The Villainesses in the Romance Fantasy Novel Became Obsessed with me

A throbbing pain continuously assaulted my body.

Wrapped in bandages, as soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing I heard was shocking.

“I-I set the food storage on fire…!”

“What?”

Set the food storage on fire?

Why?

What were you thinking?

This is crazy.

I got a headache as soon as I woke up.

‘I don’t know how many days have passed… What happened while I was unconscious?’

When I asked how long it had been, Yuri answered.

“One day…! I set the fire at night… And thank goodness! You woke up quickly…!”

Well, at least I woke up quickly.

My voice was cracked from thirst as I asked.

“Why did you set the fire?”

A simple question.

We could starve to death, so why burn the food storage?

Her answer was straightforward.

“Because I had to take revenge… You got hurt because of me… So of course I had to take revenge… If not me, then who else…?”

Yuri’s red eyes darkened as she spoke.

It was clear that she was serious.

‘To get revenge for me being beaten by Ivasten… she set the food storage on fire…’

The kind-hearted Yuri set a fire…

Did she not think about the consequences?

Wel, villainesses do tend to have extreme personalities.

Yuri’s actions did make some sense.

Even so, I still had questions like ‘Really? Why?’

But since I couldn’t fully understand her thinking.

“I see, you did it to take revenge for me… for your friend…”

I pretended to understand.

Yuri felt encouraged by my words, nodded, and said.

“Y-yes! I took revenge…! Because Damian got hurt because of me… I took revenge…! I’m sorry…!”

“It’s okay. There’s someone else who should apologize to me. It’s not your fault. Can you help me up for a bit, Yuri?”

“O-okay! Trust me!”

With a heave, Yuri helped me sit up from the bed and carefully walk on the floor.

Given the pain in my legs and shoulders, I’d need Yuri’s help for a while.

“Where do you want to go…? Trust me…! I’m your friend, so I’ll help you…!”

“… Let’s walk down the hallway for a bit. I want to know what’s going on outside.”

“Alright…!”

Yuri helped me with all her heart.

With no crutches, she lent me her shoulder, and with my arms in pain, she acted as my hands.

It was a bit uncomfortable because she tried to help me too much.

But considering her sincerity, I decided not to mention the discomfort.

“People seem unsettled. They’re moving around a lot.”

“That’s because I set the fire…! I did well, right…?”

Not really.

Yuri looked proud as if she had accomplished something significant.

She might be kind, but she was perhaps dumber than I thought.

‘Still, kindness is better than being evil.’

With Yuri’s support, we reached the mansion’s lobby, where it looked like a war had broken out.

“Upon inspection, all the food has burned to ashes… It seems someone set the fire last night.”

“So what are we supposed to do?! Who’s going to go find food in this cold winter?! Were there no guards?!”

“There were two guards, but… They were momentarily absent…”

“Argh!! Why were they absent!!!”

Irenia yelled at the guards furiously.

The manager of the food storage trembled, eyes closed, and hands clasped in fear.

Among the chaos, Ivasten stood tall and unperturbed.

“Why were the guards absent!! Tell me!!”

“Well… It’s hard to say…”

“Just say it!!”

Irenia’s fierce shout pressured the manager.

Ivasten, who had been watching silently, finally spoke.

“Explain why the guards were absent.”

“Well, um…”

“If you don’t speak, I’ll kill you.”

Ivasten’s words made the manager jump in fright and speak hastily.

“Th-the two guards were… They fell for each other…!! They were having a affair, so they were absent…!!”

“… The North must have been too peaceful for too long. Useless emotions are beginning to sprout.”

Ivasten reached out to the manager.

His hand went to the manager’s neck.

Crack!

With the sound of something breaking, the manager collapsed to the floor.

“Bring those two guards. We can’t get food from other territories.”

“Then what will we do, Father?! We’ll starve to death!!”

“No.”

“The estate residents belong to us. We’ll take the food from them all at once. And, if we find the arsonist…”

Snap!

‘He noticed us watching.’

Ivasten looked at the stairs where I was standing and said.

“I won’t kill them easily. I’ll make them suffer as much as possible before they die. Start the investigation immediately.”

“Y-yes sir!”

At Ivasten’s command, the mansion’s soldiers moved quickly.

Once they started a proper investigation, it would only be a matter of time before Yuri was caught as the culprit.

“W-what do we do…? Because of me, the estate people…”

I held Yuri’s hand, which had gone pale, and said,

“Yuri.”

“Y-yes… Why?”

“Let’s run away.”

As time passed, our death grew nearer.

That was the only option left.

***

I told Yuri we needed to run away.

But it wasn’t easy to leave the mansion.

The guards, who had been lax due to the arson incident, had become alert, and Ivasten was eyeing us as suspects.

‘He has plenty of circumstantial evidence but no concrete proof yet, which is why he hasn’t made a move.’

But he would eventually find proof.

If no culprit was found for a long time, he would beat us like last time.

With no solid evidence, suspicion would naturally fall on us.

I sighed in frustration.

“Sigh… This isn’t why I came to the North.”

Things had gone horribly wrong.

I hadn’t imagined Ivasten would be such a madman, nor that Yuri’s condition would be worse than in the novel.

It was my mistake for not considering the limitations of the novel as a medium.

“If it doesn’t describe things specifically, what am I supposed to do? How can I make detailed plans like this?”

Even though unnecessary descriptions were often left out, if Yuri was in such a severe environment, they could have at least described it in more detail.

I sighed alone for the first time in a while, but the situation didn’t improve, and only my heart felt a bit lighter.

“Still, I should be glad that Yuri’s mental state is relatively okay.”

Although recently, it had been quite unstable.

Since Yuri set fire to the food storage, the mansion had plunged into hunger. The cold, frozen atmosphere had persisted for a while, and everyone was unable to fill their stomachs, so they were on edge.

‘The soldiers are delayed in bringing food from the estate residents…’

At that rate, something big might happen soon.

Lying in bed, treating my injuries, those negative thoughts filled my head.

Creak!

“You’re awake…! Damian…!”

“You’re here, Yuri.”

Yuri entered through the door.

I turned my head to look at her face.

‘Again.’

She had a wound on her face.

A bruise on her cheek as if someone had punched her.

Is Irenia relieving her stress by hitting Yuri?

Yuri tried to smile through the pain and handed me a piece of bread.

“I-I brought food…! It’s bread…! Let’s share it…!”

I wouldn’t eat it.

Seeing Yuri’s injured face, I couldn’t bring myself to eat the bread.

I pushed her hand away.

“… No, you eat it. I’m fine. I’m not hungry.”

“Y-you don’t want it…? I’m sorry… but you should eat…! It’ll help you heal faster…!”

“… I’ll eat it later if I get hungry. You eat it today.”

It was precious food.

I endured the emptiness in my stomach and pushed the bread back to Yuri.

She looked at the bread regretfully, then placed half of it on the table.

“Eat it if you get hungry later…! You haven’t had a proper meal because of me… I’m sorry…!”

Yuri apologized, bowing 90 degrees.

Lying in bed, I spoke to the back of her head.

“Yuri, I told you before. Stop apologizing.”

“B-but it is my fault…”

It was true that this situation was because of Yuri.

But Ivasten was to blame for why Yuri resorted to arson.

Yuri was still young and didn’t need to apologize.

All the responsibility lay with Ivasten.

“Friends don’t apologize to each other, Yuri. You don’t need to apologize to me.”

“Really…? O-okay… If it makes you uncomfortable, I won’t apologize… I’m sorry…”

“Apologizing again.”

“Oh, right…! I’m sorry…!”

‘Sorry’ had already become a habit for her.

She felt guilty because her mistake led to the suffering of the estate residents, lowering her self-esteem significantly.

While I didn’t mind the people in the mansion suffering, I did care about the innocent estate residents who were also affected.

‘But what’s done is done. I don’t have the power to change it now.’

Right now, there was nothing I could do.

But if we escape the North, I could help the estate residents.

That would alleviate Yuri’s guilt.

After organizing my thoughts, I got up from the bed by myself.

“Should I help you, Damian…?”

“No, I’m fine. I can walk by myself now.”

The pace was slow, but I could manage.

That was enough to escape.

I opened the drawer on the shelf and took out some ointment.

Then, I applied it to Yuri’s injured face.

Yuri closed her eyes and spoke shyly.

“Damian… It’s close and tickles…”

“Just bear with it for a bit. And, Yuri.”

“Yes? What is it…?”

“You said you brought a kitchen knife from the kitchen, right?”

“Yes… I hid it in my room…”

The ointment was all applied.

I fixed Yuri’s hair and said.

“I’ll come to get you this evening. Be prepared and wait.”

“… Are you doing it tonight? If we get caught, you’ll get hurt, Damian… Are you sure it’s okay…?”

“It’s okay.”

I’d get hurt whether I stayed still or not.

And if we didn’t escape, I was more likely to die.

‘First is my life and my family’s lives. Second is saving the villainess.’

According to the priorities set from the moment I was born.

Tonight, I would leave the mansion with Yuri.

The success rate was less than fiftly percent.

But I must do it.

***

“Are you ready?”

“Yes…! I’m ready…!”

She tightly held my hand, clearly nervous.

Her expression was not good, and she was trembling with fear.

Still, she held my hand and tried to rely on me somehow.

‘If my life is in danger, I might have to let go of this hand…’

But I couldn’t.

I didn’t think I could let go.

Yuri hung from a cliff and barely holding on to my hand.

Knowing that, I felt I couldn’t abandon her.

“…Give me the kitchen knife, Yuri.”

“O-okay. Here it is…!”

Thud!

I took the knife in my hand.

My shoulder hurt from the arrow wound and Ivasten’s beating.

Tonight, I might have to swing this knife at someone.

‘It’s best if that doesn’t happen, though.’

If it were easy, Yuri wouldn’t still be in this northern mansion.

I walked cautiously down the cold evening hallway.

Slowly, holding Yuri’s hand.

“… There’s someone ahead. Be careful.”

“I-I will be careful… B-but Damian… I have a question…”

A question at this moment?

But Yuri’s expression was quite serious, so I decided to listen.

“What is it?”

“Why are you doing all this for me, Damian…? You could die… Is it because we’re friends…?”

Her question was valid.

My actions would seem very strange to her.

Even as friends, risking your life is unusual.

‘It’s a bit odd that Yuri, who set the fire, is asking, but…’

It was better to answer her.

Hiding the truth, I gently packaged my words.

Hiding my purpose and sympathy, I looked at Yuri’s face and said.

“We’re not just any friends.”

“W-we’re not friends…?”

“No, don’t cry. That’s not what I meant.”

Always sticking together, talking, holding hands.

Friends who are always together like this…

“We’re best friends. That’s why I’m acting so boldly. Even risking my life. You committed arson for my revenge, didn’t you, Yuri?”

“Yes… For revenge…”

“Because you consider me your best friend, you acted that way. Do you understand now?”

Friends.

Best friends.

An intriguing relationship that can’t be developed further.

Yuri seemed touched by my words.

She couldn’t suppress a faint smile.

“Hehe… I see… Best friends… I like being best friends…!”

“Yes, that’s what best friends do. They go further for each other. Now, let’s focus on escaping.”

We didn’t have much time, and the sooner we escaped, the better.

Yuri nodded vigorously at my words.

Then I moved quickly, holding the knife.

“Stay still. If you make a noise or do something strange, I’ll stab you.”

I held the knife against the waist of a guard holding a lamp, and spoke with a hint of menace.

“Move carefully to the stable. And…”

Pour the lamp oil on the floor as we go.

The oil would ignite and create a commotion.

During the chaos, we would escape on horseback.

‘It’s risky in the cold winter, but…’

If I wanted to live, prevent Yuri from becoming a villainess, and stop her from massacring the people of the North.

This was the only way.

Thus, once again.

We set the mansion on fire.

***

Yuri held my waist as she sat behind me on the horse.

Looking back at the burning light, Yuri spoke in a subdued tone.

“Maybe because we’re best friends… We set another fire together… Haha…”

Still, she seemed happy to leave that hellish mansion.

Though it was too soon to relax.

“I hope the entire mansion burns down…”

It’s impossible for everything to burn with the snow fall, but.

Yuri prayed for that hellish place to burn.

‘It looks even more like hell when it’s burning.’

Indeed, the burning mansion resembled the image of hell.

Thus, enduring the pain in my shoulder, I left the mansion.

The escape from the North was still far from over.