The Villainess Refuses to Be the Female Lead

It’s convenient to have lost my memory at times like this.

Derick nodded his head lightly.

“I have business with the Second Prince, so I’ll come find you when I’m done.”

Derick spoke as if it were obvious as he got out of the carriage. Elisia was so dumbfounded she couldn’t speak.

“Follow me.”

Derick turned away coldly and headed toward the Imperial Palace without waiting for her. Elisia swallowed a sigh as she glared at the back of his head.

If she were the real Elisia, she would have been deeply hurt. The way he treated her like a stranger every time—she couldn’t even imagine how painful it must have been for his wife.

Elisia followed behind him, lost in thought.

‘What did Elisia see in that man anyway?’

If she only liked him for his face, everything else about him was the worst. He was truly a bad man.

‘Of course, Elisia herself was the one who made Derick act this way.’

She had brought it upon herself.

Though she knew it couldn’t be helped.

Walking quietly behind Derick, Elisia already wanted to cover her ears from the noise she could hear.

“Look over there. The Grand Duchess has arrived.”

“I told you she would definitely come.”

The problem was that her hearing was too good thanks to her half-demon bloodline. Even the whispers of the ladies at the bottom of the stairs reached her ears, making them hurt.

‘Being a mixed-blood demon is inconvenient at times like this.’

Since she was an expert at pretending not to see or hear anything, she just walked quietly.

When they reached the end of the stairs, the banquet hall immediately came into view.

“His Grace the Grand Duke of Elphias and the Grand Duchess have arrived!”

With the steward’s announcement, the firmly closed doors of the banquet hall opened.

Elisia momentarily lost herself, overwhelmed by the massive scale without even realizing it.

“Get a hold of yourself.”

Noticing her state, Derick lowered his head and whispered in her ear. Elisia’s shoulders flinched in surprise, but Derick nonchalantly guided her hand to hold his arm.

“You said you don’t know what’s what.”

Derick spoke quietly enough for only Elisia to hear, looking straight ahead.

“If you don’t want to be embarrassed, stay still.”

Despite his gruff tone, Elisia’s mouth slightly opened at the fact that Derick had shown consideration for her.

Her heart momentarily fluttered at the unexpected gesture.

‘Get a grip. Who are you getting excited about?’

Elisia clenched her fist as she tried to suppress her emotions.

This was just basic courtesy. The courtesy they needed to show as a Grand Duke couple.

***

She didn’t want to eat or drink anything.

However, with the nobles constantly watching her and looking for opportunities, she was in a situation where she couldn’t do much.

Left alone, Elisia showed a forced smile and quietly headed for a corner.

‘Where is the Imperial Princess? I just want to greet her and leave quickly.’

Even as she made her way to the corner, there were people who approached Elisia first to greet her.

When she responded as kindly as possible, most of them were startled or looked awkward.

‘I guess the original Elisia wasn’t like this?’

The people who had been approaching seemed to sense that something was off about Elisia’s demeanor. By the time she reached the corner of the wall, there was no one around her.

She held the wine glass she had received out of courtesy and surveyed her surroundings. Ladies fluttered their fans and glanced at her, but they couldn’t easily approach.

‘That’s rather fortunate.’

Elisia unconsciously brought the glass to her lips, took a sip, and immediately regretted it.

“Ah, I shouldn’t drink alcohol.”

Elisia’s body was what you’d call an “alcohol disaster.”

It wasn’t just that she couldn’t handle alcohol—her body couldn’t absorb it at all, so even one sip would make her face flush terribly.

This was information she had gained after drinking the alcohol served at dinner following her possession.

“…How annoying.”

This was truly disappointing.

She, who had been practically a heavy drinker in her previous life, shed tears of blood.

The one sip of wine she had tasted was exquisite. Knowing she shouldn’t drink more, she endured with patience.

‘This is why I want to leave quickly.’

Once the guest of honor appeared, she would greet them and leave immediately.

Just as she had made that resolution, the banquet hall doors opened again as someone arrived.

“Count Adelheit and the Count’s daughter have arrived!”

She leaned her back against the wall again. It wasn’t the person she was waiting for.

‘Wait. If it’s Adelheit…’

Just as she was wondering if it could be—

“So this is where you were.”

An unpleasantly vile voice.

Somehow she didn’t want to raise her head, but just as she reluctantly lifted her gaze—

“When your father arrives, you should come out and greet him. Why are you just staring blankly?”

She had managed to fend off all the people who had approached her, but she couldn’t simply ignore the person standing before her.

‘So this is Elisia’s father.’

She suppressed her desire to pretend not to know him.

Count Adelheit was a man who was not only overweight but also had his face full of greed and ambition. He was someone who would use anything, including family, for his own advancement.

“Who… might you be?”

But since she was supposed to have lost her memory—

Elisia responded to the man’s words with an innocent expression.

The count faltered, seemingly taken aback, and then deeply furrowed his brow.

“What, what?”

“I’m confused by a stranger approaching me like this.”

At Elisia’s response, the count’s face reddened.

Then her eyes fell on the woman standing next to the count.

Unlike Elisia’s silver hair, this woman had golden hair and deep blue eyes like the ocean.

She had a gloomy atmosphere, seemed to lack confidence, and had slumped shoulders. Perhaps because of this, her beautiful appearance stood out even more.

Who is she? Elisia tilted her head to the left, curious.

“Your father has been worried since you suddenly cut off contact.”

She glanced sideways at his shameless face, lying without even wetting his lips.

The count swallowed at Elisia’s cold gaze. Despite her appearance being the same as usual—beautifully adorned like a doll—there was something strangely chilling about her.

“Could you… possibly be my father?”

Elisia smiled sweetly for a moment.

‘Suspicious. There’s definitely something fishy going on.’

Elisia is a mixed-blood demon born between Count Adelheit and a female demon.

She was abandoned by her parents immediately after birth, having been conceived from what was merely a one-n*ght stand.

For some reason, Lilith had taken a liking to her and brought her to Minotas to raise her.

All she had received from the count was the surname Adelheit.

‘There’s no way the relationship between the count and Elisia could be close.’

In the original story, this was briefly mentioned without detailed explanation.

Still, Elisia could easily guess. It was clear to anyone that they were definitely not on good terms.

‘So why is he pretending to be concerned?’

However, Elisia didn’t immediately show her hostility.

Then suddenly, she barely recalled the identity of the woman standing quietly like a criminal next to the count.

‘Ah, right. Chloe Adelheit.’

As soon as Chloe’s eyes met Elisia’s, she flinched.

“Your—Your Grace, I greet you.”

Chloe, still keeping her head deeply bowed, offered her greeting in a small voice. As if she were afraid of Elisia.

Elisia understood her attitude.

‘I was so busy trying to survive that I forgot about the female protagonist.’

Chloe Adelheit was the female lead in the original story.

Elisia, who was full of jealousy and envy, resented Chloe’s pure and beautiful appearance. Despite being more beautiful herself.

As a result, she would summon Chloe to the Grand Duke’s mansion almost daily to torment her. She would treat her like a maid, hitting her in places that wouldn’t show and causing her pain.

‘It was when their eyes met, when Derick saved Chloe, that it all started.’

From then on, Elisia’s jealousy reached its peak.

The deeper Derick’s affection grew, the more she tormented Chloe, and Derick, who had fallen for her, tried to save her from Elisia.

‘In the original story, doesn’t Derick kill Elisia and end up happily with Chloe?’

Elisia planned to let everything unfold as in the original story, except for her own death. That would ensure her safety too.

‘Then I should be nice to Chloe.’

Since she didn’t have a hobby of tormenting others anyway, she had no intention of bullying Chloe like in the original story. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be nice to her, just in case.

“Elisia, don’t ignore your father.”

The count’s voice, feigning anger, interrupted Elisia’s thoughts. She was about to furrow her brow but quietly smiled instead.

“By the way, when do you plan to find that for me?”

“What are you…”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know! Stop acting innocent.”

The count, who had suddenly approached, whispered to Elisia.

“The evidence of the Grand Duke’s treason.”

“…?”

The count stood before Elisia again with a sinister smile.

“You said it yourself. That you would find it for me.”