The Crazy Villainess in This Area Is Me

Endimion immediately picked up Lobelia.

“That woman, I mean Lobelia, where are you taking her?”

“Of course to the bedroom, Mari. There are so many rooms in the main building.”

“But the children don’t know yet. It would be better to put her in the annex today.”

“Hmm, I see. Okay, Mari. As expected, you’re wise.”

He smiled softly and turned around with Lobelia in his arms. “Will you call the doctor tomorrow, Mari?”

“…Yes. Of course.”

Not noticing what miserable expression Magorit was making behind him, Endimion hurried to the annex. Then he laid Lobelia carefully on the clean bed. After carefully drying her rain-soaked hair and having maids change her wet clothes, he smiled as if relieved.

“Huu…”

Endimion looked at Lobelia’s face with a pitiful look. There was cold sweat on her fair forehead. Still, fortunately, her complexion seemed to have improved compared to when she was in the main building.

“Thank you for remembering me again.”

It seemed like he was filming a play full of romance alone. Like a scene from a love story, he lightly kissed her forehead.

“Good night, my dear Lia.” Endimion smiled and soon left the annex.

The sound of his footsteps grew further and further away, and only after some time had passed did I jump up from the bed.

“Dirty.”

My crumpled expression showed how displeased I was.

Finally, I found cold water and poured it over my face. The newly changed clothes were once again as wet as before.

“I don’t need your kindness. You piece of trash.” Her eyes glared at the useless door.

I flipped my dripping hair back and teleported to the Gracie Duchy. The moment I raised my head, my shoulders trembled. Frinel was waiting for me in my room.

“Your Royal Highness.”

I didn’t expect him to be waiting for me in my room. My surprised eyes turned to him. And what surprised Frinel was the same. He immediately stood up and wiped my face with a handkerchief.

“…What is this? Did Marchioness Hamilton throw water on you?”

“I throw it myself.”

“What? Why?”

He suddenly brought a shawl and wrapped it around my shoulder.

“…Because it’s dirty.”

“What is that… Ah, no way…?”

“It’s not that big of a deal. Just a good night kiss on my forehead.”

“Huh…!”

The hand that was urgently wiping my face stopped in the air. Frinel held his lips together for a while and then pulled them away. Then, after a while, he barely managed to say anything.

“Those dirty lips… Did you allow him to kiss your noble forehead?”

“It’s not like I have a noble forehead, but I can’t help it.” I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head.

He carefully observed me and raised the end of his words. “You must have really hated it, right?” he asked with a slight smile on his face as he seemed to be waiting for my answer.

“…Are you jealous now?”

“Of course,” Frinel answered proudly, straightening his shoulders.

Seeing him like that, I blushed slightly and muttered bluntly. “This is the first time I’ve seen someone say so confidently that they’re jealous. Don’t you usually hide it?”

Frinel slightly curled up the corners of his mouth as if he thought I was cute. His sly smile was so dazzling that I twitched my lips in disgust. No matter how hard I tried to ignore his handsomeness, I couldn’t turn away.

“Why should I hide it? That’s how much my heart likes you.”

Frinel slowly raised his hand, feeling my gaze.

“I don’t think jealousy is bad. Of course, people who go crazy with jealousy and run wild are just crazy people.”

Then he tucked my slightly wet hair behind my ear and closed his eyes mischievously.

“Isn’t it a natural feeling?”

He said he was showing off, but isn’t he acting too openly?

While he was acting up, he seemed to be a bit too blatant about it.

I forcibly averted my gaze.

“Yes. I suppose so.”

“Why is your answer like that?”

“I’m annoyed.”

“What?”

“…it.”

“Pardon?”

My eyes that had tried to look away soon returned to their original position.”

“I didn’t like it. Me too. For such a scumbag to put his lips on my forehead.”

My emerald eyes, seeming to have become a little harder and clearer than before, were looking straight at him.

Our eyes met each other. Frinel’s blue eyes were sparkling beautifully, like morning dew on a lake.

My heart wavered for a moment as I still looked at him. Even though I was just thinking about it, my face instantly turned red.

In fact, I was the type that blushed my face quite easily. Feeling a sense of shame, I quickly turned my head.

I almost fell for him at such an important time.

“Hmm. I don’t think my temptation didn’t work at all.” He rubbed his chin and smiled, slightly satisfied.

My shoulders trembled at the remark that hit the nail on the head. But I quickly concealed the slight embarrassment that appeared on my face.

“…What?”

“Now you’re a princess, you’re good at hiding your facial expression. I’m very proud as your teacher.”

Frinel casually brushed my hair. My heart trembled slightly at the natural skinship.

“What do you mean by teacher?”

“I’m your teacher, right? I teach you swordsmanship and philosophy. Didn’t I teach you how to dance too?”

“You just told me for a moment.”

“This is not a very good way to treat your teacher. I take back my praise from earlier, Lady Lobelia. I think you need to take some social classes again.”

“…It’s not even funny. Really.”

To his joke, I answered curtly, holding back my laughter for no reason.

“Ouch.”

At that time, I blinked one of my eyes slightly. It seemed like there was dust in my eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s dust in my eyes…”

“Let me see.”

Frinel drew close to me and gently placed his hand on my cheek. That was the moment when I slightly turned my head to look into his eyes.  

“Lobel—”

Bella burst open the door with a light pink box in her hand. “

!”

What came into her sight was the very close appearance of Frinel and I. Bella was so startled that she even dropped the box containing the eclairs.  

“N-no… W-why is Frinel here…? No, more than that, when did the two of you… No, I’m sorry. I’m interrupting…!”

She couldn’t speak properly because her head went blank. Her eyes, which resembled Frinel, wandered for a long time. And then she quickly ran out of the room. Only a light pink box fell lonely on the floor.

I sighed heavily. It was clear that she misunderstood something. But what was even funnier was that Frinel stood still without making any excuses.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh?”

“We have to go and explain. That we’re not the kind of relationship Bella thinks we are.”

I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him slightly.

“We could be in a relationship like that. So why should I?”

Frinel was rather smiling as if he liked the situation.

“…Frinel.”

“Look at this.”

“What?”

He put his face close to me and smiled. “We weren’t even in front of Marquis Hamilton, but you called me by my name.”

Only then did I realize that I had called Frinel by his name rather than ‘Your Royal Highness.’

I blinked my eyes quickly in embarrassment. “…I’m sorry. It was a mistake, Your Royal Highness.”

“No. Keep calling me like that. From Royal Highness becomes Frinel, and Frinel becomes honey…

it works.”

The corners of his mouth twitched as he coughed out whether it was good just to imagine.

“…

”

Even though I was laughing, my face lit up. In the end, I glared at Frinel without annoyance and immediately turned around.

“Enough. I’ll go and explain.”

Bella’s room wasn’t far from mine. I finally stood in front of Bella’s room.  

How far should I go?

All I had to do was resolve the misunderstanding about Frinel and me. But the problem was that from now on, I would have to go in and out of Hamilton March, not in society.  

Whether telling a lie or telling the truth, I had to give an excuse to Duke Gracie and Bella to postpone my social debut and roam freely outside the duchy. Rather than telling a lie, it might have been better to be honest about my situation, like I told Frinel.

My face darkened in an instant.

Revealing my power to Frinel went against my plans. However, since there was assurance called a ‘blood oath’ and in the end I was receiving help, I was able to dismiss it as okay.  

But they were different. The kindness shown to me, who is just a stranger. No matter how much I was a lifesaver, it was doubtful.

Yes. It seemed better not to say anything. I finally made up my mind and slowly raised my hand to knock.

“…it.”

“Bella.”

“The pendant that Lobelia has.”

Duke Gracie and Bella’s voices came through the door.

Without realizing it, I stopped knocking and listened to their conversation. And in the words that immediately follow,

“It belongs to your father.”

My eyes opened wide.