She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a ridiculous Novel

 

The news that Idel had been given the Clementine surname and that the former Countess Lopez had been allowed to stay at the duchy spread quickly.

And simultaneously, unfavorable rumors about Idel began to circulate.

 

‘Oh my, did she really call the duke ‘father’ as if she had been waiting for it? And didn’t she question the duchess, ‘How can we be family?’’

‘Furthermore, they claim that the child is already acting rudely towards the servants. It’s giving me chills!’

 

As someone who had been struggling to accumulate misdeeds within reasonable limits, it was quite exciting for Idel.

 

‘Everything is going according to plan.’

 

Lately, she had noticed the mansion servants subtly avoiding her.

Perhaps because they had become accustomed to it, the maid who handed her the ointment, also known as ‘Diane,’ seemed to call her more often than necessary.

 

‘Oh, I should be thankful to the duke too.’

 

A few days ago, Melisa gestured for her to spill the soup at the dining table. And the duke ordered her to repent in the annex for that, making Idel’s days very comfortable.

 

‘He said not to meet anyone except the servants.’

 

In other words, the duke not only responded as Melisa wanted, but he also gave Idel a kind of holiday.

 

‘I’ll definitely repay this favor with my life. Duke.’

 

Idel opened her notebook under the tree with a heart as full as a squirrel storing acorns.

Some of the contents her sister had written in her book review came to her mind the day she moved to the annex.

 

[The scene where the heroine Gianna leaves the annex garden through a hole and meets the male protagonist Dante…]

[Author. You are such a pervert! I thought Melisa was the end, but did you leave another villain to torment the heroine separately? And that villain turns out to be a prince with a dark past from the ‘Raven’s Nest’ and an apprentice of a dark mage? Isn’t that too much of a setup? He was supposed to be reborn through love for the female lead, but then he gets obsessed with ‘that incident’ and goes on a rampage…]

 

An apprentice to a black mage. And the ‘Raven’s Nest’.

The words she had previously brushed off took on a different meaning for her now that she has lived here.

 

‘The Back Alley, also known as the Raven’s Nest, has a reputation for black magic.’

 

Idel pondered deeply.

 

‘Gianna, the heroine, is still only eight years old. As a result, the villain and his master must still be in the Raven’s Nest. If he’s a black mage, he might have experience with curses.’

 

She couldn’t be sure, but those two were the only straws Idel could grasp to unravel the curse. Her situation didn’t allow for exploring new methods from scratch.

 

‘But what new methods? Finding a way out of this house is already a challenge.’

 

As she scratched her chin, contemplating possible locations for a hole, she suddenly exclaimed,

 

“Wow, I found it!”

“Eek!”

 

A small head popped out of the bushes. Startled, Idel instinctively covered her mouth with both hands as she faced the unexpected visitor.

The person who suddenly appeared was none other than the original heroine of this ridiculous world.

 

“Hiccup!”

“Oh, how, I mean, sorry! Is it me, did I startle you?”

 

As Idel recovered from her shock, Gianna, wide-eyed and concerned, quickly approached her.

Her light brown hair, resembling a golden field, and sky-blue eyes filled Idel’s vision. Even her peachy cheeks seemed to glow.

For the first time, Idel met Gianna up close and understood why her sister praised the protagonist in her book review.

 

‘…I don’t understand why she’s like this.’

 

Idel quietly observed the girl in front of her. She looked like she’d just come from the woods.

Her hair, neatly combed by the servants every morning, now resembled a bird’s nest, and the clothes she was wearing were definitely not suitable for a noble’s daughter.

 

‘No, it’s not just the clothes. When I first came to the mansion, she was with us. She must have seen how hard it was for her mom and dad because of me and Melisa…’

 

Why did she come here? Did she come here to seek revenge?

However, her smile seemed too innocent for that.

 

“You, um, ‘Hiccup’! Don’t you know who I am, Hiccup!”

 

Feeling a bit flustered, Idel sharply questioned Gianna. Although her pronunciation was slightly muffled as she covered her mouth, it was understandable.

 

“Yeah? I know! You’re my little sister. Mom said we’d meet in a few days, but since you didn’t come, I decided to look for you. By the way, you have a lot of hiccups. What should we do? Does it hurt?”

“Hiccups!”

 

Idel bit her lip tightly, seeing genuine concern in Gianna’s eyes with no trace of resentment.

Seeing Idel’s uncertain expression, Gianna smirked mischievously and let out a suppressed chuckle.

 

“Don’t worry too much. I was a little upset at first too, but before I went to bed, the stars gave me an answer. And they said you might be my gift. Actually, I always wanted a little sister.”

 

Idel rolled her eyes briefly at the whispering-like gesture.

Indeed, her concerns were not unfounded. Gianna belonged to the kind that made her heart infinitely weak. A person who tries to believe in the good side, like the unknown person she owed her life to in a past life.

 

‘…No. I should keep my distance even more.’

 

Even if she planned to reveal the truth after saving the Duke, until then, all she could show was her evil side.

Furthermore, what if she stayed by her side and faced Melisa’s retaliation?

Idel frowned slightly before sternly retorting.

 

“Who’s your little sister? Hiccup! Don’t come any closer, because you’re dirty. And don’t touch me.”

“Oh, right, sorry! Am I dirty? Actually, I lied about playing in the greenhouse and switched clothes with Jacob.”

“What? Then he’s…”

“Well…”

 

Gianna didn’t answer, but her playful smile and wrinkled nose said it all.

Though she almost burst into laughter at the thought of a guy in a noblewoman’s dress, Idel managed to restrain herself and kept a straight face.

 

“Phew… Ahem!”

“Ah, the hiccups stopped!”

 

Gianna responded with a slight smile, quickly changing the subject as she rolled her eyes playfully.

 

“Anyway, I guess I got a little messy since I didn’t come here the usual way. If you go straight ahead from here, there are statues, and if you go past the sixth statue and push through the berry bushes, you’ll find a shortcut!”

 

Wait a minute. Could it be…?

 

“A shortcut?”

“Yeah, it’s connected to the back hill of the duke’s estate. It’s my secret hideout.”

 

I found it—the hole in the book review!

 

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean to say that! What I wanted to say was that the dirt and leaves on my body are just soil and tree leaves. It shouldn’t smell. Do I… smell? No, right?”

 

Smell? So what if there’s a bit of a smell? She just solved her problem, which could have taken days!

Idel suppressed her rising joy and coughed softly.

Then, with a stern expression, she glanced at her and cleared her throat.

 

“Do you know dirt isn’t clean? Twigs and leaves are stuck to your hair. What if there are bugs in there? I want to leave.”

“Wait, wait! I’ll clean up quickly. So, please don’t go, okay?”

 

Seemingly so flustered that she even forgot not to grab her, Gianna tightly held Idel’s wrist with her small hand.

After hesitantly twisting her wrist and realizing her mistake, Gianna quickly ran her other hand through her own hair.

However, would leaves and twigs fall off just by shaking them? It would only mess up her hair more.

Idel, who had been silently observing Gianna, hesitated for a moment.

 

‘Now’s the ideal time to push her away and scold her harshly.’

 

But seeing her determined grip and the gaze that seemed to scrutinize her, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

 

‘…Is pushing her away too harsh? I might as well act like I’m annoyed.’

 

If she said enough rude things, she could buy herself some time to fix her hair.

Idel sighed, as if to make a point, and reprimanded Gianna sternly.

 

“Are you an idiot? Hey, don’t move; stay still.”

“Huh? Ugh!”

 

Idel lifted her heel to try to remove the things still clinging to her hair.

The problem was that she still couldn’t reach the leaves near her forehead.

This was an issue caused by her small stature for her age. Giving up on removing them, she raised one eyebrow and set the notebook she was holding down on the ground.

 

“Sigh… annoying.”

“Sorry…….”

 

Ignoring Gianna’s apology effortlessly, Idel stepped on the notebook and reached out again.

She felt as though she could almost touch it, so she leaned her body a little further. But at that moment, her foot slipped on the smooth cover of the notebook.

 

“Ouch!”

“Eek!”

 

In the next instant, Idel fell on top of Gianna. It was inevitable that Gianna, unable to bear Idel’s weight, fell over as well.

A short scream from both of them echoed through the garden, followed by a dull thud.

 

“Ugh…….”

 

Idel was the first to regain her senses.

She quickly lifted her upper body and grabbed Gianna’s shoulders as she heard her faint groans from below.

 

“Hey, hey, are you okay?”

 

Even though their bodies were still entangled, Idel didn’t give it much thought.

Her mind was filled with worries about whether Gianna had hurt her head.

Though the ground was covered in dirt and grass, what if she had hit the back of her head directly on the ground?

 

“Ow… Ugh, I’m, I’m fine.”

“Really? Your head? Are you feeling dizzy or anything?”

 

Forgetting that she needed to keep up the act, Idel raised her hand to check the back of Gianna’s head.

 

“Miss Gianna!”

 

Several footsteps were heard from one side of the garden, and both Idel’s and Gianna’s heads turned in the direction of the sound at the same time.

A group of servants came running, led by Sylvia, the head maid. Every single one of them was pale and sweating.

 

“What’s happening here?”