Villainess in Love

Chapter 4

“My lady?”

Rosie, after knocking and receiving no answer, opened the door slightly and peeked in, only to freeze when she found Yunifer completely losing her marbles.

Tugging on her hair, Yunifer spun toward the door.

“Rosie... how is one supposed to date?”

“I’m sorry?” Rosie asked, bewildered.

“Oh, er... No. Never mind.”

This wasn’t something she could ask Rosie about.

Yunifer heaved a sigh as she stood and took the cup of mayu tea from the tray the maid held out. The tea was hot, freshly brewed.

After blowing on the liquid to cool it down, she took a sip, bitterness flooding her mouth instantly.

“What is this...?” she gasped. “It’s awful! Are you trying to torture me?”

It seemed her tastes had changed alongside her body.

Unable to handle the bitterness, Yunifer groaned and stuck her tongue out in disgust.

“Do you have anything sweet?”

As if expecting this, Rosie offered her a small piece of red candy.

Yunifer popped the candy into her mouth, rolling it against her tongue. The bitterness of the tea was soon replaced by the sweetness of the candy.

“Do I need to drink all of this?” she asked.

“Yes,” Rosie responded.

“No sugarcoating, I see,” she muttered, finishing off the rest of the medicine in a few gulps.

The taste flooded her mouth—hot, bitter, and sweet—kind of like Ishid.

“Oh!” Rosie exclaimed. “I almost forgot. You have a letter, my lady,” she said, rummaging through her pocket as Yunifer downed the final gulp of her medicine.

“A letter?” Yunifer asked, turning her head toward Rosie.

“Yes, a bird arrived not too long ago. Here, look. These are for you, my lady,” Rosie said.

She handed Yunifer a letter along with a dark green pouch. It was clear they were from the same person; both the pouch and the silver-colored seal on the letter were marked with the same symbol.

Instantly, Yunifer understood why Rosie had accepted the letter from the bird without any suspicion.

In the Rovattian Empire, even a 3-year-old child would know who had sent this letter.

The wings of a bird in flight and the face of a roaring lion. It was the seal of the Lucrenze Dukedom, symbolizing freedom and bravery.

There was currently only one person who could use this seal and that was none other than the young grand duke of Lucrenze, Ishid Lucrenze.

Yunifer’s lover as of yesterday.

“A bird delivered these?” Yunifer asked, somewhat skeptical.

The letter was one thing, but the pouch was quite heavy.

Whatever could be inside it?

“It was a very big bird,” Rosie explained, “almost as big as me.”

“Ah... I see.”

She didn’t know exactly what kind of bird it was, but she had known that Ishid kept a rather large one as his pet. That is, if one could call such a large creature a pet. There was no doubt that the bird had been initially chosen to be a pet, but it seems that over the years it had grown to an unusually large size.

Since the bird was strong and intelligent, Yunifer had no doubt that it often helped Ishid run errands—such as delivering the letter and pouch to her, for example.

“Rosie, you should go get some rest. I want to sleep,” Yunifer said.

“Yes, my lady.”

Rosie left, shutting the door behind her.

Yunifer glanced at her failed love letter attempts scattered around her before opening up the letter from Ishid.

“This is Ishid.”

Such a simple greeting.

Yunifer’s eyes crinkled in amusement at how the neat handwriting—with slight flourishes at the end of each sentence—matched the words.

“How are you feeling? Seeing as how you liked the warmth of my hands so much, I’ve enclosed a small gift that will have a similar effect. You can lay it on your stomach or on your back. The magic word is ‘Ishid.’ ”

Yunifer’s smile grew.

That was so like him.

Putting down the letter, Yunifer reached into the pouch and took out something smooth and round.

It was a crimson crystal made out of Ishid’s mana. It was warm to the touch, but Yunifer did as Ishid instructed and placed it on her stomach before saying the magic word.

“Ishid.”

The crystal reacted immediately, vibrating softly.

A halo of semi-translucent red light surrounded the crystal and enveloped Yunifer’s stomach. It felt like a heat lamp.

“I apologize for not controlling myself yesterday. It was a hot summer evening, and I imagine I made you feel even hotter. If you would like to give me the chance to make up for it, please come visit my house when you’re free. I’m sure you will find spending your summer here more refreshing.”

There was no doubt that Ishid’s home was designed to stay cool. Of course it would be, given his abnormally high body temperature.

On the other hand, Yunifer’s room was the warmest in her entire house. He was inviting her over to his much-cooler home to stay out of the summer heat.

“I think this is the first time I’ve seen a man who lives alone inviting a woman over without even the hint of an ulterior motive,” Yunifer said.

Well, there were butlers, knights, and house servants over there, so technically, Ishid didn’t live alone; but regardless, Ishid was the sole owner of the estate.

However, Yunifer could sense no expectations or wishes in this letter. But seeing the words “my house” on the page sent a bolt of electricity through Yunifer’s body.

She couldn’t decide whether she liked it or hated it.

Yunifer read the last portion of the letter.

“P.S. I’ve also included a whistle that summons my bird, Raya, along with this letter. Even though I just escorted you home, it would make me very happy if you took a moment to let me know how you are doing today.”

“Aaaahh...” she sighed happily.

Yunifer’s grip tightened around the crystal as she pounded the bed with her fist. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have been able to handle the ticklish feeling bubbling up in her heart.

“He wants me to write back...”

She found the way he had carefully worded the request adorable.

You know how even the most mundane words can sound sweet when coming from the person you like?

This was precisely that.

After rolling around on the bed gleefully, Yunifer calmed down enough to reach for the pouch again.

She thought she had heard a rustling sound from the pouch when she’d taken out the crystal. That must have been the whistle.

Just as she thought, inside the dark green pouch was a black whistle. It was no bigger than a finger, but the intricate details and craftsmanship clearly betrayed its value.

Yunifer placed the end of the whistle between her lips and blew.

Rather than the shrill sound she expected, this whistle let out an almost melodious tone.

“Now all I need to do is open the window and wait—AAH!” Yunifer screamed, jumping backward. “Holy crap!”

The white summer curtains fluttered up high before settling back down. A bird had flown in and perched itself on the windowsill, its golden irises watching Yunifer, who still held the whistle in her hand.

Raya looked slightly unamused, as if asking why Yunifer was freaking out when she had been the one to blow the whistle.

The bird was larger than the window, but had somehow managed to squeeze through the space and enter the room. He briefly hung in the air before landing on the wooden table, his large talons hitting the wood with a dull clack.

Yunifer had wondered how big Raya was earlier, but seeing the bird before her now, she would never have guessed how enormous he truly was.

Rosie hadn’t been exaggerating when she said the bird was as big as a person.

When his wings were folded against his sides, the bird’s size seemed much more reasonable. However, the shadow cast by Raya’s full wingspan when he extended them to smooth out his ruffled feathers shrouded the entire wall behind him in darkness.

Despite his fierce beak, sharp talons, and huge body, Yunifer knew that Raya was not the kind of bird to attack without Ishid’s express command.

At least, that’s what was written in the book.

“H-He wouldn’t peck at a human, right?” Yunifer hesitated.

Seeing Raya this close, Yunifer wasn’t so sure.

Yunifer quite liked animals, but she’d never seen a bird this big even at the zoo, nor had she ever imagined she would see a wild avian beast right in front of her like this.

A small child could easily ride on the bird’s back.

“Raya?” she called warily.

Raya, who was watching Yunifer dither back and forth, simply tilted his head when Yunifer called his name.

The gesture was much cuter than Yunifer would have expected. “Wow... you respond to your name!”

Her worries disappearing almost immediately, Yunifer drew closer to Raya.

She scratched the bird’s beak like she had seen others do in nature documentaries before gently touching one of Raya’s wings.

Raya gave her a pointed look of annoyance, but there was no malice behind it.

“Well, I suppose Ishid wouldn’t have sent a dangerous animal to me,” Yunifer reasoned.

Completely regaining her confidence, Yunifer gently scratched Raya’s head.

Cooing in contentment, the bird suddenly extended one of his legs.

Thinking Raya was about to scratch her, Yunifer immediately backed off. But then the bird began slowly waving his foot back and forth.

Cowardly human, the bird’s pitying eyes seemed to say. I will raise my leg more slowly so that I do not spook you. Consider it an honor.

“What? You brought more?” Yunifer asked.

True to her suspicions, there was indeed another letter and dark green pouch tied to Raya’s leg.

There was no doubt the sender was Ishid.

Yunifer untied the letter.

Raya watched as Yunifer took the letter before pecking the whistle that Yunifer was still holding.

“The whistle? What about it?”

Peck, peck. Raya simply hit the whistle twice more.

As if he decided that three times was enough, Raya flew toward the window, leaving behind the still-confused Yunifer.

He first stuck his head out before maneuvering the rest of his body through the window and out into the open air.

Standing by the window, Yunifer watched Raya soar through the sky, having delivered the letter, and contemplated what the bird’s actions meant.

“You don’t want to stay in a small room, so you’ll be waiting outside while you finish the letter? Is that what you mean?” she wondered aloud. That seemed to be a reasonable interpretation.

Yunifer stood in place, still somewhat dazed by the whole interaction.

Feeling something rough against her fingers, Yunifer looked down at the whistle still in her hand. The whistle, made of blackwood, now had a crack in it.

“Can this only be used once...?” she wondered.

The x-shaped crack looked almost beautiful.

If she were to be pecked by Raya’s beak, she wouldn’t be left with just a simple scratch, that’s for sure.

Yunifer gulped, quickly hiding the hand that had touched Raya’s beak behind her.

As she tightened her fist, she heard the crinkling sound of paper being crushed and realized she still had the letter in hand.

Sitting on her bed, Yunifer opened the letter and started reading.

“How to use: Lay down on your bed and spread your legs wide to match the width of your hips. Place a pillow under your bottom for easier application. With a clean hand, take the ointment and apply liberally to...”

Yunifer, who had been following the instructions as she read, stopped suddenly, her face flushing crimson.

“W-What is this?” Yunifer stuttered, completely flustered.

Pausing briefly to calm down, she then read the last remaining word.

It was a word she couldn’t bring herself to read aloud.

Written in neat print was the medical term for a woman’s private part.

The fact that Ishid had wrote it was very suggestive on its own, but it was obvious that there was no sexual intent behind it. Simply worried for Yunifer, he had prepared an ointment to apply to the affected area and merely wrote down clear instructions for it.

There was even a warning message further down that instructed her to stop using it if she felt any pain or itchiness.

Deep down, she knew that his caution was completely necessary. After all, some people might not have understood what the ointment was for if they didn’t receive explicit instructions along with it.

Of course, Yunifer knew immediately what it was for, but unless Ishid could see the future, he wouldn’t have known how she was going to react. That’s why he had written these instructions so meticulously.

This was just a necessary instruction manual, nothing weird about it.

“But why does it feel so suggestive?”

Yunifer quickly folded up the letter, just in case.

With bright-red ears, she reached into the pouch to take out the aforementioned ointment.

“Ointment to Apply to the V***na”

He even wrote where to apply it on the lid of the ointment.

She remembered receiving something similar from a hospital a long time ago.

Back then, she thought nothing of it, but now, she could only think of Ishid’s face.

She had a feeling she knew why Ishid had sent this separately.

“Must my mind always go to these strange places?” she mumbled.

Yunifer thought about it. It wasn’t Ishid’s fault. Her depraved mind simply misunderstood Ishid’s pure intentions.

“I wonder where he got this.”

Yunifer sat in place for a long time thinking of him and how he had described her symptoms so plainly and directly, before getting up.

Her reply to Ishid, who must have been eagerly waiting all day, was finally sent in the evening, long after the sun had set.

A mountain of crumpled-up papers were piled next to Yunifer’s bed.