My Sister the Heroine, and I the Villainess – 12

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“I agree with you on the point of it not being easy, but….fufufufuh. But don’t you have something more important to tell me, Mariwa?”

“Indeed I do. It’s Miss Toinette, my lady.”

 

No. That’s not it at all.

Did she know and was only refusing to say it? Did she really not know? In any case, it seemed that it would be necessary for me to put it into clear words.

 

“Mariwa. At this last ball, I was able to exceed your teachings by far and conduct myself in a more than perfect manner!”

 

I ignored her usual corrections and boasted to her of my accomplishment.

Perhaps she could not focus due to the brilliance of my report, because Mariwa squinted her eyes ever so slightly.

 

“Oh. Far exceeding my teachings, is it?”

“Yes! I was flawless like the full moon that will rise in tonight’s sky! You can ask my father, he was with me the whole time, if you do not believe it. I was able to showcase a lady that far exceeded your expectations!”

 

I continued to boast. After all, even my father had asked, ‘Are you really Christina?’ Sooner or later, the name of Christina Noir, daughter of the duke, would spread with her fame through all of society.

And so it was only natural for me to smile and demand Mariwa to give me what I deserved.

 

“Now, Mariwa! Shower me with praise. And you should also give me many pats on the head!”

 

With a big smile, I offered my head to her.

While Mariwa tended to believe that hitting me had its benefits, she would never strike without purpose. And now I was not only blameless but deserving of much praise. Mariwa would surely have no choice but to say ‘good child, what a good child’ and pat me on the head.

 

“…Let me see.”

 

That warm palm that I felt that day in the pantry. I smiled with expectations of that warmth being placed on my head.

 

Finally, Mariwa’s hand was placed on top of my offered head.

For some reason, in the shape of a clenched fist.

 

“Huh?”

 

I looked dumbfounded by the inconceivable shape of Mariwa’s hand.

Why was it in the shape of the rock that strikes all in this world, instead of the paper that sweetly accepts everything? My heart wondered at this pure question, but the sight that lay before my eyes was one of cruelty.

For before my eyes stood the man-eating fiend Mariwa, whose icy glare held not a shred of kindness.

 

“Um, Mariwa…?”

“Yes? My lady, Chris.”

 

My uncertain voice should have triggered an instinct to protect, but instead, a voice so frightening that it turned my blood cold was what came back.

At this point, my instincts were telling me that I was in grave danger, but it was too late. Without warning, her fist drove straight into my scalp.

 

“It is exactly as you say. Leaping into the royal flower gardens and destroying the flower beds was an action far exceeding anything that I have ever taught you. Yes, just as you said. You so thoroughly exceeded my expectations. I am sure that you are resigned to your fate now?”

“Agahadadhaghh. But how did you find out!?”

 

Author: 佐藤真登