ISTV 41

About a year after her coming-of-age ceremony.

It was around the time when people started calling Seila “not actually that pretty but somehow labeled a beauty” and “the faceless beauty.”

A message arrived from the Armagio Marquisate, the house that operated the top merchant guild on the Central Continent, saying they wished to visit the Queibek family.

‘Oh? Is it that time already?’

Time really flew by fast.

This was an event that existed in the <Her and Her Guys> setting book.

The difference from the setting book, however, was that Camellia, the only daughter of the Armagio family, had expressed her desire to meet Seila.

‘Camellia Armagio wants to meet me?’

The feeling was… off. It wasn’t welcome news.

Camellia was one of the most hated villains by players in <Her and Her Guys>.

A character who was jealous of the heroine but pretended to be friendly on the surface.

She would sow discord between the heroine and the male leads, constantly backstabbing and pushing the heroine into trouble.

‘Why not just meet the Queibek couple? Why does she want to see me specifically?’

The exact reason was unclear.

A few days later, a luxurious carriage drawn by eight white horses passed through the gates of Queibek.

The carriage was pure white, adorned with ornate golden decorations all over.

A large flag with a white tiger bearing golden claws fluttered atop the carriage.

The white tiger with golden claws—
It was the symbol of House Armagio.

Looking out from the marquisate’s private carriage, Camellia immediately recoiled and shut the window.

“Ugh, how vulgar.”

She had spotted knights training in the courtyard.

Some were shirtless during their practice, which was a very normal thing in Queibek.

“So it’s true that Queibek is the most barbaric of the three great powers.”

At her words, Belloponso, the head attendant who had accompanied her, stood up.

“I shall go and speak to them firmly.”

How dare they behave so indecently when our lady is arriving?

What a disgraceful way to treat the marquisate!

‘I must lodge a proper complaint!’

It wasn’t that Belloponso was particularly uptight—this was just the standard mindset of nobles from the Central Continent.

Seila was, as usual, participating in joint training at the Queibek training grounds with the knights.

Within the Queibek training grounds, status didn’t matter.

While wielding swords and clashing with each other, no one considered ranks—and Seila was no exception, training equally among them.

This applied not only to Seila but also to the Queibek direct heirs, the Dis brothers, and Hamyun.

But then, an outsider approached the knights.

Instructor Raven, who was overseeing the training, stopped him.

“This area is dangerous. Outsiders are not permitted.”

“You haven’t heard the news?”

“What news?”

“That our lady is passing through this area at this hour.”

“And who might your lady be?”

“Lady Camellia!”

“…I might have heard something to that effect.”

“Then why are you continuing the training?”

Instructor Raven tilted his head.

What did Lady Camellia passing through have to do with stopping training?

“Our noble, delicate lady was utterly shocked to see these burly men yelling and swinging blades around!”

“She was startled by this?”

“Of course she was!”

To some, it was obvious. To others, not so much.

“Also, why are so many of them shirtless? Is this how you show respect to a lady?”

“And who are you?”

“I am Belloponso, head attendant to the lady.”

Only then did the man hand over his name card to Instructor Raven.

While they exchanged cards, Belloponso spotted a young girl among the knights.

She looked like she had only recently come of age, and was quite small in stature.

Belloponso frowned at the sight of her.

A young girl, here?

How could she be mixing with such rugged men?

It was something unimaginable in the Central Continent—a truly barbaric sight.

Seila looked at Belloponso and sighed inwardly.

‘Ugh, a nuisance.’

There were always nuisances, wherever you went.

She could practically read his thoughts.

‘Typical Central noble mindset. A girl wielding a sword—how shocking.’

Not that she couldn’t understand it.

The Central Continent, even within the <Her and Her Guys> setting that resembled medieval times, was the most old-fashioned region.

For example, a man wearing heels could be beaten to death, and a woman wearing pants would be scorned.

‘The Central Empire has very few magic users.’

So physical differences between the sexes were more pronounced, and gender roles were clearly divided.

Anyway, the background didn’t really matter.

What mattered was that this man had completely ruined the rhythm of the training.

‘Everyone looks irritated.’

Just then—

A woman in a flashy red dress began walking toward them.

Her heels clacked loudly—a sound clearly amplified by some sort of magic.

Apparently, clacking heels were the latest trend in the Central Continent.

She was dripping in gold and all kinds of rare gems.

Seila involuntarily stared at Camellia.

‘Wow. That is seriously tacky.’

Even by <Her and Her Guys> standards, not just modern ones, it was over-the-top.

“How barbaric. A noble guest is visiting, and this is what she sees on the way?”

Camellia snapped open her fan to hide her face.

Seila couldn’t help but laugh at the theatrical display.

‘Then why are your eyes sneaking peeks at the knights?’

It was like she was hiding her face with her palm, but leaving her eyes uncovered.

If she hated it that much, she could’ve stayed in the carriage—but no, she came out just to stir trouble.

At that moment, Camellia and Seila made eye contact.

“You. Why are you staring at me like that?”

“……”

“Do you think I’m that pretty?”

Even Seila was momentarily at a loss for words.

Had she not had poise, she might have shown visible confusion.

“I understand that you admire me—we lead very different lives.”

“……”

“But staring like that is very rude, you plain-looking girl.”

One of Camellia’s defining traits was her extreme appearance-based elitism.

She believed beauty equaled power and status.

And in high society, that was often true—beauty did confer social rank and authority.

The knights began murmuring.

“She said Lady Seila is ugly?”

“She’s obviously the uglier one though?”

They weren’t trying to be mean—at first.

“Is there something wrong with my eyes?”

“No, I think her eyes are the problem. Doesn’t she have a mirror at home?”

At first, there was no malice. But the more they thought about it, the more annoyed they became.

Seila trained hard in every session and was growing at a remarkable pace. She was admirable and competent.

She also motivated many of the knights.

Most of the Queibek knights liked Seila.

And Camellia had just insulted her.

They already didn’t care about social status—and this wasn’t even a noble from the Eastern Continent, but from the Central Continent?

To the knights, Camellia was nothing but an irritant.

“Where did this hippo come from?”

“Hey, be careful. That’s insulting—to hippos.”

Meanwhile, Seila realized something.

‘She already knows what I look like.’

If this was the Camellia she knew, then the girl was doing this on purpose.

It was a power play.

‘I never thought I’d meet Camellia face-to-face.’

She wasn’t a final boss-level villain, but definitely a mid-tier one.

Get off on the wrong foot, and it could be a pain for life.

Seila untied her ponytail and stepped forward to face Camellia.

“I heard that the daughter of House Armagio wanted to meet me.”

“Wait, you’re Seila?”

Of course, Camellia had already known—but she pretended to be surprised.

“You’re very different from the rumors, Miss Faceless Beauty.”

“What rumors?”

“They said you still look young, but are more elegant and beautiful than any other noble lady.”

Camellia’s eyes narrowed.

“But not that much.”

An opening attack.

Camellia was a textbook villain: obsessed with appearance and bully the weak, bow to the strong.

‘If she thinks she has the upper hand, she won’t stop.’

The heroine Aileen had been repeatedly betrayed by Camellia only because Aileen was a “sunshine heroine.”

That sunshine melted the male leads—but also activated Camellia’s aggressive instincts.

“I’m delighted to meet you, Lady Camellia.”

“Are you?”

“How about we take a commemorative photo together?”

Camellia was caught off guard.

She almost said, “No, thanks.”

Seila knew exactly why.

‘She doesn’t want to be in a photo next to me.’

Even Seila herself was surprised by her face every morning.

She never got tired of how pretty it was.

‘From Camellia’s point of view, taking a photo with me must be downright horrifying.’

Seila continued naturally.

“Of course, I may not be dressed for a photo right now, but it would still be a nice keepsake.”

Which was basically saying: Even without trying, I still look way better than you.

Even Seila was a little amazed at herself.

‘Wow, never thought I’d be the one flexing looks in my lifetime.’

She was wearing plain training clothes, no accessories, and was sweating heavily—not exactly photo-ready.

But deep down, a pure and confident self-assurance was blossoming.

She’d felt this strongly, even back in Korea:

‘Pretty girls are just pretty no matter what they do.’

Seila smiled warmly and stepped toward Camellia—who stepped back in alarm.

“W-Wait! Don’t come any closer!”