Episode 1: A Villainess’ Wish (10)

… I recalled that day three years in the future. 

The roiling mass of heavy black clouds that churned in the sky. The red tinge of light within twisting whirlpools suffusing the air with an eerie sense of foreboding.

Ash fell like snow, each flake leaving behind trails of blight. 

Protected by the still-standing royal palace walls, I hurried toward the drawing room. 

The sound of the crutch clicking against the marble ground echoed at a brisk, my missing right leg made me unable to run.

After the failed expedition to defeat the final boss of the game, <Stygian: Devourer Dragon of Blight>, the empire was headed for its doom. The spread of the blight was quickly consuming the areas surrounding the region, evacuation measures were already in effect to move citizens out of the dying empire.

“Isodor!” I shouted when I saw him walking out of the war council’s meeting room. He turned to me, and upon seeing my condition his expression contorted painfully.

“Astraea, what are you doing here?” 

“I’m going. I’m not leaving you behind to fight that monster.” I said, feeling the fighting spirit rise from within my chest.

“No.” He said firmly .“Leave the empire and head for Aurora Kingdom.”

“What… no! That wasn’t the plan.” I didn’t understand it at the time. “If I’m leaving, then what about you?”

Isodor held both my shoulders and leaned in. Our noses were barely an inch apart. “Please listen to me Astraea, we don’t have much time left. If you don’t go now, the blight will catch up and consume you. I’ve already told Glenn and Soren to protect you in case anything happens, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“T-Then what about you? Don’t tell me you…” 

“As the prince of the empire, I will do everything in my power to hold back the blight’s advance.” A last ditch effort to hamper the Blight Dragon’s advance, his eyes shone in desperation.

I looked at him stunned. My lips quivered, wishing what I had heard were lies.

Alone…? You’re going to fight that… monster alone?

“Use the time I’m buying to come up with a solution. The empire might be lost but… something, anything, I believe you can do something to save the rest of the continent. I believe in you, Astraea.” His last hope rested on me.

“I won’t…” I gritted my teeth. “I will never…! If you’re going down, we might as well go down together… mgff?!”

Isodor pushed me against the wall, the crutch in my hand fell to the ground. I felt the sensation of his honey-suckle lips pressed tightly against mine.

All in but a brief moment, he parted. Strands of golden hair fell forward. The darling blue eyes hidden behind a curtain loose strands of gold hair held my gaze.

“This is an order, Astraea Winterall. Get out of the empire and live.” I fell prey to his coaxing, the Order Bloodline ability quickly took hold of me.

“N-No-O! ISodo-or! Cough*! Don’t you…!” I gasped for air, tears glazed over my eyes. When under the spell, going against his orders meant unconscious asphyxiation.

“I’m sorry Astraea, I…” Isodor appearance blurred.

Slowly. Ever so slowly, my vision went dark. 

… The next thing I knew, I was on a carriage headed for Aurora Kingdom.

The first person to have ever kissed me—that was the last time I ever saw him alive.

⋉◆⌌ ⫺⪼▫◆▫⪻⫹ ⌍◆⋊

I flopped down on the bed and gazed up at the ceiling.

Like a kettle about to boil over, andless questions poured out of my mind. I couldn’t hold back my frustration and groaned out loud.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Striking the pillow against the duvet, a cold aura seeped out of my body. My emotions were out of control, exhibited by the unconscious release of frost. Snowflakes formed in the air, and my surroundings turned icy white.

Was Isodor’s declaration borne out of guilt or anger? Did I have to make a scene so horrible that it made Isodor mad? What if he sends a guillotine after me earlier than in the original story?

And Lowe, she can’t start to fall for Kairen can she now? Lowe needs Isodor to grow. Ugh… that son of a bitch Kairen what is he up too?! What the hell did he do to Isodor?!

—Knock…

“Who is it?” I howled. 

Like a broken crane, I turned towards the door. Slowly it opened and revealed…

“I-It’s me,” Still outside, Elysia’s voice was barely heard. .

“What is it? Can’t you tell me through the door?” I snarled. 

Honestly, I didn’t want anyone coming in to see me in this state.

“I-It’s an important matter.” However, Elysia was adamant.

She pushed the door open without my consent, and looking at the condition of the bed I was on, she fell into a slight daze before quickly announcing the reason for intruding.

“T-The Duke is calling for you to the office!” 

I couldn’t believe it. Just when I thought it finally ended, my father called for me? What else did I screw up this time?! “Father…? Now?”

“I-It’s nothing serious—is what he told me to tell you,” Elysia stammered.

I bit my lips to stop the curses from flowing out of my mouth. Pushing past Elysia I headed for my father's office.

Elysia followed behind me like a frightened cat. Perhaps father told her to make certain of my arrival too, so neither of us could escape.

Upon reaching his office, I briefly knocked. Hearing his answer from the other side, I threw the door open. 

A spacious room adorned with rich, dark wood furnishings. At the other end of the twin doors sat a large mahogany desk which had bulks of paper neatly stacked. Parchment scrolls leaned against tall shelves storing volumes of ancient books and family heirlooms.

The duke, my father, set down his quill pen and stood up from his desk. 

Physique wise, he looked like the monster people rumoured him to be, a famed knight who possessed countless honours to his name. A notorious scar drew diagonally from his nose towards his stubbed chin. His eyes were a regal purple, and dignified grey hair which showed his age in prime. 

I then noticed my mother sitting near the crackling fireplace with a face in shock.

In strong contrast to the inviolable aura my father held, mother depicted a fragile lily blooming in snow. Her silver hair tied into soft braids overflowed in front of her shoulder, delicate features and soft contours came to shape the childish radiance she possessed.

“Greetings, father, mother,” Seeing the two together, I felt a bad premonition coming on. I performed a gentle curtsy with a slightly irked expression.

“O-Oh dear, no need for the formalities. Come sit dear,” Mother quickly prepared a cup of tea for me and beckoned me with childish gestures. I felt uneasy seeing her like this.

Meanwhile my father remained silent, keeping his suspicious gaze locked upon me. I could sense a distant curiosity lingering behind those eyes, it made me wonder what was going on in his head. 

I sat down beside my mother and cautiously took a sip of the herbal tea she had prepared. As usual, it was horribly bitter. But I still drank it anyway knowing it was good for my health.

“Astraea, how have you been?” After eying me for a good while, my father finally spoke.

“I’ve been well, father. For what reason do you call me here?” On one end, I responded curtly because I needed to keep up my act as a villainess. On the other hand, I was afraid that they were going to bring up the matter regarding what happened between Isodor and I.

Still, the Winterfall family was one overflowing with love. Both my father and mother cared for me dearly. Despite the horrible personality I possessed, they doted on me as if they owed me their life. Clearly, the original villianess had been spoiled rotten. 

“There’s… no specific agenda. It’s simply that we wanted to see how you were doing, that’s all. Right, dear?” Mother spoke, her voice was cheerful yet contained a note of disconcert. I wasn’t sure why she sounded flustered.

“Right.” Father nodded, his eyes still painted in unease.

“...What? Tell me already if I did anything wrong,” I couldn’t help but blurt something impolite, knowing that it wouldn’t do if I allowed them to drag things on.

“Uh, that's well…” Mother’s eyes darted around, unsure if she should be the one to tell. She turned to father. “D-Dear, how about you talk to her about it?”

“Ahem, that you see…” Father’s eyebrows twitched. “Is the prince not to your liking?”

I nearly coughed out my tea. “Huh? T-That! It-it’s not like that. It’s just… my relationship with His Highness is as rocky as ever.”

“I-I see. Your mother has been worried since you seem to be causing less trouble than usual as of recently. Though, after hearing what had happened earlier with His Highness, I was relieved that you are still the Astraea we know… mn? Ah, your mother didn’t mean to bring up something bad!” Mother covered her mouth in a panic. 

Ugh, so they do know about what happened to me and the prince! 

Like wow, to think they’d be comforted by the fact that I caused a ruckus with the prince after being slightly more tame for the past few weeks. What kind of reputation did I even have in the original?

“I-I heard you’re no longer hitting the servants. You’re now doing your own bathing in your room, Daniel has been saying you’ve been possessed, and it’s been more than two weeks since you’ve bought anything expensive. My dear Astraea, you mom is worried you know? What if you’re going through something we don’t know? You must tell us okay?” My mother’s worries overflowed, each statement of her’s contained the destructiveness of an ICBM missile, grinding my existence into dust.

“...” I felt like I should die from shame on the spot. Could anything be more embarrassing than this? What kind of daughter am I to make my parents worry over such nonsense. 

Do I even deserve their kindness? Any sensible parent would have bombed their child to the stratosphere knowing that they had blatantly offended the crown prince.

“As your mother says, if you have anything to say, please consult us,” Father followed with a brief summary after mother had completed her words.

“...I-I apologise if my actions shocked you. I made a mistake when talking to the prince earlier… I’m trying to change myself, it’s not an easy transition. Please give me some more time, I’ll make sure to become a daughter worthy of the Winterfall name.” I bit my tongue, the cringe of saying something so derisory made me want to curl up like a shrimp.

“Uwu! D-Dear! Our daughter has grown up!” My mother jumped at me and wrapped her arms tightly around my body. Glistening tears fell from her eyes, she started to sniffle with a watery nose.

“M-Mother?!” I panicked.

“There, there Astraea. Your mother will support you in everything you aspire to. Don’t hurry in improving yourself, mother and father will always be there to support you,” she said, stroking my hair.

I wanted to push her away, but her touch caused something to snap in my mind. Like a rushing tide, it all came back to me. The bitter memories and grief I’ve accrued from my previous life—

The empire fell, leading to my mother and father’s death. They both died to the corruption of the blight.

Since my regression, I have not stopped to think about the fact that those whom I thought were lost forever we're now alive and well. I’ve been so engrossed in realising my plans that I failed to notice the most important thing: 

They were still here with me.

The love I cherished and this desire to protect. They made me remember what I was fighting so hard for.

Tears swelled in my eyes, my chest heaved at the fit of swelling emotions. Like a damn that had split open, I broke down into tears.

“Oh dear…” Mother stroked my back and continued to soothe me.

“…” Father who also felt emotional at the sight joined in with the family hug.

I had experienced loss on a scale unimaginable by most. 

The deaths, corruption, and suffering I witness… 

Honestly, when was the last time I received such warmth?

⋉◆⌌ ⫺⪼▫◆▫⪻⫹ ⌍◆⋊

When Astraea left the office, remaining was a lingering awkwardness which couldn’t be expressed in words.

“They say children grow up quickly, to think it would be so soon,” Duchess Aria, like a child, wiped her tears off with the sleeve of her dress.

“Indeed they do,” Duke Orion took out a handkerchief from his pocket and offered to wipe Aria’s face himself. It was a short intimate moment between husband and wife. 

“Dear, do you think it was a mistake that we forced the engagement between our daughter and the crown prince? Even if the engagement was an arranged decree borne between the pledge of our ancestral families, there is no need to ruin her happiness in order to fulfil some ancient will, is there?” Aria asked, her face full of sorrow.

“It might be so,” Duke Orion nodded, turning to his desk. On it were pieces of information regarding a particular student in Oben academy. “Nevertheless, we should let Astraea decide for herself how she should handle the matter. As her guardian, it is important that she learns from experience. Love is a once in a lifetime experience after all.”

“Dear, but are you not worried that she’s trying to associate herself with a man like that? What if she hurts herself in the process?” Aria was worried. After all, the man whom Astraea was interested in had a bad family history. What if he was a playboy twiddling with her heart?

“Dare he do something, I shall ensure the boy receives appropriate punishment,” The Duke’s eyes shone in a sharp glint.

The information regarding Kairen Copper which Elysia Alchn found for Astraea… was something a maid was obligated to share to the two overprotective parents.