She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 7

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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 7
“Hic!”
A sound I’d heard plenty of before echoed through the room.
Idel, reaching up to touch her lips out of habit, thinking she’d gotten the hiccups again, realized it wasn’t her.
The culprit was Jeiana, standing there dazed by the whirlwind of events around her.
“Hic, hic!”
“Pfft!”
Idel, dangling from the servant’s arm, couldn’t help it and let out a snort of laughter.
Her face was puffy from crying, and the way she hiccupped with it so visibly on display was genuinely funny.
“…Ugly thing.”
Idel muttered under her breath, her voice still laced with laughter. At that moment, the girl who had been hiding her reddened face behind her hands snapped her head up.
“Just now…”
Idel came into view, wide-eyed, wearing a prim, haughty expression.
Jeiana stared at Idel as she drifted farther away, blinking rapidly at the small clue she had suddenly noticed.
‘She just laughed! She even made a joke!’
She hadn’t heard or seen wrong.
Her heart, which had been weighed down with hurt and disappointment, began to flutter again.
So what Idel had said to Silvia was a lie after all.
‘Idel doesn’t hate me.’
It had been a brief encounter, but Jeiana was certain that the Idel she’d met was a rather kind child.
Honestly, I don’t quite understand why she lied in front of Silvia, but…
‘Why did she really do it?’
Jeiana, blinking quickly as she pondered, gazed at Idel with a look of disbelief.
Idel was demanding in an irritated voice that the servant let her go, glancing back and forth between Jeiana and Jacob as she did.
The moment Jeiana saw that, a strange realization struck her.
‘…Could it be that she did it to help me?’
What had Silvia said at first?
‘Milady, are you alright? What on earth happened to your appearance…’
Yes, that was it. Silvia had first pointed out how unbecoming her appearance was for a noble lady.
It was only afterward that she asked Idel whether she was the one who had done this.
The events she had just endured came flooding back to Jeiana, vivid once more.
As she traced back through her memories, she finally realized that Idel had taken the scolding that would have landed on her.
‘And on top of that, Idel even kept the secret of our hideout.’
The thought made her nose sting again.
Idel, who had merely glanced at Jacob without a second thought, thinking, ‘Oh, so that’s the kid who got his clothes taken,’ would have hopped mad had she known.
“I said let go!”
“Lady Idel, please stay still. Making a scene like this won’t get you anywhere.”
“Hmph! Do you really think I’d run away?”
Watching the tug-of-war between the servant and Idel, Jeiana wiped her tear-streaked face with her sleeve.
With her vision now clear, she could see both Idel’s thorny expression and the servant shaking his head as if he were exasperated.
The clever child understood quickly.
Idel hadn’t told the truth; she had lied to help her, precisely because she knew no one would believe a word she said.
“Sniff!”
Sniffling, Jeiana clenched her small fists tight.
‘Star was right. Now I’m the big sister.’
And a big sister, above all, must protect her little sibling.
Whether it’s a monster from a fairy tale or the grown-ups who only want to see Idel as bad.
This time Idel had protected her, but next time, Jeiana resolved, she would be the one to protect Idel, and that determination kindled a fire in her heart.
* * *
Regardless of Jeiana’s resolve, Idel’s house arrest grew longer and harder to bear.
Silvia and every other servant had insisted on the same story, so it had become established fact that Idel had tormented Jeiana.
‘Jeiana must have burst into tears in front of the Duke again, saying it wasn’t like that…’
With the Villainy Points she had piled up over time, there was no way that would hold any weight.
Idel scoffed softly and stole a glance around the room, which was quieter than usual.
From now on, she would have to stay alone in the detached house for a week.
Of course, she could still receive help with the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter.
A few servants had also been assigned so she could be reached in the rare event of an urgent matter.
‘It’s just meant to make me feel the inconvenience and realize how precious the people around me are.’
After all, under normal circumstances, the servants handled nearly everything for her.
Though the Duchess asked with a worried look whether she was truly alright with such an unusual measure…
‘Of course I’m not alright.’
Actually, that’s even better.
‘Now that I’ve found the Secret Path’s location, this is practically being spoon-fed. Anyone would think it was rigged. Or that they have a System Window.’
Pulling supplies for her escape out from under the bed one by one, Idel glanced out the window again. There was still no one beneath the terrace.
They must have figured that since she was under house arrest, she had nowhere to go, so guarding the main entrances would be enough.
“Honestly, you’re the best.”
She tossed the bag of supplies out onto the terrace and quickly changed clothes.
They were a pair of worn boy’s overalls, similar to what Jeiana had worn the other day.
“These are a bit big on me.”
Idel murmured quietly as she checked her reflection in the mirror. Either way, as long as she didn’t look like a noble lady, that was fine.
‘My biggest worry was finding ordinary clothes to wear outside the Ducal Household…’
Idel picked up the charming letter and the crookedly drawn map that had been lying beside the clothes.
They had been the unexpected gift that solved her worry.
[Idel, I’m inviting you to my hideout! If you feel lonely or scared, be sure to come find me! Oh, and of course, you can come whenever you miss me. I miss you a lot, too!
P.S. I figured you wouldn’t like getting your dress dirty, so I sent extra clothes too! I begged Jacob until he gave them to me.
P.P.S. …It’s not your fault, but I’m sorry I couldn’t stop Dad.]
Idel reread the letter she had already read before, then shoved the note and the box under the bed while muttering again.
“Thanks for always helping me, but… isn’t she being a little too gentle?”
How could she send a gift to someone who called her a fool? If she’s this kind, won’t she just keep getting walked over in a makjang world?
Idel worried about Jeiana for a moment, then quickly shook her head.
‘This isn’t the time.’
Time was precious now. Idel stuffed a pillow under the blanket to make it look like a lump and grabbed the doorknob.
The route she had mapped out, the supplies she needed, and even how to handle any unexpected variables all came back to her.
“Phew. Alright.”
No plan could be one hundred percent perfect, but Idel cautiously predicted the odds of her plan succeeding.
As luck would have it, the Secret Path and hideout Jeiana had told her about were close to the townhouse where she had lived with Melissa.
‘Of course, I never went around exploring the back mountain like Jeiana did…’
Still, it was better than going somewhere she didn’t know at all.
According to the map she had found in the study of the villa, the path wasn’t even that difficult.
All she had to do was head straight down to the west from Jeiana’s hideout.
‘Let’s go.’
Idel clenched her fist once more, took a deep breath, and slipped out of the room.
And a few hours later…
“…I did it.”
Idel had finally slipped out of the Ducal Household and reached a street that felt rather familiar.
She had set out before dawn, but by the time she arrived in the district, the sun was high in the sky.
Being small meant her pace was slow, so it took longer than she had expected.
‘It’s alright. I made it in the end.’
Minor variables could be dealt with as they came. She drew a long breath, let it out, and carefully looked around.
As one would expect, no one paid Idel any attention.
Her fair skin couldn’t be hidden, but the mud, leaves, and sweat caked over her appearance mostly covered up how out of place she looked.
‘…This feels good.’
A rush of freedom she hadn’t felt in ages sent a shiver down the back of her neck.
‘This is what living is like.’
She clenched her fists, steadying her overwhelmed heart, and set her eyes with determination.
If she wanted to keep feeling this way going forward, she had to stay sharply alert and complete today’s mission.
‘Still, just in case, I should cover my face quickly.’
People working for the Ducal Household might be out and about on errands, after all.
Thinking so, Idel immediately pulled a cloth out of her bag. It was the cloth the servants had given her, saying to use it if she got something dirty while alone.
Carefully covering her hair and face, she resumed walking. Finding the way wasn’t difficult. The Crow’s Den was extremely famous.
‘And there’s a conspicuous emblem, too.’
Idel’s gaze landed on the wall painted with the enormous Twin Crow Emblem.
This was the battleground where she would fight today.

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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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