A Painting of the Villainess as a Young Lady

“What a r-rude—”

Shouldn’t he first learn how to control his emotions? This man was supposedly the next head of his family. Violet inwardly clicked her tongue.

At that moment, a rogue projectile flew in and hit Alec exactly on the back of the head. Then, someone strode up behind the now collapsed Alec.

“You’re talking nonsense in front of a guest again! You’re the sole disgrace of this family, ugh. You just keep making Mom cry out of distress each and every time.”

The rogue projectile’s identity was a cookie. And, Violet looked up at the powerful person who managed to knock over Alec with that very cookie.

It was a woman with light brown hair, and she resembled Marchioness Leshan. She was very much indignant.

And the tall woman was wearing pants, not a dress.

‘Who’s this?’

Violet remained aloof as she studied the woman before her. She gave off such a sharp atmosphere, so different from the marchioness.

Alesia A. Leshan, the second child of the Leshan Marquisate.

“W-What the hell are you—”

“Who’s asking who here? Mom told me to say hello and introduce myself to her guest, yet I immediately heard a certain someone blowing hot air over here so I came over. You’re the one who caused trouble at Titaro, so why are you making Mom clean up your mess? Seriously. Just know that you will die at my hands one of these days.”

“Why are you blaming me! Wait, then, that—”

“I recommend that you go and fix it right this instant. Father’s barely stopping himself from killing you.”

“Gasp— Your Ladyship, I believe that’s all the time we have today. Let’s continue our talk another time.”

Alec tucked his tail between his legs and ran away. Still, Violet’s expression remained unchanged.

Alesia examined Violet like this with visible dissatisfaction.

She had been under the impression that their family was an elegant one. With just one look at the young noble lady standing before her, Violet corrected her initial perception of House Leshan.

“You must have had a hard time dealing with that idiot. Don’t worry about whatever he said—our household has no intention of getting you engaged with my brother anyway.”

“Of course. I wasn’t worried about it either. Even if your household were to send an official proposal, it would only be returned.”

As Violet spoke with a soft tone, she had a defensive smile.

Alesia wasn’t even trying to save face.

“You’re quite different from how you’ve been rumored to be. As expected, I guess rumors can’t be trusted?”

Violet thought, So it seems that not only the plants were raised freely, but even the children.

In her opinion, they might have been raised too freely. Suddenly, she realized that there was one such kid who was much too freely raised in her own family.contemporary romance

Still, it’s of no contest that Alesia was better than Cairn.

Everett and Leshan—perhaps Aesir, too. They were all considered to be great noble households, but on the flip side, they might also be the worst of the worst.

With this idea that was very close to the right answer, Violet looked directly at the woman standing in front of her.

“That said, I do hope you’re not expecting me to see you in a good light, Ducal Lady. I can’t even tell why Mother is protecting you, but—!”

Alesia’s voice remained level, but it was certainly laced with resentment. Violet was already quite used to receiving such malice.

If Alec was hiding the fact that he looked down on her, Alesia, on the other hand, was vilifying her openly.

While Violet thought about what reason Alesia had to act this way towards her, she answered in a casual tone.

“The Madam must care for me because I am her close friend’s daughter. I don’t know why you’re telling me this, Your Ladyship, but I agree with you when you say you ‘can’t tell’.”

“Hah! So, did you show this façade of yours to my mother? She’s a pure-hearted person, so it must have worked. For these past three years, she’s only been saying how much she feels sorry for you!”

Violet once again revised her evaluation. Right now, she didn’t know anymore if Alesia was better than Cairn, but she had become more certain that the two of them had much in common.

“I won’t ask why you’ve suddenly changed the way you act. But still, I don’t think one’s true nature is easily changed, especially if it’s someone who once slapped a poor girl who stood for two hours outside on a cold day.”

“Ah.”

Only then did some emotion enter Violet’s countenance as she blinked a couple of times. She found the reason behind this young woman’s hostility.

The incident she was speaking of happened during the debutante three years ago.

Back then, Violet never told Aileen to wait for her, but the girl deliberately provoked her by dressing in thin clothes and making a ridiculous demand.

Having no intention of explaining herself, Violet slowly let out a sigh.

“You really do resemble each other quite a lot.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I was merely talking to myself, Lady. And, you can think however you want. Even if I try to explain, you will continue to think that I’m a bad person anyway.”

“Do you seriously mean what you say?”

“If what I say isn’t what I mean, then I shall commend you on your great abilities, Lady. I can’t believe you have the power to read minds. As the outstanding individual of the Black Wolf, may I first greet you courteously?”

“Hah, wow…! What a funny thing to say. Yes, alright. Let’s say our greetings, shall we? And, I would very much appreciate it if you refer to me as ‘Dame’, not ‘Lady.”

A war of nerves ensued. Violet did not shy away from those light blue eyes.

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