The Villainess’ Kindergarten

When I followed Lorna and Lena down, Baridas was sitting in front of a large table. There were no dishes in front of him, as if they were waiting for me to arrive. I looked around. But the children were nowhere to be seen. As I came down the stairs, my excited heart suddenly subsided at the thought of having a meal with cute kids.

 

“Please sit down.”

 

At Baridas’ words, Lena pulled up her chair, and I sat down in her seat, whispering my thanks to her. As I sat down at the table, dishes started coming out one by one. Soup and steak came out first, and various dishes were set around them. Baridas grabbed the knife and started cutting the steak. I held the knife awkwardly and at the same time, I was overcome with worry. Before I was possessed, I had no talent for cooking, not only when it came to cooking but also when it came to eating. He was a person who couldn’t even use the pork cutlet at a snack bar properly, let alone the steak in front of him. After hesitating, I stabbed the knife into the steak. Then my hands gently cut the steak. Was it easy to cut a steak? I thought so, but it wasn’t. The meat was cooked hard rather than soft.

 

At that moment, I realized. I didn’t have any memories of Fiora, but fortunately, her actions and habits were ingrained in me. Otherwise there was no way I could have sliced a steak so perfectly. Even though I was right-handed, I was now holding a knife with my left hand. Still, it seemed like God had at least a conscience.

 

I was relieved and shoved a well-cut piece of steak into my mouth. It was very soft and delicious. I smiled pleasantly and savored the taste of the steak. Baridas opened his mouth towards me.

 

“Have you looked around the mansion?”

 

Gulp.

 

I swallowed the steak I couldn’t finish chewing. I could vividly feel the lump of meat sliding down my throat… I fell asleep after crying. There was no way I could answer that. While I was thinking about it, I cleared my throat a few times, then smiled and tried to speak as aristocratically as possible.

 

“I haven’t been able to see it yet because I haven’t been feeling well since I came a long way.”

 

Was this okay? Earlier, he treated me too much like a parent. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to think anything was strange. I nodded, indifferently eating another piece of steak.

 

“Then, after you finish eating, I will show you around.”

 

‘It’s okay. Male lead… No, parent. I want to decline.’

 

On the inside, I shook my head and said no with my mouth about five times, but on the outside, I had no choice but to say thank you.

 

“Thank you for your kindness.”

 

“No.”

 

The meal filled with silence continued like that. Perhaps solitude and silence were the side dishes. Still, the Duke’s cooking was very good. The soup and steak that came out first were great, but the roast turkey and salad that came after that were also very good and delicious. But Fiora was more of a news person than I thought. I thought I hadn’t eaten much, but I was already full. Although I was disappointed, I carefully put down the spoon. At that moment, the door opened and the servants began serving various desserts. The moment I encountered them, I couldn’t help but be amazed. A cake filled with cream, a tart decorated with fresh fruit, and a cream puff that looked just as sweet, I thought I was just full, but it turns out I wasn’t. Sweet and salty was always true! Forgetting that I thought I was full just a moment ago, I cut the strawberry-filled cake and put it on a plate. After eating two pieces of cake, I finally picked up a strawberry and put it in my mouth. Then the sweet and refreshing taste of strawberries filled my mouth.

 

‘Wow, I’m really full now.’

 

When I put down my fork, Baridas opened his mouth.

 

“Did you enjoy cooking?”

 

I nodded strongly to his question. The Duke’s dishes were truly delicious. In particular, the strawberry cake was a masterpiece. It was a shame that I could only eat two pieces.

 

“Yes, it was delicious.”

 

In response to my answer, Baridas smiled, got up from his seat, and came towards me. And held out his hand.

 

“Now, let me show you around the mansion.”

 

Was he telling me to catch him? When I hesitantly took Baridas’ hand, his arm strengthened. He helped me up from the chair. The problem was that I was wearing high shoes. My body, unable to balance due to the high heels, stumbled forward. Fortunately, Baridas held my arm, so I was able to avoid a bad situation. Baridas had an apologetic look on his face, probably because he didn’t know I was going to stumble. 

 

‘It’s not because of you, it’s because of the shoes.’

 

Looking at his expression, I felt sorry for no reason.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yes, I’m okay. Thank you.”

 

He sighed in relief, took my hand, and headed somewhere. He headed for the stairs, and I followed him upstairs to the balcony at the top of the ducal castle. There, the Duke’s garden and forest could be seen at a glance.

 

“Wow… ”

 

As the sun went down, the Duke’s garden, softly illuminated by moonlight and streetlights, created a mysterious atmosphere that couldn’t be described as beautiful.

 

“The garden is large and it is easy to get lost, so please be accompanied by a user for a while, and once you get used to it, you can walk alone.”

 

The Duke’s garden was certainly large. There were two fountains immediately visible, a richly decorated building, and even a dance hall. I nodded and turned to look at the Duke’s Forest. The dark forest was filled with a frightening yet mysterious atmosphere. The setting of this novel was mainly in the mansion and forest on the Duke Chilan family’s territory, not the capital of the empire, and that would be the forest that was the main setting of the novel. 

If I go and see it with my own eyes, I think I’ll remember a little bit of the novel’s contents. I thought I might have to go to the forest sometime soon. At that time, Baridas opened his mouth as if he had read my thoughts.

 

“I hope you don’t go to the forest or the tower at the end of the mansion.”

 

Wow, how did you know? Startled, I looked back at him as if my feet were numb, and he smiled slightly at me.

 

“Because wild animals are coming out. If you really want to go, it would be better to be accompanied by a knight.”

 

I nodded at his words.

 

“All right.”

 

Even though I answered that I understood, my eyes could not leave the Duke’s forest. At that time, a wind blew from afar. The temperature of the wind that blew my hair and brushed my shoulders was cold. The flowers in the garden had just peaked, so it seemed like it was still early spring. As I shook my shoulders a little, Baridas held out his hand.

 

“Now let me show you inside.”

 

I carefully took his hand and went inside. Baridas showed me the locations of the reception room and office one by one. Next, they showed me the greenhouse connected to the ducal residence, and the moment I entered, I couldn’t help but exhale admiration. Familiar flowers and many flowers I had never seen before were blooming beautifully under soft lighting. After finishing looking around the greenhouse, he said he would take me to my room. To be honest, I didn’t have the confidence to find my room in such a large mansion, so I had no choice but to follow him.

 

And it was just as we reached the front of the room. Two small shadows came out from somewhere and ran towards me. After confirming their identities, I smiled brightly. The shadows were Lima and Emerald, who had changed into their pajamas. Lima held a large teddy bear in his hands, and Emerald held a large book.

 

“Hello.”

 

When the children saw me, their cheeks blushed shyly and they greeted me. When I responded with a wave of my hand, they smiled brightly and ran towards Baridas.

 

“Older brother.”

 

“Older brother.”

 

Lima and Emerald were looking at Baridas with sparkling eyes. However, contrary to the two children’s expectations, Baridas’ eyes as he looked at them showed no emotion.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

The children took a step back at Baridas’ cold reply, and although I didn’t know what was going on, I internally cheered them on. At that time, Lima gathered courage and opened her mouth.

 

“I wanted to say I’m sorry for disobeying you earlier.”

 

And the two children bowed at the same time and spoke with their mouths together.

 

“Sorry.”

 

Baridas sighed and answered at that sight.

 

“I’m not angry, so don’t worry.”

 

Then he pointed with his hand to a large statue in the hallway and snapped his finger as if to ask it to come out.

 

“You too.”

 

Then Ren and Thomas, who were hiding behind the statue, cautiously approached Baridas. They looked at each other and stood one by one next to Emerald and Lima. When I waved to the two children behind Baridas, their faces brightened.

 

“All four of you, it’s time to go to bed, so you might as well go in and sleep.”

 

The children’s expressions brightened at his words. They greeted me and Baridas in an orderly manner and then returned to the room. And only me and Baridas were left in the hallway. When the sound of the children’s footsteps completely disappeared, Baridas opened his mouth.

 

“I think it would be better for the princess to go to sleep now.”

 

Saying that, Baridas kissed the back of my hand and then went into the next room. Perhaps because it was the duchess’s room, the duke’s room was right next to it. Although it was in the next room, it was quite far away. When I entered the room, Lorna and Lena were waiting. They took off my clothes without me having time to stop them and led me into the bathtub. The gold-decorated bathtub was filled with rose petals. I couldn’t bear to take care of bathing, so I sent them away. As I sat in the steamy, warm bathtub, many thoughts came to mind. As I was staring blankly at the wall, a thought suddenly passed through my head. It was a content from the original that I had forgotten. In the original, the children and Baridas did not get along well because Baridas and the children were half-siblings rather than just siblings. Baridas’ mother died and the person his father remarried was the children’s mother. I should have noticed when he said it had only been a while since he became a Duke. 

 

I ran my fingers through my wet hair.

 

In the original, his age was twenty-seven, so he was probably twenty-four now. He was too young to be a Duke. The reason he had no choice but to become a Duke was because his father and stepmother died in a carriage overturning accident while traveling. So at a young age, he had to take responsibility for his family and his younger siblings that his father left behind.

 

I felt like I could somewhat understand his cold attitude the whole time. Before he was even married, he was already the head of a family and had five children to take care of. When I thought about it, I realized that Baridas must have had a very difficult time. And I felt sorry for the children. After losing both of their parents, they must have lived without receiving love from anyone and relying only on each other. I tightened my fists.

 

‘From now on, I will love you all.’

 

I closed my eyes, remembering the cute faces of the children.

 

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Translator Note: