I'm a Villainess, Can I Die?

No, no. What do you mean, rude? It could just be that you have lost your memory.”

However, unlike his words, his expression seemed to be a bit stiff.

As soon as I thought so, a gentle smile appeared on the high priest’s face, as if he had looked into my head.

Oh my God, it turned out that our high priest was a master at hiding his expression.

He seemed to have hidden his expression very naturally in his own way… The awkwardness even caught my eye when I had come to this world and met acting figures of various genres, including musicals, plays, and dramas.

Ah, I just remembered Mia after a long time.

I hoped she was doing well.

I didn’t know how my unconsciousness trailed to Mia’s safety, but I just gave up on thinking and thanked him.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

After my thanks, silence swirled between us.

When I shut my mouth in thought, for some reason, the two of them also kept their mouths shut. It was an unexpected moment of silence.

No, it was okay for the two of them to talk.

In order to convey this, I made eye contact with the two pairs of eyes alternately, but their stiff lips seemed unwilling to open at all.

Yes, well… Silence wasn’t bad, either. It wasn’t that I covered their mouth to be quiet, it was because they wanted to be quiet.

Having come to that conclusion, I set aside the people in front of me and immersed myself in my own troubles.

What I was thinking about now was what to do from now on.

To be honest, I don’t have anything to make a decision about right now.

There must have already been plans for dealing with monsters… I couldn’t say whether it was up to me or not.

That felt so irresponsible.

Of course, from my brother’s perspective yesterday, he seemed to have a pretty positive opinion about the temple’s assistance, but… I couldn’t just take care of things by guessing.

Oh, what a shame. At this rate, the high priest’s visit was in vain.

He came to the Duchy, but the only person he met was the Lady with no power. If he was like me, he would have been angry and had a hard time tonight.

He might’ve kicked the blanket a few times.

As I recalled the High Priest’s image lying on the bed and kicking into the air, the eyes focused on me suddenly began to feel burdensome.

I felt like I had become an unscrupulous person.

The awkwardly hardened face or the gentle smiling face. It was no different that there was a secret expectation behind it.

Lookit, there was nothing I could do. I mean, I was just a moving wallflower.

I couldn’t bear to say that, so I purposely turned my head to look out the window to divert everyone’s attention.

They were watching me, so they would react to my movements.

I knew it.

I secretly rolled my eyes and glanced at Ian and the high priest, and their heads were turned toward the window.

Good. Let’s think quickly in this gap. ‘First of all, I should call someone and send a letter to Brother. Or, ask Brother or Father to come over for a while…’

“The sun is setting.”

I was about to start thinking when I heard a muttering voice from the side.

The sun was setting.

Hearing that, it was only then that I properly looked at the scenery outside the window.

As Ian said, the entire world was dyed red in the ominous and beautiful sky that seemed to be on fire.

“I know. It’s definitely autumn, so the sun goes down quickly.”

It didn’t seem like we talked much, but the sun was already setting. Haha. In the beginning, the appointment time was a bit ambiguous. It was midday, neither lunch nor dinner, so… Why did the high priest come to me at such an odd hour?

“Lady Selena.”

The momentary doubt disappeared when Ian’s voice called me. I turned my head that had been fixed outside the window and looked at the voice.

Ian’s face was still frozen. But, what…? If he had a nervous face earlier, this time he seemed determined.

And I knew very well what it meant when Ian made this face.

‘You have a request, my priest.’

I shrugged my shoulders silently, telling him to talk comfortably.

Ian gulped with a stiff face and slowly began to open his mouth.

“Today, can’t the high priest stay the night at the mansion?”

“Ian.”

The high priest responded to Ian’s request before I did.

Even though he wasn’t a child, there was power in the voice calling Ian’s name, as if he was admonishing him.

“But, high priest. The sun is setting. You know how noisy it is outside recently… It is dangerous to go out after the sun goes down.”

Ian persuaded the high priest in a calm yet earnest voice.

More than that, I didn’t say I was okay yet… If I refused, the atmosphere would become quite chilly.

Well, fortunately, I had no intention of rejecting it. Because Ian was right. Darkness was dangerous in times like these.

As the duty of a person who attended to the guests, I could not drive the high priest out into the dangerous streets at night. And giving the high priest a guest room for one night was all I could do, as the titular boss.

“Priest Ian is right. Stay the night here. You came to visit with good intentions, but if something happens on the way, you will feel uncomfortable at the Duke’s residence.”

It was easy to convince those who refused because it was a nuisance.

If he declined this, there was the fact that it may have come back with an even greater nuisance.

As I expected, the high priest immediately stopped moving for a moment as if lost in thought. Ian and I also stopped moving together and waited for the high priest’s answer.

A short period of silence passed, and soon the high priest’s head moved slowly up and down.

“Really, I came here to help, but I’m sorry that I seem to be a nuisance.”

“No. You’re not a nuisance.”

Leaning back on the backrest, I imagined the structure of the first floor, where the guest rooms were roughly gathered.

Let’s think… On the first floor, there were several guest rooms.

Ha, what was the point of thinking about it? Honestly, I didn’t even have a clue. If I mentioned it to the butler or the head maid, they would prepare it themselves.

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In that sense, I felt I should have told them to prepare a room in advance. They would need things like pajamas and bedding to wear well.

I reached out to the long line behind my back to call some servants.

However, before my hand could touch the string… Knock, knock.

With very nice timing, someone knocked on the door.

“Miss, Lord Aaron has arrived.”

‘Brother?’

“Let him in.”

Before long, the one who opened the door and appeared was indeed Brother. Brother with a smooth smile on his lips to hide his tired face.

Since Brother’s appearance was unexpected, I stood up and greeted him, very slightly embarrassed.

Ian and the high priest also hurriedly got up from their seats and looked at Brother.

Gosh, standing up like that would be bad for your knees.

While I was needlessly worrying about the high priest’s joints, the two exchanged greetings.

“Greetings, Lord. Thank you very much for allowing me to come today.”

“No, the High Priest stepped directly to help the estate, so I am more grateful.”

After sharing greetings, Brother naturally came and sat next to me.

Thanks to that, I stepped back a bit, and Ian, who had been sitting next to me until now, had to go and sit next to the high priest across.

“Brother? What about work?”

I asked Brother in a low voice once everyone had sat down.

“It’s okay because I make time for meals.”

As I asked in a small voice, the answer that came back was like a small whisper, too.

Brother smiled at me, turned his head and straightened his posture. Even though it was obvious that he was tired and exhausted, I felt something noble and dignified from his upright back.

While admiring him secretly, I quietly stood along him.

“So, what exactly do you want to do?”

“Hoho, it’s such a trivial thing that it’s embarrassing to lay out a grandiose plan. I just want to pray because of Ariana’s will for caring for the victims, helping to restore the facilities, and for the confused people.”

High Priest, it seems that these details were more detailed than what you had told me.

Ah, was this the titular boss’ melancholy? I blinked my eyes several times, lamenting the cruelty of the human world.

“Oh, what a great activity. It will definitely help to stabilize this situation. However, one concern I have is safety… It wouldn’t be easy to do activities without a place at a time like these.”

“Yes… I guess so… but…”

When Brother pointed it out, the high priest fell silent. He seemed worried that his plan to help people would go awry.

‘Oh my God, you’re so kind, too.’

I glanced at Brother, wondering what he was thinking.

Obviously, the last time I told him about the High Priest’s request to visit, he looked optimistic, but I wondered if the negative circuit started to turn once they met face to face.

But, that aside, Brother’s face continued to smile, just as it did when he first entered the room.

“The Duke’s residence will solve that problem.”

Brother immediately spat out a huge phrase with a smile on his face.

There must have been quite a number of priests, but it was unimaginable for an ordinary person to solve their accommodation.

As evidence of that, the eyes of the two now looking at my brother were wide open.

Still, my brother was just calm and weak.

“No, no. I have no intention of putting too much pressure on you. If you pay special attention to safety…”

“There is nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s because you’ll be using an empty house or an inn run by the Duchy. Besides, what is more precious than human life? We should be providing this level of support if you help.”

“But…”

“It’s really fine.”

Brother’s voice was firm. It seemed that he wouldn’t listen to any more refutation.
“Oh, and the high priest will be staying at the Duke’s residence for the time being. I have a guest room ready.”

“No! I can stay with the other priests, too.”

“Right now, it will be difficult to find a comfortable place to stay. I have to contact the inns and check the vacant houses. It’ll take a week, even if it’s rough. In the meantime, for the priests to live together in one place… How painful it must be for the priests who have to watch the High Priest suffering from up close. So, you should stay at the Duke’s residence for a few days to keep check on everything. What do you think, Priest Ian?”

After the long talk, someone’s appearance showed through Brother, who was smiling leisurely. It was strange.

I was sure he was doing a good job… but… I couldn’t figure out why Lucas’s face was overlapping here.

They say that friends look alike, was that why?

Ian nodded slowly at the question arrow that suddenly turned to him.

“…Yes, I also believe that the Lord is right.”

“Ian.”

Again, as if admonishing a child, the High Priest called Ian’s name.

However, Ian also faced the high priest’s gaze without stepping back. Among the two people who faced each other for a long time, it was the high priest who raised the white flag first.

Well, there was a saying that there were no parents who could beat their children, right?

Of course, the two weren’t really in a parent-child relationship.

“Yes, then. I will. Thank you to the White Family for their consideration and kindness.”

Having obtained a satisfactory answer, Brother nodded his head.

“Then, about more details…”

Brother said that and stopped his mouth. His face, which had been relaxed the whole time, began to harden.