The Villainess Makes Amends

Chapter 1

Prologue

Bordering the western end of the empire and located in the Duchy of Lillony was the academy known as the “ivory tower in the countryside.” There, soldiers dressed in the uniform of the Taylize Empire had arrived.

“Punish the traitor!”

“Capture the one named Freley!”

In an instant, they stormed into my laboratory at the top of the tower. The sign hanging on the door, reading “Professor of Magical Engineering, Kiana Ellie Freley,” fell miserably to the floor. My laboratory, filled with various experimental tools, immediately descended into chaos. Having been busy solving equations, I was suddenly captured and bound. It was all extremely disorienting, and I immediately began to protest.

“What are you idiots doing?! Your life isn’t so precious to you, is it? Let go of me right now before I start bashing each of you with my magic tools! How dare you?!”

One of the soldiers who had bound my wrists replied bluntly, “Skari Freley was plotting treason.”

Huh…?

I was so shocked that I froze in place. How was it that an imperial soldier was so casually speaking my grandfather’s name? My grandfather, Duke Skari Freley, was one of the most powerful men in the empire. And, although my father had gone missing a few months ago, my two rather idiotic brothers were also making names for themselves in their respective fields.

Even our cousin, Melissa Freley, had recently manifested an incredible amount of holy power, so much so that they had carried stories about her in all the newspapers. The only one who could have caused any trouble in our family was me, which was why I had long ago removed myself to this faraway location. And yet, House Freley was suddenly being accused of treason…

“The criminal must be brought back to the capital! Hurry! We must not delay the execution date!”

“E-execution?!”

My eyes went wide.

“W-wait! Even if my grandfather lost his mind and actually plotted treason…”

The words poured out of me in a rush.

“I haven’t been anywhere near the empire in seven years! All I’ve done is research magical engineering in the countryside, right here!”

It was pure injustice. I had come to Lillony Academy at the age of sixteen, and since then, I had never once visited our family’s estate. The soldier’s response to my logical argument was a simple grunt.

“But you are still a Freley.”

He pointed to the sign that had fallen from the door, which bore my name. In the end, I was helplessly dragged away by the soldiers.

The dean of the academy was standing in the hall when we emerged, and I gave him a desperate look like I had met my savior. Until now, I had contributed an immense amount of research to the academy, and I knew that he would do whatever it took to rescue me.

“Sir! I—”

The dean cleared his throat, interrupting my plea. Without even sparing me a glance, he spoke politely to the soldiers.

“Can you confirm that if Professor Kiana Freley dies, all the patents registered under her name will be transferred to the academy, in accordance with the duchy’s laws?”

The world came to a stop for a moment. The dean, who had always cherished me and called me his publishing machine, was saying what?!

He laughed slyly and added, “The ownership of her patents must be transferred to the Duchy of Lillony, not the empire. I agreed to cooperate only under that condition.”

I felt like I had been hit over the head. If House Freley had been involved in treason, it was a major transgression, enough to shake the entire continent. However, I had not known a single thing about events in the empire until soldiers had arrived at my doorstep. Now that I thought about it, the roads had been in such poor condition recently that the newspapers hadn’t even been delivered. Had the dean been behind that…?

I was a genius magical engineer, working on the invention of magical tools that were formed using the properties of mathematics and physics. I had a great number of patents registered in my name, and the dean, who must have been coveting them, had decided to hand me over to the imperial soldiers.

Tears welled in my eyes. As I’d said, I’d left House Freley on my own and had spent the past seven years at the academy. I had long thought of the dean as family, and he had routinely praised me as a once-in-a-generation genius and had given me a professorship, despite my young age. Now, feeling as if I were about to vomit blood, I roared at him my heart’s truth.

“You wretched bastard! You squeezed every bit out of me that you could, then sold me out for money! Even if I end up in hell, I’ll break free and haunt you for the rest of your miserable life! I’ll make a pact with any demon I have to! I’ll destroy you and your entire family line!”

And that was how I, a twenty-three-year-old professor at a small magic academy in a remote corner of the world, was suddenly sentenced to death and sent back to the empire.

* * *

As soon as I was brought back to the empire, I found myself locked up in an underground cell at the imperial palace. It was then that I heard a voice.

“Kiana!”

A woman in an even worse state than me suddenly grabbed my hand.

“You were captured too!”

It was my cousin, Melissa Freley. I hadn’t seen her in seven years.

“Oh, it’s so good to see you. I’ve been waiting for you!”

Was she welcoming me to this festering place? It was as though she were putting a curse on me. I disliked Melissa, and I immediately pulled my hand away.

“What in the world is going on? Grandfather was plotting treason?”

Melissa sniffled.

“We know Grandfather would never do such a thing. We’re being falsely accused!” she said as she began crying. Tears dripped down her face as she murmured, “I… I know the truth. I’m the only one who knows!”

I noted that Melissa was still incredibly beautiful despite her blubbering. Her golden hair, although dirty, still shimmered, and her red eyes were as bright as rubies. I sighed and tried to calm her down.

“Stop crying and speaking nonsense, Melissa. Try to be logical, and tell me what happened.”

“Wow, you’re still so blunt… You haven’t changed a bit,” Melissa remarked, choking back sobs. “Prince Heaton came to see me yesterday. He told me that he was the one who framed our family for treason.”

“What?” I gasped. “Why? And why did he tell you that it was him?!”

Melissa sniffled again.

“Chirpy says it’s because I rejected him. He’s so petty that he wanted to get one last jab at me.”

Chirpy, a yellow lark, was Melissa’s summoned creature. Right now, the poor bird was unconscious on the floor and chained near Melissa’s foot. Melissa had always been popular with the boys, and apparently, Prince Heaton had been one of her admirers. Not that I was interested right now. I sighed and cradled my forehead.

“Grandfather must have gotten old for him to fall for such a scheme. Regardless of what happened, why would Prince Heaton accuse all the Freleys of treason?”

The grandfather I knew was an extremely capable man. How had he fallen victim to a plot like this?

Melissa babbled in response, “Grandfather has been very ill lately. I think Prince Heaton felt he was being driven into a corner… I guess he thought we’d side with the crown prince.”

The crown prince? Why was she suddenly bringing him up? I had been away from the empire for so long that I wasn’t aware of anything that had happened, but it seemed that we had gotten entangled in a battle for the throne. I slumped to the floor. It was all so unreasonable. I had been in a faraway place, knowing absolutely nothing, only to be dragged back and senselessly killed. For a while, the only sound in the cell was Melissa sobbing. After some time, we heard a loud call from outside.

“It is time for the execution! Bring out the prisoners!”

Terror flashed in Melissa’s eyes and in mine. Was there anyone who was calm in the face of death? The heavy sound of footsteps drew ominously closer.

“Kiana… Am I really going to die?” Melissa suddenly mumbled, “I… I don’t want to die.”

It was a ridiculously obvious thing to say, and I gave Melissa an incredulous glare. It was then that I realized something.

What… What’s wrong with her eyes…?

Her face was contorted, and her expression was growing unhinged. Melissa had been merely dejected, but now that the end was near, it seemed as though she had fallen into a panic.

“I-I’m going to run.”

“What? What are you talking about? Where would you even go? They’re coming to execute us!”

I also was starting to grow frantic, thinking that she had lost her mind.

“I have holy power!” Melissa breathed, her voice on the verge of hysterics. “I should have gone to a monastery from the start. I only have to throw away my last name, then I can survive on my own.”

All those who possessed holy power were allowed to enter a monastery and become a saint. When they did, though, they gave up their last names and the right to marry. They lived the rest of their lives as wanderers, in voluntary service to all those they encountered. Truthfully, it was a terribly difficult life, and very few people chose it. Most people who awakened holy power continued living their own lives, but if Melissa decided to become a saint, she would no longer be a Freley and would not be charged with treason. I grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a hard shake.

“Keep it together!” I shouted. “How can you suddenly join a monastery? It’s not like we can go back in time or something!”

“Yes! That’s it! Going back in time!” Melissa’s eyes gleamed maniacally as she furiously nodded. “I have a great amount of holy power. I have to at least try, don’t you think?”

“What…?”

I stared at her, feeling a sudden sense of foreboding. The girl who had always been so kind, so pretty, and so sunny that everyone had loved her was now looking utterly deranged.

“I’m going to turn back time. I will take all of my memories with me and go back to one year ago. Then, I’ll go to a monastery right away and leave all of House Freley behind. I won’t die a meaningless death!”

At that moment, our cell was filled with a brilliant light.