That’s How I Became a Villainess - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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34

Perhaps the only reason he had asked about stepping out at all was that he hoped Bridget’s name would come up.
Milea spoke the name aloud once more, as though testing it.
“As you surely heard yesterday from Chancellor Langston, what Bridget said about the Earl of Kensington appears to be true.”
“…….”
“Strange, isn’t it? How could she have known? I’m told that for the three years since her marriage, she’s remained cloistered in the Winston Mansion, seeing no one at all.”
Why did he bite his lip and furrow his brow?
His expression seemed that of someone hearing news of a beloved, yet why did his eyes look so pained?
“As for Bridget herself, I’ve uncovered almost nothing. It’s strange—investigating her background, which seems ordinary enough, has proven far more difficult than looking into the Earl of Kensington, despite his efforts to conceal his own movements.”
“…….”
“Even before her marriage, when I tried to learn about her life through servants, the Florence Family—her birth family—was so poor that they employed very few people at all.”
“…….”
“The handful of people I managed to track down who had worked there mostly stayed only briefly, often due to unpaid wages and other problems. Some were even hired cheaply with unclear backgrounds, making them impossible to locate because their personal records don’t match.”
“…….”
“Eric has asked me to perform a Purification on him. I thought I might take that opportunity to speak with her directly.”
Milea watched as Julian merely fingered his sweat-dampened shirt without removing it, hesitating.
Though his back was turned, she felt his full attention drawn toward her words.
Sensing something, Milea added:
“……And I’ll ask whether the Earl of Winston has harassed him again, whether there were any other problems when he returned.”
Only then did Julian remove his shirt and disappear into the washroom.
‘He doesn’t trust her, yet he worries. He’s curious about her, yet doesn’t want to ask…….’
And above all else, why did he look so angry with her?
For the past three years, Julian had been ruthless with those who angered him.
He cut them down where they stood, without mercy.
Milea grew only more curious about Bridget, who had enraged Julian and yet lived.

* * *

Shortly after, Milea rode out from the main gate of the Royal Palace in a carriage.
But the avenue before the palace was unusually loud.
She pulled back the curtain and peered out the window to see guards intimidating the crowd.
They appeared to be trying to disperse the gathered masses.
‘What brought them here?’
Since Julian became king, crowds had frequently gathered before the palace gates.
When the rebellion broke out, when the nobility was purged, there had been protesters opposing such acts.
Confrontations erupted between guards and what threatened to become a mob, and the square descended into chaos day after day.
But when Julian returned from ending a war that had been troubled and costly for so long in a single day, the protests naturally ceased.
Partly because those who had witnessed his power firsthand trembled in fear and spread word of it, but also because there emerged citizens who supported Julian for the accomplishment of ending a war that previous kings could not resolve.
Thanks to this, there had been quiet for some time, yet today the atmosphere felt ominous.
‘This doesn’t seem like a protest.’
From her carriage, Milea scanned the crowd and noticed young boys waving pamphlets, crying “Scandal sheets! Fresh scandal sheets!”
She had her driver obtain one, and when she read what was printed there, her brow furrowed.
“This is…….”
An unverified scandal sheet.
It contained a heartrending account of orphans and the destitute who had received aid from a certain noble benefactor.
They raged at why such tragedy should befall an angel who had performed good deeds in secret.
It was written that a demon must not be permitted to slaughter the innocent so cruelly, that the demon must be brought to justice in the name of God.
The angel they spoke of was none other than—
“The Earl of Kensington……? That’s absurd.”
And the demon who had destroyed him was Julian.

* * *

At that very moment.
Bridget pulled on the fur hat Anna held out and accepted the scarf.
A carriage waited outside. Beside it stood Isaac.
“Where are you going?”
Isaac had come to her room and was asking where she was headed, having noticed Bridget preparing to go out.
Though she hadn’t said anything, the fact that she was dressed smartly and standing beside a carriage suggested she was heading to the Spencer Mansion, and he’d prepared accordingly.
“I’m coming with you.”
Bridget sighed.
“Only I was invited by the Countess of Spencer.”
“I’m just asking to share the carriage.”
“If you suddenly turn up at a gathering of ladies, they’ll find it disagreeable.”
“I’ll only stay a moment—just make an appearance. I’m heading that way anyway, so I can give my wife a ride and that’ll be my excuse, won’t it?”
Bridget passed him with a look of disdain and climbed into the carriage.
Just as Isaac was trying to board with her, Cedric deftly blocked him and closed the carriage door.
The carriage departed without waiting for Isaac.
“Show some awareness, butler.”
“My apologies.”
Cedric stood rigid and apologized as Isaac glared at him.
As if a glare would help now—the carriage was already gone.
Isaac summoned a servant and ordered him to follow Bridget.
“Find out where she’s going. Whether she’s really heading to the Spencer house or if she’s slipping off somewhere else.”
There was a chance Bridget had made the whole thing up to prevent the divorce.
Isaac knew who the Countess of Spencer was.
He found it hard to believe that the king’s closest confidante would have invited Bridget.
‘If Bridget really is building a connection with the Countess of Spencer, that would be an enormous opportunity.’
Merely the fact that she was exchanging visits with the Countess of Spencer would make the social circles eager to invite both Bridget and her husband to their gatherings.
Isaac’s lips curved upward at the thought of noble invitations flowing to him.
‘With this opportunity, I might even break into political circles.’
No matter how much the king was dying, the throne was still in Julian’s grasp.
The nobility navigated carefully for what was to come, yet they never neglected the men who wielded power in the present.
Wasn’t it often said that opportunity comes in times of chaos?
If he secured a position now, it would be easier to seize opportunity under the next regime, but if he cowered in the shadows, wringing his hands, good fortune might never come his way.
‘Once I leave my mark on political circles, a whole new world will open before me.’
Isaac watched the departing carriage with a delighted smile.

* * *

Penelope was watching Isaac from the second-floor window, pressed against the glass.
“Isaac… Bridget…!”
She twisted the curtain in her hands.
Watching Isaac laugh happily, indifferent to Bridget’s contempt for him, filled her with resentment.
“Only show yourself once the divorce is finalized! Why are you blocking my way!”
Her malice drew in ma-gi.
Ma-gi seeped into the room, but Penelope couldn’t perceive it.

* * *

The Spencer Mansion was unchanged from her previous visit.
It was immaculate—not a speck of dust anywhere, not a grain of sand on the floors.
A butler received Bridget’s hat and coat and showed her to the tea room.
The Spencer Mansion’s tea room wasn’t as ornate as the Winston Mansion, but it possessed a different kind of beauty.
Green wallpaper created a calm atmosphere, and the reddish-hued rosewood furniture was elegant and refined without any elaborate decoration.
It was a place that brought peace to both body and spirit the moment one entered.
A fair-haired man who’d been pacing near the doorway, apparently waiting for Bridget, approached her eagerly as she arrived.
“Welcome, Baroness of Winston. I’m Eric Spencer.”
Eric was a young man with an open expression and a somewhat shy smile.
Unlike Milea, who seemed meticulous from first impression, he radiated warmth and gentleness.
“I’m Bridget Winston.”
“I finally meet my benefactor. I owe you so much. I was truly grateful.”
“Please, it was my pleasure to be of help.”
Bridget exchanged a brief greeting with Milea while meeting Eric’s gaze.
“Milea, how have you been?”
“It was cold coming here, but thank you for making the trip, Bridget.”
Eric watched with curious fascination as the two women addressed each other by their given names so naturally.
“I’d only known you as my mother’s benefactor, but I see you’re her close friend as well.”
“It’s an honor for me. Milea is a wonderful person.”
“Enough of your smooth talk, Bridget.”
“It seems Mother is embarrassed, haha.”
“Eric.”
Milea’s displeasure was plain, but Eric paid it no mind.
“Did you know our mother is actually quite endearing when you get to know her?”
“Of course.”
Bridget, don’t encourage his foolish remarks like that.”
Eric was a bright sort of person.
He conducted himself with impeccable manners and offered gentle, lighthearted jests at an appropriate level—though it was evident he was making an effort to leave a favorable impression.
Bridget found it lamentable that someone who appeared so cheerful and pleasant on the surface was in fact ensnared by ma-gi.
Chunks of ma-gi had accumulated on Eric’s body and now clung to him in various places, writhing faintly.
He must surely be suffering even now, and yet he smiled as though nothing were amiss—the sort of person, it seemed, who carried his anguish quietly alone where no one could see.
‘But Eric isn’t the only problem here.’
That Eric would be in such a state by now was something she’d anticipated, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.
What startled Bridget was Milea.
‘Why has so much ma-gi suddenly attached itself to Milea?’
Ma-gi tinged with rage and yearning to harm was clinging to Milea, writhing aggressively, swelling by the moment.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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