The Villain

It was raining. Very heavily. Like a thunderstorm without thunder.

Fei reached out to touch the glass windows, where pellets of water pounded, creating an intoxicating rhythm. This was the first time that she experienced such heavy rain. Previously, the rain had always been meek and soft, never so angry and violent as it is today.

But in the library, she was safe from its violence. Though it would be nice to touch the droplets and to breathe in its earthly aroma.

"Do you want to go out in the open corridors?" Eyrie, who was sitting in the chair beside her, asked suddenly.

Fei looked at her companion, puzzled.

Eyrie continued, "If you want to touch the rain, you can go there." She paused. "Although you can open the library windows too, to do so might result in rain splashing in."

"No… I… It is fine, Eyrie. I need to read." Flustered at being seen through, Fei couldn't look Eyrie in the eye and immediately began flipping around in her textbook.

The eldest miss of the Rochester household gently sighed as she looked at the young girl.

This reaction from Fei should be evidence that the two had gotten much closer, right? Fei probably got used to her presence. Unlike the obvious look of discomfort she showed during the first day that Eyrie started to follow her around, now, her expression seemed to be one of slight joy.

Her hard work paid off, Eyrie thought. She knew that she had spent much effort to bribe and pressure Fei to officially become her friend.

To make Fei call her more casually, Eyrie had been very annoying and often disturbing Fei's concentration.

She only dared to do this since in her definition of friend, she had stated that 'one person will not ever hurt the other'. She knew that Fei was very loyal and stuck strictly to the rules. Since Fei had agreed to be her friend, she would never hurt Eyrie. At least for now.

In addition, she found out Fei's favorite food after making Fei taste every recipe that the Rochester kitchen had, which surprisingly turned out to be shrimp. Fei liked everything, as long as it had shrimp in it.

Eyrie also found out that the mutant had an extraordinary sweet tooth. Her eyes would light up whenever something sweet was placed in front of her. Fei didn't look like the type of mutant to like sweets… the young woman shook her head inwardly.

After experiencing the process of trying to court Fei to become a friend, she suddenly realized that she didn't really know Fei that well in her past life. Although Fei changed, the changes in her taste and personality won't be too big. Meaning, if she liked sweets as a mutant, she should prefer sweets as a success as well.

Suddenly, a disturbing thought surfaced in Eyrie's mind: perhaps she had never truly tried to get to know Fei as a friend.

Looking back, it had always been Fei that looked out for her, Fei that knew her best. To the point that she knew what Eyrie was feeling even before Eyrie knew it herself.

On the other hand, Eyrie had only selfishly accepted Fei's affection, not returning any of her own. Whenever the two met together, Eyrie would immediately start to talk for hours about her own life, not caring a cent about what Fei wanted to talk about.

Unlike Eyrie, Fei was the model friend.

But what kind of friend kills the other?

"Eyrie, are you alright?" Fei felt that she might be wrong in thinking that there was something bothering Eyrie. But she still couldn't help asking for confirmation.

Eyrie snapped back to reality, her gaze landing on Fei's slightly worried face. "I'm fine. Thank you." She smiled in bitterness. Perhaps even in this life, Fei would be the better friend.

Fei furrowed her eyebrows. Despite smiling, Eyrie looked as if she was about to cry. Fei wanted to open her mouth and say something, but after thinking about it a little more, she found that she had nothing else to say.

She looked back towards the book she was reading.

Eyrie also wanted to go back to work, but she found that she couldn't focus. All she thought in her head was that she needed to do something to make it up to Fei.

Although she told herself that the debt she owed to Fei was paid back when Fei did those terrible things, she still couldn't free herself from that immense guilt. It wasn't as if Fei wanted to do it.

It wasn't something that Fei could control.

It would be better in this life! Definitely. Fei won't be so easily manipulated if she is a mutant. She will have her own thoughts.

And if Fei doesn't want to do something from the bottom of her heart, such as killing off the Rochesters, to the extent that she would rather die, she would resist that manipulation until she dies!

If this happens, the Rochester family will be safe.

And since Eyrie is the only person aware of the future, she is also the only one that can change it.

To change the future, she would need to brainwash Fei so that Fei becomes so attached to the Rochesters that she can't kill them.

So that the reason Fei serves this family is not because of her duty or mission, but that she loves this family.

Putting what she wants in priority higher than the completion of a 'mission' has already bore testament to this idea.

Eyrie secretly prayed that this was true.

She would willingly be the villain if it meant saving her family.

That should be the whole reason she was reincarnated anyway, right?