I’m A Villainess, But I Picked Up the Male Lead - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I possessed the body of a villainess inside of a novel who sold the male lead’s ‘heart’ to a neighbouring country. If he found out that the perpetrator was me, I would’ve died just like the original story.

So, I attempted to get his heart back without being discovered. If only I hadn’t picked up the male lead on the street, my plan would have gone smoothly.

Damn it, why did I do this to myself?

***

I don’t know how I ended up possessing the villainess’s body inside the novel.

I was just your average busy office worker. My last memory was working overtime sitting in front of a desk in a company office. When I woke up, I was a different person. The cause of death was, obviously, overwork. I worked so hard that I felt like I was going insane.

About three months after I came to this world, I gave up trying to figure out how I ended up here. There were several reasons why I decided to adapt in just three months. Among them, the most decisive reasons are as follows:

In Korea, I was basically already a dead person, and the villain I possessed was also an extremely busy person. I was so preoccupied that I had no time to think about anything else, so a year had gone by before I realized what was going to happen to me.

But I encountered some problems, as well. I came upon the male lead, who was collapsed on the street. The male lead would kill me in the future, so he was the one I should’ve avoided the most.

However, this was already the third time I had met him. It was a really absurd coincidence.

“… Ugh.”

The man had several wounds. He fell to the ground and groaned. It was a relief that no one was walking by because it was a dark alley.

I took a big handkerchief out of my purse and covered my nose and mouth with it. I took a peek at the fallen man as I held my handkerchief with thick gloves.

It was the same as before. We always met in this manner. And I would treat his wound each time. Somehow, him lying on the street seemed to have something to do with his lost ‘heart’. As a result, I couldn’t go past him. I didn’t know when and where I would meet him, so I kept the handkerchief with me.

This was due to the poisonous nature of the male lead’s blood, which I could not touch with my bare hands.

“He’s the main character, so he wouldn’t die, right?”

I nodded my head after giving it some thought. But, if I left him in such a state, he could actually die. It was a difficult decision to make.

Countess Edith, the body I inhabited, had attempted numerous assassinations on the male lead.

She also stole the male lead’s ‘heart’, which is blue blood, from a neighbouring empire two years before I possessed her body.

It’s been a year since I came to this body, so it was already three years since that incident.

Countess Edith wanted the male lead to die before it was discovered that she had stolen the male lead’s ‘heart’. But if he did die, she would be convicted for killing a member of the imperial family. Why would she do such a thing? Was she confident that she wouldn’t get caught?

I wasn’t sure, but if it went according to the original story, I’d be the prime suspect in the murder. That couldn’t happen!

“Hey, are you alright?”

I jabbed the male lead with my gloved hand. He couldn’t come to his senses because of the pain. ‘He’s not going to wake up again, is he?’

I’d never seen the male lead awake before. It was because every time I saw him, he would be hurt and hanging at the edge of death. I decided to just stop the bleeding and take him to a safe place like last time, then hide his body. I also had to flee before he came to his senses.

“What a shame, his face is really my cup of tea… “

I knelt in front of the man and admired his face. It was as if an angel had descended from heaven. Even his body looked muscly, as if he was trained in swordsmanship.

“You should be grateful, since I tried my best to help you.”

I muttered to myself and took disinfectants and gauze out of my handbag. Then, I examined the wound by lifting the ripped hem of his clothing. Suddenly, a big hand grabbed my arm.

“Ahh!”

I was taken aback and stumbled. The man, who had been lying down, frowned and sat up slowly. He groaned for a moment and was surprised when he saw me.

After a lengthy silence, he said calmly,

“As expected… I wasn’t mistaken. What are you up to, Countess Edith?”

‘Oh my God, did I just get caught?’

I was so surprised that I couldn’t answer back and turned to flee. I could have successfully gotten away if he hadn’t grabbed my arm.

“Where are you going?”

“This… let go!”

I hit him in the face with the handbag in my other hand. The problem was that there was a stone in the handbag. Of course, I had a lot to say regarding the stone’s origins.

“F*ck.”

I tensed up at the sight of the man who had collapsed after being struck by the stone in my bag. This time, he seemed to have really fainted.

***

My aide, Edward, came to look for me after waiting for a long time. I struggled to drag the unconscious Linus, which was the male lead’s name, and made eye contact with Edward. He was shocked at first, but soon said,

“… Did you just kill a person, Countess?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Can you help me? Quickly.”

At this rate, I would be unjustly accused of attempting to assassinate a member of the imperial family. I’d rather take him to the mansion, treat him, and insist that I saved him.

Edward grumbled and moved Linus along with me. Uncle Charles, the coachman, was taken aback like Edward was, but he calmly assisted us.

“Let’s get going.”

I got on the carriage and wiped the sweat off of my temples. When Edward slammed the carriage door shut, someone knocked on the carriage’s door. I hastily picked up the hem of my dress and concealed Linus with it.

Edward stared at me in amazement, but I ignored him and opened the carriage window. Outside the window stood a handsome middle-aged gentleman dressed in black robes. I recognized that face. He gave me a startled look when the carriage window slid open and he saw me. He was shocked to see me, who was regarded as a wicked lady, emerge out of nowhere.

I lowered my voice as much as I could and opened my mouth,

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”

Only then did he loosen his tense face and grin.

“Yes, I think we haven’t seen each other since that meeting.”

The middle-aged gentleman reached out to me through the window.

Viscount Winston and I weren’t close enough to see each other apart from the meeting. Furthermore, he was the male lead’s maternal uncle and the worst villain in the novel that had abused him since his childhood. Even if Linus was an abandoned prince, he was still a prince of this empire. Nevertheless, Viscount Winston had constantly abused him. He was daring, but I was much more so.

I tilted my head obliquely as I stared at Viscount Winston’s hand, which was reaching out to me.

“You must have a purpose for stopping my carriage.”

Winston withdrew his hand with an uncomfortable expression as he glanced at his empty palms. I saw where his eyes were headed and quickly added,

“Viscount Winston? What is it? Say it.”

Viscount Winston lifted an eyebrow when he noticed I was in a rush. Alright, I succeeded in pissing him off and focusing his attention on me. He scowled, indicating his dissatisfaction, but I couldn’t readily point out his rudeness because of my position and notoriety.

Viscount Winston gritted his teeth, then smiled and asked me,

“I’m looking for someone. A handsome young man with platinum blonde hair.”

“I didn’t see him. If Viscount Winston is looking for a platinum-blonde young man… has Prince Arnold run away from you?”

Viscount Winston smiled again at my words. It was a forced smile. Many people knew that he abused Prince Arnold, but because the emperor condoned it, no one said anything about it.

“Oh my. What are you so surprised about? Hahaha.”

I smiled at him.

“Are you done with your business? I’m a very busy person, so please stop bothering me.”

I closed the carriage door in Viscount Winston’s face.

The carriage began to start again. With my palm on my chest, I took a big breath.

“Dealing with Viscount Winston is really exhausting. I kept wanting to run away.”

I pulled up my dress, and fortunately, Linus hadn’t woken up yet.

“For someone who wanted to run away, you dealt with him rather well.”

Edward shook his head and placed his finger on Linus’s neck to check his pulse.