The Villainess (Kim Taehyung ff)

☆ Chapter 12 ☆

The carriage moved slowly, its wheels whispering along the path, but Y/n's mind was louder than ever. The wind through the trees, the steady clatter of hooves-none of it could quiet the storm inside her. She sat still, eyes on the passing fields, but her thoughts had already traveled far.

Sir Hoseok.

That name lingered at the edge of her memory, like a song she once knew by heart. She pressed her fingers against her temple, forcing herself to remember. And when she did, it hit her like cold water.

Of course.
The knight who never left her side.
The man who bowed even after being bruised.
The one who stood tall even when she crushed him with cruel words.

He had helped her when no one else dared. He had smiled when she had snarled. He had protected her when she was too proud to ask. And what had Lee Y/n given him in return?

Shame.
Pain.
Betrayal.

She had treated him worse than a stray dog. She had spoken to him like he was dirt under her shoes. And yet... he never left. Even when she sent him on that mission-that cruel mission-to kill the Archduke's lover, he didn't hesitate. He carried out her will.

And when it all fell apart, when the trap was set and the net closed around him, she turned her back. She let them take him. Let them chain him. Let them curse his name.

She remembered now-how the court whispered. How the people laughed.
"He's no knight. Just a murderer."
"They say he begged for mercy."
"They say the Duke stripped him of his title with his own hand."

But Hoseok never once spoke out. Not even when his name was dragged through the mud. Not even when he stood in chains, eyes dark with sadness but lips sealed.
He never said,
"It was her. She gave the order."

He took the fall like a silent wall.
He died with the weight of her sins on his shoulders.

And she... she had watched.
Watched him fall from grace.
Watched society spit on him.
Watched them take the name he had earned in battle-earned with blood, with scars, with honor.

He should have died a hero. A man sung about in the ballads, remembered for his bravery. But Lee Y/n had made him die like a bug crushed underfoot. Forgotten. Alone.

The book had spoken of his past, though only in whispers.
A boy with no parents, raised on the streets.
A child who went to war not for glory, but for bread.
A young man who fought like fire, only to return to a life that used him up and threw him away.

He died because he was loyal.
Because he believed in her.
Because he thought she was worth it.

Y/n swallowed the lump in her throat as the carriage turned toward the town. Her hands were cold. Her heart, heavy.

She could hear it-the sound of her own heartbeat, loud and heavy, echoing in her ears like a drum in a quiet hall. Her chest tightened. Her eyes stung. The tears had gathered without asking, clinging to her lashes. She wanted to cry, to sob into the folds of her dress. How could someone be so cruel? How could they hurt a man like him? A man so gentle... so warm?

The weight in her chest grew heavier.

Y/n drew in a shaky breath, then another, trying to steady the storm rising inside her. She blinked fast, brushing her fingers near her eyes as if to chase the sadness away before it spilled.

Beside her, Minji sat in silence. The maid had seen it-that sudden stillness, the way Y/n's shoulders dropped. Gently, she reached over and took her lady's hand, wrapping her fingers around it and giving it a soft, steady squeeze.