The Guidebook for Villainesses
chapter-2

1. The Girl Who Had Changed Too Much

After her death, Lara didn’t know whether everyone had lived happily ever after, or suffered and walked the path of destruction. She was not curious about it, nor could she even ask anyone, and most of all, it was none of her business anymore.

After a long bout of terrible pain, Lara opened her eyes and found herself soaking in the hot tub in her room. The last sensation she had felt before she died was a tremendous pain that was enough to melt her guts. And so, before she could even come to her senses, she had convulsions all over her body.

Splash!

Her thin arms and legs floundered in the bathtub, not even affording to scream. After swallowing plenty of fragrant water, Lara crawled out of the bathtub on all fours with tears and snot pouring out.

Huff. Huff.

The water was hot, the steam was blurry, and the floor was cold.

Her fingertips trembled.

When she lay down and scratched the floor, Lara had felt another sensation, one that was different than pain—the sensation of rubbing the smooth tiles, the damp water, the slipperiness of the fragrant oil, and the scent of lilies lingering at the end of her nose.

She had come back.

The realization struck Lara like lightning.

This was the bathroom attached to the room she used as a teenager. This breathtaking scent of lilies was also popular at that time. Her nails were round, and the ring mark that had remained like a tattoo on her finger was nowhere to be seen. Even the smudges of ink that were on her fingers seemed to be missing.

She had come back to the past.

Lara stood up slowly against the bathroom wall. She was still dizzy from the aftermath of the pain, but she forced herself to get up and walked in front of the mirror. When she wiped the foggy mirror that was full of steam with her palm, a girl with familiar features was looking at her.

“Hah.”

She let out a dry chuckle.

“I will give you a second chance.”

Lara heard that voice on the day it was decided that she would be sacrificed.

When she was pouring out tears of resentment and sorrow at the prince, questioning the reason she was abandoned and betrayed, the voice appeared and whispered affectionately.

“I will give you a chance to turn back everything and make it right.”

Lara had no way of knowing whether it was the words of the divine god or the temptation of the nasty devil. In fact, it was more like it didn’t matter to her.

She was sad, desperate, and above all, madly enraged.

“Please give me the chance.”

So Lara accepted the chance.

She took the second chance without knowing what she needs to offer in return, and without knowing whether the existence was that of the divine or the demonic.

She did not care even if she lost her soul. She was fine even if she needed to suffer for eternity.

If only she could turn back the time.

“I will do everything.”

She would never cling to the prince again. No matter how sweet his voice entices her, she won’t listen. She will spit at his face and scoff at his slick serpent-like tongue.

And more importantly, she had to correct all her mistakes.

Lara, who was ignorant, did whatever the prince asked her to do. Without knowing that the prince and the temple had conspired with the dark wizards, she sided with them. She played a part in banishing the innocent princess, and she stirred up bad blood between the empire and the king of the lawless zone, so much so that they had waged war against each other. She kept the good people away and kept the bad people close. She only chose what she wanted to hear.

The villainess with a façade of a saintess. It was only natural that those who were beside her became unlucky. And now, Lara decided to live a second life to make everything right.

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Laviore Ria Bailey.

Amazingly, Lara was born with the same face as her mother.

Her father, Marquess Bailey, was the most good-looking guy of the century with his white hair, light blue eyes, pale skin, and grim-looking face.

On the other hand, her mother, Marchioness Bailey looked cold and fierce. Lara was the spitting image of her mother, she looked like a girl who was too difficult to approach.

She used to hate it.

If she looked like her father, she would have grown up hearing that she was as beautiful as an angel. She would have the prince’s love all to herself. Why did she have to look like her mother and go take the easy path the hard way?

Or at least, that was what she used to think.

Lara was young and immature.

So she considered his father, who often brought pretty clothes and expensive accessories for her, as a good parent who loved her. And she believed that her mother, who was busy and inattentive, to be a bad parent and did not love her.

Because she did not know anything back then.

Contrary to his good look, Marquess Bailey was a greedy, despicable man. It was a piece of cake for him to use his child as a tool to realize his desires.

“Be nice.”

“Don’t open your eyes like that. Always look down. Don’t make any noise when you laugh.”

“Wear a white dress. Don’t show your skin. The prince likes a well-behaved, quiet lady.”

Lara did as her father told. She tried to be the nicest and most decent lady in the world. Only then would the prince look at her. She dyed her hair and eyebrows so they would be blurry. She took much trouble straightening her curly hair every day. She powdered her skin to be pale and white, and she drew her eyes drooping.

After starving herself to get a thin body, she always wore a white dress. Even if there was an emergency, she would never run, and she always talked as if she was whispering. She could not even get mad or blame anyone. She didn’t covet or desire anything.

That was how she lived while losing herself.

“That was crazy.”

Lara looked in the mirror while holding a twisted smile. The girl who was once called an angel was gone. Her reflection in the mirror was so different that she felt like she was looking at someone else. Her slightly slanted upward eyes looked arrogant and sharp like a cat. Her jaws were lean, but the tip of her nose was round, making it difficult to guess her age. She would look like she was angry if she didn’t smile because of her stiff mouth and slightly protruding lips.

Curly hazel hair, intense scarlet eyes, and provocative eyes were all her original look.

“Milady! Are you still not done?”

As Lara carefully observed herself in the mirror, a maid with a loud voice called her from outside the bathroom.

It was Konny.

Among all the maids who attended Lara, she was the only one who hated Prince Sidhar. Konny was very unhappy when Lara became the prince’s puppet. And when Lara decided to follow Prince Sidhar to the royal palace, Konny cried and held on to her not to go.

“Milady, if the prince really loves you, he won’t force you to be a lady that fits his preference from head to toe. I know I’m crossing the line, but this is really weird. I’m seriously so worried about you!”

Because Konny was a girl who could not lie and was always honest in everything, she gathered her courage to tell only the truth.

But on that day, Lara burned with rage.

She turned her back on Konny, who had been like her friend since her childhood. She chased away the kind maid who was crying and clinging to her.

“Konny.”

When Lara opened the bathroom door and came out, Konny stretched out her lips and sighed.

“Milady, you soaked yourself for too long.”

The way she spoke was not very sweet, but she acted fast. Konny wiped the remaining water off Lara’s body with a large towel and quickly dressed her up.

Konny spoke sternly.

“I know it’s still summer. But I already told you not to stay in the bathtub for too long. You are going to catch a cold. Huh? Milady, why are you shaking? Are you not feeling well?”

The aftermath of the pain remained and made her body shiver. Lara tried to smile but it did not work out. Her stiff face twisted as if she was going to cry.

“Are you cold? I knew this would happen! Should I bring your gown?”

“I’m fine.”

“What’s wrong, milady? What happened? Did someone say something to you? What’s wrong with your face?”

Konny asked anxiously. Her round eyes reflected her sorrow for Lara.

Yes, this is how she was like.

If Lara had a dark expression, then Konny would easily notice it, she would come asking what was wrong and who had done it.

Konny was the only maid of the House of Bailey who really liked Lara. Lara wanted to apologize to Konny, but it would make Konny more worried. So, she just stretched out her arms and hugged her. Konny’s small body, which had been moving tirelessly, came into Lara’s arms.

“Miladyyyy?!”

It was the first time Lara had done anything like this. Now that she had hugged her, Konny was much smaller than Lara had thought. She had always thought that Konny looked like a squirrel, but she really was as small and soft as a squirrel.

Lara quickly thought of something more fitting than saying she missed her.

“Thanks.”

She whispered.

After saying that to Konny’s ear, she hugged her tightly.

“Urgh, milady, I can’t breathe.”

Now that she was holding Konny like that, she came to the realization that she really had returned to the past. Her shivering had also gradually subsided. Lara only let go of her arms after Konny’s face turned red.

“Have you just read a flirtatious novel? What’s wrong with my lady today?”

Konny made a fuss saying she got goosebumps. But even though she criticized her and asked the reason why Lara suddenly did that, Konny was smiling with her face flushing red.

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