Reincarnated as the Villainess... Yeah, I'm Doomed

Chapter Twenty-Four: Choose Your Words Carefully

I spent the next few weeks training my ass off with Serge and Connor. Caden had joined my sword practice too, agreeing to assist me with my performance under the conditions that 'I owe him one.' The ambiguity of our deal was terrifying.

Other than my demanding sword and magic practices, when compared to last semester, the amount of stress I endured had dropped by a significant amount. While it was still hard to approach my peers due to the many rumors surrounding me, there were no longer as many disgusted glares or blasphemous whispers. Hopefully, with a successful performance at the school's festival, the scandalous rumors about my birth would be put to rest.

"I think I'll be able to go to class on my own now Ryland, you don't have to keep escorting me everywhere," I said, walking beside the young knight. He had come to pick me up from my last class so that he could walk me back to my dorm. Of course, his being near me drew a lot of attention from my female classmates. While most of it was directed towards Ryland, there were still a few hatful and jealous glared coming my way.

"The two parties are still active, you shouldn't let your guard down due to a moment's peace," Ryland warned, his onyx eyes glaring at any student who dared to make eye contact. I felt bad for the girls who considered themselves to be Ryland's "fans". He was like a brick wall... no a steal wall, wait that's still not enough... maybe titanium? Anyways, my point is that trying to get close to Ryland was impossible. His emotions were buried so deep that you would probably have a better chance trying to dig to the center of the earth with a spoon. The only reason I could speak casually with him was because of my being the prince's fiancé. Other than our occasional disagreements, the two of us rarely talked about anything that didn't pertain to mine or the prince's safety.

"It's fine Ryland," I sighed, tired of his unrelenting caution.

"No one is going to jump out and poison me the moment you leave."

Ryland was silent, and while he was generally the quiet type, this silence was different. The knight rarely talked, and when he did, it was normally because he was scolding me for being too reckless or impulsive. This time shouldn't have been an exception, did I say something out of the ordinary....

SHIT... I am such a fucking idiot.

Ryland's mom was poisoned six years ago. She's still alive, but has been disabled ever since. Not many people in the kingdom knew the extent of her illness, but because I had played the otome game, I was aware of Ryland's background. Most of the nobles were only aware of the fact that her body had been damaged by the poison, however, I knew that it had damaged her mind as well. Whether it was due to the effects of the toxins, or the trauma caused by the amount of pain she went through, Ryland's mother had been in shock ever since, appearing as if she was simply an empty shell.

Ryland blamed himself for her suffering.

On the day that his mother was poisoned, Ryland was having tea with her in the garden. The two had a small argument and he left, leaving an opening for the traitorous maid to slip poison into her drink. The Thorne family hailed from a lineage of counts, yet due to Octavian Thorne's military success in defending the southern border, their family had gained the favor of the king. Many of the marquess families were threatened by his sudden rise of power after the king granted him a vast amount of land and the position of general, so in an attempt to threaten him, they poisoned his wife. The King was enraged by the actions against Octavian Thorne, and granted him the title of Duke, giving him the power to pass judgment on the marquess family himself. Due to the Thorne's rise in status, their family appeared to be strong and successful, but in reality, the family had crumbled under the weight of Lady Thorne's poisoning. Octavian Thorne cared deeply for his wife, so her sickness caused him to become unfeeling and harsh. As a result, Ryland was raised in a grief stricken and rigid household...