The Villainous Noblewoman Is About to Be Forced into Love, Isn’t This Wrong?

Nabet furrowed her brows. Something felt off. Was it just her imagination?

Would Liana discard Loraville once she got bored—just like before?@@novelbin@@

And yet, the way Liana's eyes had shone when she saw magic… That light was too familiar.

Nabet decided that while Eirina was away at Ibet Magic Academy, she would carefully observe Liana. She hadn’t expected the moment to come so soon.

Liana waved her hand, testing her movement. Finding nothing wrong, she got up from bed.

"Where are you going, Lady Liana?" Nabet asked.

"That has nothing to do with you."

"Every noble lady must be accompanied by a servant when leaving the estate. Sharido is gone, and Loraville has yet to return. That leaves only me," Nabet replied.

Liana’s brow twitched slightly. Was Nabet keeping an eye on her?

But she hadn’t done anything suspicious—this was just what "Liana" was supposed to do.

"Suit yourself." Liana didn’t refuse. After all, only she would be able to enter once they arrived.

Opening the door to her room, she found herself face-to-face with Loraville, who had just returned from outside.

"Lady Liana," Loraville bowed her head slightly.

Perfect timing! Liana stepped forward and grabbed Loraville’s hand.

"Loraville is back now. No need for you to follow me."

Liana was obviously trying to shake her off. And at this point, Nabet truly had no reason to insist.

"Very well." Nabet watched as they left.

Loraville had no idea what was happening—she had just returned and was suddenly being dragged along by Liana’s soft, warm hand.

She wanted to ask something, but when she saw the bandages wrapped around Liana’s fingers, she kept quiet and followed obediently.

In just two minutes, they reached a large door.

Liana retrieved a key from her robes. As soon as she inserted it into the lock, the engravings along the door’s edges began to glow.

"?"

Liana was still puzzled when a familiar figure appeared before them.

"An intruder?" Nabet stopped short when she recognized who it was. "Lady Liana?"

"Why are you here? Didn’t I say you weren’t needed?" Liana asked.

"This is Lord Anbis and Lady Venus’ chamber. It is protected by a barrier. The moment you unlocked the door, the barrier’s alarm was triggered, which is why I came," Nabet explained.

"This room… Ordinary people can’t enter, can they?" Liana asked.

"Of course not. Only you and I possess the key to this chamber."

"You?" Liana looked at Nabet suspiciously. "This is my parents’ room. Servants shouldn’t be allowed in here."

"Lady Liana, do you think the room has stayed spotless for the past three years all by itself?"

"..."

"What is it? Is there something you don’t want me to see?" Nabet questioned.

"You’re overstepping your bounds," Liana said coolly. "I don’t need your permission to enter my parents’ room, do I?"

For a brief moment, Nabet’s expression flickered.

Three years had passed since she had returned, and in all that time, Liana had never once stepped into this room.

But before that, Eirina had once told her—Liana used to wander this room frequently, lingering for hours, aimlessly searching, as if waiting for something.

So when Nabet saw her standing here now, she was surprised. And… perhaps, just a little hopeful?

If something inside this room could bring back the Liana from back then, the one who was kind, the one who smiled…

Liana pulled Loraville inside with her.

The room was impeccably clean—someone had tidied it not too long ago.

Liana approached a desk. A photograph rested upon it.

A picture of three people.

Liana gazed at it in a trance.

In her past life, she had been an orphan. She had never known what it meant to have a family. Now, as her fingers gently traced the figures in the image, warmth inexplicably spread through her chest.

A platinum-haired woman sat in a chair, holding a doll-like little girl in her lap. It seemed Liana had inherited her mother’s hair color.

Behind them, a black-haired man stood, watching them with a gentle gaze. Her father, most likely.

Liana hugged the photograph to her chest and lay on the large bed, her feet dangling at the edge, lightly swinging.

She had never met these two before.

And yet, they felt so familiar. So close.

A soft, unconscious smile formed on her lips.

Loraville, who had been watching from the doorway, found it strange.

This girl… could make such an expression?

Who would have thought that someone like Liana could smile like that?

But Liana wasn’t here for nostalgia.

Her real goal was to search her mother’s study.

She needed to find out if there was a cure for that cursed medicine.

After all, the formula for this drug had been something Ruth had stolen from her mother’s bookshelf.

Liana didn’t know why her mother possessed such a formula, but if there was a formula, then there had to be a cure.

She climbed off the bed and pushed open a door inside the room—this was Anbis’ study.

Rows of bookshelves lined the space, neatly filled with countless volumes.

Liana’s head throbbed at the sheer number of them.

If she searched through them one by one without help, it would take at least half a year to find anything useful.

And if she made frequent visits to this room, Ruth would definitely grow suspicious.

That was why she had rushed here before Ruth had a chance to react—she had only today.

Of course, she hadn’t come unprepared.

"Loraville, come here."

"Yes."

"You can use magic, can’t you?" Liana asked.

"I can use some simple spells." After all, Loraville was still a novice—she hadn’t been using magic for long.

But that didn’t matter.

Liana’s mother had once said that this was the most basic magic of all—even a beginner could use it.

This was… the first spell her mother had ever taught her.

When she was little, she would often mess around in her mother’s study.

And yet, no matter how many times she swapped the positions of two books, her mother always knew immediately.

Later, she had learned the secret—it was thanks to this spell.

"Repeat after me," Liana instructed.

"Alright." Loraville didn’t understand what Liana was trying to do, but she had no right to refuse.

She held a single strand of red hair in her hands.