To the Villain I Loved
Chapter 2
From that moment on, Astrid began showing her maid the signs in all of her meals.
Then, one day, she saw the maid dead in her room, blood pouring from her mouth.
It was the maid’s final signal to flee—but Astrid quietly headed toward the dining hall anyway.
Who was the person trying to crush even her very breath—the one willing to snuff out her life entirely?
Sitting stiffly in a chair at the table, head lowered, her eyes slowly rolled toward her fiancé who sat before her.
Lindenel Haimenwar felt her gaze and looked at her.
As always, he was dressed perfectly in formal attire, his eyes cold and impassive.
“What is it?”
Hearing his voice made her heart pound unexpectedly. Even in a situation like this—after everything had escalated—her chest still thumped violently.
Listening to that sound, a laugh escaped her lips—soft, broken, almost ridiculous.
“…….”
A laugh mingled with regret, despair, and anger—a laugh so absurd it made Lindenel lose interest. He must have thought she had lost her mind again.
Normally she would have hurt him with this, but now it didn’t matter. Tonight, she would die.
Valdemar’s objective was likely to remove the Princess, who acted as a safeguard preventing Lindenel from reaching the crown.
So, was it better to refuse the poison and live her life as nothing more than a tool for Lindenel’s ambitions?
‘He may live quietly now before the succession, but if he wants, he can bring any other woman into his plans at will.’
Then what would remain in her hands, having lost both the throne and Lindenel?
Tears welled up in Astrid’s throat, choking her.
She had even foolishly thought of letting herself be used by him for the sake of the family’s revenge—ignoring her father’s will to become a wise ruler.
She only wanted to be loved. To feel Lindenel’s cold gaze touch her face, her hands, her heart—even if it was empty warmth.
When he treated her with kindness, even knowing it was false, she wanted to drown herself in that fleeting illusion.
Swallowing back her tears, Astrid laughed with bloodshot eyes.
“Huuh… hhh…”
A sound that could have been a laugh or a cry.
She grabbed the soup bowl containing poison and, without a trace of dignity, gulped it down.
Lindenel, apparently irritated by her behavior, only raised an eyebrow but did not give her the slightest attention.
Astrid ignored him and devoured the meal greedily, masking which part contained poison.
Nothing remained for Astrid now.
Her cold-hearted fiancé would lament only that she could not succeed to the throne.
Those aligned with Valdemar would take comfort in her noble death, which had preserved the honor of the empire.
‘Ah… set me free. Release me from this wretched feeling.’
As she ravenously consumed the food, her hand froze.
A searing heat surged through her throat as if molten lava had risen within.
It was over.
The dish she had pressed against her elbow shattered into pieces with a deafening crash.
That was the last thing she remembered.
“I could have sworn I died then.”
Her fragile life had survived so far, but instinctively she knew her days were numbered.
Before leaving, she wanted to see Lindenel Haimenwar one last time.
The cruel man who had locked her dying body in a cold room without coming to see her.
The one who still made her hollow chest beat. She wanted to see him one last time before dying.
As she staggered a few steps from the bed, she heard a voice in the corridor.
In the pitch-black stillness of night, it rang clear and distinct.
‘Who is that?’
She peered through a slightly open door and glimpsed outside.
“Everything went wrong because we arrived too late. I can offer no excuse.”
It was Caleb, Lindenel’s secretary, bowing deeply in the corridor.
Before him stood a man with his back to Astrid.
A broad back that strained the fabric of his uniform, a comparatively narrow waist, short black hair, and large, thick hands partially visible.
She knew that man well. After more than ten years, she could never forget him.
It was Duke Lindenel Haimenwar—even appearing in her dreams.
“What do you want to say?”
“…Her Highness’s life is hanging by a thread. There is no hope.”
“Who doesn’t know that?”
Astrid bit her lip until it bled. The cold, remorseless tone in his voice pierced her heart.
“But the problem is, they’ve located the former Emperor’s illegitimate child.”
‘What?’
Her mind went blank.
Who did they find?
“Two years younger than the Princess. The former Emperor had hidden her well, so she grew up bright and healthy in a commoner’s household.”
“Stop this nonsense. Where did you hear such rumors?”
“It is no rumor. You may remember a man named Valdemar, one of the former Emperor’s retainers.”
“And?”
At the mention of the name, Lindenel’s brow furrowed.
“Evidence shows Valdemar approached a commoner woman. Princess Astrid was merely a decoy.”
Lindenel’s shoulder stiffened slightly.
The small motion made Astrid’s heart sink.
“They plan to enthrone that illegitimate child as the next ruler. We should have prepared in advance to protect the Princess. That is my failing.”
“Damn… From the moment the royal house fell to their hands, the Princess was nothing more than a pawn to them.”
“We must abandon the Princess and secure the illegitimate child before it’s too late.”
Astrid’s blue eyes sank into the darkness.
Her legs gave way beneath her.
‘Father… there was another daughter besides me?’
The poison Valdemar gave her was not a liberating blade.
A replacement had been found, rendering Astrid useless. No one truly desired her anymore.
‘No… did anyone ever want me for who I am, from the start?’
Even Lindenel wanted her only as Princess Astrid. Her worth and use existed solely in that role.
Now stripped of her coronet and gown, dressed as if for burial, she had become worthless—to Lindenel, and to the royal house.
“Haha… ha…”
Her trembling legs finally gave way. She collapsed, tears flowing, laughing as her shoulders shook like leaves in the wind.
Voices filtered through the doorway, but she did not wish to hear any more.
Listening further would only remind her that she was nothing but a useless puppet.
Astrid pressed her lips together and rose from her shaking legs.
She wished she could have died instantly after drinking the poison.
She wanted to die now. Her abandoned state was shameful and humiliating. She longed to vanish from this world as soon as possible.
She would finally cut the stubborn thread of her life with her own hands.
Leaning out into the cold wind, she looked down at the pitch-black ground far below.
She laughed weakly at the thought of falling there, dying in ruin.
At that moment, the door burst open, and someone entered the room.
“You’ve finally woken… what are you doing?”
Astrid did not even have the presence of mind to identify the voice.
Fearful of being caught, she flung herself through the window.
“Wait, Astrid!”
The desperate, pleading shout reached her ears—but worldly affairs were no longer her concern. Life and death were all that remained.
