The Guidebook for Villainesses

Lara was sure that Prince Sidhar’s soul would give off a bad stench.

He was a man who could tell Lara ‘I love you’ ten times a day.

You’re beautiful, you’re perfect, you’re different.

My lover, God’s gift, my everything.

Every word he whispered reeked of poison. He trapped and slowly poisoned his opponent with his fond gaze and gentlemanlike tone, turning them into helpless prey.

‘Just wait and see.’

Lara could not back down from here.

It was not easy for her to come back to the past, it was impossible to take one’s own life with just ordinary courage.

She still had a lot of things to be done. More than anything, now she had people who cared for her. When she first came back and said that she loved her mother, she thought her mother would be pleased. But Isadora looked like the sky was going to collapse. She might not have looked different from usual to others, but Lara could tell.

The tears in Isadora’s eyes.

How lonely had she been?

As her only daughter fell into a vain delusion, misunderstood and turned away from her, she must have been secretly frustrated and sad alone.

It was the same when she hugged Konny tightly. The heart of the maid who was smaller than Lara was beating frantically fast at that time. Even though she said it gave her the chills, Konny certainly looked touched. Recently, she sneakily came up to Lara and walked arm in arm with her.

She could not believe there were such good people around here, yet she did not even realize it. And why didn’t she know about it? Sebastian was someone who was at her mother’s beck and call.

There were more.

There might be a victim somewhere she did not remember, like Valentine.

Lara’s hands got faster and faster.

Now that she had gotten the hang of tearing the clothes, she had gotten better and better. When the elegant dresses were torn and thrown away like rags, they soon became rubbish.

The dust coming out of the fibers piled up around like snow.

Lara thought of Demian.

“…Demian.”

She swore she would do anything for him. But let alone giving him a hand, she had only received help from him.

It was not enough, no matter how hard she tried.

He was always indifferent even when he was offered a large amount of money and a place to rest. It was the same when he was offered an excellent sword.

Lara said that she would make him the hero, but even that was shifted onto Lara.

Demian did not want anything from her.

He was already a perfect warrior. Even without Lara’s help, he would reign as king of the lawless area over time.

Demian, what should I do for you then?

Lara’s worries deepened.

After roughly ripping the dresses and curtains apart, Lara rose from her seat and held the lamp. There was not a lot of oil, still, it should be enough to create a spark.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Lara took a look at the clothes and curtains in her room, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

“Whew…”

If the existence who sent her to the past was the God, Lara hoped he was watching all this from somewhere. Lara wanted him to know how broken the world was and how many people were suffering from it. She hoped he realized that a father was trying to kill his daughter, that the apostles of God were imbued with the longing for power and physical pleasure, and that the demon worshippers were trying to reign over the land where God had left.

“If not…”

If the existence who sent her to the past was a demon, she did not want him to just wickedly watch from behind, but to show up before her eyes.

Then, she would tell him this.

Give me strength. I will give you whatever you want.

She wanted to beg him to lend her strong powers so that she could live her second life stronger than anyone else.

After a long deep breath, Lara opened her eyes. Then, she threw the lamp on top of the pile of clothes.

“I just want it all to be over and the clothes to catch on fire easily.”

Maybe her last prayer was effective.

Hot flames erupted as the oil poured out. Even though it was a very small amount of oil, the flame burned violently as soon as it reached the dry clothes. The dresses burned much better than the curtain. Acrid smoke formed where the flames touched and quickly filled the room.

“Let’s see who will win.”

Lara whispered. Her red eyes were filled with flames.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The bigger the fire, the hotter it got.

Lara ran to the bathroom and crouched down in it, covering her nose and mouth with a damp cloth. Smoke leaked through the crack on the door. She would not be able to last long. But it was also the same for those out there.

The bandage around her wrist was stained with blood.

As she had spilled a lot of blood at once, her head felt dizzy even though she was sitting down. At first, she was angry and did not even realize that it hurt. But after a while, it hurt so much that she trembled and sweated.

However, it did not hurt anymore. Maybe it was because she was too agitated. Even when she touched the bandage, let alone pain, she did not feel anything.

Was I born with good health? Or had my sense dulled?

Lara was sure that she was sensitive and weak before she had died, so it was odd when she could not feel the pain. She wondered if her body had become stronger because she had died once and come back to life.

“No way.”

Lara realized something was off.

There was no way she could be fine because she had slashed herself so badly. She clearly felt the edge of the glass touched her bone. Not only the injured wrist, the hand that held the piece of glass had also been cut and was bleeding.

“…”

But there was no wound on her hand.

There was still clotted blood here and there, but the wound was gone.

As if she was possessed, Lara began to unwrap the bandage around her wrist. The attendant wrapped the bandage around her wound so many times that it took her a long time to unwind it. Feeling frustrated, Lara sniped off the bandage with the scissors that she used to tear the dresses.

“What is this?”

The hideous wounds have healed.

There was still a trace left, but it was literally just a trace.

Even as Lara watched, it kept on healing, and soon, recovered entirely.

“What… Cough, cough!”

Lara was so surprised that she opened her mouth and inhaled a lot of smoke. She covered her mouth and nose with a damp cloth once again.

‘Was it because I have died once?’

Lara was confused.

How is this possible?

She clearly cut her wrist and surprised the Marquess of Bailey and his attendant.

“No way.”

Lara murmured.

Of all the things she had been through after going back to the past, this was the most confusing.

‘Will I live like an imperishable corpse and die again on that day 10 years later?’

She wanted to ask, but there was no one to tell her. She didn't even know who the great existence was.

“I need to hide this.”

Lara moved instinctively.

Replacing the bandage that she had cut, she tore dry clothes in the bathroom and tied them up where the wound was supposed to be. She wrapped a few more bandages on top of it because there should be bloodstains there.

The smoke from the room almost filled the bathroom. Lara knew there was not much time left now.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

“We need to break the door!”

The soldiers moved busily.

They had to break open Lara’s door, which had been tightly locked outside. This was because the fire had reached the entrance and they could not hold the lock by hand anymore.

“Laviore!”

Despite being the one who kidnapped, imprisoned and beat her, the Marquess shouted her name out loud.

Lara did not think her father was worried about her. Making her mother kneel down was only possible if Lara was alive.

“It will collapse!”

The chandelier fell, causing problems with the ceiling and floor.

The soldiers tried to save Lara, but she was in the bathroom, where it could only be reached by crossing a room full of flames.

“Laviore! I know you’re inside. Come out now!”

‘Why don’t you come inside and save me then?’

Lara wanted to say so.

She wondered what expression the Marquess would make. There was no way he would come in and save her. He might just avoid looking at her like last time.

It became harder and harder to breathe.

Lara thought it was time to go outside.

Her choice to escape was not the hallway outside the door, where Marquess of Bailey and the soldiers were struggling to extinguish the fire, but the window that had been half burned down. When she opened the bathroom door halfway, the heat came up to her. She felt as if her face was burning.

Lara was covered with a cloth soaked in cold water.

She was scared, anxious, and shaking all over.

But she had not forgotten the fact that even this painful moment was the second life she had hoped so much for.

Therefore, she could go through it.

Moisture dripped from the wet clothes.

Lara ran without hesitation, flames sprang out at her.

Lara did not avoid it and closed her eyes tightly. She was out of breath, but she could not breathe.

It felt like her stomach would catch fire if she opened her mouth.

The floors and ceilings were on the verge of collapsing.

Nevertheless, Lara ran without stopping. A lit piece of wood fell overhead and the bedpost fell over her, but she managed to reach the window.

“I will get out of here.”

Lara threw herself out of the big window.