SIAHG 29

Chapter 29

#3. Villainess Evelyn

Lightning flashed, turning the lounge stark white for an instant.

The heroine’s companions stood frozen at the shattered door, staring at me as if struck with terror.

Why are they so frightened? It twists my mood unpleasantly.

“Lady April,” Scholar Sian croaked, as though something clutched at his throat.

“Yes, Sir Sian. Did you call for April?”

“How…?”

Sian barely moved his lips. His reaction was as though someone had returned from the dead.

So, none of them truly expected me to survive.

“Everyone seemed to have forgotten Lady April, so here I am. Now it’s your turn to take the switch, Sir Sian.”

I whispered sweetly. Sian’s face turned ghostly pale.

I could see right through his thoughts.

Did she find out? Does she know we abandoned her?

Inside the lounge, their condition was miserable. They all looked like insomniacs—pale faces, eyes bloodshot.

Outside, lightning flashed again.

The demon’s head I carried revealed its full shape. Even Yeniel froze for a moment.

“Lady April… that head…”

“Oh my, Lady Yeniel.”

With each step, the stench of blood clung to me.

I leaned the halberd against the wall and tossed the enormous head aside as if it were worthless.

Then, laughing innocently, I hugged Yeniel tightly.

“I missed you. I’m so happy to see you.”

And yes—I truly meant it.

“Lady April… we were waiting for you here. I’m glad you made it safely.”

Unlike the others, who trembled, she at least appeared composed. Yet her heartbeat pounded vividly beneath my embrace.

Her cheek trembled faintly.

“Are you cold, Lady Yeniel?”

“…No.”

I lifted my blood-soaked hand to touch her cheek. It smeared crimson across her skin.

“Why are you trembling? Ah, that’s right—the demon told me something. That you all abandoned me. But that can’t be true, can it? Lady Yeniel waited for me.”

I smiled prettily, pointing at the demon’s severed neck.

Of course, demons don’t speak. But it was enough to make them shiver.

Their expressions twisted with vivid terror, memories of the demon clearly fresh.

Finally, the Crown Prince spoke, stiffly.

“That neck… Lady, was it you?”

“Yes.”

I burst into radiant laughter.

“Did you gain a trait? Can I… ask what it is?” His voice faltered, fear bleeding through.

“Why?”

The air froze. A joke—yet none laughed.

“April doesn’t really understand difficult things.”

I whispered like the simpleminded lady they remembered.

“That’s true. If Lady April finds it hard, then it doesn’t matter…”

Ironically, I earned more respect now—through fear—than when they thought of me as a harmless fool.

Blood dripped from the demon’s head onto the prince’s boots.

Ah, it feels good. Seeing their fear melts away all my stress.

I lowered my voice conspiratorially.

“April was just angry. I kept asking, but it swore it never lied. But bad beings who lie should be cut down, right? So I chopped off its head.”

Thunder and lightning faded, leaving only the roar of rain outside.

They all believed me.

“We’d never do such a thing. We are your friends.”

“Of course, right?”

I smiled brightly.

The Crown Prince looked at me as though facing a monster.

They must have wondered—if I knew they abandoned me, what would I do?

Suspicion of April Sharon rises by 3%.
Total suspicion: 3%.

They attempt to dismiss their doubt. Suspicion drops by 2%.
Total suspicion: 1%.

Still, they doubt me.

But no—they’re busier calculating what my “trait” might be.

Repentance? No.
Anyone who sacrificed another for survival in an instant won’t suddenly prioritize conscience over survival.

“…Perhaps the monsters on the third floor will be weaker than the fourth, Lady April.”

Yeniel finally spoke, choosing to keep me within their camp.

The underworld teemed with dangerous creatures. After I revealed I could slay even a demon, the risk of betraying me outweighed any benefit.

At least our calculations align.

“Yes. I hope they’re kinder.”

Though truthfully, this alliance would last only until we learned more about Villainess Evelyn.

And I would take my time with her.

All through the third floor.

“One floor should be enough to grasp the nature of people,” I thought.

For now, I’d stay beside the key.

“Let’s all rest. We’ll need strength for tomorrow.” Yeniel’s calm voice carried.

Everyone drifted into their rooms.

A new door appeared before me. Ah—my own room?

“Lady April.”

“Yes?”

The sudden call made me turn.

“…The truth is, I feared you had died.”

The prince’s eyes trembled.

“I thought… I’d never see you again.”

Considering he left me to die, that was the obvious outcome.

“Later, I regretted leaving Lady April behind… I wanted to see you again.”

And yet, he never once tried to return to the fourth floor.

“I’m happy!”

I smiled brightly at his pitiful attempt at confession or excuse.

“April also missed Your Highness and all our friends during that short time apart. That’s why I tried so hard. April doesn’t want to die—she wants to live for a very, very long time.”

My determined words left the prince stunned, eyes wide.

Crown Prince Azeph’s favorability has increased!

The most hypocritical, worthless notification in the world.

The next day, as if the storm had never been, the sky was clear.

The third floor… wasn’t that the banquet hall?

While lost in thought, doors opened one after another.

Almost like they had arranged it, everyone emerged.

Sian, the prince, and Yeniel were first to face me as I sat on the lounge sofa.

“Good morning, everyone!”

Instantly, tension filled the air.