The Villainess is a Marionette

Cayena flattened out the stationery and prepared to write.

「 My dear Madame Elivan.」

She stopped moving her pen.

The original Cayena liked to show off her writing skills by prolonging useless greetings.

However, that flowery rhetoric no longer suited her.

In her second life, she was entrenched in business jargon. Of course, it was concise and formal way of speaking.

But she couldn’t write something like “I am writing to you regarding the trouble in the palace” to her nanny.

‘...Let’s write it with sincerity.‘

「Have you been well?

I’m worried that you would hate me or feel that I’m a stranger. It’s been 10 years since we fell out of touch.

I wonder if you’ve been waiting for me to contact you. I will soon have my birthday and become an adult. You may have already heard that, though.

These days…」

Cayena stopped her pen again.

It was difficult to write about how she was doing these days.

She was poisoned, reincarnated, and returned, and she even put her younger brother on probation. She couldn’t write that in a letter.

「I’m baking pies and cookies these days to bring back memories of my childhood. 」

In fact, it was what she learned from her mother in her second life, but it was necessary to beautify and correct the memory a little.

「I remember how we used to make the kitchen a mess, Madame Elivan. At that time, I think I turned your green dress completely white with flour.

But despite these memories and my longing to see you, I’ll respect Madame’s choice. It’s all right if you don’t want to come back to the Imperial Palace.

However, I’d be very happy if we could occasionally sit side by side at a coffee house in the capital and have tea together.

I miss you. My last mother. With longing, Cayena.」

Cayena’s nanny was a noblewoman and a long-time acquaintance of the late empress.

When Madame Elivan’s child passed away at an early age from a childhood fever, she raised Cayena like her second child.

Her last mother. That was a very apt expression.

‘Madame Elivan has been more affectionate to me than my father has.’

Cayena reread her letter and was struck with a strange appreciation.

She didn’t know how long it had been since she genuinely missed someone.

She put the letter in the envelope and let the candle wax drip above the fold. Then, she sealed it with a stamp engraved with the imperial insignia.

She had completed two important things to do for today. Now, it was time to do the next important thing.

“I have to go to the Imperial Library.”

“…The library?”

If one was asked to find a place completely unrelated to Cayena, one would pick the library first.

Vera did not understand.

Wasn’t this a golden time for Cayena, when every day was precious?

Shouldn’t she be spending this time meeting with influential nobles to build power? Vera tilted her head in confusion.

Cayena clarified, “It’s because I need to collect very important information for my future activities.”

Eldaim’s Imperial Library was built right next to the Imperial Academy.

The library was only accessible to aristocrats and students of the academy, and it was the largest library in the capital. It contained many texts that Cayena needed.

Cayena deliberately wore a veiled hat because she wanted to avoid a fuss.

But despite her efforts, a trail of attendants followed Cayena to the library, drawing the attention of those in the library.

Immediately, a librarian approached.

“May I ask from where you are visiting?”

Vera said to the librarian, “This is Her Highness, the First Princess.”

“……”

The librarian blinked with his large eyes.

There was only one princess in the empire, so the veiled woman in front of him must be the rumored Princess Cayena.

That was why he couldn’t believe it.

‘She might go to the theater, but I don’t think she would come to the library…’

It was a reasonable doubt.

Cayena reached out her hand.

“Will this confirm my identity?”

It was a ring proving that she was the legitimate daughter of the Emperor.

The librarian opened his eyes wide. Was this really the princess? Even looking at the evidence, it was difficult to believe.

This may have been the first time the princess used the Imperial Library.

Then, Cayena lifted her veil.

For a moment, the librarian forgot how to breathe because of her beauty. His jaw dropped. Who in the capital wouldn’t recognize Cayena’s face?

“Y, Y, Your Highness!”

He stuttered a lot, then immediately dropped to the floor to bow.

“I didn’t want to cause a fuss in the library.”

Then, the librarian sprang up like a roly poly. His face was bright red, as if it was about to burst.

Cayena smiled as she lowered her veil again.

“I see that my identity’s been verified, then.”

Vera coughed a little when she saw the librarian look like his spirit was ready to leave his body.

“Please point us to a place suitable for Her Highness.”

Only then did the librarian return to his senses. He checked the busy surroundings nearby.

“The conference table is not in use right now, so please follow me.”

Vera nodded after checking the long table in the far-off corner.

“We’re in your hands.”

The conference table was long enough to seat 20 people, but Cayena occupied it by herself.

The managers and librarians who heard the fuss rushed to her location. Peering at the hazy silhouette under the mesh veil, they politely asked, “Which book are you looking for?”

They thought that Cayena must have come here looking for something amazing.

Rezef, a candidate to succeed the throne, was put on probation for ten days, and the authority over internal affairs was temporarily transferred to her.

Everyone in society was focusing on her actions. Just why did the princess visit the Imperial Library?

They waited silently to hear how Cayena replied.

Soon, Cayena said, “Bring me a travelogue of the Eldaim Empire.”

At the word ‘travelogue,’ not only the librarians but also Vera and her escorts looked at her strangely.

“…Please wait just a moment.”

Anyway, it was the will of the princess, so they quickly searched for travel records in their collection.

Soon, the librarians stacked the books on the table, divided by region.

The knights who were escorting Cayena stood like barriers in front of them, blocking the gaze of those who glanced toward her.

Cayena pushed the veil a little to the side and began to read.

‘I have to find a place to live once I exit the Imperial Palace.’

This was something very important to her.

‘I have to adjust the land that I will inherit while my father is still alive.”

Cayena was supposed to inherit some of the finest land owned by the Hill family. However, the problem was that most of the land to be inherited was in the east.

‘I can’t go east because of the Evans family.’

Where was a place far from the capital and relatively free from influential nobility?

In fact, at first, she had thought to hide herself by moving to the west.

‘But Raphael and Olivia might find it uncomfortable with me there.’

She needed a place where she had complete control to create a fake husband and marry him.

For that, she had to find a place in advance and arrange it.

It would be nice to have a sturdy and clean mansion, a small garden to grow some herbs, and the sea or a lake within walking distance.

Of course, Cayena had a more deliberate reason for visiting the Imperial Library during this period as well.

‘I need to lower their guard.‘

Too many people were focused on her now, searching for her intentions in her every move.

But how confusing would it be if Cayena seemed to be looking for a place to take a break for the upcoming social season?

It was quite like the Cayena of old, but it was also the opposite of her recent actions.

She skipped through the travelogues as if she was not taking them very seriously.

Then, when there were pictures, she looked at them quite carefully. It was an act so that she looked as if she were only here for the pictures, not to read.

Contrary to their opinion, though, Cayena was reading everything.

Everybody in her second life’s generation had to take the SATs, meaning that they had trained how to read passages quickly and understand their main content. That trait was still engrained in her.

While she was making plans for the future, the library had an increasing number of visitors. The news of Princess Cayena’s presence had already spread.

Vera felt unpleasant as the princess was treated like a rare spectacle.

“Your Highness, it’s cloudy today, so it would be better to return to the palace.”

At that, Cayena looked away from the book and out the window. Sure enough, the sky outside was gray.

“Let’s go check out some books and leave.”

Cayena calculated that society would discuss whatever she borrowed, so she picked a suitable book.

‘It looks like there are more people now.‘

She noticed that it was crowded because of her. Vera suggested withdrawing at the right time.

“Hmm.”

Outside, the carriages full of nobles who had come to see the princess. Vera quietly tsked in disapproval.

“Would you like to wait in the break room?” she asked Cayena.

“We should only have to wait a bit longer, so let’s walk ahead a little.”

“It may rain soon. Will that be all right?”

At her words, Cayena turned her head and pointed to the side.

“We can walk under the roofed corridors.”

She began to walk slowly with Vera.

“I read the travelogues today because I needed to detract attention. If you look too ambitious after gaining power, someone is bound to come put you in check.”

“They certainly will.”

“Doesn’t it seem in character for me to search for a summer resort as soon as I was given some authority?”

Vera couldn’t agree respectfully, and she shut her mouth. In fact, it was an action that would have been natural for the original Cayena.

Her veil, which was swaying as she walked, gradually fell off and exposed her eyes.

“Your Highness, shall I fix your veil?”

The clip seemed to have loosened as Cayena had repeatedly lifted and lowered the veil.

She would soon ride a carriage back to the palace, but she nodded as there were nobles approaching the area.

“Please do so.”

Vera unfastened the veil from the hat.

It was as she was trying to fasten it again tightly when they heard a voice.

“Your Highness!”

Someone from behind them joyously called out to her. At that somewhat familiar voice, Cayena looked back.

“It’s been a long time, Your Highness.”

Cayena’s complexion turned deathly pale.

It was a familiar face. Dark brown hair, dreary black eyes, and thin lips.

A face younger than that from her memories. Yes, it was a face she couldn’t forget.

‘Henverton Gillian.‘

He was Cayena’s former husband who had abused and murdered her.

~~~