I’ll Become a Villainess That Will Go Down in History

My breath was caught between excitement at the completion of the cure and impatience to get to Gramps’ room as soon as possible.

Just as Gramps’ room came into view, the door opened with a clunk.

Henry came out from inside, carrying a thick stack of documents.

What was Henry doing here?

I stopped and stared at him. He must have noticed my gaze, and our eyes met.

“Gilles!”

He smiled happily as he approached me.

I had been holed up in my room for so long that I hardly ever saw Henry. I think he was trying to keep me out of the way.

“How are you?”

It was a strange question, even though we lived in the same house.

“Ah, I’m fine… What were you doing in Gramps’ room?”

“Well…”

Henry trailed off at my question.

“Are you hiding something?”

“No, not really… It’s just…”

“Just what? What were you doing with Gramps? What’s with the paper?”

I pressed Henry so that he couldn’t run away. He seemed to have given up and opened his mouth.

“It’s a document I got from Will-sama.”

Feeling a little uncomfortable with the unfamiliar name “Will-sama”, I silently listened to Henry’s story.

“…He’s not going to be around much longer. So I’m desperately trying to do what I can while he’s still alive. I have a lot of documents that I need to get to him, such as the documents for giving the residents of the impoverished villages jobs so that they can live independently in this country, and the documents that contain detailed information about the villagers that Nate, Rebecca, and the others have researched. Of course, the real criminals who were in the village were already housed elsewhere. It’s a very thorough plan, and I can’t stop thinking about it.”

I couldn’t understand anything Henry said.

Had things gotten that bad while I was gone?

“Can I go into the room?”

Henry looked a little apologetic at my muttering.

“Will-sama doesn’t want to see you. He doesn’t want Gilles to see him in this state.”

“Why! Gramps doesn’t like me anymore? This is terrible! That’s just too much!”

I raised my voice and hit Henry. He didn’t say anything.

“You don’t want me to see him in such a bad state. Does that mean I’m a stranger? I’ll stay with him no matter what he looks like!”

“You should understand. He doesn’t want Gilles to see him weak. Doesn’t that mean he wants Alicia and Gilles to admire him all the time? That’s what Will-sama wants.”

For the first time, Henry was expressing himself to me.

I knew what he meant, but I didn’t want to understand. I would hate to never see Gramps again.

“That’s just ego! …Hey, Henry, I’ve developed a drug with the same effects as Maddie.”

Henry’s eyes widened. He was at a loss for words. I suppressed my emotions and continued talking.

“Finally, I finally finished it. So I’m going to help Gramps. Then I will get a lot of compliments…”

My voice trembled. I turned over, fighting back tears.

“Surely it’s Will-sama’s ego to say that he doesn’t want to see you. Go ahead and throw your feelings at him. But keep in mind that Will-sama cares about Gilles more than anyone else.“

Henry’s warm hand caresses my head.

I was often patted on the head by many people. It fills my heart with joy, as if I was being praised.

The person who stroked my head the most was Gramps. His hands reassured me more than anyone else’s. Every time that big, stubbly hand acknowledged me, I tried to do my best.

“I’m going to go see him.”

“Go for it.” Henry murmured gently and took his hand off my head.

I stood in front of Gramps’ room. I took a deep breath, holding back the tears that were threatening to well up.

I couldn’t let Gramps see me sobbing.

I pulled myself together and slowly opened the door without knocking.

“…You’ve accomplished a tremendous feat.”

Henry blurted out something, but I didn’t catch it.