Reincarnated Villainess Does Not Want Revenge - Chapter 71
Translated by: ShinigamiTori
The Duke’s Counseling Room
After several days, I made my way to the medical room inside the palace, where the distinct smell of disinfectant wafted through the air.
Reynaldo sleeps and performs his duties at the palace infirmary, so I sometimes visit him after work or when I have some free time. Though I plan to leave if he’s busy, the perceptive Reynaldo never fails to spot me at the door and addresses me as if he’s been keeping an eye on it.
And today, too.
“Is that you, Marie? Come in.”
Before I could even knock, he called out to me, and I gently opened the door.
Inside, Reynaldo, who appeared to have been going through paperwork, shifted his gaze in my direction.
“Did you just finish work?”
“Yes. How are you feeling?”
“In two days, I’ll likely be back to my regular routine.”
Previously, he was taken to the hospital for full-scale treatment, but now that his wounds have mostly healed, he was transferred to the infirmary inside the royal palace. It was a treatment facility prepared for when someone working at the palace became unwell, and Reynaldo had gone out of his way to move here so he could still work while undergoing treatment.
As someone who lives in the royal palace, I was grateful to be able to visit him easily.
Reynaldo’s appearance was different from usual, with his bangs hanging down and wearing a gown that resembled sleepwear. When he first entered the hospital, bandages were wrapped all over him, but now, they were limited to his back.
“Have you heard? The trial is coming to an end tomorrow, and they’ll announce the verdict. Considering the charges, the Queen will probably be executed by hanging.”
“Hanged….”
The same verdict Rosemary received.
It seems Reynaldo was thinking the same thing I was.
“As you said, it’s indeed true that all our actions come back to us.”
Reynaldo remembers the words I said to Queen Tia before.
More precisely, it was Rosemary who first uttered those words.
“Yes….”
This time, the Queen will stand on those gallows. Honestly, some might say it’s a means to exact revenge. Even if it’s unintentional, that’s how society might interpret it. But I feel sorry for the fact that she will know the horror of going to the gallows. Even in death, I haven’t forgotten the feel of the noose that took my life. I pity her for having to experience that horror.
“Will you be present during the execution?”
Reynaldo asked, concerned about me. After taking some time to think, I nodded. I felt it was my duty to see everything that had happened so far.
“What are your plans after that?”
“Actually, I’m having some trouble and was hoping you could help me with it.”
“Me?”
He asked in surprise, but I felt as if Reynaldo was the best person to ask for advice.
“Yes, because Reynaldo-sama understands Rosemary and me better than anyone else.”
When I told him that plainly, Reynaldo looked at me with an even more surprised expression.
As far as I’m concerned, from a third-party perspective, the person who understands me more than anyone else is not Alberto or my family, but Reynaldo. And I believe that he’s the one who can give me his honest opinion.
With a hint of mischief in his expression, Reynaldo sported a sly smile after some thought.
“Does that ‘understanding’ also include matters of love, I wonder?”
It’s kind of embarrassing to be asked so directly.
“W-Well, I suppose… maybe…”
“You’re quite forthright.”
Reynaldo, who smiles more often now, has a dazzling smile. Although I’m too embarrassed to look directly at him now.
“Well… First, let’s see if I can guess your concern. You’re unsure about how to respond to Alberto’s proposal. You’re neither planning to decline nor accept, and you’re not sure how to tell him your response.”
“You’re right….”
“Thank you very much. Furthermore, although the work with the Knights’ Corps is appealing, you also want to return to your hometown. If you had to decide… you’d choose to return to your hometown, wouldn’t you?”
“……”
“Is it correct?”
“Yes….”
I had believed he would be my ideal confidant, but to accurately identify my concerns like this… It’s as if he’s outshining even fortune-tellers.
“You don’t have anything against Alberto, but there’s something within you that makes you hesitate to give an answer.”
“Yeah.”
Once again, he’s spot on. Can he read people’s minds?
“But the oblivious Alberto has absolutely no idea about what’s bothering you… Hmm, I’m tempted to suggest, ‘Shouldn’t you stay away from someone like him?’ but I won’t because I’m aware of his good traits too.”
He’s made himself clear enough.
“Since you understand it so well, you probably know why I’m troubled. I think that Alberto-sama is expressing his love for Lady Rosemary through me.”
I’ve been mulling it over for a long time, rejecting the idea, yet it continues to occupy my mind every day.
From the moment he proposed. From the time of the confession.
It’s as if his hazel eyes, filled with warmth, are focused on Rosemary rather than Marie.
“If I were like the Rosemary of the past, with good looks and closer in age, I might have happily accepted the confession. But?”
“Please wait a moment. There’s one thing I want to make clear, Marie. You are a woman with plenty of charm and remarkable qualities. Don’t ever doubt it.”
I appreciated Reynaldo’s kind insistence on this.
“Thank you. However, no matter how you look at it, I’m not the same as my former self. Even if the memories remain, even if I’m the reincarnation of Rosemary…”
I’m not Rosemary herself.
That feeling has lingered within me like a lingering resentment since it first sprouted.
That’s why, even if Alberto looked at me and expressed his affection, I couldn’t genuinely accept it.
Still.
I don’t care if all he sees is Rosemary.
However, it became even harder once I realized my shallow feelings of wanting to be liked by him.
I would be deceiving Alberto himself, and even if we were to establish a connection in this manner, he might someday realize that I’m not Rosemary.
I kept putting off answering because I wanted to accept it but couldn’t.
Reynaldo fell silent for a moment, then asked if he could have a moment and began to speak.
“What I’m about to say may make you uncomfortable, but…”
I nodded without hesitation, though it was unusual for him to ask beforehand.
“Marie is absolutely right. You’ve inherited my sister’s soul, but you’re not her. Even if you keep her memories, even if you have feelings that only my sister can understand. In the end, you two are completely different people. Despite sharing the same soul, you’re a separate individual.”
Despite him pointing out the facts,
Reynaldo, instead, looks pained.
“I… Back when I was planning my revenge, I was considering making you my wife.”
“Eh?”
Wife?
I let out a dumbfounded voice in response to the unexpectedly surprising statement.
“That’s right. Your will doesn’t matter. I thought that the only way to keep the soul connected to my sister was through marriage. My thoughts might have been similar to Queen Tia’s. I didn’t see you as a person but rather as a part of my sister.”
It was a shocking confession. However…
There was a part of me that somewhat understood him.
“Even if someone like me had confessed my feelings to you, you probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought. But Alberto is different. I believe he sees you, including my sister’s past, as Marie herself. Alberto is an awkward person who doesn’t dwell on complex thoughts like you and me; he’s drawn to what attracts him and loves who he loves. However, Alberto himself is at fault for not addressing your concerns properly. So, why don’t we give it a try?”
“Try?”
“Yes. We’re going to test Alberto.”
Reynaldo’s face bore a rather mischievous expression as he said that.
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