She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 95
Idel nodded slightly with a crumpled expression after hearing Vilred’s words.
The unpleasant sweetness of the potion lingered in her mouth. She took a sip of the tea placed on the table before letting out a small sigh.
“Yeah, I’m not sure if I can really say I met him. I just caught a glimpse of him while waiting for the Duchess.”
“At the Imperial Palace?”
“More precisely, in the Imperial Palace library.”
After the mourning period for the former Crown Prince ended, the royal family made a grand introduction of their hidden son, Sigmund.
This was partly to soothe the anxious citizens of the Empire due to the absence of a successor and also to prevent any rumors circulating among the nobility.
Naturally, the Empire was once again plunged into shock.
‘There was another rising sun in the Empire!’
Since the royal family confirmed it with the temple, Sigmund was able to easily reclaim his identity.
Of course, even after regaining his identity, it was rare for Sigmund to appear in public.
Although he was already of an age to debut in high society, he couldn’t step forward due to not having been educated as royalty.
In fact, for a while, most of the notes Idel received from Sigmund were complaints about this very issue.
[Is it right to make me sleep for three hours?]
[They make me practice dancing way too much. No matter how much the peacock flaps its wings, it’s still the same.]
[They don’t even let me eat in peace, damn it.]
[Hey, I can’t take it anymore. I’m going to study black magic to bring the Crown Prince back to life.]
‘Thank goodness Vilred removed the word limit.’
If she could only write words on notes like before, Idel’s room would have been filled with them by now.
[Hey. Here. #$&%]
[Dancing. Is. Damn. Tough.]
Well, there must have been dozens of such notes.
‘Or maybe a flood of meaningless curses.’
Anyway, the reason Idel was able to meet Sigmund directly this time was simply due to luck.
‘After all, the destination that day wasn’t even the Imperial Palace, right?’
On her birthday this year, Idel would make her debut in high society at the age of 10.
Although she still had a long way to go before her coming-of-age ceremony, being able to show her face in society held great significance in the Empire.
At least enough for the duchess to personally visit the Valianna Tailoring Shop and suggest looking at all kinds of fabrics and designs.
This outing was also aimed at the tailoring shop. It was just that they stopped by the Imperial Palace library on the way back to the Duke’s household.
‘The Empress is hosting a reading meeting for noblewomen, and I heard she wanted to confirm something in person?’
Just as she was picturing Sigmund, biting his lip while choosing books next to a scholar who looked like a teacher, a small vibration accompanied by a “thump” came from the crow artifact, and a note popped out.
‘Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.’
With a deflated smile, Idel unfolded the note, and her eyes widened in surprise.
She had expected it to be filled with complaints as usual, but that wasn’t the case.
[Hey, these days the teacher keeps mentioning joint classes, but why are all the students he’s bringing forward girls?]
[My instincts are telling me this is really bad. If I had known something this ridiculous would happen, I should have been warned.]
…The royal family is suggesting joint classes for Sigmund? And only selecting noble ladies?
A hint of complexity mixed in Idel’s expression. Noticing her subtly changed demeanor, Vilred, who was organizing potions and magical tools, finally spoke up.
“What’s wrong? Is there something going on with Sigmund?”
“Um… not really.”
With no way to explain, Idel handed the note to Vilred.
As he received the note without much thought, Vilred’s eyes gradually widened.
“…Already? The coming-of-age ceremony is still quite a while away. Is this customary among nobles?”
“I’m not sure; it’s my first time dealing with nobles too.”
“Ah, right.”
Only then did Vilred realize that the one he had questioned was just over 10 years old. Since they communicated so well, there were times he would get confused like this.
After a moment of contemplation, Idel began to write down a more detailed question but quickly crossed it out. This was because a knock was heard from the closed door.
“Just a moment, Lady Idel! I’ll check who it is.”
Diane, now her direct maid, rushed to the door to find out who the visitor was.
It was quite rare for a commoner like Diane to become a direct maid, but no one from the Duke’s household opposed it.
To be precise, they couldn’t oppose it. When the incident occurred with Idel, Diane was the only servant who stayed by her side.
After confirming the visitor, Diane politely greeted them and turned her body towards Idel.
“Lady Idel, the Duchess has arrived.”
“Oh, please show her in.”
“Yes!”
The duchess entered through the open door, greeting them briefly with a smile.
Her elegantly styled light brown hair and softly glowing purple eyes harmonized beautifully with the afternoon sunlight. She resembled Gianna quite a bit.
“Ah, I see you were having tea time. It’s a nice time for tea. Diane, could I have a cup as well?”
“I’ll prepare it right away!”
With a spirited response, Diane quickly brewed the tea. She had been trained directly by Sylvia, showing impeccable posture.
‘Now that I think about it, the trembling figure from when we first met is no longer there.’
As Idel pondered while looking at Diane, the duchess tucked a stray hair behind her ear and spoke again.
“I brought a few sketches from the tailoring shop I visited recently. The tailor said he would explain, but I just brought the sketches myself. It’s easier to discuss this way, and I think it’ll be much more convenient.”
After all, even if someone explained at length next to her, Idel would only understand about half of it anyway.
‘But I can’t interrupt in the middle.’
This was clearly an act of consideration for her. Idel nodded slightly, as if agreeing with the Duchess’s words.
“Well, it’s not bad.”
“Right? It was much more enjoyable to choose like this during Gianna’s time. There are about ten sketches, so let’s take a look at them one by one.”
Idel’s gaze landed on Rowena, who was fluttering the paper with her fingers. Her demeanor had become much more natural than it had been three years ago, catching Idel’s attention.
‘This must be the third change.’
The relationship between Duke Clementine and the Duchess was quite awkward with Idel. Both the Duke and Duchess had been burdened with guilt over their negligence, and Idel had hesitated to approach them because of Melisa.
‘In fact, Melisa constantly tested me as well.’
Melisa was truly relentless.
Although she didn’t explicitly tell the servants to harass or cause a ruckus, she often made unreasonable demands.
‘I was horrified when she told me to steal a document from the Duke’s office, seriously.’
It was like asking a child to commit theft.
The reason was easy to understand without being stated.
‘One was to make me engage in immoral acts often so that I would become desensitized to such things.’
That way, I wouldn’t tremble or hesitate at orders to kill the Duke.
‘Still, I feel like murder is a separate matter… Who knows what goes on in that crazy person’s head?’
And the second reason was…
‘She just has a paranoia that constantly tests loyalty. Even with so many devices in place, she still doesn’t trust anyone.’
It was a childish demand of wanting to know how far I would go for her.
This is why people say it’s a blessing for puberty to come at the right time.
If one doesn’t go through a normal developmental process, there will be those who, like Melisa, end up losing their minds somewhere.
Idel, who had cynically cursed Melisa, briefly recalled the day when the situation had changed.
‘Was it about six months ago…?’
Suddenly, Melisa had called for her.
* * *
– Knock, knock
The sound of knocking echoed in the hallway late at night. At a time when everyone was asleep, the person knocking at the door was none other than Idel.
It was a scene quite similar to when she had visited Melisa before the banquet incident. The difference was that Idel, standing at the door, was not in a state of anxiety…
“Idel, thanks for coming.”
The one who called her was Melisa.
“Uh-huh, no problem, Mom. I’m just happy to see you…!”
“Is that so? I’m glad.”
Upon hearing Melisa’s insincere reply, Idel consciously forced a brighter smile. She thought it would help conceal her true feelings.
But that didn’t last long.
The moment she heard Melisa’s next words, Idel realized just how much one person could provoke another’s anger.
“But, Idel, it’s about time you started to fix your reliance on just your mother.”
