She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 18

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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
Episode 18
“…Th-thank you….”
Diane bowed like a dry branch swaying in the wind and hurried out of the room.
Through the gap in the door, she caught sight of Idel hiding her face behind a book.
Her eyes went wide, as if she’d seen a ghost, and she shook her head quickly.
‘Calm down. Just calm down.’
Diane gripped the doorknob and took a slow, deep breath.
Then she decided to lay out everything that had just happened, as calmly and objectively as she could.
‘So what I’m saying is, I might have misjudged Lady Idel all this time. Her actions just now did look that way.’
Honestly, she still wasn’t sure.
How should I put it? It’s like something she’d taken for granted had shattered in an instant.
Not that it was any wonder. Not a single servant in the household had a good word for Idel.
‘But if I really, truly misunderstood her…’
The initiative Diane had barely kept in check began to stir, creeping up inside her.
Gripping the doorknob tightly, she blinked, and then turned around as though she’d made up her mind.
She was going to find the Head Maid and ask to join Idel on tomorrow’s outing.
“Phew…”
With every step she took, two thoughts fought fiercely inside her head.
One whispered that she could reach a conclusion if she just checked one more time, and the other warned that acting like this while everyone’s attention was fixed on her was madness. But then again, what could she do?
‘That’s a seriously bad habit.’
Maybe if she hadn’t seen it, she could have ignored it, but Diane had never been the type to look away from something that had already lodged itself in her mind.
When she reached the Head Maid’s room, she pressed her pounding heart down with a trembling hand and carefully knocked on the door.
* * *
While Diane’s image of Idel, the one prejudice had so carefully preserved, was shattering to pieces, Idel was calmly going over the things she needed to confirm.
She had already checked that the thread ring Bilead had given her changed color when she rubbed it, and she had also compared the information from the original work against the old map and the current one.
‘The old map does show it, the Abandoned Orphanage from the original work. Since it’s not marked on the current map, it seems no new building has been put up there.’
In that case, it was worth picking a day to go to the Abandoned Orphanage.
It might yield nothing, but after all, it was the place where Melissa had been adopted in the past.
It was also the place my little sister had mentioned in her book report more than once.
‘And it’s fairly close to the Lopez Count Family’s estate, too. I could use Violet’s grave as an excuse to make the trip.’
Violet had been the cat Idel raised while she was still in the Count Family.
Back when she had no memories of her previous life, she had been the only friend she could open her heart to.
Idel marked the information she had hurriedly pulled from memory, then slowly tapped the desk.
‘Something’s off.’
Somehow, everything was going far too smoothly.
Finding the thread of the curse and meeting Sigmund could be chalked up to a mix of chance and effort, but the events that followed were hard to believe.
‘For one thing, Melissa has been way too quiet.’
Of course, Melissa was not the type to concern herself with her daughter’s friendships.
To be precise, she had never shown much interest in her daughter’s growth at all, let alone her friendships.
Besides, to someone like her, children like Sigmund, whose stage was the streets, were hardly different from Violet the cat.
‘She confirmed the curse was firmly in place right before I met the Duke, so she probably just glanced over this “friend” I’m meeting on this outing and let it go.’
Still, what about everything else? There must be something I’ve overlooked. For instance…
‘Like what Melissa did after I collapsed.’
Idel’s eyes narrowed. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the woman would never have simply walked away after she collapsed without doing anything at all.
Even so, the silence could only mean one of two things.
‘Either she has already done something and I failed to notice, or she is preparing something else entirely.’
Either way, all Idel could do right now was weaken the curse’s hold on her and search the Abandoned Orphanage thoroughly, trying somehow to find a clue.
“For now, I’ll just have to stay alert to my surroundings and focus on tomorrow’s outing.”
At least it was an outing she had been officially permitted to take, so there was some comfort in not having to rush back.
Idel took one last look at the settings from her memories that she had organized, then went straight back to bed.
Now was the time to store up her strength for tomorrow.
* * *
The next morning.
Idel left the Ducal Household early, since Sigmund would be waiting endlessly for her to arrive. As she stepped out, she rubbed her eyes for a moment at the several figures standing in front of the carriage.
“…Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Why are there four heads?”
Out of sheer generosity, I could understand two of the four heads.
I had said I’d go alone, and the Duke had flatly refused.
The fact that the meeting place had been set at a cafe chosen by the Ducal Household was also largely because of that.
But the other two, I could say with certainty, were people who should never have been here.
“Idel, over here!”
“Ah, Lady Idel! G-good morning……!”
“Jeiana. Diane.”
What are these two doing here?
Faced with a situation she couldn’t make sense of, Idel raised one eyebrow pointedly.
She strode toward the two of them, eyes narrowed, and fired off a question in a cold, clipped voice without any preamble.
“What’s going on with you two?”
She wore the expression they found most intimidating and tilted her chin, as if to say, spit it out.
From experience dealing with Jeiana and Diane, the moment she pressed them like this, they would shrink back and start making excuses……
“Hm? Why, we came out to see my little sister off! You’re heading to Cafe Florang today, right? I wanted to go with you, but I have a class I can’t skip. What a shame. Next time, let’s go together!”
“Ah, I’m going with Idel. I-I couldn’t let the young lady go out alone, so… The Head Maid gave her permission!”
Making excuses…?
‘What’s gotten into these two today? They’re so spirited.’
Idel’s eyes wavered slightly at the completely different behavior from the two of them.
‘Did I sound too gentle just now?’
That could be it. People get used to things, after all. Maybe the two of them had simply grown accustomed to how she talked.
So Idel answered back with an even colder expression and tone than before.
“Ha, I’m not the least bit disappointed. I’m going alone, so both of you, move aside!”
She’d expected them to back down as usual after that, but the words that followed made her eyes go wide.
“Oh, fine. Then I’ll have your favorite drink ready for when you arrive, Idel. We can share some cheesecake together.”
“I-I absolutely have to go along! No matter what Lady Idel says, this is something we absolutely, absolutely cannot back down from!”
What on earth is going on with them?
Faced with how utterly unlike themselves the two of them were acting, Idel looked back and forth between them, suspicion written all over her face.
But despite Idel’s relentless stare, Jeiana and Diane didn’t budge.
It was the composed confidence of people who had already shared their views on the topic of ‘Idel’s nasty tongue and her true intentions.’
“Haah……”
With neither of them showing any sign of giving ground, Idel let out a short sigh.
‘Sure, the original work had her as a pushover, but Duke Clementine isn’t a fool……. Simply assigning guards won’t make him trust me.’
Most likely, everything she discussed with Sigmund today would reach the Duke’s ears.
‘In any case, I’d better watch my words today.’
I had lied that Sigmund and I were so close we could never be pried apart, so I’d have to look the part, too.
Having settled on the attitude she would show Sigmund, Idel crooked a finger and called Diane over.
It was a silent permission to come along.
Diane rolled her eyes back and forth, reading Idel’s mood, and at that single gesture broke into a smile brimming with relief.
“Don’t bother waiting on me hand and foot. Just tag along with me and don’t ruin the mood, got it? And don’t call me ‘Idel,’ either. Just call me ‘Del.'”
“Ah, yes! I-I’ll keep that in mind!”
“Good.”
Idel gave a prim nod to Diane, who bobbed her head vigorously, and stepped into the carriage.
She’d have liked to set a few more conditions before departure, but if she did, she was afraid Sigmund would throw a punch at her the moment they came face to face.
‘He’s probably sitting there waiting for me right now, pining away.’
Recalling her first meeting with Sigmund, Idel shook her head quickly. She did not want another bloody incident with the ‘Mad Dog.’

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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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