Villainess in Love

Chapter 3

When Plan A doesn’t work, the obvious thing to do is to go on to Plan B.

It’s currently the summer of 1189. One year before Ishid and Raelle meet in the summer of 1190. Yunifer’s relationships generally don’t last longer than six months, so a year is plenty of time for her.

She was already tangled up in everything, but thankfully she knew that Ishid wasn’t the kind of man to behave so narrow-mindedly toward an old girlfriend.

So... won’t everything be fine so long as I part with Ishid before he meets Raelle?

No.

The more she thought about it, her problem lay more with Raelle and Cassian, and not with Ishid. So long as she didn’t bother Raelle, she wouldn’t have to die at Cassian’s hands.

All Yunifer had to do was gracefully let Ishid go the moment he fell in love with Raelle.

And if nothing else, should everything go poorly, she could just go on a trip and hide out until everything blew over.

Even being conservative with her planning, she figured she still had a good 10 months. Plenty of time. Just so long as she let Ishid go before the 10 months were up, she wouldn’t die nor would she be racked with guilt.

Fine! I’ll just love him until he meets the true heroine!

She could act as a cooling breeze for him, ease his nightmares, and best of all, she could ogle his gorgeous body all she wanted!

Yunifer, who had been slowly sipping her water, set her mug down with a clack before asking cheerily, “So... shall we date then?”

There was no sign of hesitation.

Now that she had cemented in her mind that Ishid would eventually belong to someone else, Yunifer had the perfect scenario and the perfect ending planned out in her head.

Ishid beamed.

His eyes seemed to sparkle with joy.

Yunifer thought that in this moment, he was truly the most handsome he’d ever looked.

The small twinge of regret that had surfaced as soon as the words left her lips had completely vanished upon seeing his bright smile.

“Is that a question?” he asked quietly, still smiling.

His facial expression suggested that he found the formality somewhat perplexing, considering they’d already decided to date the night before.

Even though she found his response endearing, she couldn’t help but feel pressured by it as well, and Yunifer’s lips trembled slightly.

“So, we’re... dating?” Yunifer ventured, more uncertain than before.

Ishid’s eyes narrowed.

Disapproval briefly flashed over his face at her questioning tone, but was gone as soon as it appeared.

“Yes,” he replied.

Unable to understand how a single word could be said so sweetly, Yunifer looked at him with a somewhat dazed expression.

Even his voice was beautiful.

As if bewitched, Ishid reached out and gently caught Yunifer’s hand. His long fingers laced together with hers.

One hand was cold, the other, hot. Difficult to pry apart, like willow branches tangled up in the wind.

“You know, I wasn’t able to finish what I was saying earlier because you covered my mouth with your hand,” Ishid began.

Yunifer let out a soft “Oh.”

That’s right, he had tried to say something before.

“I was a little frazzled earlier,” she explained hastily. “I’m sorry. What were you going to say?”

“I was going to say,” Ishid responded, “that I will only give you one chance.”

“One chance?”

Yunifer tilted her head in confusion.

Ishid continued on, “Please keep this in mind... For both our sakes.”

Yunifer tilted her head once more, but Ishid didn’t elaborate. He simply gave her a wide smile.

What is this feeling?

Yunifer felt as if she’d missed something very important.

Scorching Heat

Yunifer usually had a good sense for telling when something had gone amiss during important moments, but here, in this moment, she couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Regardless, it was already too late to take back her words.

She couldn’t repeat the same thing a third time.

Sure, she could make excuses for the time she had been drunk, but she had said the exact same thing when she was sober too.

No. She’d made a mistake, so she needed to own up to her actions!

Yunifer had already made up her mind to face this head on.

Today was actually a rest day for Yunifer. If it hadn’t been, she would have never gotten as drunk as she did the night before.

But when she came out of the shower and found Ishid still in the room, she couldn’t tell whether or not it was his day off as well.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Yunifer asked.

“Is today your day off too?”

Sitting next to her and absentmindedly playing with her hair, Ishid paused. He seemed to be debating whether to answer her or not.

“I couldn’t just leave while you were still sleeping,” he replied, not really answering the question. It sounded like an excuse.

They were currently staying at the inn closest to the party last night—a fact she’d only found out about this a little ago—and in the royal suite, to boot.

Ishid may have said that he couldn’t leave her alone, but Yunifer knew that she would have been perfectly fine by herself in such a secure establishment.

“Well, I’ve woken up, and yet you’re still here,” Yunifer pointed out.

After a long moment of contemplation, he finally answered her.

“I found that I couldn’t leave you alone even after you woke up,” Ishid said, furrowing his brows.

She wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him close, but she knew that was impossible.

He needed to head out immediately.

“So you still have duties to attend to today, correct?”

“Correct,” he replied.

Yunifer looked at the clock and was shocked by the hour. It was nearly lunchtime.

To think that someone like Ishid, who held punctuality in such high regard, was late! Very late, at that! This was probably the first time he’d ever been tardy in his five years as the captain of the Order.

“You’re late!” she exclaimed.

“It’s okay to be a little late,” he reassured her, with a smile.

“This isn’t just ‘a little’!”

“...It’s okay to be very late too.”

“I bet you think you’re very clever. You can’t just change words like that!”

Though he may not have a superior that would rebuke him, he certainly had many subordinates that might grow to doubt him.

Yunifer insisted that she was fine and that he should go, but Ishid simply shook his head, stating that he’d wait until her hair had completely dried so he could make sure she got home safely.

He only left for work when he had escorted her back to the front gates of her home.

It was truly a shame that her hair had dried so quickly in the summer heat.

They say relationships are sweeter for those who start later, and it seemed to be true for 25-year-old Yunifer.

“Aaaahh...” she sighed.

Under the watchful eyes of the strongest man in this universe, Yunifer had returned home safely. She went up to her room and immediately flopped onto her bed with a groan. Whether it was an indication of her mental state or just pain, she didn’t know.

“My lady! Are you alright?” asked a worried Rosie, who had been trailing behind Yunifer ever since she had exited Ishid’s carriage.

Rosie was the maidservant who had accompanied Yunifer to the academy.

“Oh...” Yunifer murmured, “I’m sorry, you must have been worried not knowing where I was.”

It was the first time Yunifer had spent the night away from home. She felt bad knowing that Rosie must have stayed up all night waiting for her to return.

“Actually, I fell asleep,” Rosie admitted sheepishly. “When I woke up this morning, you still weren’t back, so I was trying to figure out what to do. But that’s not what’s important now; tell me, are you not feeling well?”

Even lying back on her bed, Yunifer had continued to thump her back.

Earlier Ishid had massaged her lower back with his warm hands, but riding home in the carriage had still been terribly uncomfortable, even more so for Yunifer—still sore from last night’s activities.

“I feel like I’m dying...” she groaned.

It was definitely Ishid’s fault.

Only having realized that she was a virgin after the fact, he had ravished her all night long. He not only satisfied her multiple times, but he did so with his superhuman body and impressive stamina.

“So hot and big...” Yunifer mused quietly.

“Excuse me?” Rosie asked, confused. “What’s hot and big?”

“...The… sun?”

She couldn’t possibly tell sweet, innocent Rosie what she was referring to, but if Yunifer was being honest, she felt like she was about to die.

A small little lake had tried to take on the sun. She should be glad she survived. She would never be able to forget how her normally cold-as-ice heart felt like it was on fire the moment they became one.

Did he also experience something like that?

She was almost nothing compared to him, but surely he had felt some relief from his constant burning... If just for a moment.

The idea that she was able to help the hero, even for a little bit, pleased her.

She would have never guessed that she’d enjoy giving in her relationships so much.

She suddenly recalled how Ishid had forlornly let go of her hand after having held it all day, as if he enjoyed how cool it felt.

“Ah!” she exclaimed. She had almost forgotten the most important part.

“Could you prepare some mayu tea for me?” Yunifer asked.

The mayu plant was an herb with contraceptive effects, so birth control was relatively easy in this world. Women only needed to drink a cup of mayu tea, be it before or after the deed, to be safe.

There was a different herb with a similar effect that men used, but Yunifer wasn’t sure whether or not Ishid had taken the medicine.

She could easily picture him having taken it… And having not.

Obviously men needed to take the medicine beforehand.

In any case, as soon as Yunifer took the herb, she wouldn't have anything to worry about.

“Yes, my lady!”

Rosie, whose eyes were wide open in surprise, pumped her fist determinedly as if telling Yunifer to trust her.

There was still time, so she didn’t need to rush, but the sight of Rosie’s high ponytail swishing back and forth as she hurried out of the room brought a smile to Yunifer’s face.

“Oh... I forgot to tell her to keep it a secret from Father,” Yunifer commented. “Eh, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

She was an adult, so at the very least, what she did with her body was up to her.

A part of her was curious about how he would react though. She thought maybe he wouldn’t really care, but she wasn’t sure. Since she had left for the academy the moment she found herself in this body, she had barely interacted with her father. Thankfully, he probably wouldn’t notice anything was amiss.

Since magic is something people are born with, it’s impossible to just learn it. Though people obtain their powers when they’re young, the scope of a person’s magic greatly increases around the time they turn 15 years old. As it’s difficult for young people to manage by themselves, the empire created institutions, such as Yunifer’s academy, to help train those with magical talent.

In this world, the foundations of magic are built on the four elements: Fire, Air, Water, and Earth.

Though each elemental magic can be used in various ways, in general, Fire and Air have more offensive magic whereas Water and Earth are more inclined to defensive magic.

“I don’t really like killing, humans or otherwise, so I don’t mind being a water mage, but I am a little jealous of people who’re able to use flashy flame magic,” Yunifer mused to herself.

She had spent five years at the academy, from 16 to 20 years old. Attending the academy was required of all mages. And there weren’t many mages, so there was only one academy in the entire empire.

Ishid was four years her senior.

Come to think of it, the alumni reunion is coming up. I wonder if Ishid also received his invitation, Yunifer wondered.

Since they were in both different mage classes as well as different graduating classes, the chances of them running into each other were quite low.

Generally, the only time mages ran into each other after graduation was during these reunions. Not that Yunifer had any intentions of going.

“Has it really been seven years since I last dated? To think I’d end up with Ishid after being single for so long.”

This was her first relationship in this world. Despite this being completely uncharted territory, she felt warm and bubbly inside—partly because it was her first time dating in a while, but mainly because it was Ishid she was with.

After all, he was the golden boy of the original novel.

Yunifer didn’t think there would be any huge problems in dating him. However, she couldn’t deny that she was really dreading breaking up with him 10 months from now.

But for now, a bit of danger could be kind of exciting.

And the Ishid she had met was dangerously charming.

“I’ve managed to avoid Raelle so far, but dealing with Ishid is going to be a completely different story...”

Did Yunifer want a bad boy?

The days where girls fawned over the bad guys were long gone. Nowadays, most girls seemed to prefer quiet, sensitive, and loving men.

Even as someone who usually followed along with the latest trends, Yunifer still found Ishid’s bad boy allure very attractive. However, it was only when she was in the comfort of her own bed that she finally allowed herself to entertain these thoughts.

“That’s right. It’s no fun if everything’s just smooth sailing. There has to be a little drama too.”

Yunifer had completely changed her tune from the girl who had, up until now, prioritized her safety above all else.

Rather than trembling in fear, unable to do anything, she found that letting herself enjoy life suited her far better.

“It’s been so long...”

Yunifer tilted her head side to side as she pondered the situation.

Her dating skills were a bit rusty from not having used them for the past seven years.

She and Ishid had just entered the sweet beginnings of a relationship, but they had already slept together on the first day. So what should they do for the second?

“Maybe I should just contact him?”

Considering how they had already confessed and shared a bed, this relationship was clearly not going to go step-by-step in the proper order.

It was fine for her since this wasn’t her first relationship, but she worried that she might end up teaching Ishid something too weird for this world.

After all, Ishid and Raelle need to have a sweet and romantic relationship when they do finally meet.

It was her day off, so she might as well spend the day writing a love letter.

With great difficulty, Yunifer rose to find a quill and some paper before returning to her bed.

“To the esteemed noble, blessed are the clear skies and the green grasses...”

What was she doing?

Having grown accustomed to addressing others in an aristocratic way, Yunifer looked at what she had written before despondently crumpling up the paper.

Luckily, she still had a few more sheets of paper.

She placed it on top of a mat so that she wouldn’t write crookedly.

“Hello, this is Yunifer Magnolia. I was wondering what you were doing...”

“This is awful.”

“I’d like for you to have lunch with me. The Magnolia estate is...”

“Am I writing a party invitation?”

“What are you doing? I’m...”

“So lame!”

Crumpled balls of paper were starting to pile up around her. Some were too casual while others were too stiff.

She thought she had gotten used to living in a world without smartphones, but it was becoming a serious problem now that she was dating someone. She couldn’t use any of the excellent texting skills she had acquired in her original life!

“AAARGH!”

She’d become a dating novice! To think that she, Yunifer Magnolia, had become a... noob!

Yunifer grabbed at her hair and groaned, unable to accept reality.

She might never have been an expert, but she was proud that she was far from hopeless.

Why was the beginning always so hard?