Helena was a villainess in her second life.
After being beheaded, Helena woke up in her bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed and touched her neck.
"My head... It's still intact."
She thought everything was just a dream. However, the maid's response to the broken plate, the food for breakfast that morning, her family conversation, and the news in the newspaper were all things she had already experienced before. After glancing at the date on the paper, Helena realised something crucial.
She had gone back in time.
"Hahaha... This is a miracle!"
Helena recalled the memories of her previous life. The mistreatment and humiliation she experienced drove her mad. Helena planned the downfall of people who wronged her and tormented them. She gained recognition and established a reputation in high society. Everyone called her the 'Dark Rose' because she was a beautiful, black-haired woman with a thorny side.
Helena managed to prevent her mother's death that time. She had prepared an antidote to save her life. As she had expected, the culprit was Ethel. She poisoned her mother's tea with the assistance of a servant. Helena caught her sister by prompting the investigator to search for the poison in Ethel's room.
"Lady Helena, do you have any idea who would hurt your mother?"
She wiped away her fake tears. "It's presumptuous of me, but my stepsister hates me and my mother."
They found the poison in her closet. Helena seized this opportunity to ruin her sister's reputation. She spread the news of Ethel's offense among high society. Although Ethel lost the trust of the high nobles, she was far from being destroyed. Her stepsister was never brought to trial for attempting to murder Helena's mother. The lesser nobles still supported her. Her father also protected her and begged Helena for forgiveness. However, Ethel's image as a kind and gentle girl was tarnished. As a result, she failed to receive an invitation to the royal ball.
Ethel never framed her in her second life. The change of fortune puzzled Helena, but she paid no attention to it. Living as a villainess was the pinnacle of her happiness. Instead of lowering her head, Helena held her head high. Anyone who scorned her was trampled and brought to ruin. Her heart was tainted by wickedness. Whatever she did, she received no punishment.
Vengeance and victory were no longer her priorities. She could not deny the pleasure derived from her atrocities. Helena enjoyed watching their expressions of despair and could not get enough of them. No one escaped her clutches. Eventually, Helena played and tortured innocent people.
"No one visits my shop anymore. Lady Blackmoore, please... Please send your people away. I already sent you the money."
"Hah! It's for last week, not this week."
Helena cackled at the man's defeated expression. She extorted money from small shops and used it to flaunt her wealth. She broke up couples' relationships by flirting with their lovers. She drove people to their deaths by pushing them into poverty and overwork. The fear in their eyes flickered joy to her. Helena was having the time of her life.
Helena shook her head. This was not the time to reminisce over the past. "I need to focus! I can't afford to lose my life for the third time!"
She took a pen and a notebook from her desk and wrote down the cause of her death. Her first demise was death by guillotine. Somehow, Ethel and others managed to indirectly charge her with a crime related to an underground organisation. This sparked outrage among different social classes, as both nobles and commoners were involved. They insisted that the criminals be punished severely and as soon as possible. Many people were executed under the jurisdiction of the Second Prince and the King. This incident became known as 'Sinner Punishment'.
After that point, she returned one year ago. Helena quit doing charity work and focused solely on her revenge. Nevertheless, Sinner's Punishment went ahead without her. Lives were lost during the incident. In her second life, Helena found that different people had been framed and executed. Some were real criminals, but some were not. A few victims were arrested because their neighbor wanted their land, or by their own family to get rid of one of the heirs. They had no idea why they were imprisoned or who had put them there.
After Sinner's Punishment had finished, new information emerged. Some sinners were innocent people. This enraged the people who had lost a family member or friend. Helena was furious and crumpled up the newspaper after reading it. She had been killed in the same way previously and beheaded for nothing. The Second Prince and the King were held responsible for the massacre.
This sparked a riot in the kingdom. "Bloody Riot" became the worst day in history. People killed one another out of paranoia. They blamed each other for the deaths of their loved ones. A rebellion broke out in the kingdom. Its members were scattered across the towns. They slaughtered those whom they believed had gained an advantage from the Sinner's Punishment. Some hooligans took the opportunity to loot valuable items from shops and houses. The situation forced survivors to hide in shelters and desert the streets.
The horror of burning buildings, blood, and corpses remained etched in Helena's mind. She remembered the day people swarmed over her home after the chaos began. Their noble status made them a target. The rebels slaughtered the servants and her family right in front of her. Her father and mother were slain while protecting others.
Even her hated sister died a gruesome death.
Dying as the last person in her family was not something Helena thought could be considered lucky. She escaped to the second floor while the rebels were busy slaying the servants. Helena lived for another minute until someone spotted and stabbed her in the heart. Unlike in her first life, she perished slowly and painfully. Her last memory before closing her eyes was the face of a smiling figure.
"So I lost you to death again."
Those were the last words she heard before she passed on. The thought made her shudder with fear. She would rather die on the guillotine than bleed to death.
"Wait for a second…"
Helena squinted at the book. She noticed that the two cases were related. Helena scribbled on the paper, connecting the dots between the incidents. Sinner Punishment led to Bloody Riot. Would the other incidents cease to exist if she had prevented the first one?
"Lady Helena, are you awake?"
Violet knocked on her bedroom door. Helena almost fell off her chair in surprise. She hastily hid the book on the hidden shelf and poised herself on the bed.
"Come in."
Karl and Violet entered, followed by the twin maids. Violet opened the curtains, allowing sunlight to enter the room. The light stung her eyes. She should not jot down her memories in a dark room.
"Lady Helena!"
The twin maids jumped onto her bed. Violet scolded them at once. "Azure, Scarlet! That behaviour is improper! Get off the bed this instant!"
They both hung their heads but obeyed her. "Okay..."
Violet gave them a lecture about their demeanour. She was as pretty as Helena remembered. Violet was a tall woman with a sturdy build. Her dark chocolate hair was tied in a tidy bun, and her round purple eyes were like her sisters'. A knight's attire seemed more appropriate for her than a maid's.
Azure and Scarlet were her younger sisters. They were young girls, both around ten years old. Despite being the same height and having similar long, braided, dark chocolate hair and purple eyes, they disliked being mistaken for each other. Azure, the older one, wore a blue bow, while Scarlet, the younger one, wore a red one. Helena had appointed them as her personal maids to assist their sister.
"Lady Helena, don't dote on them too much. They won't learn if you keep spoiling them."
Helena chuckled. "It will be fine for once."
They remained loyal to Helena in her previous life. Even after she turned evil, they never betrayed her. Violet and the twins were arrested for trying to save Helena in her first life. In her second life, Violet passed away protecting the other servants from intruders. Helena was just glad the twins escaped, because Violet had sent them away.
Helena should increase their salary.
"Good morning, Lady Helena. How are you feeling today?"
Karl adjusted his glasses and greeted her. She almost forgot he was there.
"I'm fine now. I assume you're here to check on me?"
"Yes, Master and Madam are still concerned about your condition."
Karl was in charge of the mansion. He was good-looking, but nothing about him stood out except his rare green eyes. His appearance was above average. He had an average build and height. Despite his plain appearance, he was an extraordinary servant. He was capable of performing multiple tasks and helping other employees with their work.
After she disappeared, Helena's father ordered stricter security measures to be implemented. She heard that Karl had almost been fired, but avoided the penalty because he found her. Helena felt bad, since the black-haired butler now had an additional workload.
"I heard from Sister Mary that the merchant saved you from drowning."
Helena was silent for a moment before replying to him. "It's true. I will reward him. Please prepare a fixed amount of gold."
The butler bowed. "I'll do it right away."
Karl left the room, leaving Helena with her maids. She noticed three of them staring at her.
"Lady Helena, are you still sick?"
She was surprised by Azure's question. "No, I'm fine. Do I look ill?"
Scarlet joined their conversation. "No, but you appear to be exhausted."
Violet agreed. "Perhaps you should take a rest today."
Helena shook her head. "No, there's something I must do. Please prepare me to go out."
Violet opened the drawer and took out a comb. "Oh, let me do your hair."
"NO!"
Helena and the twin shouted at the same time. Violet might appear weak, but she was a strong woman. She was even prohibited from pouring tea for this reason. Helena did not know how many cups had been broken due to her strength. Delicate activities were best left to Azure and Scarlet.
The morning went as if her regression had never happened. The twins fought over her dress. Azure wanted to choose blue, while Scarlet wanted to choose red.
"The blue dress will make Lady Helena's eyes and hair look even more stunning!"
"But red will look amazing against Lady Helena's hair and skin!"
"You two, stop this petty quarrel."
Violet broke up the argument by choosing a yellow dress. The twins helped their older sister choose a pair of shoes and suitable accessories. Once she was dressed, Helena stared at her reflection in the mirror. The maids had done a perfect job of choosing outfits for her. The white daisy on her hat matched the white lace on her dress.
Yet she must admit that the reflection in the mirror did not lie. Her once lively eyes had grown dim. The face that used to be full of smiles was now weary. Living her life twice while retaining her memories had taken its toll on her.
"My Lady, if you go to town, you should buy new dresses. You've worn all the clothes in the closet."
Helena remembered her extravagant spending in her previous life. The price of her dress alone could have fed a family for three months. Helena hesitated to spend any more money since she had no support in this timeline. She must save her money for emergencies.
Helena left the room and sighed. "I'll just buy a new one when I receive an invitation to a big ball."
"Good morning, Helena."
Helena was startled and took a few steps back. Ethel was standing by the door when she came out of the room. Their appearance were distinct from each other. Ethel's light golden-blonde locks were the opposite of Helena's raven hair. She had bright lime-green eyes, unlike Helena's grey ones. Helena's porcelain-pale skin was in stark contrast to her sister's warm, ivory complexion. Ethel had the face of an innocent young girl, which made her popular.
What a shame it did not reflect her personality.
"I heard you went missing yesterday. What happened?"
Her stepsister gave her the fakest, sweetest smile Helena had ever seen.
Ethel was not happy about her return to the house. She had always hated her stepfamily. Part of the reason was their humble origins, and partially it was her father. Ethel did not want to share him with anyone. Helena understood her, as she felt the same way about her own mother.
However, murdering them was going too far.
Helena had grown tired of this mental game. She was worn out from dealing with Ethel's drama in the present. Even if she escaped her sister's clasps, she would still have to deal with the riot that was looming on the horizon. Helena was supposed to be mad at Ethel for making her life miserable. Yet she felt no contempt, resentment, or sadness. It took her a moment to realise her new feelings towards her stepsister.
Apathy.
In her second life, Helena saw her sister's head roll across the floor. Ethel died in the same way as she had in her first life. Watching her head being severed from her body was satisfying. Helena would laugh at her sister's corpse if she were not running.
"It was nothing, Ethel. Good morning to you, too."
Helena yawned and continued walking to the dining room. Ethel tilted her head, confused by the response she received. In her first life, Helena would have replied with a timid greeting, whereas in her second life, she would have scoffed at her disgusting act.
Right now, Helena just did not give a damn.