2. Memories

Helena was a villainess in her second life.

After being beheaded, Helena woke up in her room. 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 something she had already experienced before. Helena realised something crucial after looking at the date on the paper.

She had returned to the past. 

That girl remembered everything in her first life. Her anger toward the mistreatment and humiliation made her mad. Helena planned the downfall of people who wronged her, lied to gain advantages for herself, manipulated people around her, and tormented them. Helena became well-known and made a name for herself in high society. Everyone called her "Dark Rose" as she was a lovely black-haired woman like a rose with thorns on her side.

Helena managed to prevent her mother's death. She had prepared an antidote to keep her mother alive. As Helena expected, the culprit was Ethel. She poisoned her mother's tea with the help of a servant. Helena caught her sister by making the investigator find the poison in her closet. Her father begged Helena to forgive her sister, but she refused. That woman used this opportunity to plummet her sister's reputation. While she lost people's trust, Ethel was nowhere to ruin. She was still supported by other nobles and received her father's love. Her step-sister never went on trial for trying to kill Helena's mother. However, Ethel lost her image as a kind and gentle girl. She failed to get an invitation to the royal ball.

Ethel never framed her in her second life. Helena was puzzled by the change in the wheel of fortune, but she did not care. Living as a villainess was her peak of happiness. Helena held her head high instead of lowering her head. Everyone who scorned her got trampled and destroyed without a trace.

Helena shook her head. This was not the time for reminiscing about the good past. "I need to focus! I do not need to lose my life for the third time!"

She pulled a pen and a book from her desk and wrote the cause of her death. The first part was her death by guillotine. Ethel somehow managed to charge her indirectly with a crime related to an underground organization that dealt with serious crimes. This sparked rage in different classes since both nobles and commoners were involved. They insisted the criminals be punished as hard and as soon as possible. The incident was known as "Sinner Punishment". Many people were beheaded under the jurisdiction of the Second Prince and the King.

After that point, she returned one year ago. Helena quit doing charity and solely focused on her revenge. Yet, Sinner's Punishment still happened without her. Many folks lost their lives during the incident, regardless of whether they were commoners or nobles. Helena found different people were framed and executed in her second life. The victim had been apprehended because their neighbour wanted their land or was accused by their own family to get rid of one of the heirs. Some even had no idea the reason or who put them in jail. 

After Sinner's Punishment was over, they found some of those people were innocent. Of course, this brought another anger. People blamed and killed each other in paranoia. The Second Prince and the King were held responsible for executing their family. This havoc sparked a riot in the kingdom. "Bloody Riot" became the worst day in the history. People hid in a shelter and deserted the street. Some hooligans used the opportunity to loot valuable items from stores and houses. The horror of the burning building, blood and corpses would remain intact in her mind. Helena remembered the day people broke over their home after the chaos began. They slaughtered the servants and family in front of her eyes. Her father died protecting others along with her mother. 

Even the sister whom she hated died gruesomely.

Helena did not know whether dying as the last person in her family counted as luck. She escaped to the second floor while they were busy killing the servants. Helena lived for another minute until someone spotted and stabbed her in the heart. Unlike the first life, Helena died painfully slowly. The last memory she had before shutting her eyes was the face of a smiling man.

"So I lost you to death again."

She remembered that man's last word before death. Thinking about it made her shudder in fear. She preferred dying on the guillotine to bleeding to death. 

"Wait for a second…" 

Helena squinted her eyes at the book. She noticed both incidents were related. Helena scribbled on the paper and connected the dot between the incident. Sinner Punishment led to Bloody Riot. If she stopped the first incident, would the others cease to exist?

 "Lady Helena, are you awake?"

Violet knocked on the door to her bedroom. Helena almost fell from her seat from surprise. She hid the book on the hidden shelf and poised herself on the bed. 

"Come in."

Karl and Violet entered her room, followed by twin maids. Violet opened the curtain and let the sunlight get into the place. The light felt stinging in her eyes. She should not jot down her memories in a dark room.

"Lady Helena!"

The twin maids jumped at her bed. Violet scolded them right away. "Azure, Scarlett! That behaviour is improper! Get off the bed right now!"

Both of them retreated. "Okay…" 

Violet lectured on their demeanour. The twins looked down but listened to their older sister. Azure and Scarlett were young girls aged around ten. Despite having the same height, similar long braided dark chocolate hair and purple eyes, they hated being mixed up. The older one, Azure, wore a blue bow, while the younger one, Scarlett, wore a red bow. Helena appointed them as her personal maids to help their sister, Violet. She was as pretty as Helena remembered. Violet was a tall woman with a sturdy body. Her dark chocolate hair was tied in a bun, and her round purple eyes were like her sister's.

"Lady Helena, don't dote on them too much. They will not learn if you keep spoiling them."

She 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 because they tried to save Helena in her first life. In her second life, Violet died protecting the other servants from intruders. Helena was just glad the twin escaped on time. 

Helena should raise their salary.

"Good morning, Lady Helena. How do you feel today?"

Karl fixed his glasses and greeted her. Helena almost forgot that he was in 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. His appearance was above average. He was good-looking, but nothing stood out except his rare green eyes. He had an average leaning build and height. Despite his plain appearance, he was an extraordinary servant. Karl was capable of doing multiple tasks at the same time and helped other employees with their work.

Helena's father ordered stricter security in the future after she disappeared. She felt awful since the black-haired butler now had a new load on his job. Helena heard he almost got fired and only avoided the penalty because he found her.

"I heard from Sister Mary that a merchant saved you from drowning."

Helena was thinking for a moment before replying to him. "It's true. I will reward him. Please prepare a fixed amount of gold."

The butler bowed down. "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 at Azure's question. "No, I'm fine. Do I look ill?"

Scarlett joined her sister's conversation. "No, but you look exhausted." 

Violet agreed. "Is it necessary to go to the town? Perhaps you should rest for today."

Helena shook her head. "No, there is something I must do. Please choose a suitable dress for me."

Violet opened the drawer and took 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 strong. Any delicate activities must be given to Azure and Scarlett. It was the reason why Violet was prohibited from pouring tea. Helena did not remember how many poor cups were broken due to her muscle force. 

Azure and Scarlett fought about her dress. Azure insisted on choosing blue, while Scarlett insisted on choosing red. Violet broke it by choosing a yellow dress. The twin helped their older sister pick a pair of shoes and suitable accessories. After finishing dressing up, Helena looked at her reflection in the mirror. The maids did a perfect job choosing the outfits for her. The white daisy flower on her hat matched the white lace decoration on her dress. Yet, she must admit the figure across the mirror did not lie. Her once lively grey eyes grew dim. The face that used to be full of smiles now looked weary - repeating her life twice while her memories remained worn her out.

"My Lady, if you go to the town, you should buy new dresses. You have worn all the clothes in the closet."

Helena remembered her lavish spending in her second life. The price of her dress could feed a family for three months. She hesitated to spend more money because she had no support on this timeline. She must save her wealth for an emergency. Helena went out of the room and sighed. "I buy a new one when I receive an invitation to a big ball." 

"Good morning, Helena."

Ethel was standing next to the door when Helena was out of the room. She was startled and stepped back for a few moments. Helena wondered what she felt at that time. She was supposed to be angry since Ethel made her life miserable. Yet there was no contempt, resentment or even sadness in her heart. It took her some moment to realise her new feelings toward her step-sister.

Apathy.

Helena saw her sister's head rolling on the floor on her second life. Ethel died in the same way as she died in her first life. Looking at how her head severed from her body was satisfying. Helena would laugh over her sister's corpse if she were not running. 

"I heard you went missing yesterday. What happened?"

Her step-sister gave her the fakest sweet smile she had ever seen. Helena had enough of this mental game. She was too worn out playing drama with Ethel in the present. Even if she did escape her sister's clutch, she still had to deal with the riot in the kingdom.

The sisters never got along with each other, just like their appearances. Ethel's light golden blonde hair was the opposite of Helena's jet-black. She had a bright lime-light green pupil, unlike Helena's grey eyes. Helena's skin was porcelain pale compared to her sister's ivory, warm skin. Ethel had the face of an innocent young girl, making her loved by people.

Too bad it did not represent her personality.

Ethel was not happy with her return to the house. She always hated her step-family. Half of the reason was their low background, and the other half was her father. Ethel did not want to share him with others. Helena understood her since she felt the same about her mother. 

However, murdering them was taking it way too far.

"It was nothing. Good morning to you too, Ethel."

Helena yawned and continued walking to the dining room. Ethel tilted her head since she did not get the response she expected. Helena would reply with a timid greeting in her first life but would scoff at her disgusting act in her second life.

Right now, Helena just did not give a damn.