A Sweet Girl Won't Be Fooled By The Villainess - [Vol. 3] Chapter 1

Volume 3: Exotic Scenery

[Vol. 3] Chapter 1: It’s Really Handsome~

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Ifia released Amelia’s hand and turned around in surprise. Soon after, not far away, Jessica excitedly raised both hands and waved towards them. Joy was evident on her face, and even the tight and intricate long gown couldn’t restrict her movements. Cheerfully, she bounded towards Ifia, her reddish-brown eyes gleaming like a running puppy.

Layers of skirts fluttered with her running movements, thankfully having a white lining to avoid any wardrobe malfunctions. “Jessica Lilace, mind your ladylike manners!!!” Behind Jessica, a middle-aged woman dressed elegantly sighed helplessly. Despite knowing her admonishments wouldn’t be effective, she continued to shout loudly.

Jessica casually raised her hand towards the middle-aged woman and then continued to do as she pleased. When she jogged up to Ifia, she immediately excitedly reached out and grabbed her hands. “Ifia, are you joining the sightseeing tour of the new route? I am too!”

Although it had only been a few days since they last saw each other, Jessica felt like it had been much longer. After speaking, she wanted to give her friend a big hug. However, before she could open her arms, she immediately felt an oppressive gaze, causing Jessica to involuntarily shrink her neck and quietly retract her motion.

Miss Barlen, as always, was elegant and beautiful, but her gaze was somewhat intimidating as it fixed on Jessica.

At this moment, Jessica, seeing the excitement of her friend waning and the admired idol Miss Barlen present, without waiting for anyone to remind her, regained the elegant manners of a young lady from a prominent family. However, in Ifia’s eyes, it seemed extremely awkward, like putting a leash on a husky.

“Jessica, who are these two?” Just as Jessica was trying to salvage her image, the middle-aged woman walked over, followed by several servants carrying luggage. Upon seeing Ifia and Amelia, she wore a perfectly timed smile on her face – the standard posture of a noblewoman, an elegance that Jessica couldn’t mimic.

“Mother, this is Miss Barlen. And this is my best friend from the academy, Ifia!” Responding to her mother’s inquiry, Jessica introduced each person. Although she knew her mother must be acquainted with Miss Barlen, the interactions among adults were filled with pretense and insincerity.

Jessica felt that her genuine friendship with Ifia was much better than the superficiality between adults.

“Miss Barlen, hello, I’m Kaylin Krode, pleased to meet you.” Upon hearing the name Barlen, a surprised expression appeared on the middle-aged woman’s face. Apparently, she hadn’t expected her daughter to know the Duke’s daughter. She promptly offered a polite and courteous self-introduction. As for the commoner Ifia standing beside them, she merely nodded in acknowledgment.

For Jessica to befriend the Duke’s daughter was a tremendous advantage. It was not only beneficial for Jessica herself but also advantageous for both the Lilace and Krode families. After all, the Barlen family had very few members, and the only direct descendant was Amelia Barlen.

Regardless of whether the Duke’s daughter inherited the title or married into royalty, she was a formidable figure worth befriending. Thinking about this, the middle-aged woman suppressed her excitement, considering a gradual approach to avoid appearing too utilitarian.

However, as she strategized in her mind, Amelia cast a cold glance at her. “Lady Marquess Lilace, hello. We’re about to board, so let’s not linger.” With that, regardless of the complex expression on the middle-aged woman’s face, Amelia, under the gaze of the onlookers, once again took Ifia’s hand, gave her a gentle smile, and stepped onto the gangway.

The act of ignoring and giving someone the cold shoulder was quite apparent, without any attempt to conceal it. This made Ifia unable to resist a quiet chuckle, relishing the feeling of having a strong ally by her side!

In reality, Ifia wasn’t upset about being ignored. After all, she was only friends with Jessica, and it wasn’t necessary for Jessica’s family to like her too. However, Amelia intentionally standing up for her was really cool.

Behind them, Jessica didn’t board the ship but pouted in anger. Even if she was a bit foolish, she could sense trouble brewing. Jessica looked at her mother with confusion and asked, “Mom, what were you doing just now? Why did you ignore Ifia?”

“She’s just a commoner, Jessica. You should keep your distance from commoners, they won’t be of any help to you and might even become a burden.”

Clearly, the Marchioness disliked commoners, and her anger was exacerbated by the casual attitude of the Duke’s daughter. Upon hearing her mother’s words, Jessica found it amusing. She couldn’t help but speak up, “Mom, I’m not really acquainted with Miss Barlen. I’ve only seen her a few times after getting to know Ifia.”

Although Jessica felt that Miss Barlen’s concern for Ifia was quite evident, she emphasized her point to avoid letting her mother feel uncomfortable.

“Are you saying…”

“Yes, Miss Barlen publicly acknowledged that Ifia is her friend. It’s a well-known fact at the Pulis Academy.”

“……”

Later, watching her mother’s regretful expression, Jessica didn’t say anything further. Instead, she waved goodbye to her mother and had the servants carry the luggage onto the ship. Based on Jessica’s understanding of Ifia, she knew that Ifia wouldn’t hold a grudge because of her mother’s actions.

However, if it were Miss Barlen, the outcome might not be the same. Would Miss Barlen prohibit Ifia from meeting her? Oh no! Thankfully, Amelia wasn’t as authoritarian as Jessica feared. After having the luggage taken to Ifia’s separate room, Amelia tactfully left the two with some space to talk and went to the captain’s quarters to attend to some matters.

“Ifia, it’s fantastic! We can travel together!” After Amelia left, Jessica, back to her cheerful self, exclaimed.

As for the little incident before boarding, neither of them brought it up. However, not only was Jessica surprised that Ifia was also participating in the sightseeing of the new route, Ifia was curious about why Jessica was on the list.

“Jessica, is your family cooperating with the Rachel family?”

“Yes, this time, besides me, there is another family member! Apart from the Lilace family cooperating with the Rachel family, there are also the Manlo family and the Keogh family.”

Jessica knew more than Ifia, who was a bit behind on the news. Ifia wasn’t familiar with just mentioning family names, so Jessica thought for a moment and started using her fingers to give examples, “The Manlo family sent Andrea Manlo, an eligible bachelor in Dalwa City.”

“The other one is an acquaintance, our classmate Isabella Keogh,” Jessica added.

Upon hearing this, Ifia couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, she happened to know these two people. Isabella, with her classical noble demeanor, was self-evident. And Andrea Manlo was the man who struck up a conversation with her at the banquet.

“As for the Rachel family, it should be Sister Austin… Oops, I’ve gotten used to calling her that. She’s not an undercover nun anymore.”

Speaking of Austin, Jessica was stunned when she first heard that she was an undercover nun. Nowadays, people went to great lengths for news reporting!

After mentioning individuals from several families, Jessica’s lips curled, and with a hint of frustration, she continued, “Apart from the nobles from these four families, the royal family will also send a few people, including Prince Carloy and Irene.”

“Irene?”

“Yeah, not sure when Irene became so close to Prince Carloy. She got the precious boarding pass without any hesitation.”

Thinking about the gold coins her family had spent, Jessica felt a pain in her heart, almost unable to breathe. In the end, the royal family enjoyed the benefits without any expense.

Listening to Jessica’s complaints, Ifia thought to herself that the strength of the original plot must be formidable, causing the rapid development of the relationship between the main characters.

Because of the previous immersive experience with plot fragments, Ifia was mentally prepared, so she didn’t find it surprising. However, seeing Jessica, who was full of complaints and neglecting to tidy up the room, Ifia quickly took her outside to eliminate the chattering that she hadn’t expressed yet.

“Wow, the sky is so blue, and the sea is so vast!”

Once outside the room, Jessica raised her hand, gripping the railing along the edge of the deck, and sighed as she looked out at the sea. After being soothed by the beautiful scenery, she no longer complained.

At this moment, the large ship gently swayed for a moment, then lifted its anchor. The journey to the country of Taric was officially underway!

“I think everyone else has already boarded. Ifia, do you want to go to the hall? There’s a variety of food available, and they even have authentic wheat beer. My family always restricts my alcohol consumption, but this time I want to drink freely!”

“Sure, let’s go.”

Ifia had no intention of going back to her room to organize things and decided to follow Jessica to the hall.

Once inside the hall, there were already a few people. After seeing Ifia and Jessica, a few of them glanced over, confirmed that they weren’t from any powerful family, and then continued their previous conversation.

“The Duke Barlen’s new route was successfully opened, definitely not relying solely on luck.”

“Are you referring to abilities?”

“Of course not. In fact, there have been rumors within the noble circles of Dalwa City that the true reason for Duke Barlen’s seemingly miraculous success over the past decade is because he sacrifices to demons!”

“Oh, really!”

Ifia had just picked up her steak, ready to start eating, when she unexpectedly overheard the conversation. She couldn’t help but raise the corner of her mouth in silent disbelief. She thought that such intimate matters didn’t need to be discussed in public, especially on Barlen family territory. This was like hanging a lantern in the bathroom. Asking for trouble?

Perhaps Ifia’s expression was too obvious, as Jessica covered her mouth and chuckled quietly. She then pulled Ifia aside and whispered, “Members of the Barlen family are on the rear ship. This passenger ship is exclusively for members of other families, even the servants on board are temporary hires. So, everyone turns a blind eye and keeps quiet.”

That explained it. No wonder they were so cautious!

However, Ifia furrowed her brow in confusion and whispered back, “But Amelia is here too!”

“Hehehe, Miss Barlen, as the heir of the Barlen family, can go wherever she wants… I guess they haven’t seen Miss Barlen boarding this ship, otherwise, they wouldn’t dare to say that.”

Although Jessica didn’t explicitly state it, the teasing expression on her face almost screamed, ‘Miss Barlen is here just for you.’ This made Ifia push Jessica’s somewhat punchable face away with her hand.

Later, they enjoyed delicious food while listening to others gossiping. Surprisingly appetizing!

“Isn’t it said that demons are insatiable, and once you get involved, you can’t escape? Even Saint Tiffany can’t completely expel demons.”

“Considering the rapid accumulation of wealth by the Barlen family, it doesn’t matter even if they’ve been supporting demons all along.”

“There are pros and cons. The biggest advantage is having the protection of demons, making the opening of the new route effortless. Seeing how rapidly and powerfully the Barlen family has developed, I’m tempted to sacrifice to a demon myself.”

The group chatted and laughed, evidently not ashamed of sacrificing to demons. Instead, their expressions showed a certain degree of longing. This made Ifia couldn’t help but roll her eyes, thinking they should believe in science!

Demons and such aren’t real.

As Ifia was about to finish the steak on her plate, enjoying the last few bites, suddenly the ship violently shook. The intense movement, as if it was about to capsize, gave a foreboding sense of impending disaster.

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