Lily entered the kitchen, the morning light catching the steam rising from the cup.

She had prepared a special blend of warm tea, hoping the fragrance alone would help Viella look refreshed for the chaotic day ahead.

As she turned with the tray, she suddenly bumped into a hard chest.

The tray tilted, the tea sloshing toward the edge, but Lily’s reflexes were as sharp as ever. She caught it just in time, balancing the tray with a steady hand.

She looked up at the tall figure towering over her.

Lucian stood there, his arms crossed as he looked down at his expensive shirt. A tiny, barely visible splash of tea had dampened the fabric near his midsection. He raised his eyebrows, a look of mock offense crossing his handsome face.

"Are you blind or what?" Lucian asked, his voice dripping with a playful arrogance.

"Can’t you see a tall, handsome man literally standing right here? Look what you did to my shirt. This is exclusive silk, you know."

Lily stared at him, then slowly turned her gaze across the massivekitchen. There was enough space for a small army to march through, yet he had decided to stand directly behind her.

Really? Lily thought, her expression flat and her eyes bored.

"My apologies, Lord Lucian," Lily said, her voice dry. "It seems my vision has gotten remarkably weak since I came to your mansion. The sheer... grandeur of the place must be blinding me."

She took a step closer, not looking intimidated in the slightest. "So, please, give me some money. I’ll need to go for an eye check-up immediately so I don’t miss any more ’tall, handsome men’ standing in my way."

She glanced at the tiny damp spot on his chest and reached into her apron for a clean cloth.

"And your stain... hmm. I’ll clean it up for you. Try not to move, or I might ’accidentally’ poke an eye out with my blurry vision."

Lucian let out a short, surprised huff of laughter, watching her intently as she began to dab at the spot. He didn’t move away, if anything, he seemed to enjoy annoying her.

"There you go. All clean now, Lord Lucian," Lily said, her voice flat. She took a deliberate step back, her eyes scanning the fabric. Lucian looked down, surprised to find the silk perfectly restored, without a single watermark in sight.

As she reached into her apron to tuck the handkerchief away, his hand shot out, catching her wrist to stop her.

"What is it?" she asked, her gaze dropping to his grip and then back to his face.

"Girls are obsessed with me, you know," Lucian started, his voice teasing. "They love to keep things I’ve touched. Souvenirs. I mean, what if you’re one of them? It’s okay, I don’t judge. It’s a natural reaction to being in my presence."

Lily finally allowed a ripple of genuine annoyance to break through her stone cold expression. She raised an eyebrow, her lips pulling into a thin line.

"I am not into such ’stuffs,’ for your kind information," she replied, her voice raised a bit.

"And I am especially not into ’dashing’ faces. As I mentioned, they only happen to blind me."

Lucian’s eye gave a distinct twitch. The Most Eligible Bachelor of the region felt his ego take a direct hit.

"So you’re telling me you don’t like my face? This face?!" Lucian suddenly leaned down, invading her personal space until he was at her exact eye level. He moved in so close that the tips of their noses brushed, his gaze searching hers for even a flicker of a blush.

Lily didn’t move. She simply stared back at him with the same bored intensity she used when checking a grocery list. After a heartbeat of silence, she calmly took another step back and pressed the damp handkerchief into his hand.

"You can have it. Or just burn it," she said, turning on her heel. "I am not interested in keeping such things."

With that, she picked up the tray of tea and walked out of the kitchen without a second glance, leaving Lucian standing alone in the middle of his own mansion, clutching a wet piece of cloth and wondering how, for the first time in his life, he had just been dismissed like a common footman.

Few maids saw this and felt bad for their young master.

___________

As Lily entered the room, she saw Viella standing perfectly still in the same spot, not yet freshened up or even began her morning routine.

"My lady, you’re still like this? We’re going to be lat-"

The moment Lily placed the tea tray down, Viella lunged forward and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the desk. She pointed her finger at the object resting there. "Lily, look! The book!"

Lily looked down, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion as she flipped through the pages. "What happened? Why is it empty all of a sudden?"

"So I’m not going crazy after all... the book really is empty..." Viella let out a hollow breath and collapsed into the chair. She rubbed her temples, trying to stop the world from spinning. Then she looked up at Lily.

"Now, tell me honestly. What is going on?"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about, my lady," Lily replied

Viella took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart.

"Do you remember the mission we went on? To the woods?"

Lily nodded. "Of course."

"You saw Dante getting tortured? And then how he saved Alina?"

Lily nodded again. "Yes, my lady."

"And you remember me... shooting her? The shot I took from the shadows?"

This time, Lily didn’t nod. She froze, her head tilting slightly in genuine confusion. "What do you mean? When did that happen?"

"Huh?" Viella stared at her "Did you really forget? I pulled the trigger, Lily. I shot her right in the chest!"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about, my lady," Lily said, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"All that happened was we saw Lord Dante saving Alina, and with that, we left. We didn’t stay a second longer."

"Is that all that happened?" Viella pressed, her voice rising.

Lily nodded firmly. Viella stayed still, connecting few dots. Hmm... "and what happened these past two days?"

"You’re saying it as if you don’t remember anything," Lily said, looking increasingly worried.

"It’s you who doesn’t remember anything from that night, Lily! But whatever... tell me what happened without asking any questions!"

"Well," Lily began, ticking points off her fingers, "the next day you woke up early. You did your exercise, you ate healthy, you went for a spa treatment..."

"I did exercise??" Viella muttered, her eyes wide. "But I never do that... And specially never eat healthy." She gripped the armrests of the chair. "And how was I toward everyone? Toward you?"

"Hm... you were a bit rude," Lily admitted, bowing her head slightly. "I apologize for saying so, my lady. I didn’t think much of it since you had experienced so much that night. I thought your mind was just filled with thoughts."

Viella was connecting the dots.

"Yeah, you’re right. And didn’t I ask you about Dante?"

Lily nodded. "I told you there was no update from him. He took Alina home and there hasn’t been any news leaked yet. But his man personally came here yesterday to give the invitation to your brother for the pre wedding ceremony."

Viella raised an eyebrow. "And how did I act when the invitation arrived?"

Lily was visibly confused by the questioning, but she answered anyway. "Honestly? You looked happy. Excited, even. You told me to prepare everything perfectly for today. I asked you why all of sudden then you told me you have a plan in your head. But why are you asking all of this? Did you hit your head and forget everything?"

"You know what... yeah. Something like that. Leave me alone for a bit, Lily. I’ll freshen up and come down for breakfast, I will let you know everything afterwards" Viella said, her voice strained as she dismissed the maid.

Lily nodded, though her eyes lingered on Viella with a trace of lingering suspicion, before finally closing the door.

As soon as the click of the latch echoed, Viella looked down at her hand. The small wound from before was nearly healed.

Like I thought, she said, It wasn’t me. And if it wasn’t me acting like a ’happy bride’ these past two days, it means only one thing.

The Original Viella.

"Is it because I burned the book?" she whispered to the empty room. "Did destroying the script allow her back into the driver’s seat?"

She began to pace, her eyes darting across the vanity until they landed on a familiar object.

A diary.

The same one the Original Viella had kept in her room.

"Why is this here?" She flipped it open, her fingers trembling. The old entries were the same but as she reached the final pages, the ink looked fresh. The handwriting was matching with the old ones.

She started to read

I know you’re reading this, silly girl. And if you’re not, then I expect you’re already dead. As expected from a loser like you.

Viella raised her eyebrows, a dry laugh escaping her lips. "In that case, you’re the big loser for dying first," she mocked, clicking her tongue before reading further.

Well, I gave you a task to finish those two, yet you ended up making the stupid mistake of killing Alina.

Viella stood up abruptly, the diary clutched in her hand. "I KNEW IT! I DID KILL HER!" So this related to me killing her as well!

That was your biggest mistake. If you want to know why, ask Lily. Anyways, moving on. Since you were too lazy to do anything, I

the Original Viella, with an actual brain, have found a clue on how to actually erase them.

Underneath the text was a detailed sketch. It was a dagger, its blade curved like a moon, and etched into the hilt was a strange, intricate symbol.

Viella’s breath hitched. She scrambled for the loose papers she had burned along with the Original Book. She spread them out on the bed, her eyes scanning the margins.

There it was.

The same symbol was hidden in the corner of every single page, always positioned right next to her name.

"So this symbol and the dagger... they have a connection," she whispered.

Suddenly her brain clicked.

It was the same dagger Viella was killed with!

Her eyes widened as the realization hit her. If that weapon was designed to permanently end the "Villainess," then it was the only thing in this world that could bypass plot armor as well.

"Does that mean... if it can kill the villainess, it can kill the female lead as well?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

A dangerous smirk spread across her face. She began to laugh like a maniac, clutching the diary to her chest.

"Dang, I am such a genius!"

Then, she stopped dead.

"Oh wait..." her voice dropped to a whisper.

"How am I even going to find that dagger now?"

She looked at the clock. The seconds were ticking away. Reality crashed down on her.

"I HAVE ONLY 24 HOURS BEFORE DANTE OR EVEN THAT CRAZY ELIAS KILLS ME!" she shrieked, grabbing her hair in frustration.

She threw herself face-down onto the bed, her muffled screams shaking the mattress.

"GODDD, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS DO THIS TO ME?! AHHHHH!!!!!!!"

She finally had a weapon, but she had no idea where it was hidden. If it was meant for her execution, it was likely being kept by the very people who wanted her dead

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TO BE CONTINUED