That’s How I Became a Villainess - Chapter 9

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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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Episode 9

“Then what exactly did you make them apologize for?”
“I had Anna apologize for misunderstanding Penelope and treating her rudely, and I had Penelope apologize for striking my maid.”
……
Learning that the demand for an apology had not been one-sided, Isaac found himself at a loss for words again.
It was so different from what he’d heard from Penelope.
“……Really?”
Isaac asked the question without any conviction, looking ridiculous.
The question was so absurd that even the onlookers felt embarrassed watching.
“If you doubt me, I can have Penelope and Anna brought here so you can ask them directly.”
Bridget didn’t bat an eye.
Isaac resented being forced to look weak in front of an audience.
What was true and what was false didn’t matter.
Only who held power mattered.
“What’s the big deal about slapping a maid? Do I really need to apologize over common servants running errands?”
Those words reached the ears of every servant present in the hall.
Isaac didn’t notice, but Bridget felt the atmosphere around the servants turn ice-cold, and she held her tongue.
What more needed to be said?
He was laying bare his own depths so nakedly.
When Bridget fell silent, Isaac’s temper flared further and he raised his voice.
“How can you rake someone who isn’t alone over the coals like that? I’ve heard that women become sensitive when they’re with child—if you’re a true friend, shouldn’t you be more considerate of Penelope?”
Isaac descended the stairs and glared at Bridget menacingly.
A true friend.
Bridget smiled inwardly with contempt, meeting his gaze without flinching.
When Bridget showed no fear, Isaac’s anger ignited further. His voice grew louder.
“You’ve made a mess of things and show no sign of remorse? Don’t you know what you did wrong?”
……
Despite his bullying, Bridget did not beg forgiveness.
‘How dare you.’
Thinking it best to remind her of her station, Isaac snorted and issued a command.
“Go apologize to Penelope at once.”
Bridget’s brow furrowed.
“I can’t do that.”
Her firm voice grated against Isaac’s pride. The calm gaze in her eyes churned his insides.
“Now. Apologize.”
“As I said, I cannot——!”
Crack!
Isaac’s hand rose, and Bridget’s head snapped to the side.
The servants’ jaws fell open.
The lobby fell silent as a tomb.
With her hand pressed to her struck cheek, Bridget stood frozen as Isaac’s cruel command came down upon her.
“You’ll stay in your room until you understand what you’ve done wrong. Listen here—lock Bridget in her room!”
The servants stared at Bridget in shock.
Not only a blow struck before everyone’s eyes, but confinement as well.
It was unseemly, irrational.
Yet Isaac was doing the unthinkable.
The servants who caught his eye hesitated, reluctant.
“Is that really necessary, sir? The mistress is hardly a child……”
“What?”
Isaac whirled to glare at the servants.
Seeing sparks fly toward innocent people, Bridget stepped forward before anyone else could suffer.
“Leave it. I’ll go to my room on my own.”
As she passed Isaac and climbed the stairs, he ground his teeth and glowered after her.
‘I thought she’d changed, but she’s still got that pride, just like before the wedding. Let’s see how long she holds out. I’ll break those habits for good.’
A chill settled among the servants watching him.
Bridget felt that coldness as she climbed.
Public opinion. Bridget knew all too well from painful experience in her past life just how decisive a force it could be.
She also understood precisely where such gossip originated and how it took shape in matters of romantic entanglement.
‘Be crueler to me, Isaac. Make those people you dismissed and scorned pity me, make them want to help me.’
Alone in her room, Bridget exhaled in measured, almost satisfied breaths, as though she’d accomplished something worthwhile.
The sting in her cheeks and her bruised pride only added fuel to her resolve to become a villain.
She rubbed the struck spot once with the back of her hand, and the tears that had stubbornly welled up she let fall indifferently to the floor.
‘Now let me wait and see.’
How this would return as a Butterfly Effect.
Bridget knew Isaac wouldn’t be able to keep her confined for long.

* * *

The next day, a Party Invitation arrived for Bridget.
For Bridget, who had married a man from a crumbling family and bought his title with money, this was unprecedented.
“An invitation came for Bridget?”
“Yes, sir.”
The Butler, unable to deliver the invitation to the confined Bridget, had brought it instead to Isaac.
“Did this happen even when I was away before?”
“Previously, madam would remain secluded, citing your absence as the reason.”
That was merely the surface excuse Bridget had offered; the truth was she’d received no invitations at all and had simply withdrawn from society—but the Butler saw no need to elaborate.
His tone was subtly flat.
Since the quarrel with Bridget before the household staff, something had shifted in the Butler’s demeanor.
He spoke no more than necessary with Isaac and Penelope.
Neither was this limited to the Butler; all the servants had adopted the same restraint.
Yet neither Isaac nor Penelope seemed to notice.
“Is that so?”
Isaac examined who had sent the invitation.
“What? The Cavendish Family? The Marchioness Cavendish herself?”
The Cavendish Family was among the most distinguished noble houses.
Isaac’s eyes gleamed.
‘Bridget receiving an invitation from such nobility.’
He had never once been invited to a social gathering among such aristocrats.
Not long ago, he’d been turned away at the door of an exclusive club where unremarkable nobles gathered.
Isaac found himself thinking that marrying into an aristocratic family—even a fallen one—had been the right choice, and he read and reread the invitation with its brief greeting.
Though the invitation was addressed to Bridget, at such parties one brought a partner, and naturally that partner would be her husband—himself.
“Send word to Bridget at once that we accept the invitation.”
Isaac wanted to properly establish himself in aristocratic society through this marriage.
His father had been called a Baron in name only, never gaining any foothold in noble social circles.
Pathetic aristocrats desperate for loans to cover business debts or gambling losses had been his father’s only acquaintances among the nobility.
Isaac had no wish to become like his father.
At the time of their marriage, Bridget was nearly the only aristocratic woman money could buy.
That was why he’d spent a vast fortune marrying that dull, tedious woman.
“But what about madam’s confinement……”
“Does that matter now? Let’s say it never happened.”
Isaac was positively giddy at the thought that he too might now mingle with aristocratic circles.
Finally Bridget was proving her worth, and it would be foolish to botch such an opportunity over some petty quarrel between women.

* * *

Through the Butler, Bridget learned of Isaac’s wishes.
‘How excited he must be. With no idea what this gathering truly is.’
The Marchioness Cavendish was a woman who loved gossip.
She had likely heard that a most entertaining scandal was unfolding within the Winston Family and sent the invitation out of curiosity.
She wanted to see for herself how miserable Bridget was, living alongside her husband’s lover, and just how shameless the man truly was.
Humiliation awaited her at this gathering, that much was certain.
‘Mariam must have spread the word well.’
A few days ago, the Dressmaking Shop employee—that purveyor of gossip—had witnessed quite a spectacle, and among bored noblewomen seeking fresh amusement, any mischievous and curious one would surely send such an invitation.
Bridget composed her reply, accepting the invitation to the party.
‘I’ll play the fool willingly.’
It would be worth the price.
The Marchioness Cavendish was a woman of considerable influence in society.
There was someone she needed to meet at her party.
‘We’re almost there, Julian.’
Just one more step now.
Bridget’s eyelids fluttered.
“Ma’am, are you quite well?”
The Butler’s voice came to her, tinged with concern.
Bridget steadied herself and managed a smile, nodding.
“I’m fine.”
“Your complexion troubles me, ma’am.”
“I’m a bit dizzy, that’s all. But it’s nothing serious — please, don’t worry yourself. Thank you for your care.”
Bridget hurried to finish her reply and handed it to the Butler.
‘Even if you reject me in this life, even if you come to hate me — it doesn’t matter. This time, I’ll go to you first and beg your forgiveness.’
And in this lifetime, I will protect you.

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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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