"Young Lady, is sothing troubling you?"
Linda asked this while standing behind the blonde girl, brushing her hair. In the mirror, the blonde girl stared blankly at a point in empty space, her gaze unfocused, looking deeply preoccupied.
"Linda, can I not go to school?"
Hearing this response, Linda's comb paused briefly before continuing down the strands of hair.
"...Why so sudden? Tomorrow is the entrance ceremony you've been looking forward to. Has sothing unpleasant happened recently?"
Although she didn't interact much with people outside the Smollett family, living in human cities for a long ti had given Linda so understanding of human habits.
Humans were a very disciplined race. Educators would systematically educate the younger generation in a planned and organized manner, imparting experience, knowledge, and skills. In groups composed mostly of young people, a negative behavior of bullying often occurred among adolescents.
The elven race naturally didn't have such habits. Putting aside the fact that elves weren't considered adults until around 100 years old, 99% of elves had no concept of harming their own kind, which is why they found it hard to understand humans who often ca to blows.
And it was serious enough that she didn't want to go to school... Could it be that the Young Lady was being bullied by so bad children?
That term... was it called 'bullying'?
When Linda tried to ask tactfully, she quickly received a negative answer.
"Ha... Don't joke with , who would cause trouble for
without reason?"
Yvonne naturally wouldn't be on the receiving end of bullying.
This confidence wasn't just because she was the Smollett family's daughter. Since she began practicing swordsmanship, Yvonne hadn't missed a day of training. In terms of combat ability, she was confident she wouldn't easily fall behind among her peers.
"I suppose that's true."
Linda smiled slightly. If Yvonne said so, then those things Linda was worried about probably hadn't happened.
Of course, the Young Lady wouldn't be bullied... Yvonne Smollett was a duke's daughter, nominally the future crown princess, soone who would be at the top of this country in the future. Every ti Duke Campbell took his daughter to various social occasions, there was no shortage of people fawning over and currying favor with the Young Lady. Only soone lacking common sense would step out to bully her.
Co to think of it, the Young Lady seems to have turned 13 this year.
Has it already been 7 years since then...
Seven years isn't a long ti for elves, but it's enough for a human child to grow from a little one into a graceful young lady.
Linda just realized that she had subconsciously still been treating the Young Lady as a fragile child, not yet noticing that Yvonne had grown up considerably.
"Then... what exactly is making you unwilling to go to school?"
The hair brushing was complete. Linda applied two drops of lily of the valley essential oil, rubbing it into the ends of the hair.
Currently, it was fashionable for human nobles, both n and won, to emit fragrant scents. Although her Young Lady was an exception—Yvonne disliked overpowering perfus, preferring only subtle scents that couldn't be detected unless one got close.
But it seed even these soothing, sweet fragrances couldn't dispel Yvonne's current worries.
"......"
Looking at herself in the mirror, Yvonne pressed her lips tightly together, remaining silent.
From childhood, Linda had spent more ti with Yvonne than her busy duke father and frequently ill mother. For Yvonne, the intelligent, considerate, and attentive Linda was soone she could completely trust.
Yvonne wanted to tell Linda that she had recalled mories of her past life, to tell her about the impending crisis of destruction she faced.
But the mont she had this thought, that terrifying system, as if it had installed a thought-reading device in her mind, imdiately popped up a warning window.
Yvonne racked her brains and finally decided to circumvent the system's monitoring, obliquely telling part of the truth.
"Yesterday... I had a very bad dream."
This wasn't just an excuse hastily concocted to deal with the system. Last night, Yvonne truly had a nightmare, and it was the most terrifying one since she regained her mories.
In the dream, from Yvonne's first-person perspective, she could still sll the kerosene from lit torches and the bloody stench mixed with filth. In the dream, only one of her eyes could see, and familiar family mbers were being hanged before her eyes, while she herself was pushed onto the execution platform amidst the angry shouts of the populace...
The terrifying scene was vivid, as clear as if she had experienced it personally. Even recalling it now made Yvonne's hair stand on end.
After waking up, Yvonne imdiately understood—she had dread of the villainous role's execution ending.
"Linda, I have a bad feeling... If I go to school like this, sothing terrible will definitely happen!"
Yvonne didn't want to simply view this world as a ga. Even though she had regained mories of her past life and understood the fact that she was a reincarnator, the family of this life was still her true family.
If possible, Yvonne wanted to do everything she could to avoid that terrible ending.
For this, the best course of action Yvonne could think of was: to drop out of school directly.
As long as she didn't appear on that dangerous main stage as a featured character, even if she was assigned the role of villain, at most she would only be a background character with a na but no portrait.
By avoiding contact with the protagonist, she might be able to avoid the bad ending.
"Even if I don't go to school... couldn't a tutor teach
at ho? The effect of one-on-one teaching might be even better! Linda, please help ? Help
persuade Father to let
drop out of school!"
With the Smollett family's wealth, hiring a good tutor for their daughter was not difficult at all. Rather than getting involved in such a dangerous story where people could die, it would be more reassuring to be a carefree duke's daughter.
However, suddenly saying such things the day before school started would certainly make her father and mother worry about her. Especially her father, who had always looked forward to his daughter entering school. Hearing such an outrageous request, he might even fly into a rage.
That's why Yvonne thought of asking Linda for help.
Although Linda's position was only that of head maid, for so reason, she had a lot of influence in this household. Sotis, even her stubborn father would listen carefully to Linda's suggestions. Because of her poor health, her mother also relied heavily on Linda.
From the feeling of their interactions, Linda actually seed more like an elder to her parents.
...Although her appearance didn't show it at all.
If Linda was willing to join her in persuading her father to agree not to let her enter school, it should be easier for her father to accept.
"I don't an to oppose you, but Young Lady... are you really going to give up like this?"
Linda could see that Yvonne wasn't joking with her. She was genuinely afraid of sothing.
Now that her contract partner had beco Yvonne, she should unconditionally support the contractor's choices.
Although she didn't mind simply obeying, she had watched this human grow from a little one to now. Linda knew better than anyone Yvonne's yearning for magic and the efforts she had made for it.
If one wanted to study magic, there was no better place than the Hartwell Royal Magic Academy—moreover, for nobles with Oz lineage, being a student of this school was itself a symbol of honor.
To draw an analogy, it would be like working hard to get an admission letter from a top university, only to suddenly give up just before school starts. To outsiders, it would be a very difficult thing to understand.
"...It doesn't matter, I don't care about these things."
To say it didn't matter at all would certainly be a lie.
Yvonne still rembered the first ti she used magic, the feeling of the faint wind flowing in her palm according to her will.
Even though she only succeeded in levitating a single leaf, it made her younger self incredibly excited.
The colorful world of magic, and a brand new school life... Just one step forward, and she could experience a completely different life.
Yvonne averted her gaze from her reflection in the mirror.
Tomorrow was the opening ceremony. This should have been a joyful fitting session, and Yvonne was wearing the uniform issued by the academy.
In the mirror, Yvonne wore a specially made bow on her chest, with a translucent red gemstone embedded in the center of the exquisitely crafted silk bow.
This tailor-made uniform fit her perfectly, but unfortunately, she might never have the chance to wear it again.
Yvonne wasn't the type of person without desires. She had many wishes she wanted to fulfill.
Finally having a second chance, to start anew, to experience a happy school life, to make good friends... these were all things she wanted to do.
In her past life, Yvonne's mories had forever stopped at 17 years old, and now was the opportunity to make up for those regrets.
But,
Why did it have to be the villain role—
Was it like those popular stories recently? Reincarnating into another world, and then becoming the villain in that kind of story?
...
What an overused the, too cliché!
And to top it off, this inexplicable villain system...
Glancing at the prompt box floating before her eyes that only she could see, Yvonne sensed a kind of twisted malice from the deep red window.
The person who invented this thing must have a wicked sense of humor.
Moreover, why couldn't she be reincarnated as sothing else—why did it have to be the villain who must bully others!
Yvonne would rather be a common supporting character, or a free adventurer. Even if her standard of living might be much lower than now, it would be better than opposing the most dangerous person in this world (the protagonist) and heading towards destruction!
Fragnts of mories from her past life flashed by, and Yvonne had a mont of realization.
Perhaps this was punishnt for her forr self who had remained indifferent.
Rembering the figure of her friend from those days leaping down, leaving only a red mark on the cold stone to prove she had lived.
No...
Yvonne absolutely refused to be a bully.
This was her bottom line in her reincarnated life.
To protect her life and family, she had to make sacrifices.
Although running away wasn't the best strategy... it was better than waiting passively for destruction.
Even if she stayed at ho for life, being an eccentric young lady, at least she could spend ti with her important family mbers...
If so, wouldn't that also be considered happiness?
"It seems you truly have so troubles you can't speak of."
Seeing Yvonne's eyes unknowingly filled with tears, Linda couldn't help but gently stroke the crown of Yvonne's head to comfort her.
"If you've made up your mind, then I will certainly help you, Young Lady."
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