TVB 03

TVB

Posted by Tommy Vercetti, Released on May 30, 2026

The Villainess Begins Her Life on the Run

“Arnight… are you in your right mind?”

The heavy voice, laden with authority, echoed through a chamber in the royal castle of the Kingdom of Rafaris.

It belonged to my father, King Midrash.

“Of course I am. I intend to dissolve my engagement to Vina Lilifal and take Miss Mina Yukishiro here as my new fiancée.”

“N-Nice to meet you…”

A young girl bowed her head awkwardly.

Judging from her complete lack of etiquette, she was almost certainly a commoner.

I see.

So he intends to bring a commoner into the royal family.

What a foolish thing to do.

Then again… the fact that the troublesome Lady Vina would no longer be involved in the struggle for succession might actually work in my favor.

The greatest obstacle to removing Arnight from the race for the throne had always been that girl.

If he had thrown her away of his own accord, then honestly, I should be grateful.

Hidden from sight, I watched the scene unfold and thought to myself.

Then the king’s furious roar shook the room.

“Don’t be ridiculous! You intend to bring a commoner into the royal family!?”

On that point, I agreed completely.

There was no way such a thing would ever be accepted.

“Whatever Father thinks, my decision has already been made. Or would you like to strip me of my right to inherit the throne?”

“—!”

“You can’t, can you? Just look at my current approval ratings. There’s no way you can take away my succession rights through personal decree alone. So please stop interfering in my affairs.”

I nearly burst out laughing.

Good grief.

Was this idiot serious?

Did he really think those approval ratings were his own achievement?

Did he have any idea who had stolen support from me and maintained it for him all this time?

The very woman he had just discarded.

This was bad.

His delusion that he had surpassed me through his own abilities was so absurd that if I stayed any longer, I might actually die laughing.

So I quietly left the throne room.

Then—

“Prince Hubert, there you are. The castle’s in an uproar right now. Even the people in Arnight’s faction are starting to sound nervous. What do you think? Is it about time we made our move?”

The voice belonged to my closest friend, Abel.

With the black hair characteristic of the Lilifal family and a face beautiful enough to be mistaken for a woman’s, he looked every bit the nobleman he was.

“No. It’s still too early. Most of the kingdom still supports Arnight. Dealing with that comes first. Honestly, your sister… What exactly does she see in that incompetent fool? If she’d chosen me as her fiancé instead, I’d have kicked Father off the throne and taken the crown myself by now.”

“Hm, perhaps. Though I think she chose him because he was the easiest to handle. You, Prince Hubert, would be far too difficult to control.”

“To control, huh? Well, I certainly prefer being on top rather than being ridden.”

“…Was that a dirty joke? Please never say things like that in public.”

“As if I would. More importantly, Abel—have you found Lady Vina?”

Abel shrugged lightly and smiled.

“No. No sign of her at all. Though I have to admit, I never expected my sister to have such tastes.”

“Such tastes?”

“The matter of her eloping with Lady Yua, of course. If they ran away together, then surely that means they’re that kind of relationship.”

Oh?

Now that was news to me.

“I knew she disappeared with Yua, but where did this elopement story come from?”

“Well… even for you, Prince Hubert, I can’t reveal that. Let’s just say it came through the Lilifal family’s own information network.”

“I see.”

Not that I particularly cared.

“Still, an elopement? No one’s going to believe that. As a result, the story spreading through the castle is that Yua was kidnapped by Vina out of spite after being rejected by Arnight.”

“Sounds about right.”

As always, Abel wore his carefree smile.

But there was something I had been wondering.

“Tell me, Abel. If Vina is caught, she’ll almost certainly be executed as a traitor. Are you really fine with that? Don’t you want to help her?”

Abel answered as though the answer were obvious.

“You really don’t understand the Lilifal family at all, Prince Hubert. Yes, Vina is one of my beloved sisters. But that’s a separate matter. If she can’t survive without my protection, then honestly, dying would be better for her in the long run.”

His tone was perfectly matter-of-fact.

The people of the Lilifal family really were insane.

The only remotely normal one was Glen, who currently served as one of Arnight’s aides.

Though even calling him normal was questionable.

Still, among them all, he was the only one with any trace of ordinary human warmth.

“That’s harsh. Speaking of which, what about your youngest brother… Glen Lilifal? He seems to be working closely with Arnight.”

“He’s an insignificant fool. He won’t become an obstacle for you. He prides himself on being a Lilifal, but he fails to understand what that truly means. That’s my assessment of him.”

“I see.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“At least he doesn’t sound like another Vina.”

“…However,” Abel added.

“There is one person we shouldn’t overlook. Mina Yukishiro, the second prince’s new fiancée. She successfully framed my sister and claimed the position beside Prince Arnight. Looking only at the result, it almost appears as though she defeated Vina.”

That was true.

It was easy to dismiss her as a commoner, but in practical terms she had won.

Yet Abel had emphasized looking only at the result.

Deep down, he clearly didn’t believe his sister had truly lost.

Was it family bias?

Or was there another reason?

I had no idea.

And if I asked, he would surely dodge the question.

“Then perhaps Mina Yukishiro deserves some attention. Though honestly, if Vina, Yua, and Lena Lilifal would only side with me, bringing that fool down would be easy.”

Abel shook his head.

“Impossible. Vina seems to have no intention of involving herself in this matter anymore. Lady Yua is the same. As for Lena, she’s having far too much fun helping Mother with her work to care about any of this.”

“I see…”

That was disappointing.

And I meant that sincerely.

◆ ◆ ◆

One week had passed since the second prince broke off our engagement.

Together with Lady Yua, I had traveled far from the royal castle of Rafaris and arrived in a small frontier town called Taklas.

Compared to the bustling capital, its population was sparse.

Yet despite being complete strangers, we had been welcomed with open arms.

It was a warm, gentle place.

“Mm… Lady Vina…”

Morning.

As I opened my eyes, I looked at Yua sleeping peacefully beside me.

Even in her dreams, she was calling my name.

Why did she care for me this much?

When we were children, she often played with my younger sister Lena and me.

But that should have been all.

Back then, I was too young to understand what it meant to be royalty.

Because of that, I often spoke to her with shocking disrespect.

Of course, that was long ago.

Once I grew old enough to understand the Kingdom of Rafaris, I gradually put distance between us.

To me, Yua became one of the obstacles standing in the way of Prince Arnight’s ascension to the throne.

And yet…

Why was she still like this?

I gently stroked her head.

Her silver hair slipped smoothly through my fingers.

Even this simple gesture…

A short while ago, I never would have imagined myself casually patting a royal princess on the head.

I still don’t know why Lady Yua helped me that day.

Perhaps she had her own motives.

Perhaps there was some hidden agenda behind it all.

But even so… I was happy.

I was truly happy that she protected me.

I really was.

For someone whose entire life had revolved around placing Arnight upon the throne, that moment had felt like utter despair.

Not because he had fallen in love with someone else.

Frankly, I never cared about that.

A future king having mistresses was perfectly normal.

Expected, even.

That was why, despite knowing Mina had been approaching Prince Arnight, I ignored it and focused all my efforts on restricting Prince Hubert’s movements.

That had been my mistake.

I had been thoroughly outplayed.

By none other than my own fiancé.

I knew nothing about love.

And because I knew nothing about it, I underestimated it.

I never imagined he would abandon me and choose a commoner girl instead.

Love is blind.

Right now, Prince Arnight probably saw nothing except Mina.

Not the hardships waiting ahead.

Not the people of the kingdom.

Nothing at all.

If Arnight became king in this state, the only future awaiting this nation would be ruin.