I Have Become a Beautiful Trash Villainess

“I want my brother-in-law.”

 

“……”

 

The woman who casually made such a crazy remark was smiling brightly. Her expression was so nonchalant that one might think she was merely commenting on the weather.

 

“……Say that again.”

 

“Sister, don’t look at me like that. It’s too much. I mustered up all my courage to say this, so why do you keep pretending not to hear me?”

 

“……”

 

This was beyond imagination—she must have lost her mind.

 

Was this a novel or a soap opera?

 

“Should I keep listening to your nonsense, then?”

 

“You’re going to get a divorce anyway.”

 

“Then just stay quiet until I’m done with him and then pick him up. Why do you have to tell me about it? There’s something called decency, you know.”

 

Had every moral principle in the world frozen to death?

 

There couldn’t be a bigger contradiction than this. What on earth was the novel doing, not revealing this character trait of hers earlier? At this point, it felt like Attila might not have turned to black magic willingly; perhaps the heroine had driven her to it.

 

“Do you know why His Majesty acknowledged me?”

 

Luna, who had taken a sip of her coffee, continued,

 

“Given the escalating conflicts with neighboring countries, he probably thought it would be wise to have an unmarried daughter on hand, just in case.”

 

“……”

 

While the actual reason for the Emperor’s acknowledgement of Luna was different, what the latter had just said might not be entirely unfounded. So, I decided to just silently listen to her words for now.

 

“My mother worked in a brothel before becoming a priestess. I’m not ashamed of it, but I know people of high standing feel differently. I also understand that there are no royals or nobles who would ever treat a commoner like me as a true princess.”

 

“Half a commoner, you mean?” I interjected.

 

She smiled and nodded.

 

“Yes, that’s right. At least the Marquis seemed to be a man who knows how to show respect.”

 

“…….”

 

“If I marry Marquis Listane, I won’t have to go to another country. In fact, his residence is close to where my mother lives. It’s a perfect match in many ways, except for the fact that he’s already married.”

 

“That’s why you’re telling me all this nonsense.”

 

This was a far cry from the romantic tone of the original story. My head felt a bit fuzzy, but honestly, this was all irrelevant to me.

 

“Unfortunately, you’ve got it wrong. I don’t want to get involved in any love affairs, and I don’t care about your circumstances. So don’t think about asking me for anything; just handle it yourself.”

 

Leaving the untouched coffee behind, I stood up.

 

As I glanced back for a moment, Luna lifted her gaze from the discarded cup to meet mine. There was an inexplicable look of pity in her deep, blue eyes.

 

“I thought you would be the complete opposite of me,” she stated.

 

“……”

 

“But after seeing you in person, I think you and I are pretty similar.”

 

…Was that an insult?

 

Feeling that her words weren’t worth responding to, I walked away. I valued my time too much to discuss Evandel with someone as crazy as her.

 

Luna’s actions reminded me once again that this damn novel had too many weirdos in it.

.

.

.

“What’s the second princess like?” Mary asked as I sat by the window, lost in thought.

 

And without hesitation, the answer jumped out of my mouth:

 

“A lunatic.”

 

“…Pardon?”

 

“She’s completely insane! Like, on another level.”

 

“Ah…”

 

Perhaps thinking I had some kind of feud with Luna, Mary didn’t press further. But I knew that whatever she was imagining would likely be far from the truth. Either way, I didn’t want to talk about the female lead anymore, so I remained silent as well.

 

To be honest, I was still in a state of shock. To think the heroine’s true nature was that. Not even an angel’s editing could hide it.

 

Then, my gaze suddenly drifted below the window. Something unfamiliar stood out amidst the familiar scenery.

 

Blue hair, glowing even more brilliantly under the sunlight.

 

“Why is she still sitting there?”

 

Seeing Luna still seated at the same table as before, I belatedly realized that my room faced the same direction as the courtyard.

 

Just as I was watching her, sitting motionless like a plant, curious about what she might be thinking, she suddenly broke into a bright smile and abruptly stood up.

 

“Oh, it’s Van.”

 

She stopped Evandel, who was passing through the courtyard, and began chatting animatedly with him. Before I knew it, even Evandel’s usually stern face had softened.

 

Luna, as if she had so much to talk about, managed to pull him over to the tea table. Then she called for a servant and gave some instructions—likely to bring some refreshments or a fresh pot of coffee.

 

The two of them talked endlessly, and while Luna’s smiling was now habitual, Evandel’s, who usually had a face as cold as the northern winds, which now seemed to have found spring, was quite shocking.

 

“Well, would you look at that? They’re having a great time,” I mused.

 

He’s enjoying himself, isn’t he? The guy who only knows how to scowl at his wife.

 

The fingernail I was biting broke off with a crunch. For some unknown reason, my heart began to race anxiously, and my blood pressure started to rise.

 

An unclear anger simmered within me, and it wasn’t until I tasted blood that I realized I’d been biting my bottom lip hard enough to make it bleed.

 

“…What’s wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?” Mary asked as I abruptly jumped to my feet.

 

I shook my head vaguely as I began pacing by the window. I didn’t want to see those two, yet I felt anxious about missing anything that was happening between them.

 

Why? Why was I so concerned about this?

 

I hadn’t felt this way when Estra was around.

 

If they ended up together, it would be a good thing for me. I’d finally get the divorce I’d long desired and become a free woman. Wasn’t that why I’d been waiting for the female lead to appear all this time?

 

“Damn that Attila.”

 

This couldn’t possibly be my own emotions; It was undeniable the feelings of the deceased Attila directly or indirectly affecting me. It felt like someone had sucked all the air out of the room, making it hard to breathe.

 

I used the excuse of needing a nap to send Mary away and collapsed on the bed.

 

But even after I’d long since removed those two from my sight, I still felt on edge, like a porcupine bristling in self-defense.

 

These unfamiliar emotions were incredibly disconcerting.

 

“Am I really going to end up using black magic like in the novel?”

 

Although it was a casual remark, it remained a fairly valid question.

 

If my feelings, following Luna’s appearance, were flowing according to the original storyline, then my predicted ending could also follow suit.

 

Come to think of it, when did the original Attila acquire black magic?

 

“Surely she hasn’t gotten it already?”

 

As I muttered that, I reached out my hand toward the window on a whim.

 

Incredibly, an unknown energy swirled around my hand, then suddenly shot out toward the windowpane.

 

Crash!!!

 

The window frame broke, and the glass shattered into pieces.

 

“I was just saying that as a joke…” I gasped, slowly retracting my arm and looking at my palm.

 

Did I just shoot a blast of energy?

 

“This can’t be right,” I mumbled as I stared at the shards of broken flowerpots on the floor.

 

With the window now completely shattered, the small pots that had been resting on the windowsill had fallen, and they looked utterly terrible. 

 

They had been lush and vibrant just a moment ago, but now they were dried out and brittle, as if completely drained of their vitality.

 

In other words, that power from earlier was definitely black magic.

 

“Attila, you crazy woman…,” I groaned, clutching my head.

 

Black magic was strictly forbidden in the Tribon Empire. Not only did it require life force every time you’d use it, it could also only be obtained in the first place by those who met a certain condition.

 

And that condition was murder. This was why it’s hard to find a country where black magic was legal.

 

“Who on earth did you kill…?”

 

Chills ran down my spine. 

 

Setting aside the imperial law that punished dark magicians with execution, the use of black magic itself carried enormous risks for the mages. After all, Attila had met her end by being consumed by her own magic in the original story.

 

“Damn it,” I cursed.

 

The death flag I thought I could avoid had reappeared. Now, I found myself in a situation where I had to worry not only about divorce but also about staying alive.

***

 

Volume 3 conclusion: Wicked Beauty

 

“Waaaah!”

 

The duchy resounded with the cries of the young lady, whose wailing was so intense that Emily felt utterly drained from trying to console her.

 

Estra Danyork had suffered burns on her limbs and lost part of her hair, all because the wicked princess had threatened her with a dragon.

 

Fortunately, the knight commander had been nearby to subdue the dragon, or else this could have been a catastrophic event resulting in the loss of the only daughter of the Danyork family.

 

Though she avoided critical injuries, the Duke of Danyork was enraged upon learning that his precious daughter had been harmed.

 

Even so, the punishment for the royal assailant, a member of the imperial family, could only amount to house arrest, much to their frustration. However, it was decided that the dragon, as vicious as its master, would be sealed away for the time being.

 

Though the outcome wasn’t entirely satisfying, it was a result they could grudgingly accept.

 

“Why did you provoke Her Highness the Princess? You know full well what her temper is like,” Emily scolded Estra in frustration. 

 

But the young lady’s response to her words was utterly absurd;

 

“She’s always sulking with that pretty face of hers. Getting angry makes her complexion glow, and it makes her even prettier!”

 

“……”

 

How did I end up raising such a little deviant?

 

Emily, Estra’s nanny, felt utterly exasperated and began questioning where she’d gone wrong.

 

“Waaaah! That awful girl! No matter how angry she was, how could she throw me to a dragon!”

 

When Emily started to apply ointment to Estra’s burns, the sting made her cry even louder. Sighing deeply, the nanny tried to distract her with some conversation.

 

“Let me guess, you said something about Sir Evandel Listane again?”

 

“Of course! If I didn’t bring him up, she wouldn’t have even bother to respond.”

 

“…What did you say to her this time?”

 

While there had been countless arguments between the two of them before, this was the first time the princess had crossed the line to the point of causing physical harm. 

 

Emily couldn’t help but wonder what Estra could have said to hit such a nerve.

 

“I didn’t say anything special! I just mentioned that Sir Evandel is now in a position where he can freely choose who he will marry and that he probably wouldn’t bother marrying someone with such a bad temper like hers. It wasn’t even that different from what I usually say…”

 

“Well, it doesn’t sound particularly worse than usual,” Emily agreed.

 

As she closed the ointment jar, Emily, still pondering, casually asked, “Could it be that Her Highness got rejected by Sir Evandel right before she saw you? I mean, he did run straight over the moment the dragon went berserk. If he was nearby, they might’ve met just before that.”

 

“What?!” Estra, forgetting about her pain for a minute, shouted, “Who does he think he is to dare reject the princess?”

 

“…Didn’t you just say he’s in a position to freely choose whoever he wants now? He is the Slayer, after all.”

 

“The Slayer, my foot. Attila is the prettiest girl in the whole world! Who does he think he is to reject her?”

“……”

 

Good grief, this hopeless fool; Emily sighed, deciding to drop the conversation altogether. 

 

She could only hope that her young lady would someday learn how to care for her friends in a less eccentric way.