The Villainess is the Villainess [Otome Isekai LitRPG]

Book 3: Chapter 19 - Declaration [Part 1]

- Brendan Behan.

As if it were any other day, he came upon Seraphina in a secluded corner of the Academy gardens, where she had been reading a slim volume of romantic verse. Startled and embarrassed, she snapped the book shut, her composure very much ruffled.

Hughes, it seemed, had caught a fever while he had gone to look in on his grandmother, who lived alone somewhere in the countryside. To her own surprise, Seraphina felt a wash of relief to see him hale and whole, her relief clouding over a niggling doubt she had about his account. She was, however, seized by an immense urge to strike him—an impulse she mastered with a great deal of will and fixed smile.

She would try to be pleasant.

“I suppose your circumstances excuse what might otherwise be considered quite rude… I am glad you are safe, at the very least,” Seraphina said airily.

Hughes’ heart soared that she spared him even that measure of concern. “And I am glad that you, Lady Seraphina, are safe. I hope nothing bad or untoward befell you during the Dragon attack—it was quite chaotic,” he said, his voice still weak. “Now that the King has declared it safe again, I’m much relieved.”

A young girl’s mood is as changeable as the sea, and Seraphina was no different. The memory of her time in Milani village rose unbidden, and her temper soured at once.

“You must forgive me. It is good you are in one piece, but there is something I must see to… I have just remembered,” she said primly, clutching the book of verse to her chest. With another fixed smile, she left him standing there, hurrying off at a pace just shy of a rather brisk walk.

***

Why was she—Seraphina de Sariens—running from Hughes, of all people? No, she was not running, she told herself, squeezing her eyes shut and giving her head a brisk shake—only to plow into something as she turned the corner. Or someone.

That someone, naturally, went flying.

“Your Majesty!” cried an irritatingly familiar voice.

Seraphina’s eyes flew open to find Crown Prince Velens sprawled at her feet. He sprang up, brushed himself off, and flashed her a roguish grin. “A good day to you, too, Seraphina.”

Beside him, the living Saint, Este Lize, simmered with very theatrical outrage.

Seraphina cut her off neatly. “My humblest apologies, Your Majesty,” she said, offering Velens a perfect curtsy.

“It’s quite all right, Seraphina. An accident, nothing more,” Velens said, both hands raised in easy surrender.

The blonde girl straightened, smoothing the crumple in her skirt with two controlled swipes. “If Your Majesty is unhurt, I shall take my leave.”

“You’re in quite the hurry,” Velens said lightly, as if teasing might wipe away the awkwardness of being bowled over. He extended an arm in a courtly half-offer, half-trap. “Walk with us?”

Us. Of course. Este Lize hovered at his elbow, silver hair like a fall of moonlight, eyes so pale a blue they were nearly grey. Too close, too close by far to her Velens. A living Saint, a darling of the Church, and a commoner who had the power to turn the Kingdom of Aranthia upside down. Today she wore piety like cheap perfume and smiled as if she only knew the good in the world. It was quite infuriating and tested the young noblewoman’s patience immensely.

Seraphina dipped her chin. “Alas, I fear my time is not at my own disposal.”

“How curious,” Este murmured, a hand to her breast. “We had hoped to pray at the garden shrine. For the blessing of the Goddess, of course.” Her gaze never quite touched Seraphina, skimming past as if her presence were a thing to be stepped around.

An old, familiar prickle raced up Seraphina’s spine. The game’s event flags were stacking like kindling. Against all the odds, against the mixed sequence of things, a scripted event had found her. This was the Garden Confrontation, wasn’t it? Velens offers his arm to the Saint; the villainess makes an unwise remark; the male lead delivers a shining defense. Then the Affection Meter would jump by ten.

No. Not this time. Seraphina would not have it. She would cut this off now while she still had her dignity. Velens had served enough in his role.

“If His Majesty insists on parading creatures like this upon his arm,” Seraphina said sweetly, “then I shall be forced to… drastic measures. This is an insult to whatever feelings you have professed to me. And, an insult to my House.”

Velens’s smile faltered. “Creatures? Seraphina, mind your words.”

“Ah!” Este breathed, softly stricken. “Please, don’t scold her on my account. Lady Seraphina only wishes to protect propriety. You are here, fiancé, for the moment, at least. It is natural to feel… displaced.”

The girl was finally showing her claws.

“Este,” Velens said, turning to her with that gentle warmth the game had taught him, “you need not apologize. A true heart shines brighter than any title. Nobility without virtue is a husk. When I am King, I will go about making reforms to improve the lot of the common man.”

There it was. Line by line, like a script snapped into place. Seraphina could have mouthed the next few lines along with him. Of course, if he did “improve the lot of the common man,” he would risk angering the very nobles that sided with him now.

“The Saint’s station is given by the Goddess herself,” he continued, grey eyes steady on Seraphina. “To sneer at it is to sneer at the Heavens themselves. Birth is but a whim of fate. Merit, devotion—these are what I honor.”

Trigger: The Hero’s Declaration. CG unlocked. Seraphina’s jaw ached from clenching. She smiled instead, with too many teeth. “How noble. How very textbook and blasé. It is a shame that your devotion does not extend to someone that you love. But then again, I am but a mortal girl, and not a Living Saint, an embodiment of the Goddess’ will. Tell me, Velens, did you think long and hard on those words, or did you just come up with them now?”

Velens’s gaze cooled at the edge. “And how unkind of you. That is that, and this is this. Tell me, Seraphina, is your cruelty reserved only for people you think beneath you? And not just words, I must add, there are rumors about you from the Adventurers’ Guild.”

It was time to take the Crown Prince down a peg or two.