Villainess in Love

Chapter 9

Yunifer’s eyes filled with pity.

It was a relief that not many would dare to exploit someone of such high status as Ishid. Yunifer returned the replenished crystal into her drawer and pulled out another blue pouch.

He had sent his gifts in a pouch the same color as his eyes, so she wanted to as well. Some might say it was childish, but it was Yunifer’s attempt to match his feelings.

It was only right to return the favor.

“I made one as well, hoping you would like it. The magic word is “Yunifer.” I heard the hot weather was keeping people up at night and I thought maybe I could help...” explained Yunifer.

She was fidgeting with the crooked bow on the pouch when she saw the look on Ishid’s face.

Ishid’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes shone with happiness. His bright smile reminded her of a child who’d just been given a large jar of delicious candy.

He waited eagerly for Yunifer to finally give him the gift.

When their eyes met, Yunifer thought she was going to be blinded by the sight.

Aaah... It’s too much! How is he so handsome?!

Yunifer stood frozen in awe as Ishid looked at her—and the pouch she was holding—impatiently.

Unable to bear it any longer, Yunifer handed the pouch over, her hands shaking.

“This is the first time I feel relieved to be a fire mage,” whispered Ishid in awe.

Ishid held the blue crystal on his palm and silently inspected it. His slim fingers twitched slightly.

“Actually, I think I might even be happy,” said Ishid clutching the crystal preciously.

His smiling face shone in delight.

Yunifer thought it might be worth it to sacrifice herself a hundred times over if it meant Ishid would smile at her like that.

Enthralled by his smile, Yunifer missed one very important moment.

The words Ishid had uttered just then were a very important line from the original story... words he had spoken to Raelle.

How the hell is someone so handsome...

The significance of the moment had gone completely unnoticed by Yunifer, mesmerized as she was by Ishid’s face.

Knock knock.

If it wasn’t for a knock at the door, Yunifer would have gone on staring at Ishid for ages.

“Who is it? Rosie, is that you?” she called.

Yunifer got out of bed and walked toward the door. She wanted to explain in advance before Rosie could be taken aback by Ishid’s presence.

“That’s not your maid out there. It’s a man,” whispered Ishid.

“A man?”

“Probably the count.”

“The count? My father?” Yunifer yelped in surprise.

Ishid was so calm that Yunifer almost didn’t realize she should be alarmed.

Bewildered, Yunifer stopped right as she was about to turn the doorknob. It was a stroke of good luck that she had not immediately flung open the door.

“Yunifer, may I come in?” asked the voice outside the door.

“AAAH! No! Just a moment!” shouted Yunifer in reply, her hands starting to shake.

The door handle started to turn but she pressed her back against the door and locked it. Only after she heard the soft click of the lock moving into place did she feel at ease.

Yunifer spun around and ran to Ishid.

“W-what should we do?”

“Do you need to keep me a secret?” he asked.

Yunifer’s mouth opened in protest.

Ishid seemed to be under the impression that there was nothing wrong with the count entering right now.

“Of course... Wouldn’t it be a little embarrassing for you to be caught in my room?

There was no official record of his entry and it would be a predicament if the count asked how he got in. She would have to explain why Ishid was here and would then have to introduce her boyfriend of only a couple of days to her father—something Yunifer was not willing to do.

Especially in a situation like this.

Ishid could easily see how nervous Yunifer was. He slightly squinted his eyes in minor disappointment.

“In that case, I’ll make sure I am not caught.”

Ishid clapped his hands together and a bright conflagration appeared in the fireplace. The flames were so large that they spilled out over the edge of the hearth. Even though the firewood had all burnt down to embers long ago, Ishid’s fire had no problem roaring away.

Ishid stared at the fire for a moment before placing a hand on Yunifer’s forehead. He wanted to check if she still had a fever but couldn’t do so because his normal temperature was already so high.

He pulled his hand away slowly, seeming as if he wanted to remember the warmth of her skin.

“Please feel better soon,” whispered Ishid as a goodbye.

A smoldering flame large enough to swallow a person shot out of the fireplace and enveloped Ishid’s body.

Yunifer jumped back in surprise.

“I’ll use this well.”

The blue crystal shone in Ishid’s hands.

Yunifer waved her hand at his dematerializing form.

“Thank you for today! Have a safe journey!”

Ishid’s lips seemed to quirk up into a smile. He looked as if he were saying something but Yunifer could not hear a word before he disappeared without a trace.

“Did he hear me...?” wondered Yunifer to herself.

The fire in the fireplace shrunk down to a normal size but after watching Ishid be swallowed up by that same fire, Yunifer was still in shock.

“So that’s how it works... It won’t hurt him, right?” she muttered.

He should be completely fine since he used the exact same magic to arrive, but it was still rather unsettling to witness.

What a sight! To see a person surrounded by blazing fire! If a person who knew nothing about magic saw it, they would have thought Ishid was dead now.

Ishid usually did not enjoy using his magic unless he absolutely needed to, but Yunifer had seen him use magic quite often in the last couple of days.

“If he keeps using his magic, will he ever grow to hate it less?”

If so, should I keep coaxing him to use his magic? Yunifer thought about the cold look on Ishid’s face as he looked at the fire he’d made.

“I don’t want him to hate his mana...” mumbled Yunifer as another knock sounded at her door.

“Yunifer,” said the impatient voice outside the door.

“Oh!”

Yunifer ran to the door and opened it up wide only to find a calm and composed face staring back at her.

“Have you just returned?” she asked.

“Yes,” answered her father, the count.

Yunifer opened the door wider and stepped back.

“I’m sorry. I took too long, didn’t I? My room was too much of a mess to let you in.”

The excuses she had been making up flowed smoothly out of her mouth.

It was difficult to catch the lie because her expression was so natural, but the Count looked around Yunifer’s room as though he felt something was off.

“I heard voices, but I guess it was only you,” said the count.

“I have a habit of speaking to myself,” Yunifer replied easily.

It was kind of true, anyway.

Yunifer gave an awkward smile and led her father toward the table. Yunifer gestured for him to take a seat, but the count stopped to look around her room once more.

After inspecting the window a bit, he seemed to give up, unable to find any evidence that another person had been in the room (and disappeared from it) moments before.

“I heard you didn’t go to work this morning because you weren’t feeling well.”

The count got to the point as soon as he sat down. At first glance, it sounded as if he was scolding her for being absent from work because of a flu. His frigid face was so frosty that a naïve child would have probably burst into tears, but Yunifer smiled indifferently.

“I spent the day in bed and feel much better now. I’ll get back to work tomorrow,” she replied.

Yunifer mentally inspected herself. Ishid’s mana purification had done wonders.

Her flu hadn’t disappeared completely, but she felt much lighter, as if she had soaked in a long hot bath.

And a long restful sleep would take care of the rest.

“That’s a relief.”

“Yes.”

“...”

The count had never been a talkative person. He nodded his head as if he were satisfied with her reply.

“I see you left work early today…” Yunifer began.

Wait? A flicker of doubt crossed Yunifer’s face as she thought of the implications.

The count was the Imperial Palace’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was normal for him to return home late in the afternoon.

Yunifer’s father and Ishid had different jobs, but they worked at the same place, meaning their jobs would probably end at a similar time. Then did that mean Ishid, who had been here much earlier, had ditched work to come see her?

Late to work, breaking and entering, and leaving work with no notice? How has Ishid become so... Is it because of me?

Yunifer wondered for a moment if she were a bad influence on Ishid—birds of a feather and all that.

Meh... No, that can’t be true. Plus, ditching work occasionally won’t kill you, will it? Ishid needs to learn that there are some rules that don’t need to be kept. Raelle won’t be able to teach him that, so I should, thought Yunifer.

A dignified white heron will still shine even if it acts more like a cunning crow.

Yunifer smiled contentedly at the ever-growing list of Ishid’s wrongdoings.

“Work ended early today,” explained the count.

“Is that so? Oh! Aren’t you hot? Should I put out the fire?” asked Yunifer.

Yunifer hardly ever felt hot. Her shivers had disappeared due to Ishid’s purification earlier, so turning the fireplace off wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“I came to check up on you, that’s all. Feel better soon,” the count said.

Even though the sun had nearly set, it was still the middle of a boiling summer in a room with a roiling fire. It would have no doubt been stifling for the count, but he hadn’t grimaced even once since entering Yunifer’s room. If it weren’t for his slightly flushed face, Yunifer would have thought he was resistant to heat too.

He’s definitely a bit socially inept, thought Yunifer.

She shrugged her shoulders at the count as he was preparing to leave.

He might have seemed like a strict and distant father, but she knew he loved her. It was moments like these when not having the memories of younger Yunifer felt inconvenient.

Yunifer’s childhood years weren’t described in the original book, so there was no way of knowing anything about them.

It was odd, in a way, she was stealing the love another person would have received.

Of course, Yunifer didn’t think she was doing anything wrong.

She didn’t have a choice. She was also the victim.

But it didn’t mean that she didn’t feel sorry for the count, unaware as he was about what had happened and currently stuck in a lukewarm relationship with his daughter.

She also felt somewhat bad for accepting all of the advantages she’d received living as Yunifer—advantages that his real daughter would not receive.

“Father,” called Yunifer warmly, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

Yunifer had no problems with calling the count her father. She was never one to think too deeply on topics she could not change. She thought of the count as a kind of stepfather-like figure that she met in an alternate universe. She didn’t consider him a father merely because of the genetics they shared, but for the glimpses of warmth he showed her.

You could see the love in his eyes as he looked back questioningly at Yunifer. Despite his emotions seeming fainter than a drop of ink diluted in a gallon of water, Yunifer was able to notice them only because she was not his real daughter.

“Have a good night,” she said.

The count stared at his daughter’s childlike smile.

He hesitated for a moment before turning quickly and walking toward the door.

Yunifer tutted to herself. His actions did not sting because she was able to see his true intentions through an objective lens, but she knew she would have felt much different if she were his actual daughter.

“Sweet dreams!” shouted Yunifer to his back, waving earnestly and entirely unaffected.

The count looked back again at Yunifer, who still had a wide smile on her face.

She debated whether she should say “I love you” or not, but she wouldn’t have really meant it and she didn’t want to lie.

It would be best for the count if they ended their conversation here.

“Okay... You have a good night too,” replied the count. His voice was hoarse as if there were many other things he wanted to say.

Yunifer smiled even wider at the count’s brave words.

A moment later, she carefully shut the door to her room.

Yunifer thought about the count’s reddened skin and let out a sigh.

“He must’ve been extremely hot,” murmured Yunifer.

She could feel the love he had for her implied by how well he’d tolerated the scorching heat. The count had come to visit his sick daughter. He was not a frequent visitor so, at first glance, his actions did not seem to carry any meaning.

But Yunifer knew that was not the case.

He might be aloof, but he was not a bad person.

Had he done something wrong? To his daughter, maybe? It almost looked as if he were running away, Yunifer thought.

They didn’t see each other often even though they lived in the same house. and Yunifer did not pay much attention to where she went in the house, so it must have been that the count was avoiding her.

“It would be great if they repaired their relationship,” said Yunifer to herself.

Yunifer—always positive to a fault—could not understand the complex and tangled emotions of this relationship she’d been thrust into. She hadn’t met too many people in this world, but all the relationships she had were quite complex.

Yunifer shook her head and chased away her thoughts about the count.

“I should go back to bed.”

Yunifer turned the lights off and the room was doused in ambient light from the burning coals in the fireplace.

Perfect for sleeping.

Yunifer took out the crystal Ishid had filled for her from the drawer and carried it to the bed. She lay down facing up and placed it on her stomach with a small smile.

“Ishid,” murmured Yunifer.

Bzzt.

The crystal recognized its magic word and vibrated a little before releasing mana and warming up everything around it. A warm sunset-like orange settled on Yunifer’s cheeks—still feverish from the purification.

Her mind quickly wandered off as she nestled into her cozy bed. She dozed quickly into a well-deserved sleep. The flu was best combated with deep rest.

Half-asleep, Yunifer mumbled about how good sleeping was.

“Lots of sleep...” muttered Yunifer, drifting away into a deep sleep.

The burning coals seared through the remains of the firewood. The last embers were finally extinguished several hours after Yunifer had fallen asleep.

Her relaxed breathing was the only sound in the room.