Book 1: Chapter 7: The Villainess Daughter Loves the Silent Witch (1/2)
Louis soaked Monica's light brown hair with a thin layer of fragrant oil and combed it with great care.
”Listen, beauty is not something you can achieve in a day. It takes time and effort to achieve. Serendia Academy was built for the children of noble families. So wearing something too shabby will make you look bad.”
After doing her hair, Louis took out another cream and smeared it on Monica's skin. Monica was now at his mercy, feeling as if she were a doll.
”Keep your skin and hair moisturized! That's the most important thing. I will provide you with perfumes and creams separately, so apply them every day before going to bed. Understand?”
”Y-Yes…”
Monica replied in a faint voice as her cheek was kneaded.
He was very thorough in his commitment to beauty. He was a man with a figure so beautiful that he could be mistaken for a woman. He was supposed to be in his late twenties, but he looked much younger than that.
Such beauty of his was evidently the result of his daily care.
”Louis… you look more woman than a real woman.”
Just as she blurted out what was on her mind, the hand that had been smearing cream on Monica's cheek deepened into her face with a crunch. It hurts.
Louis had a cold smile on his beautiful feminine face that almost sent chills down her spine.
”My colleague, let me tell you something good. I hate it to death when people say that I look like a woman. Do you want to know what happened to the idiot who said it before?”
The hand that grasped Monica's face was filled with strength.
Monica shuddered in fear as her skull squeezed together.
”I'm… I'm sorryyyyyy! I won't say it againnnnn!”
”I'm glad you've been so understanding.”
Louis took his hands away from Monica's face and put the bottle of fragrant oil and cream in her hands.
”Don't neglect to take care of it properly… you hear me?”
With that, Louis smiled at her.
His smile was more beautiful than most women's, but also more intimidating than a dragon's.
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Three days had passed since Monica had been staying at Louis Miller's house.
The reason she did not immediately sneak into the school was to wait for the arrival of the daughter of Count Kerbeck. Their territory was located near the border and it would take about three days to reach the royal capital.
While awaiting her arrival, Monica was thoroughly drilled in her understanding of Serendia Academy and some manners of the nobility by Louis, while Rosalie instructed her on regular diet and sleep.
Not that things had changed drastically in just three days, but her complexion, which according to Louis looked like a dead person, seemed to have gotten much better. It took her a while to get used to the idea of sleeping at night, but once the candles and lamps were confiscated, it left her nothing to do, so she slept instead.
As for her familiar, Nero, he spent his daytime hours reading a book in the corner of her room. Apparently, he borrowed his favorites author's novels from Lynn.
Nero dexterously flipped through the pages of a romance novel with his cat's paw, and when in the mood, he would stroll aimlessly around the mansion.
And today, too, after having eaten lunch, Nero would go for another walk to relieve his stomach, but when he suddenly returned, he spoke to Monica under the watchful eyes of Louis and the others.
”Monica! There's some kind of awesome roll coming!”
”Awesome… roll?”
”It's an orange roll.”
What was exactly an orange roll?
To Monica's puzzlement, Lynn approached Monica quietly.
”Miss Monica, the daughter of Count Kerbeck, Lady Isabelle Norton, your collaborator in this infiltration operation of Serendia Academy, has arrived.”
＊ ＊ ＊
”Ohohoho! Good day everyone!”
The one who greeted Monica with a high-pitched laugh that could be heard throughout the mansion was a girl of Monica's age. She was wearing a crimson dress embroidered with luxurious gold threads. Her light orange hair was shaped in magnificent roll, and it appeared that Nero was referring to her ringlet hair.
As Monica stood in front of the door, feeling overwhelmed, Young Miss Isabelle Norton put a fan to her mouth and looked at Monica with a mean look in her eyes.
”Oh, my, a very good day to you, Aunt Monica. You look as poorly dressed as ever. The fact that you are the youngest member of Kerbeck's family makes me ashamed of myself!”
Monica stood there, pale from the clear hostility that was being thrown at her.
Feeble-minded Monica was sensitive to the malice of others. Even the slightest stinging words can make her shrink. The clear malicious words already brought tears to Monica's eyes.
But before Monica could even cower in place, Miss Isabelle smiled at her with a triumphant look.
”How does it look now? Did I sound like a villainess? I've been practicing my voice every single day since I was given this role. I'm confident nobody can beat the sharpness of my high-pitched laugh.”
What does the sharpness of a high-pitched laugh mean, she wondered.
When she saw Monica's eyes darted around in disbelief, Young Miss Isabelle huffed as if she realized something.