I'm a Villainess, Can I Die?

“When are you going to tell Selena?”

Aaron’s shoulders shook greatly at Lucas’s question.

It was as if the two large wounds in his hand were squeezed. Lucas laughed weakly and started working while flipping through the papers he was looking at.

Even so, he glanced at Aaron with a smile.

Knowing that those gazes and actions were making fun of him, Aaron became even more angry, and then started working as if he had given up on everything.

After hearing the sounds of papers turning over and over again, Aaron’s voice rang in the quiet and desolate room.

“I can’t tell her because I’m worried.”

“She still needs to know what she has to know.”

Aaron chewed his lips listening to Lucas’s calm and calm voice.

Lucas was right.

He had to tell Selena the truth before the time was up. He had to tell Selena the story by now so that she could take it easy and not rush to accept the truth.

But, but…

“That’s right… That is so, but… Did you see it last time, too? Selena’s smile. I was really, really… so happy that I couldn’t say anything. She was smiling. She smiled naturally, not forcibly. The first change in the face that seemed to contain nothing was a smile.

I wondered if Selena was finally feeling a little more comfortable… But after that, I was so busy with work that I couldn’t even see her face properly. I could only come, go and say hello, and it’s already been a month and a half.

I left the child alone who could barely smile. In that situation, to suddenly talk about the subjugation? I cannot. I can’t.”

The long story ended in a resentful tone.

Of course, the object of the resentment was not Lucas, but the situation itself.

Lucas knew that, too, so he reached out his arm and patted his friend on the shoulder in silence.

It was late in the evening when Lucas left Aaron’s office after work.

Today, at least one part of work ended early.

Please. Hoping there would be no sudden outings tonight, Lucas was walking slowly with documents related to the scouting party and the subjugation in his hands.

It wasn’t the time when everyone was asleep yet, but it was quite quiet inside the mansion where bad rumors were circulating viciously.

Step, step, step.

With only the sound of tired footsteps echoing through the hallway, someone was walking on the other side.

***

I left the room for a walk.

No matter how much I racked my head, I still couldn’t think of anything today.

So I left the room, wondering if there would be something that would pop into my head if I breathed in some fresh air.

Since it was past evening, I sent Jane away and left the room by myself.

Yes, it was good to go out in high spirits, but when I came out, the day was colder than I thought.

Maybe it was because it was an autumn evening.

In the end, I gave up my desire to go for a walk in the garden, and instead made up my mind to take a walk in the hallway for a few laps.

When it was cold, my head hardened. Well, no way.

I was walking slowly down the hallway, when a large figure was coming from the other side.

“Sir Lucas?”

He stopped at a distance where I could see his face at my murmur.

“Selena?”

His voice seemed a bit hoarse. He must have been working up to this time.

It wasn’t late at midnight, but dinner time had just passed and the moon was up outside.

‘Oh wow, he must be tired.’

As he took a few more steps closer, the tiredness on his face was clearly visible.

“Did you work until now?”

“Haha, I’ll go to my room and do more.”

Lucas, with a tired face, answered while clutching the papers in his hand. I couldn’t tell if the shaky smile was from playfulness or fatigue.

I shrugged my shoulders once, and as I pondered over what answer to give, I suddenly saw the papers fluttering in his hand.

“Permission for the subjugation war?”

Lucas’s movements stiffened.

Lucas didn’t think I would read this, as his swaying smile hardened awkwardly.

No, did he think I couldn’t see it?

“I must be really tired. To be carrying this document around.”

However, the misunderstanding was resolved in his mutterings that followed.

What Lucas overlooked was not the state of my eyes, but the state of his mind. Could it be that he forgot the importance of the papers in his hands for a while because of fatigue?

This was why sleep was so important.

After all, what was already seen was seen.

“Is there a subjugation battle, after all?”

Well, it wasn’t unexpected.

I was thinking that if the monster disposal would be solved simply by the guards or the knights, there would eventually be a subjugation war.

So I wanted to think of the cause before that.

“Can’t you pretend you don’t know, Selena?”

“Is there a subjugation battle? After all?”

I asked the same thing again, one word at a time.

I was the Duchy’s Lady. If the exact details were decided about the subjugation, my family would tell me, but I had the right to know before that.

Lucas let out a sigh and nodded his head.

“Yes. I will go out before winter comes.”

God, so fast. If it was before winter, it would be the end of this month at the earliest, or the next month at the latest.

In an instant, Lucas came over and grabbed me as I almost collapsed when my legs gave out.

“Are you okay, Selena?”

“Yes. I’m okay.”

No, it wasn’t okay. A subjugation battle? First of all, it was a battle. It was a battle…

“Can I see the paper?”

Lucas hesitated a little, then slowly handed me the papers. The names of the leader and vice-captain were written under the permission letter for the subjugation war written in large letters.

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‘Arthur White, the leader of the subjugation, and Lucas Barnett, the vice-leader.’

Father.

The hand holding the papers was tense. Surprised by the slightly crumpled papers, I relaxed my hands, and the torrent of papers poured down my hands.

No, what the hell was this?

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

I couldn’t think at all.

The moment I saw Father’s name, I was completely distracted by the thought of his smiling face that kept looking at me.

I sat down and hurriedly tried to collect the papers, but Lucas stopped me.

“I will do it. Sit down.”

I glanced blankly at Lucas, then glanced at the disheveled papers, then slowly nodded to him and sat down in my spot.

Anyway, it seemed that if I helped them as they were now, I would only get in the way.

Lucas quickly sorted through his papers and took a spot next to me. The Lady and the deputy knight commander sitting down in the dark hallway?

What was funnier than this.

“When is the date?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I’m thinking about the end of the month.”

End of the month? Then, there was about a week or two left?

“…Why so soon?”

I was just muttering to myself, but Lucas answered immediately.

“The monsters haven’t shown much aggression yet. Of course, there are some odd parts, but… Anyway, when winter comes, the monsters will become more ferocious. Before that, it’s better to deal with it quickly.”

I nodded stiffly like a rusted machine. To say that monsters became ferocious in the winter… Oh my goodness, everyone seemed to be strong against the cold. I just hated being cold.

Contrary to monsters that were resistant to cold, people shrank from the cold in winter. Such stiff muscles would not be useful in battle, and the low temperature would even threaten one’s life.

If it snowed again, it would be more difficult in many ways.

For that reason, I thought it would be better to treat it before winter comes, even though it felt a little sudden.

But…

“But, will you be ready that quickly? Even for a subjugation battle, there are many things to prepare.”

“Monsters are a problem throughout the empire. Even if it’s confined to the Duchy’s estate right now, it’s going to be a big problem if it starts to spread. So, people are providing support here and there so that we can catch them within the territory as much as possible.”

Ah… Support. Yes, that’s right. Then there would be no problem. Then, if there was anything else… I kept searching my head. Like a child who wanted to grab something to keep her parents at home.

Continue, continue.

Don’t be like this. Let’s not do this, me.

What wasI doing now? This was not a problem that could be solved by using a group.

After giving myself a shot, I pressed my throbbing temple several times before raising my head while looking down at the floor.

“Yes I understand. Please don’t tell my family that I know. I can’t even see their faces often, so they’ll just be worried for no reason.”

“…Yes, Selena.”

Lucas’s voice was low. The side of his face in the shadow was dark too.

It seemed that he was feeling regret and guilt for causing me to learn the truth because of him.

Why was the strong protagonist of the novel depressed about something like this?

I patted Lucas on the arm to signal it was okay and stood up.

His gaze followed me slowly.

“You look tired, but go get some rest.”

“What about Selena?”

“I’m going for a little longer walk.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“…Yes.”

I personally took Lucas to the room. It’s not that I was worried about him… It was because I thought that if I didn’t just push him into the room and close the door, he would insist on following me.

After waiting for a while to see if the closed door would open or not, I soon turned around.

In that direction, I headed downstairs. Downstairs, in front of a room blocked by a neat wooden door.

I barely raised my weak arm and knocked on the door.

A small knock sounded, and soon the owner of the room opened the door.

“Miss?”

When I saw the wide open light green eyes, I couldn’t answer because my throat felt clogged.

I just reached out and held her arm.

I just held onto it with force, as if holding on to something I couldn’t let go of.

“Miss, are you all right now?”

Aiden, who was sitting across from me, asked in a friendly voice. I nodded my head a little embarrassedly, realizing that I had come to someone else’s room out of nowhere and caused a commotion.

I couldn’t figure out why I had suddenly visited Aiden’s room.

I just wanted to see someone’s face, but when I came to my senses, Aiden was at the door.

Aiden was one of the least busy people in the duke’s residence. The escort mission was fully entrusted to Lucas, so Aiden often came out and I could see his face.

Unlike those whose faces I couldn’t even see because they were busy, he came to my room like usual, ate dessert together, and talked about boring stories like in the past.

Thanks to him, while I was with him, I always felt like I was back in the past when nothing had happened.

Is that why I came to Aiden’s room without my knowledge?

Surprised by the scary words of subjugation, Aiden’s room had been giving the most peace in recent years… Ah, subjugation.

Recalling the word subjugation again, I blinked and then shifted my gaze to look at Aiden’s face.

Aiden was looking at me.

Wrinkled eyebrows as if worried, friendly eyes, and a face that didn’t have anything that wasn’t warm.

But even that face would cool down at the moment of death.