The Villainess’ Kindergarten

Because the children were even cuter than I had imagined, I completely forgot about my situation and let their small hands lead me as I disembarked from the carriage. At that moment, the youngest-looking child tugged at my dress.

“Hug me…”

The youngest child had purple hair; this had to be Jasmine. I bent down and picked up Jasmine, who then relaxed and nestled against me.

“Jasmine, you can’t be like that! She is a guest!”

The oldest and most dignified boy spoke up.

“It’s fine,” I assured them, but the boy still seemed apologetic as he glanced at the sleeping Jasmine and bowed to me.

“I’m late to say hello. My name is Thomas Chilan, the second son.”

Starting with him, the children introduced themselves one by one as we made our way towards the mansion.

“The third one is Ren Chilan.”

“I’m the fourth Lima!”

“What did you say? I’m the fourth. It’s Emerald.”

The last twins to greet, Lima and Emerald, began to bicker, each claiming they were born first. As I was smiling at the adorable children, the third child, Ren, came up to me. She stroked the head of the child who was sleeping in my arms and spoke.

“And the youngest is Jasmine.”

Ren’s laughter filled the air, and I had to suppress the desire to collapse as I smiled and held my heart.

“I see, nice to meet you.”

As I was being introduced to all these cute kids, we were almost at the mansion. Suddenly, the expressions on the faces of the children who were leading me hardened as if they had spotted something. When I turned my head and looked behind me, I saw a man standing there. I knew his identity at first sight. Just like in the novel, a handsome man with jet-black hair and red eyes, the symbol of the Chilan family, was standing before me. He looked coldly at the children, including Jasmine in my arms. One of the maids who noticed the look in his eyes took Jasmine from me.

“Ugh…”

Jasmine clutched my collar as if he didn’t want to leave me. I reluctantly handed Jasmine over to the maid, who appeared to be on the verge of tears. As Jasmine disappeared from my arms, Baridas came towards me and bowed his head. Then, he took my hand and kissed it. The sensation of his lips touching my bare skin was unfamiliar, and heat instantly rushed to where he had touched.

“Nice to see you. My name is Baridas Chilan.”

I felt like I had missed a greeting, so I lifted my skirt with one hand and greeted him.

“My name is Fiora Tiane… de Damon.”

As I searched my memory, I said Fiora’s full name. It shouldn’t be wrong. He nodded and took one of my hands.

“I’m sorry I’m late in picking you up.”

His expressionless face didn’t look like he felt sorry. He probably found the whole situation annoying, but there was no way I could say it. I smiled awkwardly and accepted his apology.

“It’s fine. The children are very cute.”

I said with a smile, knowing that the children were shocked by his appearance. The children’s expressions brightened a little at my words. But Baridas looked at the children and opened his mouth.

“I’m sure I told you not to come out because I have an important guest today.”

His voice and gaze were as cold as ice. If I, someone not directly involved, felt this way, the pressure on the children must have been even greater. The children seemed intimidated by Baridas’ actions. Regardless of how many times they broke their promise, they were still just children. As I was about to speak up in defense of the children, Ren beat me to it.

“Brother said he would be late, so we welcomed the princess instead… Will…”

Ren’s voice trailed off as she spoke, perhaps because she was discouraged by the look in Baridas’ eyes. As Ren finished speaking, Baridas sighed and looked at his children. He spoke in a softer, low voice.

“But that doesn’t mean you can disobey my words. Please make sure nothing like this happens again in the future.”

His tone was gentler than before, but still firm. He wasn’t wrong in what he said, but they were just children. It would be nice if they were treated a little more kindly.

The children’s expressions turned sour at his words. Then they answered “yes” at the same time and said goodbye with gloomy expressions.

“Both of you, have a nice day.”

I smiled and patted the heads of the children who greeted me.

“Have a nice day, too.”

I felt good seeing the children’s faces brighten up a little at my greeting. The children soon held each other’s hands and disappeared somewhere. Only a few workers, Baridas, and myself remained in the garden. Silence hung between us, and in the awkward atmosphere, Baridas finally spoke up.

“Let’s go inside.”

He held out his hand to me, and I awkwardly reached out to grasp it. It was very weird as it was my first time being treated like this. I entered the ducal mansion with my hand wrapped awkwardly around his. As we stood in front of the mansion, the door opened by itself, and as we entered, numerous employees greeted us. I was surprised by the number of people I encountered as soon as I entered, but I tried not to show it and followed him. However, when I saw the mansion’s interior, I could no longer maintain a neutral expression.

As befitting a family with a shared history with the empire, the interior of the mansion was ornately decorated. Sculptures and paintings adorned every wall, elegant wallpaper graced the rooms, and the ceiling was richly decorated. The entire mansion was like a museum.

I looked around, unable to hide my surprise.

“Do you like it?”

Was it that obvious from my expression? After gathering my wits following his question, I answered, trying my best to control my facial expression.

“Yes, it’s very beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

Baridas said with a smile. When I saw that smile, my heart seemed to sink. Male leads don’t just do this casually. Thinking about it, I nodded. After being introduced to the mansion by Baridas, I was led to the drawing room. As I sat down in the prepared seat, maids came out of nowhere and placed an array of gorgeous desserts in front of me. In an instant, various desserts and tea were set up before me. With admiration, I picked up the madeleine they had prepared and took a bite.

It was delicious. The light yet refreshing orange scent made me smile with satisfaction. The black tea that accompanied it was also rich and smooth. Was this what a taste of luxury meant?

“I guess it suits your taste.”

Baridas remarked with a face that seemed to be amused for some reason. I thought my feelings were hidden, but clearly, they weren’t. I burst into laughter, trying to play it off, but my face turned hot from embarrassment. Thinking about it, Baridas and Fiora weren’t initially on bad terms. They became engaged for their respective purposes, and their engagement was expected to lead to marriage soon. However, Fiora turned out to be more foolish and vain than Baridas had expected. Moreover, she committed various misdeeds while bearing the Chilan family’s name. Consequently, Baridas had spent three years engaged but not married.

Leaving aside the parts about the children, I only recalled the original story and didn’t remember the details, but one thing was certain. This was before the start of the original work, and the female protagonist appeared three years after Baridas and Fiora became engaged. I remembered that part clearly because it appeared almost at the beginning. So, all I had to do was put off getting married as long as possible, and when the female lead comes, I could quietly step out of the role of fiancée and become the children’s tutor!

In hindsight, it was the perfect plan. When I thought about the children calling me “teacher,” a smile spread across my face. As I ginned while thinking about the children, Baridas set down his teacup and began to speak.

“The engagement ceremony is scheduled to take place in a month. I think it would be best to call it a day and return to your room to rest. Starting tomorrow, you can receive guidance from my butler. I apologize for not being able to escort you further due to being busy with work, Princess.”

Of course he was busy. It must have been a while since he became a Duke, so I nodded at his words.

“It’s fine.”

I meant it when I said it was okay. I thought it would be easier to get along with the butler than with him. And it was surprisingly easy to get along with kids.

“Although this engagement was carried out out of necessity, I will do my best to ensure that I do not fall short.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

‘I will do my best to not fall short as a teacher, so please be kind to me.’

“I hope to get along well.”

Baridas stood up and extended his hand to me.

“Please take care of me too.”

I took his hand. He squeezed it gently before letting go.

“Then, please excuse me. If you need anything else, ask the butler who will show you around the mansion. He will take care of most things quickly.”

As Baridas finished speaking and was about to leave the room, I hooked onto his sleeve. Baridas’ red eyes turned with embarrassment as he didn’t expect me to grab him. His gaze moved from the sleeve I was holding onto, then to my face. I released my hold on his sleeve, looked into his eyes, and opened my mouth.

“If it’s okay, may I talk to the Duke’s younger siblings?”

He appeared momentarily puzzled by my question, but then quickly masked his confusion.

“That’s for the kids to decide, not me.”

I nodded in response to Baridas’ answer. He was right; just because they were young didn’t mean they didn’t have their own will.

“Still, I thought it was a priority to get permission from the guardian.”

Baridas seemed to hesitate at my words. I tilted my head at his appearance.

“I guess you like children.”

His question brought to mind the children I had seen earlier. Then, a smile automatically appeared on my face. It was a bright smile that meant that I really, really liked children.

“Yes.”

Although it was only for a moment, his eyes wavered.

“…okay. Well then, have a nice day.”

With that farewell, Baridas left the room. I tilted my head, recalling his words. Why had he asked that? Could it be that he was afraid I might approach or harass his younger siblings for nefarious purposes? Considering what Fiora did in the original story, it was quite possible.

‘But don’t worry, because I’m a good teacher. Guardian, you can completely trust me!’

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Translator Note:

I changed the family name ‘Child’ for ‘Chilan’ and also I changed some names: Lemon (girl) is now Lima; Green (girl) is now Emerald. For now those will be the bigest changes, I hope you don’t dislike them too much ^^,