The Guidebook for Villainesses

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“You’re not a Prince anymore.”

The demon worshippers lived in a village unit group in a deep canyon in western Hautean. Prince Sidhar put his trust in them. And for the first time since he was born, he had to eat with his hands, pick up firewood, and even wash the dishes.

He could not believe he had to hear such words from them. At first, he was angry at them and told them not to spout nonsense. He yelled at them, saying he was from a royal family that was different from the demon worshippers and it was thanks to him that they were able to get a hideout in the west.

However, the demon worshippers did not listen to the Prince. He could not get through to them. They only told him to go back to his house, then lifted him up and threw him away. The same went for the black sorcerers. They pretended to cooperate with the Prince’s plan in Hautean, but after returning to their hideout, they just ignored him.

Sidhar was about to go crazy. He thought about going out of there and going somewhere else, but there was no one who would accept him, who was already branded as a traitor. The nobles who supported the Prince had either already fled far away or paid for their wrongdoings under the King’s feet.

“Oi! Take this!”

One day, when autumn reached its peak, a woman approached Prince Sidhar, who now had a scrawny figure and a dark complexion. She held out a sack.

“What…”

“What a stupid and lazy guy. Hurry up and take this!”

“Careful of what you say!”

“Speak for yourself.”

The heavy sack was thrown away to Sidhar with a loud thud. Prince Sidhar stared at the woman as if he would kill her, but he could not rebel as he knew she was a fairly respected black sorcerer among the demon worshippers.

“Offer it to Lord Valac!”

The black sorcerer said so and disappeared. Prince Sidhar was obliged to walk up to the place they called the altar with the heavy sack.

“Damn it… Filthy demon’s servants.”

The road to the altar was very rough and the steep stairs were littered with rocks. Should one not hold the sloppy handrail properly, one might fall off the bottomless cliff.

Prince Sidhar climbed the stairs on four feet, carrying the sack thrown by the black sorcerer on his shoulder. His palms were grazed and his legs were shaking. His body gave off a bad stench, as he did not even remember when was the last time he washed. He did not even know when was the last time he felt full from eating. His body was devastated and only anger and a proud temper remained in his heart.

‘Would it be better if I fall from here and die?’

Prince Sidhar sat leaning against the handrail and breathed heavily. Could he die painlessly if he fell down the valley with no end in sight?

At one point in time, the throne was right in front of him. Hautean was a small country but it was a country with dignified history and culture. The nobles were rich and the people were innocent. It all belonged to him. It was just within his reach.

“Argh!”

The Prince screamed. He shouted at the valley about the things he had lost. Sidhar’s shout echoed in the dry valley.

On his way to the demon’s altar, the man who was once called the perfect Prince cried on his stomach. Whenever he crawled up the stairs one by one, he spitted out bloody saliva and muttered to himself with words mixed with anger and curses.

At first, it was a curse without any subject. But by the time he finished climbing the high stairs, he was concentrated on only one person. The woman who rejected everything about him.

“Lara…”

When Prince Sidhar reached the demon’s altar, the sun was already setting. He threw the sack down in front of the altar and lay on the ground. People’s screams and explosions could be heard from afar. The King’s soldiers, who had been searching around for a few days, seemed to have finally discovered the base of the demon worshippers.

‘Just die. This guy or that guy, just die.’

A twisted smile flashed on his face. It did not matter who won. He was already as good as dead. If those down there fought among themselves and died without leaving anything behind, he would feel relieved.

‘This bloody world. I wish a demon would come down and sweep everything away.’

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The valley in the western part of Hautean, which was used as a base for the demon worshippers, was technically close to the northwest, not the west. Not far from the valley was an old road from Hautean to the Empire, which was mainly used by peddlers to avoid bandits.

Lara spread the map in the carriage and put her head together with Demian.

“According to the wolves, besides being dangerous, this road is too rough for a carriage to go through. Even if it takes a few more days, it would be better for us to take a proper road.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s not push ourselves too hard today and spend the night in a nearby village. It’s nice using the trader’s road. There’s an inn every three days.”

“Okay.”

“It’s a good thing I learned how to look at a map. Now we’re around here, so…”

“Okay.”

Lara wondered what this man had thought of that made him answer her without any sincerity. She lifted her head up from the map to look at Demian who was sitting across from her. But Demian, whom she thought was looking at the map with her, was just looking at herself.

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Demian’s arched eyes resembled the shape of a half-moon. A smile crept into the corners of his long, curved eyes. It was a savage, yet drowsy smile.

Holding the map, Lara’s hand twitched. A subtle force entered the tip of her finger. Feeling the edges of the map crumple, Lara hurriedly released the strength from her finger.

“Your eyes look erotic.”

“What?”

“If Konny is here, I’m sure she would have said that.”

Demian had no idea what Lara was talking about. That was a matter of course. He could not see what kind of face he had.

“Don’t look at me like that. The wolves would get suspicious.”

Less than a day after leaving Hautean, the wolves concluded that Demian had a crush on their lady. They did not know how that happened, but they regarded Demian as a pitiful guy who was in an unattainable one-sided love.

“Let them be.”

“Hurry up and leave. I want to have a meeting with myself.”

“How can you have a meeting alone?”

“You’re going to do as I say anyway. I know you are not thinking of anything now.”

“Now you’re even reading my mind.”

Demain reached out and took the map that Lara was holding. Then he put it randomly on the chair and pulled her arm gently.

“Why…”

Their lips touched. It happened so suddenly that Lara could not even think of closing her mouth. Demian’s tongue came into her mouth while she was off guard.

The carriage was shaking. No matter how well paved the road was, it was different from the city. Lara hung on Demian’s arm in the shaking carriage and kissed him deeply. When she came to her senses, Lara’s fingers were already digging into Demian’s hair.

Low laughter came out of his lips which were interlocked with hers. Demian was laughing.

“Lara.”

“For goodness sake…”

“You have to be careful when you're with me.”

Lara was about to deny him and tell him to stop, but their lips interlocked again. He hugged Lara with one hand, raised his fingers, and firmly swept her waist. Her back trembled. Lara bit his lips with a sweet moan.

‘No.’

She would be in big trouble if this kept going. Lara managed to come to her senses. The heat of the night she shared with him had not yet left her body. She almost hung on to him without knowing where this was or who was outside.

“Let me go.”

“Why?”

“Get out.”

“Why?”

“I’m hungry.”

Only then did Demian let go of Lara. His eyes showed signs of disappointment.

“Yeah. You should not be hungry.”

“If you’re going to say it in a weird way, just don’t say it.”

“You’re too weak.”

What is he talking about?

Lara looked at him with her mouth opened.

Weak? Which part of me is weak?

When she asked with her eyes, Demian smiled and said.

“Your flesh is weak, your bones are thin, and it feels like you’re going to explode if I hold you wrong. You should at least gain weight.”

Oh my goodness. What is this man talking about?

Lara pointed at the carriage door silently. This time, Demian nodded his head gently, opened the door, and went outside. Knowing that he moved freely like a monkey even in a running carriage, the people outside did not respond much. Hanging on the carriage wall, Demian told the wolves.

“Let’s eat, seniors.”

The wolves smiled, they signaled to stop at the carriage that was ahead. Then, the horses lightly neighed and the running carriage stopped.

“Milady! We’re going to eat here!”

Even after hearing Konny’s lively voice, Lara still sat in the carriage for a while to cool her red face.