BJ Villainess Chapter 319

Ozworld went to the terrace, laid down on a long bed, and leisurely watched me work. I began to decorate the garden to match the grandeur of the imperial palace. Since Ozworld was the owner of this garden, the more extravagant it was, the better it would suit him.

 

How many hours had passed?

 

“Phew. This should be enough, right?”

 

Feeling proud after pouring my heart and soul into the work, I turned around. But to my surprise, Ozworld, who I thought would be admiring the garden, had fallen asleep.

 

“Huh.”

 

I approached him, feeling a bit taken aback. He’s really asleep. It was hard to believe. He had brought me out here without any attendants and had fallen asleep completely unguarded. His expression was utterly peaceful. Even setting aside his current position as a channel manager, the emperor I had read about in the novel was not someone who would act so carelessly.

 

So why is he like this now? As if he trusts me.

 

I wished Ozworld had remained consistently detestable so I could push him off the cliff without a hint of sympathy. But contrary to my expectations, the Emperor of Signio, who I had assumed to be irredeemable, turned out to be surprisingly ordinary. I found myself wanting to understand why someone like him would spiral into such an extreme fate.

 

As if I could ever understand this man. I let out a silent, self-mocking laugh and was about to leave, not wanting to see his unguarded face any longer.

 

Tak. Just then, Ozworld, who I thought was asleep, grabbed me.

 

“Why do you hate me?”

 

My heart sank for a moment. However, I tried to remain composed and attempted to remove his hand. But Ozworld, as if to spite me, gently held my hand as if we were lovers.

 

With a stiff expression, I spoke. “I have never hated you, Your Majesty. This could be misunderstood if someone sees us, so please let go.”

 

“I’ll let go if you tell me why you hate me.”

 

“I told you, I don’t hate you.”

 

Ozworld opened his eyes and looked at me. His gaze, lying lazily on the slanted bed, felt so familiar that it took my breath away. Those eyes that constantly craved my affection. The eyes of someone deeply in love.

 

“Theresa.”

 

Jiwoo.

 

It felt like I was hearing a hallucination. He was my trauma, the biggest scar that would never heal. I had always thought that I would live trapped in that memory, sad and weak for the rest of my life. That only by killing him and losing the object of my hatred would this cycle end. But now… I was handling it better than I had expected.

 

My gaze landed on a black butterfly that I hadn’t noticed before. Clyde was nowhere around. It seemed the black butterfly, following its new master, had come to me on its own. Still looking at the butterfly, I spoke to him.

 

“Yes, I do hate you.”

 

My voice, speaking of hatred, was clearer and more peaceful than ever before. For the first time, I was thinking of Ozworld without being overwhelmed by emotions.

 

“I guess I have a twisted nature. I tend to hate people who are better than me. I’m sorry.”

 

Ozworld sat up and perched on the bed. “That doesn’t seem like you. I must have done something wrong.”

 

Ding!

[The Constellation ‘♡SoveREIGN 𝓠ueen𝒸𝒶𝓇𝒹 ♡’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]

[Did someone poison Ozworld? This is ridiculous—did he just say he might have done something wrong? Did I hear that right?]

 

I also felt a sense of unease because this didn’t seem like something the Ozworld I knew would say. But even so, this man wasn’t the same Ozworld I remembered. His voice, tone, and demeanor were all subtly different from what I had known. So, I realized something.

 

“You’ve seen my memories.”

 

The day we encountered each other at Frea’s mansion. It dawned on me that he must have seen something when he tried to read my memories then.

 

Ozworld asked calmly, “What memory are you talking about? If you mean the moments when I, looking a bit different, kept kissing you in some strange house, then yes, I saw that.”

 

His sudden revelation caused an uproar among the constellations.

 

Ding!

[The Constellation ‘Am I a Constellation’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]

[What on earth is he saying, BJ?]

 

Ding!

[The Constellation ‘Shooting Star♬’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]

[Did this BJ time slip? That explains why a strange channel suddenly took the rank one spot.]

 

“That was undoubtedly me in the future. My appearance was slightly different, but it was clearly you.” Ozworld’s tone was full of certainty. He continued, fidgeting with my wedding ring as if he wanted to get rid of it. “Do you understand now why I didn’t believe what you said?”

 

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh internally. It was amusing that he seemed to have only seen the most beautiful memories.

 

“Clyde and I are indeed married. If you still doubt it, I’m willing to hold another wedding.”

 

As I kept bringing up my marriage to Clyde, Ozworld briefly rubbed his eyes. It seemed like he was trying to force his expression to stay neutral.

 

Just then, the chamberlain arrived during the brief silence. The chamberlain, noticing Ozworld holding my hand, hesitated for a moment but then spoke calmly. “Your Majesty, it’s time for the meeting.” He acted as if he hadn’t seen what was happening.

 

Ozworld slowly let go of my hand and stood up.

 

How would he react to my rejection? Would he try to imprison me somewhere? Or would he do something to hurt Clyde? I had no intention of just letting him do whatever he wanted this time. However, contrary to my expectations, Ozworld was surprisingly mild.

 

“I apologize for today. My actions were excessive.”

 

I stared at him in disbelief. Apologize? Did he really just say that? Of course, after resetting time countless times, the Ozworld who had made me learn his ways was no longer hesitant to apologize. Though he never actually apologized for things he should have been sorry for.

 

“…It’s fine.”

 

Before heading to the meeting room, Ozworld said, “I’ll give you your reward tomorrow.”

 

“What?”

 

Confused by his sudden statement, he pointed to the garden. “I said I’d reward you.”

 

“Oh… Yes. I’m honored that you liked it.”

 

“Not that it’s an honor. Even if you had turned it into a mess, I would still have given you a reward.”

 

As I stood there, unable to say anything, Ozworld chuckled.

 

“I apologized for going too far, but I never said I wouldn’t like you.”

 

“I’m a married woman.”

 

“I know.” Ozworld left for the meeting room after saying that.

 

I watched him walk away, feeling utterly baffled. You know? That’s all you have to say?

 

At that moment, the chamberlain spoke to me. “You may return now, Lady Theresa.”

 

It was already 4 PM, and even though I hadn’t done much, I was mentally exhausted, so I was glad to be dismissed.

 

“You can come in at the same time tomorrow.”

 

I couldn’t help but sigh at those words. At least I was done for today.

 

Clyde usually finished around this time too. Maybe he’s still at the palace?

 

As I was making my way to the knights’ quarters, I ran into Frea, who looked utterly shocked. She had been waiting at the entrance to the Imperial Palace.

 

Would she be angry that I had deceived her? Or would she try to kill me for interfering with her quest? Either reaction would have made sense.

 

“Is it true that His Majesty loves you?”

 

Reluctantly, I nodded. “I don’t know now, but in the timeline I originally came from, yes.”

 

That admission also meant Frea had failed. Now that she knew about her failure, she would likely try to fix the future somehow.

 

“Are you planning to make a wish if you collect a billion coins?”

 

I suspected Frea’s wish would be for Ozworld to fall in love with her once she gathered a billion coins. It seemed like the logical choice, as it would resolve the main quest and fulfill her love. But Frea surprised me with an unexpected wish.

 

“I’ll grant whatever His Majesty desires.”

 

“…What? You won’t wish for him to love you?”

 

Frea’s expression hardened as if she had heard something distasteful. “Do I seem like someone who would wish for something so vulgar?”

 

“I just thought it was the sensible thing to do. It would solve the main quest.”

 

Ding!

[The Constellation ‘LOFrea’s HusbandVE’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]

[Wow, are kids these days all like this? Why are they so calculating? Do you think love gained through a wish is real love?]

 

Ding!

[The Constellation ‘Honesty Charm☆’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]

[Shouldn’t you focus on surviving first? And what’s so special about love? I’m glad I switched from Frea’s channel to here! This is refreshing!^0^]

 

Frea looked at me with pity. “You’ve never experienced true love, have you?”

 

With that one sentence, I was suddenly cast as a villainess who didn’t understand the beauty of love.

 

“Frea, aren’t you supposed to be saving the world?”

 

“Of course I will.”

 

We looked at each other, completely misunderstanding one another. Then it dawned on me. Frea believed in Ozworld. She believed he would change, that she could persuade him. That’s why she was acting like this. I recalled what Ozworld had once said.

 

You shouldn’t trust your creation.

 

Frea had trusted her creation and had been betrayed.