She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 17

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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 17
“Lady Idel?”
For someone who had been trailing her for days, it was a surprisingly modest question. Diane couldn’t help tilting her head.
“Lady Idel hasn’t been much different from usual…?”
“…Really? So she isn’t especially upset, then?”
“Mm, no.”
Just in case she’d missed something, Diane retraced her memories, but it was the same.
Lady Idel was as moody and fussy as always.
‘Now that I think about it, the servants have been taking a lot more interest in Lady Idel lately.’
The servants who had asked me to run errands would always find a moment to ask whether Lady Idel was being difficult or picking on anyone.
Back when Lady Idel was ill, a few of the servants said things that left a bad taste in my mouth, so I’ve been keeping quiet about them.
‘Maybe quitting is the answer after all.’
Just as Diane quietly pressed a hand to her stomach, which had begun to ache again, Jeiana let out a small “ugh” and her eyes drooped at the corners.
“She isn’t upset about anything special… Then she must really be angry with me.”
“Huh?”
“Idel isn’t saying a word to me… Before, whenever I tried to talk to her, she’d grumble that she didn’t need me calling her an idiot or a fool or whatever. We were really close.”
“…Excuse me?”
“It must be because of the hideout business that she’s misunderstanding me, right? I wish she’d at least listen to me, just once…”
Diane couldn’t quite make sense of what Jeiana was saying, and she parted her lips in a daze.
She served Idel up close, so Diane knew very well what this “grumbling” was. Even so…
“Um, Lady Jeiana, I don’t think people usually call their close friends idiots or fools. Wouldn’t it be better if she just didn’t say anything at all, like now?”
“What?”
At the words she’d carefully forced out, unable to hold back any longer, Jeiana’s eyes went wide for a moment.
She blinked once, then twice, before she burst into giggles and shook her head.
“No, no! Idel’s always like that!”
“…Huh? Ah, I’m sorry, I don’t quite follow…”
“Well, that’s just how she talks, but Idel is really, really kind! Honestly, I think she’s just embarrassed.”
“Ah, so that’s what you mean…”
“I mean it! She secretly watches me later, you know? Where did all that shouting about not needing me go? I can see her peeking at me, worried I’d be hurt!”
If you focus on her actions and her eyes, not her words, you can tell right away what kind of girl she is.
Jeiana’s blue eyes shone with certainty.
That shine was so intense that Diane found herself, without meaning to, replaying Idel’s behavior in her mind.
‘…Her actions, you say?’
Suddenly, the medicine vial in her pocket caught against her fingers.
It was because she always carried it around so she could show it to Idel whenever she checked on it.
Rubbing the surface of the vial, which felt strangely heavy, Diane gave a small laugh.
‘Oh, come on. No way.’
No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t make sense.
“Even if Lady Jeiana is like that, do you really think Lady Idel would treat me with affection? Every chance she gets, she scolds me, saying I’m no different from the cat she kept long ago.”
Diane shook her head and erased, just for a moment, the possibility that had surfaced in her mind.
‘No, surely not.’
…Surely not, right?
Words and actions she would have let pass without a second thought kept catching at her eyes ever since she’d heard Jeiana’s words.
“Hey, is that sweat on your forehead? Ugh, how disgusting! Don’t follow me around, just stay shut up in my room. For your information, I’ll be coming back ‘slowly’ in an hour. Got it? One hour.”
And the things she’d said on those blazing hot days, when Diane wiped the sweat from her brow while attending to her…
“Are you standing there so awkwardly beside me while I eat my snacks, hoping I’ll notice you? No, don’t answer that. Take this and go make me another cup of tea. Oh, and since I want some time alone, don’t even think about coming back until you’ve finished the sweets I handed you.”
Unlike her spiteful words, there were other things too, like the hand that had passed her fine desserts.
Of course, she hadn’t handed them over gently; she’d practically shoved them into Diane’s arms…
‘That’s absurd.’
Is it really that Lady Idel just isn’t honest, and that she’s actually been kind all along? That can’t be true. It’s utterly absurd.
Just as Diane was trying to shake off Jeiana’s words with that thought, Idel spoke to her.
“Daisy, you seem to be quite close with Jeiana.”
At Idel’s question, Diane’s body gave a jolt. The subject she’d been thinking about moments earlier made her feel guilty, as if she’d been caught.
Quickly wiping the thoughts from her mind, she hurriedly answered Idel.
“W-we aren’t close at all. It’s nothing like that. It’s just that Lady Jeiana said she had something she wanted to ask me…”
“She did, to you, Daisy? How strange.”
At the mocking, sharp tone, Diane, who had been about to lower herself humbly, stole a glance at Idel, careful not to let it show.
‘Don’t look at her tone. Look at what Idel is doing.’
Actions… Lady Idel’s actions…
Following Jeiana’s gaze, Diane studied Idel from every angle until something caught her eye, and her own eyes went round.
‘Lady Idel, you’re holding your book upside down?’
Of course, Idel had turned the book over to match the map against her current position, but Diane could hardly be expected to know what went on inside her head.
To Diane, Idel was simply a suspicious-looking child, gripping a book upside down, rolling her eyes, and pushing out her lower lip.
Faced with Idel’s puzzling appearance, Diane’s lips parted before she realized it.
“Um, excuse me, Lady Idel. My name isn’t Daisy, it’s Diane….”
“What?”
“Ah, well, I just thought that if you called me by the wrong name, it might cause you some trouble…!”
“Ha! Trouble?”
At Idel’s retort, Diane came back to her senses and clasped her hands tightly together.
‘Correcting a young lady? I must have lost my mind!’
Her mind went blank, and her heart thudded in her chest.
‘What if, just what if, Jeiana’s guess and what I saw were both nothing but mistakes…?’
Then she had just done something she should never have done.
The dizzying thought made Diane bite down hard on her lower lip.
Meanwhile, Idel noticed nothing unusual about Diane, who was trembling.
She had seen Diane step in a few times during the paper incident and the medicine bottle incident, so she assumed this was just more of the same meddling.
So Idel decided to answer in her usual way: curt and irritating, but not so cutting that it would really hurt. A smug expression came with it, as a bonus.
“Daisy or Diane, what’s the difference? Isn’t it your fault for having such similar names?”
“….”
“Hmph, anyway, so you’re acquainted with Jeiana, huh? Then go tell her this. I have no intention of meeting a liar, so don’t keep coming around, and don’t send me letters. Oh, and tell her I couldn’t care less whether her favorite cake is fruit and whipped cream. I’m a cheesecake person, so we’re complete opposites. Tell her we should never share a table again. Understand?”
“Ah….”
“What’s with the stealing glances instead of answering? Do I look like a joke to you?”
“Ah, n-no, I’m sorry! It’s not that….”
Idel snapped the book shut with a loud clap, scoffed, and spoke again.
“I don’t want to hear it, so forget it. Just go and pass that on properly. And don’t come back, I’m sick of it.”
“I… understand. I’ll be sure to tell her exactly that.”
Diane lowered her head on instinct, biting her lower lip with a strange expression.
No, that was wrong. Now even she couldn’t take Lady Idel’s words at face value.
‘Doesn’t what she just said sound like… “I read your letter, and I know you love fruit and cream cake. I’m a cheesecake fan. Let’s throw a fabulous cake party someday soon.” Doesn’t it? Or am I wrong?’
Diane, reading Idel’s words with unsteady eyes, forced herself to look away.
No, no. This was all definitely a misunderstanding. Jeiana’s words and Lady Idel’s hidden meaning, I didn’t hear any of it.
‘Remember, that’s the easier way to live, Diane!’
Resolving to clear her head for a peaceful life as a maid, she was just about to leave the room with a respectful bow.
“Hey, wait right there.”
“Yes?”
At Idel’s order to stop, Diane turned back around and instinctively studied Idel’s face.
Crooked eyebrows, lips pressed tight, and eyes narrowed as if something displeased her.
Normally, the moment she saw that look, Diane would squeeze her eyes shut and brace herself for a scolding, but somehow today she didn’t feel like doing that.
Just as Diane waited nervously for what she would say….”
“Thinking about it, you’re so dim-witted that you probably wouldn’t realize I was calling you unless I used your proper name. No wonder you move so slowly.”
“….”
“Since I’m going to call you Diane, just as you wished, I’m saying don’t act so stupid from now on.”
Completely unaware of Diane’s unsettled heart, Idel dug her own grave.

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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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