Princess, Please Fall in Love with Me

Chapter 3 : The Villainess’s Rebellion, Countering Evil with Evil

“Miss, how did you get so many scars on your body? You’re still so young!”

In the cramped, shabby little room, Lina brought a basin of hot water and gently wiped Loka’s, filth-covered body with care.

Though I was now a ten-year-old girl, I carried the soul of a man in his twenties.

Facing the seventeen- or eighteen-year-old Lina, I felt a bit shy, lowering my head without speaking.

This small house in the corner of the garden was where I had lived since birth.

Lina didn’t understand why I stayed here, but she still tenderly cleaned my wounds.

The servants in this mansion were sharp-eyed, knowing I was an unfavored, even despised, illegitimate child, so their treatment of me grew increasingly rough and contemptuous.

Only the innocent and pure Lina didn’t disdain my status.

“Alright, Miss, now take off your pants…”

“Lina, I can handle this part myself!”

I, blushing, pushed Lina out the door.

She was a bit confused but obediently stood outside, quietly waiting.

At that moment, a better-dressed maid approached from a distance.

“Lina, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you working!”

“Head Maid? I’m helping Miss Loka change.”

Before she could explain, the other cut her off rudely, then irritably raised a hand to slap Lina’s face.

A red mark appeared on her smooth cheek, stinging hotly.

“Just a disgraceful thing, calling her a miss so nicely? Get back to work!”

As she spoke, the Head Maid impatiently raised her hand again, but a hand grabbed her wrist.

Looking at me, Loka, who had changed clothes and stared at her coldly, pulled her hand back in slight fear.

“Oh? The disgraceful one is you, isn’t it?”

I looked at Lina’s reddened face, then at the unyielding Head Maid, whose glare softened slightly.

Slap!

The Head Maid stared in disbelief at the slap mark on her face, glaring angrily at my expressionless face.

For some reason, a faint chill seemed to emanate from me.

“Having Lina help me change was an order directly from Duke Victor. Are you saying Duke Victor’s orders are false?Do I need to report this to the Duke myself?”

My aura grew colder.

Though I was a head shorter, the Head Maid’s expression grew increasingly panicked.

Her body instinctively stepped back, and she stumbled down the steps.

“You, you, you… damn wretch!”

Watching her flee in disgrace, Lina stood there, dumbfounded.

I stood on tiptoe, gently wiping the mark on her face.

“Miss… ouch, it hurts.”

Lina touched her reddened cheek, only then remembering she was here to help me change.

But turning around, she saw I had already dressed in new clothes, smiling at her.

Inheriting my mother’s beauty, even at my young age, I had a captivating appearance.

After shedding the dirty, simple clothes, I became even more elegant, lovely, and refined.

The silver-white hair my mother left me shimmered with the glow of sunlight.

“Miss, the master asked you to go to the dining room for dinner after changing.”

“Let’s go, Lina.”

Looking at my renewed reflection in the water, I couldn’t help but feel a childlike excitement.

The next act was likely waiting for me…

In the dining room, a long table dominated the center, stretching from the empty main seat on the left to the far end.

Maids and servants stood respectfully on both sides, waiting quietly.

“Loka, you’re here. Come, sit.”

Unlike her previous arrogant and domineering demeanor, the Beautiful Woman greeted me with a gentle smile, inviting me to sit.

Heh, that kind expression was as if she were looking at her own beloved child.

It seemed the Duke had already spoken to her, so at least on the surface, she wouldn’t make too many moves against me.

But behind the scenes? Hadn’t it already started?

Seeing the pure white plates and silver cutlery in front of the others, then looking at the deliberately empty space before me, I merely smiled silently.

“Oh, how careless! These servants forgot there’s more than just us at this table. How outrageous! Hurry and bring Miss Loka’s utensils!”

“Sorry, Madam, the kitchen only has a set of wooden pet utensils left. I’ll go get them,”

The Beautiful Woman’s smile couldn’t hide her glee, and the sycophantic servant spoke with deliberate mockery.

So this was the humiliation they had planned for me.

What a crude tactic.

Ignoring Balesha’s gloating expression nearby, I didn’t spare him a glance.

I calmly looked at Duke Victor, who had entered silently at some point, observing with interest to see what I would do.

“Foolish servant, how do you do your job?”

I suddenly stood, coldly eyeing the smug servant, pointing at the empty table before me.

“This is a dinner prepared by the beautiful woman, and you dared to neglect it. Fortunately, it’s just our family dining this time, or were you deliberately trying to embarrass the beautiful woman?”

My sudden questioning left the servant pale, trying to explain.

“No, it was clearly the Beautiful Woman who told me…”

The next moment, his words were silenced by a warning glare.

The beautiful woman stared at him threateningly.

Caught in a dilemma, he gritted his teeth and nodded in admission.

“Disrespecting the master, ignorant of etiquette, blind to status—someone like this, if allowed to stay in the Duke’s mansion, will surely bring ill repute to the household.”

My voice was calm but undeniable.

The servant was so frightened he collapsed to the floor, his helpless gaze turning to the beautiful woman, who didn’t spare him a glance.

“Am I right, Father?”

I spread my hands, returning the final decision to the man who had been silent at the head of the table.

The Duke gave a cold laugh.

“Well said. It seems in my absence from the mansion, so many parasites have emerged.”

The Duke signaled to someone nearby, and the ashen-faced servant was “gently” escorted out of the dining room.

Where he went was no longer his concern.

“Loka, how old are you this year?”

“Ten, Father.”

“As your father, I’ve decided to make up for the gifts you’ve missed these years. I’ll grant you one condition, any condition within my power—even the heirship to the Duke’s title.”

Such a promise made even the beautiful woman, who had been feigning calm, stand up, only to be glared back down by his fierce look.

Duke Victor watched me with a playful expression.

“Father, I want one person,”

My face bore a child’s innocent smile, like a child praised by her father, clinging to him for a reward.

“I want Lina as my personal maid to take care of my daily life.”