The Villainess’ Kindergarten

“Princess! Wake up!!!”

 

“Hmm.”

 

I woke up to the voices of Lorna and Lena and rubbed my eyes. Today was the day the banquet was held. They came early in the morning, took off my pajamas, and threw me into the bathtub. As I left myself in their touch, I thought about yesterday. In the end, Thomas didn’t come until after dark. All I heard was that he had been in the gym all day, skipping meals. So I delivered the clothes to him through a maid. The size should be right. 

 

As I was thinking about Thomas, something occurred to me. Come to think of it, I haven’t opened the gift Thomas gave me yet. I completely forgot about it because of the kids’ dresses and other things. I have to wash it and go out and open it. I looked at Lena and Lorna who were washing my body. At first, I couldn’t imagine having someone else wash me, but now that I’m a little used to it, I feel comfortable. Their professional hands made my body soft.

 

‘Ha, I shouldn’t get too used to this.’

 

It wasn’t like I was going to live in a duchy for the rest of my life, and it would be difficult for me to adapt to it later if I got caught up in luxury. Still, it’s too cool and comfortable to refuse. 

In the end, I finished showering while relying on their hands. After the painful corset session, the girls dragged me to the dressing table, saying I needed to put on makeup. When I looked in the mirror, I saw a face I could never get used to. Silvery white hair, jewel-like blue eyes. Her appearance is difficult to describe even with the word pretty. Could I get prettier here? I thought I was pretty enough.

 

You could say I’m an axe-digger, but it’s not my face anyway, so what should I do with my really pretty face? But I had overlooked their skills. Their touch transformed an already pretty face into a truly insanely beautiful face. Seriously, this thing looked crazy.

 

“…Crazy, why are you so pretty?”

 

Lorna and Lena burst into small laughter at what I said, momentarily forgetting that it was my face, and then apologized to me.

 

‘No… I’m sorry for making you hear things like that.’

 

I really felt like I was suffering from ax disease. Out of embarrassment and the sudden rush of heat, I flipped my hair and fanned myself with my hands. At that time, Thomas’ gift, which had been placed on the dressing table, caught my eye. That’s right, I tried to open it. I picked up the box and carefully unwrapped it. His gift was wrapped in two layers. After checking the contents, I let out an exclamation of exclamation along with Lena and Lorna. What was inside was a very luxurious-looking necklace. Small white jewels next to the blue jewel were sparkling brightly. At first glance, it looked very expensive. What kind of eight-year-old would give a necklace like this as a gift?

 

You live well. It occurred to me that he was the descendant of the only Duke in the empire, and I quickly understood it.

 

‘No, is it okay to understand this? Thank you for the gift, but this is a bit burdensome.’

 

But Lorna and Lena, who didn’t know that, said it went well with my dress and encouraged me to try it on. I thought rejecting it would also hurt him, so I promised myself that I would buy him another gift later.

 

“You are truly beautiful. Princess.”

 

Lorna let out an exclamation as she watched me finish putting on earrings and hair decorations to match the necklace Toma had given me. I laughed a little at the girls who gave me a bit of an excessive compliment. Now that I thought about it, the kids must be prettier. I wanted to quickly see the children dressed up, so I got up from my seat. First of all, I have to go see Thomas, whom I didn’t see yesterday. I wonder if the clothes I gave him as a gift will fit well. I walked towards Thomas’ room. But there was a guest in Thomas’ room who arrived faster than me. My eyes widened at his unexpected appearance.

 

“Duke?”

 

Baridas turned to me at those words and bowed. He was also wearing a tailcoat, and to be honest, he looked several times more handsome than usual. No, how can someone be so handsome? My Lord, if you end up like that, how are other people supposed to live? Just when I was losing my senses because of Baridas’ appearance, Thomas came up to me. However, he was wearing a dress shirt and black pants, not the tuxedo I gave him. Even the pants were not formal pants, but training uniforms for the Knights. I was a little upset, perhaps because I didn’t like it, but I tried not to show it and greeted him, and Thomas smiled and accepted my greeting.

 

“Hello, princess.”

 

His eyes were on my neck. When I saw him smiling happily, my thoughts of disappointment disappeared in an instant. I smiled a little at his cute appearance and opened my mouth.

 

“Thank you for the gift, Thomas.”

 

“It’s nothing special.”

 

‘No, it’s nothing. I will definitely repay you later, Thomas.’

 

I answered in my mind and stroked his head.

 

“Then why didn’t you prepare?”

 

“Because all the clothes I prepared didn’t fit.”

 

Oh, that’s why you didn’t wear the clothes I gave you as a gift. I thought it was true, but what should I do? Thomas smiled at my troubled expression as if he was okay.

 

“It’s okay because I have the knights’ conquest.”

 

I was upset by Thomas’ words. All the other kids wore sets, but it’s a bit weird if he didn’t. No matter how good Thomas, the person involved, was, it was their first foray into the social world. I didn’t want my children to grow up hearing that it was half a penny like in the original. I jumped up from my seat, thinking that it wouldn’t be too late if I went to buy it now.

 

“I can’t do this, Thomas. Let’s go to the dressing room.”

 

At that moment, the door opened with a loud bang. Crimson came into the room, panting. He was carrying several small tuxedos.

 

“I bought it.”

 

At his words, Baridas nodded his head. Crimson held out a tuxedo to Thomas. As many as five sets each. He was like, there must be one of these that fits you. It seemed like he was saying. I wondered if this was the life of an aristocrat. Fortunately, among the things he bought was a tuxedo that fit Thomas. Except for all the other decorations that Madame Reese had made for me, I only added a red rose brooch made of precious stones. Fortunately, it actually suited Thomas’ calm image better. It seemed like a set of its own with the kids.

 

“It suits you well.”

 

Thomas’ cheeks blushed as if he was embarrassed by my words. He seemed to have become quite acquainted with him, which made him feel better. Then Baridas opened his mouth.

 

“If you are ready, can you look after the children?”

 

It was a welcome sound to hear. I nodded and stood up. And the moment I was about to leave the room, a question occurred to me. But why was Baridas here? Did you come here because you didn’t have clothes that fit Thomas? That’s why he didn’t pay attention to children. But my doubts could not last long. It was because Thomas was pulling my arm.

 

“I want to go too.”

 

‘Yes, let’s go together.’

 

Seeing his cute appearance, I threw away any doubts and held his hand and walked out of the room.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, there was a cold atmosphere in the room Fiora left. The door opened, and maids and servants came rushing in. Was everyone gathered? Baridas’ red eyes swept over them all, as if trying to get a rough idea of the number of people. When Crimson said that everyone seemed to have gathered, Baridas opened his mouth.

 

“Who is in charge?”

 

He gave off an intimidating air and seemed like he was angry. But they just bowed their heads and trembled and made no reply. Suddenly, the sound of teeth grinding in the quiet room was terrifying.

 

“I ask again. Who is in charge?”

 

But no one opened their mouths hastily. The moment Baridas couldn’t stand it anymore and was about to open his mouth again, a maid spoke first. She was shaking to the point where she looked pitiful, but Baridas didn’t even blink.

 

“…If I tell you, will you forgive me?”

 

“Ha,” he exhaled lowly, as if he was dumbfounded, and nodded. When Baridas’ permission was given, the maid hesitated and pointed her finger at a woman. Baridas also knew her very well.

 

“Chief Maid Quait…”

 

Baridas frowned at the maid’s words. The feeling of intimidation became even stronger and she was unable to finish her sentence.

 

“There is no head maid in the Chilan household.”

 

Because Crimson handled everything that happened within the Chilan duchy, there was no separate head maid in the duchy. However, there still existed a hierarchy among the maids, knowingly or unknowingly. The most superior person was a maid named Quait.

 

Quait was one of the longest-serving members of the House of Chilan and was the head of the maid before Baridas ascended to the throne. After Baridas ascended to the throne of the Duke, the chief maid disappeared and she automatically became an ordinary maid, but those were just words. However, implicitly, the other maids seemed to treat her as her chief maid. Baridas looked at Quait. He motioned for her to come out, and when she got up from her seat, he opened his mouth.

 

“Why did you steal the budget that was supposed to go to the princes and princesses?”

 

Quait gritted her teeth at Baridas’ words, and she screamed. Baridas’s fist clenched at her attitude.

 

“Why are those half-pawns members of the Chilan family! Rather than going to them. We just thought it would be helpful to The Chilan if we used it!”

 

But what was so proud about her? She looked at him and shouted. Nevertheless, Baridas was not shaken at all.

 

“That’s nonsense not worth listening to.”

 

However, despite Baridas’ words, Quait did not give in. She put down her sophistry by mentioning the names of the previous Duke and Duchess. However, there was no change in Baridas’ expression. Perhaps she felt that the odds were against her and she screamed.

 

“I cannot recognize them as Chilan’s personnel!!”

 

“Who said I need your approval?”

 

“That…!”

 

Quait couldn’t say anything. Baridas opened his mouth, shifting his gaze from Quait to all the other servants.

 

“The children are part of the Chilan family. And that’s not something that needs recognition from you guys.”

 

Baridas looked at Quait again. She was someone he had seen since he was very young. But after the harm she had done to his younger siblings, he no longer had any intention of keeping her in the duchy.

 

“You have a lot of affection from what I’ve seen so far, so let’s end this by firing you.”

 

At his words, she flopped down in her seat and sobbed as if she was wronged. Her hair, which had always been neatly organized, was already a mess.

 

“How could you do that to me! I am someone who has served you since you were young!! Even the previous Duke wouldn’t have done this to me!!”

 

It was Quait who did not know that this fact was actually poisonous to him. Baridas burst into laughter. It was an obvious mockery.

 

“You must have misunderstood something. I am not your master, but the Duke.”

 

His appearance was not the young Baridas that Quait knew. Only then did she realize that something was wrong, sobbing and holding on to his pants. She had been working here for several years, so she couldn’t get kicked out like this. However, Baridas looked as if he was looking at something dirty and gestured to the knights waiting next to him to drag her away. Quait screamed in frustration until she was dragged out of the room by their hands. After her voice disappeared completely, Baridas opened his mouth.

 

“I will no longer ask about your sins. But if something like this happens to my younger siblings again, no one will be safe.”

 

The attendants bowed their heads at Baridas’ words. In the room where all the employees had left, Baridas sat down on a chair. He didn’t know that children grew up so fast, or that they grew up so neglected. He wondered if it’s foolish since they were people who ignored them even back then. They should have all been fired from the beginning. It was his own mistake. Baridas ground his teeth. He didn’t love children, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care about them. He wanted his children to grow up without lacking in anything. When he heard that they couldn’t find a tuxedo that fit Thomas, he didn’t think much of it. He just felt that children were growing faster than he thought. However, after hearing that the clothes Fiora had given him as a gift did not fit him, he headed to his room to order a tuxedo of as similar a design as possible. But when he entered Thomas’ room, he felt something strange. Thomas’ room was so empty that it was embarrassing to call it the room of a noble nobleman. He investigated and found out that it was because someone had siphoned off the money that was supposed to go to Thomas. For half a year, when his mother and father passed away.

 

He checked just in case, and it turned out that it wasn’t just Thomas, but the other kids as well. The moment he realized that fact, he felt like his blood was flowing backwards. That feeling reached its peak when he realized that he did not recognize the children as his younger siblings and that they were treated as such. It was his self-loathing. He said he should have been nicer to the kids.

 

Baridas sighed softly.

 

It was thanks to Fiora that he realized that children were being treated like this anyway. If she hadn’t gifted Thomas the tuxedo, he probably wouldn’t have noticed for quite some time. And the children must have participated in the banquet wearing clothes that didn’t fit. If something like that had really happened, the damage the children would have suffered would have been significant. He was indebted to her.

 

He got up from his chair, thinking that he must repay Fiora with something good no matter what. It was time to attend the banquet.

 

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Translator Note:

Next post will be released on January due to a little vacation I will take so let me wish you in advance…
Merry Cristmas and Happy New Year!!