The Villainess’ Kindergarten

When I arrived in front of the banquet hall, I couldn’t help but be impressed. A scene like a movie was unfolding in front of me. Gorgeously dressed people were getting off a carriage richly decorated with flowers and jewels and entering a building several times more luxurious. I really couldn’t describe this scene other than saying it was gorgeous. No, was it of this scale? I thought there would be about forty people at most. It looked like there were over 40 carriages, not people. The children who followed behind were also impressed by the banquet hall.

 

“It was a building with lights on like this!”

 

“It’s so pretty!”

 

Lima and Jasmine opened their mouths and looked at the banquet hall. Greenly, Ren, and Thomas got out of the carriage that arrived later. Their eyes sparkled as they looked at the banquet hall sparkling with colorful lights. Now that the kids have gotten off, I turn my attention to the banquet hall and look at the kids. After confirming that they had all gotten off the carriage, I opened my mouth.

 

“Then shall we go in now?”

 

The children nodded their heads strongly at my words. But Jasmine, who was not a tomboy, was already going up the stairs. I picked her up and put her down next to her. She looked up at me with a pouty expression, as if she wasn’t happy about being stopped by me. She seemed to be hated by Jasmine, so she was a little upset, but she couldn’t help it. If you lose your way, it’s a big problem.

 

“Now everyone, stand side by side and hold hands.”

 

At my words, the twins held each other’s hands, and Jasmine and Ren held hands. When I held out my hand to Thomas, who was still alone, he seemed to hesitate for a moment and then took my hand. His ears were stained red. It was cute to see him like that, so I smiled a little and looked to the side. When I saw that the children were holding hands in a row, I smiled and opened my mouth.

 

“Okay, if everyone caught it well, shall we go up?”

 

I last looked at the children’s dresses, headdresses, etc. But the kids stamped their feet and led my hand, as if they wanted to get in as quickly as possible.

 

“Come on in!”

 

“Quickly!!”

 

Seeing them like that was cute, so I burst into laughter and started walking up the stairs to the banquet hall with the kids. The gaily dressed people, perhaps recognizing the children and me, moved out of the way and greeted me by bending their knees or bowing their heads. Not knowing much about etiquette, I greeted them in the same way. Fortunately, I was able to take actions that were more natural than I thought, perhaps because my body had developed a habit. When I looked behind me, I saw that the children were also skillfully greeting them. The elegant behavior, the red eyes that are the symbol of the Chilan family, and the children’s gorgeous appearance seemed to indicate that they were members of the Chilan family even when they were still. I thought as I looked at the cute kids at a glance. Why on earth did they ignore the children as half-penny in the original work?

 

I could assure anyone that the children were more elegant and noble than any of the nobles gathered here. In the book the children had their debutantes later than other nobles, and as a result, they were looked down upon in social circles, knowingly or unknowingly. Knowing this, I felt a strange sense of pride as I watched the children being greeted by nobles. As expected, it was a good thing I brought them here.

 

I smiled thinking that.

 

After climbing all the stairs, a large door came into view. It seemed like two or more adult men would have to stand horizontally to reach the end of the door. The moment I was wondering how to open the door, a technician came over and started pushing the door.

 

And he shouted loudly.

 

“Her Highness Princess Damon and the children of the Chilan family are entering!!”

 

The door was fully opened, and the music, which had been heard softly, grew louder and began to fill the surroundings majestically. But that only lasted a moment. As soon as the door opened, the song stopped and everyone’s eyes turned to us. I held on to the hem of my dress, trying not to tremble as I felt so many eyes on me for the first time in a long time. At that time, I was startled by the force I felt from the other hand and looked to the side. Thomas must have sensed that I was trembling, so he gave strength to the hand he held.

 

“It’s fine.”

 

Even though his eyes and hands were shaking as he said that. Seeing him like that, I burst into laughter.

 

“Okay, thanks Thomas.”

 

I held Thomas’ hand firmly as if answering and walked one step into the banquet hall. There was no need to be nervous. I am Fiora, the villainess in the novel, the princess of the Damon Empire, and the fiancée of Duke Chilan.

 

‘There’s nothing to worry about, Lee Ye-rin.’

 

There was no need to take a deep breath. Because I was one of the most valuable people in this empire. As soon as the kids and I entered the banquet hall, the song started playing again. As if announcing the start of a banquet. I put on as calm a look as I could and headed to the center of the banquet hall with the kids. Perhaps out of consideration for children who find it difficult to stand for long periods of time, children’s chairs and tables were set up in the corners of the banquet hall. The moment I was about to take a step to take the kids there, Thomas let go of my hand and Ren and Lima pushed my back.

 

“We’ll go by ourselves, so you can enjoy the banquet.”

 

No, I didn’t want to enjoy the banquet? I wanted to stay with them. I was taken aback by the unexpected words and looked at the children. However, the children seemed to think they were a hindrance to my enjoyment of the banquet. I didn’t really want to do it, but I also needed to say hello to other nobles, and their consideration was remarkable, so I decided to accept the children’s consideration with a grateful heart.

 

“I will. Thank you.”

 

Not long after the children sat down, nobles gathered around me. They introduced themselves to me by telling me their names and positions, and I greeted them as best I could. Even though I didn’t leave anyone by my side for long. After seeing that most people had greeted me, I craned my neck back.

 

I felt sore. I greeted so many people that my knees and neck hurt. I put my hand on his neck and pressed hard. Then there was a clicking sound. Fortunately, no one else seemed to hear it, but I couldn’t let go of my head. For a moment, I felt ruined. I was very aware of this symptom, having experienced it countless times during my third year of high school, that was, when I was taking the exam.

 

…The fence came. I applied more force, trying not to let go of the hand holding my neck. The small jewels on the necklace tingled when touched. Because the necklace Thomas gave me was a choker-shaped necklace, I couldn’t massage my neck. If I did that, I would definitely leave jewel-shaped marks on my neck and hands. Damn, I wanted it to look natural to see myself with my hands around my neck. Although it seemed unlikely.

 

‘Please, don’t look, anyone.’

 

I started massaging my neck, avoiding the necklace as much as possible. At that time, I made eye contact with a noble lady. She started coming towards me with an expression like, “Oops.”

 

No, it’s okay if you forget to say hello. Don’t come! I wanted to scream. Of course, that wasn’t possible. It was clear that she was probably quite oblivious. Otherwise, there was no way he could have approached me with his hand on my neck.

 

“Hello, princess.”

 

The moment she greeted me, I started to worry. Here, do you choose not to say hello and save your neck and lose your manners, or do you say hello and keep your manners and lose your head? However, I was a Confucian believer, steeped in Confucian ideas handed down from the Joseon Dynasty. Even if the neck was broken, it could be reattached. I couldn’t bear to ignore the greeting. The moment I was about to lower my head, something touched my neck. In an instant, the pain in my neck disappeared and my neck started moving again. This cool and subtle feeling spread from the area it touched, as if I had applied a patch. It’s also a very good paste. After saying hello to her, I touched my neck. I could still feel that something in my throat.

 

Suddenly.

 

I was startled when I caught that something. Because it was a human hand. It’s also a man’s hand. The accident stopped momentarily. I didn’t know what to say for carelessly touching my body, or whether to say thank you for helping me. After hesitating, I decided that saying thank you was the priority and looked back. Baridas, who I don’t know when he came there, was looking at me. I froze in place at the appearance of a person whose touch I couldn’t even put into words. While holding on to Baridas’ hand. But he didn’t seem to care that I was holding his hand, so he lowered my arm to its original position just as he was holding his hand and started escorting me. I played with my neck with my other hand. There was still a cool feeling remaining. So, was that just magic? I glanced briefly at Baridas and thought.

 

‘The male lead’s buff is like this. He’s very perceptive. Quick-witted people are the best.’

 

His insight was like an oasis in the desert or a bonfire in the North Pole to me now. The benefactor who saved my life.

 

“Thank you for your help.”

 

Baridas nodded his head slightly at my words. And his hand touched my neck once again. He pressed once or twice around my neck and opened his mouth.

 

“I think it would be a good idea for you to exercise a little more, I see your neck is very tight.”

 

He pressed my neck a few times, as if he was used to relaxing my muscles. Not long after his hand touched my neck, it felt cool, as if it had been massaged. By the time his hand fell, even the little remaining pain had completely disappeared. I looked at Baridas’ hands as if they were gods. All-powerful hand… And while heading to the podium with Baridas, I felt something strange. I couldn’t feel people’s gaze. Now that I’ve reached Baridas, I would have felt more gazes than before, but I wouldn’t have not felt them. But strangely, I didn’t feel any gaze. The nobles’ eyes were focused on something other than me and Baridas. When I looked where their eyes landed, I saw children sitting on chairs.

 

Ren and Thomas were talking, and Lima was dozing off, leaning on Greenly’s shoulder as he read a book. And Jasmine was eating a mountain of cake. She looked so lovely eating the cake with her cheeks puffed out. Other nobles besides me seemed to have felt that fact as they were all looking at Jasmine with happy smiles…

 

‘It’s so cute, of course everyone wants to see it.’

 

I felt something proud when I saw that. Jasmine didn’t seem to mind much, perhaps because she didn’t feel the numerous gazes on her at all. After she finished eating her cake, she took a new cake, cut it with a fork, then dipped it and offered it to Ren.

 

“Sis, ah!”

 

Ren smiled and stroked her head after eating the cake. Jasmine fed cake to all the children except Lima, who was dozing off. She then smiled brightly, as if she was satisfied.

 

“Do you want more because Jasmine gave it to you?”

 

Seeing that sight, most nobles with children clutched their hearts. It was a moment when all the nobles who came to the banquet hall fell in love with Jasmine.

 

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