I Don’t Want to be a Villainess – Chapter 192

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: Wojo

━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━

Ah,

It feels like I went through all this trouble for nothing.

At first, I thought it was a really great idea, but as I watched things unfold in real time, I started feeling like something was a bit off.

So… to put it simply,

Did I really need to choose the color red?

That’s what I was thinking.

Honestly, I didn’t put much thought into the color.

First of all, I didn’t choose blue because it was a color Choi Na-kyung often used, and I didn’t want to be reminded of her every time I saw it.

Green was never my style, yellow felt too loud, and, above all, yellow didn’t suit Sara.

If I wanted it to stand out to others, I would have to use a vivid yellow, but that color wouldn’t go well with Sara’s striking ruby-colored eyes.

That’s why I chose red.

Sara’s eyes left such a vivid impression that I wanted others to think, “Ah, she’s on Ye Sara’s side.”

The problem was… once everyone was dressed in it, I started thinking it might be too flashy.

The girls were fine, though.

This school only accepted students from wealthy families, so most of them spent a lot of money on their appearance.

Just like money is a weapon in this game, looks are also a big asset.

It seems that the story of Cinderella, meeting a rich man and succeeding, isn’t entirely impossible after all.

So, even if they weren’t from wealthy families, most girls watched their weight and cared about their appearance to avoid being compared or ostracized.

After all, one little thing could make school life exhausting.

That’s why the dresses made from expensive fabric looked great.

Especially since the people who stayed up almost all night with us were either famous tailors or people working under them.

Most of the girls looked good in the red dresses.

The problem was the few boys.

No matter what, dressing guys in bright red outfits seemed a bit too much, like I was trying to torment them, so I designed their outfits around darker shades of red…

But honestly, I should have just dressed them in black suits with red ties.

…It’s too late now, though.

Anyway, seeing those twenty or so students gathered in one place… well, it felt a bit intimidating.

Maybe it was because they were all wearing red, or because I knew they were all on my side, but I suddenly started thinking it was all a bit too much.

“…”

What can I do now?

The damage is already done.

I let out a small sigh.

It wasn’t like I had completely stayed up all night, but I hadn’t slept much either.

Still, looking at what I’d done, it didn’t seem like these twenty attendees thought they were just here to attend a party; they all looked pretty tense.

Well, it’s better that they’re tense than falling asleep from exhaustion.

I glanced at my wristwatch.

Thankfully, the party fell on a Saturday, so I didn’t have to send them all back to school.

The party, as always, was scheduled for the evening.

Fortunately, this mansion had enough space for those twenty or so people to sleep, since I had dismissed all the staff.

At least they’d get a few hours of rest.

“There’s still some time before the party, so if anyone’s tired, please follow Ms. Yang Hye-in’s guidance. We have accommodations prepared, so rest there, and we’ll reconvene an hour before the party.”

Of course, the meeting place an hour before the party wasn’t the lobby.

The lobby would be busy with preparations by then.

Since the party was going to be held here, we had to at least make it look like it was party-ready.

That was something the people my “uncle” sent would handle.

The attendees finally relaxed a little after hearing that.

Well, I was also barely keeping myself awake.

“Please take care of it.”

“Understood, young lady.”

Yang Hye-in bowed deeply in response to my request.

“Let’s go rest, too.”

“Yeah…”

Naturally, the sudden plan I put together included us as well.

We also had to rush and fit into red dresses.

It wasn’t just me; Ha-neul, Soo-ah, and So-hee had all stayed up almost the entire night too.

We stumbled our way to the room where we always rested.

*

“Good job.”

As soon as I lay down, I saw Sara’s face, which meant I must have passed out the moment I hit the bed.

“…This is all your fault.”

When I glared at Sara, she quickly waved her hands in apology.

“Oh, uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to make you go through all this…”

She looked genuinely apologetic.

…Well, the idea was mine.

Sara had no intention of going this far in the first place.

So, if I had to assign blame, it was my own fault for taking on all this trouble.

Although, I couldn’t say Sara was entirely blameless since she had refused to attend her own birthday party.

At least being in this dream-like state was helping my physical exhaustion recover.

“…Whew.”

I let out a long breath and, as usual, sat on the edge of the bed.

“Seriously, I’m sorry…”

Sara said as she sat beside me.

“No, this happened because of my impulsive idea. The others did all the hard work.”

Not to mention Yang Hye-in, who gathered the people in just a day, and the tailors who worked almost all night to fit our clothes.

Even though they were adjusting ready-made garments, doing that overnight wasn’t easy.

Money really makes the impossible possible.

It’s amazing.

Money really is powerful.

“By the way…”

“Hm?”

Sara’s tone made it seem like she was about to ask me for a favor, so I tilted my head in curiosity.

Sara rarely asked for anything like this.

Usually, she just followed me around, either grumbling or enjoying herself.

“Since you worked so hard preparing everything, wouldn’t it be better if I handled the party itself?”

“Really?”

At her suggestion, my face immediately brightened.

Even though it was my idea, it felt like we were the only ones in uniform while everyone else would be in casual clothes, so it left me feeling a bit uneasy.

When I came up with the idea, I thought it was perfect, but now I wasn’t so sure it would work out as well as I’d imagined.

So when Sara offered to take responsibility, I couldn’t help but be tempted.

“But, I can’t guarantee this will go perfectly. I came up with this plan in a rush… it seemed plausible when I thought of it, but who knows how it’ll actually turn out.”

“I understand.”

Sara nodded.

“No one can predict the future.”

…Hmm.

Sara was saying things she didn’t normally say.

I hate to admit it, but I was starting to feel suspicious, like she had some hidden agenda she wasn’t telling me.

Then again, Sara had stepped up to handle things herself before.

The problem was that the last time, it resulted in Choi Na-kyung’s rampage.

Still, I was grateful that she offered to help.

I was really tired, after all.

Do you know how nice it is to have someone else take over your life for a bit?

It’s incredibly convenient.

“Are you sure? You won’t regret it?”

I asked with a bit of doubt, and Sara quickly shook her head.

“No, really. It’s my birthday, right? I don’t want to see you struggling because of it. That’s all.”

“…”

When she said that, I really had no reason left to refuse.

…Will it really be okay?

I tilted my head again, and Sara looked a little annoyed.

“Oh, come on! I’m offering to handle it, so why are you being so suspicious now?”

Eek.

“No, no, I was just worried. We’ll be meeting people tonight that we’ve never seen before.”

“That’s true for you too. And to be fair, I’ve probably met them before but just don’t remember. In that sense, I’m better off. Who knows, maybe I’ll recognize someone’s face.”

“Well, that’s true…”

I closed my eyes and thought for a moment before speaking.

“Okay, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Great!”

Sara grinned brightly at my words.

“I’ll handle it perfectly, so just rest here!”

“…Alright.”

Well.

It’s nice of her to say that, but…

As Sara casually climbed onto my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck, I couldn’t help but think.

Will this really be okay?

…Am I being overprotective by thinking like this?

I looked at Sara’s face as she leaned in closer and pondered.

*

Waking up on the bed after a long time, I thought to myself,

…No matter what, shouldn’t I get a birthday present too, my dear friends?

If possible, I wanted to have that person’s first birthday party all to myself.