The Villainess is a Marionette

Translator: thursdays PR: scarcecrow

“You look tired.”

Julia caught sight of a bewitching smile and grabbed the hems of her skirt. As a matter of fact, she had no immunity to handsome men.

“N-no. I’m just a little…”

Rezef looked at the jewel of the Evans family.

Perhaps she hadn’t learned court etiquette, as she had been taking a lot of freedom in her words and actions since a while ago.

Compared to her, the annoying woman with wheat-colored hair and green eyes whom he saw yesterday and today, had excellent manners despite being from a poor family. And it wasn’t just her court etiquette that was outstanding. From Rezef’s perspective, she also possessed a unique way of living.

Rezef heard that the woman had pushed away the knights in front of his chambers.

‘The more I learn about her, the less I like her.’

Olivia Grace oddly reminded him of Raphael. Rezef didn’t like the fact that such a woman was close to his sister.

Anyway, he disliked both Raphael and Olivia and thought they both were unlucky. In comparison, Julia Evans, who was just a pretty face, was easy prey for Rezef.

Rezef knew well how to hold and make use of such foolish women. He had half-heartedly quit doing so, but there was a time when he acted like that with Cayena.

“Did you cry?”

Rezef’s large hand tilted up Julia’s small face. The remnants of her tears were clear.

Julia’s face turned red as she lowered her head.

‘Ah, my eyes must be swollen from crying!’

She felt too upset. This was all because of her brother.

“I didn’t…”

Julia responded in a faint voice, wringing her hands. She thought that Rezef was being strangely kind to her.

No, this was natural. Julia had always received tender interest and affection. But after she arrived at the capital, Susan and Zenon kept upsetting her.

Rezef’s low laughter reached her ears.

“Cheer up.”

Her heart fluttered at the encouragement. Before she could say anything, Rezef passed by her.

Julia looked back at him with regretful eyes.

***

Rezef returned to his bedroom, undid his cape, and threw it aside.

“Where is Zenon?”

The servant who picked up the cape that fell to the floor jumped up and answered, “He checked that Your Highness wasn’t in the bed and left without a word.”

Rezef’s brows furrowed.

He hadn’t seen Zenon since yesterday. Was he slacking? It was especially strange that Zenon did not show up to stop Rezef during yesterday’s big incident.

‘I thought he was inclined toward my sister.’

It seemed that was not the case, since Zenon did not involve himself with such a serious case like the abduction.

‘Meanwhile, Gillian, that bastard who doesn’t know his place, coveted Cayena.’

When Rezef recalled the kidnapping, he felt the frost-like anger again.

Henverton Gillian was sure to know the other culprit behind the abduction. Rezef wanted to interrogate him quickly, but because Henverton was of nobility, it wasn’t easy to lay his hands on him. He tried to summon Viscount Gillian to the palace after discussing things with Raphael, but the summonings had failed.

Since Raphael had provisionally become the duke, his priority was taking care of things within the family.

Rezef was displeased that he had to receive Raphael’s help, but he had to be patient. The main culprit was arrested on the scene, but the other culprit hadn’t been caught yet.

“I shouldn’t have ordered all of them dead yesterday.”

Irritated, he unbuttoned his jacket. It was when he took off the holster in his waistband that he noticed.

“……”

The gun wasn’t there.

He looked down at the floor.

‘Did it fall off?’

But the weapon was nowhere in sight.

“Did anything other than the cape fall down?”

The servant replied that nothing but the cape had fallen.

It was strange. Where did he drop it? And where and how did a gun inside a holster fall?

“Tsk.”

Rezef clicked his tongue and went out again. It wouldn’t be good if he was seen using the gun carelessly. Rezef, in his position, still had to be wary of the Emperor. Furthermore, it was a personal gun that he did not report.

“Just where did it go…”

Frowning, he turned his gaze toward the passage to the princess’s palace.

That was where he stayed most of the day. Was it there?

Rezef’s feet headed back to the chamber where his sister was sleeping.

***

Cayena opened her eyes after a long time. Only Vera remained in the room.

Cayena called out to her.

“Vera.”

Vera stopped sewing. Cayena had been so quiet without turning about that Vera suspected she might be feigning sleep.

“What is it, Your Highness?”

“Ask for the number of patrols near the imperial prison to be increased and to be vigilant until the kidnapper has been dealt with. Starting today. Right now.”

Vera thought that Cayena must have been scared by the abduction.

“As you command.”

Vera tried to call for a junior lady-in-waiting to replace her. Cayena’s health was not in good condition, so it was better for someone to look after her. However, she refused.

“My body is fine. I think it would be more uncomfortable to have someone around because of my memories from the kidnapping.”

“Then I’ll just ask the lady to stop by every so often.”

“All right.”

Vera pulled down the bed curtains and left the bedroom. The door clicked shut.

“……”

Cayena stood up from her seat and pulled out the gun she had hidden under the blanket. When Rezef hugged her, she had secretly moved it into her dress’s pocket.

She calmly looked down at the weapon. It was a beautiful gun, resembling a work of art. Also, it was already loaded.

Cayena got out of bed without hesitation.

She wore an indoor coat with a hat. Holding the gun, she stood in front of the tapestry. She rolled it up and pushed the sliding door underneath. The door was well oiled and opened smoothly without a sound. Then, the dark secret passage appeared.

It was the same path that Rezef used before.

Holding a candlelit lamp, Cayena went down the solitary way.

Finally, on the ground floor, she hid the lamp. She then searched for the palace jail from her memories.

Her pace grew impatient.

‘He’ll definitely run away today.’

Henverton Gillian’s family was not ordinary. It was clear that he would escape by the end of the day, despite all the wrongs he’d done.

Cayena could not miss this opportunity.

She finally arrived at the prison. As expected, the gate guard was not there, as if they had been replaced by people that the Gillians had already bought off.

Thanks to this, she easily went inside.

She heard an unsettling sound.

Cayena hid herself. She saw people carefully coming out, one by one. It was clear that they were going to open Henverton’s cell. Finally, she saw Henverton Gillian.

Click.

After confirming that it was loaded, Cayena pointed the muzzle of the gun at the back of Henverton’s head.

“Henverton Gillian.”

Henverton looked back at the voice calling him. Cayena slowly stepped under the torchlight, revealing herself.

With her arms stretched and ready to pull the trigger at any moment, her form seemed as noble as a judge.

“Ha, haha!”

Henverton burst into laughter when he saw her. He seemed to be doing fine, even without his energy and the drugs. However, the madness lingered.

“Your Highness came to find me first.”

Henverton looked at Cayena’s gun with a sneer.

“Did you come all this way for the honor of shooting me?”

He strutted toward Cayena as if he was convinced she couldn’t pull the trigger.

Cayena coldly bellowed, “I expected you to run away like a rat without paying for your sins. You really don’t miss my expectations.”

Henverton shook his head and took a step closer. Involuntarily, she stepped back, then fixed the gun on him again.

“You don’t necessarily have to be punished for sinning, Your Highness.”

“Maybe so.” Cayena said. “But not for you.”

She slowly pulled on the trigger.

If she continued, the bullet would pierce his head, and Henverton would die instantly.

She would get rid of the tiresome ghosts of her past.

~~~