Time for the Villainess

Chapter 9

When Imperia came back she was wearing a tight black dress. It had a mermaid cut and hung on the ground for 5 meters. She sat back on the throne and seemed in a way better mood than when she left:

"I feel way cleaner now. So who do we have left? Jezebel! I am so happy to see you. Really! You were the only person who was nice to me here. Why did you guys bring her here?

-She didn't want to leave her sister alone."

Imperia looked at Leora.

"Your sister wouldn't want you to suffer, right wifey?"

Leora nodded and Imperia smiled:

"See? You should leave while I'm being nice."

But Jezebel wasn't budging:

"Queen Imperia, I beg you. Please forgive my sister. She is a good person. She is the best person I've ever met. She never wanted to be Queen and only took the responsibility to protect me. She just wanted me to have a normal life."

Imperia chuckled:

"What a lovely sister.

-Yes! Leora never did anything for herself. She only lived for me and her people. She is a selfless person. She deserves a second chance."

Imperia started slowly nodding and Leora could feel goosebumps when she saw her amused smile:

"She was indeed very selfless when she slapped me."

Jezebel froze:

"That's not...

-Didn't I technically become one of her people when we got married?

-She...

-Yes or no?

-Well, yess but-

-You said she only lived for her people. Then why couldn't she live for me? You just said that I was one of her people.

-She didn't hate you, she was just very busy..."

Imperia laughing made Jezebel stop talking:

"I don't know if you are a very nice person or if you are just naïve, Jezebel. I am a bit jealous. It would have been amazing to be like you.

-Please... If you gave her some time she would have warmed up to you. Leora is a very shy person...

-So is it my fault for not being patient enough?

-No that's not!

-I am so sorry for not taking more beating after having experienced it for 18 years. You are right, after being abused for all my life I should have supported it a bit longer. After all, it didn't hurt anymore. But how long are we talking exactly? A few weeks? A few years?

-I...

-You have to tell me exactly. How long should I have waited?

-I-I don't know...

-Of course you don't. But I will tell you, darling. They never would have stopped hating me. I have been nothing but nice to your people but they didn't care. All they saw was my last name. You were the only one who separated the person from the name and that's why I am patient enough to have this annoying conversation with you. If it weren't you, they would already be dead.

-They would have accepted you... They are not bad people... They...

-At this point I don't even care about them accepting me or not. I don't accept them.

-Please...

-You ran out of arguments it seems. That's enough. Take her while I am being nice."

And Jezebel got dragged away. Imperia sighed before smiling at Leora:

"You are the last one left, love. I am so sorry for making you wait this long. You look a bit pale, would you like to sit?"

Leora shook her head.

"You haven't changed at all. I only saw you twice in my life and that was years ago. But now that I'm looking at you, I just feel like you look exactly the same. Are you sure you went to war? Did you hide somewhere with your knights?

-I didn't.

-Are you sure? You look like someone who would forget that she was supposed to go to war."

Adoranz sighed:

"Why does this sound like a normal Saturday conversation?

-Why do you have to be so embittered? Doesn't she look like that?"

Adoranz shrugged:

"She is your wife, not mine.

-As I said before, I saw her only twice in my life. Therefore you know her as well as I do.

-And yet your marriage lasted longer than most."

Imperia started laughing and Adoranz pretended that it was nothing but it was obvious that he was proud of his joke.

"Speaking of which, why didn't you sign those papers? I never quite understood that."

Leora shrugged without saying anything.

"See? She was always this talkative. So what should I do with you? Your sister seems to think that you deserve to be forgiven. What are your thoughts about this?

-I will accept your decision.

-That's rather boring... You were like this back then too. You are so passive. Are you sure your heart is even beating?

-I would like to officially apologize to you.

-For what?

-For hitting you.

-Is that all?"

Leora seemed taken aback.

"So the fact that you let them bully me while knowing perfectly well what was going on is fine?

-I had no idea?"

Imperia started laughing and it was so sudden that Leora jumped:

"No idea? None at all? The whole country knew how I was being treated. It wasn't even a secret. People came to watch. How could you not know?

-I...

-You really didn't care about me one bit, did you? I don't know which one is worse: knowing but not doing anything or caring so little that you don't even notice what's obvious."

Imperia turned to her people:

"What do you think?

-I think we should decapitate her on the main square.

-Thank you my darling but that wasn't what I was looking for and we can't kill her. Not yet anyway. She did lose everything. She lost her title, she lost her country, she lost her people... But she looks so empty that it just doesn't feel enough. Moreover she still hasn't paid for ignoring my pain back then. You didn't ask for forgiveness for that either. That day you slapped me, I told you that Diamanda was bullying me and you just ignored it, irritated because you were too busy to waste your time with your childish wife. And look who is sitting on your throne now. That same childish woman you hate so much. It would be horrible for you to stay married to me for the rest of your life, wouldn't it?

-I wouldn't hate it."

Imperia frowned:

"Come again.

-I didn't hate being married to you.

-You are begging me to kill you with those lies. That's just going to convince me to keep you alive.

-I am not lying. I never hated you."

Imperia almost choked on her saliva because she was laughing so much:

"I didn't know that you were this funny.

-I am not lying.

-Sure, sure.

-I had to hate you because you were a Thorn- Everyone expected me to hate you but I didn't. That's why I avoided you.

-Poor, baby. It must have been so difficult for you. If I had known, I wouldn't have invaded your country. I would have stayed hidden on a boat, far away from the continent.

-It wasn't your fault, I realized it too late... You were a victim too, I...

-Blablabla. Could you just get to the point?

-I like you."

The whole room froze. Did she just say what they thought she had said? Imperia and Adoranz exchanged a confused look before bursting into laughter:

"Did you just say that you liked me?

-Yes."

Leora was so serious that Imperia laughed even harder:

"Is this all you could come up with?

-I am not lying.

-Sure, sure. Then let's hear about it. How could you come to like me after only seeing me twice? One of those twice being when you slapped me in front of everyone?

-It wasn't only twice.

-Again with the lying! Leora, I have been very patient with you but that's enough.

-I am not-

-Not lying, I know. Then if you like me so much, as you say, you won't mind staying married to me and becoming my consort."

Adoranz seemed shocked:

"You said I would be your consort.

-We both know that I am too pretty for you.

-Don't you mean the other way round?

-Nope. So what do you say, Leora?

-Anything you say."