VILLAINESS FOR A DAY

ISAAK observed Princess Runa after their meal.

Just as he expected, he saw shame and repulsion on her face once they were done eating.

[It's normal to feel that way after eating something that a human shouldn't.]

He asked Knoxx, the only servant that he allowed to step foot in the young princess's room, to clean the table and bring drinks. It was funny how his and Princess Runa's stomachs would reject human food. But drinks were fine even though they couldn't satisfy their hunger or supply them with proper nutrients.

"Is apple juice alright with you, Princess Runa?" Isaak asked politely. "If there's anything that you want to drink, please don't hesitate to tell me. We'll get it for you right away."

"I like apple juice, Sir Uncle," Princess Runa said, and this time, her voice wasn't trembling anymore. And her face lit up while holding the glass of juice in her tiny hands. "Thank you."

He just nodded, then he raised his hand to dismiss Knoxx silently.

The young princess turned to Knoxx and bowed her head. "Thank you for bringing me this apple juice, M-Mister Knoxx."

Knoxx bowed respectfully to the young princess, then he excused himself.

"Princess Runa, do you feel ashamed?" he asked carefully, then he sipped his red wine while observing the young princess's reaction.

"I…" Princess Runa began in a hesitant voice. Then, she lowered her gaze to the apple juice in her hands. "I, uhm, feel ashamed that I thought the Graveling meat that we ate was delicious, Sir Uncle. I often wonder why I have to eat something so repulsive to survive." She looked up at him with questioning eyes. "Do you feel the same way, Sir Uncle?"

He slowly nodded his head. "Of course," he said. "Princess Runa, unlike you, I don't only crave human flesh every evening--- I crave it all the time. The truth is, I can no longer eat normal food."

The young princess covered her mouth with her tiny hands.

"I was born human," he explained before the young princess got the wrong idea. "But I was cursed and turned into being a ghoul."

Princess Runa looked at her with a look of pity in her eyes. "I can eat normal food during the daytime," she said softly. "That's why I can skip eating dinner. I can't imagine what I'd do if I crave for human flesh from morning `till night." Her eyes suddenly turned teary. "I'm so sorry for your situation, Sir Uncle."

"It's alright, Princess Runa," he consoled her. "I'm used to it."

She still cried silently, as if she was crying for him.

[What a good child. She's been through hell all this time and yet she didn't lose her empathy and innocence. Our young princess is a strong person.]

He wanted to cheer her up, so he said the first "funny" thing that came into his mind.

"Princess Runa, do you know that there are ordinary humans that eat raw meat?"

It seemed to work because the young princess stopped crying. Her eyes were now sparkling with curiosity.

"I met a lady who enjoys eating her steak raw," he continued with his story. "She minced a piece of steak and put a raw egg on top of it. Then, she mixed it before eating."

The young princess gasped. "The lady didn't cook the steak?"

He smiled and shook his head. "She didn't. And it looks like she's used to eating raw meat."

Princess Runa tilted her head to one side. "But why would she eat raw food?"

"Apparently, it's a delicacy from a faraway land."

Lady Zoe didn't say that.

But since she came from another world, he assumed that eating raw steak was pretty much normal from where she came from.

"Is she your lover, Sir Uncle?"

He almost spat the red wine that he just sipped. "She's not my lover," he said while wiping his mouth with a table napkin. "What made you think that, Princess Runa?"

Princess Runa smiled brightly. "You look happy when you were talking about her, Sir Uncle," she said cheerfully. "Does she make you happy?"

"No?" Isaak said awkwardly. "That lady is actually the main source of my headache."

***

ZOE was satisfied with her outfit.

For today's tea party, she wore a fancy milkmaid dress. Of course, the main point of the dress was the puff sleeves. It was very important for her plan to succeed.

[The plan is to annoy Empress Veronica, what else?]

But she needed to look like an angel, so she asked Dal to only put light makeup on her face. Then, she just let her long and silky hair fall freely down her back. But since Dal insisted to adorn her hair with flower gems, she allowed her to do so. Of course, she didn't forget to tie a ribbon around her wrist.

She would use that later to tie her hair once her plan began.

"I will announce your arrival now, Lady Rochester," the servant standing in front of Glass Garden's door said. Then he cleared his throat before speaking again. "Lady Zoanne Rochester has arrived!"

The two knights then proceeded to open the Glass Garden's double doors.

She entered the marvelous garden elegantly. Thank goodness the real Zoanne's every move was elegant. She tried to match her body's grace by smiling as innocent as she could.

[The goal is to look pure today.]

She smiled brightly when she saw the long table occupied by unfamiliar ladies. Of course, Empress Veronica was seated at the head of the table.

[Ah, Her Majesty is so damned gorgeous.]

Empress Veronica looked so amazing in her fabulous red dress that screamed "royalty." The empress had an elegant bun and not even a strand of hair was out of place. And, of course, Her Majesty was adorned with only the finest pieces of jewelry.

[If only she wasn't a bitch…]

She smiled and bowed properly to the empress. "Greetings to the Sunshine that lights up the Great Sulien Empire." Yes, the empress was referred to as the 'Sunshine' of the empire. "I, Zoanne Rochester, am grateful to be in the presence of Her Majesty."

"Raise your head, Lady Rochester," Empress Veronica said in a majestic tone. When she lifted her head and their eyes met, the empress smiled "kindly" at her. "Thank you for accepting my invitation even though it was given on such short notice."

Zoe matched the empress's act and smiled as kindly as she could. "This humble Zoanne Rochester will always be available to Her Majesty."

[LOL.]

***

[THEY'RE all acting nice.]

Zoe noticed that aside from Her Majesty, the ten ladies whose names she couldn't remember were all acting friendly with her. Their group also talked about nice things, such as creating a foundation for unfortunate children through their salons, etc. No one was being rude to her, too.

If she didn't know better, she'd think that the empress and the ladies were being genuinely nice to her. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

[This is how they treated Eunice Harper in the novel.]

And because the empress and her cohorts acted that way, she could tell what was on their minds.

The ladies around her were obviously setting her up.

[If I turned down Her Majesty's request later, the ladies will surely make it like I'm being rude and ungrateful after being treated nicely by the empress.]

In all fairness, the plan was good.

[Now I'm itching to be the villainess~]

"Lady Rochester, this is quite late, but I'd like to extend my gratitude to you for saving Grand Duke Viotto, my dear brother-in-law, during the last banquet we had," Empress Veronica said in a gentle voice that didn't suit her real personality. Then she elegantly sipped her tea before she continued speaking in a benevolent tone. "His Majesty and I already punished Count Nigel Ratliff and the ladies that he worked with for the prank that he tried to pull on Grand Duke Viotto."

[Prank, my ass.]

Zoe, who was sitting on Her Majesty's right side, didn't let her emotion show by smiling sweetly. "It's nothing that Her Majesty should thank me for," she said politely. "I just protected our family by sabotaging the late Miss Ashmore's plan, Your Majesty."

The empress smiled and elegantly put the teacup down on the table. "I am amazed by your strong sense of responsibility, Lady Rochester. You truly are a noble lady," she praised her. "Now I wonder if you can help Nigel become a proper noble."

Ah, the empress addressed Count Nigel Ratliff to showcase her close relationship with her husband's full brother, perhaps.

[And Her Majesty is trying to match me with Nigel Ratliff instead of her older brother?]

In the novel, Empress Veronica tried to marry Eunice Harper off to her older brother. What was his name again? Was it Vaughn?

Whatever.

[Heh. Empress Veronica is probably trying to tie me up with Nigel since she can boss Nigel around. She probably thinks that she'll be able to gobble up House Rochester if I married that idiot Nigel.]

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid that I'm inadequate to teach anything to Count Ratliff," she said in an apologetic tone. "I am nothing but a sheltered daughter of a marquis."

"Lady Rochester, it breaks my heart to see and hear you put yourself down," the empress said, and in fairness, she sounded concerned. "You are amazing. I heard that you spent most of your life in the temple. I am certain that the values that you learned from the priests and the priestesses that you worked with will help our immature Nigel."

[Ah, so pushy.]

"I know I shouldn't say this, but I believe Nigel is interested in you, Lady Rochester," Empress Veronica said with a bright smile on her face. "This is the first time that my immature brother-in-law expressed his interest in someone."

As if on cue, the ladies around her gushed over Nigel Ratliff.

She had to listen to the ladies' bullshit while sipping her tea.

"Count Ratliff may act immature from time to time, but I believe that he's a good person."

"That is why I think the mature and responsible Lady Rochester will be a wonderful influence on Count Ratliff."

"Moreover, Lady Rochester and Count Ratliff are both good-looking!"

"Lady Rochester and our immature but handsome Nigel will surely look good together," Empress Veronica said in a cheerful and hopeful voice, then she turned to her with a smile. "If it isn't too much to ask, would you mind if I invite you to have tea with my brother-in-law, Lady Rochester?"

"Your Majesty, I have something to say first," Zoe said with a bright smile on her face, then she gracefully put her teacup down on the table. "Count Nigel Ratliff isn't my style." She shook her head when she realized that it wasn't a phrase that the people of this world may understand. "In other words, Count Ratliff isn't my type."

Empress Veronica's smile faded right away.

Then an awkward silence ensued.

She just smiled at the atmosphere that she created before sipping her tea again.

Thankfully, a beautiful distraction arrived in the form of Butler Gregory– the head butler of Emperor Rino's palace. Empress Veronica had no choice but to let Gregory in when the head butler said that he brought a message from the emperor.

"I apologize for interrupting your tea party, Your Majesty," Butler Gregory said while bowing to the empress. Then he politely pointed his hands at the servants behind him. "His Majesty Emperor Rino has sent gifts for Her Majesty, and His Majesty asked me to deliver them as soon as possible."

Each of the three maids behind the butler held a box.

Obviously, those boxes contained jewelry.

Empress Veronica looked surprised when she saw the gifts that the emperor sent. But when the ladies gushed over it, she smiled and acted shy. "His Majesty doesn't have to send me gifts," she said, as if she was embarrassed. "Gregory, tell His Majesty that I am very delighted by his wonderful surprise."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Gregory said, then he stood up and turned to Zoe. The butler greeted her politely before going straight to the point. "Lady Rochester, His Majesty wishes to see you at his palace after the tea party."

Empress Veronica looked shocked by that.

Even the ladies turned to Zoe with a shocked look on their faces.

"I am done with my tea," Zoe said, then she tied her hair in a high ponytail using the ribbon that she brought.

Then she stood up while pulling the puff sleeves down to turn her outfit into an off-shoulder dress. After that, she turned to Empress Veronica with a playful smile on her face.

"Your Majesty, I like mature men in power," Zoe said. Then she purposely "fixed" the chest area of her dress to show off her cleavage. "Preferably, a handsome man with pretty violet eyes--- violet eyes that remind me of violet pansies that I like putting in my salad."

[Just like Isaak Viotto.]

But judging by Empress Veronica's glare, she was probably thinking of the wrong handsome and powerful man with violet eyes: Emperor Rino Sulien.

***

Hi! Thank you for reading. If you're enjoying the story, may I ask for a favor? Please write a review and leave comments if you can. Pretty please? *puppy dog eyes*

Thank you so much. :'>

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NOTE: Hi! Please consider ADDING 'I Won't Let The Ghoul Duke Go Hungry!' to your LIBRARY. Thank you! <3