The Villainess’ Kindergarten

It was just one of those ordinary days when the weather was pleasantly nice. I had just disembarked from the daycare bus and glanced up at the sky while holding the hands of the children who were getting off behind me. Not a single cloud marred the blue sky, and a cool breeze gently swept by. A lone petal drifted lazily through the air, following the wind.

It was already spring.

‘Come to think of it, it has been a year since I started working as a daycare teacher.’

I had dreamt of becoming a teacher since I was a child. I adored children and had a knack for taking care of them. After much effort, I had fulfilled my dream, and at the age of 25, I had become the youngest teacher at the daycare center, Lee Ye-rin.

“Thank you for taking me here. Let’s go!”

Jeongan, who had hopped off the bus on her tiny legs, looked up at me and said with a smile. I couldn’t help but smile back at how adorable Jeongan was. I then took the child’s hand and proceeded to walk. As a three-year-old, it was unsafe for her to cross the street on her own, so I always accompanied her.

“Be careful of cars!”

We reached the opposite sidewalk, and Jeongan waved at me with a bright smile, holding a balloon in one hand.

“Yes, Jeongan. You be careful too.”

With a smile, I turned away from Jeongan and headed back towards the bus. That was the moment.

Brr-!

I spun around, shivering from the sudden loud horn. I saw Jeongan, who had lost her grip on the balloon and was chasing after it, and a fast-approaching car.

“Jeongan!”

Without a moment’s thought, I rushed towards the child.

Quaang!

A deafening crash echoed. Simultaneously, I felt my body being lifted off the ground, suspended in the air. They say that when a person is about to die, many thoughts flood their mind, but mine was a blank canvas. Then, in an instant, I plummeted back to the ground. As I collapsed onto the road, Jeongan’s tear-filled eyes came into view, as if frozen in shock.

“Jeo… ongan…”

I wanted to reach out, hold her hand, and ensure she got home safely, preventing this incident from becoming a traumatic memory for Jeongan. But my head, no, my entire body, was so numb that I couldn’t get up. And just like that, my consciousness slipped away.

* * *

Rumble, rumble.

The floor was moving and rattling. Thanks to that, I woke up and absentmindedly combed my hair. It appeared that I had been taken to the hospital by ambulance. I thought I was going to die, but I felt lucky to be alive.

‘When things get better, the first thing to do is call Jeongan. I will tell her that Teacher is fine so she doesn’t have to worry. Wait, but why doesn’t it hurt at all?’

I reached out and groped my body, but I didn’t feel a wound and there was no pain. Come to think of it, I didn’t even hear the siren. Instead, it sounded like the sound of horses’ hooves. It seemed strange, so I opened my eyes. However, what I saw wasn’t the white ceiling of an ambulance but a ceiling decorated with precious gilding and jewels scattered throughout. I stretched out my hand, which had been touching my body, and absent-mindedly touched the jewels hanging from the ceiling. I had never seen such a large jewel in my life. Was this a dream?

…Yes, it had to be a dream.

A dream of jewels and gold, and it was clear that this dream would bring in some money sooner or later. I continued to fiddle with a jewel the size of my palm, pondering. In an instant, the jewel caught the light and shimmered. As I turned my head in the direction of the light, I saw a moving landscape outside the window.

 

The moving landscape and the sound of horseshoes. A small space adorned with jewels. I soon realized that I was in a carriage. At that moment, the chair I was sitting on rattled, and my body jumped.

Bang!

With a deafening noise, I hit my head against the ceiling, tears welling up in my eyes from the sudden sound and pain. As I checked for a bump on my head, I felt an indescribable sensation of reality. They said you couldn’t feel pain in dreams… Could it be that this wasn’t a dream? An anxious feeling I had been trying to ignore began to creep up within me.

‘Have I been kidnapped?’

No, it couldn’t be a kidnapping. What lunatic would kidnap someone and put them in a car with jewels? But, if it wasn’t a dream… What happened? 

I blankly stared out at the passing scenery, my face reflected in the clear window. The face I saw wasn’t mine; it was a stranger’s face. I doubted my eyes and pressed myself closer to the window.

“What is this!”

I screamed and stepped back. The face reflected in the window wasn’t mine; it was that of a stunning beauty with white hair and blue eyes, like something out of a fantasy novel. I couldn’t believe it, so I ran my hands over my face and lowered my gaze. A luxuriously decorated dress that could be worn in medieval Europe caught my eye.

‘What the heck is this…’

I touched my waist-length silver hair, which resembled a starry night.

‘This can’t be real.’

Laughter broke out. In the meantime, the wagon carrying me came to a stop. The carriage door opened with a knock. In front of the carriage stood a man who looked like a butler, dressed in a neat suit, with several maids and attendants beside him.

“Welcome to Chilan Mansion. Princess Fiora Tiane de Damon.”

It was the first language I had heard, but I understood the butler’s words naturally. I gazed at the butler in silence, and his eyes were fixed on me, as if I were the ‘Fiora’ he mentioned.

“Haha.”

I didn’t know that this is how people laughed when they went crazy. I covered my mouth with my hand to hold back the laughter that leaked out.

“Hold my hand to get off, Princess.”

The butler held out his white-gloved hand and said. I stared at his hand and closed the carriage door again, as if ignoring the reality I was facing. I knew the name Fiora and the Chilan family because that was the name of the family of the male protagonist in <The Duke’s Children>, a novel I had read before, and the name of the villain who was thwarted by him. Who was playing this prank? A hidden camera show? What was it?

I carefully looked around, but I wasn’t on a set, and there was no camera in sight. Instead, everything seemed so real that I felt foolish for doubting it. I tucked my hair behind my shoulders. So, this was all real, and I was in the world of <The Duke’s Children>.

Before closing my eyes, I sighed as I recalled my last memory as Lee Ye-rin. Yes, it was a meaningful life in its own way because I died while saving a child. It was unfortunate, but I had no regrets. But why? I remembered Fiora’s actions in the play and clenched my fists.

‘Oh really! Why, out of all the villains, did I possess a villain who harasses children!’

I thought, suppressing the urge to raise my hand and slap my cheek.

‘God, I’ve lived a perfectly good life, so why did I possess someone like this, even if I had to possess someone? Why?’

“Ha…”

I sighed again and began to organize my thoughts. I had already become Fiora, and there was a high probability that my original body was also dead. That’s why I was saying that I had to live as Fiora from now on…

In my head, I looked back at Fiora’s appearance in the novel <The Duke’s Children>.

Fiora. In the story, she was the male lead’s fiancée and constantly bullied the children. And when Lady Leria, who was the maid of the Duke’s family, tried to uncover the truth, Fiora even kidnapped her to silence her. Shortly after, she was caught running away with all the evidence, and she was executed by the second male lead.

Sneaky, I thought.

Goosebumps ran all over my body. I had barely been given a chance to live again, so I couldn’t die again. Then, if I treat the children kindly… will it be okay? No, if the main female character appeared, the male protagonist would fall in love with her at first sight, and he would break off the engagement. If that happened, the children would be traumatized.

…Then I would wait for the female lead to appear and snatch away the male lead while not getting too involved with the children as much as possible. Then, when the engagement was inevitably broken off, I would use the alimony I received to build a daycare center. Of course, it would be fine if the beloved children from the novel secretly helped from behind, making things easier. After organizing my thoughts, I took a deep breath, pushed open the carriage door, and held out my hand. But the butler who was supposed to escort me earlier stepped back and stared at me. Had I closed the carriage door and gone inside? It would be bad if he had formed a negative impression of me already.

Cold sweat ran down my back. Eventually, as I tried to get down on my own, two small hands appeared in front of my eyes. I didn’t even have time to panic before a cute voice came from below.

“Welcome to the duchy.”

Looking down, I saw two boys in pretty clothes reaching out to me. Was this heaven…?

While I stared at them in a daze, three girls rushed toward me.

“Hello! I’m Lima!!!”

“Welcome.”

“Welcome.”

Then, one of the girls handed me a small bouquet of flowers that seemed to have been made by herself. Five pairs of twinkling eyes were looking at me. It had been a long time since my determination had soared to the sky in the eyes of these lovely children. I clutched my aching heart. In person, this was so cute! How could I live without this?

As I contemplated whether to return to the wagon, a thought flashed through my mind. How could I make friends with the children without breaking up their engagement? I smiled brightly as I held the bouquet the children gave me with one hand and took the child’s hand with the other.

“Thank you.”

My response brought bright smiles to the children’s faces. Seeing those children’s smiles made me think I wasn’t a villain. No, I couldn’t be. I didn’t want to be.

‘Duke, I’ll end it. Can you quickly break off the engagement and hire me as a teacher?’

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Translator Note:

New story here!! I decided to try this one and I hope you enjoy it <3
I edited the chapter. Sorry because there are still some mistakes. I will also change some names (like the family name ‘Child’) I will inform you in the notes 😉