Part 1: I Picked Up the Male Lead.
Episode 1:
I possessed the villainess in a novel who secretly stole the male lead’s heart and sold it off to a neighboring country.
If I get caught as the criminal, I’ll surely die.
That, after all, is how the original villainess met her end.
And so, I was trying to get the heart back without being caught.
This plan would’ve worked out perfectly, had I not picked up the male lead on the street.
Dang it.
What in the world is wrong with me?
***
To be truthful, I don’t know how I came to possess the villainess in this novel.
After being murdered by my subordinate for being strict, I woke up to find that I’d become a different person.
After about three months after possessing this body, I gave up trying to find the cause of it.
There are several reasons as to why I decided to just adapt to this body and become a true villainess in those three months.
First of all, my body in Korea was already dead, and this villainess was very busy.
So busy, in fact, that it barely left any room for me to think about anything else.
A year has passed since I was reborn into this body. But right now, however, I have a separate problem.
I found the male lead collapsed on the street.
The male lead I should be avoiding at all costs, the very male lead who will kill me in the future.
What a ridiculous coincidence. This is already the third time.
“…Argh.”
The man, who was covered in wounds, fell to the floor and groaned.
I was so glad that it was a dark alley, so no one was passing by. I took a handkerchief from my bag and tied it around my face, covering it. Then, I put on a pair of gloves and looked at the man, who’d fallen on the street.
It was the same as last time; he would be wounded every time I found him. And every time, as he wandered around, I would treat him.
These collapses were probably because of his lost ‘heart’.
So, I couldn’t just leave him there.
After the first time, I didn’t know when or where this would happen again, so I’d gotten used to bringing these things with me at all times.
This is because the male lead’s blood is toxic. It would be dangerous to touch it with bare hands.
But then again, he’s the main character, so he won’t die if I just let him be, right?
That thought passed through my mind for a moment, but I shook my head. If I just leave him be like this, I’d probably die of guilt.
It was difficult.
In the past, Countess Edina, the villainess whose body I possessed, had tried to assassinate the male lead before.
And, two years before I was reborn into her body, she stole the heart of the male lead, a foreigner from an imperial family.
It’s already been a year since I’ve taken control, so a total of three years have passed since.
She’d hoped that he would just die before anyone found that she was the one who’s taken the male lead’s heart.
But…if the male lead had died, then she’d be suspected of murdering a member of the imperial family, so just why did she do it?
Was she really that confident in the belief that she wouldn’t get caught?
I don’t exactly know, but, given the record of things she’s done so far, if the male lead dies, then I’ll be the number one suspect.
I won’t let that happen!
“Hey, are you okay?”
I poked the male lead with my glove.
He’s probably unconscious because of his wounds…
You’re most likely not going to wake up anytime soon, are you?
I’d never seen the male lead while he was awake.
That’s because, every time I find him, he’s always wounded and on the brink of death. After stopping as much of the bleeding as I could, I would take him to a safe spot, hiding him from view.
I had to run away before he regained consciousness.
“His face is really my cup of tea…”
I bent down in front of him, admiring his face. If you told me that he was an angel, with his platinum blonde hair, I’d believe it.
And, although he looked lean and skinny, he was actually very strong and skilled in swordsmanship.
“Hey, I’m going to do this, so I hope you’re fine with it…” I grumbled as I took out the disinfectant and gauze from my bag.
I then tore open the collar of his shirt in order to look at the wound.
And suddenly, a large hand grabbed my arm.
“Ahh!”
I was so surprised that I jumped and fell backwards. The injured man frowned and slowly stood up.
He looked relatively fine…
He gave a small groan, then faced me, surprised.
After a period of silence, he spoke in a calm voice.
“As I thought, I wasn’t mistaken…”
He frowned.
“Countess Edina, what in the world are you up to?”
Oh my goodness, have I been caught?
I was so flustered that I immediately turned my back to run away.
I could’ve successfully escaped, if only the man hadn’t grabbed my arm.
“Where are you going?”
“Let! Go of…me!”
In a rush I hit him in the face with the bag I was holding in the other hand.
The problem, however, is that there was a stone in that bag. And, of course, there’s a lot more to this stone than you think.
“Oh, shoot.”
TL/N: We’re pure kids here, so we omitted the curse words 
I watched as the man was hit by the stone in the bag and fell down, hitting the ground hard.
He must’ve been knocked unconscious for real this time.
***
My aide, Edward, came to find me. He was probably tired of waiting for me.
I met his eye as I struggled to pull up the unconscious man.
Edward looked a little taken aback at first, but then settled on a no-nonsense face.
“Countess…are you going to kill him?”
“Can you just help me with this mess? There are bound to be people coming after me, let’s hurry up.”
If the Imperial family finds out about this, I’ll be falsely accused of being the one who caused these wounds.
It’s better to just take him to the estate, treat him, and then claim to have saved him.
Edward grumbled and then came over, helping me move the man.
Charles, the driver, looked surprised, but calmly helped Edward and I bring the male lead into the carriage.
“Let’s get going, then.”
I got into the carriage, wiping sweat off my temples.
But, just as Edward got into the carriage and closed the door, someone knocked on it. I hurriedly heaved up my dress, hiding the man from view.
Edward looked at me in surprise, but I ignored him and opened the carriage window.
A middle-aged gentleman dressed in a stylish black suit stood outside, stroking his mustache.
He looked familiar.
When I opened the window, he also seemed startled to see my face.
I mean, anyone would be surprised to see the so-called ‘Evil Villainess of the Century’ suddenly appearing.
I lowered my voice as much as possible and opened my mouth.
“Long time no see?”
Only then did he slightly relax and give a hard smile.
“Oh, pardon me. I haven’t seen you since the Cabinet meeting…”
The middle-aged man reached out to me through the window.
This man, Winston, isn’t very close to me, and the only time we ever meet is during Cabinet meetings.
And, in addition to that, he is the male lead’s uncle, the definition of a true villain who’s abused him since childhood.
Even though he’s treated as an abandoned member of the imperial family, the male lead, Lyrian, is still the Prince of this empire.
However, Winston still abused him, regardless.
He may be a devil, but there’s someone even more cunning than the devil.
And that’s me.
I looked at the outstretched hand of Winston Zarcak, and tilted my head.
“You do have the audacity, blocking my carriage like that. Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”
Winston looked at his single, lone hand with a blank, perplexed face.
I quickly added another remark as I saw his eyes wander, scanning the back of my carriage.
“Viscount Winston? Didn’t you have something to say? Speak.”
After noticing how I’d spoken those last few words, he raised an eyebrow. Good. I’ve succeeded in pissing him off and getting on his nerves.
He frowned, giving me an unpleasant look.
I would’ve pointed out that rudeness, had it not have been for my position and my reputation as an already notorious person.
He clenched his teeth once, then quickly said with a smile, “I’m looking for someone, who happens to be in the area you just passed. It’s a handsome young man with blond hair… are you sure you haven’t seen anyone like that, Countess?”
“I haven’t seen anyone like the blond man you are looking for, Viscount Winston. Has His Highness Prince Arnold perhaps run away from his work?”
At these words, Winston forced a smile once again. This time though, it was an angry smile.
I would’ve assumed that he also abused Prince Arnold, but the emperor was dismissive of this situation, so Winston was forbidden from doing anything.
I could feel the anger radiating from him as I pointed that out.
TL/N: Okay, so the uncle of these two princes, this ugly Winston guy, loves power. He already abuses Lyrien, but the emperor dismissed him when he asked for the power to discipline Arnold as well, so he’s mad about that.
“Oh, my goodness, what are you so worked up about? It’s not like someone was stabbed or anything…”
I smiled smugly and waved at him.
“Are you finished with your business? I am a very busy person, so please don’t waste my time.”
I closed the window of the carriage in the Viscount’s face.
TL/N: What a queen 
And, as if they’d been waiting for this very moment, the wheels of the carriage immediately began to turn.
I placed a hand on my chest, taking a deep breath.
“Dealing with that Winston is really brutal, I had half a mind to run away out of fright…”
I glanced at Lyrien under the hem of my dress. Luckily, he hadn’t woken up yet.
“For someone who wanted to run away, you did get a good laugh at him.”
Edward shook his head and went to check Lyrien’s pulse.