HE/HEROINE AND MY VILLAINESS

                (HEAR ME SAY KEEP WALKING FORWARD AND DON'T LOOK BACK)

Yerre went to hang the coat on the hanger next to the door before hurrying to the bed and falling asleep, exhausted from walking around the massive mansion.

"Haah... what a day... I'm so tired..." she exclaimed after a brief flashback to what Mary had said about the crown prince.

'If the crown prince and prince Cathlen are still unmarried and Vendia is still alive,' Yerre paused for a second, feeling pressed.

'Does this mean that the story will change from now on?' She thought, nervousness and concern overtook her mind as she felt fear course through her body.'

"In what way?" she mumbled, her voice trembling with worry and anxiety.

Yerre shifts to her left side of the bed and closes her eyes for one second to calm her body and mind, forcing herself not to worry and overthink things.

"It's all right, Yerre. Mary is with you, and she will keep you safe. It's okay," she said to herself, comforting and assuring herself, before a surprised cold wind passed through her eyes, making her sleepy, and she immediately drifted off to sleep, forgetting to cover her body with a blanket.

The next day arrived quickly, and Yerre awoke in the middle of the night, shivering from the coldness she felt inside her body. She stretches her hand and looks for a blanket to keep her warm in the cold.

As the blanket covered her body, she took a ten-second nap before deciding to get up earlier to see the sunrise. She sat up on the bed, yawning as she walked into the bathroom to wash away the sleepiness she felt inside and the sweat that suffocated her face.

After cleaning her face, she went to open the glass door, which has a thick long red brown curtain, and went out to the terrace to watch the sun rise to the south.

The refreshing wind passed through her as the bird began to take flight again in search of food for their family and a new nest to share with others. While other animals resumed their hunt for food.

Yerre couldn't help but feel relieved and comforted when he saw the sun rise again. She stretched her arms into the air, hugging the new day, breathing in and out and sniffing the new day's fresh air.

Until a startled growl from her stomach disturbs her tranquility. She put her arm to the side, touched her stomach with her right hand, and whined.

"Aish... I'm hungry already," she said as a knock came from behind her, startling her from her hungry state.

"Who could it be? It's still so early," she mumbled between her hungry tones as she strided back inside the bedroom and over to the door, opening it only to see Mary holding a tray of food in her hand.

This surprised Yerre, but when she saw the food Mary was carrying, her hunger took over, and she forgot about everything else and quickly let Mary into the room. She opens the door and takes the food in her hand.

"Thank you very much, Mary. I'll take it from here, hehe," she said quickly, snatching the food tray from Mary's grasp.

"I'm truly hungry already," she mumbled to herself, leaving Mary from the door, who was only watching her every move as she hurriedly walked over to the table and placed the food on the bed tray.

When she was finally seated on the couch, she began to eat the food. Mary, on the other hand, went over to her and stood beside the couch like a guard.

"Young Miss, did you sleep well?" she inquires, striking up a casual conversation as her miss eats at the table. Yerre put down her fork and turned to face her, a smile on her lips.

"Yes, I did; why are you here so early in the morning? Have you had your breakfast yet?" Yerre inquires, concerned.

"As servants, we are required to wake up early before their master is awake, Miss, and thank you for your concern Miss; I already eat before running my errands, so there is no need to worry Miss," Mary explained calmly.

"Oh, is that so? Well, um, it's great to hear you already eat breakfast before striding to your duty," Yerre replied, turning back to face the front to finish her breakfast.

Mary's gaze wandered around the room and noticed that the other curtains and windows had not yet been opened, so she went to open them all and provide a sunny light inside the room.

Yerre only glanced at Mary's actions for a second before continuing to eat, unconcerned about all her movements.

When Mary had finished opening all of the long heavy curtains and windows, as well as the glass door. She went inside the bathroom and filled the bath with mild water, as well as the lavender scented bubble soap that Vendia adored, and placed it in the mild water to melt and create a scented bubble bath.

Mary then went to light two wood scented candles inside the large bottle cup and place them at the top of the bath, releasing a relaxing fragrance inside the bathroom that mixed with the lavender scent.

She then went to the bathroom drawer and hung two bath towels and one soft bathrobe to the bath rack for their Miss to use later.

When Mary was finished preparing everything, she returned to where Yerre was, closed the bathroom door from behind her, and stood in front of her, bending her body slightly, to serve Yerre a warm light tea.

"What kind of dress do you want to wear today, Miss?" And what hairstyle do you want to show off today? " Mary inquires as she pours her tea.

Yerre takes the tea cup and drinks it before answering Mary's question. But, surprisingly, the tea she drank tasted very delicious; it was easy to swallow with no sensation of bitterness or dryness in your lungs after taste, which surprised her and made her forget Mary's question for a moment.

"What kind of tea is this, Mary? It's so good," Yerre inquires. Mary set the teapot down and looked her in the eyes, a smile on her face.

"Miss, it's your favorite tea. It's Chamomile tea mixed with fresh lemon and honey, and a warm mild water," Mary explained, drawing Yerre's attention to the tea cup, which still had warm tea inside.

"Oh," Yerre responds, surprised that such tea exists.

Back in their world, her aunt only drank green tea every morning, and she was never interested in tea, so she was surprised to learn that there are other types of tea as well.

"You always drink that early in the morning and late in the afternoon while reading books inside the green house garden," Mary said, as Yerre drank it quietly.

She returned the tea cup to the table after she had finished drinking it and smiled at Mary.

"I believe today is a good day. Mary, don't you think? " She inquires, perplexing Mary with her inquiry. Yerre smiles and returns her gaze to the food on the table, picking up the spoon and pork to continue eating.

"I'm going to go with a simple spring dress and a simple hairstyle, Mary. I'd like to improve my mood and the atmosphere in the house. I've been sleeping for so long. I want everyone to know that everything is going to be fine from now on," she said, and Mary nodded

As she spoke those words, a cool but relaxing breeze entered the room, creating a cinematic atmosphere inside, as the flower petals on the robinia tree flew inside the window and landed on the floor.

Yerre resumed eating, and everything around them fell silent once more, allowing the wind to make a sound inside the room alongside the rustling of the tree leaves and green grass outside the mansion.

When Yerre had finished eating, Mary went to tidy up all the things she had used to eat, and then she helped Yerre choose the spring dress she wanted, as well as the other things she wanted to wear for the day.

"Mary, why is it that all of this dress appears to be so expensive and kind of hot to wear?" Yerre said, disliking the dress Vendia prefers to wear. 

All of Vendia's clothing is heavy and full of designs that show superiority and royalty taste, which Yerre already knew but didn't like. Because it is uncomfortable for her and not to her liking.

Yerre prepares simple and comfortable clothing. She didn't care about trivial matters as long as her body was comfortable and she was at ease.

'Haah... I'm not going to wear these dresses. This style is heavy for me and not my taste,' Yerre thought, helpless as she sighed and looked down at Vendia's slim body.

Yerre approached the long standing mirror near the bed and examined Vendia's body, touching her stomach, waist, and face. It's strange and surreal.

'Vendia's body is more beautiful than mine,' she admits to herself, making herself jealous and insecure for a while, but it all faded as she remembered Alda's words whenever she felt insecure about her chubby body.

A flash of memory from the past appeared in front of the mirror, reflecting a time when Alda and her were still in their teens.

"Eish! If you keep being insecure about yourself, I'll eat more fat food and join you; we'll become fat together," Alda said, as Yerre's teary eyes looked at her with fear and worry.

"I don't want to see you being fat; I won't be insecure anymore," Yerre sobbed as she wiped her teary eyes with her right hand and forced a smile out to show Alda, but all she got was a pinch on her left cheeks.

“Aw! It hurts," Yerre whines and pouts as Alda lets go of her cheek, caressing it with her hand to alleviate the pain.

"Eish! You're so pretty and cute. Don't give yourself a hard time again. You deserve more than you know. Don't mind other people just be who you are. I will always be with you to accompany you all the time. Now come on, let's stop this drama and eat something good!" Alda said, cheering Yerre up while holding her right hand with her.

Yerre looked at her and finally showed a genuine smile, along with a giggle that sent a pleasant tone into Alda's ear.

"Thank you, Alda, for always cheering me up," she replied, holding Alda's hand back.

"En! You're always welcome," Alda replied with a wide smile, making Yerre laugh once more.

*Giggle*

"Miss?" Mary heard her laugh as she recalled her days with her best friend and felt the familiar atmosphere in the air for a split second.

'I'm missing you, Alda. I hope you're really inside the book with me. Wait for me to find you,' she thought as a sudden hand touched her left shoulder, waking her up from her trance and causing her to flinch in surprise.

“Mary?” Yerre was taken aback to see Mary by her side. She blinked for a second before quickly resuming her normal pace as she smiled at Mary.

"Mary, please clean out my drawer and place this dress in my storage cloth drawer.  I'm not going to wear them anymore," Yerre declared, which surprised Mary.

"However, miss," Mary explained, 

"You chose this dress to impress the crown prince." Yerre turned to face her with her brow furrowed and her face stiff.

 "Crown prince? Who is he? Mary, I don't recall ever knowing or meeting a crown prince. So how can you claim that I chose this gown to impress a crown prince? " Yerre retorted, her voice full of disdain and displeasure.

Hearing Mary mention the person she does not want to meet causes Yerre to become uneasy and lose control. 

Yerre isn't particularly angry at the crown prince, but Vendia's body somehow remembers everything and causes her to completely lose control of herself.

Yerre sighs, closing her eyes for a moment to relax, then looks at Mary with a relaxed smile on her face, not thinking about the crown prince in her head and instead focusing her thoughts on the dream she had the night before.

CHAPTER 8

While Yerre is sleeping, she awakens to find herself in a place filled with darkness and mud, with only a faint light visible three meters away.

She was taken aback for a moment when she realized she was back inside her body. She was perplexed as to what was going on, her gaze wandered, and she noticed her body moving on its own. 

Her body appears to be attempting to move closer to the light. Yerre's body moved, but she couldn't help but feel gross as she felt the mud hugging her foot every time she started walking.

It's extremely sticky, and the color is black, as if some chemical has been added to it. Giving Yerre a sense of danger and fear. 

She tried to stop walking and take control of Vendia's consciousness within the dream, waking the body up so she could get out of the situation she was in. 

But she couldn't until she noticed another light five meters away, which showed a familiar figure ahead and heard it say words repeatedly.

"I'm sorry, I want to forget.  I'm sorry. I'd like to forget about everything. Please, please, please." The voice is clearly audible because it echoes in every direction like a plugged microphone. Which freaked Yerre out, but it didn't take long for her body to calm down and she didn't feel afraid anymore. 

It's as if the person she saw five meters away had some kind of connection with her, and her heart felt a kind of eagerness to touch the person's shoulder and see its face.

Those repeated words, however, caused Yerre's heart to become heavy and in pain, causing her body to collapse and fall to the muddy ground. Yerre began to pant as she felt a choking sensation inside her lungs and was unable to properly breathe. 

She hugged herself, her hands clenched around her dirty clothes, groaning and whining in pain, forcing herself to exhale and inhale as sweat formed on her forehead and hugged her body.

But the sudden desire to see the woman's face in front of her overcame the pain and difficulty breathing. 

She reached out her right hand and began to crawl over to the woman who kept repeating the words.

Until Yerre arrived at the back of the woman and noticed that she had the same hair color as Vendia.

"Y—you, sto—ugh..." Yerre is panting and shivering from the pain, but she forces herself to ignore the pain in her body and continue talking.

"Please stop saying those words. I— Look at me. Lo— LOOK AT ME, I SAID! " Yerre screamed in agony as she used her remaining strength to touch Vendia's shoulder, but before she could make Vendia turn to look at her, she had lost consciousness and awoke feeling cold all over her body.

After that dream, Yerre's morning became a reflection session, until she came to the conclusion that Vendia was telling her in her dream that she wanted to start a new life.

Yerre somehow reasoned it out and connected it to what happened when she was talking to Sir Sebi the other day, and sure enough, it worked. Vendia was truly stating that her response choice was also what Vendia desired.

'Believe me, Vendia. I will do anything to give your body and your family a fresh start,' Yerre thought, determined to give the Marquis a new breathable life from her own perspective and understanding, as she decided to recycle things Vendia had done in the past and replace them with new and better things to her taste, beginning with cleaning the drawer in front of her.

If Vendia didn't like what I was doing, she could simply return to my dream and tell me that she didn't want her material things to change as well.

To be continued...