Don't Trust the Heroine

CHAPTER 5

Upon arriving at the mansion, Madenna ordered for Farren to be washed and his wounds treated.

She was going to call in a doctor for proper treatment later.

As she sipped her tea in the room, Farren came out of the bathroom, and he somehow looked thinner.

"You still have some severe wounds. I called in a doctor, so you'll be able to get treated right away. Does it hurt a lot?"

"Oh, no. It doesn't hurt that much."

"Alright. Take a good rest for the time being and recuperate until the wound is healed."

Farren hesitated, "What's going to happen to the children in the orphanage?"

"I asked the butler to file a complaint to the authorities, so we'll be in the process of confiscation and search. I'm going to ask the children in the orphanage to be sent elsewhere so they won't receive terrible treatments. My family will help them in the process."

"I see. I'm glad...."

Farren sighed in genuine relief.

The kids in the orphanage didn't stand up from him when he was falsely accused. Nonetheless, he still didn't blame them.

'How nice of him, he doesn't even act like a villain.'

As expected, she thought that Suzanne and Farren's roles were switched.

"Are you that glad? You suffered so much at the orphanage. I think I was almost fooled by the clever one named Suzanne. Was it a lie that you bullied her?"

"Yes, but Suzanne... She's a little spoiled. The others are just easily swayed, so I don't really resent her."

"Hmm."

"Ah, more than that..." he said as he clasped his hands together.

Farren stood up from his seat and bowed politely.

"I haven't thanked you properly before. Thank you, my lady."

"No need to be so modest, it's a good deal for me too."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

Madenna put down her teacup and gazed at Farren.

Before turning back time, she opened her heart to Suzanne and regarded her as a family.

At first, she just wanted to survive, but as time passed by... she came to adore her.

But that affection was instead returned with betrayal. Madenna didn't even know who to trust anymore.

When she sponsored Farren this time, she was going to use this relationship strictly for business.

To give and receive as much as one needs, not to be swayed by one's feelings. Keep things professional with no strings attached.

It felt like an ideal relationship.

"The world is changing rapidly now. Sooner or later, I'm sure the age where mages reign the land will come. That's why I'm sponsoring you, a mage. I'm going to invest in you and sharpen your magic skills so you can help me in the future. That's the deal."

"What can I do for you?"

"If anything dangerous happens to me, please protect me. When you grow up, you can help our family's business."

That's what she said, but Madenna knew that after the incident, the mages make an alliance and a pact to destroy the empire.

In the original novel, it was Suzanne who overthrew the empire and became the new empress. Still, Madenna, of course, had no intention of molding the future according to her wishes.