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“You have no aptitude whatsoever for any magic besides household magic. Do you understand? You have dragged my name through the mud. You have disgraced the name of House Lumiore.”
My father said to me in a cold voice.
It was right after my eighth birthday, immediately after my magical aptitude had been appraised.
The magical kingdom of Elmia, which possessed the most advanced magical technology on the continent and reveled in prosperity.
Within its noble society, a child’s magical aptitude had a great influence on that child’s future.
It would not be an exaggeration to say it determined one’s entire life.
That was because, more than academic background, wealth, intelligence, character, athletic ability, or appearance, what kind of magic one could use was regarded as the standard by which a person’s excellence was judged.
‘A magician’s aptitude decides everything.’
The ideal proclaimed by the Sorcerer King who founded this nation—a country where magicians could live with ease—had, over the course of several hundred years, become warped.
The nobles became obsessed with producing children with superior magical aptitude in order to protect their family names.
Bloodline itself became a person’s value.
Those who lacked magical aptitude were cursed as having no worth in living and were spoken ill of behind their backs.
In this country, the kind of magic considered to have the lowest value was household magic.
Because even most commoners possessed an aptitude for it, this magic was considered far less valuable than other forms of magic.
To possess no aptitude other than household magic meant one had hopelessly no talent for magic.
“I have never heard of someone being born into a noble house of the magical kingdom without any aptitude for standard magic whatsoever. It is a disgrace that will shame our family for generations. This fact must absolutely be hidden.”
My father said.
“What child brings shame upon their parent? You useless defect. You will disappear here and—”
“Please wait!”
The one who spoke was Mother.
“Mythia has the highest magical power among her siblings, and intelligence far beyond what one would expect of an eight-year-old. Even if she cannot use standard magic, there will surely be a place where her talents can be put to use.”
“Don’t you understand? She cannot use any magic at all other than household magic. She is a hopeless incompetent. To House Lumiore, she is nothing but shame. Her very existence tarnishes our family name.”
“This child will surely be able to help many people in the future. If you insist on doing it, then do it to me first. Please, please have mercy.”
From that point on, Mother protected me at her side for an entire day.
Even in front of the captain of the guards holding a sword, she clung tightly to me and would not let go.
Through persistent persuasion, I somehow managed to avoid being erased.
Mother was frail, but because she possessed the greatest magical aptitude in the family, Father could not simply ignore her.
The engagement that had only just been arranged with the son of a viscount’s family was called off, but I truly thought it was fortunate that it ended with only that.
“I’m sorry, Mythia. Your father says I must never let you outside. That’s why this is the only kind of place I could prepare for you.”
It was an underground library that the head of the house two generations before had once used.
Mother brought in many books so that I could live there comfortably.
A life of confinement that lasted for two years.
The situation changed just after I turned ten.
Mother collapsed from illness and departed from this world.
Father drove me out of the house and decided to send me to Lineage, a remote territory owned by the count’s family.
Nominally, I was to go there as the acting lord.
His true aim, however, was to maintain the appearance that he had not abandoned this land, which had failed in its territorial management and fallen into ruin.
It had no industry whatsoever, and even as farmland its productivity was poor.
More than anything, what was fatal was that the people of this land were all those who possessed no magical aptitude.
The darkness of the magical kingdom that reveled in prosperity.
As a land inhabited by inferior beings who could not use magic, Lineage came to suffer under outrageous oppression.
Under crushing taxes, the people of the territory struggled in poverty, and public order continued to deteriorate.
On top of that, I heard that a contagious disease was now spreading because of their terrible state of malnutrition.
It seemed that all the nobles, including my third elder brother, the previous lord, had already fled from Lineage.
Without a doubt, the most dangerous place in the magical kingdom at present.
“It does not matter if you are attacked by rioters or die from contagion. A natural death that wins sympathy. That alone is what I ask of you. As a daughter of House Lumiore, be of use to me.”
Father had said something like that, but what filled my chest as I set out was nothing but joy.
(I had waited so long for this moment. I made preparations to the point of excess. In a new land, I will become the person I want to be. I will live doing what I want, freely, bound by no one. And I will make my long-cherished dream come true.)
I looked up at the vast sky and clenched my fist.
(I’m going to become the strongest, coolest villainess in the world!)
I had kept it a secret, but I—Mythia Lumiore—had memories of my previous life.
Within those dreamlike, hazy, ambiguous memories, I had been the daughter of a fallen noble family in the countryside.
‘You’re a good girl, so you can do as I say. Of course you can.’
My parents in that previous life were people who tried to make me move exactly as they wished.
‘You are going to marry someone from a distinguished family. That will be the greatest happiness for you.’
From before I could even understand things, I was forced to learn ladylike accomplishments and social etiquette as a good girl who would fulfill my parents’ wishes.
I was not allowed to put my own will into words.
The novels I loved were thrown away as “a waste of time.”
‘You are Mama’s dream. You must fulfill all the dreams Mama could not, and live a happier life than anyone else.’
Almost every day, I was taken to balls of the upper class whose status did not suit my family background.
In that dazzling world, I always stood out in the wrong way.
A cheap dress of unknown age.
What was directed at me were cold looks that seemed to say, “Why is a girl from that kind of family here?”
There was no one who would speak to me.
I could speak with no one, and dance with no one.
I stood the entire time in the corner of the splendid venue.
Though there were so many people there, I felt lonelier than when I was alone.
I returned home with my shoulders slumped.
Mother blamed me, saying, “Why can’t you do it?”
Because I was never chosen, I wanted someone to need me, and I wanted to be praised.
I worked hard to become the good girl Mother wanted.
And I was no good at it at all.
When my heart felt like it would be crushed, what saved me was the world of books.
I would secretly read novels, and the stories written there would cheer me up.
I would let my cheeks relax as I fantasized, “What if I entered the world of this story?”
Above all, the one I could not help but be powerfully drawn to was the cool villainess from my favorite novel.
Noble and intelligent, and merciless toward her enemies.
But kinder to her own people than anyone else.
She tried to push through her own will freely and selfishly, unbound by society’s norms.
She did not care in the slightest what other people thought of her.
The strength of heart to remain true to herself in any situation.
She was completely different from me, who was always reading the room and watching my parents’ expressions.
I was powerfully drawn to her dignified bearing and the cool way she lived at heart.
I thought that one day I wanted to become like that.
But then I kept putting it off while thinking about various practical matters.
And my life ended with me having done nothing at all.
An earthquake struck in the middle of a ball, and my life abruptly ended.
The last thing I felt as my consciousness faded was intense regret.
Why had I chosen to live as a good girl?
Why had I endured it all?
I should have lived more freely.
I should have done more of the things I wanted to do.
I should have lived more honestly with my own feelings.
(Ah, so this is the end…)
Within my fading consciousness.
If I were ever able to be born again, then next time I would live honestly with my own feelings.
That was what I thought.
I was five years old when I first remembered my previous life.
After the great shock, what awaited me was joy filling my heart.
I think no one else could possibly understand how happy I was at that moment.
A new life in which I could live freely.
This time, I absolutely would not endure things.
I would go where I wanted to go, eat what I wanted to eat, and spend my days doing what I had always wanted to do.
I thought about what it was that I wanted to do.
The answer came immediately.
(The incredibly cool villainess from the novel I loved in my previous life. Unbound by norms or common sense, lofty in ambition, and hating pretty platitudes. And above all, possessing an unwavering self. I want to become like that person I have always admired.)
I imagined myself as a villainess.
I would drink tea elegantly while plotting evil schemes, magnificently ensnare my enemies in traps, and rule noble society from the shadows.
(So cool… I’m far too cool…!)
I got so excited that I had a nosebleed.
That won’t do.
To become a splendid villainess, I had to behave coolly and stylishly at all times.
After wiping away my nosebleed in an elegant and stylish manner, I thought of a realistic method for making my dream come true.
However, this was far from an easy thing.
I was no more than a child of a noble family who had been raised pampered, and in the magical kingdom the social status of women was low even compared to neighboring countries.
There were even people who would say things like, “They are breeding machines for producing children of bloodlines with good magical aptitude.”
In a country like that, becoming a villainess who pushed through her own will would probably be extremely difficult.
But giving up was never an option.
Because the villainess I admired was one who, no matter how difficult the situation, never lost her composure and faced it coolly.
(Adversity only excites me more. From here, the story of how I become a cool villainess begins.)
I began to study ferociously in order to become my ideal self.
In addition to the study of magic that I had always liked, I crammed in statecraft, sociology, economics, territorial administration, law, pharmacology, magical biology, statistics, mathematics, physics, psychology… if I thought it might help even a little, I pounded it into my head.
The people around me were surprised and worried that I had suddenly begun studying as if I were a different person.
But no matter how much they tried to stop me, I absolutely refused to quit.
Right now, I was steadily moving forward toward becoming the villainess I had always longed to be.
(And then, to become a strong and cool villainess, I will need overwhelming charisma that makes the people around me submit.)
I studied how one should behave as someone in a position above others, and conversational techniques for moving people.
(To move people, it is important not to criticize them but to praise them. It is also important to take a genuine interest in them and think about their benefit and fulfill it for them. I see. This is profound.)
I immediately put it into practice on the maids around me.
It seemed that the maids were trembling in awe before the overwhelming charisma possessed by the future villainess.
(Making adults submit to me at the age of five—could it be that I’m a genius?!)
I could not help but feel thrilled by results even greater than I had expected.
(Heh heh heh. The plan is progressing steadily.)
Practicing villainess-like poses in front of a mirror, I curled my lips upward.
Until about the middle of her fifth year, Lady Mythia had been known among the maids as a selfish child with a bad personality.
‘This defective thing is inedible! It doesn’t taste good at all!’
She had the wild attitude typical of a noble child raised in indulgence, behaving as though causing trouble were only natural.
There was no one who would admonish her.
And the adults around her seemed to think that was only natural as well, while the suffering of the maids did not even appear to enter their field of vision.
(In this country, it is normal for nobles to think of commoners as no better than livestock…)
For a maid born a commoner, working in the household of a noble of the magical kingdom was like being in hell.
‘You can’t even do something that simple? This is why commoners are worthless.’
The daily abuse and violence repeated by the nobles.
A terrible working environment.
An endless series of outrageous incidents that could make one want to cry.
And yet, amid such days, something unexpected happened.
From one particular day onward, Mythia changed as if she were a completely different person.
A composure and way of speaking one would never expect from a child.
She devoured difficult books meant for adults and continued studying all day of her own will.
Above all, the thing that changed most was the way she treated the people around her.
She missed not a single gesture or movement, and thanked them even for the smallest things.
She found their good points and praised them, and even when they failed, she never got angry at all.
When they spoke of something they wanted, she bought it and gave it to them as a present.
“Thank you for always working for my sake. This is only a little thing, but it is a token of my gratitude. I am truly grateful to you, Ciel.”
(That Lady Mythia, who used to be more selfish than anyone else…)
Ciel, the maid who attended Lady Mythia, stared blankly at the unbelievable sight before her.
(To think she would become… become such an adorable child…!)
For Ciel, who had cared for Mythia since early childhood and watched her from the closest position, that sight was enough to move her deeply.
“I’m sorry for being so selfish all this time. From now on, I won’t be selfish anymore. If you do not mind, I would be happy if you would stay by my side from now on as well.”
Ciel carefully stored those words away in the deepest part of her heart.
(She is so tiny, yet she is trying so hard to act mature and grown-up—Lady Mythia is precious, beloved, far too angelic…!)
Ciel thought.
(I absolutely must protect this child’s gentle heart.)
Mythia had no idea that she was being adored in a direction completely different from that of a villainess.
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