She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 68

As she closed my eyes like this, the moment at the banquet hall vividly unfolded before her.

It was the scene where Idel, who had exchanged glances with her while passing the pie, suddenly collapsed.

This wasn’t the first time she had seen Idel fall; she had thought it was scary before, but this time felt different.

Somehow, she felt it was her fault.

‘I shouldn’t have done that.’

She knew the servants were tormenting Idel and that they were using laxatives…

‘We really didn’t put laxatives in the apple pie!! It’s true! We put the laxative in the sorbet, not the apple pie!’

Recalling the maid’s desperate shout and Idel’s face, drenched in cold sweat, made her feel like crying again.

‘I’m too scared to go see her; she might never open her eyes again.’

She had always been taught to face the consequences of her choices and take responsibility. Whenever she heard that, she had confidently said she would do so, without a hint of fear, as if it were a matter of course.

‘But I couldn’t do that.’

Would it have been different if it had been Idel? Her younger sibling, with their fiery red hair and spirited blue eyes, might have managed it differently.

She is strong.

As she thought this, burying her face in the blanket, a strange sound came from the balcony, which should have been quiet except for the chirping of crickets.

“Is… this right? You said it would be easy, but it’s not easy at all!”

“I didn’t think it would be too wide for Idel. Please give me your hand; I’ll help you.”

“Hold on tight. If I fall from here, I’m really going to be bedridden.”

…Idel?

That small but bouncy voice was definitely Idel.

With a voice that shouldn’t be heard from her room, she opened her eyes wide. Peeking out from under the blanket, the voice became clearer.

“Hold, hold on, ah, ah!”

“It’s okay.”

At the sound of the screams coming from outside, Gianna quickly got off the bed. Without even thinking about putting on the slippers that were under the bed, she hurriedly approached the balcony and grabbed the doorknob to open the door. And as she opened the door…

“Ah? Gianna!”

In the darkness illuminated by the moon, the fiery red light filled her eyes.

The sight was so different from the scene that had tormented her just moments ago that Gianna couldn’t help but burst into tears.

“Wahhh! Huh! Idel…”

“Uh, uh?”

Seeing Idel’s flustered expression, Gianna pulled her into a tight embrace.

The warm body pressed against her, and the rapid heartbeat felt like a confirmation that this wasn’t a dream.

“When… are you okay? You’re not hurt, huh…?”

“A little while ago. I’m okay now.”

“Wahhh, I’m so glad…! Sniff! How did you…?”

Despite crying so violently that her body shook, Gianna’s questions flowed without end, prompting Idel to raise her hand and gently pat Gianna’s back.

“Dante told me. He said you hadn’t left your room.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Gianna realize there was someone else here besides Idel.

Her face turned bright red at the sight of Dante, who nodded lightly in acknowledgment.

No matter how much he had seen during Idel’s nosebleed incident, it was embarrassing to be seen crying like this.

“Ugh, I’m sorry…”

“Oh, it’s okay. I thought that could happen.”

“Mm, thank you…”

Sniffling and finally wiping her tears, Gianna shifted her gaze back to Idel.

Idel looked somewhat tired, but she seemed no different from her usual self.

This brought Gianna immense comfort, and she bit her lip again, fearing that tears would spill out once more.

“I mean, so…”

As Gianna struggled to find her words, Idel cast a brief glance at Dante.

It was a silent request for him to step aside so they could talk for a moment.

Reading Idel’s gaze, he nodded without a word and headed into Gianna’s room.

Only then could Idel carefully observe Gianna’s appearance.

‘…It seems she was really scared.’

Seeing her usually bright and cheerful face now looking as if it had been drenched in rain weighed heavily on Idel’s heart.

With a conflicted mind, Idel gazed at Gianna and took her hand, softly speaking.

“……I’m sorry.”

The words that would normally take several tries to say came out easily today. In the darkness, with only the moonlight illuminating the space, their eyes met.

“If I had known it would be like this, ugh! If I had known you would get hurt like this, I wouldn’t have listened to you.”

“Yeah.”

“I would have insisted we just tell Mom and Dad right away.”

“I wish we had.”

“Liar. There was something else going on, wasn’t there? Back then, when you disappeared with Sigmund, just like that. Right?”

Idel couldn’t respond to Gianna’s words because they pierced the truth.

As if she expected this, Gianna lowered her gaze and revealed her unspoken feelings.

“I didn’t know anything this time either. You could have been hurt like this, but I… I just got caught up in the joy of doing something with you, like with Sigmund…”

“Gianna.”

“Am I not good enough as your sister?”

Tears welled up in Gianna’s voice once more.

That was a question that wasn’t really a question. What Gianna had said until now was something she wanted to express to herself, not to Idel.

Hearing Gianna’s self-reproach, Idel unconsciously denied her words.

“It’s not like that.”

“……”

“This isn’t your problem; it’s my problem.”

Melisa’s medicine, which strongly affected people’s emotions, was quite effective.

Although it didn’t elevate the resentment towards the Duke’s family and the dependency on Melisa as she had initially intended.

With the strength of the medicine, Idel found it easier than usual to bring deep emotions to the surface. After a moment’s hesitation, she spoke again.

“The reason I can’t talk about my problems is the same as the reason you first told me.”

“The first thing I said?”

As Gianna reflected on her own words, she tilted her head slightly and replied.

“That if I’d known you’d get hurt like this, I wouldn’t have listened to you?”

“Yeah. I don’t want you to get hurt either. So I didn’t tell you everything. Therefore, it’s not your fault; it’s my fault.”

Gianna blinked for a moment as she looked at Idel. She felt the sincerity in Idel’s words.

“Hmm…”

As she fidgeted with her fingers, pondering Idel’s words, she suddenly spoke up.

“Then it’s okay if you don’t tell me all your secrets. Just… don’t hide them from me.”

A moment of confusion crossed Idel’s face.

It was fine not to share secrets, but not to hide them?

‘Aren’t those the same thing?’

As Idel rolled her eyes at the puzzling statement, Gianna realized her mistake.

“Um, what I mean is, Idel, be honest with me. Did you think you might collapse during this plan?”

“……Yeah.”

“That’s what I’m saying. So, um, you don’t have to tell me why you made that plan. But please don’t hide the fact that you might collapse.”

It’s better than waiting for that moment without being mentally prepared.

Only then did Idel understand Gianna’s words, her eyes widening in surprise.

“Is it really okay?”

“Yeah. I trust you, Idel. But you will tell me someday, right?”

“I promise.”

“Then that’s good.”

With what she wanted received, Gianna’s face regained its original brightness. After hugging Idel tightly one more time, she broke into a bright smile and pulled at Idel’s sleeve.

“Let’s go back now. Dante must be really bored alone.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Yeah?”

Isn’t it more about figuring out when to go back rather than being bored?

Looking down from the surprisingly high balcony, Idel lightly sighed.

‘Well, Dante will take care of it.’

Wasn’t it his suggested method in the first place?

Shrugging her shoulders and clearing her thoughts, Idel started walking briskly.

They couldn’t stay out too long since they had sneaked out, but it seemed they would have time for a brief conversation.

After all, today was a somewhat special day.