I am Late so I am the Villain? - Chapter 1

Oh, goodness.

She thought it was just the cream bread she was chewing that was spitting out, but that wasn’t the case. Because blood was also dripping from her mouth.

Her entire face tingled, and her right cheek ached like it was splitting apart.

A harsh shout could be heard somewhere as she managed to lift her fallen body.

“This isn’t going to work. I’m going to have to restrict her for a while.”

A gorgeous man in front of her was talking and looking at her with ferocious intensity.

The girl rose to her feet and fixed her gaze on him.

“Who……are you?”

The guy shook his head, as if he had expected this reaction.

“Are you trying to act crazy again, Riya Lisburn? But I’m not going to let it go this time.”

“What?”

The man’s gaze was fixed on her hands. Only then did she realize she was holding a knife.

“Argh, what is this?”

She instantly dropped the knife, but in front of the man’s eyes, it was just like the act she used to do. A cunning and sly scheme.

A lovely blonde woman with light skin leaned back next to the man.

She was sagging and breathing hard, grasping the man’s arms as if she had used all of her strength.

The woman appeared to be a defenseless deer at her first impression.

“Are you still unable to repent for your mistakes?”

The man’s beautiful blue-gray eyes began to spark anger.

In fright, the girl backed away.

She thought that, even though it was a dream, it was far too vivid to be merely a dream.

Chun Yujin is her name. She was a normal repeater student in her world.

She was late since she had taken a nap, so she hastily grabbed a cream bread from the store and reached the academy door, but her eyes were spinning and she eventually found herself in this weird circumstance.

It was clear that she had been slapped in the face by that man.

The outfits of the people who were lined up were likewise strange when observed. They had the appearance of troops from the ancient medieval age.

The gorgeous man in front of her eyes wore a white linen shirt, a black vest and a blue cape, and he looked to be a high-ranking nobleman.

With its marble flooring, ancient walls and columns and even ceiling chandeliers, this place must have been a medieval palace.

“Excuse me, but I believe this is all a dream. So I don’t know you that well either. Anyway, I guess I should leave now.”

The girl looked around with fascination. If it was a dream, she felt she should wake up soon.

It would be impossible to fall into this world unless it was a dream.

She couldn’t believe it had happened to her, something she’d only read about in a fantasy novel.

The guy looked horribly at the abominable woman, who claimed to know nothing and pretended to be miserable.

“If I forgive you this time, you will undoubtedly aim for Elijah’s life again.”

Riya spotted traces of a knife slit in the front of a woman’s fancy dress leaning on the man only then.

She had a fuzzy understanding of the current situation.

‘Oh my God, did I just get caught attempting to stab her?’

“For the time being put Princess Riya Lisburn in the basement, Charlson. Regardless of her status as a princess, attempting to endanger someone’s life is a criminal. Never let go of her until she repents.”

The girl was surprised, but she couldn’t say anything since she was the culprit.

Charlson, a big guy dressed in gleaming armor, had a stern expression on his face.

She was too scared and couldn’t look at him without wetting herself, so she just followed him without question.

After a long, hesitant walk down to the dark cellar, Charlson turned around and said in a low, threatening voice.

“Stop right here.”

Riya, her back against the cellar wall, stared up at him, scared. Charlson smiled, showing his teeth in the dim light.

“Shall we have some fun from now on, Princess Riya Lisburn?”

“What?”

“Even if you have a seizure, no one will believe you since you’ve done strange stuff. You are aware of this, aren’t you?”

Riya had shivers all over her body, as a result of his threatening tone.

“What…… bullshit……is that?”

“So, if you continue to cause problems for our Madam Elijah.”

With a snake-like grin, Charlson approached and murmured.

“I’m going to fix your nasty habit.”

He snatched Riya’s tiny neck and pulled her face closer to him.

“Argh!”

His large fingers gripped her chin hard.

“That’s why you should’ve listened to me right away. I warned you not to hang around Madam Elijah.”

A dull sound was heard as soon as he raised his hand to slap her across the face.

His massive bulk collapsed helplessly in front of her eyes not long after.

Riya gazed blankly at Charlson, who had collapsed in front of her eyes.

“Madam!”

A lady dressed as a maid rushed in, yelling at Riya.

Riya gazed blankly at the maid in front of her and was taken aback when she noticed someone standing behind her.

‘Oh my God!’

At first look, the nobleman she had seen earlier was likewise extremely attractive, but the man in front of her was as attractive as the male protagonist in the romance novel she had read so far.

His deadly attractiveness was visible in his dazzling blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes and elegant features.

It was obvious that he must have beaten Charlson down.

Riya nervously smiled at him as gratitude, but there was a look of contempt in his eyes as he glanced at her.

“Charlson, take a step back if you don’t want to die a horrible death.”

Charlson, who had managed to raise himself, backed away from Riya rapidly.

She assumed, given Charlson’s blue-tinged complexion, that he must be a nobleman of great social status.

Riya flushed and pulled up the shoulder piece of the dress, which had been ripped off by Charlson, but he ordered the maid at her side with an indifferent expression, as if he didn’t care.

“You! Look after her.”

With that one remark, he vanished from sight.

Riya stood watching him as he walked away, with a blank expression on her face.

‘He’s such a brat, yet he’s so darn gorgeous. More than that, he’s insanely cool.’

“Are you okay, Madam Riya?”

When she heard the maid mention her name, she assumed that her name was Riya.

Previously, the man named Charlson also referred to her as Riya Lisburn.

Riya Lisburn.

It was a name she strangely had heard a lot of times before.

But it might be the case since she was familiar with medieval names since she had read so many romance novels.

Riya, accompanied by her maid, asked about her name as she walked.

“Excuse me, by any chance……who are you?”

“Madam, I mean it. Are you asking because you don’t know what my name is?”

“Ah, I’m asking because I don’t……know?”

“No, Madam. Heuk, suddenly talking politely……”

As she stared at her madam’s swollen face after being beaten by that gigantic giant, the maid made a pitiful face, as if she was about to cry.

She seemed to believe that her Madam was abused so severely that her memories became foggy.

“No, um……because I’m suddenly dizzy.”

Riya skimmed over her words.

She didn’t feel good for some reason.

She also recalled her friend, with whom she read romance novels, suddenly disappearing and half-jokingly claiming that she was possessed by the novel.

Perhaps she, too, was possessed by a weird novel.

‘How should I proceed? How can I return?’

“My name is Miryu. Although Madam never addressed me by my given name.”

Miryu burst out laughing. She’s probably in her late twenties or early thirties. She had lovely eyes and a lovely face.

“When I saw Madam being dragged into the basement, I rushed to get Yucal-nim, who was in the annex’s study room. He is the only person in this residence with a higher rank than Seir-nim.”

Miryu’s cheeks flushed as she spoke.

She discovered a small house after following her towards the back of the magnificent mansion.

Riya blinked her eyes open. It was the dream house she had always wanted.

“Is this my house?”

“Eugh, yeah, Madam, this is Madam’s personal area. Did you forget how often you used to complain about how narrow it is?”

Narrow……what nonsense.

It was the same as a large apartment in Korea, with an area of around 100 pyeong.
(pyong is Korean unit of area and floor space, equal to a square kan or 36 square Korean feet. An average house is about 25 pyeong, a studio apartment is 8–12 pyeong.)

Riya’s eyes widened as she spotted a small garden with lovely flowers and a dainty terrace.

A beautiful home that she had only seen in her dreams was there in front of her. ‘Is this truly my house?’ Really? Really?’

She was overjoyed and danced in the center of the yard.

It was a tendency she had when she ate something good or discovered an engaging romance novel, but it made Miryu freeze on the spot.

She was still mumbling her song and dancing cheerfully when she noticed tears running down Miryu’s cheeks and immediately stopped moving.

“Are you finally truly turned crazy, Madam?”

Riya recognized she had changed something about her normal self as Riya at that point.

‘Hmm, if I alter my attitude this rapidly, people might realize I’m not Riya. Definitely, I’ll do whatever you demand.’

She altered her expression and formed a scowl that said everything was irritating.

Of course, it wasn’t a feeling that suited her, who was always upbeat about everything, but this woman named Riya was particularly upset and pessimistic about everything.

Riya purposefully walked loudly and kicked all over the place. And, of course, she was donning a scowl.

“I’m really irritated. What a shitty house!”

Miryu smiled broadly at the thought of her Madam returning to her regular self after witnessing her Madam complaining and kicking the wall with her feet.

However, when she entered the home, the girl came dangerously close to exclaiming once again.

The mansion was as big as a playground, with marble finishing and vivid flowery curtains floating in the breeze, making it a spectacular sight. There wasn’t a single thing she didn’t like about it, not even the old-fashioned furniture favored by nobles in movies.

Riya was dying to put up the exclamations she was going to let out. She had no idea it would be so tough to maintain a straight face.

“Oh, I’m exhausted. Get me something to drink, Miryu.”

After she was sent away, Riya fell into tears as she touched a jewelry chandelier, marble desk and the beautiful glass cabinet.

‘Is this truly my house? Even if I worked until I died in Korea, I would never be able to live in a house like this. Oh, I really love this so much that I’m going insane.’

She almost sobbed as she remembered the 20-pyeong old townhome she used to reside in.

She spotted a full-body mirror near the table, swiftly stood in front of it while sobbing and holding a marble ornament next to the desk.

She’s been wondering about how her look has changed.

“Oh, my God, is this what I look like?”

There was nothing unattractive about her, from her rich purple hair to her enigmatic pale purple eyes, white skin to her crimson cheeks and cherry-like lips.

She resembled the princess from the fairy tale.

Despite her petite stature, she had a fantastic shape, which included a bouncing chest and a tight waist.

“Madam?”

Miryu came up behind her and stared in astonishment at Riya, who was standing in front of the mirror.

Riya swiftly turned back and put on another irritated expression.

Miryu looked relieved and smiled despite her intentional grimace.

“I’m sorry, Madam. Because the chef is away for a bit, I’m not sure if this juice is to your liking.”

The crystal cup, which Miryu handed out with a concerned expression, held a delicate pink liquid.

Riya was just thirsty, so she gulped it down in one bite and nearly shouted again.

‘Yummy!’

She had never tasted a more delectable drink in her life. The delicious and aromatic substance appeared to be a blend of grapefruit, orange and lemon. It was great to have a flavorful fragrance on her tongue.

But she had to keep her face straight once again. Because Riya was in the presence of Miryu, who decided whether she was insane if she showed unusual behaviour.

So she decided to replicate Riya’s grumpiness once more.

“Oh, this isn’t going down well. I just want to splatter the man who created this juice’s hand.”

Miryu nodded and smiled once again.

It indicated that she finds it amusing when her Madam becomes upset or annoyed.

“By the way, madam, please refrain from doing that.”

“What?”

“You should stop attempting to harm Madam Elijah. It’s natural to get caught by servants, and I don’t think Seir-nim will put up with it much longer.”

“I get it, I get it.”

Riya nodded and gathered her thoughts inside.

‘She’s been caught a lot of times doing this. ‘However, why did she keep on trying to stab her?’

“Miryu, but my relation with that Seir……”

She understood what type of relationship the handsome man who was gazing at her had with the beautiful woman who had been gasping on Seir’s arm before, but she was wondering about Seir’s connection with herself. She was also intrigued by the suspiciously attractive man who came into the cellar and saved her life.

“Oh, Madam!”

Miryu returned her sad gaze to Riya and placed her palm on Riya’s forehead.

“You don’t have a fever, but you’re going insane all over again. What am I supposed to do?”

She dashed out and returned with a tray. On the tray, there were several white tablets.

“I forgot, but it’s time for you to take your medicine. I’ll tell you everything once you’ve taken these medications, Madam.”

“Okay.”

Riya, without hesitation, immediately drank down a handful of the medicine she was handing out, assuming it for a typical vitamin.

“Madam, Seir-nim, the man who ordered Charlson to fix your habit, is your husband.”

“What!?”