I’m a Villainess, Can I Die? - Chapter 71

Lucas asked me to step back for a moment and then patted his head. The cut hairs hanging from the ends fell down.

Having shaken off all his hair, Lucas got up from the chair, then tied his hair up with a hair tie that hung from his wrist.

It was a familiar yellow-green hair tie.

“Okay, that’s enough.”

Lucas, who had all his hair tied up, turned around and looked at me.

‘What happened?’ I tilted my head, puzzled, and Lucas fumbled and pulled out something. It was a dagger.

No, why a dagger… Did that mean he was ready to kill me? Maybe he noticed earlier that I was going to do something with him with the scissors?

As expected, the main character was different.

I cringed thinking about Selena’s end in the book and took a step back. It was the perfect defense.

Lucas looked at me and the dagger in his hand alternately, and gave an embarrassed look.

“I am the deputy commander of the Duke’s knights and I am Selena’s escort, so I hide my dagger even in the duke’s residence. To always be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances.”

I straightened my body, which had stiffened at his words.

Actually, I had only played a prank once.

Still, it had been 5 months… But really. It was honestly just a joke.

Really.

“Here you go.”

Lucas stretched out his arm and held out the dagger in the sheath to me.

I nodded, took it, and looked at him.

‘So, now what?’

“You have to cut my hair.”

‘With this?’

What if I accidentally cut his throat… As I continued to freeze, Lucas took a step. There was plenty of large cloth, so no matter how far I stepped back, we both stood on top of it.

Lucas picked up the pair of scissors in my right hand and set it down on the floor. Then he looked down at me and bent his back.

He was one head taller than me, but when he bent down, his eyes met mine at eye level.

“Cut it.”

“Like this?”

I’ve never heard of people cutting hair in such a position. But Lucas calmly closed my eyes as if asking for something obvious.

I raised my hand again and gently moved the dagger from my left to my right. And I took off the scabbard.

The ghastly blade sword revealed itself.

Even though the blade was right in front of me, Lucas, who looked fearless, only smiled. After contemplating for a moment how to cut his hair in this state, I put my hands behind his neck.

He bent his back so that our eyes were at eye level, but I had to tiptoe a little.

Ugh, why was he doing all sorts of weird things?

But it certainly didn’t look like I was going to hurt my hand if I cut it like this. But if Lucas’s head were to get cut off, it would be an accident and there was nothing we could do about it.

I held the tied hair in my left hand, and with my right hand held the dagger just above the band.

Then I moved my hand by applying force from the side of his neck outward.

The hair was cut in an instant, revealing a cross section, and a few strands of hair that had escaped from my grip fluttered and danced in the air.

“Well done.”

Lucas’s voice came right next to my ear. It was a villainous voice. A voice full of joy.

“Selena.”

Accompanied with the tickling voice, I lifted the arm around Lucas’s neck. He should have told me once I was a little farther away. Why was he talking so closely?

I looked around while fiddling with the handful of hair I had in my hand, and I set it down on the floor without any regrets.

No matter how shiny it looked, hair was hair.

I picked up the scabbard, put the dagger in, and picked up the scissors lying on the floor, and a subtle gaze was directed at me.

“Why?”

Lucas looked at me with his eyes wide open and then smiled as he let out his breath as if he was just sighing. As he turned his back and sat on the vanity chair, he looked more energetic than usual.

‘What.’ What was wrong with him?

***

Today, if people were to pick one of the hottest news stories from the Duke’s family, they would choose Lucas’s hair style change without leaving out anything.

The Duke and Duchess, who were busily moving to check the gifts to bring to the imperial party and the banquet to be started in the Duke’s estate, stopped their busy steps and looked towards Lucas.

Maids, servants, knights, even gardeners.

Wherever Lucas went, people were mesmerized, or at least looked at him with curious eyes.

It was the same with Lucas’s old friend, Aaron.

Aaron, who was busy helping his father, was only able to take a small break in the late afternoon.

Lucas with short hair appeared in front of Aaron, who was trying to relieve stress by drinking a cup of sweet tea during the break.

Aaron was startled and sat Lucas in front of him while drinking his tea.

“Did you cut your hair? I think it’s the first time I’ve seen you with short hair since you were a kid?”

Lucas had no tea in front of him because he was suddenly pulled aside by Aaron.

Lucas, who tapped the empty table, ordered the servant to bring tea to him and leaned his back against the backrest.

“Because someone prefers short hair.”

There was a face that came to Aaron’s mind at Lucas’s answer.

His only sister, Selena.

Aaron tried to erase Selena’s face, which was floating in the air, and pretended not to realize anything.

“As far as I can remember, you didn’t go out today… Did you even call a hairdresser?”

“No, Selena cut it for me.”

Aaron slammed down his teacup at the name that came like a fastball in spite of the fact that he had turned the topic around.

“What? Selena? Why.”

The tea, which was overflowing, wet Aaron’s rough hands.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too hot.

Even though his hands were wet from the tea, Aaron’s gaze was still on Lucas.

Reluctantly, Lucas took his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Aaron.

Unlike Lucas, who relaxedly handed over the handkerchief, Aaron’s hand holding the handkerchief was full of urgency.

It was a signal to tell Lucas to quickly talk.

Lucas’s lips drew a line when he saw his friend, who was considered a genius, in such a panic.

“I had a wish. Remember?”

“During the five-in-a-row back then?”

“Yes. That five-in-a-row thing.”

“Why didn’t you ask me to cut it?”

“Selena agreed to grant my wish, so why would you cut my hair?”

As Aaron’s voice gradually increased with excitement, he heard a well-timed knock.

He was the servant who was asked for tea earlier. Lucas smiled lightly and took the teacup.

The servant looked at Lucas, who always seemed relaxed and even had manners towards his subordinates, with admiring eyes, then stiffened after turning his head to greet Aaron.

If Lucas was relaxed, Aaron was gentle. But now, that gentle face had a lot of contortions. The wrinkles on his forehead were not like the usual Aaron.

And from the beginning, when people who didn’t usually frown frowned, it became more frightening. The servant swallowed a gulp, wondering if he did something wrong.

Aaron, noticing the servant’s tension, rubbed his temples and smiled.

“Good work. Get out.”

Aaron maintained a forced smile until the nervous servant trotted out of the room. As soon as the door closed, his face was again wrinkled without end.

Still, thanks to the servant’s appearance, Aaron felt more calm than before.

Looking at Aaron, Lucas let a small smile come through and picked up the teacup.

“I’m afraid that if I ask you, you will pretend it was a mistake and cut my throat.”

Aaron nodded his head reverently at Lucas’s playful remarks.

“You caught me. But what, even if I’m aiming at you from behind, won’t you take care of it? You know I’m terrible in swordsmanship.”

“Haha, right. You have a good head, but terrible at swordsmanship.”

Lucas rolled his eyes and smiled.

“But if it were you, it would have been possible. I think if you’re after me… I’m willing to give you my head.”

It was Lucas who was answering Aaron’s jokes. The way he spoke was light, as if he was truly joking around.

However, Aaron could not open his mouth.

His friend’s eyes, tone, and expression. Everything was telling Aaron that his words were serious and not joking.

‘I see. You’re really going to give your head up.’

Aaron, who had a bitter thought, picked up the ginger cookie in front of him and split it in two with his hand. The cookie was neatly split with a crunchy, dry sound.

“…What are you saying. Don’t make funny jokes and eat the cookie.”

Aaron held out half of the cookie, and Lucas took it and put it in his mouth.

Aaron looked at Lucas for a moment and then looked out of his window.

The dazzlingly cold sky looked just like Selena.

He was sorry for his brotherly friend, Lucas, but Aaron didn’t want to give up his sister to him.

His younger sister would be a waste towards any other man… Lucas, in particular.

Aaron had been watching Lucas for a long time.

From the moment he entered the mansion with eyes that were not like a child’s, he was a student who held a sword so much that not only callouses but also blood flowed from his hands.

Calculated and laid-back, even since then he was the Duchy’s sword.

What Aaron felt in that long time was the fact that Lucas was angry with something about himself.

Be it the aristocracts, the world, whatever.

That negative emotion seemed to be a driving point for Lucas. In Lucas’s life, ‘anger at something’ seemed like his life goal.

Of course, that wasn’t to say it was bad.

Because no matter how he felt, Lucas wasn’t a criminal, and he wasn’t a fuss-maker either.

Unlike Aaron, who was born as the Young Duke, his friend who came up here from the bottom was also respectable.

However, as his sister’s partner, it was totally a no.

In Aaron’s mind, Selena’s face, which was as white as a blank sheet of paper, came to mind.

A pair of eyes that were closed as if they were not going to open again came to mind.

Even just thinking about it, he felt like he was suffocating.

To him, Selena was such a child. An anxious child. An unstable child who worried people about just by thinking about her. He couldn’t help but think that she had been quiet since her accident that day, but he was still worried about her.

Yes, as much as she was such a child, he wanted Selena to live the rest of her life comfortably and leisurely. So to never think of anything weird again… peacefully.

‘So, not Lucas.’

An unstable sister of his and an angry friend of his.

A sister of his who needed to be relaxed and a friend of his who was constantly craving something.

The straightforward sister of his and the deceiving friend of his.

These two were the most precious people to him, but they were people that should never be connected together.

Aaron turned and looked at Lucas. Lucas followed Aaron, looking out the window. He thought that the side profile was really good.

Perhaps if he told Lucas this kind of story, Lucas would cleanly say he would hide his heart.

Because Lucas was giving all of his allegiance to the Duke’s family as if he had received a great favor.

Aaron wasn’t tough enough to do that. He thought that Lucas and Selena shouldn’t be connected, but he didn’t dare to interfere with human emotions.

If Selena were to say she liked Lucas, he would congratulate them in the end and hope the both of them would be happy.

But it was also best that the two did not connect with each other.

Aaron pretended to be drinking tea and covered his face with the teacup, hoping that these bitter thoughts would not be found out.