The Villainess’ Kindergarten

“Ren!”

 

I, Thomas, and the knights were startled by Ren covered in blood and ran to him. Tears welled up in Ren’s eyes.

 

“Princess…”

 

Even though Ren called my name, he didn’t get up. And below Ren, a boy was lying unconscious, blood flowing from his head. Ren was stopping the bleeding on his head with her dress. I looked over at the fallen boy, relieved to see that Ren was not hurt. He was exhaling, albeit small. He was still alive.

 

“It’s alive.”

 

One of the knights who felt the fallen boy’s pulse opened his mouth, and the other knight brought a first aid kit. When Ren heard that the boy was alive, he seemed relieved and came into my arms. I hugged Ren, who was shedding tears in my arms.

 

“Everything will be fine.”

 

But what was this? I looked at the boy being carried on a stretcher. Ren seemed to have calmed down a little and slipped out of her arms, and Thomas, who was looking at her, stroked her head.

 

“Great job. I’m sorry for coming late.”

 

Ren, who nodded her head at Touma’s words, opened her mouth.

 

“Is the boy okay?”

 

I nodded at Ren’s words. It would have been scary to be locked alone with a bleeding boy in a dark warehouse, but I thought it was amazing that she stopped the bleeding to save the boy in that situation. I shifted my gaze to the boy. Then the color of the boy’s hair, which I had not seen before, caught my eye. Bright orange hair that sparkles in the sunlight. I wondered if anything could happen, so I approached Ryu and asked him a question.

 

“What is that boy’s name?”

 

Ryu tilted his head at my words and answered.

 

“It’s called Chantz. He doesn’t have a last name because it’s a commoner.”

 

As expected, the boy who fell was Chantz, the sub-male protagonist of the original. I looked at his blood-covered figure. At that time, Ryu, who was watching me, touched my lips and opened his mouth.

 

“It was probably the work of other knights that caused him to get hurt like this.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Although Chantz was a commoner, he had great skills. And when the other knights heard that I was choosing a guardian, they probably checked him and hurt him. If the injury was bleeding to this extent, he would not be able to apply as my guardian. Anyway, I was planning to pick Chantz as a guardian, and I also need to catch the criminal who harmed him, so I guess I’ll postpone picking a guardian a little later. The moment I thought that, Chantz’s eyes opened. He jumped up and shouted.

 

“Sheryl. You son of a bitch!”

 

Thomas covered Ren’s ears at his swearing, and Ryu sighed as if he had expected him to wake up. And one of the knights muttered softly.

 

“Monster…”

 

At that moment, Chantz’s and I made eye contact. And his green eyes sparkled. Chantz jumped up from his seat and ran towards me.

 

‘You’re tall.’

 

I was almost intimidated for a moment because he was so tall for a seventeen-year-old. He ran towards me and Ryu tried to stop him, but I grabbed his arm. Thanks to that, Chantz approached me without any hindrance and opened his mouth.

 

“I am called Chantz. Are you the princess?”

 

“Yes?”

 

His eyes widened at my answer.

 

“Please make me your guardian.”

 

I tilted my head at his words. Guardianship was a position that only knights with recognized skills could become, but there was no reason for Chantz to call himself my knight, even though other knights may not.

 

“Can I hear why you want to be my guardian?”

 

At my words, he opened his mouth, pointing with his finger to his forehead, which was covered in bandages.

 

“To be honest, I’m not particularly interested in Guardians. But it’s because it’s what the people who made me like this wanted.”

 

I chuckled at his words. It made me laugh because his personality was just as I read in the original.

 

“That’s not a bad reason. But before that, how about I say thank you?”

 

I shifted my gaze to Ren, who was looking at me and Chantz. Then Chantz’s gaze followed me and moved to Ren, and his eyes widened at the sight of Ren covered in blood.

 

“Ren was the one who stopped the bleeding when you were injured.”

 

At my words, Chantz walked towards Ren. He trotted over to Ren and bowed his head to greet Ren.

 

“Thank you, Princess.”

 

I chuckled at his appearance.

 

‘Yes, this is Chantz.’

 

His popularity with readers was quite good because of his personality. He was kinder than anyone else as long as he was kind to those who gave him grace, but in the opposite case, he became very foul-tempered. Unlike the male lead, who was harsh to both Fiora and Leria, he was kind to the female lead, but was harsh only to Fiora, and readers were enthusiastic about this. Two faces, and strong and weak. This was Chantz’s charm and at the same time a factor in his popularity. In response to his thanks, Ren nodded his head and Chantz smiled.

 

“Do you remember who the people who made you do that are?”

 

Chantz nodded his head to my question. At that moment, Ryu opened his mouth.

 

“This happened in our knighthood, so I will take responsibility and resolve it.”

 

Chantz chuckled at his words. As if I expected it. When I saw that, I knew. The knights who made Chantz like this were nobles. That’s why they wanted to become my guardians, because the only thing they would get punished for would be probation anyway. I guess they wanted to take their own revenge by becoming my guardian and taking the position they wanted.

 

‘Hmm, what should I do with this?’

 

I felt ashamed of the knights who did this. They couldn’t beat Chantz with their skills, but it would be difficult to just leave him alone, so they probably used this method. 

 

‘Just leave the punishment to the knights and use Chantz as your guardian. Because my original purpose was to use him as my guardian.’

 

As I was thinking about it, the image of Ren caught my eye. The corners of her eyes were stained red. After seeing that, I made a decision.

 

“No, it’s okay. I will solve it.”

 

Ryu’s expression hardened my words. He moved his lips as if hesitating and then opened his mouth.

 

“But the principles of the Knights…”

 

“But as long as it follows the principle.”

 

I cut Ryu off and looked straight at him. Ryu stiffened his expression a little, but quickly relaxed it. I laughed sarcastically at him in my mind. According to the principles, it’s okay to overlook nobles harassing commoners. Yes, but Ren cried because of those guys. Then I can’t forgive them. I hid my true feelings, looked at Ren, and grinned.

 

“But this time, even an innocent princess has been harmed, so I can’t just sit back and watch. So, I will punish those knights.”

 

Ryu’s expression completely hardened at my words. I ignored him and turned my attention to Chantz. I smiled softly and looked at him.

 

“Tell me, who are the knights who made you like that?”

 

Chantz’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe what I said. He shifted his gaze to Ryu as if he was thinking about it, then looked at me again. And then, as if he had made a decision, he smiled and opened his mouth.

 

“This is Sheryl IIlim, Ilay Seven, and Ilarium Wrede.”

 

As expected, the knights who knocked out the children were nobles. Ryu’s expression hardened when he heard the names coming out of Chantz’s mouth, and Chantz’s expression, smiling evilly, looked like a bad boy. I looked at Ryu and opened my mouth.

 

“Check whether what he said is true, and if it is true, expel them from the Order and send them home. There is no need for a knight in the Chilan family who ignores and harasses commoners.”

 

“That is taking too much, Princess!”

 

“If you commit a crime, you must be punished.”

 

What on earth was excessive treatment? It was so natural that even kindergarten children knew that if they committed a crime, they would be punished. But it seemed like it was something he hadn’t learned yet. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have happened like this.

 

“Then what authority do you have to punish? You are just a person from a foreign country who has not yet married the Duke.”

 

He glared at me, wondering if he had just decided to leave since he was screwed anyway. I was a little scared because he looked like he was about twenty centimeters taller than me. I looked at him pitifully, thinking that he would have to go back to kindergarten. At that time, Thomas blocked his path.

 

“She is not from a foreign country, she is a princess, and she is the one who will marry my older brother.”

 

And before I knew it, Ren, who had come next to me, also opened my mouth.

 

“I mean, she’s closer to the Chilan than you.”

 

As the two fought Ryu, his expression became even more somber than before. Seeing him like that, the two children’s bodies began to tremble, and I held their hands. Now that I think about it, there was something like this in the original. There was a knight who contributed the most to the establishment of the Crescent Empire. What was the name? I couldn’t remember. But there was an oath he wrote, and I remembered some of it because it was pretty good.

 

“We are the Knights of the Crescent and we exist for my sword country.”

 

I muttered softly, and the eyes of the knights and Thomas, who knew the contents of the oath, widened.

 

“And the most important thing in a country is not the Emperor or the nobles, but the people…”

 

I couldn’t quite remember what he said next. Then I heard a voice behind me.

 

“My sword exists for them.”

 

That’s right, it was a line like that. When I turned around at the sound of a familiar voice, I saw Baridas approaching me. I should say it was intimidating, but I kept my mouth shut due to the strong aura I felt from him at that moment. Everyone’s eyes were focused on Baridas, and he opened his mouth again.

 

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Translator Note: