Villainess

 

“They should be here by now, Elena-sama.”

 

“I would have preferred the city…”

 

Some time ago, we were in a carriage on our way to the lakeside castle, one of the guest houses owned by Dandol. Two girls, who seemed to be daughters of some noble family by their clothes and mannerisms, were talking to each other.

 

The red-haired girl was Clara, a young lady in the direct lineage of the Count of Dandol, and although still a child, she had not only intelligent eyes and a calm demeanor but also a glimpse of the flower that would eventually blossom into a great power.

 

Clara was showing respect to a beautiful blonde girl with good looks that rivaled Clara’s, but her face did not show her dissatisfaction, and Clara smiled slightly at her good friend and cousin, the First Princess.

 

The first princess, Elena, adored her brother, the crown prince Ervan, so much that she was sent to Dandol, the home of her mother, the second queen, to cool off.

 

But Elena was neither selfish nor foolish, the only time she forgets herself was when her brother was involved, and otherwise she displays the face of dignified royalty.

 

Her mother’s torturous education for gifted children had made her physically weak, but that education had given Elena an intelligent mind that was not that of a seven-year-old.

 

The only reason why Elena was showing even the slightest discontent instead of the princess’s face was probably because the only person present was her cousin and friend, Clara.

 

Despite her frustration at not being able to see her brother, Elena knew she was worrying her parents, the king, and the queen.

 

(How shall I broach the subject…?)

 

Elena, one of the Villainesses, had “Heroine” removed. It was with this in mind that Clara took Elena alone in the carriage from Dandol’s castle, hoping to have a talk with her cousin, whom she had not seen for a long time.

 

In the game, Elena was jealous of the Dauphin’s interest in Heroine, and she complained and played tricks on him, but as the story progressed and Heroine fell in love with the Dauphin, she recognized Heroine and became her ally.

 

At this stage of the story, she was not an ally of the Heroine, who was not in love with the Dauphin. However, it was difficult for Heroine, who was not in contact with the crown prince, to turn against Elena.

 

If she told a bad lie, Elena, who was super intelligent, would immediately detect abnormalities. That is why this topic needed to be handled with caution.

 

(But there is still time. During this one-month recuperation period, if I can get Elena to turn her harmful intentions against Heroine…)

 

“Clara? You’ve been quiet today. Something on your mind?”

 

“…No, nothing at all.”

 

The carriage drove on to its destination in silence for a while. They used to be as close as sisters, but ever since Clara remembered her previous life, a slight gap had begun to appear between them.

 

Elena, who was looking out of the window in the carriage, shouted towards the lake that came into her view.

 

“Clara, isn’t that the mansion?”

 

“Yes, that castle will be the guest house where Elena-sama will stay.”

 

Clara, who remembered her position when she saw the castle, peeked out the window and looked over there.

 

As cousins and playmates since childhood, she was also responsible for welcoming the first princess as the daughter of the Countess of the Frontier.

 

As we gradually approached the castle, we saw a line of servants prepared by Dandol and the Prime Minister along the path from the gate to the entrance.

 

Although the royal palace and Dandol had sent out people, as expected, maids and maidservants must rely on support from other families. Many of these noble relatives wished to work at Dandol or the royal castle, and while they bowed their heads, they occasionally showed their calculative… or worse, ambitious faces.

 

(…Huh?)

 

At the corner of the line, quiet and inconspicuous, I noticed a wheat-skinned boy who looked like a Cruzian, who could be said to be still very young.

 

Theo Layton…although still a young boy, he was one of the [Capture Targets] who followed Heroine as her butler when she entered the Academy of Magic.

 

In reality, he was a knight of the dark side who protected the Heroine from the shadows. At first, he was not being a serious escort for Heroine, who had no power, but he was inspired by Heroine’s steady efforts, and through several events, he awakened his power for the Heroine.

 

She did not expect to meet him in such a place, but if he was related to the dark side, then that made sense.

 

But he was not the one who truly surprised Clara. On the other side of him, the apprentice butler, at the end of the line of maids, gasped when she spotted the pink-blonde hair she had seen so many times in the game.

 

(No way…Heroine! No, it can’t be… the Heroine would still be in the orphanage right now, and that maid is still a child, but about 10 years old, so it must be a different person.)

 

“Clara…? Is someone bothering you?”

 

“Uh, no, nothing, nothing at all.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

Elena, who had noticed Clara’s unusual behavior, narrowed her eyes suspiciously and looked through the curtains at the scene Clara must have been watching, and her mouth slightly turned up.

 

“Well, it looks like we’ve arrived. Clara, please show us the way.”

 

“…Certainly, Elena-sama.”

 

Elena then got out of the carriage, and with her insight, she spotted a girl from the direction Clara would have been looking, and casually mentioned that she wanted her.