Why Did I Become the Villainess?

I look around me. Trying to find any guard around. My eyes shine when I see a young man, probably sixteen years of age, walking in an awkward manner. He is wearing a guard's uniform. It looks like he is one of the newly hired guards in the Kingdom.

I smirk and look at the guard—a perfect person for my plan.

I walk toward him and block his way. The young guard immediately looks up, and his eyes widen when he recognizes who I am. He bows his head clumsily. "Dame Csille! Apologies, I didn't know—"

I shake my head and interrupt his words. "Can you do me a favor?"

The guards immediately look up at me and frown. "Dame Csille?"

I look around, trying to see if anyone has seen us. After making sure no one noticed me talking to a guard, I immediately handed him an envelope. Inside the envelope is a letter I have written this morning, in the letter I mentioned the favor I wanted to ask to him. I also put a banknote inside the envelope as compensation for him.

I nod my head at him before I walk away. But I didn't walk away; I just looked at the guard from a distance. The guard looks around first and walks in a certain direction. I follow where he is going and find him entering a hallway that has a dead end. He probably went there to read the letter I had given him.

A moment after, the guard gets out of the hallway. He looks around until his eyes find me. He then bows his head before he leaves.

I heave a sigh and walk towards a small pastry shop in the area. This pastry shop is not famous, so there are no people inside, which is a good thing for me since I don't want anyone to notice me. I just order a pudding and sit in the most hidden corner of the shop. I don't want other people to see me here. I just need to wait for the guard to return here to do the favor I ask from him. I ask him to bring me an unused guard's clothing and a horse. I need the guard's clothing for my disguise and the horse as my means of transportation. Although doing this might be dangerous, this is the only plan I can think of. This is the only way to leave the Kingdom without anyone recognizing me. The guard's uniform is made of steel. It even has a headgear that will help me cover my hair and my eyes. Without my distinctive features, I can definitely get out of the Kingdom with ease. However, my plan will only succeed if that guard helps me. I know that there is also a big possibility that he will sell me out instead of helping me out. After all, he knew my identity. He knows it will be his fault if something happens to me if I sneak outside. I just wish he would do something that favors me. I look around, anxiously waiting for the guard to come back. Half an hour has already passed, but the guard is still nowhere to be found.

I was starting to feel nervous when someone got inside the pastry shop. I heave a sigh of relief when I see the guard walk inside the shop. He is holding a bag. It's probably where he put the uniform I ask from him.

He anxiously looks around, and when his eyes find me, he nods at me a little before he walks toward the counter to order something. He then settled at one of the tables and stayed there for a couple of minutes before he immediately rushed outside the shop. It looks like something urgent came up. That is the sign. I stand up and walk towards the table where the guards sit. The waitress who was cleaning his table noticed the bag left by the guard. "Oh, no. The man left his bag. I should run after hi—"

Before she can run after him, I immediately interrupt her. "Is there a problem?"

The waitress looks at me, and she immediately bows her head. "Dame Csille! I..." she seems flustered. Her eyes keep staring at the chair where the bag is lying.

"Is this left by that guard?"

The waitress nods her head. "Yes, Dame Csille. It looks like something urgent came up, and he forgot to take this."

I nod my head. "Are you planning to look after the guard?" I look outside. "I don't think you can find him now. I'm sure he already left with his horse. How about this? Let me take care of this for you, and you can continue your job."

The waitress stares at me hesitantly. "Dame Csille, are you sure? I know you're a busy person too."

I smile reassuringly at her and nod my head. "I am sure. Finding the owner of this bag isn't a big deal for me. I just need to ask the head officer, and he can help me find the owner of this bag. So, you don't have to worry."

The waitress bows her head at me. "Thank you very much, Dame Csille."

I just smile at her before I put the bag in my hand. "I will be leaving then. Good day."

I didn't wait for the waitress' response and looked around. I find the guard hiding in a corner from a distance. I nod my head at him as a gratitude for what he did before I walk towards the horse tied on a pole of the pastry shop outside. I swiftly get on the horse and maneuver the horse to a certain distance. Now that I got my disguise, all I need to do is change into it. But the problem is, where will I find a place to change my clothing?

I look around, and an idea that is quite unacceptable pops into my mind. That is the only plan I can think of right now. If I rent a room, people might be confused as to why a guard comes out of my room, and that will definitely become a big issue. So, I cannot do that. I also cannot return home, or else my plan will be busted.

My only choice now is to find a place where no one else will go. It is to ensure no one will see me change into the guard clothing. And the only place I can think of is the abandoned and hunted building in the capital. There is an old building known as the nest of ghosts and evil spirits, so no one dares to get near it. I pull the reins so the horse will come to a halt. I look at the abandoned building in front of me and heave a sigh. Although I am not scared of ghosts, it is still weird changing clothes in an abandoned building. I tied the horse in the tree nearby and took the bag with the guard's clothing. Without hesitation, I take the bag with me inside the building. The building used to own by a fallen noble family. This family has done so many evil deeds that they said all the spirits were haunting this building. I walk to the hallways, searching for a cleaner room. Most of the rooms here are in a mess already because this building had been abandoned for a few centuries now. I want to look for a cleaner room because this is where I will be leaving my dress, and I don't want to dirty it.

I managed to find a cleaner room that didn't have a broken window. Even the curtains are intact, which is a good place for me to change my dress.

I take the guard's clothing out of the bag and change my clothing. I just hang my dress in the empty closet. I need to keep it in a safe place so even if someone decides to get inside this building, they won't find my things. After ensuring that my dress was well hidden and my disguise was on point, I immediately left the building. I look at my time watch and heave a sigh. It's already lunchtime. I need to get going now so I can have a lot of time to look for Prince Fraser. I swiftly get on my horse and maneuver it towards the gate of the Vrawyth Kingdom. The guards who were guarding the gate blocked my way. "Soldier, where are you going?"

I take out a token and give it to the guard. It is one of the things the young guard, whom I bribed, gave to me. It is the order token from his majesty. They hired new guards to join the search party. That young guard just gave me his order token. I should probably look for him when I return.

The guard inspects my token, and after ensuring it is not fake, they immediately let me out.

I nod my head before I maneuver the horse outside. I heaved a sigh of relief when I managed to pass the guards without a problem. All I need to do now is get to the forest and find Prince Fraser and the rest. I just hope I don't bump with any soldiers, or else Father will definitely send me home.

I work my way through the forest however, I've been searching around for half an hour now, and I still haven't found Prince Fraser or anyone. I look around and heave a sigh. It's probably noon already, and I still haven't eaten anything for today. So, I decided to stop the horse first and see if I could find anything to eat. My eyes shine in happiness when I find blackberries. I immediately picked some and was about to eat them when I heard a galloping sound behind me. My body becomes frigid, and my heart beats wildly. But before I can do anything to hide, someone already speaks behind me.

"Soldier, what are you doing here alone? Haven't you received the order?"

My eyes widen when I recognize the voice. It's Father! I would be doomed if he knew I sneaked out of the Kingdom and got here alone. I look around, trying to find my way out, but then I remember Father is probably riding a horse. Even if I run as fast as I can, I know I can't match the speed of a horse. I'm sure if I run from here, Father will run after me. But if I don't run away now, how am I supposed to face him? I couldn't say something, or else he will recognize my voice immediately, and I also couldn't remain quiet because it would be an insult to him.

I was still contemplating what to do when Father snapped at me. "Soldier, I am asking you a question? Why don't you answer?"

Father, if I answer you, I'm sure you'll be mad at me. How can you expect me to subject myself to that kind of trouble?

However, if I continue not answering him, I will be more in trouble. What should I do? If I kneel down and beg for his forgiveness, will he let me off? I was about to say something when someone interrupted me. Probably one of the soldiers too. "Apologies, Count, but we need to bring his highness to the capital now. They need immediate help. Why don't we just bring this guard with us and deal with him later?"

My eyes widened when I heard what the guard said. He mentioned his highness? Does it mean they already found them? In my excitement, I immediately turn around, forgetting that I had put down the metal gear that was covering my eyes earlier.

"You already found his highness? May I know how he is doing? How about Prince Rufus and Sir Farren? How are they?"

It was too late when I realized that I had done something wrong. I look around and find people staring at me with shock.

Oh, no! I am doomed.

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