She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 2

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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 2
‘Right, get a grip.’
Crying that I’ve fallen into a tiger’s den won’t do anything but lower my chances of survival.
“Haa…”
The Head Maid, who had caught the meaningless sigh from Idel, glanced at her expression for a moment before continuing.
It was a businesslike manner, as if carrying out the Duke’s orders mattered more than Idel’s reaction.
“Rose and Veronica will attend you up close, but for the time being, I will handle Lady Idel’s daily affairs. When you wish to move about or feel hungry, pull the cord and call a maid. We’ll see to everything.”
“…For the time being?”
“Yes, for the time being. It will take some time for Lady Idel to grow accustomed to the Clementine Ducal Household, won’t it?”
Her tone was flawless, and the way she lowered her eyes so demurely was remarkably courteous.
But something of her true feelings peeked out from beneath her eyelids, so Idel blurted out in a whiny tone that she didn’t really mean, just to gauge the situation.
“Mm, where’s Mommy? I want to see Mommy.”
“You mean the Lopez Countess, I presume. The Countess has urgent matters to attend to, so I’m afraid she won’t be available to see you for the time being.”
“Oh, really?”
Are they treating me like a fool just because I’m a child? It’s not as if I had no say in the position the Duke assigned me, but lying so casually without even batting an eye is a bit much…
On top of that, this went a step beyond the Duke’s orders.
The Duke had told them to separate Melissa from me, not to keep watch over my every movement.
‘Why go this far?’
Idel, who had been quietly weighing the possibilities, rolled her eyes for a moment before primly speaking again.
“…Then I can’t see that girl who was with the Duchess either? She was crying, wasn’t she. I’m not in a good mood either, so let’s play together. We can eat something good together too. How about it?”
“That’s a kind offer, but I’m afraid it won’t be possible. Lady Jeiana isn’t well, so she won’t be able to spare any time. What if you were to catch something from her, Lady Idel? That would be a serious matter, wouldn’t it?”
Watching the Head Maid deftly bat away her proposal, a glint of interest flickered in Idel’s eyes. She had suspected as much, but still.
‘Is she fussing even more than the Duke’s orders require because of Jeiana, the heroine? Trying to protect the precious young lady of the Ducal Household?’
They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, so she must be worried I’ll cause trouble for Jeiana, just like my mother, Melissa Lopez. That’s why she’s pretending to fuss over me so I won’t get any ideas about her…
‘A very sensible line of thinking.’
Idel recalled what Melissa had said just before they had set foot in the Ducal Household.
‘Idel, you’re on Mommy’s side, aren’t you?’
‘Mm-hm, Idel is on Mommy’s side.’
‘What did we call everyone who hates Mommy?’
‘Bad people.’
‘That’s right. You have to be nasty to bad people. In this place, the only ones on our side are you and me. You understand, don’t you?’
‘Mm. But…’
‘If Idel is kind to bad people, or disappoints this Mommy… You know what happens, right? Help Mommy so she doesn’t have to make a sad choice.’
Until I remembered my previous life, I simply liked that Mommy seemed to depend on me. But now I know better.
‘If she doesn’t heed a warning, it means she’ll put a Brainwashing Curse on her and turn her into a puppet.’
If I wanted to survive as a human being, Idel had to somehow become the ‘obedient, good daughter who listens to her mother’ and commit wicked acts against the people of the Ducal Household.
So the servants’ wariness toward me, when I hadn’t even wanted to be this way, was welcome.
‘Well, it’s not as though they did that for my sake.’
Idel shook her head inwardly, then spoke in a sulky voice. It was to wrap up the conversation with the Head Maid for now.
“Hmph! Boring. I’m going to my room.”
As she walked toward her room, Idel fully realized that the conclusion she had reached in the reception room was correct.
Sure enough, there’s no answer in a place like this.
In a makjang where the plot could veer in any direction, the best course was to escape as quickly as possible.
‘For now it’s just wariness, but once the original work truly begins, then…Wait. Wariness?’
Having reached that far, Idel’s mind began racing.
‘Either way, being loved is out of the question.’
As long as the villainess who is my mother keeps a watchful eye and casts her curse, Idel would have to go around doing all sorts of wicked things. Being loved in a situation like this? Nonsense.
‘But on the other hand, if I get so caught up in worrying about Melissa’s curse that I slip and cross the line…’
‘I’ll end up on the blacklist of the ‘Future Black-Transformed King’s Foster Mother,’ and get the chrysanthemum ending.’
Even if I could somehow avoid death by luck, there was no telling whether I could prevent a future where I’m married off like merchandise.
‘Then there’s only one answer. I have to commit just enough wickedness to avoid being marked by either side.’
It was stifling to be forced into the role of a clown, walking a tightrope between the and the , but what could I do.
‘It’s not that the world is shunning me, it’s that I’m shunning the world.’
A saying I’d heard somewhere struck a chord today. I’ll survive by behaving badly enough, and then wait for the right moment to run away quickly.
[The Ducal Household’s hopeless illegitimate daughter, acting out of childish recklessness, finally ran away from home.]
In a makjang novel, an exit like that should be enough, right?
‘Now I need to put together a detailed plan…’
Judging by how the servants behaved, it seemed I would have plenty of time to think about how to go about it.
Having settled on what to do, Idel lightly clenched her fist.
* * *
It had been quite some time since the watchful eyes disguised as concern had begun.
As one would expect, Idel had no chance to meet anyone, Melissa included.
‘So they really mean to be thorough.’
Whether she truly bore the Clementine bloodline, and what sort of child this ‘Idel’ really was.
There was a clear determination to leave not a single variable unaccounted for.
“Lady Idel, if there’s anything you wish for, please, at any time, let us know…”
“Again with that? Ugh, how tiresome! I’m going to draw ‘by myself,’ so get lost!”
Idel puffed out her lips in a pretend pout and whipped her head away.
The scribbles strewn across the floor laid bare every trace of the days she had spent in this room, digging through her memory.
Idel’s eyes narrowed as she counted the sheets of paper, trying to gauge how many days had passed.
‘Is it almost time?’
What was dressed up as a paternity test but was really a matter of the adults’ convenience would soon reach its conclusion.
‘I’ll be given the Clementine name and become a member of the Ducal Household.’
It was a pity for the Duke and Duchess, but the outcome of the test had already been decided.
Before she ever set foot in the Ducal Household, Melissa had already tampered with Idel’s body.
Of course, since it was only a temporary condition, a test a few years from now would show a different result. But who would bother to re-examine a fact that had already been officially recognized?
‘Once it’s revealed that I carry the Duke’s blood, that’s when the real game begins.’
Rubbing a pencil between her small fingers, Idel gathered her thoughts.
‘The goal is to look like a spoiled, somewhat wicked brat, yet a nobody too insignificant to bother with. And to wait for a moment when I can slip away.’
She was already putting on a decent performance, but from now on she would have to pour even more care into it.
‘Because I’m weak against the heroines of this novel.’
People as bright as sunlight, who never hesitate to draw the line of acceptance for others.
But the moment a solid wall crumbles always begins with the tiniest crack, and a butterfly’s flutter can become a typhoon.
‘So I have to be careful not to give them even the slightest opening from the very start.’
Just as Idel was clenching her fist and steeling her resolve anew.
Meanwhile, the maid standing at her side was caught in a dilemma.
‘Should I clean this up now?’
The maid stole a glance at Idel and rolled her eyes.
‘She’s forcing her eyes wide open, so she must be sleepy…’
This new young lady was utterly impossible to read.
She kept shooting sidelong glances, so I thought I’d bother her less by staying quiet as a ghost, but she snapped at me, asking whether I was some sort of spectacle.
After that, no matter what I said, she ignored me, and I struggled with her for quite a while.
After agonizing for a long moment, the maid studied Idel a little more closely.
The scribbles tossed onto the floor, the sulky expression, the body half-turned away.
‘It’s hard to tell whether she’s sleepy, but she’s definitely lost interest in her drawing. Better clean up before she says something.’
Now certain of Idel’s state, the maid crept toward her, holding her breath.
And just as she reached for the scattered paper, the edge of a sheet grazed her with a faint *shink*, and a sharp sting spread across her palm.
“Ow!”
Clutching her hand without thinking, the maid looked up and, at the sight of Idel, quickly held her breath.
Whether she was flustered by the sudden accident or angry, I couldn’t tell, but Idel was staring at her with wide, round eyes.
“Ah, um…”
The flustered maid couldn’t even finish her sentence and pressed her hand tightly. Bright red blood welled up clearly across her palm.
“You’re bleeding…”
Idel was no less flustered.
She had half-reached out her hand without thinking, meaning to ask whether she was all right, but quickly clamped her mouth shut.
Though she felt terrible about the unintended accident, if she fussed over the maid now, the touchy image she had carefully built over the past few days might come crashing down.
Instead, Idel hastily pulled back her empty hand and, quite loudly, shouted at her.
“I-it’s not my fault! You’re the one who touched my things without permission! You were trying to take my paper, weren’t you? I know it…!”
“N-no, not at all! I was only going to tidy the paper before you noticed it… Ah, Lady Idel! I really wasn’t trying to take it!”
Why would anyone want to take the scribbles of a seven-year-old? Even as she thought this, Idel pulled out the sort of line a difficult brat would say.
“So you’re saying it’s me who’s in the wrong now?”
The maids, reading Idel’s mood from her tightly pressed lips, were about to coax her with awkward smiles when it happened.
-Knock, knock!
“Young lady, the Duke, the Duchess, and Lady Melissa are urgently calling for Lady Idel.”
With a light knock, the Head Maid walked in and announced the ‘beginning’ that had been foreseen, yet was not wanted at all.

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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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