I am not the Villainess

Chapter 68

CHAPTER 68

Noah gave the documents to Tatiana.

“Here,”

Tatiana accepted it and pretended to skim through the contents. After a few minutes, she set the documents down and looked at Noah with furrowed brows.

“Investor J wanted your highness to help a commoner, is that right?” she asked.

“Yes,” Noah answered simply.

“I see… Then, what do you think about it, your highness?”

Noah didn’t answer immediately as he pondered over that question.

Truthfully, Noah didn't know what to think of it. The intention of Investor J perplexed him to the point that he didn't want to take a risk. Moreover, even though Investor J claimed it was a ‘gift’, Noah saw it as merely an offer that benefited the sender rather than him.

“I think it’s risky. I will lose more than I can benefit.” Noah answered.

Tatiana nodded in understanding.

It is true that her offer may not sound that appealing to Noah. He might have doubts since he didn’t know what to expect. After all, only Tatiana knows what will happen in the future and how much benefit Noah may gain from this.

“I understand. So, are you going to refuse it, your highness?” she asked again.

Tatiana wasn't particularly concerned about Noah's response. She figured Noah would still meet Martin in the future even if he will decline Investor J’s proposal.

After all, they were meant to meet each other.

Noah, on the other hand, pondered over it seriously.

He sighed.

Am I going to refuse it? Well, there are a lot of reasons why I should, but at the same time, I don’t want to. Investor J…he should have more reason behind this, right?

Noah calculated the pros and cons of Investor J’s idea in his mind. There were definitely more cons than pros, but in the end, he figured Investor J must have other reasons he couldn’t tell. At that point, Noah’s actual choice was whether to fully trust Investor J or not.

A while later, Noah looked at Tatiana and thought of something.

Tatiana and Investor J… These two… have a lot of similarities.

With his eyebrow slightly raised, he decided to ask her what she thinks.

“What about you, Tati? Do you think I should refuse it?” Noah asked.

Tatiana wasn’t able to react quickly. She was stunned that Noah suddenly asked her that.

He wants my opinion? Why? Is His Highness testing me? She thought.

In the novel, Noah was very distant from Tatiana. Even when she wanted to fulfill her role as the Crown Princess by trying to involve herself with the empire’s affairs, Noah would only give her a cold shoulder. He wouldn’t allow her to try any actions, and sometimes he would even forbid her from talking to any officials just so she wouldn’t do anything ‘ridiculous’.

That’s why in the end, Tatiana couldn’t do anything else but sit and wait. And because of that, she was criticized for being a useless princess.

When Jane first read about that, she also thought it was reasonable that Noah wouldn’t allow her. Tatiana was the novel’s villainess after all. Aside from that, her character in the novel was a spoiled brat lady. She’s not supposed to be trustworthy enough to involve herself in the empire’s affairs.

However, when Jane read it again, she started to see a different perspective.

As mentioned, Tatiana was a spoiled brat who can have anything she wanted in just a snap of her fingers. She was pampered dearly by her family that she didn’t experience any stress or hardships. All her life, she could do anything she wanted and no one would reprimand her for that.

That was still true even when she became the Crown Princess. Tatiana could have continued living her life as the Crown Prince while being unbothered by the responsibilities, yet she chose not to.

Even though she was not that smart nor skilled, she still chose to give up her freedom and tried to do her responsibilities. Even though it was very difficult for her that she couldn’t understand anything, she still made effort by trying to learn about the situation and even studied politics just so she could help the empire somehow.

Tatiana wanted to mature and become responsible, but the people around her, including her family and Noah, failed to see her efforts. She was prejudiced against and ignored, but she couldn’t express herself and could only accept it. When the public started criticizing her, no one defended her since they all thought the same, and her family just took pity on her.

That’s why, after realizing that, Jane started to have a different perspective towards the villainess Tatiana. She can see, since then, that Tatiana was actually trying to make efforts to change and become dependable. But, the only problem was no one saw her strived. No one appreciated her efforts. No one understood her.

During those times, Tatiana was alone. So, to alleviate her loneliness, she seeks more attention. However, it only became worst when Lady Beatrice came into the picture.

Tatiana felt injustice. She felt it was unjust that, despite the fact that she was the Crown Princess and had put in a lot of effort, Lady Beatrice was the one who stole the spotlight, gained praise from others, and, most significantly, His Highness' attention.

That was probably Tatiana's last straw, and she began resorting to violence and wrongdoing to get attention and cope with the jealousy and insecurity that was building up inside her.

So now, hearing His Highness ask her for her opinion on such a matter, Tatiana couldn’t help but feel odd. Of course, she was different from the original Tatiana, but that actually made her feel even sadder for the original Tatiana.

“What do you mean, your highness?” she asked, a bit taken aback.

“You are my fiancé and the soon-to-be Crown Princess of the empire. Hence, I wanted to know what you think.” Noah replied as though it wasn’t a big deal.

Tatiana only stared at Noah.

Since yesterday, she noticed how Noah keeps on calling her his fiancé and the soon-to-be Crown Princess. Tatiana couldn’t get used to it as it sounded… so wrong.

She’s living as the villainess. Noah was supposed to hate and avoid her. But now, he’s doing the exact opposite of how he’s supposed to be.

Thinking back, Noah started acting like this after she proposed to annul their engagement. Her proposal would obviously impact the novel, but she didn’t expect it would also change how Noah would treat her.

Did it hurt his pride? Why is he acting like this? I’ll say this again but he shouldn’t be acting like this.

When Tatiana still didn’t utter anything after a while, Noah called for her attention.

“Tati,”

Tatiana blinked twice and cleared her throat a bit.

“Well… I’m sure my opinion won’t matter.” She said and forced a laugh.

Noah frowned at her response.

“Why do you think that?”

Tatiana wasn’t able to answer immediately.

He already knows why, yet he’s still asking? Tatiana holds back an eye roll. Everyone with a clear mind would know the answer to that. I’m not a smart and talented lady. In fact, I was the complete opposite—or at least that’s what they think the original Tatiana was. So why would he still ask for my opinion even after hearing those rumors about me?

“Uh, your highness, I think you forgot my reputation for a moment…” she said and laughed awkwardly. “The people call me the wicked, spoiled brat who has no idea what she's doing. I’m sure you know about this, your highness.”

Noah’s brows furrowed even more.

“Do you also think of yourself like that?” he asked. His tone sounded a bit agitated.

Tatiana was at loss for words at his question.

Of course, I don’t. But… that’s the original Tatiana’s character and I am living as her.

She sighed.

Instead of answering the question, she decided to change the topic.

“I'm not sure why you still need to hear what I have to say, Your Highness. But one thing I do know is that you have faith in Investor J."

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