Holy Power for a Villainess? - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

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If I had stayed quietly locked inside my room like in the original story, I probably wouldn’t have had to attend this banquet either.

They could have continued hiding me behind rumors that I was still sick.

‘But now that things turned out this way, maybe it’s actually fortunate that I came here.’

Honestly, until seeing it with my own eyes, I had completely forgotten about that medal.

And now, the moment that medal was awarded, I could already feel the nobles’ wariness toward House Tanzeric growing even stronger. The strongest family in the Empire now possessed a pardon as well.

Everyone was probably racking their brains trying to figure out how to steal that medal away.

Like the Empress in the original story, they might try using me… or perhaps Renzard instead. Unlike Chedman, he wasn’t particularly clever.

‘To protect that medal, we need to clear up the misunderstanding surrounding Priscilla’s death as quickly as possible and unite the entire family.’

As I swore to myself never to let it be taken, the Emperor’s interested gaze landed on me.

“Now then. I heard your daughter is here as well.”

“…Yes. She is.”

Having awarded Heinox the medal, the Emperor finally revealed his true purpose.

“I heard her health was extremely frail. I hope coming all the way here was not too exhausting for her.”

“Now that I am by her side, there is no need for Your Majesty to worry.”

“Is that so?”

The Emperor’s violet eyes gleamed as he looked around the hall, and Heinox immediately grabbed one of my arms and hid me behind him.

“Why are you—”

“My daughter is very shy around strangers.”

Heinox slowly swept his gaze across the surrounding nobles.

“And that is likely because of the unpleasant looks directed at her.”

The nobles who met Heinox’s sharp blue eyes all lowered their heads at once, carefully watching his mood.

“I have heard rumors spreading about my daughter.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“Rumors no one should dare speak about the only daughter of House Tanzeric.”

Heinox’s eyes flashed coldly.

“I heard some claim she devoured her own mother.”

At Heinox’s blunt words, shocked gasps spread throughout the hall.

No one had expected him to mention the late Duchess directly.

“T-That…! Anyone daring to spread such reckless slander shall be personally punished by me!”

“Since Your Majesty says so….”

One corner of Heinox’s lips curled upward.

“I shall look forward to it.”

‘Wow, seriously….’

From behind him, I could only stare speechlessly at Heinox’s face.

‘A final boss really is a final boss.’

He hadn’t spoken much, but the coldness radiating from him alone made my entire body tremble. I looked down at my hands, realizing they were shaking without me noticing.

‘If standing behind him feels this terrifying, the people who actually made eye contact with him must feel close to fainting.’

As I silently marveled, Chedman suddenly grabbed my trembling hand.

“What are you—”

When I widened my eyes and looked up at him, Chedman raised a finger to his lips.

“Shh.”

‘He’s telling me to stay quiet?’

But I hadn’t said anything this whole time. Ah… maybe the sound of my thoughts was too loud?

I reached enlightenment and resolved to even move my eyes more quietly from now on.

There was nothing good that could come from me stepping in during a situation like this anyway.

When I nodded to show I understood, Chedman grinned briefly before hardening his expression again.

‘But what’s wrong with Renzard?’

He had been unusually quiet all day. Normally, he would’ve picked a fight with me ages ago.

‘And he looks awful too….’

Even during our last meal together, he’d looked sick somehow, but today his complexion was even worse.

‘Is he actually ill?’

I carefully scanned Renzard up and down, wondering if something was physically wrong with him, but even then he continued staring blankly ahead as though possessed.

‘Honestly, I’d rather he just annoy me like usual. Him acting like this is making me uncomfortable.’

If rumors spread that Renzard had lost his mind shortly after fighting with me, people would naturally point to me as the cause.

‘This is really troublesome. Should I try talking to him first?’

Just as I reached out toward Renzard, Heinox turned around.

“Come.”

“Ah—! Wh-what about Renza— no, my brothers?”

“The boys will mingle with the other young lords. Since there are no children your age here, stay with me.”

Then Heinox effortlessly lifted me up with one arm and sat me against it.

‘So this is all for show.’

Thanks to Heinox’s earlier words, I now understood exactly how Roxina was being treated within high society.

If rumors had spread that she “devoured her mother,” then people must already believe House Tanzeric had practically abandoned her.

Sure enough, I could see the nobles whispering at the sight of Heinox treating me far differently than expected.

“You’re light. Are you eating properly?”

“Yes.”

‘Not just meals—I eat tons of snacks too.’

I smacked my lips while thinking longingly of the pies I’d left back at home.

“Does the banquet hall make you uncomfortable?”

“A little…?”

“Who made you uncomfortable?”

He looked ready to cut someone down the instant I named them, so I hurriedly shook my head.

“No one!”

‘I don’t want to see anyone’s corpse, okay? So please don’t kill anybody.’

Fortunately, Heinox seemed to understand the desperate plea hidden in my eyes and relaxed his expression slightly.

“That’s good. If there were still fools here who failed to understand their place, I was prepared to teach them personally.”

“Haha….”

As I awkwardly avoided his gaze, Heinox suddenly raised a hand and placed it atop my head, gently patting it.

‘That startled me….’

His expression had been so indifferent that I flinched instinctively before realizing he was simply stroking my hair.

“Um… excuse me….”

As my eyes shifted awkwardly, Heinox carefully examined my face.

“Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

“No… I just called out to you.”

“I see.”

Even while nodding, Heinox continued holding me.

‘This is kind of uncomfortable.’

Maybe because Heinox had never carried a child before, the way he held me felt extremely awkward.

“Um, you can put me down now.”

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“Yes.”

Even after hearing my answer, Heinox still didn’t let go.

“Duke?”

“Ah, right.”

Only after I called him again did Heinox finally set me down.

‘Phew.’

I’d secretly been worried he might accidentally drop me, so I felt relieved the moment both feet touched the ground.

“Roxina. You are—”

“Your Grace.”

“Kain…?”

“Ah, Young Lady.”

The one who approached us was Heinox’s aide, Kain.

I often ran into him whenever I visited Heinox’s office after lessons with Dikal, so seeing a familiar face at this unbearably uncomfortable banquet made me genuinely happy.

“Kain, why are you here?”

“I am His Grace’s aide, after all. I handle scheduling and preparations, so you can assume I accompany the Duke for most official events.”

“I see….”

‘So basically a secretary.’

I suddenly felt sorry for him, having to spend every day beside a boss whose thoughts were impossible to read.

“Kain, you’re getting paid overtime properly, right?”

“Pardon?”

Kain blinked at my worried question before suddenly bursting into loud laughter.

“Ah…! Y-Yes! Hahaha. His Grace always compensates me properly, so there’s no need to worri—kgh, worry.”

“Then that’s good….”

Though confused by his sudden laughter, I still felt relieved knowing he wasn’t being exploited for labor.

“But why are you laughing?”

“Ah, well, that’s…!”

“Enough.”

Just as Kain wiped tears from the corners of his eyes and tried answering, Heinox interrupted him.

“Kain Brown. Didn’t you say you had something to report?”

Heinox’s voice was low and clearly irritated. Kain instantly erased his smile and replied seriously.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“If you interrupted us during the banquet, then I assume it’s important.”

“It is.”

When Kain nodded, Heinox briefly glanced around at the nobles who were still focused on us.

“It seems we should move elsewhere.”

Then he met my eyes and pointed toward Renzard, who still sat blankly staring into space nearby.

“Renzard is over there. If anyone harms you, tell him.”

Honestly, Renzard looked far too absent-minded to help anyone right now, but I nodded anyway.

“I’ll return shortly.”

The moment Heinox and Kain left, the noisy banquet hall suddenly fell silent.

‘What?’

Feeling an inexplicably bad premonition, I started walking toward Renzard.

Or rather, I tried to—until a group of unfamiliar girls blocked my path.

“Who are—”

“Shouldn’t you greet people before asking questions?”

‘She suddenly jumps in front of me and demands I greet her first? So I’m supposed to bow before even knowing who she is?’

As I stared silently at such absurd logic, the girl covered her mouth dramatically as though shocked.

“Oh my, has the Young Lady not even received etiquette lessons yet?”

“What are you suddenly talking about…?”

“You keep trailing off at the end of your sentences. Proper speech is the absolute basic minimum. Did the Duke not even teach you that much?”

‘You’re the one constantly interrupting me.’

Besides, wasn’t it already strange enough that a four-year-old like me could speak this clearly at all?

The girl picking a fight with me was dressed entirely in pink from head to toe.

Was she upset because my dress had a pink ribbon on it? Like pink was a color reserved exclusively for her?

Honestly, that sounded believable. Even her hair was pink.

‘If it’s really because of pink, then she’s making an enormous fuss over absolutely nothing. I’ve never seen someone act this proud over a color before.’

Still, I could afford to be generous and understanding. She looked around twelve at most.

Kids that age could be like that sometimes. I wasn’t, but maybe children here were different.

“I’m sowwy.”

“Hmph. At least you know you did something wrong.”

The girl puffed herself up proudly and raised her voice so everyone around could hear.

“Then tell me exactly what you did wrong.”

As she crossed her arms and looked down at me arrogantly, murmurs spread through the surrounding crowd.

“Even so, isn’t this a bit much? She’s still a ducal daughter….”

“Exactly. The Duke seemed quite fond of her earlier when he was carrying her around.”

“Why would he cherish the daughter who killed his wife? He’s only pretending because His Majesty is watching. On paper, she’s still his daughter after all.”

Some people pitied me, but not a single one criticized the girl’s behavior.

‘It almost feels like they’re wary of her.’

Everyone nearby carefully watched the girl’s reaction and hesitated to intervene.

‘There are only a few noble families powerful enough to make this many people nervous.’

And she wasn’t even the head of the household—just a young noble lady.

Yet no one dared stop her.

‘Was there a pink-obsessed girl like this in the original story?’

Pink hair… pink hair… pink hair…

‘Ah!’

There was one. Though she barely appeared in the story, her background was memorable.

‘Pleury Akarins.’

The only daughter of Count Akarins and the Empress’s niece. In the original story, she constantly acted arrogantly because she relied on the Empress’s backing.

‘Wasn’t she the one who aggressively chased after the Second Prince—the Emperor’s illegitimate son—and got brutally rejected?’

Afterward, Pleury threw a massive tantrum, screaming that she could never forgive someone for humiliating her.

She acted pitiful in front of the Empress so persistently that, in the end, the Second Prince was falsely accused of attempted assault and imprisoned in the tower forever.

‘Now that I think about it, Pleury was completely insane too.’

Even if they weren’t blood-related directly, the Second Prince was still her cousin legally.

Yet not only did she obsessively follow him around, she even framed him for assault afterward.

‘I already disliked her while reading the novel, but seeing her in person is even worse.’

As I slowly looked her up and down, Pleury frowned deeply, clearly offended.

“Are you ignoring what I’m saying right now? How unbelievably rude!”

“I don’t even know who you are, so how am I supposed to greet you?”