The Villainous Noblewoman Is About to Be Forced into Love, Isn’t This Wrong?

As night fell, Loraviel once again entered Liana’s room. Liana had just finished her bath and stepped out of the bathroom.

Loraviel approached and began drying Liana’s hair.
Over the past week, Loraviel had become more familiar with a maid’s duties. Now, the training Nabet gave her focused on magic and physical endurance.
However, Loraviel’s body was growing more exhausted by the day.

Her once beautiful face was now shadowed by faint dark circles under her eyes.
Although Liana hadn’t done anything to Loraviel over the past week, simply sharing a bed with her was enough to fill Loraviel with unease.
After all, who could sleep soundly next to a ticking time bomb every night?

But letting Loraviel return to her own room wasn’t an option either. The nights were long, and Liana worried that something might happen to her if she was alone.
From Nabet’s perspective, however, Loraviel was being tormented every night in Liana’s room, unable to get proper rest.
Liana pulled a key from her drawer and handed it to Loraviel.

“This is the key to my room. You may enter freely when I’m not here, but knock before coming in.”
“Also, while I’m away, no one is allowed to step inside. If you lose this key, I’ll sell you off. Understood?”
“I understand.” Loraviel’s expression remained calm, having already grown accustomed to Liana’s threats.

Liana studied Loraviel’s fatigued face. At this rate, her body would break down.
And Liana knew very well that she was the cause of it.
“I have some matters to attend to tonight. I’ll be going out. Just sleep in my room,” Liana said.

“As Your Highness’s maid, I am obligated to accompany you. That’s the fourth rule in the maid’s handbook.”
Liana found herself curious—just what kind of things were written in that maid’s handbook?
“There’s no need for you to come along. Right now, you’d just embarrass me,” Liana said bluntly. “Or do you want to go back and attend that banquet you left halfway through?”

Loraviel’s body trembled slightly. That was the place where her nightmare had begun.
“If you really want to tag along, I don’t mind. It’ll just make things more amusing for me,” Liana added, waving her hand dismissively.
But then again…
“The first rule of the maid’s handbook is to obey your master’s orders. Since Your Highness has spoken, I’ll wait for you here,” Loraviel said, changing her stance.

She already had a deep psychological aversion to places like banquets. The moment she arrived at such an event, fear and dread would overwhelm her.
After Liana left, the room returned to silence. Was she not coming back tonight?
Loraviel let out a breath of relief.

Maybe, for once, she could actually get a good night’s rest?
Ever since she became Liana’s maid, she hadn’t had a single night of proper sleep.
As soon as Liana left, Loraviel lay down on Liana’s bed. Before long, she fell into a deep sleep.

She didn’t notice when the door to Liana’s room quietly opened, nor did she see the figure standing before her, watching her as she slept.
 
Liana stepped out of her room. She had expected either Loco or Nabet to come looking for her, but no one did.

It seemed Nabet had completely given up on her.
That was fine. It made things much easier.
Finding an empty spot, Liana sat down and let the night breeze wash over her.

The Venus estate was quiet. With Ibet Magic Academy now in session, nobles like Liana were rare.
But not entirely unique.
“Liana.”

A heavily made-up woman approached.
Liana sifted through her memories. This woman… she was supposed to be one of her close friends? A marquis’s daughter…
“Nail?”

Nail sat across from Liana. “I thought you had changed genders or something. You’ve been holed up in your room for an entire week.”
Liana was well aware that Nail was also one of Countess Ruth’s people.
This visit was likely to test her.

After all, someone like "Liana" would never stay in her room for so long.
“You must have heard—I recently got myself an interesting new toy. I’ve been busy experimenting,” Liana said.
“Oh? What about her? You were obsessed with that maid of yours. Why didn’t you bring her along?” Nail asked.

“She’s in bed. She hasn’t been sleeping well these past few nights, so I let her rest today.”
Although Liana’s words were meant literally, when they fell on others' ears, they took on an entirely different meaning.
Nail shuddered. She considered herself rather attractive, and if Liana ever set her sights on her, that would be troublesome.

“But I’m curious—just what kind of person managed to captivate you like this? To the point that you rejected Kalen in public? How about this—once you get bored of her, why don’t you toss her my way?” Nail asked.
“Even if I do get bored of her, she’s still mine,” Liana replied. She couldn’t risk letting anything happen to that troublesome girl.
“Wow, that’s quite the terrifying possessiveness you’ve got there.”

After a brief silence, Nail changed the topic. “I never expected you to reject Kalen like that.”
“You seem to have a lot of questions today,” Liana remarked. This was probably Countess Ruth’s doing.
“Well, we haven’t seen each other in a week, have we? And a week ago, you were the star of the banquet. Then, you suddenly disappeared. Of course, I’d have a lot of questions,” Nail said with a sly smile.

“What’s so strange about rejecting Kalen?” Liana said indifferently.
She wasn’t particularly interested in entertaining Nail, but their relationship seemed close enough in the past. Ignoring her completely would be too abrupt.
“Kalen is the most talented mage the Laurent family has produced in nearly a century. He’s also the youngest to receive a noble title. If nothing unexpected happens, he’ll be the next head of the Laurent family,” Nail said.

“Oh? And? Is he better than my father?”
Although the Lisat Kingdom was divided into five territories, the Venus family ruled Navis Territory, and Duke Venus was the kingdom’s sole duke.
Nail’s lips twitched. This girl never changed—always bringing up her family status like a shield.

But the truth was, Duke Venus had been missing for five years now. Whether he was alive or dead, no one knew.
Of course, that wasn’t something Nail could say out loud. Otherwise, she’d be the one in trouble.