Episode 2

Episode 2. She Must Be Crazy! A Stalker, Seriously?

Every time I read a romance fantasy novel, I always had one question.

How do villainesses always manage to appear at critical moments?

Whenever the male and female leads met, the villainess would appear—almost as if she had been waiting for them.

Today, I found out the trade secret. It’s surveillance.

A report detailing the Emperor’s every move…

Helena, you’re seriously crazy! Are you a stalker?!

I let out a deep sigh.

I must’ve taken things too lightly.

From the very beginning, this hadn’t been something that I could fix simply by deciding not to do anything evil.

There were already messes the real Helena had made.

Sure, the daily report on the emperor’s movements could just be stopped with a simple “quit it.”

“Your Majesty, thank you for waiting!”

“Please be happy! At last, the deed you so longed for has finally been completed…!”

The problem was, Helena had given out more than just a few orders.

One by one, handmaidens popped out of nowhere with bright smiles to report their achievements.

“We’ve subtly changed the ingredients being sent to the Imperial Concubine’s palace. By now, everyone’s probably running to the bathroom!”

“We secretly swapped her cosmetics for low-quality ones. Once she finishes her current ones, the new ones will ruin her face!”

“We sabotaged her shoes with a knife. If she goes for a walk with the Emperor, they’ll definitely fall apart!”

These were the people loyally and proudly carrying out the very orders Helena had once given.

Wait a second.

Come to think of it, haven’t I heard of all these incidents before?

The female lead getting sick from eating bad food and the male lead staying up all night nursing her.

Her face suddenly swelling up one day, and the male lead comforting her.

Her shoe breaking while walking in the garden, and the male lead helping her walk…

Yeah. All of those mirror romantic scenes from the original novel.

I thought they were just random incidents that occurred because the heroine was so frail.

So that’s how it all happened?

Turns out, they were all the result of my handmaidens’ spy work, instigated by Helena.

What am I supposed to do with this?

I pressed my throbbing forehead.

“Your Majesty?”

Just then, a voice called out to me.

“Is something wrong?”

The handmaidens asked, clearly worried.

They seemed concerned that there might be a problem with the tasks they had completed.

There is a problem, but…

I couldn’t just scold them outright.

If they were guilty of anything, it was being too faithful in carrying out Helena’s previous orders.

Right, I decided, taking a deep and calming breath. It’s not their fault.

This is all on me.

Although technically, it’s Helena’s fault for using these innocent girls.

How did she even persuade them to be this loyal?

“If there’s anything you don’t like, please tell us. We’ll fix it immediately.”

“No, it’s okay.”

I shook my head.

“I just need a moment to think. Could you give me some space?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

They bowed politely and started to file out of the room.

Their gloomy expressions made it hard not to say anything.

“You all worked hard today.”

“Yes! Thank you for the praise!”

They answered brightly.

That made it even harder to get mad at them.

They did work hard. I should praise them for that first and slowly but gently explain that it’s no longer necessary going forward.

It’s fine. It’ll be fine.

Things are a bit tangled right now, but I can fix them all one by one.

“I heard all the imperial concubine’s dresses were ruined.” Jerome said suddenly at dinner as I was taking a bite of my meal and I choked on it, coughing hard.

Wow, that came out of nowhere.

I quickly took a sip of cold water to calm my nerves.

Then I looked across at Jerome with a shocked expression.

“Her dresses were ruined? Oh my.”

He sat in silence and stared at me with raised brows.

“That’s terrible. Who would do such a thing?”

His stare became even more pointed.

Haha. No need to look at me like that.

Yes, I know. I sound completely shameless.

“So… did you catch the culprit?”

I kept my act going and asked innocently.

“Not yet.”

Jerome rested his chin on his hand and gave me a piercing glare.

“They were very thorough in covering their tracks.”

“Oh dear.”

“Don’t you have any guesses?”

“Unfortunately, none at all.”

Actually, I knew exactly who it was.

I could clearly picture Mary’s smiling face holding the scissors she was showing me proudly in one hand.

But I couldn’t confess.

Lady Mary of Baron Dubon’s family had a complicated story. 

Though she was a noble, she was practically raising her younger siblings alone after her parents fled town with gambling debts. Punishing someone like her would be cruel.

Without Helena’s order, she wouldn’t have done such a thing to begin with.

I’m sorry, heroine. I’ll send you some designer dresses one day.

Jerome interrupted my train of thought.

“Do you really not know?”

He asked again.

He even set down his fork and knife.

His crimson eyes burned intensely, clearly suspecting me.

Now I was getting seriously offended.

Why was I being stared at like that?

It’s not a crime to be stuck in the body of a villainess!

Frustrated, I lashed out a bit.

“Are you accusing me of this right now?”

“……”

“Seriously? Why would I tear up her dresses? I haven’t even left the Empress’s Palace.”

I protested, full of righteous indignation.

It wasn’t even a lie.

Except for meals like this, I really hadn’t stepped outside.

Why would I leave the cozy Empress’s Palace?

Despite my strong denial, Jerome still didn’t seem convinced.

“Then who else would have done it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe someone who holds a grudge against her. Or maybe it was innocent, maybe a rat or mouse did it?”

Okay, that was a terrible excuse.

Who else would dare do that to the beloved Imperial Concubine?

Search the whole palace and you’d only find one suspect:

Helena.

The heroine had an innocent, graceful image.

She was kind-hearted and nice to everyone.

Of course everyone loved her.

It made sense that Jerome would suspect me.

But I couldn’t just give in, especially since it felt like a false accusation to me.

It had only been one day since I swore off being evil!

Times like this called for boldness.

“Do you have any actual proof that I did it?”

“Given your past behavior, isn’t that enough?”

“Well…”

I was speechless.

Helena had committed plenty of sins before I took over, and I was being judged for them. It made sense, but it jarred me even so. I felt the need to defend myself.

“It sounds as though you have no solid proof. Good. Then I’ll say it again—I didn’t do it.”

I said, cool as a cucumber.

“You’re shameless.”

His face turned cold.

“If you really can’t trust me, maybe we should just get divorced. I’m tired of being misunderstood like this.”

It wasn’t just a bluff. I meant it.

Sure, Helena had done a lot of bad things—but I couldn’t blame her for everything.

Even if our marriage was simply for political reasons…

Who wouldn’t be upset if their husband only ever looked at another woman?

Especially if he made me Empress just so he could bring the Imperial Concubine into the palace.

Whatever the reason—it was a broken marriage.

Now that the Imperial Concubine was here, there was no reason for me to stay.

“Divorce?”

My bold statement made Jerome’s mood shift instantly.

His eyes, cold and detached before, now glinted with something dangerous.

Was it because of the tense situation?

The chefs and knights quietly slipped out of the room.

Even the attendants left. Only Jerome and I remained in the massive dining hall.

The realization that it was just the two of us hit me hard—and filled me with unease.

Creak—

Jerome pushed his chair back and stood.

Step by step, he approached me.

His expression was unreadable—like a cold, marble statue.

A sculpture made with absolute care and artistry, but no emotion to it. He was beautiful.

I could understand why Helena had been so obsessed with him.

But no matter how handsome, a statue walking toward you with murderous intent is terrifying.

I swallowed dryly.

Before I knew it, he was standing right next to me.

He raised his hand.

Was he going to hit me?

I squeezed my eyes shut.

But instead, his hand landed gently on my shoulder.

“I was worried when you said strange things the other day. I’m glad you appear to be better now.”

He bent to whisper in my ear, his voice pitched low.

“……!”

My eyes flew open in surprise.

Jerome withdrew his hand and walked out of the dining hall.

“…What the hell?”

Why was he acting like that all of a sudden?

I was left staring at his retreating back in complete confusion.