Kill the Villainess [Novel] - Chapter 4

To be honest, Marquis Miserian, Eris’s father, was absolutely furious even if he didn’t voice it. The fact that the Crown Prince cherished Helena—the very girl from the ruined Anteblum family that the Imperial Faction had crushed—only made it worse.

The engagement between the Crown Prince and Eris had been a political card played by the Emperor to placate the Noble Faction. But with the Crown Prince acting this way, the Emperor now had a massive headache on his hands. That’s why he personally took charge of overseeing my coming-of-age ceremony—to publicly reaffirm that this marriage would proceed without issue.

“I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty’s consideration. It will be an unparalleled honor for my family.”

“I’ve heard the Crown Prince is rather fond of his wet nurse’s daughter.”

The Emperor seemed intent on clearing all troublesome matters in one go. And now, my own head was starting to throb.

“You must be referring to Lady Anteblum.”

“Do you know her?”

“We played together as children—along with His Highness the Crown Prince and Sir Cazar.”

“…Ah, because of the wet nurse. The Empress spoiled her too much.”

The Emperor clicked his tongue and lightly rapped his knuckles against the desk. A suffocating aura of menace filled the air.

Right now, he might be playing the kindly grandfather, but this was the same Emperor who had once executed his own Crown Prince with his own hands. The official reason had been treason, but even with insufficient evidence, there had been no hesitation—no second investigation.

The Empress had been implicated too, but she had survived only because she was pregnant at the time with the current Crown Prince, Alecto.

Though the Emperor still loved her, it was understandable that the Empress—having lost her son overnight—would cling to her wet nurse and the current Crown Prince.

“Are you jealous of that girl?”

“No.”

“Good. There’s no need to be.”

The Emperor gestured for me to come closer. When I did, he grasped my hand tightly in his warm ones. So tightly it almost hurt.

“A man’s love is more fleeting than spring blossoms. What matters more than love is the position and power he can give you.”

“…”

“Your father and I settled this long ago, so don’t fret. You will become Crown Princess, then Empress. Your people will fill the palace, and your child will be the next Crown Prince.”

On the surface, it sounded like reassurance—but in truth, it was a threat directed at me—no, at *Eris*. A warning to abandon any other attachments, a reminder of the Imperial Family’s absolute authority, a declaration that Eris *must* become Crown Princess.

But the Emperor had chosen the wrong target.

When threatening someone, you must first understand what they fear.

I wasn’t afraid of death. Honestly, even if House Miserian were wiped out, it wouldn’t matter to me. They were Eris’s family, not mine.

Just like how employees had to grin and bear their boss’s insults in a world without labor laws, I swallowed my retorts—thanks to the resilience of a Korean eldest daughter. A sliver of hope still remained that I could escape this world alive. My real breakdown would come *after* Hybris confirmed that death was my only way home.

All those nagging holiday greetings I’d endured back in Korea came in handy now. I smiled politely through half-lidded eyes and replied smoothly:

“I will keep that in mind.”

“…The Crown Prince has found himself a fine match indeed. The palace will oversee your coming-of-age preparations—remember that.”

As I left the office and walked down the hall, I briefly debated whether I should at least see my fiancé’s face while I was here. But after that midday lecture about how women should just marry well—straight out of the 1980s—my stomach was already in knots. If the Crown Prince acted up now, I doubted I could keep my composure. Yeah, today wasn’t the day.

I turned toward the waiting carriage when suddenly, hurried footsteps approached from behind—and someone grabbed my shoulder hard.

“Eek!”

“Ah!”

Startled, I shoved them away—only to hear a shrill scream. When I turned, Helena stood there with her silver hair disheveled, lips trembling as tears welled in her big, doe-like eyes. She stared up at me as if expecting me to help her up, leaving me utterly speechless. When I just stared back blankly, she sniffled and stood on her own.

“You startled me, Lady Anteblum. Running around like that in the Imperial Palace?”

“I-I just… I saw Eris and wanted to… greet you…”

“If you wanted to greet me, you could’ve just called out. You’re not a child—must you resort to grabbing first?”

“But Alex likes it when I do that…”

*Oh for god’s sake.* A throbbing headache set in. She reminded me of my five-year-old cousin. My gaze dropped to her palms—reddened and scraped from her fall, beads of blood forming. Helena quickly hid her hands behind her back. When I yanked them forward to inspect them, thankfully, they weren’t badly hurt.

“See? You got hurt.”

“Huh?”

Helena blinked at me in confusion before shaking her head rapidly and forcing a smile.

“It’s fine! The Imperial Physician can treat it.”

“The Imperial Physician treats royalty—why would he tend to *your* wounds?”

“He… likes me.”

*Wasted concern.* I dropped her hand with an irritated flick. Instead of worrying about Helena—beloved by all—I should’ve been worrying about my own cursed existence. Whether the Crown Prince summoned the Imperial Physician or Hybris healed her himself, Helena would live just fine.

I turned on my heel and strode off—only for Helena to trail after me like a lost puppy. Her high-pitched voice wavered as she mumbled:

“…Eris, are you mad?”

“Ugh, don’t talk to me. You’re annoying.”

And why was she suddenly using informal speech? Before I could snap something worse, I stopped mid-step and glared at her. If we were cutting ties anyway, better to do it cleanly before resentment festered. Back in Korea, I’d always hated people who smiled while stabbing you in the back.

“Lady Anteblum, do you not understand why someone of *my* standing uses honorifics with a *commoner* like you? As the eldest daughter of a marquis, etiquette demands I address a palace maid like you informally. And yet! The only reason I show you respect is out of deference to Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince—who favor you. It is *them* I honor, not *you*.”

“But… but Eris… We’re friends! I just wanted us to be close…”

“Friends? *Pfft.*”

Even in the novel, Helena had stubbornly insisted they were friends—yet in all her flashbacks, Eris never appeared once. Every happy or sad memory revolved solely around Alex and Iason. Either Helena’s standards for friendship were absurdly low… or she hadn’t cared about Eris at all despite being together. The latter would explain why Eris despised her.

Honestly? It just seemed like lazy writing—throwing in a “villainess who betrays her kind friend” trope without thought. But since I didn’t know Eris’s life well enough to defend her or seek revenge on Helena, I cut her off bluntly:

“Then let’s end it.”

“…What?”

“Let’s stop being friends. I don’t want to be friends with you. We never were in the first place.”

“Why? Is it… because I’m close with His Highness?”

Rage flared instantly. *As if I want that damn Crown Prince! Take him! Who do you think you are, making me out to be some jealous rival? Just because you’re pretty?*

I was shaking so hard from disbelief that when someone roughly spun me around, I barely registered it—until I met the icy glare of the Crown Prince himself. Refusing to back down, I glared right back.

“Lady Miserian, you never change. No—you grow more shameless by the day.”

“What a radiant afternoon, Your Highness. For those of high standing, shamelessness is a virtue.”

I smiled mockingly, unable to hide my sarcasm—which only made him raise his voice sharply:

“How *dare* you speak of status before *me*?”

“Your Highness, it is precisely *because* of who I am that I may speak of such things before you. You *are* engaged to me.”

“Engaged?! Do you truly believe the Imperial Family will tolerate your arrogance—acting as though you’re already Crown Princess over a mere betrothal? That engagement can be annulled anytime! There are countless others who could take your place!”

“Alex, stop… It’s my fault! Eri—no… Lady Miserian was just teaching me proper decorum…”

Of course Helena chose *now* to pour oil on the fire—even managing to reveal her scraped palms while “defusing” the situation. When the Crown Prince demanded who hurt her and she hesitated, someone else shouted:

“It was Lady Miserian!”

“What?”

“I saw it clearly with my own eyes! Lady Miserian pushed Helena! That’s why I brought Your Highness here before things escalated!”

I turned to see a small, grubby maid duck behind the Crown Prince proudly before grinning at Helena like she’d done a good deed. Sure, I *had* pushed her—but conveniently left out how Helena had grabbed me first. Before I could retort—*smack.* His palm struck my cheek so hard my head snapped sideways. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth as my skin burned.

He *hit* me. My own parents had never slapped me in my life—yet this bastard I barely knew just *struck* me across the face?

“Eris!”

“You marred what is mine first—so isn’t it only fair I return the favor?”

If he wanted fairness, he should’ve slapped *Helena* instead! What kind of twisted logic was this? Now that I thought about it… I vaguely remembered this scene from the novel too. Back then, I’d scoffed at how absurdly cruel he was—but experiencing it firsthand made my blood boil (*Yama’s gone mad*, as they say). Every fiber of me wanted to slap him back twice as hard… but my “real breakdown” was supposed to wait until after Hybris confirmed… Ugh! Whatever! My character gets executed at the end anyway—might as well slap him now and get hanged for it!