BJ Villainess Chapter 297

After reading up to that point, I hurriedly washed up and changed clothes as if possessed and then picked up the book again. The bathroom was very spacious, and with its semi-dry design and even a small powder room where I could finish getting ready, it wasn’t a bad place to read. Earlier, I thought the house was unnecessarily large, but now I found the structure to be perfect.

 

This book was strange. What was strange about it, exactly, was that the content I was reading played in my mind as a vivid scene, like a video.

 

[Emperor Signio didn’t grant the request to annul the engagement. Instead, he even allowed Gufel to raise the baby despite realizing the true identity of the baby. And that wasn’t all. Hardy officially became a citizen of the Signio Empire and even received a mark on his forehead.

“Your Majesty, Hardy is a child born to oppose us. And knowing this, I still decided to raise the child, making me a traitor.”

The emperor, who was behind a translucent curtain, quietly spoke. “All the more reason to keep the child close, Gufel. We don’t know what he will become as he grows.”

His voice was languid but carried a cold undertone.

“If the child proves useful, I intend to appoint him as one of my knights.”

Gufel held the sleeping baby tightly in her arms. “One of the Twelve Knights?”

“That seat has been vacant for too long. I hope Hardy grows up well. If necessary, I might even pass on the throne.”

As the emperor, who had finished dressing, gestured from behind the curtain, the attendants withdrew. When the red drapes were pulled back, an astonishingly handsome man was revealed. Golden hair, dark blue eyes. His appearance was so handsome that it almost seemed otherworldly, and adorned with splendid robes and jewelry, he exuded an overwhelming sense of authority just by standing there.]

 

I turned the page with trembling hands as the image of the emperor became clearer in my mind.

 

[He was too handsome to be the ruler who could destroy stars single-handedly. But Gufel knew all too well how ruthless and cruel that man could be. Gufel, after gazing complexly at his disciple, who had grown from a boy to a young adult, bowed with respect.

Hardy, despite being a mere infant, looked at the emperor with clear, tear-free eyes. Perhaps the child born of the Seventh Signio Planet instinctively recognized that the emperor was his enemy.

The emperor, dragging the hem of his robe that covered the floor, walked toward Gufel and placed a finger on Hardy’s forehead. “I will bestow upon Hardy the surname ‘Kummer.’”

Kummer was a title given to wanderers from other dimensions. The reason for giving it was clear. It was a way to disguise the child as a foreigner from another dimension rather than a native. Gufel, who had already planned to disguise Hardy in this way, bowed deeply in gratitude.

“Now, leave.”

At the emperor’s cold order to dismiss, Gufel hurriedly spoke.

“Please annul our engagement and marry the one you love. Or at least, marry a woman who loves you. Then have children and find true peace.”

“Is that your advice as a teacher?”

Gufel smiled sadly as he spoke to the destroyer of stars, who could never change his nature.

“Yes, Ozworld.”]

 

I let out a groan and covered my mouth.

 

[Gufel, believing that something precious would change Ozworld’s nature, pleaded, but Emperor Signio, with an emotionless face, responded.

“If Hardy does not qualify to be one of the Twelve Knights, then he cannot be your child, Gufel.”

It was a statement that meant he would kill Hardy.]

 

What kind of story is this? What is the identity of this book? I was confused, and a wave of dizziness made me feel like I was going to throw up.

 

I closed the book for a moment and took a deep breath.

 

“I expected this.”

 

My voice, hoarse and trying to convince myself, slipped out.

 

“I expected that Ozworld might be an alien. It’s just as I expected.”

 

There’s no need to be surprised. I’ve already decided to ask him what he really was and why this world is a dungeon.

 

I was about to leave the bathroom when I caught sight of myself in the mirror.

 

“…What?”

 

My eye color, which was unique enough to occasionally get me asked if I was mixed-race, had now turned a bright silver-gray. Strangely, I felt like I knew what my name was with this appearance.

 

“Theresa Squire.”

 

Shin Jiwoo and Theresa Squire. They were me.

 

“…Uuugh.”

 

Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit me. My breathing became labored, and I felt an unpleasant pressure closing in on me from all sides. I stumbled out of the bathroom, half-conscious, and shoved the book into the closet. Then, an unbearable thirst gripped me as if my throat was on fire. Gasping like a fish out of water, I hurried toward the kitchen. But just before my legs gave out, someone caught me and held me up.

 

“Let go!”

 

I assumed it was Ozworld, but the person holding me was a stranger. He had green hair and amber eyes, with an exotic and distinctive appearance. Moreover, he had a single tear-shaped mole under each eye, which made him look even less human.

We spoke simultaneously.

 

“Are you alright, Miss?”

 

“Who are you?”

 

The man frowned at my question and touched his forehead to mine. “Your memories are sealed. I am Benito.”

 

“Do you know me?”

 

“Yes. You’re Miss Theresa.”

 

“You know Theresa? How did you know I was Theresa? Is Theresa from the Signio Planet?”

 

“Even with sealed memories, you sure ask a lot of questions.” Benito shook his head and suddenly started carrying me toward the lounge.

 

“What are you doing? Where are you taking me…!”

 

“Look over there.”

 

At his words, I instinctively looked out the window. Outside the building, in a secluded spot, I saw Ozworld standing with his back to me. Opposite him stood a man who looked exactly like Benito.

 

“That’s Kike. He’s my twin.” After explaining in a blunt tone, Benito set me down on the floor. Then he covered my ears with his hands.

 

To my surprise, I could suddenly hear the conversation between the two men standing far away.

 

“They said David would regain consciousness after about a week in the recovery room.”

 

“That’s good news.”

 

“As expected by Master, Hardy survived. We were unable to interfere in Hardy’s fate.”

 

Hardy. That was the name of the baby in the book.

 

“But the man in the black butterfly mask wasn’t Hardy but someone else.”

 

Ozworld was silent for a moment, then asked as if he had a hunch. “Was it that man, Clyde?”

 

“We couldn’t tell for sure. All we found was evidence that another space-time had overlapped with the one Master had sent.”

 

“It seems Theresa’s black butterfly sent him there.”

 

Benito removed his hands from my ears.

 

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and looked at Benito in confusion. “Why are you telling me this…?”

 

“Well, right now, Miss seems far too disadvantaged, which doesn’t sit well with me. Everyone is a weakling before the master, but you’re absurdly weak.”

 

I instinctively sensed that Benito was quite favorably inclined toward me and grabbed his hands. “Please help me. Please help me remember what these sealed memories are.”

 

When I pleaded, Benito leaned in close, almost as if he were about to kiss me. His amber eyes suddenly had vertical pupils, like a reptile.

 

“I can grant that wish if you become our bride.”

 

Now that I thought about it, this man’s body temperature was strangely cold.

 

“Your bride…?”

 

“Kike and I are dragons who grant the wishes of our contractors. We cannot defy the master since he is our contractor, but if you become our bride, we can help you.”

 

What kind of nonsense is this?

 

“Let me go…!”

 

At that moment, a weak, static-like sensation spread over my body, and Benito was suddenly flung backward. Then, A cold voice followed.

 

“It’s not wise to covet someone else’s woman, Benito.”

 

Ozworld had appeared without me noticing. Benito’s twin, Kike, was with him.

 

Benito wiped the blood from his lips and calmly responded. “She is not yet your bride, Master.”

 

Kike stepped between the two of them, trying to prevent further confrontation. “Stop it, Benito. She cannot be our bride. And Master, please forgive Benito.”

 

Ozworld sighed in frustration, then pulled me into his arms and spoke. “If this happens again, I will not forgive you, Benito. Now return to the Pantheon and find Hardy and the man with the black butterfly mask.”

 

The twin dragons nodded and disappeared in an instant.

 

I stared blankly at the scene before pushing Ozworld away and stepping back. The man I had just resolved to spend my life with suddenly felt more unfamiliar than ever.

 

“Tell me everything you’ve been hiding.”

 

“Jiwoo…”

 

“Tell me why my memories are sealed, why this place is a dungeon, who Theresa Squire is, and what you really are!”

 

Ozworld’s expression darkened. “If I tell you everything, you’ll leave me, won’t you?” There was a chilling atmosphere in his lowered voice.

 

I asked him, almost accusingly, “Why would I leave you?”

 

“Because you hate me.”

 

Of course, if I hated him, I would leave. But what I wanted to know was the reason I would come to hate him. Yet Ozworld seemed utterly unwilling to explain.

 

“If you’ve done something wrong, apologize. Beg for forgiveness and try to make things right. That’s all you need to do.”

 

Desperate to find a way to fix our relationship, I pleaded with him, but Ozworld remained selfish to the end.

 

“I love you, Jiwoo.”

 

His confession left me breathless.

 

“I love you. Everything I’m doing is for us. I only need you. Please, can’t you feel the same way?”

 

I wanted to. But ironically, his desperate plea gave me a rough idea of how terribly he had wronged me. He had committed an unforgivable sin against me, one so severe that I’m afraid to ask what it is.

 

“You turned back time, didn’t you?”

 

At that moment, Ozworld twisted one corner of his mouth into a smirk. “You figured that out too?”

 

His smile, as if he had been caught in a trap, radiated a cold anger.

 

“Who told you… or when did you find out? It must have been after I suddenly disappeared, right? Am I correct?”

 

“Why are you asking that? Are you planning to turn back time again?”

 

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a pocket watch I had never seen before. Realizing that this was the tool for turning back time, I lunged at him.

 

“This time, I’ll really do it right, Jiwoo.”

 

“Don’t do it. Stop!”

 

“I love you.”

 

Snap! He snapped his fingers.