I Became the Villainess in an Anticlimactic Novel - Chapter 20

A vast garden lay before my eyes. 

There were nine gardeners in sight as well as three large fountains. Each of the divided areas were decorated after different styles. At the end of the vast garden was a road wide enough for carriages, and behind that stood a stone wall that stood tall like a fortress. 

I seemed to have also had this sort of dazed feeling when I first saw this sort of view outside of the Periot Dukedom’s window… But this wasn’t the Dukedom. It didn’t even look like Chivan village, which was the last place I remember.

“This is…”

As I reached my hand outside the window, a cold air rushed through my fingers. I looked at the scene with a dumbfounded face as the woman from before spoke to me again.

“May I introduce myself before I assist you in getting ready?”

I whipped my head around. That overly-cautious attitude made me uneasy somehow.

“Greetings, Miss. I’m Solte, the one who will be serving you exclusively from today onwards.”

“Exclusively?”

What kind of accommodation had people exclusively serving one person?

“Yes. There are two other people besides me, but one has gone to organize Miss’s clothes and shoes while the other has gone to prepare your meal.”

Wait, no matter how luxurious an accommodation is, to have three people… is impossible!

“Excuse me, wait a minute.”

No matter how ignorant I was of this world, there was no way I couldn’t realize that something was wrong when I opened my eyes to such an elegant room, a dazzlingly beautiful view outside the window, as well as three people who exclusively ‘served’ me.

“Who… no, not that.”

She clearly just introduced herself.

“Where am I? Why are you ‘exclusively’ serving me?”

I scanned my surroundings.

“What about Lecht? Is this Chivan Village?”

The only reason I was able to stay calm in this sort of bewildering situation was Kelber, who was by my side. The child who normally growls at strangers when necessary didn’t seem too concerned about Solte’s appearance. Rather, he sat there only looking at me and wagging his tail softly, as if he wasn’t interested at all. I was able to calmly enquire about the situation since Kelber’s behavior allowed me to know that I wasn’t in a dangerous situation. 

“Oh, my apologies. I didn’t realize that you’d need an explanation for that part.”

“No, it’s probably weirder for me to ask in this sort of situation.”

Waking up after sleeping soundly and asking, “Where am I?”. It would’ve been bewildering enough from Solte’s point of view.

“This is the central bedroom, located on the third floor of the main building in the Arvis Grand Dukedom. The reason I’ve been put in charge of taking care of you is because I’ve got the most diverse set of skills among the other maids and have been working the longest in the Grand Dukedom.”

“What…?”

I felt like I had been hit on the head by what she said. She went on, not knowing why I was shocked.

“If you are referring to the ‘Chivan Village’ which is located to the west of the Grand Duchy, then this isn’t the place. This is the residence of the Grand Ducal Family, which lies in the very heart of the Arvis Grand Duchy.”

“…”

“And His Excellency, the Grand Duke Lecht Arvis who you are looking for, is waiting for you in the study closest to the dining room so that he can dine with the miss at any time.”

Solte’s explanation was so detailed that I couldn’t even think I had heard wrong. However, I still hoped that I had heard wrong.

“Arvis, the Grand Duke?”

“Yes.”

“You mean, the Lecht I know…? The one with silver hair, a deep voice, and golden eyes that are sexy, that Lecht is the Grand Duke of Arvis?”

Solte seemed to be a little puzzled at my question, which was so bewildering that she couldn’t even continue to speak properly, and just nodded with a smile.

“His Excellency certainly has silver hair and a deep voice. All our employees also think that his gold eyes are cool as well.”

She seemed to think that I was bragging about Lecht, so she smiled and agreed enthusiastically. But what I needed wasn’t agreement. It was a denial of what I said.

“So Lecht is… the Grand Duke of Arvis… Oh…”

My head spun as my legs lost their strength in an instant.

“Miss!”

“Woof!”

Solte grabbed onto me quickly as Kelber supported me with his head as I stumbled. My head continued to spin, even with their help. I felt as if white were flashing before my eyes. 

Grand Duke Arvis. He was a founding contributor to the empire as well as an existence even the emperor feared.

So, Lecht…

“If that’s the case, since you like feathers, then we’ll go with that.”

That sweet Lecht…!

“You will be loved. Without a doubt, infinitely.”

That considerate Lecht…!

‘Was the Demon King?!?’

That day, for the first time in my life, I experienced how it felt to faint.

* * *

{The ground rumbled with every step he took. The spot that he brushed past while exuding a dark energy froze over, as if it had been struck with the frost of night. 

Those eyes filled with vitality and the long hair fluttering in the wind aroused a bloody air. Those huge black wings, several times the size of his body that could destroy monuments with just a gust of wind from a single flap as well as those round horns protruding from his temple indicated that he was not a human being.

Having destroyed the capital in an instant, he stepped foot into the Imperial Palace. The Imperial Knights, who were in disorder fighting against the army he had brought, fought a bloody battle, but the Imperial Knights were far too lacking compared to the demon troops, whose abilities far exceeded that of humans. They fell like autumn leaves.

“Grand Duke Arvis! Why in the world are you doing this all of a sudden?!”

The desperate voice of the emperor, who had been driven into a corner, rang out. He had thought as long as he didn’t provoke him, he wouldn’t venture out from the Grand Duchy, but just what the hell had made him so dissatisfied to the point that it had made him turn his sword to the Empire? He couldn’t think of anything, no matter how much he thought about it.

The Grand Duke, who was looking at the emperor with an unreadable expression on his face, slowly extended his left hand, which had been clenched in a fist. What slowly fluttered out from his grasp were black rose petals.

“Because the rose has withered.”

The black rose petals were scattered in all directions, carried by the cool wind.

“That’s why the Empire is no longer needed.”

A voice that was mixed with such deep emotions it felt as if one was tearing out their own heart. 

“Their traces, I’ll erase them all. If I don’t, I think I’ll go crazy.”

“…”

“Though naturally, I’m not in my right mind right now either.”

The Demon King, Grand Duke Arvis, who was pretty much talking to himself, slowly raised his sword. 

And in that way, he destroyed the very empire he had built with his own hands.}

That was the Grand Duke Arvis I know. Suddenly appearing and establishing an empire, living there for 100 years disguised as a Grand Duke, then suddenly destroying the empire for reasons no one could understand. The Demon King. 

But you’re saying that Lecht is that Demon King. And this place is the Grand Duchy, which is no different than his base. 

So I… instead of fleeing the country, had on the contrary, crawled into the hideout of the very person who had destroyed the empire.

‘I’m crazy…!’

In any case, I think this life has been completely ruined! Losing my mind over that shocking fact, I covered myself with the blanket and tore my hair out. 

Even if it goes wrong, this is too big of a disaster! No wonder his out of this world appearance didn’t seem to look like a human’s; he was never a real human.

‘Didn’t the novel clearly say he has wings? And horns? And long hair?!’

I thought he was just one of the nobles the emperor trusted and considered close. And treating Linden sharply was due to the support of the emperor. But rather than that, he was an existence where there would be no consequences, even if he looked down on all the mortals in this empire. 

I hurriedly reflected on my past behavior. I hadn’t said anything that would cause any trouble, right? I hadn’t cursed at demons or the Demon King, right?

‘Didn’t I say some bullshit about having the Demon King be my escort?’

Oh my Lunar… What can I do? I didn’t want this. I just wanted to live a peaceful and pain-free life. 

But it’s not enough, even after suddenly singling me out as your child, making me a saintess, and making my plans of fleeing the country fly away, so you let me chatter some bullshit statement to the demon king.

It’s obvious that Lunar hates me. It’s obvious that a saintess is chosen, not as the child they love the most, but as the child they want to bully the most…!

‘Hnng. What should I do?’

How laughable it must have seemed for a person like me to ask him to escort me. How hilarious!

It was when I was kicking my blanket in shame as all kinds of dark history and trivial words I had said without knowing he was the Demon King came flooding into my head, one after another.

Knock. Knock.

A knocking sound was heard.

“Who is it…?”

With the blanket wrapped up to my neck, I asked cautiously.

“Miss, it’s me, Tanma.”

“Oh.”

I said, breathing a sigh of relief when I heard that it wasn’t the Demon King, Lecht.

“Come in-”

But my words were blocked in an instant. 

Wait a minute. If Lecht is the Demon King, then Tanma, his closest aide is…? There’s no way  the butler serving the Demon King doesn’t know that he’s the Demon King. So does that mean that Tanma isn’t just an ordinary human being either…?

“Heok.”

Suddenly having another realization, I froze when I saw the incoming Tanma. Even though I had seen him for several weeks, at this moment, he suddenly looked completely different.

“How are you feeling?”

“…”

“I’ve called in all the doctors and healer mages, but they’ve all said it’s nothing but simple fatigue.”

He clicked his tongue and came over to me.

If Lecht is the Demon King, then even if he can’t be, Tanma is definitely the second-in-command.

{The middle-aged aide always knew and carried out what the Demon King wanted, like a ghost. There was nothing that could stop him since there was nothing he lacked in skill, so their invasion proceeded without a hitch.}

This old man was also a dangerous old man…! 

I swallowed dryly as I watched the butler who was smiling mildly walk up to my bed.

“We are in the midst of preparing an elixir that helps improve anemia and physical strength.”

“Elixir… haha…”

Don’t tell me, it’s a medicine that demons take? Won’t I be taking it in vain if any side effects from taking it come up? Don’t tell me, you’ll overturn the continent just to find it, there’s no way, right…?

{The only thing they left in their wake was silence and devastation. Everything in the empire had returned to nothing.}

Although I hadn’t even read the novel that diligently, phrases from it kept popping up in my head. 

I shut my eyes tightly and shook my head. Let’s calm down. They still haven’t invaded yet.

There’s still two months lef-

Damn, we only have two months left?!