A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 21
“Since I’ve repaired Hou for you, please grant me just one request. I don’t want to marry Lord Rodrigo.”
“What?”
“I have quite a compelling reason for this. There’s a way to easily overcome even Prince Hitten’s pressure….”
“Kiana!”
Scari shouted as if exasperated, his face clearly flushed with anger.
As expected…. It seemed difficult to simply ignore the imperial pressure. Joshua was about to step forward with a deep sigh to take Kiana’s side when—
“Kiana, wait. Listen to me first.”
“Please don’t be angry with me. I’ve already thought this through roughly….”
“My anger isn’t directed at you for that reason.”
Scari cut off Kiana’s words firmly and spoke.
“You didn’t need to repair Hou just to ask me for a favor.”
【What are you saying, Scari!】
Hou, who had recovered considerably and was now in the office rather than the greenhouse, cried out with wide eyes and fluttering wings.
【Fixing me was the right thing to do!】
“Of course it was the right thing to do!”
It was quite a mess. In the midst of it all, Scari looked directly into Kiana’s eyes and spoke.
“You only need to say one thing—that you don’t want to marry that bastard.”
“Yes?”
“Remember this. From now on, you can simply say what you want.”
Kiana was actually intimidated by Scari’s resolute demeanor and mumbled hesitantly.
“But it’s true that the engagement talk with Melissa has already come up….”
“Just because she didn’t become a priestess, do you think she would have quietly gone through with an engagement to Lord Rodrigo?”
Scari responded sharply. Kiana quickly nodded in agreement.
“That’s right, Grandfather…. You have surprising insight. If it were her, she’d spread rumors with countless men while dragging out the engagement indefinitely for a whole year.”
The agreement came too quickly, with such detailed and specific predictions. Watching Kiana like this, Scari spoke slowly.
“Anyway, just ignore this.”
And he tore up the letter Prince Hitten had sent.
“…Pardon?”
“After all, granting you one marriage won’t make it easy to get along with Prince Hitten anyway.”
Scari, who had thrown the torn letter pieces into the trash, looked at Joshua and asked grumpily.
“But why did you come?”
“Well… that is….”
Joshua realized he had nothing left to do in this house.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
So he promptly closed the door and left the office. Then, lingering for a moment in front of it, he muttered loudly enough for those inside to hear.
“Still, shouldn’t someone see me off…?”
The office remained silent.
“After all, I’m a nobleman too, so I can’t leave alone according to etiquette, right?”
The office remained silent still.
“Grandfather’s legs aren’t in good condition, so shouldn’t a younger person go instead?”
The door swung open. Kiana emerged with an exasperated expression and looked at him.
Joshua shrugged and said something.
“As expected, you couldn’t bear to send me alone, so you came out to see me off yourself?”
“What are you talking about?”
Kiana spoke curtly.
“Why would I see you off? I’m just going for exercise.”
Joshua stifled a laugh internally.
“Why would I see you off? I’m just going for exercise.”
“Exercise? What kind of exercise? Walking exercise? Breathing exercise?”
Wasn’t this exactly what he’d said when Kiana came to his house, trying to see her off? It was so adorable that Joshua decided to tease her a bit more.
“What kind of exercise? The exercise of seeing my brother off? Ah, let’s not say things like walking exercise or breathing exercise out of conscience.”
Kiana glanced at Joshua, then walked stiffly as she answered.
“Uniform acceleration motion.”
“….”
“Motion at constant velocity.”
“…I hope magical engineering fails.”
* * *
An informant brought news to Sezare’s Marquis Mansion about Lord Rodrigo’s marriage proposal.
“Ranaq.”
Sezare sat like a painting, listening to the report with his chin resting on his hand, then spoke languidly.
“I cannot pretend not to notice my benefactor’s predicament. I suppose I’ll have to take an evening stroll through the Capital tonight.”
“Oh, oh, tonight?”
Ranaq asked with wavering eyes.
“It seems so… so sudden. You always emphasized about the young lady that we were merely ‘using each other plainly,’ didn’t you? So why would you go this far…?”
“It was something I was planning to do anyway.”
Sezare spoke calmly and smiled wickedly.
“I’m just adjusting the timing a bit.”
* * *
Joshua climbed into the carriage with an awkward expression.
“The servants keep staring at my head, so I need to leave quickly.”
According to the spy maid’s account, Joshua had said something like “if I come back here again, my head won’t be normal” when he left.
I gazed awkwardly at Joshua, who had climbed into the carriage. This was the first time I’d seen him since we parted ways yesterday because of Piyak. In other words, our conversation from yesterday hadn’t been properly concluded.
I had thought we were like strangers to each other, but I now realized that wasn’t quite the case. So perhaps I could trust him just a little bit more than I thought. As much as the letters I didn’t know about, as much as the loneliness of a graduation ceremony without a single bouquet.
‘If my two brothers had held hands and prepared before the regression, the outcome might have been different.’
In the end, even in the future, they never cooperated at all and kept stabbing each other in the back, displaying the glory of a chaotic household. My brothers were individually talented, but that was all. Without even basic character, they couldn’t band together as a family to overcome crises.
‘This time, I should… try cooperation, even just a little bit.’
If I didn’t struggle alone and gradually began to trust my family members, everything could become much easier.
“Hey, brother.”
“What?”
“You’ll look into the Crown Prince for me, won’t you?”
I was prepared to elaborate if Joshua proved as uncooperative as yesterday. But he surprised me with a different response this time.
“I figured that gluttonous, chubby Crown Prince was already dead. But well, I don’t know everything either. I’ll look into it.”
“Huh?”
“For instance, I didn’t even know Hou was injured like that. I didn’t know he was hiding in the Greenhouse. I just thought….”
His eyes grew distant.
“…that he’d gone somewhere far to carry out Grandfather’s orders. It happened often enough.”
After all, an ungrateful grandson like me whom Grandfather didn’t even bother with would hardly pay attention to Grandfather’s familiar.
“And I have no idea when, where, or why he was poisoned so severely.”
“…It seems Grandfather has no intention of telling me either.”
I’d subtly asked Grandfather yesterday why Hou was injured, but he gave me no answer. Hou himself immediately shut his mouth whenever the topic came up.
“Then, brother.”
I looked at Joshua and spoke quietly.
“Can you also investigate when Hou disappeared?”
“That’s not difficult.”
Joshua shrugged casually and answered without concern.
“Anyway.”
He climbed into the carriage and looked at me.
“I’m glad the marriage matter was resolved well.”
“I’m not sure that was resolved well at all….”
I sighed and clicked my tongue.
Grandfather’s solution of ignoring it wasn’t bad. After all, Lord Rodrigo and I had no official connection. But knowing the future as I did, it wasn’t a solution I welcomed.
‘I still don’t know Prince Hitten’s true intentions. There’s no need to give him any leverage.’
It was an opinion from the imperial family, after all. A gentle refusal with justification was better than simple dismissal. If I claimed something like “I no longer have feelings for Lord Rodrigo,” it wouldn’t work given my past actions. Even if he responded with “You were so obsessed—surely this is just a passing whim? Let’s try again with time,” I’d have nothing to say.
So I needed a reason that left no room for doubt. Something like having found a lover, for instance.
“Joshua, and also….”
I stopped Joshua and spoke again.
“Find someone for me. They’re probably in the Capital. I’d like to meet them, and the sooner the better.”
“Finding people is my specialty. Who is it?”
“Count Sezare Levin.”
“Huh?”
Joshua blinked and tilted his head in confusion.
“Why are you looking for that annoying bastard?”
…Annoying bastard?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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