Level 99 Villainous Daughter

Chapter 6

VOL . 2 CHAPTER 06: THE SITUATION IN THE ROYAL CAPITAL

We stayed for three days in the Ashbaton territory .

I spent most of my time with Patrick’s mother . She’s a normal person as long as I didn’t utter the words ‘Remrest Kingdom’ or anything related to them . When I brought up the topic of 「Restaurant」 my first reaction was that of fright .

Thankfully, the Yumiela-style leveling theory was well received . Patrick kept reminding me not to share too much but I couldn’t help it since it would make her happy . I don’t think I want to know what she’s going to do once she levels up .

And everyone who worked in the Lord’s residence was kind enough to welcome me . For the first time I felt so spoiled . Is this how it feels to be a child?

The days we spent on the Ashbaton territory passed in the blink of an eye, soon we had to say our farewells . Unfortunately, Patrick’s father was still stuck on the border and wouldn’t be able to come home for a while .

「Thank you for taking care of me . 」

「Come visit anytime, Yumiela-chan . Come alone next time, you don’t need to bring Patrick . 」

「Ahaha, thank you very much . Ryuu, it’s time to go . 」

Ryuu flapped his wings and took off into the sky with us on his back .

Patrick’s mother waved at us until we were out of her sight .

I’ve done everything I need to do . I’ve met his parents and officially became his fiancee…

「Eh? Hey Ryuu . It just hit me, but I didn’t meet your older brother yet, is he away from home?」

「No, my brother was at home . 」

We had to talk in a louder voice so that we could hear each other over the howling wind . Wasn’t it strange that we’ve been staying in the same house for three days and yet never made contact with each other? No way .

「Hey, was he avoiding me? Your brother?」

「Yeah . 」

Yup, I knew it . I used to be avoided in school but it still hurt .

Feeling my negative aura he quickly added .

「Don’t worry, it’s not your fault, my brother is just bad with women . Next time I’ll make sure that he meets you . 」

Fear of women, huh? Oh yeah, makes sense . I am a woman . People who have a hard time with women are especially uncomfortable with anyone they perceive as the opposite sex .

‘I see, he was just embarrassed to meet the beautiful girl his brother brought home . Ah, it’s a crime to be beautiful . ’ She thought in amusement .

「My brother is particularly weak towards strong-hearted or rather feisty women . I think it might be because of mother’s influence, but…」

「…Am I that feisty though?」

After all, from the beginning, there was no such thing as a beautiful girl . I wish those self-proclaimed beautiful girls would just disappear from this world .

「If that was your calm temperament… I don’t wanna know how feisty you are . 」

‘Guess I’m going to start living like Buddha from tomorrow . ’ I thought .

　　　　　　　◆　◆　◆

We didn’t go straight to our territory but stopped by at the capital . Ryuu landed in the garden of Dolknes’ residence in the royal capital .

I had to verify the rumor about the crown prince and the second prince having beef .

For now, I’ll leave the house in the capital . But I’d like to sell it as soon as possible as I won’t be in the capital often .

「How much do you think this house will sell for?」

「Are you going to sell the house? That’s a shame, I mean, we have a residence in royal capital too but it’s smaller compared to this house . 」

「That’s why I want to sell it . I know I need a place to stay in the capital but a smaller house should be enough?」

「Also right now we don’t have any financial problems . 」

Incidentally, my parents still live in this house . However, since I forcefully succeeded the Count title, I don’t have any obligations to support my parents .

I tried to convince them to move somewhere quiet and peaceful in the countryside and offered them some financial support but they were being stubborn and refused to leave the capital .

They couldn’t go back to the noble society anymore… I really could not understand the appeal of staying in the royal capital .

The servant immediately escorted me to my room once I announced my presence . The servants were somewhat cold just like the one in the territory’s residence,

When the servant who escorted me left, I breathed a sigh .

「Haa, Patrick’s house is really nice . Everyone is so pleasant . 」

「Your stiff facial expression gets misunderstood easily . So you need time to compromise . 」

「Will they even accept it when they know that I threatened my parents for my position right now?」

「Didn’t you bring a maid to school? Uhh, what was her name… Rita? I’m sure she can help clear up the misconceptions surrounding you . 」

However, Rita was currently working in this residence, I didn’t bring her back to the territory . The situation is kinda complicated… I was thinking about how to solve this situation when I heard the commotion from the hallway .

The door was opened forcefully . Speaking of the devil, Rita rushed inside .

「Yumiela-sama, you were home . By all means, please order me as you please . 」

「I don’t have anything for you…」

「Did something happen to the servants in the territory? If something is troubling you, I’m here—」

「Relax, everything’s fine . 」

Rita’s little sister was taken as a hostage and she was caught poisoning my tea in the past . After I helped rescue her sister, her loyalty towards me increased to the level of a fanatic .

Patrick was obviously taken aback after seeing Rita bent on one knee in front of me .

「Ohh—, how’s your sister doing?」

「You even care about my sister’s wellbeing… Thank you for being so compassionate . My sister is working diligently to become Yumiela-sama’s servant one day . 」

「O-okay . I’ll talk to her next time . 」

Sara is dangerous . I have to rescue her before she falls victim to her sister’s sinister ways .

As she was on her knee, she kept staring at me with an ecstatic expression . She’s not going to move unless I give her something to do .

「Oh, it’s been a long time since I had Rita’s tea . 」

「As your wish, my Lord . I will prepare some tea immediately . 」

What do you mean with “As your wish, my Lord”? Am I the emperor or something?

She stood up quickly and gave a graceful bow before leaving the room .

I stared at the door for a few seconds to make sure Rita was far enough that she couldn’t hear what I’m about to say .

「I can’t take her back again . 」

「I see, everything is no more than a misunderstanding . 」

The day where I open up to my servants is still far off in the distance . Patrick and I sigh at the same time .

Why is there no one normal around me?

Rita didn’t take long before she returned, however, but she didn’t bring anything to brew the tea . On the contrary, she looked a little displeased about something and said .

「Apologies, the tea will be served late . His Highness, the second prince has just arrived . I sent him to the parlor… or would you prefer to drive him away?」

「No, you can’t drive him away . 」

「If Yumiela-sama orders me to drive him away, I will beat him out with a broom . Even if the consequences involve getting executed, I’ll be fine with it since I’m merely fulfilling your commands . 」

Scary, it was really scary . Rita said those terrible things with a straight face . I don’t mind kicking out the prince, but I’m afraid she’s going to do it literally . Next to me, I didn’t even have to look at Patrick’s face, I could feel his face stiffen .

「Uh— Rita? I’m going to meet his Highness, can you bring the tea to the next room? I really like Rita’s tea . 」

「I’ll bring it right away . 」

Her face suddenly brightened . I don’t think it was this bad when we lived on campus .

Anyway, back to Prince Edwin . While I did come to the royal capital to find out some more info about the second prince’s faction, never did I expect him to appear in person to meet me .

The prince was sitting alone in the parlor, he didn’t seem to bring any escorts with him . He’s one of the strongest people in this kingdom, maybe he didn’t need an escort .

We sat on the couch facing each other .

While we were making small talk, a sense of silent awkwardness still hung across the room, Prince Edwin took a sip of his tea before breaking the silence .

「Sorry for coming unannounced Miss Yumiela, but I want to explain what’s happening on the capital right now . 」

「Likewise, I also came here to find out more about the second prince’s faction . 」

「Yeah, I was about to talk about it . I’m in a bit of a pickle, too . Since I don’t want Miss Yumiela to be in trouble, so I rushed over to visit . 」

「Aren’t you rushing too soon?」

It hadn’t even been an hour since we arrived at the capital . How did he become aware of our arrival so quickly?

The one who answered my question is Patrick who sat next to me .

「Anyone who pays attention would know that we’ve arrived at the royal capital . Riding on Ryuu isn’t exactly subtle, you know . 」

「Patrick’s right, when I saw the dragon I rushed over to visit . And maybe the fact that I was in the neighbourhood also helped . 」

「What happened? It’s only been a month since we graduated and left the royal capital . 」

「To keep things short, the nobles are supporting the duke’s faction . Personally I have no hostility towards my elder brother . 」

「Just like I thought… It’s troublesome . 」

Patrick murmured .

It’s the extremists again . The duke faction could be referred to as dissident, a group of nobles who aren’t happy with the status quo . There are dangerous people who call for military invasion of other countries for power and profit .

I’m aware that he’s not a warmonger, he just wants the key positions in the office occupied by the moderates . He probably will swing to moderates as soon as the king appoints him as minister or something .

I kinda feel sorry for Prince Edwin, he caught the attention of those ambitious people .

But what if he makes a statement refusing them, wouldn’t that be the end of it? He explained the situation when I asked him about it .

「They said that since I defeated the Demon King, I’m worthy of being the next king . Since the saintess is dead they want to appoint Miss Eleanora as a substitute which will in turn increase Duke Hillrose faction’s power .

The movement was still small when I was attending the academy but the situation has been heating up since I graduated . 」

I knew this would happen, after defeating the Demon King . It’s a relief, if I really went to the Demon King’s castle alone, I would get dragged into even more troublesome situations .

From an outsider’s perspective, it would seem like Prince Edwin is the one who defeated the Demon King . While it is true that I played a bigger role and the official announcement said that the others killed in action and their death were not in vain .

For now, it’s a relief knowing that the second prince and the crown prince aren’t at odds .

That’s why it’s unlikely that Prince Edwin and Eleanora will get married .

「Miss Eleanora seems to be persistent . 」

「I know, it’s really troubling me . She keeps coming over uninvitedly…」

Eleanora is Duke Hillrose’s daughter and she’s head over heels when it comes to Prince Edwin .

Unfortunately, I really like her . And in an attempt to get in her good grace, I often told her that she’s going to be married to Prince Edwin, so I was often invited to tea parties and other events .

She didn’t budge even though I kept rejecting her invitations, but sometimes I didn’t bother rejecting and just gave in . I haven’t met her ever since I graduated from the academy .

「I guess you’re in for a ride . She genuinely likes you…」

「I agree . And the fact that she has no ill will makes it harder to be mean to her . 」

Prince Edwin said bitterly .

What should i do? There’s nothing that I could do since my intervention would make the situation even worse .

「How about you disappear for a while? They can’t do anything if the second prince has disappeared . 」

「I’ve already tried that . When I was absent for several weeks, those guys just got excited and planned to overthrow the crown prince . 」

It seems like what Prince Edwin said didn’t matter anymore . We can either deal with the nobles from the extremist factions or wait until the heat dies down .

At the same time he had to endure Eleanora’s ferocious attack for a while . …Sounds like a lot of work .

「Miss Eleanora is really persistent . I was struggling with her persistence when I was attending the academy . 」

「Oh, Miss Yumiela seems to take a liking to her . Maybe she will come to visit here as well . 」

Please stop raising the flag, please don’t jinx it . You are the one who will be troubled the most with her arrival here .

Just when I was about to give the prince a piece of my mind for his offhand remarks, there’s a commotion from the hallway . I heard someone running on the hallway and Rita came bursting into the room without knocking .

「Eleanora-sama from Duke Hillrose house is here . The servants are trying to hold her back but she’s going to be here soon . 」

Isn’t the flag rising way too quickly?