The Villainous Family Loves Me Too Much!

‘Could it be…?’

I reached out to grasp the smoke, but it eluded my touch, slipping away only to return in a repetitive chase.

After that persistent back-and-forth tease nearly sparked my anger, the white smoke suddenly slipped into a large room.

‘Oh, this is my chamber.’

Following the smoke, I entered.

The room was utterly disarrayed. Having hastily fled the imperial palace, I had been unable to properly tidy.

None of the many maids and servants had organized my belongings for me, it seemed.

The hairpins and jewels Gabriel had gifted glittered atop the dressing table.

And amid that sparkling, billowing white smoke floated about.

I slowly took a seat before the dressing table.

The smoke circled around the hairpins, as if beckoning me to retrieve them.

I picked up a hairpin and affixed it to my hair.

But the reflection in the mirror was not Karena, but Roati.

The smoke wavered, seeming to shake its head in negation.

I let out a soft chuckle.

“Ah, I see. So this is what you wanted?”

I finally removed the disguise mask I had worn all day long.

The long hair tucked inside cascaded out, shimmering as if freshly brushed despite my careless release.

“Beautiful.”

I inserted the emerald jeweled hairpin into one side of my flowing front tresses.

Delighted, the smoke billowed upwards towards the ceiling.

However, it didn’t rise high enough to penetrate through.

It merely swirled around me before ascending, then descending to hover bobbing above my head.

“So what should I do now?”

The white smoke floated in a circle around my room on the air currents.

Passing the table and bed, it reached the desk and settled onto the parchment paper.

‘Ah, it wants to communicate via the parchment?’

Fortunately, the pen’s ink was still wet.

I picked up the pen and wrote on the parchment:

Hello, I’m Karena. Are you the ‘piece of God’?

And after a moment…

Yes, that’s right. Could you wait just a bit?

Words materialized on the parchment, followed soon after by a voice:

“Whew, I thought I’d suffocate!”

The white smoke had taken on a human form.

“Yes, I’m that ‘piece of God’. Can you see me well? Hear my voice clearly?”

I nodded.

The ‘piece of God’s’ appearance resembled a girl around twenty or so.

Though her features were indistinct, her attire and hairstyle seemed distinctly modern.

So the author of this work was this young woman.

“Is this… your form from your previous life?”

“That’s right, I didn’t really have a choice since I couldn’t reincarnate properly. Isn’t it funny that I can’t act as I please in the world I created?”

“What should I call you?”

“My name is Sena. Yoo Sena.”

Then suddenly, footsteps sounded from the hallway.

“One moment.”

I went outside to check the surroundings.

It wasn’t a person or beast. Just a small squirrel that had snuck into the palace, it seemed.

Letting out a sigh, I returned inside, prompting Sena to ask anxiously:

“No one was following you?”

“No one.”

“Are you sure?”

Sena’s expression changed oddly as she gazed at me.

“Why don’t you look behind you?”

“What, why would there be any-“

“It has been quite a while since we last met, Your Highness the Princess.”

The one who appeared behind me was Colin Piaget.

“So my suspicions were correct… it was indeed Our Princess.”

“Colin.”

With each approaching step, I unconsciously backpedaled.

“Who were you… conversing with just now?”

Drawing near, Colin plucked the hairpin from my hair and tapped the chair before the dressing table, gesturing for me to sit.

“Your hair’s a mess. Let Colin fix it nicely for you.”

I remained frozen, staring at Sena.

“Only you can see and hear me right now. So don’t look at me.”

As I swallowed hard and stood unmoving, Colin gestured towards the chair again.

“I won’t harm you. I’ll just do your hair, that’s all.”

I carefully took a seat before the dressing table.

“Now let me see, where’s the brush…”

Rummaging through the dresser drawers, Colin found a brush and began happily stroking my hair.

Her gentle, soothing touch felt just like before, prior to all these events.

“Our Princess’ hair is such a mess without Colin around! Everything else I can forgive, but not that!”

Colin deftly braided my hair upwards before elegantly securing it with the hairpin.

“All done.”

Showing me the back view through the mirror, a satisfied Colin stepped away and began surveying the furniture one by one as she walked across the room.

“Now we can talk, Your Highness.”

“About you betraying me? About never truly being on my side from the start? What is there to discuss?”

“Why has Our Princess, who should reside in Felosite, returned…”

Dusting the furniture, Colin abruptly stopped before the desk.

Sena and I exchanged glances, praying she wouldn’t notice the parchment paper there.

“Here, to this imperial palace. To your own former chamber, no less.”

Contrary to my hopes, Colin’s eyes regrettably fell upon the parchment all too easily.

Seated before the desk, she began reading the words I had written:

“Hello, I’m Karena. Are you the ‘piece of God’… Ah, I needn’t even ask.”

Sena shrank behind me, her eyes filled with trepidation.

Colin’s black pupils dilated as black smoke billowed from her hands.

“You’re in human form, aren’t you?”

A mix of surprise and elation contorted Colin’s face into a horrific expression.

“Now hand it over to me, Your Highness. Or should I address you as Lord Roati when negotiating?”

Sena’s eyes reflecting upon me were brimming with fear.

“Colin will eliminate me, Karena. So absorb me instead.”

Trembling violently while clinging to my back, Sena clutched my collar tightly.

“Why insist when she doesn’t wish to go to you, Colin?”

Pfft, a faint, derisive snort sounded.

“Insist, did I? Isn’t it Your Highness who insists?”

The more we spoke, the thicker the black smoke billowing from Colin’s hands became.

“We originated from the same existence. So please step aside, Your Highness.”

The confrontation with Colin grew increasingly grave.

We both extended our hands towards each other, poised to attack at any moment.

“I have no intention of harming the Princess.”

“Don’t lie. You’ve already harmed me, in a sense. How could you do this to me…”

The black aura swirling around Colin had transformed into the forms of countless serpents.

“I love the Princess so dearly. Perhaps even more than His Highness Prince Liam…”

But before she could finish, Colin launched her attack.

Thanks to my light attire, I nimbly evaded the strike.

“How vexing… But what if the Princess becomes a Great Demon, I wonder? How will this story unfold then?”

The snakes struck again, but I managed to dodge once more, sustaining only minor injuries.

Though grazing my arm, it was a formidable assault.

“Since I can no longer groom you, it seems I must do this.”

And the final blow Colin unleashed.

Black smoke coiled around both my arms like serpents, unpleasantly slithering across my skin.

“Aagghh!”

Ensnared by differing black smokes, my arms were wrenched apart and I was violently hoisted into the air.

Sena, who had clung to my back, was lifted skyward with me, dangling helplessly.

Befitting her combined reincarnation as the ‘Ancient Witch’ and ‘Piece of God’, Colin was clearly superior in power.

Wherever the black smoke grazed felt excruciatingly scorched, as if burned by flames.

“Aahhrrgghh!”

The searing agony across my entire body nearly caused me to lose consciousness.