The Villainess Makes Amends

Chapter 5

* * *

“Kiana is here? Now?”

Duke Skari Freley, the head of House Freley, looked at his butler in surprise.

“Yes, Your Grace. She said that she was weary and wished to retire for the night, but that she would greet you properly tomorrow.”

The duke sighed as he listened to the report. Skari Freley was a strikingly handsome elderly man. His formidable stature and sharply chiseled features gave him an imposing presence. As expected of the very few swordmasters who existed in the empire, his hardened physique also radiated power. He was a man of few words and prided himself on being as immovable as a mountain.

He now frowned and murmured, “She arrived without even sending word? What could have prompted this…?”

A flicker of concern passed over his otherwise icy countenance. He could vividly remember Kiana at sixteen. She had been a small girl who would shut herself in her room for days on end and ceaselessly torment Melissa. Even when he had tried to approach Kiana with warmth, she had avoided him, always looking extremely uncomfortable. Truthfully, Skari had found her rebellious nature rather difficult to handle, but he’d also been left bewildered when she departed for Lillony Academy and never once returned home.

“Kiana insists on staying there? She won’t even come back to visit? Was she that hurt when I scolded her that final time?”

To that, his second grandson, Joshua, had grumbled, “Perhaps, but she did acknowledge that she deserved to be scolded.”

“How many years has she been in that backwater? We should at least bring her home and—”

“Oh, just leave her be. She will only grow worse if you force her to return, just like I did. I despise this place, so why wouldn’t she? And she has something she actually wants to do over there.”

“What? You despise our home? What’s wrong with it?”

“Let’s see. A mother who abandoned her children for an affair. A father who left those same children behind and never returned. A grandfather with a generational difference so vast that he struggles to relate to his adolescent grandchildren…” Skari was nonplussed. His grandson continued, “An eldest brother, Alex, who never stops waving his sword about. A second-eldest brother, Joshua, who is handsome and fashionable yet undeniably a scoundrel. And not to mention dear Cousin Melissa, whose sweet demeanor masks an infuriating tendency to poke where one is at their most vulnerable. How about that?”

Skari hadn’t been able to reply. He also had conceded that it was hardly an inviting household to return to. Admittedly, it had not been the best environment to raise children. All they had possessed was wealth, power, honor, and status.

Still, for her to return so suddenly… Has she had a change of heart now that she’s no longer in her adolescence? Maybe she has matured.

Kiana and Skari had never been close, but that was hardly unusual. None of the members of House Freley were particularly close to one another. Despite that, Kiana had always been the one on the duke’s mind, like a persistent ache.

Now that she’s an adult, I must try speaking with her more openly.

Her unexpected return was still the most shocking thing that had happened in recent days, even more so than the assassination attempt that had occurred only hours before.

“Per your command, Lord Alex departed at once to track down Helen’s relatives, and a missive has been sent to Lord Julius. We may require the use of Insight…”

Skari absentmindedly nodded along to the rest of the butler’s report.

Then, in a low voice, he commanded, “Assign to Kiana an astute maid, someone who’ll promptly report any peculiar behavior. And make sure that she’s sturdy enough to prevent her charge from throwing herself at Lord Rodrigo.”

“Yes, Your Grace. It’s getting late. Shall I see that your bed is prepared?”

“No.” Skari shook his head. “I’m going to visit the greenhouse.”

The butler bowed with a knowing expression and departed. Left alone, the aging duke slowly rose to his feet, exhaustion written all over his face. He disappeared into a greenhouse in a corner of the garden.

* * *

I had a particularly unsettling dream, which might have been due to returning home after such a long time. It was the same nightmare I often had in my youth.

“Chirpy is Kiana’s summon! Kiana got Chirpy stolen away by Melissa!”

The persistent nightmare caused me to wake at dawn.

I wanted to sleep in for once, now that I’m out of the academy and not under any pressure to submit papers…

“So unfair… It’s so, so unfair,” I grumbled.

The nightmare had been extra horrible with visions of my young mother, who looked just like me, collapsed on the floor and sobbing.

“Marquess Cesare Levin made a tremendous research donation, and he specifically named Professor Kiana Freley as the recipient! My lady, your place is here! The academy cannot be without you!”

The dean had even appeared at the end, making the nightmare even more horrifying. Upon waking, I found that a personal maid had already been assigned to me. She was exceptionally tall and muscular.

I glanced at her bulging arms and asked, nonchalantly, “Is my grandfather awake?”

“His Grace retired at dawn. He might wake in the afternoon.”

“Oh really? I see. I guess I’ll have to greet him later.”

“Yes, my lady. Ah, and both of the young lords, and Lady Melissa—I mean, Saint Melissa, are absent as well.”

“I’m aware.”

My eldest brother, Alex, would have left for the provinces last night on my grandfather’s orders. My second-eldest brother, Joshua, had left home a long time ago. Melissa had also recently entered the monastery, leaving only Grandfather and me in the manor.

“Furthermore, a number of letters arrived from Lillony Academy during the night,” the maid added.

“Oh? Just throw them all away.”

It was obvious what the academy would say. They would probably be desperate to know what would happen to my ongoing research. There had hardly been any projects at the academy without my involvement. Since I was so intelligent and extremely diligent, research opportunities had come in one after the other since I had received my doctorate. It had even gotten to the point where external commissions explicitly asked for my involvement by name.

I was a co-researcher on all kinds of projects at the academy. They must be in a frenzy without me.

By now, they would have also discovered that I had officially withdrawn my consent from all of my patents that had been filed under the academy’s name. It was likely that utter pandemonium had broken out.

The dean hates losing money more than anything else. He must be in absolute agony right now. I’ll let him suffer for a while, then I’ll think of an even better way to torment him.

I had not forgotten my grudge against the dean. My first act of retaliation against him had been brief and impulsive. Now, I was ready to punish him in a far more exacting way.

I was grinding my teeth when the maid politely asked, “Shall I prepare your breakfast, my lady?”

“No, my stomach doesn’t feel good in the morning. Just get me a cup of coffee and help me prepare for an outing.”

The maid looked thunderstruck, and she carefully asked, “Uh… My lady? You will drink coffee on an upset stomach?”

I was a professor before I came back in time, so I was genuinely surprised by the novelty of this situation. I commended her at once.

“Are you talking back to me right now? I never imagined something like this happening!”

The maid immediately fell silent.

I added indifferently, “I know my grandfather assigned me to you, but you still need to obey me.”

“My lady…?”

“Am I wrong? He sent you to spy on me.”

At my words, the maid’s expression filled with distress, and she gave a low bow.

“M-my apologies!”

“It’s fine. It’s not as if you wanted to. You’re under orders. I know what it’s like. I went through graduate school. There’s no need for you to give me an insincere apology. Instead, why don’t you go get me my coffee?”

“Y-you won’t be changing maids?”

“What for? Another spy would just take your place. I’ll just stick with the one I have. Besides, this will add to your professional experience.”

After all, there was an unemployment crisis. I spoke to the maid kindly and considerately, as I’d once done for my students, even worrying about her job prospects.

“Should you go anywhere else and declare that you have experience secretly spying on an innocent young lady under the command of a head of household, they will be sure to give you at least one month’s trial.”

The maid was speechless.

“I am so considerate, am I not? Now, go and fetch my coffee, spy. And consider this a warning. If I ever have to ask for my coffee again…” I offered her a piece of practical wisdom to teach her about the harshness of reality. “I will not hesitate to dismiss you dishonorably from my service and label you as a maid who was able to spy on her lady but could not even bring her coffee.”

“I-I shall get it at once!”