The evening before classes started, a collection of spring dresses filled with Helen's blood, sweat and tears arrived.
As soon as it dawned, the servants picked an appropriate dress among them and coordinated it with accessories; and as soon as I looked into the mirror, I touched my forehead.
When Helen said it was simple enough to be worn both at parties and formal occasions, I thought it sounded like a hot iced Americano; but I understood after trying it on.
It was sexy yet innocent, chic yet elegant.
I couldn't say anything because I looked so pretty in the mirror.
A life of seeing a face that is to my liking every day.
As my fan sentiment rose I unconsciously punched the wall, and the famous painting that was hung shook back and forth like an earthquake.
‘This body is really strong.'
I don't have magical aptitude, but I have good strength and stamina.
Since the possession, I haven't had the chronic fatigue and headaches I always had in my previous life.
No wonder. Being wicked is something that requires a lot of energy.
That's good. I can live a healthy and long life.
Waving my fist back and forth, I passed the shivering servants and went outside.
In front of Seymour's mansion, two four-wheeled carriages with the double-headed seal were waiting.
‘One is the carriage I will ride, and the other… What?'
Ah. The carriage that child will ride.
As I saw the little boy approaching the carriage in the distance, I screamed internally.
In the two months I spent here, I never had the chance to see the youngest, Enrique Seymour.
Because the living quarters were separated, we moved differently, and, like every home in a tragedy novel, the family would not even gather and have an affectionate meal unless there was a significant reason.
‘He's like a kitten.'
Deborah's younger brother, Enrique, with his beautifully combed silver hair, reminded me of a gray kitten.
I know he's about 10 years old, but, contrary to his youthful appearance, his mood is quite mature.
Maybe it's because of those gray eyes that sank darkly.
As I looked at the child's eyes as if I were bewitched, our eyes met.
Frowning as if he didn't see her, Enrique turned around and went inside the carriage without even saying hello.
‘Ha. That kid hates Deborah too.'
Deborah, who was hated everywhere, was amazing.
Well, Deborah also hates that precocious child Enrique.
She even felt inferior towards a cute child like that.
Deborah had no mana sensibility at all, while on the other hand, Enrique was showing outstanding accomplishments to the point of handling 3-class magic even at a young age.
The Academy Research Institute, a subsidiary of the Wizardry Association, runs a program for gifted people, and I know Enrique is the top student even at a place where only geniuses are carefully selected.
‘If everyone in the family was good and I wasn't, I would feel inferior.'
A good family, a lot of money, good looks, a good physique and strength.
I am living in gratitude for what I have now, but Deborah was extremely obsessed with what she didn't have.
In particular, the feeling of inferiority about not being able to use mana was beyond imagination.
Deborah was the only one who couldn't handle mana among the descendants and indirect blood relatives, and her father's pity seems to have provoked her even more.
‘Even so, do you relieve stress through violence?'
Deborah has no possibility to defend herself, but I couldn't help but feel somewhat depressed even when a cute child looked at me with hatred.
‘Let's just live as a villainess.'
Younger brothers are all the same. Whatever.
When I think about that rude jerk from my previous life, the illusions about my cute brother disappear.
After trying to calm down, I got on the carriage and threw my gaze over the fast-changing window.
The view outside the window was now Yones district.
As we finally crossed the arched bridge connecting the river, Horun district, where the Capital is located, appeared.
The Academy run by the Imperial family, the Knights, the Wizardry Association, and the Theology Institution were all located in the Horun district.
Among the nobles who left the Academy, the future of children from families who had nothing to inherit was to live while receiving some sort of salary from an institution run by the Imperial family.
Of course, my dream is to delay marriage as much as possible as I squeeze out Duke Seymour's infrastructure, and then use the secret funds that I accumulated to live as a wealthy unemployed… No, as a house owner.
"… Anyway, they're completely out of their minds."
Inside the city walls surrounding Horun district, it was crowded with carriages that the children of the aristocratic families used.
I expected it to take quite some time, but surprisingly, the servant guarding the gate guided the carriage through a separate passage.
A VVIP dedicated road.
The taste of power is always thrilling and fresh.
The carriage that entered Pangea Academy in a dignified manner stopped in front of the main building, in the center of the academy.
‘Ugh.'
‘Over there.'
The moment I got off the carriage, there was a breathtaking silence around me.
Because of the Seymour seal on the carriage, it was like I was advertising to everyone that I am the notorious ‘Deborah Seymour'.
With every step I took, Moses' miracle unfolded before my eyes.
When I accidentally made eye contact, they freaked out and lowered their eyes, so I moved to the classroom feeling like the only predator among herbivores.
‘It's quiet here, too.'
As I entered the classroom in order to meet the number of attendance days, the peaceful interior became quiet as if being splashed with cold water.
Like there was human noise cancellation.
‘But where do I sit?'
I looked around for a place to sit.
A seat immediately caught my attention, as it was far from the lecture desk and outside the teacher's field of view, it had a wall on one side so it gave peace and stability to the mind, and even the sunlight was great.
‘It's a lucky seat.'
It was obviously a perfect spot, so it was already occupied.
"Excuse me, J-Jake. I must sit in the front. It's a little hot here."
"H-huh? Me too."
Maybe I was staring too much, as the students sitting in the perfect spot quietly got up and moved to the front.
‘What kind of villainess gets a free pass?'
Dumbfounded, I sat in the place they yielded.
It was absurd, but there was no other reason to refuse it.
As expected, the seat was comfortable. It had a moderate amount of sunlight and the view through the window was nice.
As I was looking at the academy's beautiful landscape, with my chin resting on my hand, people around me started speaking noisily again so I turned my head.
Then I held my breath for a moment.
Philap Montez and Mia Vinoche.
The moment they entered my vision at the same time, my heart suddenly began to pound very quickly.
Breathing in and out also felt uncomfortable.
‘Why am I like this?'
It seemed to be a physical reaction imprinted on Deborah's body that had nothing to do with my will.
It was similar to the displeasure that I felt when facing Belreck.
I was frowning because I felt weird, but Philap and I made eye contact.
As I faced his cold, clouded, dark brown eyes, one of the deeply buried memory fragments slowly came up to the surface.
Thanksgiving six years ago.
Deborah met Philap for the first time at a party hosted by the Imperial Family.
"Ahh!"
At that time, Deborah accidentally dropped a decorative candlestick that was on the wall.
As the fire was moving to the end of her dress, Philap used a water spirit to put out the fire on the lace and thus was able to prevent an accident.
The image of Philap dealing with spirits was so mysterious that Deborah fell in love with him in an instant.
From that day on, Deborah publicly expressed her interest in Philap, and there was even a marriage proposal between the Seymour and Montez family at one time.
However, the story about the engagement came to nothing because Philap unyieldingly expressed that he would not marry Deborah.
Deborah's pride was deeply hurt by the rumor that Philap ended their marriage at once.
She viciously took out her anger on her subordinates, and, as that incident spread to the capital, Philap repeated a vicious cycle that made him hate Deborah even more.
Deborah couldn't give up on Philap, even though she was dumped, and she grew up in love and hatred by herself.
Deborah, who had been able to easily get what she wanted just by being wicked, couldn't behave with common sense like a normal lady to win Philap's favor.
Deborah harassed all the ladies who were interested or talked to Philap and went around showing an attitude that if she couldn't have him, they couldn't have him either.
‘No matter how bad Deborah is. You don't have to hater her that much.'
Blood is thicker than water, so I was more concerned with Deborah than with Philap.
In any case, Deborah showed her pure love towards Philap for a long time, but he appeared proudly with Mia Vinoche next to him.
Jerk.
Philap, who stiffened his mouth sternly, hid Mia, the heroine, deeper behind his back.
I felt as if I had become a villain that was after the life of the heroine.
‘Why are you doing that?!'
If this were the original work, having the heroine overprotected would only provoke Deborah's temper; but he is the one who didn't have any tact.
No wonder. Had Philap been a sensible man, this novel would not have been a reverse harem novel.
I would have saved my money since it was short.
Still, he wasn't the male lead, but Philap certainly had a different presence than the extra men around him.
His features were distinct, and his hair was scarlet as a flame, so he stood out the most in here.
"Mr. Philap?"
Having been lost in thought, I faced the heroine, who had been hiding behind Philap's large back and slightly sticked out her face, and held back my breath.
‘That's crazy. She's really pretty.'
If you personified purity, it would be Mia Vinoche.
‘It's a face that bewitches you even if you're a woman.'
Flowery pink hair, soft skin, blue eyes like jewels, elegant pointy nose, and cherry-like lips…
As soon as I saw her face, I understood why all the guys in the novel, including the sadist twins at home, hung around her.
‘Deborah, who is proud of her face, must have been shocked?'
To be honest, she had a more popular type of beauty. I see why Deborah felt so intensely inferior to Mia Vinoche in the original work.
When you start comparing them, there's no end to it.
‘But it feels like everyone is watching this with popcorn.'
It wasn't just a feeling; after Philap and Mia came in, there were a lot of people who couldn't help but glance at me with curiosity.
Deborah had been showing a strong interest in Philap, so they couldn't help but be curious about my reaction.
‘… I shouldn't even make eye contact.'
It is highly likely that I will be misunderstood just by looking at Mia's face, just like when I unintentionally stole the window seat.
I hurriedly turned my gaze towards the window and acted with indifference.
***
Philap was in a sinking mood because Mia didn't come wearing the necklace he had given her.
That's not all. The image of Deborah walking around the academy while wearing the pink diamond, acting arrogantly, was fresh in his memory, so his irritation kept rising.
‘But… It's not there?'
Philap was secretly taken aback by the unexpected impressive black pearl necklace hung on Deborah's neck.
In addition, his confusion increased as she turned her face towards the window with her hand on her chin, making it impossible to read her expression.
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