The Path To Becoming A Villainess (2)

I continued studying with the books Vincent brought me.

On rainy days, windy days, and even days when I felt a little sick, I practiced magic for at least eight hours every single day.

It had been discovered that I had no aptitude for anything besides household magic, but looked at another way, that meant I could use household magic.

I had not measured it since I was seven, but my raw magical power itself had been on the higher side even among my brothers and sisters.

If I kept piling up effort to improve my magical power and magical technique, then it should not be impossible for household magic to defeat standard magic.

“Go! ‘Magic to Water Plants’!”

“Ah, water came out! Amazing, Lady Mythia!”

“No, this much is only the beginning. If I, who have continued training to raise my magical power, put my full strength into it, then even household magic should be able to release high-output spells.”

“But I’ve never heard of that before…”

“Common sense exists to be broken! Go! Super ‘Magic to Water Plants’!”

“The force of the water got just a tiny bit stronger.”

“…………”

There were days when I wiped the soaked floor with a sad heart.

“Today we’re practicing ‘Magic to Make Ice for Drinks.’”

“I see, that’s a nicely sized piece of ice.”

“What matters starts here. No matter how simply you pour magical power into it, the spell formula’s effect has its limits. In that case, we win with numbers. I’ll layer the spell formula over and over and force the output higher by brute strength.”

“But I’ve never heard of that either…”

“I learned from that failure. I’ll show you, Ciel. My power, grown and awakened. Go! Super ‘Magic to Make Ice for Drinks’!”

“W-what an amount of ice! There’s so much that the overflowing ice has bent Lady Mythia’s neck at an incredible angle!”

“Ababababababa.”

“I’ll save you right now! Please don’t die, Lady Mythia!”

There were days when I failed and nearly broke my neck.

“Today we’re practicing ‘Magic to Light a Cigarette.’”

“Are you sure about this, Lady Mythia…? You said the last time was a failure, and fire is dangerous no matter how you look at it.”

“There is absolutely, completely, not-even-a-little problem at all, Vincent. In the end, it’s only the sort of magic second-rate merchants use at social gatherings to curry favor with nobles. More importantly, I have grown through failure.”

“However…”

“Overprotective Ciel would try to stop me, so today is my only chance since she isn’t here! This time I’ll show you my true power! Go! Super ‘Magic to Light a Cigarette’!”

“Amazing! What splendid magical control, Lady Mythia. To avoid burning yourself at all and transform only your hair into a jet-black afro.”

“Y-yes. This is a success. Sniff, hic…”

There were days when I wept in front of the mirror, but I continued to thoroughly train myself in pursuit of becoming a villainess.

“You’ve grown so much, Mythia.”

It was on one such day that Mother came to see me.

“Your hair especially has become very impressive. How should I put it… it’s innovative. I think it’s lovely. I want you to be the version of yourself that you like, Mythia.”

Her kindness sank deep into me.

I resolved to master “Magic to Beautifully Treat Hair” as soon as possible and regain my glossy long hair worthy of a villainess.

It seemed Mother had come to see me in secret, even from Father.

Compared to the last time I had seen her, she looked considerably thinner.

The air was still and cold.

Floating dust glimmered as it reflected the light of the magic lamp.

There was something I had always wanted to ask Mother.

Why had she protected me that day when my magical aptitude was appraised?

In noble society, raising children was the role of servants.

Since Mother was busy with her duties as the countess, I had almost no opportunities to interact with her.

That was why Mother’s appearance that day had been such a surprise to me.

No one had ever protected me like that before, including in my previous life, so the warmth I felt when she embraced me that day still remained inside me even now.

“Why did you try so desperately to save me that day?”

When I asked, Mother said nothing.

She fell silent as though searching for words.

Then she spoke.

“I spent my whole life playing the version of myself that the people around me wanted. Going along with them, reading the room. I kept telling myself that all the things in noble society that felt wrong must actually be right. I never had the courage to insist on my own thoughts.”

Mother said,

“That was why I was so surprised when I heard about you from the maids. Without anyone telling you to, you studied of your own will and tried to become a fine person in your own right. I could hardly believe such a daughter had been born from someone like me. I was secretly proud of your existence. You gave me courage by making me feel that even inside cowardly me, there was a strong part like yours.”

Mother lowered her eyes and continued.

“That was why, on that day, I knew I had to protect you no matter what. I could not keep making excuses that I was only cowardly. This was something I had to do. If I could only show courage once in my life, then it had to be here. Thanks to you, I was able to become, just a little, the person I had always wanted to be.”

Mother’s hand touched my hair.

The soft pads of her fingers gently stroked my head.

“No matter what happens, you will absolutely be all right. You may do anything. You may say anything. No matter what anyone thinks of you, there is no need to care. I will always be on your side. Don’t forget that. Even if I go to a world a little far away and can no longer see you.”

Mother said,

“Thank you for being born. I love you.”

I instinctively understood that through those words, Mother was trying to convey something precious to me.

Something important that could never be fully conveyed through words, no matter what words were used.

It was two weeks later that I was told Mother had died.

Holding back my tears, I practiced magic more than usual.

Because if I was not doing something, I felt like I would cry.

That was not what the cool villainess I admired would do.

Thanks to my efforts, “Magic to Beautifully Treat Hair” succeeded safely, and I was able to regain glossy cuticles and the villainess-like long hair I wanted.

(I’ll destroy every rotten part of noble society that Mother had to endure all this time.)

It was immediately after that that I was dispatched, under the nominal title of acting lord, to the frontier territory—the land of Lineage.

A ruined land, devastated by the oppression carried out against it as a place where inferior beings who could not use magic lived.

It had no industry of any kind, and was not suited for agriculture either.

Public order continued to worsen, and contagious disease was spreading due to terrible malnutrition.

The most dangerous place in the magical kingdom now.

The maids had tears in their eyes, saying, “Lady Mythia is going to such a dangerous place…,” but in my chest there was expectation and determination.

(I absolutely will not lose to rioters or epidemics. I will become the greatest villainess in the world.)

Holding that strong resolve in my heart, I gazed toward the eastern sky.

(Watch over me, Mother.)