A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 8

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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 8
Joshua let out a sigh, looking thoroughly exasperated.
“Seriously.”
And he spoke as if at a loss for words.
“You might as well tell me to stop this nonsense like Grandfather and Alex do. That would be better.”
An awkward silence descended in that moment.
Well… it was true that Grandfather and Alex despised Joshua’s Lorelai terribly. But that wasn’t simply because of the House of Prellay’s honor.
I gazed down at my teacup without saying a word.
House of Prellay. A great noble family that had pledged unwavering loyalty to the Imperial Family, held high renown in the Empire, and wielded formidable influence in all matters through the ability to summon spirits.
My grandfather and the head of House of Prellay, Scari Prelai, had two sons. The eldest was my father, and my uncle, the second son, had fallen for a commoner and fled the house long ago.
And from my earliest childhood, the atmosphere of the Prelai Ducal Residence had been terribly gloomy. Because when I was five years old, my mother fled in the dead of night with a coachman, leaving only a note behind.
She was pursued by the Knight Order and fell from a cliff with the coachman, dying in the process. After that, my father, broken by grief, departed for the Northern Duchy on a reckless monster subjugation campaign and never returned.
The problem was…
‘Even if I do nothing, I feel like a foreign object…’
My reflection rippled in the tea within the cup.
Pink hair and pale green eyes. I bore a lovely appearance identical to my mother’s, yet I had despised my own appearance since childhood. Because everyone who possessed Prelai’s Castle had blonde hair and red eyes. Grandfather, Father, my brothers, and even Melissa.
But with an appearance different from theirs and lacking a summoned spirit of my own, I could not help but feel immense psychological pressure.
Yet thinking about it now, I was not the only one wounded in that unstable household. I was not the only one abandoned by my parents. So perhaps all three of us siblings—Alex, Joshua, and I—had grown up equally broken in our own ways.
“Brother.”
After a long silence, I slowly spoke first.
“I meant it when I congratulated you on your independence.”
“…What?”
“You see, before I went to the Academy, there was a magical artifact I was secretly researching while reading magical engineering books in the Ducal Residence.”
Joshua’s eyes widened as if hearing this for the first time. Well, my research into magical engineering since childhood had been a secret from the family.
“It was a device to change eye color.”
“What are you…”
The moment Joshua heard my words, he laughed with an air of exasperation, letting out a hollow “heh.”
“So you spent your entire childhood locked away in your room, not seeing anyone, researching something like that?”
Silence fell once more.
Without saying it outright, we both thought the same thing regardless. The denial of our mother that we lived ignoring but could never forget. Because of it, I had despised how my appearance differed from the rest of the family, and the inability to summon a spirit of my own had caused me such anguish. I had to constantly question whether I was truly a daughter of House of Prellay.
Perhaps if there had been some method of paternity verification, and I had been openly cast out from House of Prellay, my heart would have found peace. But as things stood, I would spend my entire life in an ambiguous position, never knowing if I was truly Father’s daughter. That was why I had left the Empire.
Joshua, who had maintained his silence for a moment, finally forced out words.
“Why would you do something so pointless…”
Yet even as he spoke, he seemed conflicted and could not continue.
“You’re right. It was pointless.”
I gazed at him calmly and spoke with composure.
“But regardless of what others whisper behind my back, calling me the shame of Prellay, the fact remains that I have talent in magical engineering, and I’m on the verge of a professorship appointment.”
Joshua looked at me with a skeptical expression. It was the face of someone who wanted to say something like ‘what’s a professorship at some small nation’s academy,’ but was holding back.
“So I think your coming all this way isn’t meaningless either.”
At my words, Joshua’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
There was actually a reason why Grandfather and Alex were at odds with Joshua.
Joshua couldn’t accept his mother’s infidelity. It was serious enough that he despised all affairs so intensely he couldn’t bear it himself.
I don’t remember it well, but apparently Father and Mother had an exceptionally good relationship originally. Father couldn’t accept reality even after seeing Mother and the stable hand’s bodies.
Joshua also knew of his parents’ affectionate relationship, so he was deeply shocked and suffered greatly. Seeing his state, his nanny told him, “It’s not such a special matter. It’s surprisingly common.” And with the thought of “Is that really how everyone is?” Joshua’s investigation into high society’s secrets turned out to be unexpectedly well-suited to him, and ultimately… Lorelai, which started with the mindset of “Let’s expose all those cheating trash!” became far too successful.
I was able to understand Joshua’s heart in detail, something I hadn’t paid attention to in the original work.
“I hate Father too. Of course, I know he suffered mentally a lot because of Mother’s infidelity!”
This was because Joshua’s complaint to Grandfather, made while extremely drunk, remained recorded in writing.
“But when he ignored everyone’s objections and went to a danger zone he couldn’t return from, he never once thought of the children left behind.”
Grandfather said nothing. He had a taciturn nature to begin with, and it was also Grandfather who had suggested the monster subjugation in the Northern Duchy as a way for Father to have a change of pace. Of course, he probably didn’t know he’d venture into such a dangerous area…
“I mean, how could parents have three children and then all be so irresponsible?”
In any case, Grandfather and Alex didn’t acknowledge Joshua’s actions because of this.
Others simply thought it was because he failed to maintain the dignity of a noble house, but the reality was more complex. Both of them judged that Joshua was doing this because he hadn’t escaped from old wounds. Their opinion was “Please just move on and live your own life.” They felt that one father was enough—someone who never managed to “move on and live his own life” to the end.
“The beginning might have been pointless. But you have the aptitude and ability, so you’ve come this far, haven’t you? I think differently from Grandfather and Alex.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Even if you start from a meaningless past, if you keep going, that becomes your path.”
Joshua’s expression became slightly solemn. Seeing that face, I felt strangely nostalgic, so I began to genuinely comfort Joshua warmly.
“In that sense, I’ll support the prosperity of that trashy gossip magazine going forward.”
“….”
“Even if you live like a perpetual teenager and drive nails into Grandfather’s heart, at least you’re more than making a living for yourself.”
I also didn’t forget to add praise and blessings to boost his self-esteem.
“And discovering a taste for obsessing over luxury items with big logos is also worth celebrating. After all, self-understanding is always good, right?”
Hmm, did I say too many unnecessary things? But just… after going right up to death’s door and coming back, I seem to have caught the disease of wanting to say everything I want to say.
“Well, I’m going.”
Something felt awkward, so I stood up immediately, but suddenly Joshua grabbed me.
“Kiana!”
And he thrust the cushion I had praised as comfortable earlier into my arms.
“You said riding in the carriage is hard.”
“…What?”
“Use this to support yourself. It’ll be better.”
As I blinked with a bewildered expression, holding the cushion without saying anything, Joshua blurted out.
“You gave me a vase anyway. This is just repayment! Give and take!”
At Joshua’s response, I let out a deep sigh. Then, as if I understood Joshua’s heart completely, I smiled shyly and attempted genuine communication.
“You really live a tiring life, brother. If you want to give something, just say you want to give it. It seems like you got moved because your inconsiderate younger sister, whom you haven’t seen in a while, said something warm, and now you want to be nice like a pushover.”
“….”
“Anyway, I’m really leaving now.”
“…Yeah. Let’s go.”
Joshua set down his teacup entirely and stood up. I tilted my head and asked.
“Are you even going to see me off?”
“Why would I see you off? I’m just going for exercise.”
I scoffed in response.
“Exercise? What kind of exercise? Walking? Breathing? This is really—”
I was about to attempt genuine communication with Joshua once more when he cut me off sharply.
Joshua interrupted my words quickly.
“And listen carefully. The shame of House of Prellay is me, not you. Understood?”
“…What?”
“It’s determined by reckless behavior, not eye color. Of course you’re reckless too, but not as much as me.”
What is he saying?
“But whether people behind my back call me the shame of House of Prellay or whatever, the fact remains that I have talent in magical engineering, so I’m already looking at a professorship appointment, right?”
Is he doing this because I called myself ‘the shame of House of Prellay’ earlier?
I stood there for a moment, staring blankly at Joshua.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
And if he’d just stopped there and left coolly, it would have been perfect, but Joshua, drunk on his own coolness, added one more thing.
“Are you so moved that your heart is reacting first? Did it skip a beat, leaving you speechless?”
What is he even saying? That was truly unbearable. I sighed, looking at Joshua, and answered.
“The brain has to react first for the heart to skip a beat.”
“…”
“The brain comes first.”
“…”
Unable to respond, Joshua turned away and muttered.
“Magical engineering is doomed.”

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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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