Rehabilitating the Villainess

Chapter 3: The villainess is proud

My day starts with exercise. I also train in all kinds of swordsmanship and develops physical strength. It includes a very hard sparring session. Once I relax my body through some light exercise, the next step is magic. I learn useful magic in everyday life, like healing magic, as well as combat magic.

No matter how high a status I possess as the son of a Duke, this personal power itself will be indispensable someday. The last thing I do is study. I gather various knowledge to survive in this romantic fantasy novel. I had already finished reading several books. However, there was something rather unique about this particular book. It was a book called “Ways to Please a Noble Lady”.

This was a book that I had bought and read for my fiancée, the villainess, Shael Azbel. As a habit, I open the book. It said, [In order to please a noble lady, devote endless devotion. Then she will open up.]

But, did this work for Shael?

Not at all. Reading this book was a mistake in the first place. Because she was not a noble lady, but rather a vicious villainess. While I was thinking that, I picked up another book.

“999 Ways to Bully the Villainess”

I didn’t know why this book existed. ‘No, is it okay to publish a book like this in the first place?’

Still, after giving it a thorough read, I found that it was indeed a good book. I was also able to find something that might be helpful. Anyway, this was a phrase that could be useful today.

[When a villainess does something embarrassing, hurt her pride.]

While thinking about these words, I headed to meet the wicked woman.

***

The next thing after reading was the meeting with the evil woman. Across from me was Shael, looking at me with her wide eyes. Until this point, it was as usual. What would come next, was me using my heart and soul in order to please her. That too used to be one of my daily routines.

But not anymore.

Khrudd!

She put the teacup down forcefully. It seemed to express that she didn’t like it. Because as she did that, she was staring at me at the same time. Usually, this would have been overlooked. Of course, now I couldn’t lose either.

Khruddd!!!

It was such a loud sound that I doubted if it was the sound of putting the teacup down. If the sound earlier came from her teacup, this time it was mine.

“I’ve won.”

“…”

The wicked woman had strong pride. In other words, she would never be satisfied of the situation where she was losing. Even if it was a strange confrontation like this.

So the wicked woman raised the teacup again. This time it wasn’t for drinking.

Then she knocked the teacup down.

Taaagh! Taaagh!!

It was the sound of my teacup that immediately followed the sound of her teacup. The sound of her teacup was drowned out by the sound of mine.

“Ahhh!”

Voice of the villainess also followed soon after.

You might think that her voice stemmed from her frustration toward me, but not this time. Because the hot tea in her teacup had spilled onto her hands.

“Ugh…”

Ah, the voice this time came did indeed from her frustration toward me. Yes, it was because I had defeated the villainess this time too.

“Are you okay?”

The wicked woman immediately covered her hand and said.

“It’s not okay!”

As I was about to get up thinking that maybe she had been burned, I heard another breaking sound.

Clang!!

This time it was the sound of her teacup. She did that not because of the burn, but because of her pride.

Before she could feel joy, she heard the sound of a teacup breaking again.

Clangg!!!

It was the sound of the teacup I threw. Of course, a teacup could not withstand such an impact.

“…”

“…”

And then a moment of silence.

Her silence was caused by the feeling of losing right after winning, and my silence was caused by this absurd situation. However, this silence was broken immediately. Because a few maids had come running into the room.

“Ah, My Lady! What happened?!”

The maids immediately stopped enquiring about Shael’s safety. It was because they had finished their assessment of the situation after seeing the broken teacup in front of Shael.

One of the maids quickly spoke as she cleaned up the broken pieced of the teacup.

“Call the healer now!”

As expected, she was the treasure of the Duke’s family. Even though she said nothing, the maid called for a healer.

“No, I’m not hurt, so no need to call the healer. Leave!”

It was Shael who stopped the maids. She had a very frosty look, just like when she looked at me in the past. But Shael suddenly spoke up as if she had a good idea.

“No. Don’t leave. Stay here.”

At the completely unexpected order, the maids had no choice but to wait.

Shael looked at me. This time, it was different from usual, in that she didn’t show a cold expression, nor an unfair expression, or even a resentful expression. But she grinned and just looked at me.

It was as if she was telling me she had beaten me.

“Huh. I guess you’ll have to stay quiet now, Eran.”

Aha, she must have thought that I wouldn’t be able to talk back in front of the maids. Certainly, this was a bit troublesome. If I did such a reckless act like harassing the wicked woman in front of the maids, I would see blood. Nevertheless, I kept smiling.

That’s right, only bullying was impossible. However, it was possible to express affection. Because we were also betrothed.

“Shael, you are beautiful today as well.”

“What, you want to do that agai…”

She couldn’t help but swallow her words. It was because she had read the mood of the maids around her. One of the common interest amongst the maids was the story of love. This was natural. Most maids were at an age where they would dream of love.

The maids faces reddened and they focused their attention on Shael. It was as if they were eager to watch a good show.

“…”

The wicked woman blushed. But she didn’t give in. Her desire to win was bigger than the shame. 

Understanding her feelings, I thought, ‘If your desire to win is bigger than the shame… wouldn’t it be enough to make the shame bigger?’

And then, I immediately went into action.

I scooped the cake off the table and brought it to her mouth.

Of course, there’s no way that self-respecting villainess would quietly accept this.

“Oh, are you ashamed to eat in front of the maids?”

It wasn’t Shael who responded to my sentimental words. It was the maids.

Kyaaagh!

Usually, the maids wouldn’t dare to make such noises in front of the wicked woman, Shael. But the maids couldn’t stand it because the two people in front of them looked so much like the two main characters in a romance novel.

Shael still remained silent in this situation. However, her reddened face represented her feelings.

‘Eh, you still won’t make the maids leave?’

And so, in order to increase the intensity of the shame, I got up and approached Shael.

‘Ah, this time I will not only shame you, but I will also hurt your pride.’

As my face was barely touching her face, I whispered quietly into her ear.

“So, you think you wouldn’t be able to defeat me without the help of the maids?”

“…”

“As expected, you’re a coward. Ah, I understand. Ever since you were little, you couldn’t do anything without the maid, so you seek their help here as well.”

“…”

As I stared at Shael, she said to her maid.

“You may leave.”

This was my victory again.

It really was as the book said. I pondered over what I had read again, [When a villainess does something embarrassing, hurt her pride.]

It was because the wicked woman had strong pride.

***

Shael felt very angry. It was unfortunate that she had lost, but what was even worse that her hands had burns and she got scratches from the teacup. It was a serious matter to have a scar on her body, who was the treasured daughter of the Duke’s family. So the number of times she had been wounded could be counted on one hand. Even if it was an imperceptible scratch.

Of course, that wasn’t the reason why Shael was unhappy about her scar. If she was wounded, she could apply a little potion. In the first place, there are many excellent healers in the Duke’s family.

But she thought otherwise. Even her imperceptible scars would be considered differently than others. Because they would treat her small wound as if it were a big scar. For example, even the maids who saw the broken teacup called for a healer. So when she usually gets hurt, she doesn’t tell anyone and hides it. Then she waits until it heals on it own.

It was like that a little while ago as well. She covered the wound so that her da*mn fiancé would never see it. As she stroked the place she was injured a moment ago, she couldn’t help but be surprised.

“…”

Because the wound had completely disappeared. Such a short time had passed that it couldn’t have healed naturally. What immediately came to her mind was her own fiancé. Thinking back to it, when her fiancé whispered to her, she felt a warm feeling on her hand.

“…”

The villainess Shael felt resentful.

Once again, it was because the wicked woman had strong pride.

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