Villainess’s Redemption (Reborn Villainess #1)

Chapter 9

I entered Father’s study, the scent of ink and parchment thick in the air. His quill scratched furiously across the page, not bothering to look up. Ah, the silent treatment. How mature.

I sank into the chair across from his imposing mahogany desk, crossing my ankles demurely. The ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner counted off the seconds of this ridiculous standoff.

After what felt like an eternity, I stood. “Are you really going to be like that, Father? Fine. I’ll leave.”

He let out a long-suffering sigh, putting his quill on the desk forcefully with a thud as he finally lifted his eyes to meet my gaze. “This is ridiculous!”

Oh good, here comes the tirade.

“When you first said you wanted to marry Noah, I had my doubts. But you assured me, and I changed my mind. Now look at him! Married for three days and already showing his true colors. Just because his aunt is the queen, does he really think it makes him a prince? He shouldn’t forget who I am. So what if his father’s one rank ahead of me? He hasn’t inherited his title yet. What’s wrong with him? I never should have agreed to this marriage.”

I let him rant, biting back the urge to roll my eyes. When he finally ran out of steam, I poured a glass of water and handed it to him. “Are you calm now?”

He took a sip and nodded grudgingly.

“I have something to discuss with you,” I began, my heart racing despite my calm exterior.

He waved his hand imperiously. “Go on.”

“You know Magnus is going to be executed next week, right?”

Another curt nod.

I took a deep breath and blurted out in one swift breath. “I want you to stop it.” There I said it. Someone clap for my bravery.

Father’s eyes snapped to mine, wide with disbelief. “Let me get this straight. You wanted to marry Noah. You wanted me to do something about Rosalind. And now you want me to stop all this? Are you insane? Did you have a change of heart overnight?”

Well, this is going swimmingly.

He deflated slightly, crossing his arm. “I can’t.”

“But Father—”

“Give me a reason. Why?” he demanded, cutting me off.

I paused, my mind racing to find some reasonable excuse to convince him. I couldn’t exactly tell him about my time-traveling from the future or my newfound moral compass. And expecting a man who hadn’t faced death yet to become a better person overnight was a stretch, even for me. No, I had to find something else. What did he love more than his family? His position? His power?

Think, Ilyana, think!

My mouth went dry as I blurted out, “It’s to save our lives.”

That got his attention as he straightened in his chair. “Explain,” he commanded, leaning forward.

I swallowed hard, choosing my words carefully. “If we get caught, you’ll be executed, and the rest of the family will be exiled.”

Not a lie, but not the whole truth either. I held my breath, watching the emotions play across his face: disbelief, curiosity, and finally, a little bit of fear. But then the arrogance returned once again.

Father laughed, the patronizing kind. “You’re worrying for nothing, daughter. No one will suspect anything.”

“Not true, Father. In fact, someone already has.”

Father’s eyes narrowed as he leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled under his chin. The study suddenly felt suffocating, the walls closing in around us. I resisted the urge to tug at my collar. Honestly, Father needed to invest in better ventilation. Or was that just my nerves making me sweat?

“Given the exceptional work of Magnus, who would benefit most from his downfall?” I asked, my voice steady despite the rapid beating of my heart. “Especially given his clean, impressive track record. Whose position would have been threatened?”

With each question, Father’s face darkened like storm clouds gathering on the horizon. I half expected thunder to start rumbling from his throat.

“Think about it, Father. A hardworking officer with a clean, upstanding career gets promoted and returns to the capital. There, he works exceptionally well, rises in rank quickly, and suddenly gets accused of embezzlement by another officer who has been working in the Ministry of Revenue far longer and is known to be very close to… you.”

“What do you know?” he finally growled, his knuckles white as he gripped the arms of his chair.

Oh, nothing much. Just that I’ve lived through this nightmare once before and I’m trying to save our sorry hides from the executioner’s block. But I couldn’t exactly lead with that, could I?

I took a deep breath, steeling myself. “Since I’m now in the palace, I’ve… sneaked around a bit,” I paused, watching his reaction. Not exactly a lie, I didn’t need to sneak around to know but I did end up sneaking. Who cares for the truth? “And I’ve learned that the prince and Noah are suspicious of this case. They’re investigating.”

Father’s eyes widened a fraction before narrowing dangerously. “How do you know this?” he asked, his voice low and threatening.

Umm, didn’t I just say I sneaked around? Since when did father have short-term memory loss?

I forced a bitter laugh. “Come now, Father. You didn’t raise a fool. I’ve seen how the court works, and how quickly fortunes can turn. We’re playing a dangerous game, and if we’re not careful, we’ll end up as the pawns instead of the players,” I leaned forward, dropping my voice to match his conspiratorial tone. “I have my ways, Father. Just as you have yours.”

Father scoffed, waving a dismissive hand as if I had spoken of an impossibility. “My plans are meticulous. No one would suspect a thing.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Oh yes, because framing an honest man for embezzlement is the height of subtlety. Bravo, Father. Truly inspired work.”

His face flushed an ugly shade of puce. “Watch your tone, young lady. I won’t be spoken to like that in my own study.”

I bit back a retort. Now wasn’t the time for my newly discovered moral compass to make an appearance. I needed to tread carefully.

“I apologize, Father,” I said, forcing my voice to sound contrite. “I’m just worried. If the prince is investigating, it’s only a matter of time before they uncover the truth.”

The prince has already started, unfortunately.

Father’s jaw clenched, a vein throbbing at his temple. Of course, he knew. Most people in the court might fall for the golden prince persona but my father and a few of the high-level officials knew how dangerous the prince was. They had to, someone of their position would have to know such things to hold onto their power. “They have no proof. It’s all circumstantial.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Are you willing to bet your life on that? Our family’s future?”

He fell silent, his gaze dropping to the papers scattered across his desk. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head, weighing the risks against his pride.

He drummed his fingers on the desk, considering my words. “What do you propose?” he finally asked, his voice gruff.

I leaned back, feigning nonchalance. “Simple. We stop the execution. Find a way to exonerate Magnus without implicating yourself.”

Father barked out a laugh. “Simple, she says. As if undoing months of careful planning is as easy as snapping your fingers. You are forgetting it was me who found the ‘evidence’ to prove his embezzlement.”

I shrugged. “It’s either that or wait for the ax to fall. Literally, in your case.”

He glowered at me, but I could see the fear creeping into his eyes. Good. A healthy dose of terror might be just what he needed to see reason.

“And how do you suggest we go about this… exoneration?” he asked, practically spitting out the last word.

I tapped my chin, pretending to think. “Well, we could start by ‘discovering’ some new evidence. Perhaps a ledger that clears Magnus of wrongdoing? Or maybe a confession from a convenient scapegoat?”

Father’s brow furrowed. “That would require fabricating evidence. It’s risky.”

I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. Now he was worried about the ethics of fabricating evidence? The irony was thick enough to choke on.

“Riskier than execution?” I asked sweetly.

He glared at me, but I could see the wheels turning in his head. “How do I stop the execution?”

“Tomorrow, you’ll go to court and ask for a retrial for Magnus. If anyone asks you can say that since Magnus had a clean upstanding career, you’re thinking that someone might have framed him.” Which is not far from the truth. I laid out my brilliant plan to him. It took all night and a concussion to achieve.

He was silent for a long moment, weighing his options. Finally, he nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. But Ilyana, if this backfires—”

“It won’t,” I assured him. I stood, smoothing out my skirts. “Trust me, Father. This is for the best.”

“One more thing, Father,” I leaned forward slightly. “What do you know about illegal gold mining?”

Father’s quill paused mid-stroke. “Ah, that mess. There have been reports of unregistered gold entering the market. Nothing concrete yet, but the investigators suspect the mines in the north.” Where we were exiled and died for something we didn’t do. He shrugged, returning to his paperwork. “I’m not directly involved in the case. So, I don’t know much.”

I studied his face carefully, searching for any tell-tale signs of deception. “Are you sure you had nothing to do with it?”

The quill clattered onto the desk. “What?” Father’s face reddened. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing! First, you question my judgment about Magnus, and now this?” He pushed back from his desk, the chair legs scraping against the floor. “Is this how I raised you? To suspect your own father of every crime in the kingdom?”

Uh-huh. Too much questioning for his ego to handle in one day.

I kept watching him, noting the genuine hurt in his eyes, the way his hands trembled slightly with anger. No, Father wasn’t lying. He never could lie to me - his left eye always twitched when he tried. I felt a wave of relief. No matter how unhinged Anderic was, he wouldn’t falsely accuse my father if he wasn’t involved.

“I’m sorry, Papa,” I said softly, using the childhood endearment I hadn’t spoken in years. I rounded the desk and wrapped my arms around his shoulders like I used to when I was little. “Forgive me?”

He huffed, but I felt his shoulders relax. “You’re lucky you’re my favorite daughter.”

“I’m your only daughter.”

“Details, details…”

I pressed a kiss to his cheek and hugged him one last time.

As I turned to leave, Father’s voice stopped me. “Ilyana.”

I looked back, one hand on the doorknob.

He leaned back in his chair, studying me as if seeing me for the first time. “You’ve matured up, Ilyana,” he said, a mix of pride and wariness in his eyes.

You have no idea, Father.

“Marriage does that to a person,” I replied smoothly.

With that, I swept out of the study, leaving him to stew in his own paranoia. As I closed the door behind me, I let out a shaky breath. One hurdle down, about a million more to go. But hey, who said saving your family from certain doom would be easy?

I couldn’t help but think about the execution I’d just mentioned. It wasn’t exactly a lie – after all, I had witnessed it firsthand in another life. But the weight of changing the future pressed down on me, a constant reminder of the delicate balance I was trying to maintain.

One wrong move and everything could come crashing down. Again.

* * *

I peeled open my eyes, momentarily disoriented by the familiar canopy of my childhood bed. For a blissful second, I wondered if I’d managed to time travel yet again, this time landing in my carefree youth. But no, my memories came crashing back like an avalanche of misery. Right. I’d only come to visit my parents’ estate. How disappointingly mundane.

“Laurel,” I called out, my voice still groggy from sleep. My ever-faithful handmaid appeared as if summoned by magic. “Did Noah grace us with his presence last night?”

Laurel shook her head, looking a bit hesitant. “No, my lady. Lord Noah did not arrive.”

Well, wasn’t that interesting? In my past life, he’d shown up before dinner. I suppose I’d managed to alter the timeline more than I’d realized. On one hand, it was good that I could change things which gave me hope to change my fate but on the flip side if I kept changing events, then later on I’d lose my upper hand of future knowledge.

As long as I can change MY future I’m ready to sacrifice anything.

A soft knock on my chamber door made me sit up in bed. “Come in,” I called, expecting mother.

Instead, Sebastian’s dark head poked through the doorway, a familiar grin spreading across his face. “Little sister!”

My heart lurched. I launched myself at him, wrapping my arms around his broad chest in a fierce hug. His familiar scent of leather enveloped me.

“My, my, someone’s feeling affectionate today,” he patted my head like I was still five years old. “Missing your big brother already? It’s only been three days since your wedding.”

I kicked his shin playfully. “Shut up.”

Sebastian collapsed dramatically onto my bed, clutching his leg. “Ah! The pain! I’m dying! My own sister has mortally wounded me!”

“You’re ridiculous,” I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t suppress my smile. “What are you doing here so early anyway?”

He propped himself up on his elbows, his green eyes—so like mine—turning serious. “I have to head back to work soon, but I wanted to see you before I left,” he reached into his coat and pulled out a small velvet pouch. “And I need a favor.”

“I knew it. You only come to me when you need me to do something for you,” I crossed my arms.

“Oh come on. Don’t be like that. Pretty please,” he pouted like a little kid. Ew.

“Whatever,” I replied, gesturing for him to continue.

“Return this to Anderic for me,” he tossed the pouch at me.

I caught it reflexively, then nearly dropped it when his words registered. “What? No! Why me?”

Sebastian looked at me like I was particularly slow. “Because you live in the palace now?”

“But…,” I trailed off, staring at the pouch with trepidation.

“Don’t worry so much. Anderic won’t eat you,” Sebastian’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “He just likes to tease. Think of him as another annoying brother.”

“What’s in here anyway?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“Just a dagger with the royal insignia. Needed it for some work.”

Then we sat down and talked for what felt like hours, though it was only a few minutes.

I hugged him again, breathing in his familiar scent one more time. “Be careful, Seb.”

“Always am, kiddo,” He ruffled my hair as he stood. “Try not to terrorize too many people while I’m gone.”

I grabbed a pillow and hurled it at his retreating back. His laughter echoed down the hallway as he dodged.

I stared at the velvet pouch in my hand. Return it to Anderic? Just the thought made my stomach churn.

I’ll think of some way to return it with minimal contact.

With Laurel’s help, I dressed for the day, donning a gown that was probably worth more than most people’s yearly wages—the joys of being wealthy again.

I descended the grand staircase, each step echoing in the cavernous foyer. The breakfast room beckoned, promising both food for my starving body and, undoubtedly delightful family drama.

As I entered, my mother sprang from her seat as if she’d been spring-loaded. “Ilyana, darling!” she exclaimed, enveloping me in a cloud of expensive perfume and maternal fussing. “How did you sleep? Are you comfortable? Do you need anything?”

“Mother, please,” I said, extricating myself from her clutches. “I’m fine. I’m not made of glass.”

I took my seat at the ornate table, noting the conspicuous absence of my father. “Where’s father this morning?”

Mother waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, he went to court early. Said he had something important to do,” she frowned, her perfectly plucked eyebrows drawing together. “I told him not to go. After all, what could be so important to leave his newlywed daughter and attend court?”

As she prattled on, I allowed myself a small, satisfied smile. It seemed Father had actually listened to my advice. Will wonders never cease?

A servant appeared, bearing a message on a silver tray. Mother glanced at it and sighed. “Decline the invitation,” she said, waving the servant away.

My curiosity piqued. “What’s that about?”

“Oh, just some charity event,” Mother said, her tone aiming for nonchalance but missing by a mile. “I’m not going, of course. Not with you here.”

I remembered how much Mother had loved these social events in the past - before our exile had stripped away every shred of her identity. The thought of her missing out on this opportunity to reclaim a piece of her old life didn’t sit well with me.

“Mother,” I said, giving her my brightest smile, “I’m still tired. I’ll probably sleep all day. You should go to the event.”

She looked at me, uncertainty written across her face. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” I insisted. “Go, mingle, gossip about whose husband is sleeping with whose maid. Live a little.”

Mother hesitated for a moment longer before breaking into a radiant smile. “Well, if you insist. But if there’s anything - and I mean anything - you need, call for me, dear.”

“Of course, Mother,” I said, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “I’ll send up a flare if I stub my toe.”

With Mother off to prepare for her social outing, I retreated to the gardens. I settled onto a swing, a book in hand, ready to lose myself in someone else’s problems for a change.

Just as I was getting to a particularly juicy part of the story, a commotion caught my attention. A servant came running towards me, red-faced and panting as if he’d just run a marathon.

“M’lady! M’lady!” he gasped, nearly collapsing at my feet.

I set my book aside, raising an eyebrow. “Yes? Has the sky fallen? Has Noah finally remembered he has a wife?”

The servant shook his head, still struggling to catch his breath. “There’s… there’s some ruckus in the Meadows Inn. Mr. Gareth is in trouble.”

I was on my feet before he finished speaking, my heart racing. Gareth was one of my father’s most loyal accountants, and if he was in trouble, it couldn’t be good for my family.

“Bring the carriage,” I commanded, my voice sharp. “Now.”

As the servant scurried off to follow my orders, I stood there, my mind whirling with possibilities. What could have happened? And more importantly, how would this affect my carefully laid plans? He was pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of events but since the timeline was rapidly changing, I needed to make sure of every small minute detail.

The distant sound of hooves on cobblestone signaled the approach of the carriage. I steeled myself, ready to face whatever new problem awaited me.