I Never Wanted To Be A Villainess!!! Chapter 8: A Dark Deed (Patreon)

*Warning This Is A Dark Chapter. Please do not read this chapter if you are not comfortable with death. Events of this chapter will be summarized in the next chapter as well,

A special event?” Rosa was curious. This wasn’t like the other notifications that appeared, and this was labeled as the first task. Were there others? And what was she supposed to do to make her suffer? Luckily there didn’t seem to be a time limit, so she could think about what she could do.

“M-mother, I’m scared,” Rosa said, clinging to her mother. What was she supposed to do? Was she actually supposed to kill them?

“Rosa, it’s alright, sweetie. Everyone is scared their first time. Your big brother was crying during his first time,” Relena said, knowing that she had to lead Rosa into making the decision for her own good.

“He was?” Rosa asked. She had never seen her brother cry before, even when she woke up in this body for the first time.

“Of course he was, but being scared is only natural,” Relena said this in order to calm Rosa down, though it was nothing more than a lie to comfort her. Roland was brutal and didn’t hesitate to do what needed to be done. To be honest, he was a natural. “If you want, I can help you.”

“Help me?” Rosa asked, curious what her mother meant by helping her. Though, to be honest, she was more concerned about why she was humoring this at all. This wasn’t like her.

“Sweetie, let me ask you this, what do you see before you?” Relena asked, seeing that her daughter would soon do what had to be done.

“A beaten maid?” Rosa said, not too confident, thinking that there was something else her mother wanted her to say.

“Close, but not quite,” Relena said to her. “This is a disgusting bug. A bug that tried to harm our family. A bug that tried to harm you. Rosa, what do you do when you see a bug?”

“I squash it?” Rosa felt strange saying that when looking at the human woman before her. She hated looking at her in such a state, but for some reason, she couldn’t stop.

“That’s right~!” Relena said, proud of her daughter. “Bugs are made to be squashed. And killing them is inconsequential since there are too many of them for a singular death to matter.  Now, Rosa, do you think that a bug who dared try to harm you deserves to live?”

“…No,” Rosa felt wrong saying this, but her mother was right. If she were bitten by a mosquito, she wouldn’t hesitate to try and kill it. If this maid was a bug, them killing her is only natural.

Rosa was in a trance now, thanks to her mother. In their family, there is a special incense used to train them, known as nightshade. Upon inhaling this incense, one will become more susceptible to another's words. They will be unable to properly question if what they are doing is right or wrong.

“That’s right, so what should you do?” Relena said, handing Rosa the vile of poison.

“I should make her suffer,” Rosa said, opening the vile and looking at the maid. The maid poisoned her. There was no way that she could ever forgive her for that. Without realizing what she was doing, Rosa soon found herself shoving the vial into the maid’s mouth, forcing the unconscious maid to swallow all of its contents. In a matter of seconds, black spots began to appear on her throat, slowly working their way across her body. The maid woke up screaming, but Relena didn’t let her scream for long, shoving a gag into her mouth as holes began to appear across her body.

Rosa stood there in a trance, watching everything unfold. She knew that she should be appalled by what she just did, but she didn’t. It scared her. Why was she acting like a villainess? She never wanted to act like this.

“Rosa, you must keep watching. You must see what happens to those that dare try to harm our family.” Relena never wanted her daughter to walk this path, but she had no choice.

“Yes, mother,” Rosa said, unable to stop watching until the maid stopped flailing around. …She just killed a person, but she didn’t feel anything from it. What was she!? How could she take another life and just stare blankly at her corpse?

“You did very well,” Relena said to her, turning Rosa away from the maid to face her. “From now on, when you wear this mask, your heart will be as cold as ice. No one will be able to harm you, and no one will be able to look down upon you. But when the mask comes off, your true self will come back.” Relena didn’t want Rosa to become just like her. She wanted her to live a peaceful life. This mask would be both her strength and weakness until the day comes when she can leave this life behind. “Let’s leave before I take that mask off~,” she said, taking Rosa’s hand and leading her back upstairs.

[Congratulations~!!! You have completed your first task and have acquired the skill: Covered Frozen Heart Lv.1]

[Covered Frozen Heart Lv.1: Dilutes your emotions. Under most circumstances, you are able to remain calm. Skill is always active while your face is covered]

[We look forward to seeing how you do on your second task~!]

The system rewarded Rosa with a skill, but was it really one that she wanted? She knew that she wasn’t the type of person to take another’s life, so why? Why did she do it?

“There, we are finally out of that dirty place, so we can finally take this off,” Relena said, sitting Rosa down before taking off the mask.

“…W-what? What have I… what have I done!” Rosa screamed, feeling the guilt of killing another human being as a wave of emotions washed over her the moment the mask left her face. “Why!? Why, why, why!?  I didn’t mean it! I didn’t mean it! Ahhhhhh!!!”

“Rosa! Rosa, it’s alright!” Relena yelled, embracing her daughter and holding her close. “Calm down. Listen to the sound of my heart.” She knew that this would happen, as it wasn’t the first time such a method was used on such a timid person. There are times when a person can’t handle the stress of killing another human and takes their own life, but she wasn’t going to allow that to happen to Rosa. She would protect her at all costs.

“No! No, no, no! I’m a monster! I’m just like the prince! Just like the prince!” Rosa yelled, tears rolling down her eyes as she started to imagine all the ways that the prince killed her in the game. “No, no, no!”

“No, sweetie, no, you’re nothing like the prince,” Relena said, stroking Rosa's hair. “The prince wouldn’t care about what he did, but you do. Sweetie, you are too kind for this world. I’m sorry that I made you do such a thing.”

“No! You didn’t make me!” Rosa yelled. It wasn’t her mother's fault. She chose to do it herself, and she was to blame.

“No, I did. Sweetie, all I want to do is make sure that you are prepared for the world. I’m a bad mother. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you from this.” Relena knew the guilt that she would have to bear for bringing this sweet child into her world. This was not what she wanted for her.

“No! No! You’re a good mother! You’re a good mother… you’re a… good...” Rosa felt weak, passing out in Relena’s arms, unable to cope with her stress any longer. Relena cried, knowing that she had broken her promise.