The Circumstances of Being Chosen as the Villainess’s Favorite - Chapter 158

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 158

“What on earth are you talking about!”

Bang!

Lord Claudius, who was usually calm, couldn’t contain his anger and shot up from his seat.

However, Lord Claudius ultimately couldn’t raise his voice any further.

Because.

“…Really, because of me.”

A voice breaking into fragments.

“Mother and Father… died…?”

Drip, drip drop.

Teardrops gradually wetting her knees.

“I’m really sorry, Her Brother. To Larit too, sob, I’m sorry.”

Her trembling shoulders looked so frail.

I felt my mouth go completely dry.

‘How cornered must she have felt.’

In fact, it couldn’t be helped.

This wasn’t a matter of having a strong heart or not.

‘Everyone… is pointing fingers at Lady Claudius, calling her a witch.’

When all people are attacking Lady Claudius with one heart and mind.

Saying it’s all your fault, apologize, pay for your sins, shouting angrily while pressuring her.

…Wouldn’t it be stranger if she didn’t break?

Lord Claudius stared at the sobbing Lady Claudius with a dazed look.

“…”

After moving his lips for a long while.

He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth.

…As expected, it must be difficult for him to sort out his surging emotions.

“Because I’m branded as a witch, our family’s reputation has fallen too. And Larit has to bear the stigma of being a witch’s friend…”

Lady Claudius also seemed to have fallen into almost a panic.

I felt the need to somehow calm Lady Claudius down.

“It’s, it’s all because of me.”

“Evangeline Claudius.”

“I did wrong. If I had done well from the beginning, if I had tried harder…”

“Evangeline Claudius!”

When I called Lady Claudius almost shouting, only then did Lady Claudius slowly lift her head.

The moment our eyes met.

I stiffened my shoulders in surprise.

…And for good reason, since Lady Claudius’s eyes were completely empty.

“Evangeline Claudius. Before, when I was in trouble with the marriage proposal from Gusto Estate, do you remember?”

I briefly bit my lower lip, then spoke in the gentlest voice possible.

“At that time, Evangeline Claudius said this to me. That it’s natural to help a friend in trouble.”

“…Larit.”

“You also told me not to blame myself for problems that weren’t my fault.”

Lady Claudius’s clear voice suddenly came to mind.

“It’s natural to help a friend in trouble. Even if it were a stranger, hearing such an absurd story would make anyone roll up their sleeves to help.”

Even that image of her scolding me again with sharp eyes.

“But what! This wasn’t even Larit’s fault to begin with!”

“I want to return those exact words to you.”

Toward Lady Claudius, who I couldn’t even tell if she was properly listening to me.

I continued speaking clearly with emphasis.

“Evangeline Claudius is my precious friend, and I hope you won’t blame yourself for problems that aren’t your fault.”

Lady Claudius’s eyes, which had only been blank, trembled briefly for the first time.

Like throwing in a small pebble.

Ripples spreading gently.

“So… couldn’t you rely on me just a little?”

I tried to smile as if nothing was wrong.

“So that I can help Evangeline Claudius.”

“…”

Over her pale cheeks, tears overflowed once again.

“Sob, wail, sniff, waaaaah…!”

Lady Claudius burst into loud tears like a child.

* * *

After Lady Claudius’s visit ended like that.

Lord Claudius and I silently headed outside.

Even though I knew this wasn’t right, my mood kept sinking.

‘I must clear Lady Claudius’s false accusations as soon as possible.’

I recalled the face of the Mother Superior I had seen last.

If the false accusations aren’t cleared, Lady Claudius will have to be confined in this convent for life.

And she’ll have to repent for her sins for the rest of her life.

At least because she’s a Lady of Claudius, she won’t receive extreme punishments like burning at the stake or imprisonment.

“What a merciful disposition this is.”

The Mother Superior had said that smugly.

I felt anger welling up inside me.

‘Really, what’s merciful about it?’

Telling her to repent for sins she didn’t commit, what kind of nonsense is that!

While I was grinding my teeth like that.

I narrowed my eyes.

‘In the original story, Lady Claudius was dragged to St. Alfre Monastery because she bullied Seraphina.’

But now things have changed so much from the original.

And yet…

‘How long do I have to be held back by the original story?’

Deep in my chest felt stuffy as if I had swallowed a stone.

I couldn’t seem to break it down at all…

‘Wait. The original story?’

Suddenly I opened my eyes wide.

‘In the original story… what was the reason Lady Claudius was confined to the convent?’

At that time, Lady Claudius wasn’t branded as a witch.

Instead.

‘Poisoning.’

That’s right.

In the original story, Lady Claudius was suspected of trying to poison Seraphina.

The flow in the original story was like this.

Like the current Lady Claudius, in the original story too, Lady Claudius’s hobby was growing various flowers and roses.

On a day when the conflict between Lady Claudius and Seraphina reached its peak.

Lady Claudius suggested they make up and gave Seraphina a bouquet of roses as a gift.

And not long after Seraphina received the rose bouquet, she collapsed right in front of Lord Claudius.

‘In the novel… it was naturally described as if the roses were poisoned.’

However, the detailed mechanism of the poison wasn’t explained.

It was a novel that had thrown historical accuracy out the window anyway.

From the reader’s perspective, only the sensational event of ‘the villainess poisoning the female protagonist’ mattered.

No one was curious about how the poison manifested.

So naturally, readers assumed that Lady Claudius had tried to poison Seraphina.

Lady Claudius really received a ton of curses, both deserved and undeserved.

‘Back then, Seraphina also clearly…’

She had a high fever, saw hallucinations, and even burrowed into Lord Claudius’s embrace saying she was scared.

That means.

She experienced high fever and delirium.

‘Wait.’

I swallowed nervously.

The symptoms that Seraphina experienced in the novel and the symptoms that the Previous Lord and Lady Claudius showed before they passed away.

And the symptoms that Her Majesty the Empress is suffering from this time…

‘All three are identical, aren’t they?’

Then this incident too, rather than the curse that the Imperial Curia claims,

…could it be poison?

But.

‘They said no poison was detected from Her Majesty the Empress’s belongings.’

After Her Majesty the Empress collapsed this time, they thoroughly examined not only the items the Empress usually used, but also all her food.

Including the roses that Lady Claudius had gifted, no poison was detected from any of the items.

That’s precisely why it was easier for the Imperial Curia to push the narrative that a witch had cast a curse…

“Larit.”

At the deep voice calling my name at that moment, I quickly came to my senses.

“Ah, Dietrich.”

It was Lord Claudius.

Lord Claudius, who had been looking at me with a complicated gaze, suddenly spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

“Pardon?”

“Earlier… I showed you an irrational side of myself.”

Lord Claudius continued like a sigh.

“I should have comforted Evangeline myself. But I ended up leaving it to you again, Larit.”

“…That’s.”

“I’m the one who should protect that child.”

At the same time, his handsome face slowly contorted.

“I already lost my parents forever, so I thought I would somehow protect at least that child.”

“Dietrich.”

“But again like this, even that child…”

The end of Lord Claudius’s voice cracked uncontrollably.

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