TVIQ 01

Chapter: 01

There was once a trivial conversation among my friends about what they would do if they woke up one day and found themselves as a villainess.

Their answers varied.

Some said they would twist the original story and become the heroine themselves. Others said they would avoid acting like a villainess and simply live a comfortable life. Some said they would forget about the male lead and end up with the second male lead they liked.

It was peaceful, just as one would expect from friends as kind and bright as sunshine.

My thoughts, however, were different from theirs.

‘If I were going to become a villainess anyway, I thought I might as well become a proper villainess.’

I had always believed that a world where everyone could be happy did not exist.

I thought that aside from the winner, there could only be losers. So whether I wanted it or not, in the end, one person would have to disappear.

That was what I had been taught all my life, almost as though my parents had brainwashed me.

So I had made up my mind that if I ever became a villainess, I would not be some foolish idiot who meekly allowed herself to be taken advantage of. I would become a wicked and cruel villainess and ultimately emerge victorious.

Was it a trick of fate?

The very next day after that conversation, when I woke up, I really had become a villainess.

Aine Kleine.

The villainess from Everything Is for Lacy.

She had fallen in love with Matthias, the male protagonist and crown prince who would become the next king. But, as the title itself suggested, he loved Lacy, not Aine.

Consumed by jealousy, Aine mistakenly believed that if she killed Lacy, Matthias would finally look at her.

She tried to kill Lacy, but Aine’s attempts ended in miserable failure, and she was eventually executed.

I was certain that the reason the original Aine had suffered such a fate was because she was foolish, slow-witted, and incompetent.

Surely, if it were me, I wouldn’t let myself be treated that way.

[SYSTEM: Quest to Return to the Original World]

[To return to your original world, kill Lacy Flamingo.]

[Remaining Attempts: 10]

[Success Reward: Return to Original World]

[Failure Penalty: Death]

[Would you like to proceed with the quest? Y / N]

Although I didn’t hate Lacy, I had no choice but to kill her if I wanted to return to my original world.

Back to the world where my parents and friends were waiting, where everything I had built was still there.

But looking back now, I realize that I had been terribly mistaken at the time.

I was going to kill the woman in the very world God had created for her.

[SYSTEM: Quest to Return to the Original World Failed]

[You have failed to kill Lacy. There are no more attempts remaining.]

[Remaining Attempts: 0]

[Quest Status: Failed]

[Failure Penalty: Death]

Lacy was beautiful, with radiant golden hair and gentle lavender eyes, and she was loved by everyone.

While people praised and admired Lacy, Aine pointed fingers at her, condemned her, and cursed her.

I thought I could understand why the original Aine had hated Lacy so much.

She had been born with everything, blessed with noble blood and possessing everything anyone could wish for, while I had become less than a homeless vagabond who owned nothing at all.

With every repeated failure, I sometimes wanted to give up on the quest. But whenever I tried to abandon it, terrifying pain and the fear of death would come crashing over me.

“I hate you. I hate you so much that I want to kill you.”

I never wanted to reveal how weakened I had become in front of Lacy. It was the last shred of pride I had left.

Just like the original Aine, I hated Lacy.

It was infuriating how even perfectly designed traps could be escaped so easily by the protagonist of this world, as though they were nothing more than simple problems.

I was convinced that this jealousy and resentment would continue until the very moment I died.

“But Aine, I like you. Perhaps we could even become good friends.”

I thought she had gone insane.

I was the one who had tormented her in every way imaginable—imprisonment, poisoning, attempted murder, and more.

To say that we could become good friends? My still-intact tongue was about to spit out another cruel remark.

At least, until I saw Lacy’s expression.

“Perhaps I wanted you to succeed. I really wished you would put an end to my life.”

Bitterness and anguish were written across the face of a woman who should have been happy because she had everything.

“Would you perhaps listen to me? About the kind of life I’ve lived until now.”

That was when a miraculous moment arrived.

[SYSTEM: Additional Quest to Return to the Original World]

[To return to your original world, kill Lacy Flamingo.]

[Quest Condition: Eliminate Lacy Flamingo]

[Remaining Attempts: 1]

[If you accept, the quest will proceed. If you refuse, your soul will be extinguished.]

[Would you like to proceed with the quest? Y / N]

On the system window that appeared once again, the number of remaining attempts had changed from 0 to 1.

And even if I didn’t complete the quest, the pain no longer followed.

‘Five years have passed since then.’

Aine looked around as she briefly reminisced about the past.

Though it was late at night, almost no one was sleeping.

Inside the barracks, brightly illuminated by torches, dozens of commanders were gathered.

“Commander Kleine. All of the Imperial troops at the Hessen River have retreated!”

“The same goes for Limundorf Village! As you ordered, Commander, the First Cavalry successfully repelled them!”

“Now, if we capture that Brandtfort Fortress, this miserable war will finally be over, Commander.”

In the solemn atmosphere, joy and anticipation could be seen on everyone’s faces.

[SYSTEM: Imperial Army Suppression Quest Complete.]

[Preparing the next quest.]

[Quest Status: Success]

[Success Reward: Information on Brandt Fort Fortress’s Weakness]

Aine was no different.

‘At last, I can go back.’

It had already been five years since the war began. Aine thought of the friend who was desperately waiting for her return at the royal palace.

‘What kind of expression will she have when she welcomes me?’

Who could have imagined it?

That she and Lacy would become best friends.

Even Aine herself had never expected it.

She had believed what her parents had told her—that one of them had to die.

But Lacy was the person who taught her that she had been wrong.

Aine decided to live for Lacy, the woman who had given her a second chance, and immediately enlisted in the military.

It was so she could resolve the war with the Verona Empire, the part of the original story where Lacy found herself in trouble toward the end.

‘Thanks to the system, I’ve managed to survive and win this far.’

She had faced the brink of death countless times.

Her country had nearly fallen, too, but they had risen again and now had the Verona Empire backed into a crisis.

Aine closed her eyes and thought of her.

The only person in this world whom she could truly call a friend.

As she imagined meeting her again and pictured Lacy shedding tears of joy for her once more, a huge golden bell suddenly appeared before her eyes.

The bell shook, and the thunderous sound it produced came rushing toward her. Pain so intense that it felt as though her head were being crushed flooded through Aine, causing her to drop the cup in her hand.

And then, as if it had never happened, the sound disappeared.

“Commander, are you all right?”

“…Sorry. I made a mistake.”

“It’s all right. You haven’t been getting proper sleep lately, have you?”

Everyone around her reassured her that she was fine, but instead of listening to them, Aine stared at the cup lying on the floor.

Cold sweat ran down her hands.

Why had a bell suddenly appeared?

This had never happened even once before, and Aine couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that something was wrong.

As she wondered whether something was about to happen, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the barracks.

“An enemy attack?”

“That can’t be. The Imperial army no longer has enough troops to launch a surprise attack…”

Everyone rose from their seats at the thought that the enemy might have launched a nighttime assault.

But the person who entered the barracks was a messenger from the royal palace.

Aine and the other commanders exchanged puzzled looks.

It had only been a few days since the previous messenger had come.

They couldn’t think of any reason why another messenger would have been sent again in such a short period of time.

“I have urgent news to deliver to Commander Aine Kleine!”

“What on earth has happened that you’re looking for the commander?”

“What has happened in the capital?”

“This is something that must be conveyed to the commander first!”

With a face worn down by exhaustion, the messenger sought only Aine.

The officers sensed that something was wrong from his urgent voice and pressed him to tell them what had happened, but the messenger kept his mouth firmly shut.

“I am here.”

When Aine stepped forward, the messenger hurriedly approached her and whispered into her ear.

After hearing his words, Aine stared at the messenger in disbelief.

Having fulfilled his duty, the messenger promptly fainted.

With everyone’s attention focused on her, Aine bit her lip until it bled and said,

“We’re going to the royal palace.”

“Commander?”

“You mean we’re going to the royal palace?”

“What exactly did the messenger tell you?”

That night, when she had been filled with anticipation at the thought that she would soon be able to see her friend again.

“His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen have both passed away.”

Aine had lost the only friend who had ever reached out her hand to her.