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Chapter 6
Long ‌‌lashes cast shadows beneath large, luminous eyes.
Below them, irises ‌‌the color of a deep blue lake.
A frame slightly taller than other girls her age, and a posture as graceful as a painting.
'Wow, she looks just like an elf from a fairy tale....'
Forgetting my original purpose entirely, I gazed at Rachel as though enchanted, before belatedly snapping back to reality and offering a greeting.
"Oh, hello, Princess Isella. I'm Vivian, and I've come today to be your playmate from now on―"
But before I could even finish my introduction, Rachel brushed past me and walked straight to the table in the center of the Greenhouse, sitting down.
'...Cold. So cold.'
Was it an inescapable fate that the villainess would despise me, the heroine?
Rachel paid no attention to whether I stood awkwardly at a distance or not, simply opening the book ‌‌‌she ‌‌‌had ‌‌‌brought and beginning to read.
Watching her, I swallowed back a sigh.
'Will I ever be able to get close to Rachel...?'
It was then, wrapped in such anxiety.
That I suddenly noticed something strange.
'Wait? Now that I think about it, my heart was hurting terribly just moments ago....'
The pain that had tormented me until just now had vanished as though washed away.
'Usually the pain fades gradually, leaving behind a dull ache.'
But this time, it disappeared in an instant.
And Rachel, whom I had collided with moments before.
Realizing the connection between the two, I clapped my hand over my mouth.
'The pain disappears just ‌‌‌‌from ‌‌‌slight contact ‌with Rachel?'
This quickly?!
'This is incredible!' ‌
I wanted to throw my arms around Rachel right then ‌‌‌and there, but I held back.
If I did that, Rachel—who already seemed to dislike me—might not only refuse to befriend me, but might have me sent away. ‌‌
I hurried back to my seat before I could make a bad impression.
No matter what I did in front of her, Rachel didn't spare me a single glance, yet a smile played across my ‌‌lips as I watched her. ‌‌
'I will absolutely become Rachel's best friend!' ‌‌
Even if it seemed impossible, I would make it happen.
Because this wasn't just about friendship—my very life depended on it!
As I gazed at Rachel with a satisfied smile, she felt my gaze and lifted her eyes.
In ‌‌those blue eyes meeting mine, annoyance was plainly evident.
Regardless, I suddenly confessed to Rachel.
"I like you, Princess Isella." ‌‌
Rachel's brow furrowed slightly.
"I promise I'll make you happy from now on!"
And maybe keep myself alive in the process.
Despite my passionate confession(?), Rachel simply stared at me with cold eyes before lowering her gaze back to her book.
And she never looked at me ‌‌again.
After our first tea ‌‌‌‌time ended, until the butler came to pick up Rachel.
Rachel rose from his seat before I could even finish greeting him, and only then did ‌‌‌he speak for the first time.
"Don't come again."
Though his opening words were cold, I was not one to be intimidated by them.
'A tree that doesn't fall after ten strikes will fall on the eleventh.'
If it meant clinging to my lifeline!
* * *
A few days later, on the day our tea time was scheduled.
I visited the Villa again.
But ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes passed....
Despite considerable time having elapsed, Rachel did ‌not appear at the Greenhouse.
Suddenly, I recalled Rachel's frigid voice from before we parted, spoken instead of a proper farewell.
[Don't come again.]
Could it be....
'Was I ‌‌‌stood up?'
Of ‌‍‌course, the tea time appointment had been arranged unilaterally by the Duke, regardless of Rachel's wishes....
'But still!'
I was about to rise from ‌‌‌‌my seat, thinking I should ask the maid when ‌‌‌‌Rachel would arrive.
Click.
The Greenhouse door opened.
"Good afternoon, Princess―"
I reflexively began to greet them, but lifted my head at the sound of giggling laughter.
Standing there was not Rachel, ‌‌but Sally.
"Good afternoon, Princess~?"
Sally mocked my earlier demeanor by mimicking it, then quickly changed her expression and looked down ‌‌at me with contemptuous eyes.
"As ‌expected ‌‌‌‌of someone uneducated—you really have no sense, do you?"
I glared at this ‌‌unwelcome visitor.
Sally scoffed regardless and continued speaking.
"Do you ‌‌know why the young master hasn't ‌‌‌been coming here?"
"What?"
"He doesn't want to see you. You should've picked up on it and gone home, but honestly.... Clueless children like you are such a pain."
"Did the young master really say that? There's nothing else going on?"
Whether what Sally claimed Rachel had said was a lie, she showed a moment of confusion before responding confidently.
"Yeah. He says playing with an uneducated child like you is beneath his level."
I smiled inwardly with contempt.
'She probably thought I'd cry and run away like any other child at words like these....'
But what can I say.
I'm not a naive nine-year-old who would believe ‌‌‌such words at face value.
"Is that so? May I ask the young master directly?"
"What?"
"If what you're ‌‌saying is true, then I should go home. But what if you're lying?"
I stepped closer to Sally with an exaggerated expression of ‌‌distress.
"Then I'd be a disrespectful brat who defied the Duke's orders to be the Princess's companion and went home anyway, wouldn't I?"
"I-I'm not lying, okay?"
"Then let's verify it since you have nothing to hide."
I pushed Sally's shoulder aside and left the Greenhouse.
"Hey, wait!"
For ‌‌‌‌a moment, I heard Sally's furious protests echoing behind me, but she didn't chase after ‌‌me with any ‌‌real urgency.
'If Rachel hasn't visited the Greenhouse all this time, as Sally claimed, then it's true that he doesn't welcome me.'
Meeting Rachel would likely result in a cold reception, which I found ‌‌‌rather amusing to contemplate.
'But my true purpose isn't ‌‌merely to expose Sally's lie.'
I approached a passing maid with a knowing smile.
Just as I was about to ask where Rachel's room was, I encountered him descending the staircase.
Rachel's eyes widened momentarily at our unexpected meeting, then he furrowed his ‌‌‌‌delicate brows and asked.
"Why are you here?"
His expression was clearly annoyed.
Sally, who had leisurely followed behind, immediately reported to Rachel.
"Even though I told her to go home, she insisted on meeting you, Miss."
Sally probably expected me to feel hurt and retreat at this point.
'Not a chance.'
Rachel may not be interested in me now, but I know how to capture his attention.
Though it's only a fragment from the original work, I know Rachel's past.
I put ‌‌‍‌on an exaggerated wounded expression and began speaking ‌‌‌softly.
"Actually, I know the Princess finds tea time with me boring. So I thought of another way we ‌‌‌could have fun together..."
In Rachel's cold gaze ‌fixed upon me, a glimmer of curiosity flickered for just an instant.
Children are children, after all.
I smiled sweetly and ‌‌cast my bait.
"I thought I might show you the Village, but I suppose playing with me would be tedious..."
An irresistible lure that Rachel couldn't help but bite.
Sally, who had been nervously anticipating what I might say, let out a scoff.
"Why would you go to such a smelly ‌‌‌‌place? The Princess doesn't like going outside the Estate. Isn't that right, Miss?"
However, contrary to Sally's words, Rachel didn't immediately refuse.
Instead, he was looking at me with slightly trembling eyes.
It was ‌‌the reaction I had anticipated.
'Rachel, you want to go outside the Estate too, don't you?'
I know from reading the original work.
Rachel is the child of the Former ‌‌Crown Prince, who died a traitor, and Princess Isella.
Though the Emperor knew this fact, he couldn't officially do anything about Rachel, Princess Isella's illegitimate child...
But the entire Empire understood that this wasn't complete forgiveness.
And Rachel, the one directly involved, knew it better than anyone.
That's ‌‌‌‌‌‌why Rachel had spent his entire life trying to avoid drawing attention to himself.
Never venturing beyond the Estate, concealing his very existence, ‌‌‌living as though dead....
So that everyone would forget about me.
'That's how suppressed emotions fester and eventually transform into rebellion.'
But here in this Village, there was no one who would recognize Rachel.
Naturally, the Emperor wasn't here either.
Which meant that here ‌in this Village alone, Rachel didn't need to hide as he had within the Empire. ‌
'This is my chance to help Rachel take ‌‌his first steps outside and earn affection points.'
In the original story, only the fact that Rachel had voluntarily confined himself to the Estate as a ‌‌child was mentioned—there were no details about whether he'd ever ventured outside in this Village.
After all, it was merely the narrative of a villain.
But I knew that Rachel ‌‌‌‌‌yearned to step into the world beyond these walls.
He was simply hesitant, afraid of taking that first step.
So I extended my hand to him.
"Still, would you like to come to the Village with me, Princess Isella?"
"I―"
Rachel, who had been gazing at me intently, ‌was about to respond when―
"That won't be possible, I'm afraid."
A Middle-aged Woman who appeared ‌‌‌‌suddenly cut off Rachel's words.

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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