[I Will Live This Life as a Villainess]
Chapter 1
The prison, where not a single ray of sunlight entered, was always night.
There was no way to tell whether today was yesterday or if time was moving toward tomorrow.
Once a day, a thin gruel was pushed in through the tightly barred window, and after some time, the bowl was taken away.
Iliana counted her days by that.
After all, no one would bother to provide proper meals to a criminal who could be executed at any moment.
“This will tell you your past, present, and future. Do not forget, Lina.”
Creak—
“Wow… you look absolutely terrible.”
She had expected only the usual gruel today.
At the cold voice, Iliana lifted her head.
Her eyes, long accustomed to darkness, couldn’t endure the sudden light. She squinted, only to see a man frowning as he covered his nose and shook his head.
As if he had stepped somewhere filthy, he tapped his shoes against the floor to shake off the dust. It quickly spread thickly around him.
Only then did Iliana recognize who stood before her.
Once, he had been her husband in the name of love.
Now, he was a stranger who wanted her dead.
“Cedric.”
A rough, cracked voice escaped her lips.
Cedric stood at a distance, looking down at her as though afraid of being contaminated.
“This is worse than I expected. I’m sorry, Lina. I should have come sooner.”
Don’t speak.
“I wanted to at least spare you the death penalty, but His Majesty is so stubborn.”
Shut up.
“You should’ve listened to me. Look at this—now we’ve both gone through unnecessary trouble.”
As if everything were Iliana’s fault, Cedric let out a sigh.
Her lips slowly parted and trembled.
“What? I can’t hear you.”
He stepped closer and bent slightly. Iliana swallowed dryly and forced out the words.
“You bastard.”
She had never once spoken to him informally before. She couldn’t have even imagined it.
She had been a refined, intelligent, and beautiful wife—the daughter of Count Critea.
But now, that was the only thing she could say.
Cedric frowned.
“That’s harsh. I was once your husband.”
A vile smirk formed on his lips.
“Good thing I didn’t bring Bella. How uncultured… tsk.”
“How dare you mention me alongside your trashy mistress!”
“You still think you’re the daughter of Count Critea?”
…What?
Cedric, perhaps thinking this would be the last time, spoke as if returning to the day they first met—wearing a gentle, kind smile.
“It would’ve been nice if I’d known before we married. That you’re not his real daughter.”
Iliana’s pupils trembled.
She was adopted.
The Countess of Critea, who had always been frail, frequently stayed at a villa in the south.
She spent more time there than in the capital.
One day, after Iliana helped Jeffrey, who had been bitten by a snake, the Countess decided to adopt the orphaned girl.
The Count had strongly opposed it at first, but eventually gave in to his sick wife’s wish. Iliana had been six at the time.
That was how she became part of the family, and they returned to the capital together.
Since the Countess had lived reclusively in the countryside, no one suspected Iliana wasn’t her real daughter. They simply assumed she had been born in the south and had only now come to the capital.
No one knew the truth.
Even Iliana herself eventually forgot.
Three years later, her mother died. Only her cold father remained—but she was fine.
Her kind older brother and warm grandfather filled the void.
Everything had been perfect.
Until she married Cedric.
No—until her grandfather died.
And until he left her his diamond mine as an inheritance.
Cedric pressured her to hand over the mine. At first, Iliana agreed—until she discovered his affair with Bella, the daughter of Baron Louise from the provinces.
The moment he realized she had changed, Cedric became cold.
He stopped spending time with her, eventually left the house, and less than a month later—
She was imprisoned.
Her charge: the murder of Duke Lian Gothry.
“Oh dear, if you cry like that, your face will only get dirtier. I can barely stand to look at you.”
Taking out a handkerchief, Cedric reached toward her face.
Her entire body recoiled in disgust.
She slapped his hand away. The handkerchief fell to the ground.
Neatly folded, its edges slightly worn.
As she turned her head away, her gaze froze.
A lion embroidered in silver thread.
Seeing her expression, Cedric picked it up and held it out to her through the bars.
“I was so surprised when you gave me this.”
A forgotten memory resurfaced.
(Childhood memory scene continues…)
When Iliana returned to her senses, she was back in the damp prison, faint light seeping in.
Tears pooled in her hollow eyes.
Silently, she picked up the handkerchief and brushed off the dust with weak hands.
I’m sorry, Lian.
She still remembered the puzzled look in Lian’s eyes when he saw the handkerchief she always carried.
If only she had realized back then…
But regrets changed nothing now.
Cedric sneered.
“I had no choice. I didn’t know you liked me that much. Mistaking me for someone else like an idiot. Heh.”
He stood up slowly and looked down at her with contempt, then took something out of his coat.
Thud.
A small ruby, no bigger than a fingernail, gleamed brilliantly.
Iliana grabbed the necklace lying in the dirt, biting her lower lip hard.
It was something her grandfather had given her on the day of her mother’s funeral—a day of heavy rain.
Cedric chuckled.
“At least you should have one keepsake from your beloved grandfather. Even while paralyzed by poison, he only worried about you.”
Her mind went blank.
Only after darkness swallowed the light did she understand his words.
Her shoulders trembled violently. Tears streamed endlessly down her face.
Clutching the sharp pendant, she scraped the ground until her nails broke and bled.
“I’ll make you live in pain worse than hell. I’ll make you beg me to kill you, Cedric!”
* * *
The night was short, and dawn soon broke.
That day would be Iliana’s last.
The execution proceeded swiftly.
Walking up to the platform before the gathered crowd, Iliana held her head high.
Her brother had been wrong.
She had ruined everything.
She prayed—again and again.
For strength.
For even a single chance to turn everything back.
“Carry out the sentence.”
The rope tightened behind her neck.
Her breath was cut off.
Countless eyes stared at her.
Her struggling gradually slowed.
The ruby slipped from her hand and shattered on the ground.
Soon, her pale arm fell limp.
And when night came again—
Everything began to change.
