A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 3

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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 3
* * *
Piyak would never forget that shocking sight for a long time.
Memo notes plastered densely across every wall, and in the center of it all, Kiana sat with her glasses on, her expression hollow and vacant. …Honestly, that looked less like effort and more like madness.
“Come on.”
Her lovely pink hair was disheveled, yet her lime-green eyes gleamed with an eerie brightness that made her look even more grotesque. The checkered pattern adorning everything from her hair ribbon to her indoor slippers only made her appearance more unsettling.
“Let’s squeeze every single brain cell we have. Give it our absolute best.”
【The details… I, I can’t quite remember them….】
“Try harder. If you make the effort, you’ll remember everything.”
I’d always known Kiana was a bit odd, but to think she was an odd person who actually put in effort….
Piyak began fluttering his wings desperately.
【Wait, wait, just a moment! Hold on! There, there’s another way!】
* * *
In the end, Piyak didn’t have to suffer through days and days with me.
【There’s a better way, Kiana! I can transfer my memories directly to you! A summoned beast can convey to its master everything it has seen!】
Piyak shook his head vigorously while muttering.
【If I get swept up in that madness, I’ll be trapped in this room for two weeks straight, talking endlessly until my throat is hoarse and torn….】
After Piyak hopped onto my head and closed his eyes, memories from after I left the Academy came flooding in.
“Hey.”
I spoke in a low voice.
“You said you’d convey what you saw. Why is it in text form? This is like….”
I added with displeasure as I gathered the floating text in my mind.
“Like I just finished reading an entire novel with Melissa as the protagonist.”
Of all things, it had to be a third-person observer perspective with Melissa as the protagonist—it made me feel so disgusted I thought I’d go mad. Piyak flinched and responded.
【Well, I, I can’t help it. Since I was Melissa’s summoned beast, I could only see and hear things from her side.】
“Hmm.”
【And truthfully, since a perfect summoning bond wasn’t established between you and me… I can only convey it in this form.】
I let out a deep sigh and rolled my eyes.
‘So this is the best we can do….’
It felt exactly like I’d just read a novel. And a trashy romance novel at that….
“I knew Melissa was popular with men, but this is really something….”
After I left, Melissa received the love and obsession of many men.
‘I thought she’d get engaged to Rodrigo right away after I left, but she dragged it out and put all these men into her little pond?’
I muttered with a look of disgust.
“Was romance the only thing she cared about? Why is everything about this? This is completely a reverse harem romance novel!”
It was called a romance novel, but it was really just a feast of fishing for men.
Of course, if this were a novel, it would be an excessively fresh and unique ending—one of the fish forced out of the pond destroys the family and kills everyone. And not even for love, but purely for political reasons….
‘But Melissa really is living the complete opposite life this time around.’
As a priestess, she can’t even marry, let alone fall in love. Anyway, I had no interest in Melissa’s romantic affairs, so I glossed over that part with clouded eyes.
There were occasionally scenes where I, who had been at the Academy, was mentioned. In every line where the men comforted “poor Melissa,” my name was always brought up—as the wicked cousin who tormented her throughout childhood and the depraved relative driven mad by jealousy.
“I’m so glad Kiana left. If that wicked woman had stayed in the Empire, you would have suffered even more, Melissa….”
“Lady Melissa, all those wounds and pain you received from Lady Kiana in your childhood… I will heal them all for you.”
“That wicked woman tormented you terribly, didn’t she, Lady Melissa? It’s a shame she’s gone far away and can’t accept a duel.”
Well, I was annoyed, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.
I carefully read through the sparse but significant events that had occurred in the Imperial Capital. In particular, I focused on the moments when House of Prellay was engulfed in tragedy, accused of treason.
‘Is this something that will happen in the future… or should I consider it the past since it actually occurred? What should I call it?’
After pondering for a moment, I decided to call the information Piyak had given me the “original work.” Since I could read through it multiple times in written form, it felt like I was reading a book. I was somewhat displeased that Melissa was the protagonist, but regardless, I extracted information from the “original work” that would be useful to me for some time.
“Hmm…”
After remaining lost in thought for a long while, I suddenly sprang to my feet as the sun began to set.
【Kiana?】
“Given the situation, out of 184 plans….”
I peeled off several sticky notes from the wall and spoke with determination.
“I’ll need to go with a plan that combines the fifty-seventh and one-hundred-twenty-second, the one-hundred-eleventh and one-hundred-twentieth, and the one-hundred-eighty-first and one-hundred-eighty-second.”
【…What?】
“After all, I’m the only one who knows the future. I’ll have to move myself, won’t I?”
【H-How?】
“I’m going back to the Imperial Duchy right now.”
That’s when someone knocked loudly on my dormitory room door and shouted.
“Lady Kiana, the admission briefing is about to start! The Dean is urging you to come quickly! You need to go give your speech right away!”
The admission briefing was an event the Dean had prepared ambitiously, gathering students and parents who were considering enrollment at the Academy. Student tuition fees were, after all, money.
And I always gave a brief lecture on the fundamentals of magical engineering to the students at that admission briefing. It was perfect for showcasing me as a high-ranking noble of the Empire and a young prodigy achieving great results at the Academy.
“Sure, I’ll go right now!”
I laughed and sprang up from my seat.
【Kiana? But you said you were going back to the Imperial Duchy!】
“Yeah. I’m going back, but I’ll repay the Dean for one thing before I leave.”
【Wow.】
Piyak murmured.
【So I get to see Kiana’s schemes already. How exciting. You’re really good at that sort of thing.】
* * *
The Academy Auditorium was packed with people after a long time, bustling with activity. It was uncommon in the exclusive Academy, which restricted access to outsiders.
The event was well underway, and as soon as the Dean standing on the podium saw me enter, he smiled and introduced me.
“Now then, let’s have a brief lecture from Lady Kiana Prelai for our prospective new students.”
I walked proudly to the podium, stood beside the Dean, and bowed respectfully.
“Hello, I’m Kiana Prelai. I’m currently in my doctoral program.”
I gave a brief lecture like this every year at the admission briefing. And my lectures were so excellent that many students would submit applications saying they wanted to enroll.
“Magical engineering is based on mathematics and science, so I’ll begin with a few simple lectures on science.”
It was the same opening every year. The Dean smiled kindly and patted my shoulder.
“Our Academy’s pride and my most precious student—more precious than my own children—Dr. Kiana is an excellent lecturer. You can look forward to it.”
I had expected it, but goosebumps rose on the shoulder where the Dean’s hand touched.
He handed me over to the Imperial Army—well, that’s possible. The Empire’s power is formidable. But at least he shouldn’t have smiled and talked about “patents” right in front of me as I was being dragged away. Or he shouldn’t have made me live like a slave of the Academy, always saying I was more precious than his own children.
The Dean was a terrible man who had exploited my deepest vulnerabilities, using love and affection as bait to manipulate me.
“Yes. You can look forward to my lecture.”
I smiled sweetly, brushed his hand off my shoulder, and began my lecture with a clear, ringing voice.
“Science is very close to our everyday lives. For example…”
I picked up the water bottle that had been prepared for drinking during the lecture if I got thirsty.
“This is gravity.”
And I poured the entire contents of the water bottle directly over the Dean’s head.
“Gah, gah! Gah gah gah! Ah, no, Kiana…”
“We’re in the middle of a lecture, Dean. Please cooperate. Now, everyone watch. I’ll show you the next one too.”
I slapped the Dean’s cheek as he stood there dazed. With a sharp crack, the audience’s jaws dropped open.
The Dean glared and shouted.
“What are you doing! That hurts!”
“Excellent explanation, Dean. My hand hurts too. Now, this is Newton’s third law of motion.”
The audience all looked at us with expressions asking, “Is this a planned lecture?” The Academy staff members also nodded in admiration, their faces showing, “So this is the style of lecture this year. How interesting.”
“Now, when an object moves, it undergoes motion, you see.”
I smiled sweetly and snatched the Dean’s toupee right off his head, flinging it out the window.
“This is projectile motion.”
Everyone who hadn’t known about the toupee’s existence gasped in shock. Among them, the students sitting in the front row looked satisfied as they evaluated it.
“Wow, classes here are really fun!”
“The lecture structure is quite interesting, isn’t it?”
The Dean stood there helplessly, wiping the water dripping down his face with a bewildered expression.
“So science is hidden in all phenomena like this, and here at the Academy, we research these laws, process mana, and create magical artifacts useful in daily life. This is a powerful adhesive that received a patent not long ago.”
I slapped a piece of paper labeled “trash” onto the Dean’s forehead with a sharp tap.
“What, what, what is this!”
The Dean shrieked in disbelief.
“It’s so powerful that it won’t come off easily without a special cleaner. With effects like this—nothing grand, but minor benefits—we can create various products.”
I smiled sweetly, threw the magical artifact to the ground, and spoke to the audience.
“But even if you were impressed, please don’t bother coming. It’s a real pain. Well, thank you for listening to my lecture.”
And with that, I left the Auditorium and boarded a carriage heading to the Empire.

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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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