The villainess will survive!

Part 79: Regret

I didn't mind myself getting dragged down because I had already been expecting this very scene from the moment I breathed my first breath in this new world. 

Changing my own fate was something I had obviously not done before, so I tried to keep as low expectations as possible. 

If I were to get accused by Albert, then that would only tell me that changing my end was something that was going to be rather difficult. 

Maybe my fate wasn't something to be tinkled with from the very beginning, as things would still be snapped into place at the end. 

Now, did I actually manage to change things?

The short answer was: Yes, I did. 

But if this was the price of changing my own fate, then I should have never tried at all. 

If I caused myself to be blameless but instead put my whole family in danger, then this ending was even worse than my supposed original one. 

Perhaps my original only goal from the beginning was to survive, but I came to have things I genuinely cherished.

The original Albert would have never felt it was needed to destroy The Villinie Dukedom to bring down Roselyn, only to expose Roselyn so much that they couldn't even shield her anymore. 

But this Albert had nothing on me to expose, so in my place, down The Villinie Dukedom goes. 

My fist clenched as I regretted my decision to change Roselyn's character, a feeling the past me would have never thought I would experience. 

I only wanted to survive....but the result was too much to bear. 

My father didn't look bothered in the slightest, although I'm not sure if this was only a facade. 

Mother seemed curious, but no worry flashed across her eyes as she rubbed her belly repeatedly.

Onii-sama's brows were furrowed and his eyes gleamed with determination, he definitely knew more than he appeared to. 

Was he expecting this beforehand?

 That definitely wasn't the expression of someone who had just been informed of the news, or at least knew the boundaries of it. 

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry....'

My parents would never blame me for this due to their ignorance of my situation, but I fully blamed myself. 

And Onii-sama wouldn't blame me either, he would understand that I was only trying to survive. 

But I would be living with the burden of guilt, no matter what their words of comfort and assurance were. 

Is....was this really the end of The Villinie Dukedom, a household that had managed over the lands since this country was formed by Zariat?

All thanks to my reincarnation in the Villainess's body and my efforts to change my fate?

I could only curse myself silently as I stood there and watched Albert give a speech about the situation. 

                                                                        ***

"As you know, this mysterious yet advanced drug has been spread across the country, threatening the common people. There is no antidote, which makes this situation even more dire. The only factor before it reaches us higher-ups is time." 

Higher-ups. 

So even a Crown Prince must emphasize that we're the superior people in this country, with wealth and power.

But, he must get in the good graces of the nobles if he wants support to be king. 

Although, this was just praising and flattering them to get a good image of yourself in their mind.

So even a royal crown prince must sacrifice some dignity and pride, huh? 

And, I could have sworn that when he reached the last sentence, he glanced at me out of the crowd. 

Does that mean he knows about my condition? 

The only ones who should know, logically, is the magic tower and my family. 

But if the Royal Family also knows, then that wouldn't be out of normalcy. 

However, whoever knows this could use it against me. 

Not physically in this situation, of course. 

If Albert was trying to accuse my family, this information was a double-edged sword based on what stances the public took. 

It could either be viewed as as a way to prove my family's innocence, or even worsen our situation by having the Duke known as someone who would harm his own daughter. 

And to reveal how the poison got into me in the first place to have others think how it was simply a coincidence was a no-no for him. 

Because then I would have to tell them that the maid was sent by Ivy, who was also the person Albert wanted to protect. 

If I could speak telepathically in this messy situation, then I would warn Albert about if he used my condition against my family, I would also spit out Ivy's wrongdoings without hesitation. 

But until he brings this topic up himself, it would be impossible for me to. 

"Your Highness, then, who is the backer of the distribution of the poison?", an impatient person in the front asked. 

I could see that more than half of these people had already assumed a naive guess on the unknown figure. 

I wanted to sneer at them and their stupidity knowing that my father probably had quite a lot of votes in their mind. 

Many people here wanted to get straight to the answer they were promised, they didn't care much about whatever Albert had to say beforehand. 

Albert observed the crowd for a moment, and then nodded as an agreement. 

My fist clenched tighter as he slowly opened his mouth. 

If I hadn't been paying so much attention to his every actions and movements as if this were a cat-chase-mouse game, I would have seen Ivy's bold smirk. 

"Count Castria, could you please come up?"