Chapter 50

Three days have passed since I woke up in Eliza’s body. I haven’t been allowed to step out of the room, and I am in a state of confinement.

The spacious room even has a bath, and everything I need to live is provided within this room. Therefore, the ankle shackles with a chain long enough to reach the door have never been removed.

"Miss Eliza, I have brought your meal."

The meals are served three times a day, and they are lavish, but of course, I have no appetite.

Still, this is Eliza’s body, and I believe I will definitely return to my original self, so I force myself to eat.

"I want to talk to the baron and baroness. Please, I’m begging you."

I have two personal maids who take care of my daily needs, but they only engage in minimal conversation.

No matter how desperately I try to appeal to them, they only look at me as if I were a pitiful sight.

──I am currently being treated as if I have a mental illness. They seem to believe that I am convinced I am someone else.

Before the switch, Mabel had created a situation where she was attacked by a thug she had arranged, and she suffered emotional trauma.

After that, she gradually told the Haines couple and close servants that she felt like she was no longer herself.

With the diagnosis of a staged doctor, everyone around her believed that Eliza truly had a mental illness and was pretending to be someone else to protect herself.

As a result, when I, who had switched bodies, tried to claim that I was not the true owner of this body, no one would listen. Instead, they thought my condition had worsened.

"If you start making a fuss about being switched, it will only make the baron and baroness sadder. You should give up."

Gerald must have been confident that I would never be able to escape this situation, as he spoke to me with a smile, telling me everything.

The baron and baroness I met before did not seem like the kind of people who would lock their daughter in a room with shackles. That’s why, when I met them, I desperately pleaded to have the shackles removed.

"If I ever become someone else, please do not let me out of this room and do not let anyone other than Father, Mother, and Lord Gerald see me. ... I want to remain the lady who was praised as a model of virtue in everyone’s memory."

When someone is believed to have a mental illness, it becomes a significant scandal for a young noble lady. Especially for someone as admired as Eliza Haines, there would be people who would make a fuss about it.

That’s why the baron and baroness tearfully recounted how they had promised the past Eliza, who had pleaded with them.

Gerald was also meticulously prepared. He had been visiting the Haines household frequently, unknown to me, and had made it appear as though he and Eliza were in love.

Their engagement was about to be officially announced, and the couple seemed to trust Gerald, who was supporting the mentally ill Eliza.

My birthday party, which I was forced to attend with Gerald, was apparently part of a scenario where I had reached my physical and mental limits after poisoning myself.

"…What should I do?"

No one believes my words, and I can’t even leave this place.

What hurt me the most was that Gerald had been planning to betray us all along.

"Today, I brought the cake you used to love."

After lunch, Gerald came to visit me again.

He visits me every day without fail, and to others, he must appear as a kind fiancé who frequently visits his mentally ill fiancée.

I was terrified of Gerald, who acted as if nothing had happened and continued to behave as he always did.

"Next month, our official engagement will be announced. It might be difficult to have a wedding ceremony in your current state, but I will definitely get you an engagement ring."

"……"

"Ah, using amethyst, the same color as Sadie’s eyes, would be nice. It’s apparently a trend to use the color of each other’s eyes in engagement rings these days."

Despite my continued silence, Gerald kept talking with a smile. I sat on the bed, looking down and gripping the sheets tightly.

"…How is everyone doing?"

"Are you finally willing to talk to me? I’m glad."

"……"

"Actually, I went to the Arkwright family today."

I looked up in surprise, and Gerald chuckled.

He stood up from the chair next to the bed and sat down on the bed beside me.

"Everything was just as it always was. No one has realized that I betrayed them."

"Such a… thing…"

"The plan failed, and no one knows what happened to Eliza. Meanwhile, everyone is treating Sadie Arkwright, who is now Mabel, with great care."

A shock, as if I had been hit on the head with a blunt object, ran through my entire body.

…Deep down, I must have believed that my family and friends would realize that I wasn’t myself.

That’s why I feel so utterly despairing now.

"Ah, Rufus Langridge is also visiting Mabel almost every day."

"……"

Rufus hasn’t realized that I’m not myself. The thought of Mabel becoming intimate with him using my body made me want to cry uncontrollably.

It felt as if the ground beneath my feet was collapsing, and my vision blurred. Am I going to be trapped in this room, in this body, forever?

Tears began to fall from my hands, which were gripping the sheets.

"Don’t cry, Sadie. It was only to that extent."

"…sniff… hic…"

"I would definitely find you, no matter who you are."

Gerald said this, took my hand, and gently touched my ring finger, as if to check its size.

Thank you for always reading. Today, the comic adaptation of "The Villainess Who Was Taken Over" has been updated on Parsy-sama!

The story has a different development from the web version, and I hope those who are reading this version will enjoy it too! ♬

With the preparation of the book in progress, the completion is still a long way off, but I will try my best to update the comic adaptation every other Sunday.