HE/HEROINE AND MY VILLAINESS

          (RAIN RAIN GO AWAY THE GAME YOU PLAY IS NOT MY TANG)

"Mary, I have no recollection of those dresses.  I don't like those dresses, so I'm putting them in my storage drawer. I'll wear this simple outfit instead," Yerre replied, pulling on a simple white dress with a sunflower painted on the shoulder and a blue butterfly to the knee.

Mary looked at her with hesitant eyes for a moment before nodding, her heart full of satisfaction.

"Yes, miss," she replied. 

‘My master would never allow me to disobey them. After all, I'm just a servant. With a smirk on her face, Mary began to take those dresses to the drawer. Your shadow will never again linger in our miss life. After all, you're not qualified to be by her side,' Mary thought, looking at the dresses she took out of the dress drawer and placed in the storage drawer with eyes filled with contempt and satisfaction.

When Mary had finished transferring everything, she went over to Yerre, who was looking through the shoe drawer, pondering what to choose.

Yerre's gaze wandered through each pair of shoes, which were all styled with different accessories and colors. It appears to be too expensive and flush for her tastes.

She couldn't help but choose a pair of brown boots with short heels and a simple design.

'Vendia truly and extravagantly enjoys designing herself with costly items, ha. I'm curious how much all of this will cost,' Yerre reflected, shaking her head, not wanting to think about it any further, while Mary stood behind her, admiring the clothes, shoes, and accessories she chose to wear.

Following that, Yerre went inside the bathroom alone, while Mary was arranging all of the clothes she chose to wear for today and placing them in order.

As Yerre entered the bathroom, the relaxing, calming scent of wood and lavender hugged her nose, making her feel light and relaxed on the inside.

Yerre then undid everything on her body, hung her clothes on a side rack, and stepped into the bathtub. She was having a good time in the bathroom by herself.

But after three minutes, Mary had completed everything and went to knock on the bathroom door, requesting permission to enter the bathroom and assist their miss with her washing.

"Come in," Yerre says, enjoying the sensation of bubbles on her skin.

When Mary entered the bathroom, she grabbed the bath scrub and gently brushed it against Vendia's skin.

"Mary, what are my parents doing today?" Yerre inquires, breaking the silence inside the room as Vendia's parents appear in her mind.

"The madam is now inside her office doing some accounting paper, and the master went to the castle today carrying the king's order," Mary replied, scrubbing their miss's baby white soft skin without looking at Yerre.

"King's command? What was the nature of the order? " Yerre is perplexed. Mary comes to a halt in her work and looks at Vendia's wrist, her eyes filled with contemplation.

"I'm sorry, miss. I didn't know. All I know is that the master went to the Astrod kingdom in a hurry," Mary said, her tongue clenched, cutting the conversation short with lies as she remembered the Marquis' words.

Lord Marthen asked Sir Sebi to bring Mary to his office the other night before Mary retired to the servant quarter to discuss a serious matter.

"The crown prince's three trusted knights discovered four bodies of unregistered citizens in the river bank near the town this morning, and the king ordered me to investigate it thoroughly at the crown prince's request," Lord Marthen explained as Mary bowed and apologized to the Marquis.

"Forgive me, my lord, I made a mistake again," Mary said, kneeling with both knees on the floor and gripping a strand of her maid cloth, angry at herself for failing the task the Marquis had entrusted to her.

Lord Marthen looked down at her and sighed as he went to sit on the couch.

"There's no need to argue about your miscalculated strategy; they've already discovered the body. But don't worry; I've already planned something. All you have to do is keep quiet about this matter and never tell anyone," Lord Marthen said as he poured himself a cup of hot tea. Mary raises her head to look at the Marquis, her eyes filled with guilt.

"Thank you for correcting my error, my lord," she said, her voice trembling with embarrassment and dissatisfaction.

"No need to thank me; just make sure to stay by Vendia's side at all times and don't take your gaze away from her for even a second while I fix this," Lord Marthen replied.

"Yes, my lord, I understand," Mary replied without hesitation.

"You may return now," Lord Marthen said as he swung his right hand in a sweep motion, allowing Mary to return to the servant quarter.

Mary clenched her teeth and gripped the scrubbing cloth tightly in her hand, still angry at herself for making such a mistake.

"Ah, it must have been an urgent matter; I see, they're busy, ha," Yerre responds, a little disappointed, not knowing what the other person is feeling or going through.

Mary returns to her trance after hearing her response. She caught a glimpse of Yerre's disappointment in her eyes. When she saw their miss's expression, the young maid decided to put the problem aside for a while, wiping their miss's arm with a scrubbing cloth and sighing to calm herself.

"Would you like to speak with the madam, miss?  You are welcome to visit the madam's office at any time. If you want anything from them," Mary said, having finished scrubbing Vendia skin. 

"I do, indeed. I'd like to go shopping with you for new dresses to wear out on the town, to replace the old dresses I have," Yerre responds, her eyes filled with gladness and excitement as she looks straight at Mary.

"Oh, then we'll go ask madam permission first, miss, after you've finished dressing, but I'm not sure if the madam will allow it because your body is still recovering from the incident," Mary replied, standing up straight and walking to the bathroom sink to wash her hands.

"It's fine, I still want to ask permission, maybe my mother won't mind as much, and besides, I was already feeling light. I don't feel any discomfort in my body anymore," Yerre responds, the sunny day brightening her mood.

"I'm glad to hear that, miss, but the only person who can tell if you're truly fully healed is the physician," Mary says to her back.

"I know," Yerre replied as she immersed her jaw and lip in the bath water and began blowing bubbles into it, enjoying her bath time as she played with the water like a five-year-old child.

Mary on the side was only surprised to see her miss innocently playing in the bath for the first time, but her heart immediately felt good seeing her miss open to herself with her around.

The sun had now fully appeared in the sky, providing a warm sensation to those who were now striving and going about their morning routine.

Kids have begun to take over the street by playing with their friends, while others assist their parents in opening stalls to sell various goods and raw materials.

Mary is now finishing Vendia's hairstyle with a butterfly hair clip she placed on the right side near Vendia's right ear.

Yerre's outfit exudes simplicity, innocence, uniqueness, and mannerism on the outside, but a strong aura of moral uprightness on the inside.

"It's done now, miss.  As always, you look stunning, miss, nothing compares, not even the Duke's daughter," Mary said, and Yerre couldn't help but sigh because of her words.

Those were the words she despised the most. She knew Mary always said those words to Vendia before she finished dressing up because Vendia told her to.

But she is not the real Vendia; she is Yerre, and she does not want to hear those words come out of Mary's mouth again.

"Mary, I'm not sure who that duke daughter you're picturing in my head is, but hearing your words made me very uncomfortable." Yerre said, turning her body to face Mary straight and continuing to speak, nagging Mary slightly.

"I want you to stop saying those words to me from now on.” Mary felt a pang of guilt after hearing her words, so she bowed and apologized.

"I get it, miss. Please accept my apologies," she said. Yerre rose from her comfortable chair and reached out to touch Mary's shoulder, signaling her to stand straight and look her in the eyes.

"There is no need for you to apologize, Mary. Come on, lead the way to my mother's office," she said, changing the subject as she smiled calmly at Mary.

"Yes, Miss," Mary replied quickly. Turning around to lead the way to Madam Rose's office, she felt a pang of guilt in her heart.

Many servants greeted Yerre on the way, and she couldn't help but feel uneasy about it.

Their compliments and delighted greetings did not console Yerre; instead, they made her feel guilty for being treated as if she were a high and mighty person, which she is not on the inside. 

She is a simple woman who lives in the modern world with her auntie and younger cousin, and the most important thing about her is that she is Yerre, not Vendia.

Yerre tries to smile as comfortably as possible at them and continues walking with Mary beside her, wearing a neutral expression.

'I wonder if my auntie has already discovered our body in the sea. I'm sure they already know I'm no longer alive, as do Alda's parents. Will they be okay? 'Yerre felt worried and anxious inside her heart as she imagined her auntie, younger cousin, and Alda parents' reactions when they saw their cold body being dragged out to sea.

However, she quickly snaps out of her feelings. She shook her head three times to take her mind off it.

For the time being, let us not dwell on them or be emotional about them. I need to think about my situation here for a while.

'I'm sure they'll be fine,' Yerre thought, determined, but the sadness and unfairness she felt inside her heart remained. But she is well aware of the strength of her mother's elder sister, as well as Alda's parents. They will survive the tidal wave that is their life.

'I know it won't be easy...' Yerre sighs and clenches her hand to calm her thoughts, not thinking about it any further and effectively controlling her emotions by consoling herself with serious matters in her hand.

Let us not lose sight of our ultimate goal in this world. For the time being, I need to gather my thoughts and concentrate on fulfilling Vendia's death wish and finding Alda.

I could only hope that Alda was also present in this world. But if she's not inside, I'll...

"We've arrived, miss," Mary said as they approached the massive wooden door with a design of gold and rose flowers on each side, jolting Yerre back to reality and restoring her mood.

'No, let us not be pessimistic. I believe in the improbable assumption that people are connected before and after death. I'm sure Alda is here with me inside this world,' Yerre said confidently, nodding and smiling at Mary's words.

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.

"Mary, I have no recollection of those dresses.  I don't like those dresses, so I'm putting them in my storage drawer. I'll wear this simple outfit instead," Yerre replied, pulling on a simple white dress with a sunflower painted on the shoulder and a blue butterfly to the knee.

Mary looked at her with hesitant eyes for a moment before nodding, her heart full of satisfaction.

"Yes, miss," she replied. 

To be continued...