HE/HEROINE AND MY VILLAINESS

                    (1,2,3 DON'T FORGET YOU ARE STRONG AND FREE)

A strong wind blows through their area, causing rustling sounds from the trees, grass, and flowers and keeping the atmosphere stable.

"Yes, you've grown into someone you can't control as the years pass by," Sir Sebi says. 

"But, we understand, no one should blame you for it. You let it overflow and destroy you. Because you isolated yourself from people who truly loved you, because you truly want that person to be yours, even if you know it's not possible."  Hearing Sir Sebi's words, Yerre's heart felt heavy and slightly uncomfortable, causing her to gulp down the slight discomfort she felt inside her heart.

She could feel Vendia's sadness and loneliness over the years that she was alone battling herself and battling to get the attention of the person she truly loved but could never get.

Yerre's throat felt dry, and she could feel her breath shortening within a second, as if she was being choked, so she immediately took action by clearing her throat and stopping her emotion from taking control of her.

"Ahem! Uh... well," she says. But she couldn't come up with anything else to say.

'I’m not sure what to say. I don't know what to say,' Yerre reflected, speechless. After all, she is not Vendia; she is Yerre, and all she can do is reflect and feel what Vendia has done to herself.

Sir Sebi stared at her for a moment, observing her expression, until the feeling of discomfort that Yerre felt got to him, causing him to sigh and decide to continue talking, believing it was the right thing to do at the time. Using words to express all of his feelings and concern for their Miss.

"I remember when I first came here to work. You were still a little child, always smiling and bright, and it seems the world is freely running through you," Sir Sebi reflects on the past.

"I do?" Yerre asks, pretending not to know, while Sir Sebi smiles and looks at the night flower. That glow, along with the moon. 

"Yes, the madam and master are also very happy," he explained, 

"Until one day after you return from the palace, everything changes." Sir Sebi's reaction caught Yerre's attention, and she noticed him smiling, but his eyes were sad and filled with lingering pity, and she knew why.

‘Yes, I recall. That is the first meeting between Vendia and the crown prince, and things quickly escalate. Everything shifts, and Vendia and those who only want the best for her suffer as a result. I'm curious if Vendia has heard everything Sir Sebi has said to me today. Would things be different if she knew? Is Vendia still going to be a villain in the book? ’ Yerre thought, her heart heavy once more, sighing silently to release the pain inside.

"Haah... Who am I kidding? Of course she'll become a villain; that's what the author intended in the first place. Nothing will change even if she knew," she says quietly.

 As a headache flashed through her like lightning, she groaned silently and gritted her teeth in surprise, but she maintained her calm expression and straight composure in front of Sir Sebi.

"Haah... Sir Sebi?" She called out to him, drawing his attention back to her.

"Yes, Milady?" Sir Sebi asked as he waited for her response.

"Can I ask you a serious question?" she asks, and Sir Sebi smiles before responding.

"All right, go ahead," he said,  Yerre sighs and gazes up at the sky as she recites the thing she desires, the pain in her head gradually dissipating.

"Do you want my memory to return, or do you want me to forget everything and start over?"

Sir Sebi looks at her, surprised, for a moment before smiling and lowering his head to look at the ground.

"Well, for me, I prefer you to start new and leave the past behind, but if you remember the past, don't forget what lesson it has given you, so that you don't repeat what you did wrong to the past again," Sir Sebi responds, making Yerre feel lighter and warmer on the inside.

The worry and anxiety she felt when she realized she had ended up inside the manhwa she loves to read faded slightly. She returned Sir Sebi's smile with a smile of her own.

"I see... that's great then," she replied, her face beaming with delight.

Sir Sebi was taken aback by her wide smile; he tried to show a plain smile but failed and ended up showing a face on the verge of tears while giving out a grateful smile. He can't hide how relieved he is to see their miss smiling again. He, too, longs for this side of their young lady.

Sir Sebi reflected, 

'It's been a while.'

"Em, yes," Sir Sebi responds, grateful for the chance to speak with their young miss and express his long-held concern for lady Vendia today.

"And how about you, Miss?" Sir Sebi went on to say.

"Me?" Yerre asks, taken aback by Sir Sebi's question.

"Yes," he replied.

"Well," Yerre thinks to herself. She is unsure how to respond to his question.

'What kind of response would Vendia want if she was here?' She asked herself, carefully considering her response as she went through Vendia memories. 

But she couldn't enter and could only see foggy memories, which made her feel anxious and panic on the inside.

This leaves Yerre with no choice but to think about what kind of answer Vendia wants to the question on her own. Based on her beliefs and understanding of Vendia's actions and personality in the book.

Sir Sebi, on the other hand, felt that she was taking too long to answer his question, leading him to believe that the question was uncomfortable for her and that she was not ready to answer it right now.

"You don't have to respond, miss; just leave it as is, it's fine," Sir Sebi said, jolting Yerre out of her trance and causing her to look at him puzzledly for a second.

"I... no. It's okay, I already know the answer," Yerre responded thoughtfully. She responds to Sir Sebi's question by looking down at the ground, an eagerness flashing in her eyes.

"I prefer to leave it all in the past, I prefer me now," her response shocked Sir Sebi, but when he finally processed her answer inside, he smiled.

"That's a very satisfying answer, miss," he says.

"I'm glad you like it," Yerre said, a grateful smile on her face. As a silent wind passes through them, they feel a sense of comfort and relief.

But then a young woman's shout cut them off in their tracks.

"Miss! Miss! I'm sorry for taking so long. Here Miss, wear thi—- Sir Sebi?" Mary was taken aback to see Sir Sebi with their miss.

"Good evening, Mary," Sir Sebi said as Yerre examined the item Mary was carrying and discovered it was a thick fur coat made from white bear skin.

'That. Sir Sebi is entirely correct! Mary goes back inside to get me a coat,' she was surprised. It takes her one second to realize and she immediately removes Sir Sebi's coat from her shoulder and returns it to him by pasting it back onto Sir Sebi's shoulder. 

Taking advantage of the possibility that the two people are distractedly staring at each other.

"Sir Sebi, thank you for lending me your coat; you can now have it back, as it turns out you were correct, haha," Yerre interrupted the two people's conversation.

"Oh, yes, I'll leave you two alone now; it's time for me to bring Lord Marthen his warm tea to his office; Mary, take good care of our young miss," Sir Sebi smiled.

Mary stared at him, still perplexed by his presence, but she nodded instead of thinking about it. Sir Sebi bowed to Yerre and began to walk away.

Mary assisted Yerre in wearing the coat over her shoulder after Sir Sebi had left their sight, and Yerre thanked her.

The two of them then resume their quiet but relaxed stroll outside the mansion.

"Mary, may I ask you a question?" Yerre asks as they walk side by side.

"Go ahead, Miss," Mary said, her gaze fixed on the path ahead and her ears alert to every sound made through every corner of the mansion path they passed through.

"Can I ask why I was sick for three weeks? I don't believe it was just a fever; did something happen to me back then?" Yerre's words caused Mary to stop walking and become anxious.

"Um," Mary pauses for a moment, contemplating whether or not to tell her. 

Yerre could not help but sigh when he noticed Mary's hesitation to answer her question. She, on the other hand, refused to back down.

She needed to know where she was in the story so she could be aware of everything.

“Mary. Tell me," Yerre said firmly to Mary, who lowered its head and bit its lower lip nervously.

"I'm sorry, Miss. I'm afraid I can't tell you. The master and madam told me not to tell you anything about your incident because–-" Mary's words are intercepted by Yerre's stiff and commanding tone of voice.

"Mary," Yerre said with a straight face and a cold demeanor. She didn't want to be so cruel to Mary, but she didn't have a choice. She simply wants to know where she is in the book. To ensure her safety and awareness of the world around her.

Hearing her voice, Mary flinched and couldn't help but raise her head in haste and look straight at Yerre with guilty eyes and a worried expression.

"I... You," she paused for a moment before sighing, releasing a tension in her heart. She still had a lingering hesitation but then sighs and lets the words out of her mouth with a nervous and concerned voice.

"When the young miss, heard of the crown prince's engagement to the Duke's daughter. You ask me to hire five assassins from among the country's unregistered citizens," Mary said, nervousness and anxiety visible between her words.

Yerre was taken aback by Mary's words, but she quickly collected herself and went through all the chapters of the manhwa she could recall.

While looking for a good fit of chapters to Mary's words, she was thinking deeper.

"For what purpose?" she inquires, holding her chin with her right hand and looking to the ground as she requests additional collection information from Mary.

The concerned young woman looks at her, fearful that her miss will succumb to stress and become ill again if she says anything else.

Yerre comes to a halt, believing Mary is taking too long to respond to her question, and fixes her gaze on her, who has a worried expression on her face. But she is unmoved by it. She's only interested in knowing where she is in the book.

"Mary, respond to my question," Yerre said, her voice cold and rude. Mary was taken aback when she saw her cold expression and couldn't help but submit to her. Thinking that if she doesn't submit and makes her more angry, her health will be jeopardized.

"It's for the duke's daughter. You task them with kidnapping her and transporting her to the old cabin inside the Astrod forest, which was built under your command so you could meet up with other people to harm Princess Cathlen," Mary pauses, sighing.

"What happened after that?"  Yerre stated.

"They manage to kidnap her, and then you ask me to take Princess Cathlen to a secluded area of the forest and—" Yerre cut Mary's explanation short.

“Wait! Stop, there is enough," Yerre replied, finally locating the correct chapter and hurriedly deep thinking through everything she remembered, while Mary looked at her with confused eyes and a worried expression.

'The kidnapping, Cabin, and... Wait! I'm on the third and final chapter already?’ Yerre was taken aback. 

She was now in the section where Vendia should have died and the crown prince and prince Cathlen should have married and had a happy ending.

On that fateful day, Vendia hired five assassins to kidnap Prince Cathlen. It was supposed to be the day of her engagement banquet with the crown prince.

Vendia, on the other hand, did not want that to happen. As a result, she kidnapped the bride and decided to kill her with her own hands. After that, she realized something and decided to commit suicide by stabbing her stomach with the dagger her father gift to her for self defense porpuses. 

She kills alone while ordering Mary to return to the Marquis Mansion to ensure that her parents are not concerned and that nothing is amiss.

But things were not as they seemed, and the marquis discovered his daughter lying in the mud, pale, cold, stiff, and feverish. That day was supposed to be the end of Vendia's reign, but Yerre arrived at an unexpected time.

Yerre emerges from her trance and takes a serious look at Mary.

"Mary, can you tell me if the crown prince is already married to the Duke's daughter?" She inquires, her eyes brimming with impatience.

'If princes Cathlen and the crown prince are already married, things will be easier for me from now on,' Yerre thought, relieved. But her relief was cut short by Mary's response.

"No, the crown prince postponed their engagement for two months and canceled their married schedule for five months, that's what I heard from the town people," Mary said, looking at Yerre with fear in her eyes, thinking that their miss might have regained her memories already and thinking something unpleasant that made her heart race even faster.

“WHAT?" Yerre's response was shocked and disappointed. She could not believe it. 

'That's not possible! If the main couple hasn't married, that means,' Yerre reasoned, perplexed, nervous, and under pressure.

“Erm... I'm screwed," she mumbled between panicked groans.

‘The crown prince will undoubtedly investigate what happened and will undoubtedly attack me. Whatever. I'm not concerned. I've got Mary by my side, so...' She looks at Mary and stops running her thoughts for a moment, taking in the other person's expression.

“Mary? What's the matter? Why do you have such a scowl on your face? "Yerre inquired, surprised to see Mary with a glum and worried expression.

"Miss, has your memory already returned? "She inquires, her voice trembling with fear.

“What? ..." Yerre was taken aback by Mary's words and paused for a moment, trying to figure out what she meant, until she realized something and smiled warmly at Mary.

"I don't, and even if I did, I wouldn't mind." Yerre gazes up at the calm and peaceful night sky filled with sparkling stars.

“Miss,"  Mary cries out, still worried. Yerre returned her gaze and took Mary's hands in hers.

She looked into Mary's eyes and saw a deep lingering fear and concern. Yerre couldn't help but feel warm and smile when she realized Mary had such deep affection and importance for Vendia.

"Don't be concerned, Mary. I'm not going back to who I was in the past," she said, smiling reassuringly at Mary.

The young caring woman returned her smile and tightened her grip on her hand.

They continue walking around for a little longer after having such a conversation, until Yerre becomes sleepy and tired. Mary returned Yerre to her chamber and bid her farewell.

To be continued...