The Villainess Refuses to Follow the Script-Chapter 25

Beatrice was bored.

It had been three days since the archery incident, and nothing interesting had happened since. No dramatic confrontations, no accidental chaos, just a lot of polite small talk, long meals, and endless palace etiquette.

She was losing her mind.

Even Lila had been unusually quiet, meaning there was no one to antagonize for entertainment. Francois had been busy with royal duties, and Johanna... well, Johanna was acting weird.

Beatrice didn’t like it. Not that she cared or anything. But still.

She flopped onto the chaise in her room, groaning. "This is it. This is how I die. Not in a tragic, dramatic execution, just from sheer boredom."

Lily, her ever-patient maid, sighed as she folded linens. "My lady, surely you can find something productive to do?"

Beatrice gasped. "Excuse me? I am being productive. I am productively waiting for something exciting to happen."

Lily gave her a long look. "That is not how productivity works."

Beatrice groaned, throwing an arm over her face. "I need adventure. I need drama. I need to do something."

Lily hesitated, then cautiously suggested, "You could... take a walk?"

Beatrice sat up instantly.

A walk.

A walk!

Beatrice, left to her own devices? Unsupervised? Roaming the palace?

A disaster waiting to happen.

"That’s it," Beatrice declared. "I’m going outside."

Lily’s face dropped. "Oh no."

"Oh yes."

Before Lily could protest, Beatrice was already grabbing her cloak and making her way out the door.

The thing about palaces? They were huge.

And confusing.

She had walked these halls a hundred times before, but somehow, the second she tried to find the back gardens, she ended up somewhere completely different.

She turned a corner, expecting an exit, only to find another endless hallway.

Beatrice squinted. "Okay. That’s new."

She tried another direction.

More halls. Another. More halls.

Beatrice stopped walking, frowning. "Wait a second."

Was she... lost?

In the palace she had been living in for weeks?

Oh, this was embarrassing.

Beatrice refused to accept this. There was no way that she, a creative writing major in her modern life with an impeccable sense of direction (this was a lie), could be lost.

She just... needed a landmark. A familiar room. A guard. Something.

Instead, she found stairs leading downward.

...Okay.

That was new. And definitely suspicious. Which meant she had to check it out.

The air grew cooler as she descended, the marble steps giving way to stone floors.

Okay, this was definitely not part of the guest wing.

The corridors were dimly lit, the torches casting long shadows against the walls. It felt... different. Like she had accidentally stumbled into a part of the palace no one really used. Which, to be fair, sounded exactly like something she would do.

Beatrice slowed her steps. She had a very bad feeling about this. And yet, she kept walking.

The hallway eventually opened into a storeroom, filled with wooden crates, shelves stacked with supplies, and large sacks of something grain-like.

Beatrice blinked.

Not exactly the dark, ominous secret dungeon she was expecting. She stepped forward, idly brushing dust off one of the crates.

"Alright. So I just broke into the royal pantry. Not my worst crime."

Then, a creak echoed behind her.

Beatrice froze.

Oh.

OH.

She wasn’t alone.

Slowly, she turned her head.

A palace servant stood a few feet away, eyes wide, a basket of apples clutched to his chest like he had just witnessed a ghost.

Beatrice blinked. The servant blinked back.

An awkward silence stretched between them.

Beatrice cleared her throat. "So, funny story. I think I just got lost."

The servant continued to stare.

Beatrice gestured vaguely. "Also, I may or may not have accidentally broken into the pantry."

The servant said nothing.

She sighed. "Right. I see you’re having a bit of a crisis here, so I’ll just—" Beatrice took a step back, hands raised. "....leave and pretend this never happened."

Finally, the servant found his voice. "M-My lady?"

Beatrice froze. "Yes?"

The servant swallowed. "Should I... call for someone?"

Beatrice winced. Oh god.

If a guard found her lost in the basement, she would never live it down.

"No!" She said immediately. "No need for that. In fact, let’s not do that. Let’s do the opposite of that."

The servant looked skeptical.

Beatrice grinned. "I mean, what kind of story would that be, right? Lady Beatrice Da Ville got lost in the pantry and had to be rescued. That’s so boring."

The servant blinked. Beatrice kept grinning.

The servant slowly nodded, and she exhaled in relief.

"Great! Well, it was lovely breaking and entering with you. I’ll just—" she turned toward the stairs. Only to realize she still had no idea how to get back.

Crap.

She turned back to the servant, grinning sheepishly. "So, hypothetically speaking. If someone were to be lost... how would they get back to the main hall?"

The servant blinked again, then pointed toward the opposite hallway. "Up those stairs. Then take a right."

"You are a lifesaver. Truly! I will not forget this."

The servant still looked confused, but he gave a small bow. "Of course, my lady."

Beatrice turned and bolted. By the time she finally made it back to the main hall, she had successfully convinced herself that no one would ever know about this.

It was fine. Everything was fine. She just had to act normal.

She turned the corner, and immediately crashed into Francois.

Beatrice stumbled back, looking up at him like she had been caught committing a federal crime.

Francois narrowed his eyes. "Where have you been?"

She flashed a smile. "Oh, you know. Around."

Francois did not look convinced. "Around?"

"Yup!" She folded her hands behind her back, rocking on her heels. "Just... exploring!"

Francois stared at her. Beatrice stared back, unblinking.

He slowly crossed his arms. "You got lost, didn’t you?"

Beatrice gasped, clutching her chest. "This is my second home. Why would you assume such a thing?"

Francois sighed. "You got lost."

Beatrice hesitated. Then, very quietly, she muttered, "...Maybe."

Francois pinched the bridge of his nose. "Unbelievable." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Beatrice just grinned.

At least she wasn’t bored anymore.