The Villainess’ Kindergarten

When I returned to the room, I collapsed and lay down on the bed.

‘I’m tired…’

Taking care of children had always been difficult. Looking at the personalities of the prince and princess, I could understand that the Emperor and his wife were having a hard time. If the two children hit puberty hard, the Emperor’s shiny platinum hair would become one with the floor. It might be a little sad to lose that pretty hair.

When I put away my useless thoughts and turned to the side to look at the clock, the time had already passed 9 o’clock. When would Baridas come? A considerable amount of time must have passed, but since he hadn’t returned yet, it seemed like the work wasn’t finished.

At that time, the basket I brought earlier caught my eye.

‘Oh right.’

I drank the juice from the basket and took out the two remaining water coolers. Then I spoke to the maid who was standing on one side of the room.

“Can you bring me some coffee concentrate, milk, and ice? Oh, and fresh cream if possible.”

“All right!”

At my words, the maid quickly ran away. And after a while, she came back with her arms full of everything I had asked for.

“I brought it just like you said!”

The maid put the things on the table and said so, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

There was no need to overdo it that much, so I felt a little sorry.

“Thank you.”

I picked up the coffee concentrate on the table and opened the lid. Then I felt the strong scent of coffee.

“Wow…”

It was such a strong scent that I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. It wasn’t that difficult because all I had to do was mix the ingredients. By the time I finished the latte and put it in the cooler, the scent of coffee had already filled the room.

I put the cooler on the table in the middle of the room. The magic stone attached to the water cooler was semi-permanent, so the ice probably wouldn’t melt. If I did this, he would drink it when he wanted to.

After making all the coffee, fatigue set in later. After yawning, I lay down on the bed and tried to sleep.

I thought I would have to contact the kids tomorrow.

* * *

Early morning after midnight. The tightly closed door opened and Baridas entered the room.

Even in the dark room, his red eyes were shining. As he walked in, he smelled the fragrant coffee filling the room. Come to think of it, he hasn’t had a latte in a while.

When he realized that fact, he felt more tired.

After taking off his outer clothes, he pressed the button on the nightstand next to the bed instead of turning on the light in the room. As soon as he arrived at the imperial palace, he was exhausted from processing the backlog of documents, so he wanted to rest quickly.

With a clicking sound, the light in the room turned on, and the image of Fiora lying on the bed caught Baridas’ eyes.

“Umm…”

Fiora, who was sleeping, frowned as the surroundings suddenly brightened. Surprised, Baridas pressed the button on the stand again to turn off the lights in the room.

He glanced around the darkened room and frowned. This was because there was only one bed in the room.

“Damn…”

The moment he muttered softly and was about to leave the room, something sparkled on the table. It was a jewel attached to a water cooler.

When Baridas, who confirmed the identity of the sparkle, grabbed the cooler, the note written by Fiora fell to the floor.

[Work hard.]

The note seemed a bit stiff, but he liked it. A small smile appeared on Baridas’ face after reading the note. He took one look at the bed where Fiora was lying and thought.

‘I got enough sleep today.’

Thinking that it would be better to finish all the work, he grabbed the latte and left the room. 

The Emperor gave Baridas a separate room that could be used as an office, and even though he had been processing documents all day, there was a mountain of documents in the room. After sighing, Baridas put one of the lattes Fiora made on the table and poured the remaining one into a cup. Then, the scent of coffee that quickly filled the room seemed to improve his concentration just a little bit.

The moment Baridas sat down on the chair, someone came into the room without knocking.

“Das, are you still not sleeping?”

The nickname ‘Das’ was still there. He stood up with a frown on his face.

“What’s going on, Your Majesty?”

“I’m coming to see my junior, do I need a reason?”

As if he had no intention of leaving, he sat down on the chair prepared right next to him and began to stare at Baridas. Seeing Achilles like that, Baridas clicked his tongue and turned his gaze to the documents while sipping his coffee.

If he didn’t pay attention, it would go away on its own.

Baridas drank his coffee without hesitation, thinking that it could be an insult to the imperial family. The Emperor, that was, Achilles, who did not know Baridas’s thoughts wanted to have more conversations with Baridas that he had not had before. He had a lot of things he wanted to say to his junior whom he had not seen in a long time.

And, about Fiora.

Achilles had just heard what Fiora had said to his children through the knights who were watching them. Even a little while ago, Rayan came to visit and apologized, saying he wouldn’t cause trouble in the future. He was that troublemaker who didn’t listen even when he was punished.

He thought it was amazing that she could melt the hearts of children who couldn’t listen to him in such a short period of time. He felt like he wanted to talk to Fiora. To do that, he would need to get permission from Baridas.

At that time, as he was looking at Baridas, a cold storage bottle on the table caught his eye. Inside was something that looked like coffee, but was a little more opaque. Now that he thought about it, the room was also filled with the strong scent of coffee. It was the coffee scent mainly used by the imperial family when serving guests.

‘When you were at the Academy, didn’t you say that you wouldn’t drink coffee because it was bitter?’

He got curious. He reached out his hand and grabbed a bottle containing what he assumed to be coffee.

“Can I drink this?”

Baridas’ expression turned grim at his words. He was probably the only one who could look like this in front of the Emperor.

Baridas stood up and firmly took the bottle from him.

“It’s not possible.”

It’s been a while since he had had a latte, so he couldn’t give it away easily.

But Achilles couldn’t help but have more doubts about his attitude. Normally, he would be very annoyed and tell him to just drink it, but what was it that made Baridas do this? He started to get interested.

“Why?”

Baridas sighed after seeing his sparkling eyes.

‘He will never give up.’

The man who said with his sparkling blue eyes that he would become an Emperor actually became that.

“Just one drink.”

Achilles nodded his head at Baridas’ words. It was so delicious that he wondered why he did it that way.

Baridas took another cup and poured him some coffee.

“Thank you.”

Achilles took the cup from Baridas and drank the coffee without hesitation. And then his eyes widened.

‘What is this?’

It was a rich taste that made you naturally admire it. This was his first time feeling this soft touch.

‘I don’t think it’s water.’

He thought that the Empress, or even Achilles, would like coffee with this. Achilles, who remembered his troubles over the tea party being held before the crown prince’s investiture ceremony, opened his mouth.

“Who made this coffee?”

But there was no answer from Baridas. It’s like he didn’t want to talk. His attitude reminded Achilles of a person.

“No way… Princess, no… Did your fiancé make this?”

Baridas frowned, still thinking that he was quick to notice in strange places.

As expected, it wasn’t given. He had a feeling that Fiora would get caught up in something troublesome.

“No.”

He tried to pull it away, but it seemed it was already too late. With a knowing look on his face, Achilles called his attendant. Not long after, a servant came into the room, and he took the letter from the servant, scribbled something on it, and held it out to Baridas.

The letter bore the seal of the imperial family. No matter how much he did, he couldn’t refuse it.

“I will give you the opportunity to have dinner with the Emperor’s family, so consider it an honor.”

“There is no need for such glory.”

Even as he received the letter, Baridas’ expression was still wrinkled. In comparison, Achilles seemed to be in a better mood than anyone else. Recently, Achilles was very tired due to his son, Rayan, troubles and preparations for the tea party. Watching his always bright and beautiful face gradually darken, he was worried that he might get sick. But he felt that if Fiora helped, Achilles’ burden would be eased a little.

Achilles patted Baridas on the shoulder, wondering what he should reward Fiora with.

“There is nothing to decline, just make sure to bring your fiancee.”

Baridas sighed as he watched Achilles leave the room with a refreshed expression after just saying what he wanted to say.

The letter Achilles gave said that he was inviting the Chilan to dinner tomorrow. Baridas, who did not know that the prince, princess and Fiora had met, felt sorry for getting Fiora caught up in his troublesome business.

In a way, he did this because Fiora took it upon herself.

* * *

Early morning. I slowly opened my closed eyes. Maybe it was because I liked the bed, but I felt like I slept more soundly than usual.

I stretched and thought…

‘I slept well. What should I do today?’

Normally, I would have played with the kids, and although it was nice that the surroundings were quiet, I felt a little lonely. Would I be able to meet the royal siblings again?

I smiled as I thought about the imperial siblings, nicknames I had freely given them.

‘Well, we’ll meet anyway.’

I got up from bed and looked around. But Baridas didn’t come in? I tilted my head, not yet noticing that there was only one bed in the room.

Looks like he had a lot of work to do.

I went out into the hallway and started walking slowly, thinking about what to do. Should I take a look at the capital or take a closer look at the imperial palace? Oh, I also want to go to the Imperial Library and the Magic Tower.

While I was thinking and walking, Chantz and three maids were walking behind me in a line.

To be honest, it was a little burdensome.

Chantz was enough. What should I do? That’s the rule here.

“Can I enter the imperial library?”

At my words, the tallest woman among the maids opened her mouth.

“Yes, there is a library that is open to nobles as well.”

So, that meant there was a separate library where the royal family went.

I’d like to visit there too, but even museums have areas where entry is prohibited except for authorized personnel.

It was unfortunate, but there was nothing I could do.

“Then please guide me there.”

While I was walking towards the library, Chantz called me.

“Princess.”

I tilted my head at his unusual hesitation.

What was he trying to say by doing that?

“If you want something, it’s okay to tell me.”

He looked embarrassed at my words and scratched his head.

“Is it okay if I visit the Imperial Knights?”

No, was that just something he was thinking about? In any case, anyone in the imperial palace could not hold a sword unless they were members of the Imperial Knights.

Chantz would also need a lot of experience. The Imperial Knights had many great knights, so it would definitely be of help to him.

“Of course, learn a lot. If anyone says anything, just say I sent you.”

Chantz smiled brightly at my words and nodded his head.

He ran towards the training hall without even looking back, and I turned my gaze and headed back to the library.

 

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Translator Note:

Next week there won’t be a new chapter, but I will be back so… see you soon!