She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 16

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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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I Am the Villainess’s Daughter in a Melodramatic Novel
Chapter 16
At the sudden, negative words, Vincent looked at Idel.
In the child’s eyes he met, he caught a glimpse of her familiar stubbornness and a strange desperation.
‘Desperation? Desperation, did she say?’
Vincent’s brow furrowed on its own.
It was because it was an emotion he had noticed, yet still could not make any sense of.
‘What could a child possibly have to be desperate about? She’s still telling me she hates me right now.’
Had she been begging for his recognition and affection, that would have made sense, but the child was behaving in the exact opposite way, wasn’t she?
If anything, it was more plausible that he had misread some other emotion as desperation.
Vincent truly believed so.
“So it’s fine if you keep hating me. I don’t expect love from a father I suddenly got, either.”
Not until he heard those words from Idel.
Without meaning to, his heart dropped with a thud.
He had no wish to love the child, and no confidence that he ever could, yet he felt exactly that.
Pressing his lips tightly shut, he did not answer Idel’s words. Instead, he studied her carefully.
The silence stretched on so long that Idel began to think Vincent Clementine doubted her sincerity.
Otherwise, there was no reason for him to look at her so intently like this.
‘Did I jump the gun a little?’
She hesitated for a moment over whether to stress that she was not lying again, but quickly dropped the idea.
On second thought, it didn’t matter. This sort of thing was important to plant with words.
“And if that’s a lie too, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Vincent bit the inside of his cheek as he watched Idel’s sarcastic remark.
‘Resignation, then.’
Back when Lowena was carrying Jeiana in her belly, he had studied child-rearing with his wife.
And among the sentences he had read back then was this one.
[Do not assume a child knows nothing. Children, precisely because they are children, often notice things faster.]
Vincent realized now that the words had not been wrong.
Idel seemed to know precisely what situation she was in.
That was why she had said such things. I hate you too, so just hate me back.
That she didn’t even expect love to begin with.
‘She must have decided to cast herself off first so she would be hurt less.’
But no matter how she defended herself like that, how could a young child achieve complete resignation? Even adults could not manage it.
The desperation he had sensed had clearly stemmed from exactly that.
Having grasped Idel’s state in his own way, Vincent closed his eyes slowly.
Pretending not to notice the throbbing in his head, he asked Idel. His voice was heavy and subdued.
“…You said you wanted to see a friend.”
“Hm? Huh?”
“That time you caused a commotion. Didn’t you say you were going to meet a friend who wanted to see you?”
Oh, that.
Idel’s eyes widened briefly.
She had brought it up because Sigmund’s words had flashed through her mind at that moment, but she had not expected the Clementine Duke to be the one to raise it first.
“Who is that friend?”
At the Duke’s question, Idel’s mind raced quickly.
Then, without hiding the wariness on her face, she asked him back.
“…Why do you want to know?”
“If you wish, I’ll arrange for you to meet them. Whenever you like.”
“Whenever I like?”
“Yes.”
At Vincent’s affirmative answer, Idel’s eyes darted slightly to the side.
‘He surely hasn’t dropped his suspicion already… So is he just letting it slide for now?’
Given how cautious he is, that could well be the case. Children reveal their true thoughts easily once they get what they want, so he may have dangled that bait precisely to draw them out.
‘Either way, it’s not bad for me.’
I got what I wanted, and we’ve become close enough that it’s hard for Melissa to step in and pull her tricks.
Even as Idel was misreading Vincent’s intentions, Vincent himself reached a conclusion based on flawed reasoning.
‘I’ll have to keep a close eye on the child with my own eyes.’
Even now, having understood the child’s situation and what the “mental instability” Doctor Ayman had spoken of truly was, Vincent could not love Idel.
Still, he felt that he would have no regrets only if he watched over the child with his own eyes.
So Vincent Clementine set one condition for Idel.
“Only one thing. Promise me this.”
“A promise?”
“Yes. From now on, you’ll attend the Ducal Household’s lessons together with Jeiana. If there’s another disgraceful incident during class, I’ll bar you from going out as punishment. Understood?”
“…Lessons? With Jeiana?”
“What, you don’t want to?”
“……No, I’ll attend with her.”
Whether it was because of having to study alongside Jeiana or because he simply hated studying, the child’s answer came out reluctant.
Vincent rose from his seat without a trace of lingering, ending the conversation there.
“Good. Then we’ll settle it that way. I’ll let Silvia know on my way out that you’re awake, so if you need anything, call for a maid.”
“Yes……”
“And I’ll lift the house confinement here as well. This isn’t because you were ill, nor because you made a fuss and insisted on your own way. It’s simply the result of considering the view that you have yet to adjust to the Ducal Household. Keep that in mind.”
Yes, adjust.
For the briefest moment, Vincent’s eyes met Idel’s.
Seeing eyes of nearly the same blue as his own, he turned and left the room once more.
Among the Ducal Household lessons Jeiana attended, swordsmanship was taught by him personally.
So as long as Idel attended lessons, there would surely be plenty of time for him to get to know her.
* * *
A few days had passed since Idel and the Duke had reached their private agreement.
Diane, the Ducal Household’s maid, had been seriously considering quitting lately.
The work wasn’t difficult. For someone who had done just about every kind of job in her life, the duties of the Ducal Household counted as easy.
Especially since the incident with the palm wound, when Idel had started calling for her often, there had been even less to do. Judged purely by workload, she might as well have been idling.
The problem was that since Idel had collapsed a few days ago, too many people had started taking an interest in her.
‘Oh, Diane. These are the clothes Lady Idel will wear. Take good care of them!’
‘It’s almost time to bring Lady Idel her snack. I’ll handle this, so you go on to Lady Idel.’
‘Diane! Lady Jeiana wrote a letter for Lady Idel. Please deliver it.’
Even the colleagues who always came looking for her whenever anything involved Idel….
‘I’ve heard from Silvia. You’re the maid who stays by Lady Idel’s side? I need to check on her condition, so come to the Apothecary Room every morning.’
Then there was Doctor Ayman, and on top of that….
“Diane! There you are!”
“Good morning, Lady Jeiana.”
“Hi, hi! Where are you headed?”
On top of that, even Lady Jeiana, who was loved by everyone in the Ducal Household, was looking for her.
Honestly, at this rate she might as well have been Idel’s personal attendant.
Diane pressed down the feeling of nausea rising in her chest and somehow managed to lift the corners of her mouth.
“Yes, Lady Idel is taking her medicine today, so I’m on my way to the Apothecary Room to pick it up.”
“I see. Well, then I’ll go with you, Diane. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Doctor Ayman……”
“Mm, yes, what a fine idea, Lady Jeiana.”
Diane answered with reluctance and let out a quiet sigh inwardly.
As for not having seen Doctor Ayman for a while.
It hadn’t been long since word spread that Lady Idel had pushed Lady Jeiana.
When the Duke heard the report that his daughter had fallen, he immediately summoned Doctor Ayman and was said to have instructed him to examine her thoroughly, from her head down to the tip of her toes.
‘Well, what does the truth matter? If the young lady says she hasn’t seen Doctor Ayman for a while, then that’s the way it is.’
Diane thought that if she stepped in now, she might suffer the same hardships she had when it happened to Lady Idel, so she simply kept walking as though she knew nothing.
One step, two steps, three steps.
Right after taking exactly five steps, Diane pulled a pained face and whipped her head toward Jeiana.
She could no longer endure that gaze, which was as blatant as it could possibly be.
“Lady Jeiana, if there’s something you want from me, could you please just tell me plainly…?”
At Diane’s voice, thick with near-tears, Jeiana gave a sheepish look and smiled bashfully.
“Oh, you noticed?”
“Yes, of course. How could I not, when you stare at me like that? And you’ve been looking for me every chance you get for days now.”
Diane let out a small sigh and spoke again.
“So, what on earth was it that made you look at me so desperately?”
“Well, it’s nothing much… Um, Diane, you see Idel up close every day, right? So, uh, how has Idel been feeling lately?”

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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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