She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 26

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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 26
The day of the appointment with Ivan.
Idel, leading a small crowd of people, knocked on the shop door, and the moment she came face to face with a familiar one, she greeted him warmly.
“Hi there!”
Sigmund, who had been nodding absentmindedly, frowned at her voice, which was softer than usual.
“…What.”
“What do you mean, what? I’m greeting my dearest friend, of course. How have you been? I missed you!”
“….”
Sigmund decided not to answer Idel and instead looked around.
The brighter her smile grew the more his face soured, and that was exactly what made it so suspicious.
Then, the moment he spotted the group of people behind her, Sigmund twisted the corner of his mouth and folded his arms.
“…Wow, you didn’t come alone? Hm? What’s this, then? We’re not, like, the kind of friends who share other friends… are we?”
“Of course not! I only need one friend, you. But there’s a reason for this.”
“Now that’s something I’d love to hear.”
Just as Sigmund was glaring daggers at Idel with his eyes, a bright voice cut into their conversation out of nowhere.
“Oh, if it’s awkward, I’m sorry! I was the one who begged her to bring me along. I’ve heard so much about you that I was curious, and… well, I didn’t want to sit this one out either….”
Jeiana, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, fidgeted with her fingers as she introduced herself.
“Just call me Jeiana. I’m Idel’s ‘big sister’!”
“Idel? Ah… ‘Del’s’ big sister, then. Well… nice to meet you.”
At that moment, Jeiana’s gentle eyes went wide.
“…Del?”
Had he just called Idel “Del”?
“Del…”
Jeiana repeated the nickname over and over, as if she had never heard it before, then shifted her gaze between the two of them.
The two of them, as if to prove how close they were, were smiling with their hands tightly clasped together.
‘…Idel looks happy.’
It felt strange. Jeiana had never once seen Idel smile like that before.
‘Idel’s family is me, not him.’
Thinking so, Jeiana fixed her gaze on Sigmund. The feeling that had sprung up unbidden in her chest was so unfamiliar that her lips kept tightening on their own.
Meanwhile, Sigmund, with the sharp instincts of a beast, sensed the stare, slightly furrowed his brow, and rolled his eyes.
‘What? Isn’t that the one from earlier?’
The girl who claimed to be Idel’s big sister had a face that anyone would call lovely, but he had no interest in that.
What mattered was why she was staring at him so intently.
And at his hands, no less.
‘What, is she telling me not to hold her little sister’s hand?’
Come to think of it, she had put particular emphasis on the word “sister” when greeting him earlier.
Recalling what had just happened, Sigmund scrunched his eyebrows in a way that wouldn’t show.
‘Seriously…’
They say birds of a feather flock together, but she’d bring along the strangest people like this.
‘This is a power play, isn’t it?’
Was that why he’d been dressed up as “her one and only friend”?
He really didn’t want that. Honestly, he wanted to throw that title in the trash right now.
Forced into discomfort by the client, Sigmund ground his teeth and glared at Idel.
‘Seriously, you’d better have a proper reason.’
If not, this time he’d make sure to tell his master to cancel the contract.
While Sigmund was thinking this, Idel was exchanging friendly greetings with the shop manager, whom his master had appointed as stand-in.
“Oh, Del! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you at the shop! Did you come to hang out with Sigmund?”
“Yes! Well, actually, there’s something I want Sigmund’s help with…! Is the magic master here today?”
“Hmm, not sure? He said he’d come by today to enchant the dolls… I’ve no idea what you need, but why don’t you and Sigmund sort it out first?”
“Sure thing.”
“Ha-ha-ha! Good, good!”
Roaring with laughter at Idel’s answer, he gave a nod toward Ivan and Diane.
“You two, make yourselves at home. If you need anything, just tell Sigmund.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Well then, I’ve got business to attend to! Sigmund, take good care of the shop while I’m gone!”
Sigmund waved a hand lazily without a word. Once he saw the shop door close, he turned his head and looked at Idel.
“So?”
“Hm?”
“What’s with the ‘hm’? You said there was a reason. You said there’s something you want help with.”
“Oh, that.”
Idel folded her arms loosely and parted her lips to speak, but a bright voice cut between them. It was Jeiana, who had been glancing back and forth between the two of them.
“Idel, wait a second! Let me be the one to explain that!”
“You?”
“Yes! Because I’m the ‘big sister.'”
“Well… fine.”
If the explanation came up short, they could always add to it later.
Jeiana beamed, bright as sunlight at Idel’s permission, and began to recount the story she had heard with great animation.
From the incident at the café, which Sigmund already knew about, all the way to Farrel storming into the Count Family’s estate. All of it.
“…And that’s how it happened!”
“Oh, I see.”
“Your replies have gotten awfully short… Were you very surprised?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Jeiana was flustered by how dry his response was, but Sigmund really was fine.
No wonder. In the Crow’s Den, stories this absurd were practically underfoot.
A woman who ordered a ring that would hold poison to kill her husband. A son who sold off his family’s secrets to pay off his gambling debts. Even someone who swapped newborn babies.
What was truly surprising was Ivan, the man at the center of the story.
‘He’s really a reporter…?’
This man, smiling faintly with that awkward expression? Thinking back, he had caught a bit of it at the café, but honestly, it was hard to believe.
‘Well, it’s none of my business.’
Sigmund quickly set the thought aside and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand before speaking.
“So you actually want to know whether Black Magic can really make a man pregnant?”
“Sort of. You’re learning magic directly from our magic teacher, right? I figured if anyone could spot something suspicious, it’d be you!”
“…Given that this is the Crow’s Den, there’s probably some grimoire close to forbidden lying around, isn’t there?”
“What are you talking about! You’re not learning some terrifying Black Magic, so how would a book like that even exist? We just need a mage, and none of us are one, so we’re asking for your help!”
Idel smiled sweetly, drew close to Sigmund, and slung an arm around his shoulders. Then she lowered her voice and whispered to him.
“Black Magic can’t make someone pregnant, right? I’m curious how they could fake it so convincingly. Something like… overlaying a false image. Look into it that way.”
“On what grounds? And anyway, what does this have to do with our contract? The way you act, you seem to think you can use me like your errand boy under the banner of ‘friendship’…”
“No matter how I think about it, it seems similar to the curse Mother put on me. Not the Brainwashing Curse, but the one used to deceive bloodlines.”
Idel narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on Sigmund’s shoulder a little more.
“I’ve got a feeling that if I catch hold of this thread, I’ll find something connected to my mother. And that would help us break the curse, too.”
“What? Are you seriously going to—”
“…Aren’t you two whispering a little too cozily without me?”
At the intruding voice that suddenly rose nearby, Sigmund shut his mouth and put some distance between them.
The complaint that he was being sent off on this errand because of some flimsy ‘feeling’ never made it past his lips.
With a short sigh to shake off his irritation, Sigmund shoved his hands into his pants pockets and tilted his head to one side with a sullen air.
“…Anyway, I’ll look for the grimoire, but don’t expect much. It’s not Black Magic run under the Empire’s control, is it? It’s supposed to be ‘Forbidden Magic.'”
“Of course! They’ll understand. Right?”
“Ah, certainly. Honestly, if it’s too difficult a request, you’re free to refuse.”
Under the utterly earnest gaze of the man, Sigmund had just parted his lips when…
“Searching through grimoires isn’t that difficult a task… It’s fine, I can manage that much.”
A weary voice answered Ivan in his place.
The one who spoke was an old man Idel had never seen before, but she immediately realized who he was.
It was Bilead, Sigmund’s teacher and the de facto owner of this shop.
“Master?”
“Yes, while I was away for a bit, we’ve had an interesting guest. There must be some sort of connection at work here. Sigmund, go fetch the grimoires from the fourth bookshelf.”
The kindly voice, fitting for his appearance, made Sigmund’s expression twist strangely.
‘A “connection,” he says.’
It was not the sort of thing someone who found every task a bother would ever say.
Unable to make sense of the bizarre situation no matter how he looked at it, Sigmund blurted out without thinking.
“Master, have you perhaps lost your— Mmph!”
“Sigmund looks like he’d struggle to carry all of those alone! We’ll go with him!”
“What? Oh, th-then me too! I’m coming along!”

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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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