I am not the Villainess

Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23 

Tatiana returned to her room, all sweaty and sore. She wished to have a cold bath immediately, and good thing it was already prepared for her so she doesn’t need to wait any longer. 

It has been a week since Tatiana started training under Aaron. She could feel her stamina improving day by day, especially since for a week they only did stamina training.  

Tatiana wanted to train her swordsmanship, but she couldn’t open it up to Aaron. He might think about it strangely and would start suspecting. She even has to act weak and clumsy during the training to make it believable that it was her first time. 

Thankfully, Aaron doesn’t seem to notice and was only worried about her every time she falls to the ground. Also, despite her acting cloddish, her strength has still improved a lot compared to when she trained with Kai. As expected of Aaron, he truly is a great teacher. 

After a while, Tatiana finished her bath and stood up. She wore a robe and sat in front of a mirror to brush her hair. 

She was just staring at herself through the mirror, admiring her remarkable beauty, when all of a sudden, her eyes on the reflection glowed. 

Tatiana dropped her brush in shock and stared at her reflection with wide eyes. The glow was just for a moment that it wasn’t noticeable at a glance, but because she was staring at her eyes during that time, she saw it very clearly. While it glowed, her eyes changed color from purple to gold.  

What was that?! 

The glow could have been just from the light, but even if it was just for a split second, Tatiana was sure she saw her eye color changed from purple to gold. She couldn’t explain how that happened and was puzzled. 

Then, all of a sudden, a line from the book came to her mind... 

With that much energy flowing inside you, it’s such a shame that you will never be awakened... 

It was a line from a small scene of Tatiana talking to a random and mysterious old lady. The scene was when Tatiana was running away crying and broken-hearted from witnessing Noah and Beatrice kissed under the moonlight. She was lost on her way and met an old lady while walking on an empty street. 

The old lady suddenly wanted to hold her hand and said that line. However, what that means was never revealed in the story. Tatiana ended up dead and the secret of the ‘awakening’ was never known.  

Jane could remember how frustrated she was about that detail. She was hoping for a plot twist in Tatiana’s character, but in the end, there was none. Later on, she just believed that it was a worthless detail that didn’t mean anything. 

But now, her eye color changed suddenly... Is it possible that it’s related to the ‘awakening’ mentioned in the novel? 

If that’s the case, I should really research more about this! If it indeed turns out that Tatiana has a secret, then it could benefit me later on... 

Tatiana mulled over what just happened when a knock came on her door. 

“My lady, it is Mia. Are you done with your bath?” she heard Mia spoke on the other side of the door. 

Tatiana pushed her thoughts about her eye color changing and told Mia to come in. 

“My lady, I’ve looked at the shop that you mentioned and there was indeed a white star painted on the doorknob,” Mia said while she helped her dress. 

Last night, Tatiana asked Mia to check on Alfred’s shop. If there was a small white star painted on his doorknob, then it means he had accepted her invitation. 

In Tatiana’s letter to Alfred, she wrote this instruction as a way to reply to her. It is because she didn’t mention that she was Tatiana Cromello and instead used an alias. She wanted to hide her identity from him because of her reputation. 

If Alfred knew that it was the evil lady of the House Cromello who sent him a letter, then he might just be forced to accept it. He might also not trust it and will think of it as nonsense. And even if he did accept her meeting request, he might not agree with her proposal afterward. 

What Tatiana wants is a business partner that will trust her. If Alfred knew her identity, he might not trust her. Hence, Tatiana decided to keep her real identity from Alfred. 

“Good job, Mia.” Tatiana praised and smiled at Mia. 

Mia has been Tatiana’s personal maid even before Jane entered her body. In the novel, Mia stayed loyal to Tatiana until the end and even sacrificed herself to keep Tatiana from dying, but her sacrifice went in vain since Tatiana still died miserably in the end. 

It was Aaron who appointed Mia as Tatiana’s personal maid. Unlike the other maids, she is always composed and knows how to do her job well. Even when Tatiana is throwing tantrums, she would handle it very calmly, compared to others who would get scared easily. Also, she is rational and doesn’t tolerate Tatiana’s evil deeds, so Aaron thought she could at least tame her a bit. 

Mia is the type of person who only believes what she sees and hears. She doesn’t trust rumors, and she believed that every person has a good in them, no matter how evil they may seem on the outside. Similar to Sir Charles, Mia also sees what causes Tatiana to act like how she acts. She believed that Tatiana is just a girl who grew up not knowing what was wrong from right. She understood that and also found goodness in Tatiana. 

Besides, if Tatiana doesn’t have even just the tiniest bit of goodness in her, she would have fired Mia a long time ago considering how many times she spoke out of turn to reprimand her.  

So, when Tatiana fell into a coma, Mia was one of those who fell in distress. She blamed herself for failing to take care of her lady, like how sir Charles did. Mia swore that when Tatiana woke up again, she would protect Tatiana with her life.  

But when Tatiana did wake up, she started acting strangely.  

Mia was happy that Tatiana changed her wrongdoings. However, she suddenly felt like she’s serving a stranger—like she doesn’t know her lady anymore.  

For the past year, Mia was observing Tatiana while serving her. She goes out a lot, and even managed to sneak in and out of the inn where they stayed the first night in their journey to the capital. Her habits and how she treats people have changed as well. Even the things she likes and dislikes are different from before. Then now, the knights said she suddenly started training... 

Tatiana’s changes after she woke up from a coma were so extreme that Mia started doubting her. She thought that Tatiana was acting, or worst, maybe she isn’t the Lady Tatiana at all. However, Mia also wanted to trust her. So, despite her suspicions, she remained silent and continued to serve Tatiana as if nothing happened. 

As time passed, however, Mia found herself being attached to the new version of Tatiana. Her warmth and kindness touched her heart. And most importantly, even though Mia had her doubts about Tatiana, she felt light-hearted whenever she’s around her. 

Mia doesn’t really understand how she truly feels with the new Tatiana, but at the end of the day, she is still the Lady Tatiana she serves. So, regardless of whether her doubts are true or not, she will do her job as her maid and abide by her promise to protect Tatiana no matter what. 

“Mia, I would like to request a couple of things.” 

“Yes, my lady. As you wish.” 

- 

The sun has already set, and Tatiana spent the whole day preparing for her meeting with Alfred. She planned to meet him later this evening, and now everything is ready. 

A while later, a knock came and the door opened, revealing Mia who’s holding something wrapped in black cloth. 

That must be the things I’ve requested. 

“My lady, I have arrived with the things you’ve requested.”  

Tatiana stood up from her desk and walked closer to Mia. She checked the things she was holding and grabbed a piece of everything. 

“Great, I’ll wear this,” Tatiana said, referring to the ones she’s already holding. “And those are for you...” she added and pointed to the ones Mia was still holding. 

Mia looked at her in shock. 

“P-pardon, my lady?” 

Tatiana smiled at her. 

“You’ll be coming with me tonight!” 

Mia’s face became even more puzzled. Although she was curious about what Tatiana is planning to do, she also knows her place as a mere maid that she doesn't dare to ask nor figure out what her lady does.

“B-but, why, my lady? I’m just a humble maid...” Mia tried to reason, but Tatiana ignored it.

“You’ll understand once we get there. So, let’s hurry up!” Tatiana smiled widely and winked at Mia. 

Although still confused, Mia followed and started dressing up as well.  They are both wearing an all-black attire and a wig just in case their hood will be removed later on.

After they were done, they planned how they would sneak out. They decided to sneak out when the knights would change shifts. It was a good thing that Mia knows when, so they were able to sneak out successfully. 

Then, they walked together to the carriage parked a few minutes walk from the back gate. It was one of Tatiana’s requests earlier that Mia handled very carefully. 

While they’re in the carriage, Tatiana noticed Mia being restless. She must be very puzzled and scared right now, which Tatiana could understand. She was suddenly being dragged into this secret trip, which could cause them to be in big trouble if they were caught.

The reason why Tatiana brought Mia with her was simple. It was so she could make Mia one of her people.  

Although Mia is already working under her as her maid, this job will be different. If Tatiana wants to change her destiny, she needs to have people by her side. Because no matter how much she knew about the novel’s contents, she still can’t handle everything alone. 

As such, she wanted to recruit Mia to her side. In the novel, Mia loved and cared for the original Tatiana. She was loyal ‘til the end that she even sacrificed herself. Besides, Mia is a character who’s wise and rational. She’s also very competent and has great connections with the common people.  

However, Tatiana couldn’t just ask Mia to join her all of a sudden. She wants Mia to join in her own accord. That said, she brought Mia with her tonight to her meeting with Alfred to show Mia her plans so that she can decide for herself whether she would trust her or not. 

If Tatiana could have Mia’s full trust, then carrying out her plans, later on, would be easier. So, she is really hoping that everything will go well tonight. 

After a while, the carriage stops as they have arrived in front of Alfred’s shabby shop.  

Before Tatiana and Mia stepped out of the carriage, they first wore the masks they prepared and their black cloaks. The masks they are wearing have voice-changers that would keep their identity and gender. 

Once they stepped out, they both looked around. Maybe it was because it was already dark in the evening, but this place feels eerie. The building itself looked old, and the landscapes were neglected. It’s like this shop was not a shop but a haunted house. 

Is this truly how the shop of a future famous businessman looks like? 

Tatiana thought to herself. She clicked her tongue before walking closer towards the shop, with Mia following behind her.  

She rechecked the white star on the doorknob. Then, she knocked on the door exactly 10 times. 

It took a while before they hear a voice from the inside. 

“Who is it?” a low voice asked. 

Tatiana didn’t answer and just waited. Then, after a couple of seconds, the door opened and revealed a middle-aged man. 

“Are...are you J?” the man asked with hesitance. 

“Yes,” Tatiana answered, her voice changed. 

--- 

reyankleyr 

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