Part 1: I Picked Up the Male Lead.

Episode 1:

I possessed the villainess in a novel who secretly stole the male lead’s heart and sold it off to a neighboring country.

If I get caught as the criminal, I’ll surely die.

That, after all, is how the original villainess met her end.

And so, I was trying to get the heart back without being caught.

This plan would’ve worked out perfectly, had I not picked up the male lead on the street.

Dang it.

What in the world is wrong with me?

***

To be truthful, I don’t know how I came to possess the villainess in this novel.

After being murdered by my subordinate for being strict, I woke up to find that I’d become a different person.

After about three months after possessing this body, I gave up trying to find the cause of it.

There are several reasons as to why I decided to just adapt to this body and become a true villainess in those three months.

First of all, my body in Korea was already dead, and this villainess was very busy.

So busy, in fact, that it barely left any room for me to think about anything else.

A year has passed since I was reborn into this body. But right now, however, I have a separate problem.

I found the male lead collapsed on the street.

The male lead I should be avoiding at all costs, the very male lead who will kill me in the future.

What a ridiculous coincidence. This is already the third time.

“…Argh.”

The man, who was covered in wounds, fell to the floor and groaned.

I was so glad that it was a dark alley, so no one was passing by. I took a handkerchief from my bag and tied it around my face, covering it. Then, I put on a pair of gloves and looked at the man, who’d fallen on the street.

It was the same as last time; he would be wounded every time I found him. And every time, as he wandered around, I would treat him.

These collapses were probably because of his lost ‘heart’.

So, I couldn’t just leave him there.

After the first time, I didn’t know when or where this would happen again, so I’d gotten used to bringing these things with me at all times.

This is because the male lead’s blood is toxic. It would be dangerous to touch it with bare hands.

But then again, he’s the main character, so he won’t die if I just let him be, right?

That thought passed through my mind for a moment, but I shook my head. If I just leave him be like this, I’d probably die of guilt.

It was difficult.

In the past, Countess Edina, the villainess whose body I possessed, had tried to assassinate the male lead before.

And, two years before I was reborn into her body, she stole the heart of the male lead, a foreigner from an imperial family.

It’s already been a year since I’ve taken control, so a total of three years have passed since.

She’d hoped that he would just die before anyone found that she was the one who’s taken the male lead’s heart.

But…if the male lead had died, then she’d be suspected of murdering a member of the imperial family, so just why did she do it?

Was she really that confident in the belief that she wouldn’t get caught?

I don’t exactly know, but, given the record of things she’s done so far, if the male lead dies, then I’ll be the number one suspect.

I won’t let that happen!

“Hey, are you okay?”

I poked the male lead with my glove.

He’s probably unconscious because of his wounds…

You’re most likely not going to wake up anytime soon, are you?

I’d never seen the male lead while he was awake.

That’s because, every time I find him, he’s always wounded and on the brink of death. After stopping as much of the bleeding as I could, I would take him to a safe spot, hiding him from view.

I had to run away before he regained consciousness.

“His face is really my cup of tea…”

I bent down in front of him, admiring his face. If you told me that he was an angel, with his platinum blonde hair, I’d believe it.

And, although he looked lean and skinny, he was actually very strong and skilled in swordsmanship.

“Hey, I’m going to do this, so I hope you’re fine with it…” I grumbled as I took out the disinfectant and gauze from my bag.

I then tore open the collar of his shirt in order to look at the wound.

And suddenly, a large hand grabbed my arm.

“Ahh!”

I was so surprised that I jumped and fell backwards. The injured man frowned and slowly stood up.

He looked relatively fine…

He gave a small groan, then faced me, surprised.

After a period of silence, he spoke in a calm voice.

“As I thought, I wasn’t mistaken…”

He frowned.

“Countess Edina, what in the world are you up to?”

Oh my goodness, have I been caught?

I was so flustered that I immediately turned my back to run away.

I could’ve successfully escaped, if only the man hadn’t grabbed my arm.

“Where are you going?”

“Let! Go of…me!”

In a rush I hit him in the face with the bag I was holding in the other hand.

The problem, however, is that there was a stone in that bag. And, of course, there’s a lot more to this stone than you think.

“Oh, shoot.”

TL/N: We’re pure kids here, so we omitted the curse words 🙂

I watched as the man was hit by the stone in the bag and fell down, hitting the ground hard.

He must’ve been knocked unconscious for real this time.

***

My aide, Edward, came to find me. He was probably tired of waiting for me.

I met his eye as I struggled to pull up the unconscious man.

Edward looked a little taken aback at first, but then settled on a no-nonsense face.

“Countess…are you going to kill him?”

“Can you just help me with this mess? There are bound to be people coming after me, let’s hurry up.”

If the Imperial family finds out about this, I’ll be falsely accused of being the one who caused these wounds.

It’s better to just take him to the estate, treat him, and then claim to have saved him.

Edward grumbled and then came over, helping me move the man.

Charles, the driver, looked surprised, but calmly helped Edward and I bring the male lead into the carriage.

“Let’s get going, then.”

I got into the carriage, wiping sweat off my temples.

But, just as Edward got into the carriage and closed the door, someone knocked on it. I hurriedly heaved up my dress, hiding the man from view.

Edward looked at me in surprise, but I ignored him and opened the carriage window.

A middle-aged gentleman dressed in a stylish black suit stood outside, stroking his mustache.

He looked familiar.

When I opened the window, he also seemed startled to see my face.

I mean, anyone would be surprised to see the so-called ‘Evil Villainess of the Century’ suddenly appearing.

I lowered my voice as much as possible and opened my mouth.

“Long time no see?”

Only then did he slightly relax and give a hard smile.

“Oh, pardon me. I haven’t seen you since the Cabinet meeting…”

The middle-aged man reached out to me through the window.

This man, Winston, isn’t very close to me, and the only time we ever meet is during Cabinet meetings.

And, in addition to that, he is the male lead’s uncle, the definition of a true villain who’s abused him since childhood.

Even though he’s treated as an abandoned member of the imperial family, the male lead, Lyrian, is still the Prince of this empire.

However, Winston still abused him, regardless.

He may be a devil, but there’s someone even more cunning than the devil.

And that’s me.

I looked at the outstretched hand of Winston Zarcak, and tilted my head.

“You do have the audacity, blocking my carriage like that. Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

Winston looked at his single, lone hand with a blank, perplexed face.

I quickly added another remark as I saw his eyes wander, scanning the back of my carriage.

“Viscount Winston? Didn’t you have something to say? Speak.”

After noticing how I’d spoken those last few words, he raised an eyebrow. Good. I’ve succeeded in pissing him off and getting on his nerves.

He frowned, giving me an unpleasant look.

I would’ve pointed out that rudeness, had it not have been for my position and my reputation as an already notorious person.

He clenched his teeth once, then quickly said with a smile, “I’m looking for someone, who happens to be in the area you just passed. It’s a handsome young man with blond hair… are you sure you haven’t seen anyone like that, Countess?”

“I haven’t seen anyone like the blond man you are looking for, Viscount Winston. Has His Highness Prince Arnold perhaps run away from his work?”

At these words, Winston forced a smile once again. This time though, it was an angry smile.

I would’ve assumed that he also abused Prince Arnold, but the emperor was dismissive of this situation, so Winston was forbidden from doing anything.

I could feel the anger radiating from him as I pointed that out.

TL/N: Okay, so the uncle of these two princes, this ugly Winston guy, loves power. He already abuses Lyrien, but the emperor dismissed him when he asked for the power to discipline Arnold as well, so he’s mad about that.

“Oh, my goodness, what are you so worked up about? It’s not like someone was stabbed or anything…”

I smiled smugly and waved at him.

“Are you finished with your business? I am a very busy person, so please don’t waste my time.”

I closed the window of the carriage in the Viscount’s face.

TL/N: What a queen ❤️

And, as if they’d been waiting for this very moment, the wheels of the carriage immediately began to turn.

I placed a hand on my chest, taking a deep breath.

“Dealing with that Winston is really brutal, I had half a mind to run away out of fright…”

I glanced at Lyrien under the hem of my dress. Luckily, he hadn’t woken up yet.

“For someone who wanted to run away, you did get a good laugh at him.”

Edward shook his head and went to check Lyrien’s pulse.

support me >

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Chapter 2

“Is Viscount Winston really looking for Prince Arnold?”

“It seems like he’s being chased. Ugh, my heart is still pounding.”

As I grabbed the hem of my dress, Edward stared at me in disbelief.

“You know that you are scarier than him, right?”

At Edward’s words, I rubbed my cheek and glanced at him, but I couldn’t refute.

Countess Edith, whom I possessed, had black hair that shimmered like the stars in the night sky. She also had a mysterious eye colour, which was a mixture between black and blue.

If Countess Edith wore no expression, she might’ve been able to kill a person with her gaze. She was a beautiful woman but had such a scary atmosphere around her. If someone looked at her face, anyone would become enchanted and lose their reason. That’s why her nickname was ‘the devil’.

It was fun living with such a face. In fact, that was the best part of living as the villainess in the novel.

“Wow, you’re the worst.”

“Didn’t you hire me because you like my honesty?”

It wasn’t exactly hiring, it was scouting. It wasn’t long ago that I met Edward.

It was when I went on a business trip to the Ellot Empire and had a difficult time, but Edward, who was also there, settled all legal disputes. He was so wonderful that I scouted him.

I was surprised to learn later that Edward was a renowned genius at the Imperial Academy of our empire. As expected, I had a great eye.

I had always needed an advisor who could point out actions beyond common sense, and Edward was perfect for the role.

“If you weren’t good at your job, you know I could’ve fired you anytime, right?”

I made a slicing gesture on my neck.

When Edward saw it, he covered his face with one hand and sighed.

“Countess, please act more elegantly. I didn’t know that you would be so different from the rumours. Other people told me that you were a dignified villainess.”

What a strange word, elegant villainess?

After I possessed the countess’s body, I recruited my own servants, so I could be sure that they were all my own people. It was great that the countess had no relatives, because that meant I could act however I wanted.

Up until now, I still didn’t know what kind of person Countess Edith was.

“It’s so much fun being known as a villainess. No matter what crazy things I do, no one says anything to me!”

Countess Edith was also known as a crazy bitch in some areas.

“Well, I can’t exactly say your personality was like the rumoured villainess, but…”

As Edward said that, he suddenly lifted his chin and shrugged his shoulders.

“When I see you acting like this, I think I get why you were rumoured to be such a person.”

I laughed at Edward’s words.

‘See, I fit the role of villainess so well!’

***

What sin did I commit in my previous life that I possessed the villainess in a novel?

I was only guilty of working hard. However, not only did I die from overwork, but damn it, I had to live someone else’s life!

Countess Edith became the richest woman in the empire at the age of 22 through heinous deeds. It’s great that I could enjoy her fortune, since becoming someone like her had always been my dream in my past life.

I had all of Countess Edith’s memories. It was as if her memories were mine in the first place, and I could even recall pieces of her memories if I wanted to. Thanks to that, it wasn’t difficult to adjust.

Besides, I had the ability to do her task as the countess. But, I encountered another problem. The royal family in this novel had a secret that was passed among themselves for generations.

Their hearts were made up of mana. Their hearts had healing capabilities, so members of the royal family wouldn’t die easily even if they were seriously injured. They also had superior physical strength and were safe from infectious diseases.

Their hearts were equivalent to 100 mana stones. We could make a simple weapon like a ball of fire with one mana stone, so 100 mana stones could blow up a big city.

It wasn’t only useful for making weapons, it could also make magical items and healing items for ordinary people.

But this excessive power came with a price. Younger children had a hard time because of their hearts, so the royal family took them out and kept them somewhere until they became adults.

In the original story, I remembered that Linus’s heart was hidden in his mother’s tomb. Linus, however, failed to claim back his heart as an adult and ended up being treated as a failure.

Linus acted lowkey and waited for a moment to get revenge on Viscount Winston. But, three years ago, his heart was stolen by Countess Edith, the villainess of the novel.

It must’ve been a ridiculous situation to Linus. That happened when Countess Edith was 22 years old and Linus was 18 years old. I didn’t know how Countess Edith came up with that idea.

When I looked at her memories, it seemed that she got the information about his heart from someone, but she herself didn’t know of his identity. The stolen heart was sold to the Verody Empire, and in return, she received a large sum of money. But in the original story, she was caught and executed.

Damn it. I was a woman who was fated to be executed. I had no intention of letting myself meet that ending, so I decided to work hard to avoid it.

I was repeating my words like a spell, but I was startled by a doctor’s voice.

“Huh, there are no injuries?”

I couldn’t believe his words and repeated them. Then, perhaps because of my terrifying appearance or because of my reputation, he was terrified and stuttered,

“E- Except for the scars on his forehead.”

It was a wound he got because of me. I covered my mouth and coughed in embarrassment.

He looked at me and hurriedly left the room with medical supplies.

I looked at the beautiful man lying on my bed with mixed feelings. Linus, the male lead, was being chased by Viscount Winston.

It looked like he had already been hit in the head before I hit him with my bag. I remembered him waking up and complaining about the pain.

“As expected… I wasn’t mistaken. What are you up to, Countess Edith?”

He said that as soon as he saw me. Did he remember that I was the one who treated him before? At that time, I didn’t think he could even distinguish people.

I would’ve felt guilty if I just left him but because of helping him, I was in a lot of trouble now.

I hope he didn’t realize that I was the one who stole his heart.

“I should’ve left him there.”

Maybe he won’t die because of the novel’s plot.

“Why didn’t I just… gosh.”

“Oh my!”

I heard a rustling sound and was surprised. Linus woke up and was lifting himself up in my bed.

He must’ve been trying to figure out what was happening, but soon, he looked at me with wary eyes. It seemed that he understood the situation.

If I were to compare him to a flower, he would be a lily. It was as if an angel had descended. There was always a brilliant and noble atmosphere around him. I felt like I was hypnotized by his beauty.

“I don’t know why you’re doing me such a funny favor when you’ve tried to assassinate me before.”

“Since I’ve done you a favor, shouldn’t the things that happened before be forgotten?”

What Linus was talking about was the assassination attempt made by the “real” Countess Edith. My statement made him rub his temples. He looked at me in disbelief.

“Did you eat the wrong medicine?”

Well, I thought that I was ridiculous too. But the thing is, why should’ve I been punished for the original Countess Edith’s deeds!

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Chapter 3

“There was someone who treated me when I was wounded last time, too.”

Linus looked at me with his tired face, his body and face visibly looking malnourished.

In the midst of his words, my body froze, as if I was hypnotized by the heavenly image in front of me.

The man in front of me had looks that were out of this world, but at the same time were alluring like the devil, despite the state he was in right now.

“I think that was you, Countess Edith. What are you up to?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Then, I folded my arms, thinking that my words were not enough to avoid suspicion. I looked down at him with an arrogant face and raised my chin a little, like how Countess Edith would.

“Are you interrogating me right now? I’m your saviour,”

I responded impudently. Linus sighed and touched his temple.

“That’s funny. Why would the countess save me? You’re the person who wants me dead the most.”

I saved him because of such a thought.

After all, if everyone thought that way, I was afraid I would be the prime suspect if he died.

I held back my thoughts and smiled.

“Let’s say it was on a brief whim,”

I answered in a relaxed tone.

Then, I patted him on the shoulder as calmly as I could.

“So, I’d appreciate it if you leave my mansion after recovering, Your Highness.”

Wasn’t that pretty polite for Countess Edith?

I raised my head with a satisfied expression, as Linus’s face distorted.

“Sure. Thank you for saving me.”

Contrary to his words, his expression was grim and he didn’t seem to believe me.

His fierce eyes even showed determination to understand what I was up to.

Of course, the good and righteous male lead wouldn’t believe the villainess. So even though I continued to defend myself, my attempts would be futile.

I quickly left the room. ‘I have to run away at times like this.’

***

Linus left my mansion in half a day as soon as I said that. It was obvious that he ran away, judging from the fact that Viscount Winston was chasing him.

“Countess, I have a letter from your fiancé.”

My loyal aide, Edward, came into the office and told me that.

When it came to being my fiancé, it was clear that he was referring to Sir Ash, the playboy who was always traveling around.

“Again?”

“I think it’s about the breakup. You said Sir Ash hinted at a breakup with you a few times.”

I quickly got tired of listening to Edward.

I already had a lot on my hands, and having a fiancé like Sir Ash didn’t help.

“I’ll read it later. What happened to what I ordered?”

Edward sighed at my question and put the letter he was holding in my drawer.

“As you said, I have placed someone to spy on Prince Arnold. And we have a problem.”

Then he came back to my desk and reported what I had ordered.

“I’ve been informed that someone has commissioned the Ordo guild to assassinate Prince Arnold.”

‘Oh, come on. Why do people keep going after the male lead?’

I thought that once I stopped bothering the male lead, no one would bother him, but that was proved otherwise.

Viscount Winston was a pervert who enjoyed abusing the male lead, but he wouldn’t kill him. He was not a high-ranking noble, so he had to use Linus to establish his political position.

I seriously didn’t want to be framed for his death.

“A black-haired woman in a mask came and had that request. There was a red camellia on her chest.”

Black hair was a rare color in the Lemardinus Empire. Additionally, if the woman had a red camellia on her chest, which was the symbol of the Edith family, and black hair, I was 100% sure that people would think of me.

It was too obvious that this person intended to frame me.

“Where is Prince Arnold?”

“I don’t know, but the Ordo guild may have already found him.”

“Oh no, let’s go,”

I hurriedly rose from my seat and told Edward.

Edward stared at me for a moment in confusion.

“Where to? The Ordo guild?”

“Why do you ask when you know?”

I answered, then proceeded to take my jacket on the hanger next to my desk.

Edward hurriedly put a pile of documents he was holding on my desk and followed suit.

I needed to know who wanted to assassinate Linus, the male lead, and who was trying to frame me.

***

I hired some people from the mercenary guild to accompany me and come to the Ordo guild, which was in the outskirts of the capital.

Of course, this reckless method was not my style, it was more of the original Countess Edith’s style.

Edward was surprised when I suddenly used the original Countess Edith’s method.

“Are we really going in?”

Edward asked me with a weary face.

‘Hey, why does he keep blabbering when we’re already in front of the place like this?’

I calmed my nervous heart for a moment and nodded.

“There’s no use crying over spilled milk. Guys, let’s go.”

I raised my finger, then the people I hired and I entered the building. It looked like a normal inn, not an assassination guild.

The people I hired wreaked havoc in the place. As expected, the assassins who were guarding the building also came out because of us. I was standing in the lobby and sat in the chair that Edward had brought me while chaos ensued all around me.

If any nobles saw me, they would probably point fingers and say something along the line of ‘What kind of a noble are you?!’

‘Ah, it’s hard to live in a stifling world like this.’

If there was a noble who couldn’t care less about the rules and rank here, I would directly ask them to be my friend.

Soon, a wounded woman was dragged in front of me. I quickly put on the best villainess expression that I could muster.

“Ah, nice to meet you.”

I stared at the middle-aged woman who was forced to kneel in front of me.

Joella Noxi Ordo. She was the Ordo guild master, who was known for her assassination ability.

“You know who I am, don’t you?”

Joella’s face was swollen, perhaps because one of my mercenaries hit her, and her lips were also busted.

‘Didn’t I tell them not to use violence before?’

When I frowned and looked at the mercenaries, they shook their heads in fear.

That meant it wasn’t them who did it.

“Where is Prince Arnold?”

When Joella saw me, she shivered in fright.

After she calmed down, she answered with a determined tone,

“I don’t know that.”

Right, what was important to me now was the culprit who commissioned the assassination, rather than the whereabouts of Linus.

“I, I’m just being commissioned. Is it wrong to ask for an assassin guild to assassinate someone?”

“It’s not wrong. Except the target is a member of a royal family. It seems that you don’t know that it is customary to get permission from me for requests about the royal family.”

I was the head of all assassination guilds. The nickname Countess Edith, ‘queen of assassinations’, must have come from somewhere, right?

Joella shuddered at my answer.

“I-I really didn’t know.”

“Then do you know what this is?”

I took some paper out of my pocket and threw it in front of her.

Several sheets of paper fluttering in the air soon fell in front of the woman.

“It’s a signature from all of the assassination guild members. Everyone said that the Ordo assassin guild had nothing to do with them.”

Joella picked up the papers with trembling hands.

“Do you want your guild to perish?”

She finally opened her mouth as she was fervently shaking her head at my words.

“F-forgive me.”

She managed to bend her head in front of me.

Of course, she had begged the wrong person. She seriously almost made me screwed.

I bent my upper body and held myself close to her ear.

“Is the person who commissioned you the Viscount of Winston?”

“It’s confidential. I can’t tell you.”

Of course, I knew that. However, unlike before, she seemed to be more confident, and that was upsetting.

“If it’s your business policy, then don’t say it. If you don’t need mercy from me, that is.”

With that said, I slowly got up from my seat.

“You seemed to be misunderstanding something here.”

After that, Joella figured out the situation and her face went pale as a sheet.

“Attempted murder of the royal family, isn’t it a crime worthy of the death sentence?”

I smiled eerily and turned my back.

“T-there’s no evidence of it!”

Of course there wasn’t. But Joella had already said she had been commissioned.

I turned my back again and looked down at Joella.

“Do you really not know who I am? Why are you saying such stupid things? I’ll just have to make up the evidence. The signature you’re holding is one of the proofs.”

Joella then clung to my leg with a desperate face.

“P-please spare me!”

Edward, who was still watching the situation, took Joella away from me by force.

“Then tell me, who requested for the murder of Prince Arnold?”

Joella pleaded but she didn’t answer her question.

As I slowly rose from my seat, Joella looked at me with shaky eyes.

“You really won’t tell me?”

“T-that’s…”

Joella looked around. It was obvious that she was looking for a way out. I gave her too much time to think.

Without hesitation, I picked up the members’ signatures and walked outside.

“Please wait!”

Joella yelled at me urgently.

I looked back at her for a moment, then proceeded to head towards the door.

“I-I will tell you! Yes, it’s Viscount Winston who made that request!”

Was it really Viscount Winston?

What made him request to do so?

I stopped walking. The smile on my face was not erased, but after trying to control my expression, I turned toward Joella with a fairly calm face.

Then, she began to beg me,

“It really is Viscount Winston! That man!”

I nodded at Edward. Then he took out the paper and pen from the briefcase he was carrying and put them in front of the woman.

Joella looked up with a tearful face.

“Sign it, and everything that he and you talked about, write in the paper.”

“Huh?”

“What? I can’t hear you,”

I pretended I didn’t hear Joella’s hesitation and asked again.

Soon after, she wrote the contents of Viscount Winston’s request on a piece of paper.

I left the building after Joella signed the paper and Edward handed it to me.

“Look at my hands sweating from nervousness,”

I made a fuss to Edward.

“Did you see Joella’s eyes? She looked so charismatic. I was scared to death,”

I held Edward’s shoulder and took a deep breath.

Edward smirked and praised me for my work.

“I wonder what this is all about,”

Linus, who appeared out of nowhere, was leaning against the entrance of the building and stared at us.

He looked at us as if he had watched everything from the start to finish.

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