The Villainess is a Millionaire Solver - Chapter 2

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

Chapter 2

1. Being a Villainess Isn’t a Crime

Aristina Bianca Rosen.

The only daughter of Duke Carnel Rosen, head of one of the Empire’s most prestigious noble families.

However, far from possessing the dignity befitting her status and wealth, she was a complete scoundrel and troublemaker, earning her the reputation as ‘the villainess who would ruin the Empire.’

That Aristina had been in love with the Crown Prince since childhood. But the woman the Crown Prince chose was not Aristina.

Serene Hyperion. The protagonist who possessed not only beauty but also intelligence and character in equal measure.

“Die! Just die, all of you!”

Aristina smashed objects while throwing a tantrum. But then, suddenly having some change of heart, she held a tea party and invited Serene.

At that gathering, Aristina raised a cup of reconciliation to the future Crown Princess.

“Let’s forget the past now.”

“Alright.”

Following custom, Aristina took the first sip, then handed the cup to Serene.

But what happened next? As the ceremony ended and the tea party continued, Serene suddenly screamed and collapsed.

At that moment, her whole body stiffened, and in an instant her breathing stopped and her face turned blue.

“Pl-please save me…!”

“Lady Serene!”

Thanks to her personal physician who had followed just in case, her life was saved, but Serene couldn’t get up for quite some time.

“To think she would poison the cup of reconciliation!”

The Empire was shocked. Sharing a cup of reconciliation was a very solemn ceremony.

The whole world erupted with condemnation toward the shameless villainess Aristina.

But…

“It’s unfair! I know nothing about this!”

Aristina protested.

Surprisingly, that was the truth. This incident wasn’t something Aristina had planned. She had truly only intended to perform a reconciliation ceremony with Serene.

However, no one believed Aristina’s words.

“What disgrace is this! Our family is about to produce the first duchess in history to mount the guillotine!”

By order of her enraged father, Aristina was confined to the secluded annex study of the ducal residence.

She gathered evidence in her own way, trying somehow to reveal the truth, but it was all useless. One night, while waiting for the imperial judgment…

“Who are you?”

Suddenly Aristina’s shout was heard from inside the study, followed by a horrific scream.

When the maids rushed over and threw open the door, there was Aristina, dead and collapsed alone.

There were no traces of anyone having entered or escaped. Moreover, no weapon was visible.

Only traces of blood remained, but there were no wounds on the corpse.

A bizarre murder as if committed by a ghost. That was the end met by the Empire’s scoundrel duchess.

【The Story of the Villainess Aristina】.

Of course, that probably wasn’t the real title… I knew this story.

Maybe it was a romance novel I had picked up thinking it was a mystery set in high society? Anyway, it was definitely a story from a novel I had read somewhere.

But.

Why had I suddenly become that Aristina?

“She got what she deserved! She should have had a kinder heart!”

“Oh my, I feel so relieved! I’ll sleep soundly from today!”

“Good riddance, you villainess!”

Lying face down in the white preservation sheet, listening to the maids’ curses echoing above my head, cold sweat broke out on my back.

‘Why did this happen to me?’

I remember dying. I was coming home at dawn after finishing my warehouse part-time job when a drunk driver’s foreign car hit me.

‘A Mercedes finally appeared in my life after all!’ I lamented before losing consciousness…

And now I’m suddenly possessed?

And why a romance novel of all things?

In the original work, the part I knew only went up to Aristina’s death.

I was enthusiastically reading mystery novels at the time, so the moment I realized this was a romance novel, I put it down.

‘I don’t know. Let me just keep pretending to be dead for now.’

I squeezed my eyes shut and desperately tried to escape reality. But…

“Why isn’t anyone coming? It’s hot weather too, so what if decomposition starts? They need to bury her or burn her quickly.”

At those terrifying words from above my head, my eyes snapped open involuntarily.

“W-wait…”

Seeing me groggily sit up, the maids were shocked senseless.

“Aaaah! The corpse, the Young Lady’s corpse…!”

Amid their screams, I looked around in a daze.

Everything was exactly as described in the original work. The calendar pointing to July 13th. A perfect locked room murder with the entrance, windows, and fireplace all sealed.

No weapon or signs of struggle were visible, and there wasn’t a single wound on the victim’s body.

‘That is, this body.’

I looked at my reflection in the mirror across from me.

A face white as a dove’s egg surrounded by disheveled blonde hair. Eyes hazy like dim rubies, perhaps from having just awakened from death. A goddess-like figure wearing an ivory chemise dress.

Contrary to her stunning beauty that could make one lose their mind, this body’s future was utterly bleak.

‘This situation is absolutely ridiculous. Aristina was never supposed to come back to life. If the perpetrator who committed the perfect crime and disappeared finds out about this…?’

Goosebumps rose along my neck.

‘They’ll come back and kill me again!’

I snapped to attention. I quickly organized the current situation in my head.

(1) An unidentified, highly skilled murderer is targeting me.

(2) There are so many suspects who could kill this body that they’d need to take number 99 and wait in line.

(3) As a bonus, a public petition demanding my immediate execution is currently in progress.

Wasn’t this a character created just to die?

But…

‘That doesn’t mean I can actually die.’

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again. Dying is truly a terrible thing.

Besides, I had already experienced it once. Wouldn’t going through it twice be too unfair?

‘No! I don’t want to! I’ll avoid it somehow!’

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Though I had ultimately been ruined by a drunk Mercedes, surviving itself wasn’t unfamiliar to me. I had been doing it for the past 20 years.

‘Alright. I’ll become the survival king of this area!’

I gathered my resolve and sprang up from where I had been sitting.

“Eek!”

The maids who had been huddled together trembling on the other side screamed again.

“What do we do! She wasn’t dead!”

They hurriedly pressed their heads to the ground.

“We’re sorry! We’re sorry! We only rushed over because you shouted ‘Who are you?’ Your heart seemed to have stopped and your breathing had ceased, so we foolishly thought you had been murdered by an intruder! But you’re perfectly fine!”

Watching the maids make a fuss, the fact that I had fallen into this world became even more vividly real.

And at the same time, I gained one realization.

‘There was one more blessing in disguise.’

I had mistaken this for a mystery novel. So I had focused intently on all the characters, wondering ‘When will the murder scene appear? Who could be the culprit?’ Thanks to that, I remembered even all the extras.

‘Considering the maids’ gossip, it wouldn’t be strange if they killed Aristina at any time… But anyway, they’re all one step removed from the suspect list.’

According to the original work, these maids all had alibis at the time Aristina was murdered. And at the scene, there was no evidence as if it had been sucked up by a vacuum cleaner.

So there’s nothing more to see here.

I made a quick decision.

‘I need to get out of here first.’

This remote annex was the optimal hunting ground where the perpetrator had succeeded in committing the perfect crime. Staying even a little longer would only be a loss for me. It would only increase the probability of being murdered again. I hate this place, even if it’s just bad luck.

“An intruder? No one came to this study. I just collapsed because I felt dizzy by myself. Don’t you dare spread such nonsense.”

After silencing the maids just in case, I strode past them.

“Young Lady? Where are you going?”

“I’m leaving this place.”

“Huh?”

The maids were startled.

“You’re currently confined!”

They hurriedly approached me, but I was already throwing open the door at lightning speed.

But that was as far as I got.

The moment I bravely stepped into the corridor, my feet immediately came to a halt.

‘What’s this?’

Why was there such a dazzling radiance? An eye-catching figure was walking toward me from the opposite direction.

Brilliant platinum hair, formal attire indicating high status, and clear red eyes.

Though his skin was so pale it looked sickly, his face was so handsome that most beauties wouldn’t even dare present their business cards.

“…?”

He also spotted me and immediately wore an expression of utter bewilderment.

“Duke!”

The maids shouted from behind me.

Duke? Right, come to think of it, I had a father.

The very father who had confined Aristina to this place.

According to the original story, he was destined to rush to the annex and discover his daughter’s corpse. But because I had possessed her body, he was discovering something entirely different.

Far from being murdered as the servants had claimed, his troublemaker daughter standing there perfectly fine.

“….”

His dumbfounded expression immediately turned to anger. The Duke coughed and covered his mouth with his pale hand while glaring at me.

“So? Now you’re threatening the maids to fabricate such preposterous lies to interfere with me, your father?”

A chilling murderous aura emanated from his entire being.

Oh no.

I panicked.

I knew there were landmines everywhere, but to step on one after just a few steps? In situations like this, there’s only one thing I can do.

Whenever crises came in my life, I overcame them using my assets.

Not innovative creativity, excellent analytical skills, or bold decisiveness, but my cunning acting abilities.

“Ah, my heart hurts!”

I clutched my chest and collapsed with a thud.

My nearly 20 years of perfected fake illness acting, combined with the realism of having actually experienced the pain of death. It was documentary-level masterful acting.

Even the maids, who had been trained by Aristina’s various schemes, were completely fooled this time.

“Oh, Young Lady! Are you alright?”

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