Chapter 4

The door burst open.

Behind Aura and Nereus, the servants gathered one by one.

“Goodness, Serina! What do you think you’re doing? Are you really going to keep acting like this?”

Aura stared at the destroyed library in shock. Even Nereus, who rarely showed his emotions, looked somewhat stiff with surprise.

Serina took one step back at their stronger reaction than she expected. Then she accidentally stepped on the painting she had arranged to look thrown.

Serina looked around at the place where she stood. It was messy, as if a storm had swept through it.

Looking closely, even the book she had thrown with magic had one crushed corner.

‘…Wow. It really looks like I completely trashed the place.’

Well, that had been her intention. The scale had just become bigger than expected.

As her parents walked toward her, Serina avoided their eyes.

“Yesterday I let it pass, but this time I can’t. No matter how much you dislike it, how could you throw things around?”

Aura grabbed both of Serina’s shoulders with a deeply troubled expression.

Serina was afraid of what would happen next, but after taking a deep breath, she finally spoke.

“I didn’t want to do this either. But nobody listened to me. This was my own way of expressing myself.”

Serina quickly turned her head away. It looked like she was sulking, but in truth, she was scared to look at her angry parents’ faces.

As silence filled the heavy atmosphere, Serina carefully spoke again.

“I hate the engagement already… but I hate the fact that the other person is the Imperial Princess even more! Of all people, why does it have to be the Little Villainess?!”

“Serina, calling the Imperial Princess a villainess? Watch your words.”

“But people call her that! That’s how the world sees her. Then how can you make her Brother’s fiancée?”

“Serina! Just because the world says something doesn’t mean it’s right.”

Aura scolded her sternly once again. At that moment, Nereus gently removed Aura’s hands from Serina’s shoulders.

‘Right. Even if Mother won’t listen, I thought Father would after I went this far.’

With hopeful eyes, Serina turned to look at Nereus.

“I overlooked your behavior because you were acting spoiled, but this time I can’t. Serina, I’m disappointed.”

His expression and voice were the same as always, yet they felt different. The warmth was gone, replaced by coldness.

“You must take responsibility for what you did yourself. Don’t expect help from others. Clean this up on your own. And spend the rest of today reflecting in your room.”

‘Father said he’s disappointed in me?’

Unlike before, Serina tightly shut her mouth and only blinked her eyes.

“Check whether Serina cleaned everything properly and report back.”

Nereus gestured toward the servants. Soon everyone left, leaving Serina alone.

“…Meanie. I know I shouldn’t do things like this either. But I really hate this.”

Of course, she had expected to be scolded before doing this, but seeing Nereus like this for the first time made her chest tighten painfully.

“And honestly, I only threw one book… this feels a little unfair.”

Sigh. Who would’ve known I had talent for dramatic staging?

Grumbling quietly, Serina used magic to clean everything up.

After finishing and leaving the library, she kicked the hallway floor for no reason.

At that moment, she heard voices from somewhere nearby. Maron was chatting cheerfully with the other servants.

“I never expected someone even worse than the first villainess to appear.”

“Exactly! I seriously never imagined it! I thought she was the final boss, but there was an even more evil person left.”

“The first girl is nothing compared to the one who appeared later. Ahh, sometimes I feel jealous of villainesses.”

“Well, I guess I’m jealous of how they do whatever they want.”

The word “villainess” caught Serina’s attention.

‘A villainess even worse than another villainess?’

If I become an even worse villainess than the Little Villainess, maybe I can chase her away?

I should go ask what they’re talking about!

* * *

‘Huh?’

A small round head. Hair tied upward like cat ears.

Before anyone noticed, Miss Serina had squeezed herself between the servants.

Pfft. Maron could not hold back her laughter and called out to her.

“Miss Serina?”

The servants quickly stepped aside after noticing her.

Serina gestured for Maron to come closer. To match her height, Maron bent down slightly.

“Hey. What were you talking about just now? A villainess worse than another villainess?”

Serina whispered quietly as if sharing a secret.

“Oh my, you heard us?”

“Yeah. It sounded interesting, so tell me too.”

“We were talking about romance novels. Villainesses are popular these days.”

“A villainess in a romance novel?”

Maron hummed thoughtfully before making a shh gesture.

“If you’re interested, should I lend you one? But you have to keep it a secret from Merrily. Otherwise I’ll get scolded.”

“Of course. Don’t worry! I’m really good at keeping secrets! Here, promise!”

Serina nodded repeatedly and held out her pinky finger. Maron hooked her finger with Serina’s.

As Maron headed toward her room to bring the books, she burst into laughter again.

‘Looks like I found an adorable romance novel companion.’

* * *

“Since I can’t leave my room all day anyway, maybe I should read the novel Maron lent me.”

Serina picked up the romance novel Maron had left on the table and crawled under the blanket.

“Wow. They really go this far?”

Each page brought even more exciting developments. Unlike the fairy tales she usually read, it was filled with stimulating content.

Before she realized it, Serina had completely forgotten her original purpose and simply enjoyed the novel while eating caramel candies one by one.

She became so absorbed that by the time she came back to her senses, the sun had already set.

“Ah, right. I was reading this to study villainesses. I accidentally ended up enjoying it.”

Serina climbed out of bed and took out her diary. To avoid forgetting what she had just read, she began drawing a mind map.

From the large title “Villainess,” many smaller branches spread across the paper.

Even then, there was still plenty of empty space left. Serina decided she needed more reference material.

“I should borrow more romance novels with villainesses from Maron!”

It’s definitely not because I enjoyed them. It’s for studying purposes.

I need to learn more about villainesses so I can act perfectly!

Serina quickly added excuses in her mind.

The next morning.

For some reason, only Maron came to the room today. Thinking the timing was perfect, Serina quickly walked over to her.

“Maron, I already finished the book you recommended yesterday. It was super, super fun! Can you lend me more similar ones?”

Holding onto the edge of Maron’s skirt with one hand and returning the novel with the other, Serina asked eagerly.

“Oh my. Of course! It seems villainesses suit your taste. I absolutely love that genre too. Honestly, I’m tired of Cinderella stories now. Luckily, my room is filled with those novels. If you allow me, I’ll bring them right away!”

Unable to hide her excitement, Maron chattered nonstop.

Not long after getting permission, Maron returned carrying a huge pile of novels.

“This one has several villainesses like the novel from yesterday, and this one has a villainess as the main character. And this one…”

Maron explained each book one by one.

Just like a true romance novel fanatic, she had brought many different types of villainesses without repeating the same style.

Serina stared at the books with sparkling eyes and reacted passionately.

“Maron, thank you! I’ll read them quickly and return them!”

“There’s no need to hurry. I’ve already read all of them anyway.”

Maron giggled while watching Serina.

Then a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

‘If Miss Serina were a romance novel character, she’d probably be the cheerful sunshine-type heroine.’

Pushing away the random thought, Maron finished her work and returned to her room.

‘Hmmmm….’

Serina carefully thought about which book to read first.

If the first story was too intense, she felt the others might not feel as exciting afterward.

“Today I absolutely can’t forget!”

The reason I’m reading these novels is to study how to act like a villainess!

“Practice should feel like the real thing!”

Serina lightly slapped both cheeks and burned with determination.

“This is all your fault for not knowing your place and stealing what belongs to me, understand?”

Serina even used magic to create temporary props shaped like needed objects while carefully copying the actions of villainesses bullying the heroine.

And so, Serina fully immersed herself in reading while imagining herself as a villainess.

* * *

“Serina has been unusually quiet lately.”

“I think it’s about time we bring Helia here. Thinking about her being alone in that place makes me uneasy.”

Aura recalled her first meeting with Helia.

Several months ago, permission from the Emperor had finally been granted, allowing them to meet Helia.

The Helia they met was shockingly frail and shabby despite being an Imperial Princess.

Hiding her shock, Aura carefully greeted her.

“Princess Helia. We were close friends of your mother, Lady Irenis. We truly wanted to meet you.”

“……”

A child who had hidden both her name and gender since birth according to her mother’s wishes.

That child showed no reaction at all, like a broken doll.

To survive in the Imperial Palace, the method the child had chosen was silence.

Aura could not stop thinking that they should have visited sooner.

The child left behind by her precious friend and younger sister figure, Irenis… a child the same age as her own son… had been enduring such suffering.

Guilt and sorrow crashed over her like waves. Her chest ached painfully.

Starting the next day, she began bringing Lacus along for Helia’s sake so she would not remain alone.

“Lady Aura, hello. Thank you for visiting every time. And thank you too, Lacus.”

As Helia spent more time with Lacus, her expressions gradually became richer.

Since Lacus was the only child her age she could meet, Helia slowly started becoming similar to him. That part was slightly unfortunate, but Aura still liked it.

Because the child was slowly becoming brighter.

However, there was one thing Aura disliked.

Helia’s situation itself.

The environment surrounding the child had not improved at all.

That was why Aura discussed things with Nereus and decided to bring Helia out of the Imperial Palace under the excuse of an engagement with Lacus.

After all, the Emperor was indifferent toward Helia and desired the power of the South.

But then, an unexpected obstacle appeared.

“I hate Brother’s engagement. And the other person is Princess Helia too! I absolutely oppose it!”

Serina disliked both Lacus’s engagement and Helia herself.

However, they could not reveal that the engagement was fake. Matters of adults were not something children should carry.

And if the truth were ever leaked, even Lacus and Serina could end up in danger.

The Empress was that kind of person.

That was why they needed to bring Helia over and protect her as soon as possible.

“Oliver, bring Serina here. We can’t delay this any longer.”

Aura gave the order to Oliver.