The Villainess’ Kindergarten

“Is there a banquet being held?”

 

At Lima’s question, I relaxed my frozen expression. It was because I didn’t want to make a bad face in front of the kids.

 

“Okay.”

 

Lima’s eyes sparkled at my answer. Then she seemed to be thinking about something and carefully opened her mouth.

 

“Can I attend too?”

 

I tilted my head, wondering what this meant. It’s a family banquet, so there’s no way the children won’t participate. Could it be that Baridas did not allow you to attend the banquet? Something boiled inside me. Suppressing it, I stroked Lima’s cheek and said,

 

“Of course I should participate.”

 

This parent was evil. When I thought that, I frowned.

 

“I want to go too!”

 

Ren shouted and she said that she, Greenly and Jasmine wanted to go too. I told everyone that I knew, and the children smiled brightly at my words. Seeing the happy children, I smiled happily. The children, who were chatting about the banquet, soon left the room, saying it was time to study. And I was pretty tired from playing with the kids, so I sat down on the bed to rest. But could I bring my children to the banquet? Come to think of it, it was Baridas who was holding the banquet. No matter how much I said I would take the children, it was meaningless unless Baridas, the owner of the Duke’s residence, gave permission. You still have to get permission. After making my decision, I jumped out of bed. There was a saying that even the ox horn should be removed at once. So I was going right away too! Before leaving the room, I put a piece of chocolate in my mouth. A pleasant sweetness spread in my mouth. I slowly looked around the Duke’s house while munching on the chocolate. In the original novel, it was written that he spent most of his time in his office except for training time. I looked around the Duke. Where was Baridas’ office? I remember it was on the same floor as me. I couldn’t remember because I didn’t listen particularly carefully. No, it’s so wide for no reason. I walked around grumbling and eventually returned to the front of my room. Back at square one, I looked at my door in vain. Moreover, while I was walking around, I didn’t encounter a single user, so I couldn’t even ask. I was already so exhausted that I got irritated and threw open the door next to my room with the intention of letting everything happen. As soon as the door opened, a rich and cool scent pierced my nose. It was a scent that made my head clear.

 

Mint? Mint?

 

Come to think of it, in the original work, it was written that Baridas’ room was full of mint scent. Only then did I remember that his room was right next to mine. Walking around the mansion once was a moment of futility and embarrassment. Was there no Baridas? After looking around, I carefully sat down on the chair in the middle. Is it okay to come into a room without the owner at will? Well, we live in the same mansion anyway, so it wouldn’t be rude to just sit and wait. I settled down comfortably and began to look around his room in earnest. His room was similar in size to mine, but it felt much more plain, because it was full of elegant decorations rather than the extravagant decorations in my room. After finishing looking around the room, I stared blankly out the open window, and warm sunlight and cool breeze flowed in. I was sitting leaning on a chair and soon began to doze off. How much time had passed, I woke up to the sound of paper turning. When I opened my eyes, my expression automatically crumpled due to the twinkling lights. After rubbing my eyes two or three times, I was able to fully come to my senses. When I fully woke up, I saw Baridas flipping through documents in front of me. Only then did I realize that I had fallen asleep and quickly got up. Then something fell to the floor with a thud. When I heard the sound, I looked at the floor and saw that a black coat had fallen. Startled, I looked at Baridas’ fallen clothes and then at him. He must have heard the sound of my clothes falling, and was looking at me. He must have been angry, but he started walking towards me. He got down on his knees without saying a word, picked up his coat that had fallen on the floor, and dusted it off. The fact that I came to his room without saying anything and fell asleep made my face feel hot and feverish.

 

“…sorry.”

 

It seemed like it had been a long time since I had been this embarrassed since becoming an adult. But Baridas didn’t seem to care, so he wrapped his coat around my shoulders again and sat down on the chair in front of me. Hey, was this the male lead of a romance novel? I forgot my embarrassment and was impressed by the consideration I had experienced for the first time.

 

“It’s okay, but it would be better if you let me know in advance when you visit in the future.”

 

However, I was embarrassed again by his next words, so I lowered my head and nodded.

 

“So what brought you here?”

 

Oh, that’s right, I came because I had something to say. Only then did I remember the main point and opened my mouth, carefully observing his gaze.

 

“Can I take the children to this banquet?”

 

I looked at him with as earnest and pitiful a look as I could. But he looked like he was asking why he was asking that. Baridas sighed and opened his mouth.

 

“Did the kids say they wanted to go?”

 

Do you allow it?

 

“Yes!”

 

Baridas paused for a moment, perhaps because he was taken aback by my strong affirmative answer.

 

“The kids didn’t give you trouble because they wanted to go to the banquet, right?”

 

Wow, crazy. How can you say such cheesy things so casually? After all, a novel is a novel. After a moment of admiration, I strongly denied it.

 

“Absolutely not.”

 

Baridas sighed at my strong will to somehow take the children to the banquet. After thinking for a moment, he opened his mouth.

 

“Did you know that the children did not have a debutante?”

 

What is that…? There was only one romance version, and as someone who barely read it, I couldn’t figure out what it was about when it debuted. However, in an atmosphere where I felt like I shouldn’t say I didn’t know something, I confidently shouted,

 

“…I know!”

 

But perhaps he sensed that I didn’t know, Baridas sighed and opened his mouth.

 

“Unlike Damon, here you can only participate in the banquet after you become an adult. To put it simply, it refers to the first banquet you attend after becoming an adult.”

 

So that means children can’t participate. I felt sorry for prematurely putting expectations on the children, so I cried.

 

“…However, even young children can participate in family banquets or with the permission of the host.”

 

I smiled brightly at his words. Well, this parent isn’t as bad a person as you think. But why are you spinning around like this if you’re going to allow it anyway?

 

“Then can I take them with me?”

 

He chuckled and nodded his head.

 

“It’s a banquet where you are the star, so do whatever you want.”

 

Was it really a banquet held for me? I was expecting it, but hearing those words from his mouth made me feel a little strange. Still, it happened because I was allowed to. I smiled brightly and nodded.

 

“Thank you!”

 

I greeted Baridas with many meanings and he nodded.

 

* * *

 

Inside the room Fiora left. Baridas was left alone organizing his papers. At that time, Crimson came into the room with his favorite car. Baridas, seeing Crimson out of the corner of his eye, opened his mouth.

 

“What do you think about the princess?”

 

Crimson tilted his head at his question. For it was not uncommon for his own master to show interest in his own. Crimson, who had been thinking for a moment about the sudden question, opened his mouth.

 

“I don’t think she’s a bad person. Little master and the Princess also like her.”

 

Fiora, who calmed the children down with just one word, was like a savior to Crimson, who had been going through a lot of trouble with the children. He was quite fond of Fiora for several reasons. However, Crimson’s eyes widened at Baridas’s next words.

 

“She said he wanted to invite the children to the banquet.”

 

He had noticed that Fiora liked the children. But that and the work of the dukedom were separate. The children and their future children could end up fighting over the position of heir to the dukedom, and the idea of doing such a thing was incomprehensible to his standards. No matter how much they like each other, they could point knives at each other, so why bother calling the kids? Several question marks appeared in his mind. Baridas seemed to have noticed this as well and opened his mouth.

 

“What do you think?”

 

“…It seems like she is good at handling children.”

 

As Crimson explained that the children had quieted down with just one word from her, Baridas looked intrigued. He knew that the younger siblings never listened to others. Thomas and Ren, who were relatively quiet, were given a tutor at their request. However, compared to that, the number of nannies and tutors that the twins had kicked out had already exceeded twenty. Even if Thomas and Ren were like that, she made the remaining children follow suit in a short period of time? That’s great. Whether that behavior was false or true, it was clear that it was Fiora’s talent to quickly become friends with children. Baridas was also familiar with the rumors about her. Her beautiful and intelligent figure, but vicious and cruel personality, the flower of the imperial family. People called her the thorn flower. He certainly felt that if her actions were acting, she suited the nickname. But rumors were just rumors, and he didn’t think Fiora was lying at all. Still, there’s something to be said, so he’ll have to wait and see.

 

“Okay, just leave now.”

 

At Baridas’s words, Crimson greeted him and left the room. After confirming that Crimson had left, Baridas erased his thoughts and turned his attention to the documents on his desk. At that time, a noisy voice came from the window that Crimson had forgotten to close. As he got up and went to the window to close it, he saw Fiora with her children. Baridas smiled slightly as he watched the children running and playing happily in the garden at sunset.

 

“I hope you don’t be like me or that person.”

 

The words, which were muttered a bit sadly and differently from usual, were scattered in the air without anyone reaching them.

 

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Translator Note: