Chapter 4

You met the villainess, albeit earlier than she was supposed to appear.

You were pruning the shrubs of the castle's garden while a few fellow maids chatted beside you, gossiping on the latest trend or any interesting events in the castle. Or just plain fawning over the king and the prince.

You eye-rolled.

It wasn't until one of the subjects of their gossip, Prince Helios, came with a stormy expression. Following him was a girl with ruby red hair, emerald green eyes, a rosy complexion with freckles dotting her cheeks, and a - honestly - slender figure.

The villainess, you realized as she hopped behind the crown prince with a smile and a blush dusting her cheeks. She wore a lavender gown with intricate designs at the end of the dress, puffed-up sleeves, and the back exposed.

'She's not supposed to show up until later in the story.'

Roxy was a noble girl from one of the most respected noble families in the kingdom, The Marches. In the novel she was the typical spoiled girl who would get what she wants through any means, obsessing over the prince at first sight. She was typically jealous of Stella because the princess got the attention of not only the princes from other kingdoms but also the prodigy of the wizard king!

So she would do anything to bring Stella down, if it meant embarrassing her, mocking her things, etc. Her personality was that of a minor antagonist. It shocked so many people when they realized she was the actual villainess when she appeared in the last few chapters. Her jealousy and rage were so large that she dared to get her hands on the forbidden dark jewel, stolen from the underworld hundreds of years ago. The battle between her, Stella, and her harem was a frustrating one since - from what you read in the forum - a lot of people wanted Roxy dead faster. You just found it entertaining.

So you were surprised to see the villainess early in the story.

As Roxy continued to chat happily with the prince, the latter's face became darker with rage. If she continues, the prince will reach his limit of patience and might cause a commotion. And you don't want that. But you have to approach this carefully, an angry prince who's trying to restrain his said emotion is dangerous after all.

Dusting yourself off the dirt, you walked toward the prince and the noble girl with as much confidence and poise as possible. "Your highness," you curtsied to the prince before at Roxy. "Milady," you straightened up, both the prince and noble girl's eyes on you. "If you may allow, may I ask why are you not with his majesty discussing your coronation?"

Helios's face which was previously dark with anger lightened up, albeit a bit, from your interruption. "Yuu, " he nodded. "Father wanted me to. . ." he scowled at Roxy with disdain before looking back at you. "Acquaint me with the daughter of the Marches, Lady Roxy." As if on cue, Roxy smiled brightly at you. "Hello!" she greeted. "I'm Roxy from the Marches family, please take good care of me!"

You tilted your head as you replied. This was not how Roxy acted in the novel. Usually, she looks down on the servants of any household, holding her nose high and scoffing with arrogance. And this Roxy wasn't doing any of those leaving you to come to two conclusions. One Roxy bumped her head and had amnesia or two, she's also a reincarnate.

The second one wouldn't be too surprising since you're one.

You brushed a strand of hair that went to your face. "Well, I hope you enjoyed your stay here, my lady." Roxy smiled at you charmingly. "I hope so too."

After that, the prince and the noble girl headed inside, Roxy clinging to Helios's arm, much to his annoyance. You pondered as you went back to pruning the shrubs. Roxy's definitely a reincarnate, that conclusion was rational enough to explain her joyful and bright personality.

But the question is what kind of person was she in her past life? For all you know, she could be wearing a mask. You have to deduct the possible personality types she could be. For one, she could be like you, trying to live her second life without any issues so she's trying to build good or neutral relationships with the charm - people is the right word for this case. They're not characters from a book anymore, they're real people.

The second one is the fangirl, she might have a certain goal to achieve which is either to try to help the protagonist with her harem, get one of the love interests, or just to acquire a harem. Perhaps she got that idea from that anime 'The Villainess is trying to avoid the death flags' and the numerous webtoons that had the protagonist unintentionally acquire a harem.

You hope you don't get one.

The third one is the standby, which is that she doesn't want to be a part of the plot at all and will try to be at the side at all times. This is quite understandable in her role as the villainess and her fate at the end.

——-

You decided to visit the training ground where the knights were training. You didn't get to last since you had a distraction in the form of Liam and Helios, much to your amusement. So you took this opportunity of free time to do so.

The training grounds were at the side of the castle, a large field with a drawn rectangle of salt for the knights to spar while others did exercises out of it. The commander was a minor love interest named Cole, he was the youngest commander in this era and is one of the few commoners to hold a dragon, the Jupiter dragon.

You looked around at the training knights, some passing by with a wink while others did push-ups and sit-ups at the sides. You spotted the young commander immediately when you saw dark green hair whipping around as he sparred with a recruit.

From what you remember, he was 21 when he was promoted to commander and 22 when he met Stella. It wasn't the love at first sight like Jacob, but it was more of an interest raised. He was exactly as he described in the book; choppy dark green hair that he somehow pulled off, fair skin muscles that bulged with every movement of the sword he held, and sharp yellow eagle eyes that will intimidate the fiercest of recruits.

He wore a training shirt with the training pants and boots, and a wooden sword for his weapon. You watched as he parried a recruit's sword with experience before blocking an attack from above, eyes never leaving his opponent.

'He's good,' you noted as his feet pivoted to move direction.'But he has a small opening.' From what you learned, the kingdom's form of self-defense mostly focuses on protecting the torso and arms, hence the sword always going for the arms before delivering the blow to the torso. But they never focus on the feet.

If one would swipe at their feet and make their opponent lose balance, they will have the advantage to quickly deliver a blow before their opponent could get up. One of the flaws you learned from reading and watching the show before you.

The recruit went down with a thud before a sword's tip was pointed at his neck. You quirked your lips as you applauded the commander, gaining the knights and commander Cole's attention. "Ah, Ms. Yuu!" One of the knights exclaimed to which you chuckled as you walked up to the commander.

Your hands clasped behind you as you nodded at every knight who greeted you. When you reached the commander, who had a half-smile with half-lidded eyes. "That was quite the show you put on, Commander Cole." The said man flushed at the tips of his ears, increasing your amusement.

'Ah, a shy boy.'

One of the knights laughed in merriment at the commanders' embarrassment. "He's a keeper alright, all he needs is to find a woman that'll satisfy him!"

"Right! Perhaps a woman with big breasts might do!"

"Don't be daft! It's the ones with the big bottoms that make the dream!"

Cole looked uncomfortable at the attention."Stop. . ."

At every vulgar comment about women, a tinge of annoyance would be felt in your chest. Sexism at its finest. You heaved a deep sigh, cooling your previous anger, before picking up the wooden sword that the recruit dropped. "I see," you inspected the sword before pointing it at the commander, earning a multitude of gasps. "Would you like to spar with me? I'm quite curious about what holes you have."

This earned a roar of anger amongst the knights, with only a few not protesting. One was Cole, who looked at you in surprise.

"How dare a woman to challenge our commander!?"

"She needs to be taught a lesson!"

"Put her back in her place!"

You stared at Cole, unwavering at the insults and threats being thrown your way. You could always defend yourself, but that might put you in trouble with the king. But for some odd reason, you doubt that the king would punish you, odd favoritism of some sort.

You watched as Cole raised his hand, demanding silence. The knights immediately quieted down. His gaze was unreadable as he looked at you, the wind blew through his locks and in yours, sending some strands to your face.

"Very well." That was his response.