Chapter 1 : I Got Caught by A Villain (2)

Her heart was beating fast with anxiety. The bloody smell that lingered on the tip of her nose still felt like it was all around. She seemed to be standing in that dim space even now while taking a bath and sitting on the sofa drinking herbal tea.

“What are you doing, lady?”

Sally, who was waiting for Regina, turned her head at her strange attitude.

“No, nothing.”

Regina, who was still holding her teacup, quickly regained consciousness and shook her head. She had to act as casually as she could. No one should have known this, that she had witnessed the murder. If she followed the original Regina’s path, it was a dead ending.

Arsene was a man who would not keep an eyewitness alive. She didn’t know him now, but at least Arsene in the original did.

“Sally, bring me the invitations you’ve received so far.”

“Yes”

As she sips the steaming tea, Sally came with the invitations she had gathered.

“Here’s an invitation to the party this week, and this one after that. And here’s an invitation from a major family.”

Regina quickly glanced at the invitations letter. None of this week’s party was very important. Not going to be such a big deal. The invitation. When she heard about it, she handed it to Sally.

“Reject all of this invitation.”

“Okay.”

Sally did the job right away without asking any further questions. She wondered why her master was suddenly acting strangely, but she did her job well. As she walks out carrying the bundle of invitations, Regina takes a deep breath, emptying the rest of her herbal tea. She took an aroma bath and even drank her herbal tea to relieve some tension.

“Forget it.”

She was adjusting well to her life, but suddenly it felt like a bomb had dropped. But fortunately no one knows that she is an eyewitness. Watching movies and TV shows, witnesses of an incident are always at risk of their lives. All because it was revealed that they were eyewitnesses.

For that reason, she forgot about this incident and decided to naturally blend in with the extras of those around her. Then there will be no getting caught up in the original. If she doesn’t die, the contact between Isota and Ruairi disappears, but unfortunately, she couldn’t afford enough to take care of the protagonist’s circumstances.

If they are really related, even if one extra is missing, it will be able to connect well. Regina thought so, and laid the bed for a week to calm her mind and body.

It was a peaceful vacation with a dessert in one hand and a novel in the other. She said she was gone for a while, so she was nowhere to be found. It was not a noteworthy issue that one young lady had a social life and her work did not appear week after week.

“Good!”

Rebuilding her mentality, Regina was filled with her confidence that she might be able to escape the unfolding of the original story.

‘Yeah, like this, he’s living his life, I’m living mine.’

She should keep her mouth shut and forget what she only sees and hears. It’s very simple, isn’t it?

After her week-long break, Regina went out for a birthday party for the youngest daughter of Marquis Brienne after a long time. For a brief moment, thanks to her calm, it seemed that she could now pretend that it was nothing to see Arsene wherever she was. But as she confidently entered the party hall, Regina heard her heart pound as soon as she entered.

“Did you hear that?”

“What is it?”

“….The story of Count Durand being murdered.”

Some people gathered with lowered their voices and whispered. It was the story of Count Durand. Hearing that from the beginning, her confidence dropped a little.

‘No. Its, okay’ She’s never been with Arsene, so it’s okay. She struggled to think so.

“Regina?”

“You don’t look well. Are you okay?”

Even so, she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous, so she guessed her expression was stiff. Isota, who was next to her, wiped the back of her hand with a worried expression.

“Yes I’m fine.”

She looked like she was smiling brightly at Isota, but the voice that was talking about Count Durand suddenly diminished. As she looked at them, wondering if something was wrong, she could see that the eyes of the surrounding people were all turned towards her back. She unconsciously tried to follow along, but she heard a soft voice right behind her.

“Hello. Lady Blois.”

“…….”

The voice calling her was so beautiful that it gave her goosebumps. But Regina couldn’t help but admire it. ‘This voice, I think I’ve heard it somewhere…’

Her heart was shouting that it was dangerous. But she was compelled to turn around at the call she heard from a distance. As she slowly turned around, conflicting dozens of times in one second, she met the man who had been gathering people’s eyes. Her heart dropped. Bright hair shining under the chandelier and jewel-purple eyes. It was the undeniable Arsene Greroy.

*****

Regina was half-conscious now. ‘Why the hell is Arsene talking to me?’ Arsene and her had no contact. That’s because unlike Arsene, the center of society, Regina was a style that was stuck in a corner after a little formal conversation.

When she looked at him without saying a word, she could feel people glancing. A not-so-difficult greeting rolled around for a long time. Biting her lips, she greeted him with a difficult smile on her hardened face.

“Hello.”

A young, handsome, and wealthy men was rare. Of course, deserved everyone’s attention. She heard that a woman who likes him crosses ten fingers.

When she thinks about why such a handsome person is in front of her now, she can only remember the murder she witnessed a few days ago. Besides, they’ve never officially given her the same name, and he’s just clearly referred to her as ‘Blois little girl.’

Like someone who has already memorized the appearance and name. Regina held her lips forcibly as her smile was about to disappear and tilted her head slightly. ‘But what’s going on with you?’ Arsene looked very relaxed, unlike her, whose heart was beating hard. Looking at her , he smiled softly.

“I was wondering if you went home safely that day.”

“……..”

Regina stopped smiling as she was. People around her were buzzing, but it didn’t come into her eyes. First, she felt like they were the only ones in this space. His mask-like perfect smile filled the view.

“What did you just say?”

Her head went round, and she thought she would be out of breath right away.

“Maybe you mistook me for someone else? I have no recollection of encountering the Duke”

She denied it. There’s no way he saw her face. Apparently she stood beyond the group until she completely escaped from the alley. But Arsene’s smile still lingered, laughing at her. Her fingertips got colder and colder. She fiddled her fingers without realizing it.

His eyes fell at her white hand, and he faced pink eyes again. His eyes were not warm, if any, to her eyes. Regina smiled at him as if nothing had happened, but she couldn’t tell if she had a proper smile. She couldn’t even feel her face, so she just wanted it not to be weird.

“I guess you’ve never heard about A Lady With Black Hair”

Regina’s brow flinched. Count Blois’ black hair was quite famous. The Yurden Empire, where they lived, did not have many people with black hair.

Therefore, there was often a strange look at Count Blois, who had black hair for generations. One time, Isota even asked if she could touch her hair.

“Once you see it, you can’t forget it, I’m sure its you.”

Regina looked at him and eventually avoided his eyes. It’s the first time she’ve heard something so ominous that people can’t forget once they see it.

She felt like she wanted to run away from this place. Perhaps because she was so embarrassed, she couldn’t understand the situation properly.

“Thank you. It’s a family honor to hear such praise from the Duke.”

And before he said anything else, she beat him up.

“But I really don’t think it was me. If I had seen you, I would never forget it. It hasn’t been long since I’ve awoken and I’m bit dizzy. I apologize, can I say goodbye?”

At the same time, it sounded plausible that she was in pain because her face was so pale that it looked white.

“Of course my apologies, I didn’t know I was taking up the time of someone ill. Forgive me for my rudeness.”

Regina eagerly grabbed Isota’s arm, who was standing quietly next to her. Then she hugged her half-way as Isota supported her.

“Then I hope to see you later.” When she bowed her head lightly, Arsene responded with a strange smile.

“Yes. See you again.”

As if emphasizing it, it felt like she cut off ‘again’, but she smiled as calmly as possible and walked out. Isota, who followed her and glanced at behind her, said in low voice.

“So what’s the relationship between you two?”

“It’s nothing. You are really mistaken.”

Isota’s expression didn’t stop, as if something still didn’t like it despite the answer. Regina vaguely guessed why she was doing this. Because, she was her most precious person to her. Isota was wary of all men approaching Regina because she thought she would lose someone dear to her.

Neither her family nor her reason why her friends are her most precious people, first she had to tell that, Isota is illegitimate child. illegitimate child from the result of her father’s affair was not well received by his wife and his children.

Because of this, she doesn’t interact much with her family members, and instead makes her friends as someone she can depend on.

Regina, aware of her anxiety, leaned against her like she was a real sick person.

“Take me only to the lounge.”

“I’ll be with you.”

“No, that’s fine.”

It wasn’t long before the party started. She didn’t want to take her time. Isota had a puffy expression for a moment, but as she looked at Regina leaning against her arm, she sighed and nodded her head. She walked down the quiet hallway with her and entered the lounge, and Regina immediately sat down on the sofa.

“I’m sorry for dragging you all the way here, Isota. I’ll be back soon.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then…”

Even so, Isota, who had been thinking for a while, quietly closed the door and left. When she left, the room was quiet. Regina looked around as she poured water into the cup placed on the table and drank it in one breath.

As her stomach subsided, she relaxed a bit of her tension. Her heart was complicated. ‘Did he really see it?’

Count Blois was an ordinary nobleman. It was not a family with a long history, nor was it a wealthy family overflowing with wealth. If it’s a singularity, maybe it’s just that the dark hair that Arsene mentioned earlier, and his brother Edwin, the next count, are popular.

Besides, Count Blois was support the emperor, and so was Arsene. It meant he didn’t need to approach her for his political reasons. So are he still trying to kill her?

“……”

Maybe she should go back home. The mansion was not safe, but she needed peace of mind. Standing up from her seat, Regina walked quickly and opened the lounge door.

It hasn’t been long since the party began, but she did everything she had to do since she greeted the host, Marquis Brienne daughter. Now the plan is to go back to the party and tell Edwin that she’s sick and ride the wagon, which was perfect.

She walked through a secluded corridor and headed for the entrance to the hall. It was almost evening outside, and the sun went down. In the hallway where she passed, only a few lights were on, which made her feel gloomy. Suddenly, her whole body stood up.

“The day Count Durand died.”

Her feet stopped at the voice coming from behind. Her heart sank for a moment and then went up.

“You was showing your back like this.”

Turning her head slowly, she could see a white blonde shining heavily on the lanterns. Subsequently, she was suffocated when her eyes met the purple eyes.

“I’m….” a barely squeezed voice fell. Arsene looked at her as if to speak. “I’ve told you before, but I’ve never seen it.” The words barely spewed out were in vain.

No one was listening and scattered into the air. He smiled. The cool feeling was like a snake crawling all over. “Nothing changes, Lady.” The two eventually met, even though she didn’t visit for threats. So whatever she does, the end is death?