Chapter 15
“Right. That does seem a bit much, Ash. Young Master Magnus isn’t someone who would use magic for such a trivial matter.”
Just as expected, the other young ladies didn’t suspect Adel at all either.
“That’s true. Young Master Magnus is a noble among nobles.”
“But it is strange how easily the young lady won……”
Yes. This is where the real point begins.
As I leisurely waited for the timing, Renette bravely raised her hand.
“Um, Miss. Would you like to try arm wrestling with me too?”
“Shall we?”
I’m starting to really like this unni. I agreed gladly.
The second arm-wrestling match ended just as quickly. Renette tilted her head in confusion, her face flushed.
“I… won?”
“Huh?”
The other young ladies looked equally baffled. Suppressing a smile, I made a suggestion to Renette.
“Renette, for fairness’ sake, how about you try with Ash too?”
I deliberately used Ash’s name in a friendly tone.
“Yes!”
Though he had been glaring at me like he wanted to tear me apart, Ash reluctantly locked hands with Renette.
Renette was wearing a dress that exposed her collarbones, and she had to cover her chest with her free hand. In other words, her conditions were even worse than mine.
Yet the result was Renette’s victory.
“Huh?”
“What? Renette won!”
“What in the world…?”
Ash couldn’t hide his bewilderment. He must have assumed that I’d simply enhanced my strength with magic—but he was wrong.
The magic activated the moment Ash grabbed my hand. At that very moment, I stole his strength.
Without suffering any backlash, and while far away from the caster, I deprived him of his physical ability.
This kind of magic required an extremely intricate spell formula, so no one except Ash would ever guess that Adel—who hadn’t formally learned magic—could have done it.
Adel had never officially displayed magic in public before, so no one could gauge her level.
They only knew one thing: Adel Magnus is a genius with talent in magic.
“That’s impossible! Ash, try with me too!”
“And with me!”
When the young gentlemen who had been watching rushed forward with shining eyes, Ash shoved one of them hard. He clearly put force into it—but the man didn’t budge.
Ash froze for a moment, then stormed toward me with a terrifying expression.
“You! What did you do to me?!”
“Are you going to hit me or something?”
Honestly, he looked like he might grab me by the collar any second. At that moment, Renette stepped in front of me.
“You wouldn’t be rude to such a beauty when everyone’s watching, would you, Ash?”
Renette… may I call you unni from now on?
“And besides, our Lady Anastasia has a chronic illness. Have some consideration!”
Since when did I become our Anastasia?
For some reason, even while revealing half of his trashy nature, Ash didn’t lash out at Renette. Instead, he threatened me in a vicious voice, barely holding back his rage.
“Move aside. I have something to say to that woman.”
“You can glare all you want—it’s not scary at all. You’re weaker than me!”
Renette shouted.
Weaker than me!
Weaker than me!
Weaker than—
“…This is just temporary. Fine. When things go back to normal, we’ll see about this.”
By then, Adel will crush you flat, you know?
Cursing under his breath, Ash stormed off. His behavior was anything but gentlemanly.
As the young ladies watched his retreating back with anxious, shocked eyes, Renette pulled me along.
“Sit down quickly, Anastasia. If you stand too long, you’ll get tired.”
Judging by how unfazed she was, Renette seemed to know all about Ash’s filthy temper. Just who is this unni?
“Thank you for looking out for me.”
I smiled at her, and Renette immediately covered her face with her hand.
“Ah, so dazzling!”
“…Lady Renette?”
What is with this unni? She keeps getting more extraordinary… Not only is she stunningly beautiful, she doesn’t feel like a mere supporting character. But I don’t remember the name Renette. Is it a nickname?
When I stared at her silently, Renette cleared her throat.
“Ahem. It was only natural….”
Once the commotion ended, people dispersed and resumed chatting among themselves. A few young ladies approached us and teased Renette playfully.
“Lady, aren’t you standing a bit too close to Lady Sinclair?”
“Anyone might think you have other intentions.”
“You really lose all reason whenever you see someone pretty. That’s your problem.”
I perked up my ears. At some point, the young ladies had gathered around me, sitting close. Their bright eyes inspected my face relentlessly.
I mean, I know I’m pretty, but this kind of attention is still embarrassing……
“Well, to be fair, Lady Sinclair really is that beautiful.”
“When I first saw her, I thought a goddess was walking toward me.”
“Exactly. Now that I look again, Ash isn’t all that special. Standing next to her, he looks completely ordinary.”
Since Ash usually mingled freely with the young ladies, they spoke without much restraint. I listened carefully—and gained an important clue.
A black-haired beauty who loses all reason when she sees someone pretty.
Someone of such high status that even Ash can’t treat her carelessly.
…Wait.
“…Is Renette your full name?”
There was actual fear in my voice. Unaware of that, Renette clasped her cheeks shyly. Her dazed, moist gaze and full lips exuded an alluring charm.
“Oh my, are you already interested in me? My full name is Renetia Bliss.”
“Cough!”
This was no time to be happy about landing a blow on Ash.
This was an emergency!
“Oh my! Anastasia is coughing! How adorable—even when you cough, you’re this lovely… I could preserve you forever. No, that’s not it. I’ll get you some water! Come now, don’t be shy—open your lips just a little. I’ll help you drink slowly.”
Smiling, Renette lifted a glass of water and brought it to my lips.
“Ah—”
She’s insane. This unni is a villainess!
Renetia Bliss.
Daughter of Duke Bliss, and niece of His Majesty the Emperor.
She favored beautiful people regardless of gender—and had a strong desire to collect them.
At the very beginning of the novel, Renette had taken quite an interest in Olga as well.
Although Renette preferred glamorous beauties, Olga was outstanding enough to catch her eye even aside from personal taste.
However, Olga’s excessive innocence—bordering on foolishness—completely betrayed Renette’s expectations.
One day, as a gesture of friendship, Renette gifted Olga an extremely expensive dress.
As the daughter of a baron, Olga felt deeply burdened and tried to return it, but was advised that doing so would be even ruder.
After much agonizing, Olga gave the dress to a maid suffering from a fever, kindly telling her to sell it and pay for treatment.
When the maid saw that the dress was studded with diamonds, she was horrified. She disappeared with it and was never seen again.
Upon learning the truth, Renette bore a grudge. The two gradually clashed, and at the novel’s climax, Renette even tried to poison Olga into a vegetative state—or nearly flayed her face.
This villainess unni was even scarier because she acted directly instead of scheming from the shadows.
“It’s okay. I can drink by myself.”
I barely managed to refuse. Renette gently wrapped her hands around my trembling ones.
“But Anastasia, your hands are shaking.”
Of course they are! When you lose control, you really lose control! In the original story, when Ash broke their alliance on his own, you tried to gouge his eyes out while he was still alive!
“You must have been scared, right? Ash is actually very irritable—sensitive, and prone to retaliation if you don’t submit to him. Still, he likes pretty women, yet he was unusually cold toward you, Anastasia. Isn’t that strange? Or maybe it’s just my imagination?”
My mouth went dry. Renette’s sparkling violet eyes reflected my image.
“Or could it be… that the young master was jealous?”
“…What?”
I flinched as Adel was suddenly mentioned. Renette smiled seductively.
“Hehe, it’s nothing. I gained such a wonderful prize today, after all, so I’ll let it slide.”
The smile sent chills down my spine. Staring blankly at the glass she handed me, I calculated the probability of drinking it, falling asleep, and never waking up again.
Just then, a young lady tilted her head.
“Huh? What’s this?”
My throat was burning; I couldn’t hold back anymore. Whatever. I gulped down the water in big swallows. Renette watched me with clear satisfaction.
Meanwhile, the young ladies continued chatting.
“Ash left something behind. It looks like a frame.”
Gasp.
I sprang to my feet, feeling like the water I’d just swallowed was about to come out my nose.
“That—give it to me!”
I snatched the frame quickly. I tilted my body away so Renette couldn’t see it—but unfortunately, a young lady sitting on my other side caught a glimpse of the picture.
She murmured with an oddly complex expression.
“I think I just saw something… incredible.”
“You saw it? What was it?”
Naturally, everyone grew curious. Cold sweat trickled down my back.
I never wanted to admit that my drawing skills were atrocious—but Ash’s reaction had been so blatant that I couldn’t deny it anymore. It would be disastrous if my image shattered already!
The young lady frowned deeply.
“Well… it’s like my optic nerve suddenly became extremely fatigued. I need to cleanse my eyes by looking at Lady Sinclair’s face!”
It was definitely dangerous to stay here any longer. In my weakest voice, I spoke up.
“I should head back now. I’ve been out too long, and I’m starting to feel tired. Let’s meet again next time.”
The kind-hearted young ladies immediately worried about me.
“Then you should hurry back and rest.”
“We had such a lovely time today, Lady Sinclair. Next time we meet, may we call you by your name too? We’d like to be close to you.”
The villainess unni had casually called me by name, but these girls were properly polite. Flustered, I replied,
“Of course!”
Feeling guilty, I excused myself. Hugging the frame tightly to my chest, I headed toward where the carriage was parked. As I entered the neatly groomed path, I felt someone following me.
When I turned around, sure enough, there she was—a graceful, sexy beauty with ebony-black hair.
Renetia Bliss, clad in a black dress, looked like a queen.
Even in high heels, she walked lightly and stopped in front of me.
“There’s something I want to give you. Anastasia, take this.”
Uneasily, I looked down at what the villainess unni held out. It was adorned with diamonds and amethysts.
“It’s my brooch. A token of my wish to become friends with you, Anastasia.”
If I accept it, I die.
If I refuse it, I also die.
If I accept, I’ll be painfully preserved later.
If I refuse, I’ll suffer vicious retaliation.
