The Villainess Won't Die

"BELIEVE ME, KID, THIS HARMLESS LIE WILL MAKE THINGS EASY," I said with my hands up, and she raised her eyebrows at that in a funny way. "Plus, if they saw you awake that moment, knowing them as I do, they certainly would drown you with a wave of questions about what happened, and I believe that would be very uncomfortable."

"Who are you calling a kid, Princess?" Well, her question makes sense. But in my mind, I'm 7 years older than her. "If I'm not mistaken, you will turn 14 this year, right?" Oh, how does she know that? "That makes me 6 years older than you!" What could I do in this situation but laugh? It was easier than explaining my thought about that. "You will have to get used to it for the time being. Because to everybody else, you are younger than me."

"You have a point," but then it was like reality hit her as she finally realized where she was resting down and where she was.

As fast as that happened, she got up from my arms and sat towards me on the other side of the carriage. Her cheeks burned as she got red from her neck to her forehead. How adorable. "Oh, my Goddess, I'm so sorry for this, Princess. I shouldn't have let you carry me like that. You, as a Royal, cannot be seen carrying a lowly commoner, an orphan at that, in your arms. Otherwise, a lot of mean gossip about you will surface."

"Don't even bother going down that road, Sabrina," my voice came out tired, and she turned her confused eyes to me. "I'm not the type to care about what strangers say about me. And I carried you because I wanted to. Besides, I'm not the usual type of Princess people think I am."

"You know how famous you are, Princess?" Isn't she mistaking me for my sister? "And I'm talking about you and not your sister," was that doubt so transparent in my face?

"Honestly, I know people talk about me behind my back. They always did. But in my mind, they only did that here in Theolia during the spring because my family always spends the season here. While back in Leopenia is a more common topic among the nobles under my dad." And once I live there, they always have something to complain about me. Especially Viscountess Meelany, that venomous viper.

She isn't satisfied with hurting and disrespecting me during our etiquette classes and always spreading rumors about me and how less-educated and inferior to my sibling I am, plus other things she creates to shade me. I'm not slightly bothered with that yet. At least not enough to do something about it. But if she insists on mistreating me, she's going to get a good beating.

Although I think it would be better to just give her the rope and let her cause her own end.

"That's not the case, Princess," her tone was kind. Maybe she thought this might upset me. "Even when you aren't here. The name 'Natasha Nicholai' is usually on people's mouths."

Now I'm curious. "What did you hear?" She bit her bottom lip, hesitating, and I smiled to encourage her to say it. "I want to hear it. Even if they are all bad things."

"It's not all bad. Yes, most of it is. But not entirely, Princess," that's expected. There are always dark horses who go against the popular opinion about someone.

And I can imagine what people might talk about me. Especially if they do it when I'm not even in the Imperial Capital. "Let me guess," I smirked. "They theorize about the prophecy involving both me and Dalilah?" Sabrina agreed with her head. "Majority of people think I'll bring destruction to our world, while my sister is the Saintess who will go against me, right?"

After my realization, I didn't even bother hiding my sarcasm.

"Yes," her answer was insecure. "But some people believe the opposite." To know that some people have such insight without knowing us... Interesting indeed. "What do you think?"

"I'm with the second group. Now more than before. I don't believe the person who saved would ever destroy the world. And I may be wrong, but I also don't think you are a bad person like most nobles and Royals are," she's innocent but clever. "Although you are the second Royal, I've met who treated me better than most commoners."

The second? Who's the first?Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

"And what other Royal have you met before?"

"2nd Princess Adelyn Caspien," ugh.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Adelyn Caspien is an Imperial, not a Royal."

"I... I'm sorry..." Was I rude? She seems slightly scared. "You... You don't seem to like Her Imperial Highness," oh, was that the problem?

"I'm not closer to the 2nd Princess. Neither do I want to be. It's been years since I last saw her," it's not entirely true, once she was around on my execution. "So, I can't say anything about her because I really don't know what she is like. But I don't like the people on House Caspien, and I want to stay as far away from them as possible."

"Oh... Why?"

"None of them like me. Believing I am the one who will destroy this Empire and the rest of the world. So, yes, I'm excited to be near any of them," it's not true, of course.

Like I said before, I'm only sure about Empress Francesca, Queen Olivia, and 3rd Prince Christopher. But she doesn't need to know that. This way is easier to explain my point without spilling secrets and my past with them. "Got it!"

The carriage stopped, and knowing what she needed to do, she jumped on my arms again and closed her eyes, pretending to be unconscious. It was so out of the blue that I had to use all my willpower not to laugh. Thankfully Kate doesn't have heightened senses. Otherwise, she would hear how fast Sabrina's heart was beating.