the skin as white as snow, the lips were the color of blood. I wondered if this was what Snow White I had read about as a child looked like.
I saw an unfamiliar beautiful woman in the mirror. I was scared.
“I think the time is going so slow.”
“Are you looking forward to your engagement, Young Lady?”
“Surely.”
‘My death is so far away, it’s painful.’
“It’s a wonderful afternoon, Lady Mizerian. His Highness is waiting for you.”
“How kind of him, His Highness, to wait for me. It’s really a dazzling afternoon.”
I paid a visit to the Emperor, and the Prince’s chamberlain and Knight were waiting for me. No. It was actually not me that His Highness was waiting for. Though he could have skipped tea-time at least once if he had been so displeased with Eris, he was obliged to keep his word. For this was not a promise to me, nor to the Emperor.
“Eris! No, Lady Mizerian! You’re here!”
A bright, innocent voice and a lovely smile welcomed me. Helena’s hair, silvery and shiny, fluttered lightly as if it had taken out of melted sugar, and the Crown Prince laughed as he arranged it for her. They were a perfect couple that was as dazzling as the afternoon sun.
The blond-haired prince watched with sensitive eyes as Helena tied her hair up, then turned his cold gaze on me.
“You’re later than usual…”
“My rudeness….It’s a beautiful afternoon, Your Highness, and Helena.”
“I’m glad the tea hasn’t gone cold yet. Please, have a seat.”
“Don’t be so formal. Helena. We’re friends. Aren’t we?”
Helena’s expectant gaze and the look of the prince’s eyes were on me as I shook my head. It was strange. The Empress, who had been a good friend of the Countess, had accepted the Countess as the Crown Prince’s nanny after she had fallen victim to a plot. Helena was the daughter of the countess, who, though of a distinguished family, was now, in any case, strictly a commoner. She would never have dreamed of drinking tea with him, but now she could even speak to the Crown Prince, which was something that normally would have been deplored by a teacher of etiquette in the Imperial Palace.
If the story had originally unfolded as it did in the novel, I would be thrown out by the Crown Prince, who was angered by my language, but it was tired to cause a scene. Whether I blamed Helena or not, the Crown Prince would have hated Eris, but I didn’t dare relax. Then I turned my gaze tenderly to Helena.
“Cold tea loses its flavour. Would you pour me a cup?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Didn’t you learn how to pour tea at home? Or your hands are not feeling well today?”
The Crown Prince stared at me with deadly eyes, but fortunately, I had nothing to fear. He was not my parents, but I was immediately annoyed by the man in front of me who was talking about ‘home education’.
“As His Royal Highness said, we are best friends. Is it against the law to ask a friend for a cup of tea?”
“You…”
The one at a disadvantage when it comes to the law was the Crown Prince. He, who was about to shout at me with his wrinkled brows, suddenly got interrupted by Helena.
“That’s right, Alec. I did it because she’s my friend. If you keep being grumpy like that, I won’t pour you any tea.”
A deliberately clear voice lightly accused him, and the Prince’s mouth twitched in frustration. Helena lightly taps his lips with her fingers. They were the only ones who knew how to take it out on me. It was a very rude sight, but it was as lovely as a masterpiece. I guessed that was why they all loved Helena.
According to the description in the book, Helena was never hated for anything she did, because of her innocence and her straightforward nature. Even those who hated her became enamoured of Helena before long, and reflected on themselves and betrayed Eris. It wasn’t an attraction, it was more like magic.
“Are you drinking without me?”
“Jason! Have you returned already?”
“Yes, I am going to stay in the capital for a while.”
With a cheerful voice, Jason appeared, hugging the Crown Prince and Helena at the same time. The eldest son of a duke and the famous Jason the Brave. He was one of their childhood friends and a poor man who had a crush on Helena.
I should have been kicked out for being so bland earlier. The scene where the three of them had a pleasant discussion was the thing of the novel, but I was going to be a bit more stubborn about it, because the two male protagonists hated me anyway.
“My impudence. Lady Mizerian, you are as beautiful as ever.”
Jason finally looked up and greeted me as well, treating me as if I were invisible. He even winked at me, in keeping with his nickname as “the Empire’s greatest flirt”. He was handsome, but I didn’t like him.
It’s a beautiful afternoon, Lord Kazar.”

“I’ve never done the house of Kazar any favours, so the title is too much for me to handle. I’ve always said that calling me Jason is good enough, but you’re too polite.”

“As the Crown Prince’s fiancée, how dare I.”

I said, stressing the word “fiancée”, and Jason’s eyebrows shot up and the Crown Prince frowned again. Jason sneaked a look at him.

The Crown Prince was indeed a man who could not conceal his feelings. At least that was always the case in front of Eris and Helena. A blunt person who loved Helena and blatantly hated Eris. Indeed, my friend said, that was why he was so popular with the readers as a cider.

“There are many eyes to see, Your Highness.”

“I don’t need to care for other’s attention.”

They were only a year or two older than me. If I was angry at them for being childish, it would only dampen my spirits. But I couldn’t bear to see the Crown Prince looking so triumphant, with both sides of his mouth raised as if he had won. So, smiling more plaintively, I said.

“Only one person could do such a thing under the sky… And he, too, looks at the comfort of silence.”

“Eris!”

Helena called out her name in surprise. The Crown Prince clenched his fists, as if he were trying to contain his anger. Jason also stood by the Crown Prince and stared at me, ready for any eventuality. Indeed, I had bluntly said, “You’re not even the emperor, you’re a joke”, and he had every right to be angry. If only I could clear my mind, I should be refreshed, but somehow I felt bitter.

Strange, I was sure I was a childhood friend of theirs. But at this moment, I was an uninvited guest in this room, almost a foreigner. If I had been the real Eris, I would have been hurt. I watched them quietly, then slowly stood up. Helena was staring at me with her wide eyes, and I added with a subtle smile.

“Thank you for your tea, Lady Anterblum, but you shouldn’t talk down to me in crowded places.There are identities and glances, you know.”

“Yes….”

***
1894 words ^_^