She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 23

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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 23
A few days after meeting Ivan Ernest and Vivian Bright at the cafe.
Idel realized she had badly underestimated the Makjang world. The reason was simple.
“Now, Lady Jeiana, Lady Idel. Behold. This is the heart of Nebeus Academy, the pride of the Empire.”
“Wow…! Professor Hector, the building is huge.”
“Isn’t it? This building is called the Sacra Palace. If you study diligently, you two will be able to devote yourselves to scholarship here too. Now, shall we stop by my office before I finish showing you around…? Hm? Wait a moment, who’s this! Ivan! Ivan, is that you!”
“Professor Hector?”
Professor Hector, who had been temporarily assigned to teach the two of them history, had come out on a special field trip to spark their interest in the subject. And by sheer coincidence, he had run into Ivan Ernest here.
Out of all the vast academy, out of all the hours in the day, it had to be right now.
As she watched him greet the professor with a stack of documents tucked under one arm, Idel lightly rubbed the corner of her eye with her hand.
‘Why didn’t I think of this?’
According to my younger sister’s theory, Makjang is made up of thirty percent ‘coincidence,’ fifty percent ‘of all things, it had to be,’ and twenty percent ‘no way.’
In other words, it’s not strange at all for Ivan Ernest, who should be busy writing articles at a newspaper, to pop up in front of me by pure chance.
“Don’t tell me, Lady…”
Yes, and of course he would recognize who I am and be startled by it.
Idel listened to his voice, which mixed confusion, delight, and surprise, and rolled her eyes sidelong with a displeased expression. It was so she could pretend not to know him.
Just as Ivan hesitated, unsettled by Idel’s unwelcoming reaction to his attention, Professor Hector, standing beside them, burst into a hearty laugh and drew his attention back to himself.
“Well, to run into you here like this! I’ve been reading your articles. Ivan, you were a gifted writer even back when you attended the academy. I remember that well.”
“You flatter me, Professor Hector.”
“No, no, I mean it. Your writing has always been… Oh, right. Forgive me, you two. I was so caught up in seeing my former student again that I neglected the introductions! Haha! This is Ivan Ernest, who works as a reporter for Shellami. He’s a student I’m very proud of!”
“Wow, a reporter?”
“Yes, indeed. Now, Ivan, these are Lady Jeiana and Lady Idel of the Clementine Ducal Household.”
“The Clementine Ducal Household…”
As soon as he heard Professor Hector’s words, Ivan moved his lips slightly, rolling the name around in his mouth as though confirming something he had already suspected.
Under normal circumstances, Professor Hector would have caught the shift in Ivan’s expression, but he was too busy with Jeiana’s excited exclamations to notice anything out of the ordinary.
“Wow, I’ve never seen a reporter up close before!”
“Ha, so you’re interested in journalism, are you?”
“Yes! Very much! So, Mister Reporter, did you come here to cover a story?”
“That’s… well, I suppose. Ivan, what exactly brings you to the academy?”
Ivan, who had been stealing glances at Idel the whole time, finally tore his gaze away from her in response to the professor’s question.
“Oh, it’s nothing special. I was hoping to check whether the academy library might have a certain source I’m looking for…”
“What sort of source would bring you all the way out here?”
“Ah, it’s a history and theory text on the Empire’s Black Magic. Since it isn’t purely about Black Magic and also includes Forbidden Magic, I gather the Empire keeps it under strict control.”
“Did you have an interest in that sort of thing?”
Professor Hector rubbed his chin with an intrigued look and opened his mouth again.
“Hmm, then why don’t you come along to my office too? I have some materials in my private collection that I think you’d find interesting.”
“Ah, well, that’s…”
After a moment’s hesitation, Ivan stole a quick glance at Idel. She stood with her arms folded and her lips pushed out, and she clearly didn’t look keen on the idea.
Seeing that, Ivan made up his mind and offered Professor Hector a polite, measured smile of refusal. Since Idel had already helped him once, he didn’t want her to be put in an awkward position because of him.
But just as he parted his lips to promise another time, a student came running from afar, calling out in a panic.
“Professor! Professor Hector! Something terrible has happened!”
“Hm?”
Gasping for breath, the student reached Professor Hector and immediately pointed toward the back of the Sacra Palace.
“There was an explosion at the research wing behind the Sacra Palace, and they say the basic materials for the Imperial language dictionary we’ve been preparing got caught in it…!”
“What? The dictionary materials?! Good heavens, that’s years of work!”
Just as he was about to dash off, his face drained of color, his eyes landed on the two young children. Only then did he realize he wasn’t alone, and he hurriedly turned to Ivan.
“Ivan, if you don’t mind, could you just for a moment, just for a moment…”
“I understand. I’ll look after the two of them, so please go on ahead.”
“Thank you, thank you!”
With those words, Professor Hector vanished like a bullet. In an instant, silence swept across the space.
Ivan, who had been standing awkwardly, met the bright, sparkling eyes of Jeiana and the sulky expression of Idel, and let out a sheepish laugh.
“Well, shall we start over with introductions? We’ve already been introduced, but I’m Ivan Ernest. Please, just call me Ivan.”
“Yes, Ivan! Please just call me Jeiana too! It’s sudden, but I’m so thrilled to be spending time with a reporter like this. Idel, you feel the same way, right?”
“…Not really. I’m not thrilled at all.”
“Oh, come on, you always do this!”
Jeiana giggled at Idel’s curt reply, then turned to Ivan in her sister’s place and pressed on.
“Idel isn’t very good at being honest. Not long ago, she pretended she didn’t care, but she remembered my favorite fruit cake and went out and bought it for me!”
“Hey, that’s…”
“So you have to understand her, Ivan! Because you’re a grown-up!”
Ignoring Idel’s protests, Jeiana’s face lit up, and a faint smile crept across Ivan’s lips. He pushed his glasses up with one finger and nodded calmly to show his agreement.
“Of course. Actually… I think I understand what Lady Jeiana is getting at.”
“Hm?”
“Not long ago, I was helped by Lady Idel at Cafe Florang. Of course, she didn’t tell me her name back then, so I didn’t know it was her.”
Ivan paused, then turned to Idel and spoke carefully.
“I’m truly glad we’ve had the chance to meet again like this. I really wanted to see you again. Both you and the Count.”
“Huh!”
Jeiana sucked in a sharp breath at Ivan’s words, her eyes going round as she stamped her feet. It was a clear sign she wanted to hear more.
Of course, Jeiana knew Idel was not the right person to explain anything.
So instead of pestering her sister for nothing, she decided to ask the sharp-looking reporter what had happened.
“Idel? When, why, what, and how?”
“Lady Jeiana, you’d make a fine reporter yourself.”
Ivan let out a small laugh at the sight of a child demanding the Six Journalistic Questions, then calmly began laying out the outline of events.
From how Idel had gotten tangled up with him at the cafe, to how she had gotten the better of Farrel and come to the rescue when he was being humiliated.
Jeiana, hooked from the very start, listened to Ivan’s story with her hands clasped together. Even Ivan’s dry, reporter-like narration and Idel’s irritated interruptions couldn’t keep her from getting swept up in it.
“Idel, you’re like a hero!”
“Are your ears broken? I said it’s not like that.”
Once she had heard the whole story, Jeiana let out a satisfied sigh, paying no mind at all to Idel’s flaring temper.
Idel’s grumbling had become nothing more than part of everyday life.
Rather than soothing her sister, Jeiana turned to Ivan, who had told such a good story. She wanted to thank him.
But the moment she looked Ivan straight in the eye, Jeiana’s eyes widened and she tilted her head.
“Um, Ivan?”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t everything turn out fine, according to what Ivan just said?”
At the sudden question, doubt crept into Ivan’s eyes as well.
“Ah? Yes, that’s right. Thanks to Lady Idel’s help… Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant…”
Hesitating for a moment and fidgeting with her fingers, Jeiana rolled her eyes and opened her mouth again.
“You look like something’s weighing on you, Ivan.”
“Me? Are you sure?”
At Jeiana’s words, Idel snapped her head up and studied Ivan’s face.
He rubbed his cheek, looking bewildered, and his face did look somehow dark.
‘What’s going on?’
Idel narrowed her eyes, folded her arms, and tilted her head.
Ivan, flustered by the gaze of the two little ones who came up to his waist, found himself speaking before he could stop himself.
It wasn’t a story meant for young saplings, but he had a strange hunch that these two would understand him.
“The truth is… not long ago, Lord Farrel came looking for the Bright Count’s household. I could accept that much. But what came after was the problem.”
“What came after was the problem?”
“Well…”
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking uneasy, and his voice came out sounding sour.
“Well, I hear Lord Farrel is pregnant with the Bright Count’s child…”
Idel’s and Jeiana’s eyes went round at the same time.
So, who did what…?

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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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