Before the Villains’ Ending

The heroine of the original work could not break her silence. Maybe if my sister had seen it, she would have held her stomach and laughed.

Ah, Beatrice. I know how you tremble not with fear, but with contempt. While thinking of these things, I was definitely the villainess’ sister.

If you ask me if I didn’t feel compassion at the same time, well. Possibly I could nod my head.

If you ask me how devastatingly obsessed this child was, I had no words to answer. I didn’t know if she’s absolutely good, but I decided not to condemn Beatrice as evil and whispered sweetly to offset some of my concerns.

“Don’t worry too much. The bottom line for me to be so rude to Your Highness is right here.”

So, the beloved lady just needed to observe the situation and pray earnestly until she was safe next to her beloved like a pretty doll. Bad luck I would inevitably be defeated. The story of good and evil was the most beautiful, wasn’t it?

Once, the crown prince called an imperial clown to her, who was trembling with anxiety. Maybe what he said at the time was this nuance. Kestiel narrowed his brows and clicked his tongue at a series of unfamiliar words. I couldn’t help but find it amusing because he had once lived with the nickname of the sweetest knight in the empire.

Well anyway. It didn’t matter anymore.

Beatrice covered her stiff face with both hands. And then whispers softly.

“Everybody… always says that I know. That’s all I can do. That’s all I could do, ever.”

I tilted my head and asked sarcastically. Then you should be thankful, right? And the heroine didn’t deny it. She just smiled threadily and turned to me and gave me advice.

“If you think you’re different, you’re really arrogant. I know he has nothing. You don’t even have what I have. Not now, not ever.”

It was not difficult to notice that the end of the brilliant smile was shaking uneasily. She’ld know, too. That the characters we knew were changing. Even Kastiel’s Reload was showing a sense of incongruity, so I wondered if she’s foolish. Unless you’re an idiot at the level of an idiot, you must feel something.

To be honest, I didn’t hate the story of male protagonists doing everything for female protagonists. When I was Jung Eunha, I used to write in the comments. Just ask the male lead to solve it. Go and cry! And there was definitely catharsis in the good and evil that was pouring out in the name of cider. Like a reverse harem, the male lead candidates almost tried to serve her. It’s because it’s too much.

‘I want you to rely only on me. If you are by my side and happy because of me, there will be nothing that makes me happy.’

That’s what the prince had said. What did the Grand Duke say? What about Kastiel? Looking back, it seems that the male protagonists always wanted her not to get involved in her dangerous affairs. I shook my head as I pondered over their dedication. I was slowly getting tired. In the first place, the personal histories of the characters in the novel, unrelated to my sister, did not hold my interest for long.

“Of course.”

So I just said that.

“Calix will come for me soon, he will surely do so.”

“If that’s the case, then it would be nice to comfort him more kindly.” I mocked her in comic exclamations. If that’s the case with the heroine.

I remembered the arrogant insults Florencia once made before being thrown into a cellar in Sinalore. She said this to Beatrice, who looked down at her as if she were a judge next to the prince, and to the prince, who chewed and spit out at the villainess while hugging her shoulder.

“Is that all you can do? It seems that His Majesty did not allow you to do anything beyond that. Oh, how cowardly. Yes, it would be better to become a powerless Prince than to be a person who cannot keep his own word. From the beginning, I was afraid of His Majesty and the Grand Duke, not you. So remember, my dear. It’s all because of you that I feel unjust. No, it’s not. Yes. After you leave here with the appropriate shame, you must fix that naive behavior so that you don’t become a disgrace in front of His Majesty. Now, I hope you understand and consider that I might even walk to hell myself.”

At that time, Florencia Eilish really walked like a queen. Not like walking into a cellar prison, but like a coronation. She persisted until the end.

There was no way to know if her words had hurt Beatrice or not. However, it was certain that Beatrice should have listened to her carefully. Willingly or not, they were slowly turning their backs on her.

At least she should have found things she could do on her own. Perhaps Beatrice didn’t like my attitude, so she narrowed her brows for a moment before straightening her back. Before she knew it, she returned to her proud heroine and declared in an angelic voice.

“Yes. If the opportunity for penitence was of no avail. The day Florencia dies, I pray that you will despair. May evil disappear from this country.”

I shrugged. Kestiel, who had been following her with his sculptural expression, put out his hand and bowed his head to escort Beatrice as if he had made up his mind. At that time, I saw the lips of the heroine, who had been blaming herself for not being able to do anything on her own, gently curved up. In the end, Beatrice took the help offered to her for granted. If that’s what the heroine is all about, then it’s something I had to laugh about.

‘I guess it’s good to be loved.’ While thinking so, I whispered to the protagonist of this world.

“You have to pray that things turn out the way you want them to.”

It was only two days later that I heard of Taylor Knight’s escape.

***

It was an exceptionally dark night, with the moon thinning. Taylor looked up at the jailer’s face as he approached him with an insensitive expression. He was trying to hide his fright. The utensils containing the meal were pushed into the prison cell.

“…”

It’s the same reaction every time. Taylor struggled to suppress the rising discomfort.

In Alcatraz, if there was a difference between the upper-class prisoners, it could be said that there was a difference between complete isolation and rationed food. Unlike meals that require the use of a fork or spoon, which meant that they came out quite humane, meals suitable for trash were distributed in Alcatraz. In other words, it was a little better than dog food. It’s not as good as cat food. So, the meal that comes out looks like a sin. Taylor reached out and pulled a piece of rock-hard bread and watery tea—actually nothing more than hot water with a piece of grass—in front of him and stuffed it into his mouth. It was disgusting to see the stone fragments being chewed.

“It’s disgusting.”

He murmured in an uncomfortable tone. The jailer just turns around without any reaction. Prison guards at Alcatraz were not held accountable for the terror that occurred at the Sinalore workhouse. As such, these violent prison guards seemed in quite good spirits. That’s probably why they don’t throw stones outside even though Margaret isn’t there.

Taylor remembers the moment he was first imprisoned. The people spit out swear words, Guild members looked at them with contempt, and Beatrice showed sympathy mixed with relief. Lastly, even he was hit by a poison needle and couldn’t move.

Alcatraz was uncomfortable to live in. The poor environment, mental isolation, and screams from the side weren’t enough to destroy a person, so they overflowed. But Taylor was in pretty good shape even in that locked room. He gazed at the glass bottle that was rolling in front of him. Medicine was in it.

Margaret Eilish brought him the right medicine for each wound he suffered. It was obvious why the jailer tolerated it. Taylor smiled at their laxity and looked out the window. Still, they were treating themselves as ignorant solitary assassins. He muttered so low that it was inaudible.

‘It’s a bribe.’

He memorized the name of a potential informant who could have received it. If you catch a weakness, it becomes more useful. If you investigate and bring it up later, it could be quite threatening. There will be an opportunity someday. Extracting information is not difficult.

Beyond those calculations, the prison guards’ swearing and the screams of the inmates were still echoing in the torture room. Taylor listened to the noise as if it were music.

“Hey, speak up. It’s okay if Duke has escaped, but that son of a bitch… I bet he still left some of the money he stole.”

“Ugh, cough, cough…!! This damn…Just go to the girl Margaret or something and beg.”

“— Say it again. What?”

A high voice echoed. The guards, who claimed to be torturers, were violent. They brutally interrogated the prisoners in Sinalore, thinking that they could also keep the money of the fired or reduced prison guards. If there was a gold coin that has not yet been discovered, the assumption was that it was greatly increasing their violence.

The prisoner laughed, his blood boiling.

“Crazy man, if you set it up outside when the night comes, you’ll die. Let’s see how many more you can kill by going crazy over bribes.”

Ah. Taylor recalled hearing similar lines several times. Five times? Yes, five times in two days. He laughed wearily.

All Glachies Guild members use the surname Knight. They used to include the expression knight when they compared themselves, but the meaning of the repeated lines above was ridiculously explicit.

The guild will send someone. If it has not sent it already.

“Now is not the time to talk about it.”

Glachies abandoned himself. At least he was like that before. Taylor looked up at the sky and asked. It’s funny that I finally realized this, but one thing is certain. The medicine in the vial doesn’t run out.

Due to the absence of a control device, the trembling body of the fictitious day does not have seizures.

The guild, at least in my own judgment, seemed to still need a Taylor Knight.

The final screams of guild members shouting from the torture chamber next door filled the hallway.