Chapter 10
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 10
A letter? Why? I’d heard Evangeline was so sickly she didn’t even have any friends. Who would possibly be sending her one?
“I believe it’s from that Knight Commander we saw before.”
The Knight Commander? What! A letter from the male lead? I hurriedly tore the envelope open. The contents, written in a script as elegant as his face, were roughly as follows:
An issue had arisen regarding the Donau incident, and he needed to visit to hear the details in person. When I explained the letter to Canna, she frowned.
“We gave our full statements back then. Why come all this time later?”
It had been about a week since Donau’s kidnapping attempt.
Canna seemed displeased by Gabriel’s belated visit, but I could understand his reasoning. With both the villainess and the female lead residing in the Rohanson mansion, the male lead couldn’t just ignore the situation! This world seemed to operate on something like the “force of the original plot,” so he probably felt compelled to come, worried that the heroine might suffer some terrible fate at the hands of a villainess like me.
Besides, I had predicted this exact situation in the notes I’d worked so hard to organize. The male lead was likely operating under the assumption that I had instigated Donau to kidnap Canna. He’d probably spent the last week doing a background check, digging into Evangeline’s notorious reputation for “evidence.”
If that was the case, all I had to do was show him that Canna and I were on excellent terms. And I would make it crystal clear that I was rooting for their love.
“My Lady, Sir Gabriel has arrived.”
I had sent a reply saying he was welcome anytime, and the male lead showed up the very next day.
Talk about proactive.
Thankfully, I’d told the butler in advance to lead any guests directly to the drawing room. Worried I might keep the male lead waiting, I just gave my hair a quick brush and headed down. If a villainess dolls herself up just to be polite, she’s bound to get mocked with a sneer like, “Ha! Trying to look good for me?”
When I entered the drawing room, the male lead was already sipping his tea leisurely. It was my first time in this room, and I felt a bit awkward. If anything, he looked more comfortable than I did, as if it were his own home. Hey, you’re making yourself a little too comfortable here, buddy…
I gave a slight nod and sat across from him. Hena poured tea for me as well.
“It is a pleasure to see you again.”
“It’s been a while, Sir Gabriel.”
Wow. Seeing him again in the light, he was even more handsome. My heart wanted to gush, ‘It’s a pleasure to see you too! Your face is as handsome as ever, Mr. Male Lead,’ but I suppressed the urge with all my might. No small talk. I couldn’t look like I was hitting on him for no reason.
“So, has some kind of problem arisen?” I asked, taking a sip of my tea to make it obvious I had no personal interest in him. “As for the details of the incident, everything I told you back then was the truth. There shouldn’t be anything unusual to report.”
I know you’re just here to see Canna! I screamed inwardly.
Of course, Canna was waiting in her room. I had been about to bring her down with me, but Pudding had wanted to play, so I told her to come down when I called for her. Honestly, Male Lead, you should have timed your visit to coincide with Pudding’s walk!
“If you are worried about Canna’s condition, I shall call for her.”
The bait was laid perfectly. Seriously, where else could you find such a considerate villainess?
“Ah. The person who was kidnapped? She did not appear to be severely injured at the time.”
Hey! Are you really the male lead? What do you mean, not severely injured? Do you have any idea how depressed Hena and I get every time we see the scar on Canna’s neck?
I had originally planned to get some holy water to treat it, but Canna insisted on keeping the scar as a reminder. We’ve been respecting her wishes, heartbroken as we are.
“The reason for my visit is to hear Lady Rohanson’s opinion.”
Mine? Right, this is all my fault. It’s because I ruined the male and female leads’ fated first meeting. If he had been the one to find Canna all tied up back then, he wouldn’t be acting so indifferent now.
But I didn’t even know she was the female lead at the time! How could I just leave a kid tied up right in front of me? It’s not like I’m the scum of the earth!
“We have not yet been able to dispose of Donau Blue’s body.”
“Still?”
I’d heard from Canna that the Temple typically refused to accept the bodies of criminals. They were usually burned and buried without funeral rites. Under the reign of the Sun Goddess, cremation was considered a particularly wicked act, so it was a punishment reserved for the worst offenders.
I remembered it well because Canna had made a dark joke about how Donau would be easy to handle since he was already burnt.
But since Donau was a criminal with no relatives, shouldn't his body be easier to deal with?
“Yes. As of two days ago, an opinion has begun to circulate that Donau Blue should be enshrined in the cathedral.”
Hena’s hand trembled as she refilled my teacup. She bit her lip hard, trying to hide it, but she was clearly disgusted by the suggestion that a criminal be enshrined in a holy place. Canna would have been deeply hurt if she’d heard this. It was a good thing I’d left her in her room.
“Why would such an opinion surface?”
“Because his death was… bizarre.”
“Bizarre in what way?”
“Lady Rohanson, you must have seen it. The house was burning by itself, yet the fire did not spread.”
Wasn’t that just some special construction technique unique to this world? I was so impressed that the fire didn’t spread that I’d been thinking we should import that technology back home. Apparently, it was an abnormal phenomenon even here. My ignorance of the original novel is really showing.
“Not long after you left, the fire extinguished itself before it could be suppressed. And when we found Donau’s body…”
The male lead took a piece of paper from his coat and showed it to me. Since there were no cameras, it seemed he’d sketched it himself. Whoever the artist was, their skills were atrocious.
“I drew this myself to aid my explanation, so please understand if it is a bit unsightly.”
I was speechless. How could someone with such beautiful handwriting have such terrible drawing skills? A kindergartener’s doodle would be more pleasant to look at.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell the male lead that his drawing skills were on par with something I could produce with my toes, so I just brushed it off with a smile.
“This is the head, and this is the body.”
[[IMG_1]]
A stick figure would have been better. He had boldly omitted the limbs. With only a head and a torso, I couldn’t even tell it was a person; I thought it was a keyhole.
“And there was soot behind him, shaped like wings and a halo, like this.”
[[IMG_2]]
Those were wings? I thought they were ears, but looking again, they did vaguely resemble a pair of angel wings curled into a circle.
“Doesn’t he look just like an angel when you see it like this?”
No… Looking at your drawing, he just looks like a moth.
“Perhaps because of that… those who saw the body have started spreading rumors that Donau Blue received a divine blessing.”
A lie! That’s impossible. Why would Donau receive a blessing? He was the guy who kidnapped our Canna and then committed suicide to escape the consequences of his crimes.
And what? An angel? This is the first time in my life I’ve seen a kidnapper in a RoFan novel treated as an angel instead of the female lead. Why on earth are they calling this moth an angel? Is everything with wings an angel now?
Oh, wait. He said they started saying that after seeing the body, not this drawing. The sketch was so shocking I’d almost forgotten.
But the only people who saw the body were the knights, right? It should be easy for the Knight Commander to control them. I voiced my confusion.
“The only ones who saw it were the Pararos Knights, weren’t they?”
“It seems a crowd of onlookers gathered when the guard was loosened. At first, it was just word of mouth, but then a painter drew the scene and donated it to the Temple. Now, it’s being discussed even within the Temple itself.”
His subordinates were negligent in their duties. I guess the male lead isn’t as impeccable as I thought.
There certainly were a lot of people watching the fire back then.
But why would anyone want to see a burnt corpse, let alone draw it? Not only did they finish a painting in just a few days, but they even donated it. I don’t know who that painter is, but they’re certainly proactive.
And unfortunately, unlike the male lead, they must have been good at drawing. If the Temple had only seen Gabriel’s sketch, they would have been asking why he drew a moth, not talking about angels.
“Because of all this, it seems those in higher positions have taken an interest. Just as things were being wrapped up, an order came down to reinvestigate so that Donau Blue’s death would not be an injustice.”
The Pararos Knights were paladins, so “those in higher positions” had to be from the Temple. Who could give orders to a Knight Commander? Since there are no Saints or Saintesses, it must have been the High Priest. A high-ranking priest, for sure.
Even in a RoFan world, case manipulation is the same everywhere. They called it a reinvestigation, but it was a clear order to spin a narrative where Donau was the victim.
“The problem is that if Donau Blue received a divine blessing, then by contrast, Lady Rohanson will be accused of dishonorably framing him for his death.”
Exactly. We testified that Donau kidnapped Canna and that a fire broke out while he was fleeing. If Donau is treated as an angel, then I become the one who harmed him and lied about it.
Is this also the force of the original plot? Since it looks like I’m about to escape my villainess fate by befriending the female lead, is it trying to force me back into the role by using Donau?
“I ask you, My Lady. Is everything you told me the truth?”
“The truth…”
The male lead’s gaze was sharp, as if I were a suspect. No, he definitely thinks I’m suspicious. He’s testing me because he thinks I know something more. But Canna already gave our excuse, so I can’t change my story now.
“Let me ask you in return. Do you believe I have told a lie, Sir?”
From what I’d gathered from Hena and Canna, people in this world don’t know that spirits actually exist. They’re real, but public awareness is practically zero. Who would believe me if I suddenly claimed Donau summoned a spirit?
But is this my last chance? Should I just say it? Ah, dammit! If spirits were a common thing in this world, I would’ve just told him!
The male lead didn’t answer right away. He remained silent for a long moment before slowly opening his mouth.
“I do not believe Donau Blue received a divine blessing. However, I am well aware that his death was strange.”
So he’s saying that since Donau is a bad guy even in death, I’m the better option? He’s offering to take my side if I just come clean and lay everything out.
But what if I get stabbed in the back and end up in a prison cell? No, they might even call me a witch for driving a man they’re calling an angel to his death. That would mean beheading or burning at the stake. Why is this escalating?! I thought I’d dodged all the death flags by befriending the female lead!
As I hesitated, torn on whether to speak honestly, the male lead gazed at me intently.
“I wish to help you.”