“……She really left?”

In romance novels, the villainess always showed her true nature when she was alone with the heroine……?

Was Helia being this careful on purpose? So that was why she was called the “Little Villainess”?

But the rumors said she had a terrible personality……?

Serina stood there with a blank expression for a long time.

As orange light slowly filled the room, Serina looked outside the window. Before she realized it, the sunset had arrived.

“Wow…… My head feels like it’s about to explode, but the sky is so pretty and orange…….”

Dinner time would be soon. That was good timing.

Maybe eating would help her organize her thoughts.

If she gave up now, she wouldn’t be Serina Eustine!

Serina clenched her fists and encouraged herself.

“……Huh? Dinner?”

Her family always ate dinner together unless something special happened.

And Helia was Lacus’s future fiancée.

So even if it wasn’t official yet, she was still basically family, right?

Serina’s thoughts became complicated.

“It’s only a matter of time before everyone finds out about Helia’s hair!”

Her hair had been long in the morning, but by evening it had suddenly become short as if by magic.

How was she supposed to explain that?

Serina desperately tried to think of excuses in her head. But nothing came to mind.

“Wait……. Is that why she didn’t say anything to me earlier? Because she knew I’d get scolded later anyway? Was she saving her energy?”

Serina imagined Helia secretly laughing at her.

“Ugh……. I won’t let things go your way!”

I should keep the toy scissors as evidence! Of course, I really did cut her hair, but—

Who would think it was intentional after seeing scissors without blades? It obviously looked like an accident.

Serina quickly put the toy scissors into her pocket.

“Miss Serina, it is dinner time. You should come downstairs now.”

Right then, Merrily arrived to escort her.

“Okay! I’m coming now!”

You can do this, Serina!

Besides, it was only a toy. How badly could she possibly get scolded?

“Hoo……”

Near the dining room, Serina quietly took a deep breath.

Then she approached the servant standing by the entrance and gestured for the door to be opened.

Creak—

The door slowly opened.

Serina walked inside with heavy steps.

Looking around, she noticed only her parents were seated.

So Brother and Princess Helia weren’t here yet.

Don’t be nervous. You decided to become a great villainess.

A villainess wouldn’t get scared over something like this. You can do it!

Serina strengthened her resolve and headed toward her seat.

But the footstool that was usually beneath her chair was missing.

The dining chairs had been made for adults. And since Serina was smaller than most children her age, she especially needed the footstool.

‘Huh?’

As Serina stood there blankly, Nereus noticed and gently lifted her onto the chair.

At that moment, the dining room door opened.

Between the doorway, white hair and golden hair briefly appeared. It was Lacus and Helia.

‘They came together?’

You’d think they were already married, not just engaged!

Serina secretly glared toward the door while making sure her parents didn’t notice.

Lacus entered first, and when it became Helia’s turn to walk in, Serina’s heart started pounding loudly.

“Eh?!”

What? How is this possible?!

Startled, Serina quickly covered her mouth.

Just a few hours ago, Helia’s hair had been cut into a short bob during their hairdresser game.

But now, she entered the room with the same long golden hair flowing behind her like always.

Without changing her expression, Helia quietly made a shushing gesture toward Serina.

“Serina, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Everyone except Helia looked confused by Serina’s reaction.

Serina hurriedly shook her head.

“I-It’s nothing! I thought I saw a huge bug, but I was mistaken!”

‘What is going on?’

Why had her hair grown back? Was there some kind of magic medicine that made hair grow quickly? As far as Serina knew, nothing like that existed.

No matter what, she suddenly felt stupid for spending all that time worrying about excuses earlier.

An empty feeling suddenly washed over her, draining all the strength from her body.

Noticing Serina’s reaction, Helia smiled gently with her eyes.

‘Stop smiling like a doll like that!’

……Huh? A doll?

Come to think of it…… She remembered reading a story once about a cursed doll.

At first it looked like an ordinary beautiful doll, but when nobody was watching, its hair would slowly grow.

And when the hair became fully grown, the owner of the doll would be cursed.

Serina suddenly remembered the scary story she had read long ago.

‘Ugh, scary!’

I don’t know what she did, but I’m not thinking about her hair anymore!

Her plans didn’t even work on the Princess anyway, so she should just be satisfied that things ended quietly.

A chill spread through Serina’s body, making her shiver.

“No! Don’t be scared!”

Wrapped tightly in her blanket and trembling, Serina suddenly sat upright.

“So what if Princess Helia isn’t human! That just means I need to stop her even more for my family’s sake! Besides, I already knew she wouldn’t be an easy opponent from the beginning!”

Serina climbed out of bed and pulled out the diary hidden deep inside her drawer.

Then she opened the page where she had written her plans.

“Huh?”

When did only the last plan remain? I thought I had made so many.

All the previous lines had already been crossed out except the final one.

At that moment, Serina was painfully reminded that every plan she had made before and after Helia arrived had completely failed.

“……No! I still haven’t done any REAL villainess actions yet! Honestly, none of this even counts as bullying!”

Serina picked up her pen and started adding details beneath the final plan.

3. When the final moment comes, the villainess stops caring about what others think and directly bullies the heroine.

→ Use my amazing powers.

Unlike other people, I have two attributes: water and wind!

And I can even use simple magic without chanting! (Though that’s a secret.)

3-1. The villainess secretly trips the heroine and laughs elegantly while she falls awkwardly.

3-2. The villainess hides or ruins the heroine’s treasured belongings.

3-3. The villainess invites the heroine to a tea party, then throws tea at her while telling her to know her place.

“Mm, perfect! If I do this much, any affection for me will completely disappear! And then she’ll probably want to leave naturally. Maybe she’ll even cancel the engagement herself?!”

Holding her diary, Serina spun around happily.

Then she jumped back onto her bed and hugged Tosoon tightly.

“Right, Tosoon? You think so too, don’t you? Yaaawn……. I’m sleepy now. Time for bed. Goodnight, Tosoon.”

That night, Serina dreamed of herself defeating Helia and laughing proudly like a true villainess.

As Serina drifted into her sweet dream world, she failed to realize something.

Her dreams and reality were always complete opposites.

“Waaah— Somehow, I think I had a really good dream today. My body feels so light!”

For once, the sleepyhead Serina started her day early in the morning.

“Down with the ‘Little Villainess’!”

After shouting confidently, Serina prepared to leave her room and investigate Helia’s daily routine.

After asking around many times, she learned that Helia always woke up early, never skipped meals, and enjoyed taking morning walks in the garden.

“If I go out now, I’ll run right into her!”

Serina headed outside to carry out her famous “Tripping” operation.

The servants were shocked to see Serina active this early in the morning, wondering if the sun had risen from the west today.

“Hmmm……. Where would she be?”

Arriving at the garden, Serina began looking around for Helia.

“She probably likes walking somewhere pretty. What’s the nicest place in our garden……?”

Then Serina remembered the emerald-colored lake beside the garden.

“She’ll definitely be there! I can secretly trip her while she’s walking back from her stroll! There are plenty of small stones near the entrance too, so even if she thinks it was me, she won’t be able to accuse me carelessly!”

Excited, Serina ran toward the lake.

Once she arrived, she spotted Helia in the distance.

“Hehe, operation start!”

As she passed by Helia, Serina quietly stretched out her foot.

But Helia casually stepped over Serina’s tiny foot with her long legs.

‘Huh? That’s not right?’

It was probably luck! She just accidentally avoided it!

The next day, and the day after that, Serina continued trying to secretly trip Helia.

But it never worked even once.

Helia either calmly walked past her expressionlessly or lightly jumped over it.

“Ugh, does this even make sense?! Does she have eyes on the back of her head or something? No matter which direction I try from, she acts completely fine!”

Serina glared at Helia’s back as she calmly walked away.

Nothing was going according to Serina’s plans, and it drove her crazy.