I Reincarnated as a Noble Girl Villainess But Why Did It Turn Out This Way? Ch 229

07 – Final Days of Spring Break

I spent the next ten days that preceded the safe arrival of that carriage from Kaldia celebrating the fleeting peace.

I had little else to occupy myself with, after all. Nothing apart from slowly and selectively transporting my things from the old dorm to the new and cleaning up the place, at least. And even then, my role consisted of little more than ordering around servants. Since there was a rather scant number of my possessions that necessitated personal input and instruction, every last thing I owned had been moved before the ten-day period even had the chance to see itself out.

With that avenue exhausted, I attempted to assist with the cleaning. But then Lady Heidemann glared down with all the ferocity of an ogress, and that was the end of that.

I considered that there might be a chance that I’d only spent these days so listless and with nothing to do ever since I’d been tossed into the military’s base of operations.

Going out wasn’t much of an option, seeing how I wasn’t particularly warm to the idea of running into walking nuisances or being subjected to the disagreeable glares of nobles I didn’t even know by na. Instead, I let myself be at the rcy of one of the greatest luxuries of all ti by holing myself up in my ho and just lazing the days away. Well… there was only one thing I couldn’t get away from, and that was training with Claudia, who never really knew what to do with an abundance of spare ti.

The horse-drawn carriage had departed from Kaldia at the precise date it was expected to, and had taken three days to reach the old dorm. Since this place had made it a valid option for several years that carriage horses could be procured in exchange for money, one could forgo moving between stations and simply leave the matter at that, showing favour to leisure.

“What…? What’s all this, then?”

Dumbfounded and in a ho bereft of both possessions and servants, Ratoka muttered in solitude. I having spent the ti waiting for the carriage sunbathing in the salon and dozing off as I did, a result of my day-long indulgence, finally opened my eyes.

I offered an explanation, going into detail how royal rule had mandated I be moved along with my possessions and servants, and was promptly t with a resounding, ‘That’s sothing you should’ve told earlier, you moron!’ It goes without saying that Ratoka took the opportunity to give my head a good thrashing.

I carefully assemble what excuses I have, keeping in mind how my plans wouldn’t have changed even if I had been more informative, and how I couldn’t find the people who’d usually send the ssage, and how there was a good chance they wouldn’t find their target anyway, but that just led to another boff to the head.

“Our ruler sure can’t get her head out of trouble, huh?”

I took the chance while we unpacked to explain the royal decree to my associates. What I’d just heard had been muttered by Athrun, accompanied by a sigh as he unfurled the rug and spread it over the floor. I could only assu that he thought the noise might help obscure his voice, but there was nothing my sharp ears couldn’t pick up.

“Oh, that reminds . Athrun, I want you to guard Lady Emilia on academy grounds. Tira’s her handmaid, by the way.”

Athrun spun around, shock evident in his expression, and I rely offered a shrug in response. I hadn’t said that just to get even with him, of course. Being in the academy required a fairly young chamberlain. If I had to choose people now, before I could call for a new batch of attendants, then it was only natural I’d pick the two of them out of the lot. Emilia wasn’t like , who only needed to take along Reka whenever I walked about; she was ant to take lectures specifically tailored for won. She’d need a handmaiden.

Under normal circumstances, I’d have set up Ratoka and Tira as attendants, but Ratoka was a special case in this situation. I thought it would be best if he didn’t get too close to Emilia. Both Ratoka and Athrun were perfectly capable of playing the guard, but excluding the forr really only left with one choice.

“Guess that ans I’ll be your attendant…”

Ratoka muttered, showcasing displeasure, and Reka sidled up before offering a lukewarm smile and a series of consoling pats to the shoulder.

Strange. Ratoka and the three childhood friends had only co to know each other last year, but they all appeared much more close-knit that I’d expected them to be. Then again, they were the only ones around here who were familiar with Ratoka’s personal history and current peculiar circumstances. Not to ntion that they were in the sa age group. It was one of those situations. The ones where a shared secret just helped a group grow closer together.

“Now them, Lady Emilia will be here co tomorrow. All the rooms here are ready, including yours. You can take a look later.”

“Aye, aye!”

Reka responded with nothing but obedience, and the others soon expressed their own acknowledgent, following his lead.

On the day that followed, we ushered Emilia into the dorm. It was full of life now, a stark contrast to the ten days that had led up to this mont.

The servants had spent the early hours of the morning scampering about, only now getting to whatever unpacking work they’d decided to postpone the other day, fervent in their preparations to welco the archduke girl from the neighbouring country as if she ant the world to them.

I for one had spent the morning getting my appearance fine-tuned to perfection by Lady Heinemann’s capable hands, was told, rather harshly I might add, to act like the lady of the house and just do nothing. I was reluctant, but I still went to look over the written reports that had co in from my territories.

…There was just sothing about sitting by and doing nothing whole everyone around was fussing about even the smallest things that kept from relaxing. I brought the now-cold cup of tea to my lips, feeling as if I was trying to cheat myself out of the natural sigh that was about to escape them.

It was just before noon that sothing finally happened, blowing away my boredom.

“I’m sorry you had to wait so long, Lady Emilia.”

I could finally get to work when Emilia stepped out of the carriage, at the exact ti I’d expected her to be here – yes, I considered our interactions a workload on their own terms – and adopted the best, brightest aura I could conjure, smiling in an effort to show just how happy I was to welco her.

“Lady Einsbark…”

Almost in opposition to , Emilia looked on with a heap of discomfort that I’d gotten all too used to by this point. She looked as if she was drawing much too close to her journey’s end.

I watched over her because the king had ordered to. The minute I’d made that clear to her, she’d beco completely unable to swallow down her despondency.

Well, I supposed it didn’t matter how she felt about it. I wasn’t about to change my attitude now, after all. I had no doubt that, had it not been for that royal decree, I wouldn’t have even considered getting into contact with her in the first place.

But since that hadn’t happened and I had indeed been ordered to do just that, I didn’t have the slightest intention of straying from the path the royal court had entrusted with.

Bearing all that in mind, I offered my hand, an invitation to escort her about. Emilia’s hand overlapped with mine, and while she bore the sa looked a lost child might have had, she didn’t bother putting any strength into it.