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chapter 07
The maid, Dorothy, shouted in a fuss.
Her tone was as if some god had descended.
“It looks like she’s finally decided to forgive you, young lady!”
I had just woken up, my messy hair still disheveled, trying to gather my thoughts.
It was the first time I was seeing Felix since the graduation ceremony.
The shock of that day couldn’t have possibly faded yet.
‘If I see him now, won’t I just end up trembling like before, like a pushover?’
I was uneasy, but I couldn’t ignore it.
Anyway, I had unfinished business with Felix.
“Tell him to wait a moment.”
“Pardon?! But……”
“You can’t receive a guest looking like this.”
“Well…… that’s true.”
Dorothy looked me up and down from head to toe.
Her blatantly rude gaze felt familiar. And I had never even thought of it as rude until now.
‘Ever since I found out I was being deceived by Felix and my uncle, everything looks different.’
Felix, Lorena, my uncle, the servants.
Ever since the day my grandparents and parents all died at once, everyone around me had treated me like this my entire life.
So I never even thought this was disrespect.
‘No, I didn’t want to think it was.’
Like a domino—if even one falls, everything collapses.
If I realized even one person didn’t actually care for me and was deceiving me, I would have to admit everyone else was the same.
When I opened the wardrobe to quickly make myself presentable—
“Ha.”
I let out a hollow laugh.
The wardrobe was completely empty.
“Ah, the master said he would confiscate not only your allowance, but also everything purchased with it.”
Dorothy said it casually.
I was speechless. Seriously.
After the day I was slapped by my uncle, instead of coming to apologize, he must’ve gone out and come back in a bad mood.
‘I can’t believe I served under such a petty man as my uncle.’
I felt even more pathetic at myself again.
“And he said meals will only be provided until today. From now on, you must provide your own food expenses.”
How dirty and petty!
Once the mask of the “strict uncle who sacrifices for his niece and family” was removed, his true face was nothing but ugly.
For now, I should deal with what was in front of me.
I roughly put on whatever was left and went down to the reception room.
“…Hey! Why are you only coming out now! Do you know how long I waited?”
Felix greeted me angrily.
He had always liked flashy accessories, and now he was loaded with gold bracelets and jeweled cufflinks.
‘I heard that as the top graduate of the academy, he’s being scouted everywhere.’
It seemed he had received quite a lot already.
When I didn’t respond, Felix clicked his tongue and threw a document at me.
“Sign it.”
It was a breakup contract.
“Ah. Let me say this in advance so I don’t waste my breath or your ears—don’t even think about clinging to me pathetically. Even if you cry, beg, or grab my pant legs, I won’t change my decision!”
“Do I just sign here? Okay.”
“Don’t annoy me, I said—what? …Hmph. Yes. There!”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
Just as I was about to put the pen to the paper, I stopped.
“What now? Why did you stop?”
Felix scoffed.
“Of course. I knew you wouldn’t sign obediently. Hey, let’s not waste each other’s energy. I don’t see you as a woman even if I die. You know people call us ‘the beauty and the beast’? Doesn’t your pride hurt?”
“That’s not it.”
“Ha, you’re really pathetic! You admit I’m way out of your league anyway. Honestly, even if you stripped naked and ran at me I wouldn’t be moved—”
“That’s not it!”
BANG!
I slammed the desk, and Felix flinched.
“What, what?! Now you’re using violence? You want me that badly?”
“What are you talking about, you crazy bastard!”
“W-what? Crazy bastard?”
“There’s no compensation written here!”
I pointed at the document and looked straight at him.
Felix looked at me like I was something strange.
“Compen… what?”
“Stop pretending you didn’t hear. As you know, under imperial law, when an engagement that lasted a certain period is formally broken, compensation is required. And in this case, the one who unilaterally breaks it—you—will have to pay.”
Phew.
I didn’t stutter!
‘It was worth memorizing a short script before coming down.’
I felt relieved internally.
Felix’s eyes widened.
“Compensation? Wow……”
He shook his head as if disgusted.
“Of course. I wondered what you were going to say, but it’s this in the end? Trying to bind me with money?”
His gaze turned murderous, sharp with hostility.
“As expected of your grandfather’s bloodline. You really are despicable like that.”
At his contemptuous tone, something hot surged up inside me.
“Don’t talk about my grandfather like that—!”
My memory before the day my grandparents and parents died was strangely blurry.
But in the few memories I had, my grandfather was a very kind man.
He believed without doubt that I would live a proper noble lady’s life in a peaceful household.
Felix scoffed.
“Like what? Am I wrong? That old man shackled me with some disgusting engagement-before-birth contract before I was even born. Because of your obsession with me as your so-called fiancée, I couldn’t even enjoy a normal school life! Do you know that?!”
If he hated it that much, he should’ve refused all the help I gave him.
I was boiling with anger, but my mouth only stuttered without forming words.
The more frustrated I got, the more I froze—my habitual “pushover” behavior resurfacing again.
I even felt like I might cry, so I clenched my teeth hard.
No.
If I just stood here and got pushed around again, I would never be able to forgive myself.
‘Pipi, help me. Please!’
[Yes! “You can be a villain too ver.1” is now being executed!
Please set the level of wrongdoing!
-
Light 2. Medium 3. Strong]
Level?
What would happen if I chose “strong”?
Even while angry, I couldn’t bring myself to choose the extreme option.
‘L-let’s go with medium for now!’
The moment I chose it, my body started moving on its own.
My hand slid smoothly, and my head rested on it. A crooked, lazy pose formed as I propped my chin.
My legs crossed arrogantly to one side. It felt extremely unnatural since I had always lived properly upright, but I hoped the reception table would hide it.
Felix asked in a confused voice.
“…What is this, suddenly?”
[The villain data currently learned includes Duke Kaien Kreutz and Felix Loham, and also the “Villainess Anthology” you viewed at the library yesterday. I will generate an appropriate response based on this data!]
“Hey.”
A lazy, rough tone identical to Felix’s came out of my mouth.
“What?”
Felix’s jaw dropped.
“What did you just say? ‘Hey’?”
“Stop talking nonsense and do it by law.”
“What… what did you say?”
“Pay up. Money. Compensation. Do you not understand what compensation means because you’ve got spaghetti in your head?”
With a flick of my hand, Felix’s face twisted in shock.
“What? Hey, you’re really—”
“Pathetic is your life that lived off me. I’m just following the contract.”
“You’ve been acting so cocky since earlier—”
“What’s wrong? No money? Are you a beggar? What kind of engagement ends without money?”
“W-what did you just call me? Beggar?”
“Hey. Do you think engagement breakups are for anyone? If you broke the contract, you pay the price. Your future child is pitiful. With a father like that, tsk tsk.”
“You—! Hghk.”
Felix grabbed the back of his neck and coughed as if he were choking.
Pipi’s possessed disaster-mouth did not stop.
“At times like this, shouldn’t you go do odd jobs or something to pay compensation first? If the breakup is delayed because you’re broke……”
Ah. This moment!
I instinctively realized the next line was something I had memorized from the “Villainess Anthology” at the library yesterday.
“That child in Lorena’s belly might end up being born a bastard, you know?”
“You crazy woman!”
Felix shot up and grabbed me by the collar.
“Ugh.”
I was shocked, but since I was synchronized with Pipi, I managed not to show it.
Even though their young lady was about to be hit, the servants only looked on in shock and didn’t intervene.
Well, nothing I can do.
‘Go on, hit me. I’ll use the proof of assault to get more compensation!’
Just as I was thinking that and bracing my whole body—
“Y-young lady Frisia! Outside!”
A servant rushed in, practically rolling.
“Outside! A carriage has arrived to pick up the young lady! B-but it has the Kreutz family crest on it!”
