Uncover the Death of the Villainess - Chapter 2

My body went limp and I dropped the pen I was holding. The trembling that started from my fingertips spread throughout my entire body.

“Why, why. Why on earth. Wasn’t she living happily? You know, rising in status and all that. Originally in fairy tales, princesses meet rich husbands, get married, and live happily ever after. That’s how it should end. Why on earth! What was she lacking?”

Maybe it was the shock. Cedric’s face blurred. Or maybe it looked that way because of the tears filling my eyes.

“I’ll cancel your afternoon appointments.”

I leaned back in my chair and covered my face with both hands.

Although Laura and I had grown distant over the past three years, she was once my closest friend.

I sat there sobbing for a long time, but it still didn’t feel real.

‘It must be a lie. She’s doing this to reconcile with me. Yeah, Laura used to play mean pranks on me sometimes…’

So it can’t be true. I wanted to believe it wasn’t true.

Everyone I love leaves my side. Perhaps this is a curse that I alone must bear.

Meanwhile, Cedric, who had gone out and came back in, brought a basin filled with warm water.

“Why don’t you get a foot massage, boss? It’s been a while.”

“…Get rid of it.”

“It would be a big problem if you collapsed from stress. Our employees’ livelihoods depend on you.”

He carefully took off my shoes and soaked my feet in the water.

His face looking up at me from below was strangely seductive. Somehow, this situation reminded me of a very erotic dream I had last month.

Back then, his lips trailed up from my ankle and licked my most intimate place. Cedric’s body that I saw in the dream was too alluring to be just a simple imagination. A large upper body covered in firm muscles, rock-hard abs like a marble sculpture, and an enormous center. Although it was a dream, this man gave me pleasure I had never experienced before.

Recalling that memory, my lower abdomen involuntarily clenched and gradually moistened, soaking my underwear.

“Uh, hnn…”

At the moan I unconsciously let out, his eyes framed by black eyelashes narrowed. Feeling embarrassed, I made an excuse.

“It’s because my muscles are tense. It hurts.”

“I see.”

Soon after, his long fingers enveloped the soles of my feet. The appropriate strength was relieving the tension in my body. There was no time to get angry at him for suddenly giving a massage.

After all, Cedric was an employee born with the ability to tactfully match my mood.

‘Get a grip. You shouldn’t be swayed by that man because of one strange dream.’

Above all, isn’t it too selfish to fall into such a lewd mood right after grieving over a friend’s death?

The tension eased from my trembling body and I calmed down. With just one massage, I returned to my usual rational self. With just one massage, he stopped my tears. Come to think of it, my secretary is quite a talented man.

Perhaps he’s too good for me. I don’t know if he hates being by my side, but I needed him too. After all, Cedric is the only one who matches my mood like this.

“That’s enough. If other employees see, strange rumors will spread again.”

“What’s wrong with a few rumors? We’re both single anyway. It’s not like we’ve committed any crime.”

I observed him for a moment as he focused on massaging my foot, trying to calm my flushed cheeks.

Isn’t he disgusted? Touching someone else’s feet so unhesitatingly like that.

No matter how much I pay him as his boss, it’s not easy for someone to show such loyalty.

He relieved my fatigue with meticulous hand movements. After wiping off the moisture with a soft towel, he even applied fragrant oil at the end.

Now that my attention was directed elsewhere, I finally started to calm down. My head began to clear little by little.

“I wonder why Laura made such a choice?”

It wasn’t a question I expected an answer to. But Cedric responded immediately.

“Well. Maybe she actually had a very bad relationship with Marquis Paine? Even yesterday when she ran into you on the department store street, she said strange things before leaving.”

Strange things. Is he talking about when she told me to be careful of her fiancé?

I thought it was odd that she suddenly said such things and disappeared when we met after a long time.

So they really had a bad relationship. That’s why Michael and Laura never made public appearances together for the entire three years of their engagement. And she cut off contact with me abruptly to avoid showing any weakness.

It was mere speculation that couldn’t be confirmed, but it seemed quite plausible.

Silly girl.

If she was going through something difficult, she could have just asked me for help. If she had, I would have forgiven her mistake and extended a helping hand.

Cedric, who had put my shoes back on, pulled out a crumpled envelope from his back pocket.

“This letter came for you today, Boss. I was going to throw it away because the sender’s name was strange, but I kept it because the paper quality was too high-end.”

On the envelope Cedric handed me, it was addressed ‘To my dear friend Charlotte Liv’ along with the department store address. The sender’s name was written as ‘Your magical connection.’

Your magical connection.

It was an expression Laura often used when referring to our relationship. Even when we had only known each other for a few days, she called our connection a gift from heaven.

“This seems to be from Laura.”

When I opened the envelope just in case, two pieces of paper came out. One was an old-looking paper with visible wear, and the other was a crisp new paper.

“It looks like someone tore a page from a diary.”

As Cedric said, the worn paper had one corner crumpled and uneven, as if torn by hand.

— March 6, 1851.
It was a hectic day coming up to the capital. While looking for a place to stay, I saved a woman who almost got hit by a carriage. Her name was Charlotte Liv. She was a very pretty and intelligent friend with the same brown hair as mine. I knew it the moment I saw her. That I would be lifelong friends with this girl. Tomorrow, as thanks for saving her life, she agreed to show me around various places in the capital. I want to become close with Charlotte. I wonder if I can do well?

“Can you guess whose diary this is?”

“Yes. This was the day I first met Laura.”

Why did she suddenly send me a page from her diary? And without revealing her real name.

As I pursed my lips in thought, Cedric blurted out gruffly from beside me.

“I suppose she felt sorry for not contacting you all this time. Now that your business is doing so well, she might be trying to make amends out of jealousy.”

Even without this diary, I know that Laura was sincere to me back then. If she hadn’t been my friend, I would probably still be depressed and out of my mind.

And Cedric’s words didn’t make sense.

“Would such a person make a bad choice?”

“I’m sorry. I was thoughtless.”

I waved my hand dismissively and started reading the crisp paper.

— If you’re reading this letter, you’ve probably heard the news of my death. I’ve always been sorry to you. For the past three years, I’ve lived with the guilt of taking your place. But I’m glad. Because I alone have fully immersed myself in this hell. From now on, you’ll receive one letter from me each day. Then you’ll soon know. Why I had no choice but to make this decision. And how that man, who seemed perfect, was actually such a mess and an imperfect demon.

Please, Charlotte.
Once I’m gone, Michael will approach you. I beg you, at least you, not to fall into that man’s clutches.
I’ll be waiting in heaven. See you later, your magical connection.

Cedric handed me a handkerchief, and I wiped away the tears that had fallen once again.

‘Laura. Didn’t you have the option to break off the engagement?’

What’s the big deal about breaking an engagement? Of course, the conservative socialites would gossip excitedly. They tend to consider broken engagements or divorces as fatal flaws only for women.

If my friend had wanted to escape from Michael and become independent, I would have given her a position at the department store.

“If she was going to send it, she should have sent the whole diary at once. Why use such a troublesome method to make people curious? We can’t wake up someone who’s already dead.”

My secretary complained tactlessly.

“Cedric.”

I glanced at him slightly, meaning for him to shut up. He brushed back his black hair, then took the basin on the floor out and came back in.

‘Laura. Why did you send me this kind of letter?’

It means she had already decided on dying from the moment she sent the letter. I wondered what Laura’s intention was in doing this. And I was curious about how long these letters, supposedly sent one per day, would continue, and who she was using to send them.

For now, I decided not to think badly of my friend who chose death.

“Cedric. You’re more up-to-date on rumors than I am, right?”

“I suppose so.”