The Villainesses in the Romance Fantasy Novel Became Obsessed with me

In the cold, snowy evening, we were riding a horse to escape from the North.

The wind stung our cheeks as we sped through the cold air.

But we couldn’t slow down.

Not ever.

“D-Damian… I hear hoofbeats behind us…”

“They’re already that close, huh.”

Even with the fire and distraction at the mansion, trained knights were fast.

Although I had been trained to match my reputation as a genius, my horseback riding skills were lacking compared to knights who did it for a living.

It was only natural that they would catch up to us.

“… At this rate, they’ll catch us soon.”

“No, no…! I’ll let them catch me instead…! Father won’t kill me…!”

“No, that would be pointless.”

“W-why…!?”

‘The reason I came to the North was because of you.’

‘If I abandon you and escape, everything I’ve done so far would be meaningless.’

I kept that thought to myself and gave a shortened explanation.

“Because I can’t abandon you.”

“Is it because we’re friends…?”

“Something like that. I can’t abandon a friend. We’re escaping together, understand?”

“… Okay.”

Yuri responded, tightening her grip around my waist, determined not to let go.

However, the sound of hoofbeats behind us was growing louder.

It felt like those hoofbeats were urging me to make a decision quickly.

“Yuri.”

“Y-yes… Damian…”

“…Hold on tight and don’t let go.”

“Ahhh…!!”

We veered off the snow-covered road and entered a steep mountain path.

The forest was dark and filled with dangers.

But the same dangers applied to the knights chasing us.

‘Hiding is our best option, even if it’s risky.’

And I planned to continue our escape the next morning,

I plunged into the dark, dangerous, snow-covered forest.

***

The North was also known as an impregnable fortress.

The first reason was the terrain.

The North had many mountain ranges and steep slopes, making it difficult to approach.

The second reason was the climate.

The North experienced winter year-round, with constant snowfall and cold temperatures.

In winter, the snowfall intensified.

Blizzards raged furiously.

“Looks like we can’t leave the cave today.”

“Yeah…”

Thud!

I sat down with my back against the cave wall.

It was to give my injured body some rest.

Yuri ran over and sat beside me.

“Still, it’s fortunate… We found a cave… We managed to evade them…”

“Yes, we did evade them.”

But only for a moment.

If we left this conveniently hidden cave, the knights would chase us again.

‘I intended to hide for just one night to throw them off…’

I didn’t expect such heavy snowfall by morning.

A snowstorm.

The outside of the cave had become a white world due to the heavy snow.

It was truly worthy of the title snowy country.

Seeing the falling snow, Yuri pouted.

“More snow… I really hate snow. It always gets in my way…”

“I used to like snow, but I’m starting to hate it too. It’s suddenly become our obstacle.”

“Still, if we overcome this trial, there will surely be a reward, right? After hardship comes… What was it… sunlight?”

“Happiness.”

“Right…! Happiness will come… So let’s hang in there together, Damian…”

Yuri placed her hand over mine on the ground and rested her head on my shoulder.

‘Even with the campfire, it must be cold.’

It seemed she was trying to keep warm.

Yuri’s positive words gave me strength as well.

People are stronger together than alone.

“I hope the snow stops soon.”

“Yeah… But for now… I’m happy because I have a friend… So I like it here… This cave feels nice…”

Yuri leaned her head on my shoulder.

Perhaps because she had escaped the hellish mansion, she seemed content even in this humble cave.

‘But no matter how happy we are, we can’t stay in a cave forever.’

A cave is a cave.

A home is a home.

When the snow stopped, the path through the rugged mountains would be visible again.

It would be enough if I could just take Yuri to my family.

“Yuri.”

“Yes, Damian…”

“I’ll make sure to take you to my family.”

‘Then you won’t become a villainess as depicted in the novel.’

‘You won’t become the villainess who kills people and colors the entire empire in blood.’

‘You won’t become the villainess who breaks frozen bodies into pieces despite them being dead from hunger.’

I liked this world’s family and my family.

For the first time in my lives, I received warmth from them.

So I couldn’t let things go as the novel dictated, almost leading to the empire’s downfall.

I wanted to repay their kindness.

“Trust me, Yuri.”

“T-thank you…”

“We’re friends, after all.”

Living in the cave, we were the only warmth for each other.

After a few days of surviving on jerky, the blizzard finally subsided, and sunlight came through.

It happened when the horse’s stress had reached its limit.

“Let’s go.”

“W-wait a moment…!”

Thud!

Yuri grabbed my arm.

She lowered her head and stammered as she spoke.

“Damian… Treating a failure like me so preciously… I-I will… dedicate my life to helping you…! Thank you…!”

I lightly responded to Yuri’s burdensome words.

“You don’t need to go as far as dedicating your life. We’re friends. Best friends.”

“Because we’re best friends…! I’ll never forget this…! Thank you…!”

Yuri seemed to have many reasons to be thankful.

I felt a pang of conscience, and didn’t want to receive so many words of thanks.

I was helping Yuri ultimately for my own sake.

Selfish as it may be, it was an undeniable truth.

“Let’s go now.”

“Yes…!!”

Hearing Yuri’s enthusiastic reply, we mounted the horse and left the cave.

However, contrary to the bright sunlight before us, the future looked darker than expected.

‘Food, pursuit, the thick snow-covered road. The slippery mountain…’

The situation remained dire.

***

Did you know?

When you ride a horse on a rugged mountain, your body shakes and hurts.

The snow acted as a cushion, so it hurt less, but

I just realized how painful it actually was.

“Hiss… Huff…”

“Are you okay…? Damian…? Should I take the reins…?”

“You don’t know how.”

“Yeah… I can’t do anything…”

“… Just keep your head down; arrows are flying.”

Swoosh!

An arrow flew past as I spoke.

But Yuri was undeterred and didn’t lower her head.

“I-I’ll take the arrow for you, Damian…! We’re friends…!”

Yuri said and held her head high, protecting my back.

She was a reliable shield, but using a person as a shield made me feel terribly uncomfortable.

“It’s also good to just stay still—”

“No…! I want to do something…! Damian is suffering alone…!”

No use trying to dissuade her; she was stubborn.

Better not waste energy.

I kept my eyes forward and tugged hard on the reins.

“Yah-! Go faster-!”

Neigh-

The horse sped up, galloping as fast as possible through the rough forest path.

Perhaps to relieve its stress after a few days in the cave, it seemed to run faster than before.

‘Not bad.’

If we kept running like this, we could escape the northern mountains.

Once we got past the snow-covered mountains, there would be flat roads where carriages traveled.

If we reached that point, the knights would likely be too exhausted to continue chasing us.

‘While we were resting in the cave, those guys must have been searching the forest the whole time.’

The horse’s speed was significantly slower than before.

If we kept this pace, we would surely evade them and reach my family—

Then, it happened.

Clop! Clop!

Suddenly, the sound of hoofbeats grew louder, and I sensed something ominous from the side.

Turning my head, I saw a man resembling Ivasten drawing a bowstring.

Yuri gasped in shock and shouted.

“It’s my brother…! Damian…! Dodge…!!”

“It’s too late.”

A deep voice echoed much like Ivasten’s.

And with that.

Whoosh-!

An arrow flew through the air and struck the horse’s thigh.

Naturally, the horse felt pain, lost its balance and fell to the ground.

I also fell to the ground without any resistance.

“Damn…”

“Damian…! Are you okay…!? Did you get hit…?”

“I’m fine. The horse got hit. But…”

The horse which was crucial to our escape turned immobile.

“We finally caught you, Yuri and her guest.”

A man with black hair dismounted from his horse.

Yuri’s brother, Isen.

Drawing his sword from his waist, he approached us.

“Setting the mansion on fire and running away. You’ve been a nuisance to Father since you were born, Yuri. Your birth was a mistake for the family.”

“T-that’s not true…”

“What’s not true? You, who can’t even wield the family’s power and only cause trouble for us. Why isn’t that a mistake? Because of you, Mother had to get pregnant at an old age to make up for the mistake. How is that not a mistake?”

“…”

“See? You can’t even answer because it’s the truth.”

What a nasty mouth.

This insane bastard’s son.

Despite the pain in my shoulder, I stood up.

“She can’t speak because every time she answers, you beat her.”

Trauma.

Acquired helplessness.

Yuri knew that fear and refrained from answering.

Knowing what would follow, she didn’t even try to respond.

This had led her to the point where she saw herself as a failure.

‘The chances of winning against this madman’s son…’

Even though I’d received training,

I couldn’t beat someone raised to be a killing machine.

Yuri was more likely to be taken alive.

“This is an attempt to survive… but it seems I might die sooner than expected…”

“You’re going to make an enemy of the Sinclair family.”

Shling!

Isen slowly approached me, holding his sword.

Yuri stretched out her arms to block Isen.

“S-stop…! Don’t do it…! Damian is my friend…!”

“You don’t need friends.”

“N-no…! He’s my friend…!”

Yuri grabbed the kitchen knife from me and pointed it at Isen.

Seeing this, Isen smirked and swung his sword at Yuri.

“Don’t resist and step aside.”

“N-no…! He’s my friend…! Don’t…!”

“Do you think you can defeat me?”

“I-I’ll protect him… Even if it costs me my life…!!”

The sound of metal clashing echoed.

At first, Yuri parried Isen’s attacks without getting pushed back.

Though her talents hadn’t blossomed, her genetics couldn’t be ignored.

Yuri fought surprisingly well with the kitchen knife against a real sword.

But that was it.

“Aaagh…!!”

“You should’ve stepped aside when I told you. Now you’ve only caused unnecessary trouble. Tend to your wounds.”

Yuri, stabbed by Isen’s sword, held her wound and crawled on the ground.

The once white snow was stained red with Yuri’s blood.

I silently watched as Isen approached me.

“Are you going to resist pointlessly?”

At the same time, I heard Yuri’s desperate screams.

“Stop…!! Don’t…!! He’s my friend…! Don’t touch him…!!”

“Shut up, Yuri. I’m just punishing the arsonist who set our mansion on fire.”

“Damian…! Run…!! Survive…! Run quickly…!!”

No.

I couldn’t run.

I couldn’t win against Isen in his current state, and the injuries from Ivasten made it even worse.

Besides, I didn’t want to die disgracefully with a sword in my back while running.

‘If I die, Nadia will go wild. Then my family’s chances of survival drop significantly.’

If the coercion disappeard, Nadia would turn into a villainess again.

This was bad.

I didn’t want to die helplessly like this.

With regret, I spoke to Isen, who pointed his sword at me.

“I wanted to see you redeemed… But it’s a pity.”

“That’s a strange thing to say as your last words.”

“Damian…! Don’t…!! Don’t kill him…!!”

Isen sneered at Yuri’s plea.

“Your friend is dying because you’re weak, Yuri.”

With those words.

Blood splattered in my vision.

Blood scattered in the air, staining the white snow.

And I fell, lying in that blood.

“Damian- I-I’m sorry… It’s because of me… Because I’m weak, Damian- I’m sorry-”

…

I could hear Yuri’s voice, but I couldn’t respond.

My vision blurred and my eyes closed, turning dark.

In the end, did I fail to prove myself?

My flickering thoughts were filled with regret.

And so.

“Y-you’ll die- Family or not- I’ll kill you all-”

With Yuri’s tearful, furious voice as the last thing I heard.

The plans I had set from the moment I was born ended in failure.

It was no longer possible to change them.

***

Snow did not fall in the North.

The melted snow turned into liquid, flowing away.

In the end, the snow hated by Yuri didn’t fall in the North.

“Damian…”

Step by step.

Carrying Damian on her back, Yuri descended the mountain.

Her face was stained with blood, and her hands were also covered in blood.

None of it was hers.

“Are you still alive, Damian…? I’ll save you… We’re friends… Because we’re friends…”

‘So don’t die.’

‘I’ll get stronger so you won’t die.’

‘We’re friends.’

“If you’re not here… I don’t need friends or anything… I want to be with you, Damian… So please wake up…”

Muttering, Yuri descended the snowy mountain.

The snow had stopped, and the temperature was gradually rising.

But conversely, Damian’s body was growing cold.

Despite stopping the bleeding, he had lost too much blood.

Face wet with blood, Yuri walked through the snow.

“Damian… Please… Don’t leave me alone… Please stay alive… I haven’t even had the chance to properly thank you or repay your kindness yet… I-I’ll get stronger… so…”

Please, stay alive until we get there.

“If you die, I’ll die too… Best friends can’t exist if one is gone…”

Friendship is a relationship that requires two people.

Yuri felt the faint heartbeat of Damian as she finally left the North she despised so much.

Covered in blood and tears.

Her appearance was so dire that even passersby in carriages stopped to speak to her.