I Want a Happy Ending Even as a Villainess

Chapter 4

An older brother overshadowed by his younger sibling, a fickle emperor swayed by ability, constant vigilance from the empress, and the overall feeling that Leschel had taken everything from him—it was no wonder Calix felt so inferior.

“You…”

“You’ll let me go, right?”

I spoke, trying to lift the trembling corners of my mouth into a smile. I squinted my eyes, attempting to appear cheerful.

I knew how bizarre I must look. I wished I appeared utterly mad, enough that Calix wouldn’t want to touch me.

That was my hope.

Calix clamped his mouth shut and withdrew his Estella, which resembled a black snake. His eyes still held murderous intent, but it didn’t seem like he would harm me immediately.

I slowly backed away, then bolted out of the greenhouse as fast as I could.

‘No wonder there was no one around!’

If you ranked people in the empire by their temper, Calix would be right after Lilith.

No way there’d be servants or guards where he was. They’d only be a nuisance during his rest, and anyone who ignored his orders would likely end up dead.

Half of Calix’s twisted personality stemmed from his troubled childhood. His sickly mother, who died giving birth to him, declined due to his lack of a powerful ability, and his lack of protection or status—he received no royal treatment. No one was willing to risk befriending him.

Meanwhile, the empress sent assassins every night to cut him down before he could grow into a threat. It was a wonder he hadn’t grown up even more damaged.

‘Of course, the other half is Lilith’s fault.’

The original story only covered a fraction of her torment. I couldn’t imagine how much worse it had been.

“Phew…”

Only when the greenhouse was no longer visible did I finally catch my breath. After confirming several times that Calix wasn’t following, I collapsed where I stood.

My legs were too weak to carry me any further. On top of that, my ankle, which had been ensnared by Calix’s Estella, was swollen and red.

‘This is driving me insane…’

My dress has been a mess for a while now. What was once neatly arranged hair was now half-disheveled, my body was covered in grass, and the jewels decorating my dress were gone.

There was nothing to gain from further souring my relationship with him. Calix might be the one to slit my throat someday.

‘No, but it was a good intention at first.’

Things had gone awry, but it wasn’t my fault. It was all the colossal mess Lilith had made before me!

I leaned against the hallway wall and closed my eyes.

“I want to go home.”

I was so drained that I didn’t want to do anything.

I sat there for several minutes, exhausted, when I heard footsteps. Several, judging by the sound. The knights must be looking for me.

‘I should tell them I want to go home instead of meeting Leschel.’

I didn’t think they’d let me leave easily, but I had to try. I was in no state to face a prince.

Just as I was brushing dirt off my dress and getting ready to stand, a shadow fell over me. Thinking it was a servant coming to fetch me, I looked up.

But it wasn’t a servant.

A man, much taller than me, was looking down at me.

His golden hair shone in the midday sun like the sun itself.

His golden eyes were fixed on me, and his firmly set lips were calm but exuded a kindness that seemed almost affectionate.

Unlike the knights in silver armor, he wore a pure white uniform adorned with gold tassels, marking him as ‘that person.’

“Lily.”

A soft, gentle voice whispered my name.

‘It really is Leschel.’

Dazzled by his radiant appearance, I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

I hesitated to greet him. I wasn’t sure how to address him naturally.

With Calix, I knew they clashed over the female protagonist, so I could be rough. But with Leschel? They’d never interacted openly in the original story.

Here we are in the palace, with so many eyes watching. Should I address him with formality or call him by his name with familiarity?

A normal person would go with the former. But would Lilith have done that?

“Leshel!”

I threw my arms around him and called out his name. I made sure to raise my voice, pretending to be excited.

My heart pounded for a brief moment. What if he realized I’m not the real Lilith? Would he kill me if he found out? Countless thoughts raced through my mind.

To my relief, Leshel didn’t push me away. Instead, he frowned, seemingly displeased. I quickly realized it was because of my disheveled appearance.

“I fell in the glasshouse earlier.”

I shrugged as if it were nothing.

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No.”

Leschel tucked my messy hair behind my ear and examined my face. I exaggerated a smile to show I was fine.

My ankle hurt like someone was going to break it. But I couldn’t tell him what had really happened, fearing what it might mean for Calix.

Leschel seemed satisfied with my response and didn’t press further. Instead, he picked me up in his arms. The sudden height change made me instinctively wrap my arms around his neck.

‘Is this really okay?’

I glanced around, noticing the eyes of the guards, but they didn’t seem particularly concerned, as if they were used to this.

After carrying me for a while, Leschel dropped me off in a large garden. A white marble gazebo rose above the green lawn, surrounded by a flowering hedge

I followed his lead as we walked slowly to the pavilion.

He personally pulled out a chair for me and poured tea, attending to every small detail. It felt almost wrong to receive such treatment from royalty; his kindness was overwhelming.

Once Leschel was seated, the attendants and guards swiftly retreated to a place out of sight.

“So, how was the glasshouse?”

He smiled as he asked.

I couldn’t help but marvel at his smile. It was the softest, most gentle smile I had ever seen, in both this life and my past one.

“The flowers were beautiful.”

“If you liked them, I could have made a few more.”

“No… that’s not necessary.”

His eyes were overflowing with such warmth and kindness that it was almost too much to bear.

‘Wasn’t the reason Leschel hadn’t become the crown prince yet because of Lilith?’

Lilith was a rare individual, believed to be a messenger of the gods, appearing once in several centuries. Most people considered her a divine gift and were very lenient with her actions.

But there were limits to how much could be overlooked. People’s patience was wearing thin over time.

In that context, it was well known that Leschel was excessively protective of Lilith.

Covering up for her misdeeds made him an accomplice in their eyes. This association had left an indelible stain on his reputation.

The emperor was aware of this and had been delaying the appointment of an heir. Leschel had too many flaws, and Calix was deemed too weak to control the nobles.

Despite this, Leschel remained the strongest contender for the position of crown prince, and it was his estella that made it possible.

His power was only briefly mentioned when Calix recalled his childhood in the original story, but it was clear just how overwhelming it was.

‘So I shouldn’t forget why I ended up here in the first place.’

I needed to snap out of it and focus. My goal was to cut this bad connection in order to survive. I went over the excuses I had thought up in the carriage.

‘Do I hate the Empire?’

That sounded like I was planning to run away from the Empire. It didn’t seem like something to say in front of the crown prince.

‘I’m tired of looking at you because you’re ugly?’

I glanced at his face. Even though he was just a human like me, there seemed to be a halo around him.

His golden hair and eyes created an illusion that I was seeing something divine.

Normally, his lips were tightly pressed in a neutral expression, but when he smiled, they seemed sweet enough to melt.

In short, every excuse I had come up with seemed completely absurd.

“What are you thinking about?”

“This is really delicious. You should try it too.”

I quickly changed the subject and popped a madeleine into Leschel’s mouth.

“You were right, it was worth it to change chefs.”

“Mm, mm.”

I popped another madeleine into my mouth in a moment of silence for the chef who had unknowingly been fired from his job.

‘Should I just say I can’t stand looking at you anymore?’

With no solution in sight, my conclusions were beginning to take an extreme turn.

After pondering for a while, a significant realization suddenly hit me.

‘Wouldn’t it be better for Leschel too if I cut ties with him?’

Leschel was not only strong in estella but also had excellent insight, political acumen, and skill in managing people.

He had even won over the Emperor who had previously abandoned him, so he lacked nothing now—except for being Lilith’s backer.

No one in this world wants to end up in the execution chamber after losing a power struggle. So if a major obstacle in his life were to disappear on its own?

‘Isn’t this a win-win situation?’

It was a perfectly rational conclusion.