《The Villainess Lives Only For Today》 Chapter 1 I stared blankly at the baby that had been thrown into my arms. The heat of its body was warm, as if it was ready to devour me whole. ¡°You are going to raise that child.¡± The baby¡¯s wailing rang out loudly as my father looked down on me coldly. My mother, who sat next to¡­ the corpse of my dead younger sister, was clinging tightly onto her body. I¡¯m going to raise this baby? But it¡¯s not even my child. Of course, I could understand my parents kicking me out. Afterall, I was a nuisance to the family and seen as an evil villainess across the empire. However, this was the child Elice gave birth to. I seemed to be the only bewildered person in the room. There was my sister who had died after giving birth to a baby and my dad, whose words had come out of nowhere leaving me at a loss for words. In front of my younger sister¡¯s withering body, I held onto her only daughter as I got kicked out of the house. Goodness, this doesn¡¯t make sense. It doesn¡¯t make sense at all! This is definitely not the novel I wrote! *** ¡®The Princess Lives Tomorrow¡¯ I created three main characters in this novel. Elice, the female protagonist, Alexand, the male protagonist, and lastly, Veloce, the second female protagonist. Elice and Veloce were the two daughters from the Count family of Artemio. Veloce, the eldest daughter, had black hair and blue eyes. In the Count family of Artemio, black hair was reckoned to be even more devilish than crow wings, and so she suffered from frequent verbal abuse and ill treatment by her parents. The prophecy given to the Count Artemio family also contributed to the beginning of discrimination against black hair. ¡®If a child with black hair is born, they will lead the family to ruin!¡¯ Their position as a Count family was also threatened severally ever since they birthed their eldest daughter. There was a debate within the household about whether it was right for the Count to give that child the position of head of the family. Veloce had been without a name and was simply called ¡®Devil¡¯ after she was born. She was only finally named after a temple prophesied that Elice, who was born after Veloce, could counterbalance the curse. The public, however, had no idea about the prophecy. Who would expose a prophecy about the Count¡¯s family getting ruined? Veloce was said to have been born weak from childhood and had to be registered late on the family register even though she was the young mistress of the noble family of Artemio. The younger daughter, Elice, was the exact opposite of Veloce. She had golden hair and blue eyes, and was revered as a saint. It was only normal for Veloce to want to covet and take away everything Elice had. Since there lived an unloved child in Veloce¡¯s heart. So, Veloce tried her best to separate Alexand from Elice. One might say that Veloce should have been cursed and killed at the end, but to me, Veloce was like a precious child, no matter how bad she was, I couldn¡¯t hate her. And so I let her stay alive in the novel. I thought it was a perfect ending. Veloce was punished by having to care for Elice all her life. That was where I ended the story. But, did I happen to have any lingering feelings or something? I ended up in Veloce¡¯s body after the novel ended. One of Alexand¡¯s words were; ¡®As I was born a knight, I wish to die on the battlefield as a knight.¡¯ He died on the battlefield just as he had wanted, about a year after the novel was over. Elice, who was pregnant, got sick on her way to go confirm Alexand¡¯s corpse for herself. The doctor declared that Elice had only six months to live. He added that if she birthed her child, she could only live for three months. I spoke to Elice, ¡°Alexand is already dead!¡± Sadly, it was the truth. ¡°It¡¯d be better that this child dies instead, so that you can live a little longer. Please¡­ do this for me at least.¡± Even though I sounded harsh, I was being sincere. She was the heroine of a novel that I was attached to and wrote consistently for three years. She was like a child I birthed and raised with my own hands. Alexand¡¯s death alone was enough to make my whole world come crashing down, and it would be even worse if Elice died too. Elice was more important than a baby whose face we hadn¡¯t seen yet. Nevertheless, like any other nice female lead, Elice wanted to save the child. ¡°Veloce, you¡¯ll still have the baby left. The baby will be by your side for longer than I will. Far longer than I will¡­ So, please take good care of my baby.¡± I didn¡¯t know that was her last will. She gave birth to the baby and lived for only three more weeks. It was a shorter time than the doctor had predicted. ¡°¡­ Aa?¡± The baby, who was yet to be named, tilted her head. She had golden hair and blue eyes that looked just like her mother¡¯s. Even the dimples on her cheeks were the same. It reminded me of Elice so much that I made up my mind to not let this child freeze to death. ¡°Bah¡­¡± The baby bit on its small lips and made eye contact with me. Looking at her eyes which sparkled so much like Elice¡¯s, I eventually made my decision. ¡°I¡¯ll save you for sure.¡± I clenched my teeth. I didn¡¯t have the time or luxury to shed tears. I had been kicked out with a newborn baby in my arms in this freezing, cold weather. I had to find a way to survive first. It was fortunate that Veloce¡¯s fianc¨¦ immediately came to mind. I was the original author of the novel, afterall. Luckily, he only lived 30 minutes away from here. The only problem is that¡­ I haven¡¯t talked to him in 10 years. I decided to go ahead and visit, hugging the baby closer to myself. ¡°That¡¯s not the issue right now! I need to find a way to survive.¡± Fortunately, I didn¡¯t make Veloce¡¯s fianc¨¦ a heartless character. At least, I hoped so. * * * I walked over and over again, enduring the weather that was about to give me a frostbite. Thanks to being kicked out with nothing, I had no money or valuables in my hand except for the baby. ¡®So cold-hearted.¡¯ They¡¯re not even my real parents so I can cuss at them as much as I want to! After hugging tightly onto the shivering baby and asking around from several people, I finally reached the magnificent mansion. I murmured, looking entranced at the mansion located across the vast garden. ¡°When will I get to go back?¡± ¡°Haa¡­ we¡¯re here. We¡¯re finally here. That¡¯s all that matters right now.¡± Comforting myself, I brought the sleeping baby, who hadn¡¯t woken up once, closer into my arms. ¡®I¡¯m proud of you.¡¯ Fortunately, the child slept well, ate well, and played well, perhaps because she inherited Elice¡¯s docile personality. I pressed the doorbell with hands frozen blue from the cold. ¡ª¡°This is Hermias¡¯ mansion. Who are you?¡± ¡°I, I¡­I am f-from the A-Artemio¡¯s¡­¡± ¡ª¡°¡­ I can not hear you well. Could you repeat yourself?¡± My teeth chattered from the cold, so I couldn¡¯t even speak properly. So I closed my eyes and shouted out loud as quickly as possible, ¡°Veloce!¡± There¡¯s no way they wouldn¡¯t know the house owner¡¯s fiance¨¦. ¡ª¡°¡­ And who is that?¡± ¡­ I guess they wouldn¡¯t know. Ten years must have been a long time. So I took a deep breath and shouted again, making it simple this time. ¡°Artemio!¡± Only then did the gates open. * * * Tap tap tap~ ¡®There was no one in this household that would run around like that.¡¯ ¡®Who in the world would be running around like that without proper conduct?¡¯ Maynus, disturbed by the sound of footsteps, turned around with a frown. Maynus was quite sensitive when working, so the workers of the mansion had to be careful. ¡°Who the heck is it? I have a lot of documents to take care of today,¡± Maynus muttered. Knock knock~ Someone knocked on the door and Maynus said irritably, ¡°Come in!¡± The butler opened the door and came in with a distraught appearance evident on his face. The old gentleman¡¯s face was pale and his mouth trembled, suggesting that the news he had brought was not such a simple one. Half of the annoyance Maynus felt vanished as soon as he saw his expression. There must¡¯ve been a reason for it. Maynus sighed before asking, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°¡­Your fianc¨¦e is here.¡± ¡°¡­Who?¡± Seeing as his master had apparently forgotten about his engagement from 10 years ago and was simply signing his documents, the butler added, ¡°The Artemio family¡¯s¡­¡± Oh. Maynus frowned as the name awakened old memories of his fianc¨¦e. ¡°Her name is Veloce, is it not? But why in the world would she come here?¡± The last time he had heard from Veloce was the rumor of her ¡®being so crazy about the hero, Alexand, that she was always at her sister¡¯s throat.¡¯ The butler swallowed and shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but you¡¯ll need to come and see for yourself.¡± Maynus sighed heavily. It looked like he would be having a rough day today. From the butler¡¯s expression, he could tell that it wasn¡¯t a simple situation that could be solved immediately. ¡°Sigh.¡± He could only hope it wouldn¡¯t be a huge issue. Or else he wouldn¡¯t let the Artemio family go scot free even if they were protected by the Imperial Family. Chapter 2 Maynus¡¯ younger cousin is the Emperor. They were close enough in their childhood to play ball games together. Count Artemio¡¯s family was a pain in the emperor¡¯s neck. They owned banks and many other families followed them as they had quite a long history. Thus, a marriage between one of Count Artemio¡¯s daughters and Maynus was prompted. The family pushed their eldest daughter into getting engaged to him. Maynus became a scapegoat for the sake of the Emperor. If only Maynus wasn¡¯t related to him, he could have confidently rejected the engagement. If only the Emperor had not mentioned his mother, the Empress dowager, who raised him on behalf of Maynus¡¯ deceased mother. Anyway, he was an annoying guy who liked to use everything to his advantage. Maynus unfastened the button that was tight at his neck, before ruffling his hair. The very same reason for the issue back then was coming back to haunt him. The headache he thought had died down seemed to be coming back up again. Maynus took long strides, the butler simply following behind him. *** The workers at the mansion glanced at me as I stood with fidgety feet while holding a baby. The material of the clothes I was wearing looked too expensive, so they couldn¡¯t talk to me recklessly, but the way I stood was quite pathetic. To them I probably looked strange. Still, thanks to the warmth circulating the mansion, my frozen body started to slowly warm up. I squeezed my hand between my outer garment, warming it to rub the baby¡¯s red cheeks. It would¡¯ve been fine if they had only kicked me out, considering the things Veloce has done in the family. But what crime did this child commit to get kicked out? It¡¯s not like the baby really killed Elice. ¡°Miss Veloce?¡± A voice similar to the world¡¯s smoothest cup of coffee asked, taking me out of my thoughts. The man standing in front of me had a beauty that could not be deterred by his rolled up sleeves and wrinkled clothes, which showed that he had been busy. He had red eyes that shone like rubies and hair as white as snow. It was not until I thought about it for a while that I realized who this man was. ¡°Maynus Hermias?¡± The man frowned, perhaps because he had heard my murmur. ¡°¡­ That is my name.¡± Goodness¡­ This guy who looks just as handsome as a main character is Veloce¡¯s fiance? A man like this was just an extra? Wow. How in the world did my hand create such beauty? I heard that you can see a handsome man with each step you take in Italy. This really is heaven. I answered, still in a trance-like state, ¡°My name is also Veloce.¡± Even though I¡¯m not really her on the inside. Maynus looked at me in disbelief and then sighed. He continued in his low voice, ¡°Why are you here?¡± It was time to address the issue at hand. I took in a deep breath. ¡®Alright, Veloce! Let¡¯s act very shameless! I just need to throw away all of my shame and ask.¡¯ ¡°Please do me a favor.¡± ¡°What?¡± Maynus tilted his head. As if he had heard wrong. ¡°I got kicked out of my house. But I have nowhere to go with this baby in such a cold winter.¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t think this is a place you¡¯re welcomed at either.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± He was right. ¡°But a young lady of the Count¡¯s family was kicked out by her own family?¡± Maynus asked incredulously. ¡°It kind of ended up like that¡­¡± I said, smiling awkwardly. ¡°However, I¡¯m still your fianc¨¦e, right? At least be considerate to the child and do her a favor.¡± The man sighed and only looked at me from my head to my toes. ¡°¡­ By the way, is this your child?¡± Maynus¡¯ eyes were on the child. Well, it was a good question, considering the fact that a woman claiming to be his fianc¨¦e appeared with a child in her arms. ¡°¡­ She¡¯s not my child.¡± The look on his face told me that he didn¡¯t believe me. ¡°She¡¯s really not mine!¡± Maynus didn¡¯t seem to trust me, but he said with a displeased look, ¡°¡­ I learned it¡¯s not polite to abandon someone who came in from the cold.¡± That much is a relief. See? I didn¡¯t make his character so cold-hearted. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll¡­ leave as soon as I can.¡± However, even before I could say anything else, he already turned his back and left. Like he couldn¡¯t care less about me. I really was an unwanted guest here. I made a pledge to get out of this place somehow. * * * Maynus Hermias made a humanitarian effort by taking care of the baby and I. Being able to stay in a warm room instead of freezing to death outside in the cold was more than enough at this point. ¡®Right, baby?¡¯ It was quite worthwhile to have asked him so audaciously. If I had stayed outside a little longer, I might have frozen to death with the baby. I stroked the baby¡¯s fluffy cheeks. ¡°Wahh.¡± At the sight of the baby¡¯s eyes open wide and her mouth trying to stifle a small yawn, my worries were completely relieved. ¡®She¡¯s pretty since she resembles Elice.¡¯ But Maynus, that guy. ¡°Is he blind? How could he think I was the one who gave birth to you?¡± The only similarity we have is that we¡¯re both human beings. I couldn¡¯t see any trace of myself in the baby. She looked exactly like Elice. No matter how much she resembles her father, I don¡¯t think anyone could see her as a child I gave birth to. ¡°You¡¯re hungry, aren¡¯t you?¡± While resting from exhaustion and hugging the baby, I heard a knock on the door. ¡°My¡­ lady?¡± A voice said with a lot of hesitation, as if the term for me had not been properly established on their tongue. ¡°Come in.¡± The door opened. The first person to come inside was the man who followed Maynus earlier. ¡°Hello, my lady.¡± The man took a deep breath and said. I seemed to have been given the title of ¡®young mistress¡¯ in the mansion. ¡°Hello.¡± A moment of silence passed between us. The maids who had followed him in looked at each other with anxiety. ¡°Well¡­ I am Eden Downis, the butler of this mansion. If you need anything during your stay here, do not hesitate to ask me. The head maid is not feeling well and is recuperating at the moment.¡± ¡°Oh. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Eden. Thank you for your kind words.¡± ¡°And these are the maids who will serve you. They¡¯ll do their very best to assist you if needed.¡± ¡°Hello, young miss. My name is Jewel Indik.¡± ¡°Hello, my lady. I am Eljya.¡± ¡°Hello, my lady. My name is Yuzu.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you all.¡± Eden looked back at me, proud look on his face at the maids¡¯ perfect manners. I could see it without much thinking. Eden Downis was a loyal figure to the Hermias family. It looked like I could only maintain a smooth relationship with him if I was careful with my remarks about the Hermias family. This is the world I created, but I don¡¯t know much about places that I never focused on writing. I had to figure it all out by myself. ¡°Do take care of me. I can see your hard work from how well maintained the mansion is. ¡°¡®Well maintained?¡¯ Not quite so, I would say.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a place that anyone would admire. The harmony of colors also adds to the luxuriousness. It¡¯s such an honor to stay here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a big compliment.¡± His smile widened and I knew then that I had succeeded in winning Eden Downies¡¯ favor with those words. Flattery was an important asset for a member of Korean society, afterall. * * * Eden Downies stepped out and the maids prepared milk bottles and milk for the young baby. I thanked the maid for quickly going to the city area to get them. The baby, who was gentle and did not cry much, drank the milk without whining. She was definitely hungry, but also very patient. ¡°Wah¡­ Goo-goo!¡± Jewel and the other maids exclaimed at the baby¡¯s wide smile, perhaps in a good mood because she was full. ¡°Oh my!¡± ¡°So cute!¡± My shoulders raised up in pride. The baby¡¯s smiling face was like an angel¡¯s. She looked so much like Elice that it was impossible to hate her. It¡¯s amazing that Count Artemio and his wife hated such a child. I simply held onto her and fed her, but the baby had fallen asleep quickly after playing. ¡°By the way, what do you call her?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°What is the baby¡¯s name?¡± It was only then that I realized what Yuzu had asked. I had not yet named the baby! ¡°¡­ I probably shouldn¡¯t have asked.¡± Yuzu said hesitantly and Eljya nudged her at her side. I looked blankly at Yuzu, who had a troubled face, and murmured, ¡°¡­ Not yet.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t named the baby yet.¡± There was a small silence in the room at my laughable words. I felt sorry to the baby who had fallen asleep and was now snoring. However, Elice died shortly after giving birth to a baby and I was kicked out. I could never afford to give the baby a new name. Well, I guess I had to make up an excuse. Chapter 3 Rumors quickly spread in the mansion that the baby brought by the master¡¯s fianc¨¦e was nameless. The Hermias mansion was like a small community. It had a kitchen, stable, north and south wings, plus knights residing outside. Although it was divided like a village, interesting stories used to spread easily as they all lived together in the large mansion. And so rumors quickly spread. Veloce Artemio, the Duke¡¯s fiancee, was not as scary or as evil as rumors say. Rather, her smiling face quickly gained the credit of the mansion workers. In fact, seeing it in real life was more effective than hearing about it from rumors. Veloce, who was worried about wanting to give the child a good name, was actually good natured. Last week, while Veloce and the baby recovered their health and rested, the mansion was infested with their stories. ¡°People say that the baby is Your Grace¡¯s child. Have you ever met Lady Veloce without me knowing?¡± Eden Downies said, firing a suspicious look at Maynus Hermias. Maynus couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the absurdity of the question. Obviously, Eden knew that he had never glanced at Veloce in the past decade. Why would he say something as ridiculous as that? Besides, Veloce had never spared Maynus a glance either because she had been chasing Alexander. Maynus sighed a heavy sigh. ¡°Who spread such a silly rumor? Also, you said Count Artemio is not interested in the whereabouts of Lady Veloce at all, right?¡± Maynus did not just take in Veloce and then abandon her. He continually asked about the Count¡¯s status on the matter during the week. ¡°Yes. He seems to be mourning the death of Lady Elice. The rumor that Artemio mistreated Lady Veloce might be true.¡± Maynus scratched his temple as the rims of his eyes wrinkled. He chewed and swallowed the headache medicine on his desk. The bitter taste filled his mouth but at least the headache seemed to subside a little. He thought he would just let her stay for a while, but it felt like his fianc¨¦e¡¯s stay would be longer. Maynus couldn¡¯t kick out a child and a vulnerable woman in this cold weather. Suddenly, his concerns were doubled. Eden, who still had doubts, asked once more, ¡°So the child is¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my child.¡± However, the suspicion did not subside at once. Maynus gritted his teeth at Eden¡¯s eyes. This is not why not just anyone could enter his mansion. It was a mistake to let Veloce¡¯s frozen fingers soften his heart. ¡°It¡¯s really not. Have you ever seen me lie? It¡¯s not my child, Eden,¡± Maynus tried to persuade once more. Maynus grit his teeth. He needed to make sure Veloce told the workers about who the child¡¯s real father was. ¡°Your Grace!¡± It was Kahir Rotrick, his secretary who had been on a business trip around the territory for the past two weeks. Perhaps because he was a former driver and had good arm strength, the door he opened wide hit the wall with a bang. ¡°I¡¯m back from my trip. I heard you got married while I was away. But it was supposedly a shotgun wedding? I heard that you have both a wife and a baby now!¡± Where in the world did this new rumor come from? Maynus facepalmed, hand covering his eyes. There were already a lot of things to do, but the guest staying in Maynus¡¯ mansion was causing chaos in his daily life in just a week. Maynus tried to contain his irritation. Then he took a deep breath and murmured a chant. Of course, he could never pull himself together. ¡°Get out.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Both of you, get out!¡± Eden Downis and Kahir Rotrick quickly ran away as he flung the files in his hands with annoyance. ¡®When would that girl finally leave? When would Count Artemio take her and the baby away? Were they out of their minds to kick out their daughter and grandchild?¡¯ Maynus stood up and started walking around the office to relieve his frustration. They had to finish the maintenance work before it started snowing heavily, so he spent a busy week travelling back and forth between the land. He expected she would¡¯ve gone back to the Artemios before he came back¡­ Maynus clenched his teeth. Instead, she was an uninvited guest spreading strange rumors in the mansion. ¡®Was it on purpose?¡¯ It was not strange to have such doubts. He had no clue about the baby¡¯s identity, but rumors did say Veloche was a very promiscuous woman. If it was really not her child, as Veloche claims, what was the point of going around with it like that? It would be a label on her for the rest of her life. His anger at the father of the child also soared. How irresponsible of the father of the child to make his woman get kicked out without being properly responsible. He felt pity for Veloce. Maynus¡¯ life was not smooth, but he realised now that Veloce Artemio didn¡¯t seem to live a comfortable life either. Even so. He didn¡¯t want her to be his responsibility. All the more so since Count Artemio was closely related to the imperial family! There would be a suitable place for her, too. He was sure. It was 10 minutes later that Maynus cleared his thoughts up and opened the door. In the short time that he could not even have a cup of tea, he stopped his agonizing and headed towards the room Veloce stayed. To see his fianc¨¦e whom he had not seen in a week. * * * ¡®What should I name her?¡¯ The doctor of the mansion who Eden had called, ordered me to take a good rest for a week. I didn¡¯t want to be too much of a bother, but I agreed with Jewel that it would be better than to collapse due to lack of physical strength. However, even though I had thought about what to name the baby for a week now, I couldn¡¯t decide on a single one so far. I wanted to give her a really special name, but nothing came to mind. I was sorry for the laughing child who I simply just called ¡®baby¡¯. ¡°Baby, what would be a good name for you? What should I name you to make your mom happy?¡± I asked her over again, but the baby simply looked at me with clear eyes and just tapped my cheek with her cotton candy-like palm. I sighed and straightened my back near the cradle where the baby was laid down. ¡®Loen? Entak?¡¯ I continued my worries slowly rocking the cradle gently. ¡°My lady, um, I¡­ the duke, is here. What should I do?¡± He should come in, of course. It is his home. What was the point of asking me? ¡°Let him in.¡± The door opened at my words. Maynus walked in with dampened spirits and said, ¡°¡­ It¡¯s been a while, Miss Veloce. Do I have to ask your permission to sit here in my residence too?¡± He was already annoyed. Did something happen? ¡°No. Please sit.¡± Maynus slammed the door on his own and sat on a chair. His eyes turned to the baby in the cradle over my shoulder. He stared at the baby for a long time and asked me. ¡°What about the baby¡¯s father?¡± Why was he asking that out of nowhere? Is it your child?¡± Maynus looked me up and down. ¡°No!¡± Maynus didn¡¯t seem to believe me despite my denial. Seriously? ¡°No, it¡¯s not. The child¡¯s father is Alexand. You know the war hero, right?¡± ¡°Do you mean your younger sister¡¯s husband?¡± ¡°Yes! That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Then who is the baby from?¡± Why was he asking something that was so obvious? Elice¡¯s appearance must¡¯ve been famous in the empire. The baby had Elice¡¯s golden hair. I tilted my head and replied, ¡°She¡¯s Elice¡¯s child, of course.¡± ¡°¡­Ha,¡± Maynus feigned a laugh, covering his eyes with his palm. It sounded like one filled with frustration and discontent. What happened? ¡°But why do the workers think the baby was born between you and me?¡± ¡°Goodness! Really?¡± I burst into laughter. No wonder people were being careful about the way they treated me lately. It was fun to find answers for things I didn¡¯t understand here. Maynus did not return my smile, gaze serious. He let out a deep sigh while alternating glances between me and the child. ¡°Lady Veloce. I don¡¯t think you should continue to stay here.¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re right,¡± I said while looking at Maynus¡¯ face. He wasn¡¯t going to kick me out, was he? ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s rude to ask when you wish to leave. I don¡¯t want to be embroiled in any more scandals.¡± Swallowing, I realized it was finally time.