I Want a Happy Ending Even as a Villainess - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Hmm… I was told that the glass greenhouse would be this way.”

I followed the servant’s directions, but I couldn’t find it. I didn’t expect to lose my way so stupidly.

“I should have just waited in the reception room…”

As soon as I got out of the carriage, the servant asked if I would go to the meeting room since the prince was in a meeting, and I naturally said I would wait. That would be the normal thing to do, but apparently, Lilith didn’t normally act that way.

The servant, pale and trembling, seemed to misunderstand that I was in a bad mood.

While thinking about how to resolve this, the idea of “exploring the palace” suddenly came to mind as a good excuse.

The Setrine Palace, where I was guided, was smaller than expected but clean and beautiful. With the bothersome knights trailing behind me dismissed, it was quiet and peaceful.

“So, where is it?”

I had high expectations for the famed beauty of Setrine’s glass greenhouse, but not seeing it anywhere was starting to irritate me.

Whether it was the shoes or the heavy dress, I was reaching my limit. My stamina was running out, and I wanted to give up.

But the more I wanted to quit, the more stubborn I became. Giving up now would make all the walking I’d done feel like a waste. Gritting my teeth, I pushed my weary legs forward.

“Oh, is that it?”

After walking for another five minutes, I saw a glass building in the distance. The greenhouse I finally reached was tall and grand, worth all the effort.

As I opened the thick glass door, a warm breeze, almost hot, rushed out. Carefully stepping inside along a path, I was greeted by a dazzling array of flowers and trees.

‘This place really is like a fantasy world.’

Small, sunlit orbs spiraled down from the ceiling, illuminating the entire greenhouse. The towering flower trees and lush greenery beneath them looked like a painted picture.

There were also angel statues carved from white marble, fountains spouting water, and colorful flowers blooming along black fences. Lowering my gaze further, I saw—someone lying on the ground.

…A person?

…A person?!

A man was sprawled out on the grass, looking as if he were dead.

“Call 911… Wait, no! That’s not right!”

Instinctively reaching for nonexistent pockets and a non-existent phone, I suddenly snapped back to reality. Panicking in this unfamiliar situation, I rushed to the man’s side.

“Hey, wake up! Are you okay?!”

I shook his shoulder, but he didn’t respond. He didn’t seem to be breathing either.  When I squeezed his wrist to check for a pulse, it was unrecognizably cold.

‘W-what should I do? Should I go get help?’

I couldn’t leave a person in critical condition alone. I moved closer to try performing CPR when his eyes suddenly opened, and our gazes locked.

‘…Huh.’

The man’s eyes were a deeper red than mine. A dark crimson filled with confusion stared back at me.

But only for a moment. His face quickly twisted with displeasure as he scanned me from head to toe.

Then, something wrapped around my ankle with great force. And in an instant, my body was in midair. The man receded before my eyes, and the tall trees loomed over me.

Dangling upside down, my head filled with blood, and my eyes felt like they were going to burst.

I flailed my arms, trying to grab onto something, anything, but there was nothing. Looking down at the distant ground made me dizzy.

‘If I fall, I die.’

Realizing this, my head spun, and my vision blurred. I felt nauseous, my mouth too dry to cry for help. I could suffocate like this and die.

Fortunately, the worst didn’t happen.

Perhaps realizing he had overreacted, the man gently set me down on the bushes. The moment my feet touched the ground, I clung to the nearest thing.

I was terrified of being lifted again. My heart was pounding like it was going to burst. As I gasped for air, tears welled up.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

My voice still trembled. As my heart calmed, anger surged.

I tried to help him, and he did this?! I glared at the man, demanding an explanation.

His fiery red eyes glared back at me as if he wanted to kill me. His attitude irritated me, and I didn’t back down, glaring right back.

“Tsk.”

He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

‘Did I hear that right?’

I wondered if my anger had caused me to mishear an apology.

I stared at him in disbelief, but he gave me a look as if to say, “So what?” I swallowed my anger and refrained from cursing out loud.

His hostility suggested he knew who I was. Moreover, he didn’t fear me, which meant he wasn’t an ordinary person. If so…

I scrutinized him. Black hair, blood-red eyes, a sharp face typical of a novel’s handsome characters.

The white shirt he wore, and the yellow brooch on his collar that didn’t suit him at all.

I was an idiot for not immediately recognizing him.

“Calix?”

I called his name, half in disbelief, and his teeth ground together.

‘I’m the fool, not him.’

I regretted not storming into the meeting room when I arrived at the palace.

Calix Lovelant. He was Leschel’s half-brother and the Empire’s first prince.

Although Leschel had held most of the power until now, Calix was gradually gaining influence and prominence.

He was also a secondary male lead in the original story.

Which meant I had walked right into the lion’s den.

‘The important thing is, he doesn’t get along with Lilith.’

They hadn’t gotten along since they were children.

Lilith, in Calix’s past, was a little devil.

She constantly provoked and argued with him, attacked his pride, and even framed him, putting him in difficult situations. Their relationship hadn’t improved even in this age.

Waking up to find my mortal enemy clinging to me? This was practically begging to be killed.

I shouldn’t have helped an unconscious person; I should have fled, even if I had to force myself.

‘So what do I do now?’

Calix’s shadow flickered with something like a black serpent. It was the ‘Estella,’ a power granted to a select few chosen by the gods.

His Estella wasn’t particularly strong. He had lifted me high, but that was it. Because of this, Calix had to cede the power center to Leschel, who had manifested a much stronger Estella later.

‘But if I fall from this height, I’ll definitely die…’

As an ordinary person, this was an obvious statement. Falling from such a height wouldn’t kill me instantly either. My head would crack, my body would shatter, and I’d bleed to death in excruciating pain.

The thought made my skin crawl. I had to find a way to walk out of here unscathed.

“It’s natural to be surprised when you’re lying down like that”

“Ridiculous.”

Calix scoffed.

“You, who staged an act of poisoning to get rid of me? Or the one who assisted in the plans to assassinate me?”

His words were laced with suppressed anger.

“What exactly is so surprising?”

At the same time, his Estella flared violently. He looked ready to attack me any moment. I couldn’t say anything in response. There was no excuse to give in such a situation.

‘Even if I kneel and apologize, he wouldn’t believe me…’

And it wasn’t a situation where I could get angry in return either.

‘What should I do?’

Things were beyond messed up. I cursed Lilith for stacking up so much karma to bring us to this point.

‘What should I do…?’

In this desperate moment, only one person came to mind.

It wasn’t an ideal response. It was like pouring oil on a fire. This choice could bring greater repercussions later.

‘But I can’t die here.’

I had experienced the agony of death multiple times. I knew how terrible that pain was.

So I was even more desperate. I didn’t want to die again. I didn’t want to feel that sensation again.

“I came here today to see Leschel.”

At the mention of his name, Calix’s expression hardened instantly.

“I’ve been here for a while now, so he’s probably looking for me.”

Calix felt a near-pathological inferiority complex toward Leschel. It was rubbing salt in the wound, but I had no other choice.

“If he sees you attacking me…”

I trailed off, pretending to be sympathetic, watching his reaction. He was visibly agitated.

“Will you let me go?”

I said, smiling faintly.