4

In the end, Nelisa returned to the Wiesbaden family. She stood before the duke alongside Adelaide.

The guardian of the original villainess and the female protagonist’s biological father, Duke Wiesbaden scolded Nelisa in a stern tone.

“Running away from home, it’s truly absurd, Nelisa.”

Nelisa bowed her head without protest.

“I’m sorry for causing worry, Duke.”

“Why on earth did you do it?”

When he asked with a click of his tongue, Adelaide answered instead of Nelisa.

“We had a big argument the day before. I’m sorry, Father.”

“You two have quarreled many times before, but you’ve never fought this seriously.”

“That’s true. But this time things got a bit out of hand.”

Adelaide made excuses in a nonchalant tone.

Nelisa anxiously observed from beside her. Such a skillful lie—she’s indeed, the scheming female protagonist who had turned dark.

The Duke pressed his forehead as if he had a headache.

“Ha, anyway, I’m glad you’re back, Nelisa.”

Nelisa quickly responded obediently again.

“Thank you. And I’m sorry.”

“Huff……”

An ominously long sigh. Nelisa gradually became tense.

Sure enough, the Duke’s storm of nagging erupted from that moment.

“Next time, please resolve things through conversation. Don’t cause such a commotion.”

“Yes.”

“You’re both grown adults, why are you fighting like children?”

“I apologize.”

“I’m sorry, Father.”

“And instead of making up, you ran away from home! From now on, act more maturely. If rumors spread throughout the imperial capital, what kind of disgrace would that be, Nelisa!”

“Yes.”

Still, there was merit in submitting meekly. After pouring out a barrage of scolding, the Duke waved his hand as if that was enough.

“You may go now.”

“Yes, Duke.”

“Yes, Father.”

Nelisa and Adelaide were finally released.

But it wasn’t over yet for Nelisa. As soon as the two left the Duke’s study, Nelisa heard Adelaide calling her.

“Wait, Nel.”

“?”

Nelisa looked at Adelaide with confusion. Her red eyes were fierce.

“I have more questions. Let’s go to my room.”

Adelaide’s words were essentially commands. Forcefully resisting would certainly lead to a fight. She was too exhausted right now for an argument that would drain her mental energy.

There was no choice but to comply.

“Alright.”

She trudged along behind Adelaide.

⁕⁕⁕

As soon as Adelaide entered the room, she firmly closed the door and faced Nelisa.

“I’ve been thinking about this. When you say you regressed like me, that means you died once too, right?”

“Ah, yes. I committed suicide after you regressed and took revenge.”

Nelisa answered without thinking and suddenly felt her heart sink. She had carelessly spoken as if it were someone else’s story!

Adelaide asked with surprise.

“Suicide? But didn’t you marry the Crown Prince instead of me and live happily?”

“Umm……”

It was extremely fortunate that her awkward third-person narration went unnoticed. She deliberately cleared her throat and began to explain carefully.

“Let me put it this way, I’ve already experienced this entire timeline. That’s how I know about your regression.”

Nelisa decided to use the content of the original novel as her “pre-regression” past.

Adelaide frowned.

“Then what happened to the future I know?”

“That’s precisely the past I experienced before my regression. Now that I’ve also regressed, the future you knew has disappeared and become a non-existent future.”

As she spoke, Nelisa mentally bid farewell to the refreshing romance fantasy female protagonist. With this, Adelaide had essentially lost all the advantages she gained as a regressor.

However, the female protagonist’s expression remained quite cold.

“I wonder. Is it truly a non-existent future? If you don’t properly repent, I will certainly punish you, Nel.”

“I have absolutely no desire to repeat that terrible past, Adele.”

Nelisa waved her hands dismissively.

“After dying and coming back to life, would I want to live a future where I die by your hands again? Don’t worry. As I said earlier, I’ve painfully realized my mistakes and decided never to covet what’s yours again.”

Adelaide pressed her lips tightly as if contemplating something.

Even the female protagonist’s serious expression looked beautiful to her. She’s truly the most beautiful woman in this world.

As if her thoughts had finally settled, Adelaide’s gaze turned directly to Nelisa.

“So that’s why you ran away. To avoid my revenge.”

“Exactly! Thank you for understanding!”

Nelisa broke into a broad smile. Now that she had made the female protagonist understand this complicated regression incident, surely she wouldn’t ask about it again? From now on, she just needed to live well and be good, right?

Nevertheless, Adelaide’s gaze remained cool.

“But I need to clarify something. You said you died by my hands, but just now you said you committed suicide.”

“Ah……”

Nelisa shrugged her shoulders dramatically. This much could be smoothed over without much difficulty.

“I meant I was driven to a point where suicide was the only option. Otherwise, I would have been captured by the Crown Prince and executed.”

“The Crown Prince? You mean His Highness Roberto?”

At that name, Adelaide immediately widened her eyes.

Nelisa couldn’t help but smile. Such pure and intense curiosity.

“Yes, Adele. His Highness the Crown Prince was planning to personally punish me for you, his lover. Actually, even before that, how could I withstand the combined attack of you two with your powerful alliance?”

Nelisa smiled as she watched Adelaide’s lips gradually parting.

How identical to the novel. In the original work, Adelaide had been in love with Roberto, whom she had known as a friend since childhood. Not only before her regression but after it as well.

With her liking him so much, wouldn’t it be okay to reveal the predetermined fate of the protagonists? That way, the female protagonist who had been suffering from unrequited love might gain some courage.

Sure enough, Adelaide asked with a noticeably brighter expression.

“Really? His Highness becomes my lover?”

“Yes. You’ve only seen the gloomy future of the timeline where you died, but I’ve already experienced the timeline after your regression. Your future from now on will be nothing but bright.”

Nelisa confidently assured her, deliberately puffing out her chest. Adelaide stared at her with eyes that couldn’t believe it.

Of course, Nelisa could understand her reaction. Adelaide would have only experienced Roberto being cold to her before her regression. Considering Adelaide’s situation, it was truly heartbreaking.

Nelisa spoke in a calm tone.

“I indulged in futile greed and met a miserable end. But in this second life I’ve been given, I will absolutely not repeat my mistakes.”

“……”

Nevertheless, there was no hint of a smile on Adelaide’s face.

Nelisa emphasized once more without shrinking back.

“The reason I’m deliberately telling you about your future is to consider it as a promise that I will never interfere with your life again. Whether you accept it or not, I plan to live according to my resolution.”

Perhaps her sincerity reached Adelaide, as her lips slowly opened.

“……Fine. I’ll believe you for now, Nel.”

“Thank you, Adele.”

Only then did Nelisa feel relieved.

⁕⁕⁕

In one corner of the garden inside the imperial palace, an elegant tea time was in full swing. A middle-aged woman and a young man sat facing each other, drinking tea.

“My goodness, I heard that the child under Duke Wiesbaden’s guardianship dared to run away from home.”

“Run away?”

The handsome man with jet-black hair and aquamarine eyes, Crown Prince Roberto, frowned. The idea that the woman who desperately wanted to become a Wiesbaden would run away was laughable.

His mother, the Empress, sitting across from him, also snorted.

“Anyway, I heard she apologized and returned. The Wiesbaden people are truly magnanimous.”

“Indeed they are, Mother.”

Roberto agreed with his mother and slowly rose to his feet.

“Then I shall return to the palace now. I have administrative duties to attend to.”

“Alright.”

Roberto lightly kissed the back of his mother’s hand and left the place.

While returning to his quarters, he suddenly wore a cynical smile on his lips. Nelisa running away, huh.

“Hmm……”

He had known for some time that she was spreading malicious rumors behind Adelaide’s back.

The Nelisa he knew was the worst kind of person—pretending to be benevolent and mature on the outside while being utterly malicious on the inside.

Yet he hadn’t revealed this to Adelaide. The reason was surprisingly simple: there was no need to show special favor to her alone.

‘Well, they’ll resolve it themselves. It’s not my place to interfere.’

To be honest, he didn’t hold any particular affection for Adelaide. More precisely, he was cold to all the noble ladies who existed around him.

Still, Roberto treated Adelaide with a relatively comfortable attitude. This was thanks to the full support of both their parents and their long association.

Moreover, the composure that came with being the lady of the Wiesbaden family, the Empire’s most prestigious house, was quite useful to him as well.

She didn’t annoyingly demand things from him. Her attitude was always prim and haughty. Roberto accepted this as Adelaide’s pride as an imperial lady.

In contrast, Nelisa was a woman not even worth dealing with. Although Duke Wiesbaden had raised her from childhood as Adelaide’s companion, there was a stark difference in fundamental self-esteem between her and Adelaide.

“Tsk……”

It was displeasing. Adelaide was also secretly soft-hearted. If she had known Nelisa’s dark true nature, she should have just cast her out.

“Speaking of running away……”

He thought as he passed through the door to his room, which the servants opened for him.

It was the most interesting thing he had heard about Nelisa so far.

Of course, that interest quickly faded.

He had more important administrative duties to attend to.