Chapter 4
The door burst open.
Behind Aura and Nereus, the servants gathered one by one.
“Oh my goodness, Serina! What is this?! Are you going to keep doing this?”
Aura was shocked as she looked at the messy library. Even Nereus, who rarely showed emotions, looked slightly stiff with surprise.
Serina took a step back at their stronger-than-expected reaction. Then she stepped on a painting she had arranged to look like she threw it.
She looked around.
It really looked like a storm had passed through.
Looking closely, even the book she threw with magic had a dented corner.
“…Wow. It really looks like I completely wrecked the place.”
Of course, that was her intention. It just turned out bigger than expected.
As her parents approached, Serina avoided their gaze.
“I let it go yesterday, but not this time. No matter how much you dislike it, how could you throw things?”
Aura frowned deeply and grabbed both of Serina’s shoulders.
Serina was scared of what would come next, but she took a deep breath and spoke.
“I didn’t want to do this either. But no one listened to me. This is how I chose to express it.”
She quickly turned her head away. It looked like she was sulking, but in truth, she was afraid to see their angry faces.
The room fell silent.
Then Serina carefully spoke again.
“I don’t like that my brother is getting engaged… but I hate even more that it’s the imperial princess! Of all people, it had to be that Little Villainess!”
“Serina! Watch your words. How can you call the princess that?”
“That’s what people call her! That’s how the world sees her! Then how can you let her get engaged to my brother?!”
“Serina! Just because the world says something doesn’t make it right.”
Aura scolded her again firmly.
At that moment, Nereus gently removed Aura’s hand from Serina.
‘Yes… maybe Dad will listen if I go this far.’
Serina looked at him with hopeful eyes.
“I’ve overlooked your behavior until now, but not this time. Serina… I’m disappointed.”
His expression and voice were the same as always, but something felt different.
The warmth was gone. It was cold.
“You must take responsibility for what you did. Clean this up yourself. And stay in your room and reflect for the rest of the day.”
“…Dad is… disappointed in me?”
Unlike before, Serina stayed silent, only blinking her eyes.
“Make sure she cleans properly and report back.”
Nereus gestured to the servants and left.
Now alone, Serina made a tearful face.
“…Tch. I know I shouldn’t do this. But I really hate it…”
She expected to be scolded, but seeing this side of Nereus made her emotional.
“And honestly, I only threw one book… this feels a little unfair.”
Sigh. Who would’ve thought I had talent for staging things?
Grumbling, she used magic to clean everything.
On her way back, she kicked the hallway floor in frustration.
At that moment, she heard voices.
Maron was chatting happily with the other servants.
“I didn’t expect a villain worse than the first one to appear.”
“Right! I thought that one was the final boss, but there was someone even worse!”
“The first one doesn’t even compare to the later one. Sometimes I feel jealous of villains.”
“Yeah… being able to do whatever you want sounds nice.”
The word “villain” caught Serina’s attention.
‘A villain worse than a villain…?’
If I become worse than the Little Villainess… maybe I can drive her away?
I should go ask what they’re talking about!
* * *
‘Huh?’
A small round head. Hair tied up like cat ears.
Before they noticed, Serina had slipped into the group.
Maron burst into laughter.
“Lady Serina?”
The servants stepped aside.
Serina gestured for Maron to come closer. Maron bent down to match her height.
“Hey… what were you talking about? A villain worse than a villain?”
Serina whispered like it was a secret.
“Oh my, you heard us?”
“Yeah. It sounded interesting. Tell me too.”
“It’s from a romance novel. Villains are very popular these days.”
“There are villains in romance novels?”
Maron hesitated, then made a “shh” gesture.
“If you’re interested, I can lend you one. But you must keep it a secret from Merilly. I’ll get scolded.”
“Of course! Don’t worry! I’m good at keeping secrets. Promise!”
Serina nodded quickly and held out her pinky.
Maron hooked her finger with hers.
As Maron went to her room to get the book, she laughed again.
‘I got a cute little romance novel buddy.’
* * *
“Since I have to stay in my room all day anyway… I might as well read the novel Maron lent me.”
Serina grabbed the book from the table and crawled under the blanket.
“Wow… they really go this far?”
Each page was full of exciting developments.
Unlike the fairy tales she usually read, this one was intense.
Soon, Serina forgot her original goal and just enjoyed the story while eating caramel.
By the time she came back to her senses, the sun had already set.
“Ah! Right. I was supposed to study villains… but I ended up just enjoying it.”
She got up and took out her diary.
To avoid forgetting, she drew a mind map.
From the word “villain,” many branches spread across the page.
But there was still space left.
“I should borrow more villain romance novels from Maron!”
It’s not because I like it. It’s for studying!
I need to understand villains better to act perfectly!
She justified herself.
The next morning
For some reason, only Maron came to her room.
Perfect timing.
“Maron! I already finished the book you gave me yesterday. It was really, really fun. Do you have more like it?”
Serina grabbed Maron’s skirt with one hand and handed the book back with the other.
“Oh my, of course! It seems you like villains. I love them too. I’m tired of Cinderella stories. I have lots in my room. I’ll bring them right away!”
Maron spoke excitedly.
Soon, she returned with a pile of novels.
“This one has many villains, similar to the last one. This one has a villain as the main character. And this one…”
She explained each one carefully.
Serina listened with shining eyes.
“Thank you, Maron! I’ll read them quickly and return them!”
“No need to rush. I’ve already read them.”
Maron giggled.
‘If the young lady were in a romance novel… she’d probably be a cheerful, quirky heroine.’
After finishing her work, Maron left.
“Hmm…”
Serina carefully thought about which book to read first.
“If the first one is too intense, the others won’t feel as interesting.”
“Today, I must not forget!”
The purpose is to study villains!
“Practice like it’s real!”
She lightly slapped her cheeks to motivate herself.
“This is all your fault for taking what’s mine!”
Using magic, she created props and acted like a villain bullying the heroine.
Like that, Serina fully immersed herself in studying villains.
* * *
“Serina has been quiet lately.”
“Yes… maybe it’s time to bring Helia. I don’t feel good leaving her there alone.”
Aura recalled her first meeting with Helia.
A few months ago, they finally received permission from the emperor.
When they met her, Helia looked weak and poorly dressed—despite being a princess.
Aura hid her shock and gently greeted her.
“Princess Helia. We were friends of your mother, Lady Irenis. We wanted to meet you.”
“……”
A child who had hidden her name and gender since birth.
She showed no reaction—like a broken doll.
To survive in the imperial palace, the child had chosen silence.
Aura felt deep guilt and sadness.
The child of her dear friend… suffering like this.
The next day, she brought Lakus to accompany Helia.
“Lady Aura, hello. Thank you for visiting. And thank you too, Lakus.”
As Helia spent more time with Lakus, she slowly began to express herself.
It was a little disappointing that she was becoming like Lakus—but it was still good.
At least she was getting brighter.
But one thing still bothered Aura.
Helia’s situation had not improved at all.
So, after discussing with Nereus, they decided to bring her out of the palace under the pretense of engagement.
The emperor didn’t care about Helia—and he wanted the power of the southern family.
But there was one unexpected obstacle.
“I don’t like this engagement! And it’s with Princess Helia! I absolutely oppose it!”
Serina.
They couldn’t tell her the truth—that the engagement was fake.
It was not something a child should carry.
And if the secret leaked, Lakus and Serina could be in danger.
The empress was that kind of person.
So they had to bring Helia as soon as possible.
“Oliver, call Serina. We can’t delay this any longer.”
Aura gave the order.
