“You really are a smart girl, Ilse~. It would have been miserable to cling to someone who doesn’t love you back, wouldn’t it?” Esther said with a triumphant look on her face.
Wow. She’s so filled with her misguided sense of accomplishment over having ‘stolen’ Tristan from me, that she doesn’t even notice how the man himself is staring blankly in shock.
Somehow, her confidence and overenthusiasm just fills me with pity.
“That’s right. You have to cut your losses as early you can. It’s best to just sell off what’s no longer valuable to whoever wants it most.”
“You’re a very peculiar woman, to be so pleased at being foisted with a pointless loss,” Joshua said.
“Joshua, you have to remember that every person’s taste is different.”
“Huh? Loss?” Esther, who probably expected to face a sore loser, seemed confused by our unanticipated words.
Life must be pretty tough when your brain’s processing speed is so low.
“I’m sorry I can only offer you my hand-me-downs, but they’re yours if you want them. I could wrap them with a ribbon if you’d like,” I said, feigning kindness. Esther’s cheeks flushed, noticing she was being made fun of.
“What? Ilse just has no idea what Tristan is worth~!”
“Oh, you’re right. I really don’t. Not even a little. I think you’ll understand soon enough, Miss Jones. You’re very fortunate, Tristan, to have someone who appreciates all those strengths of yours that I couldn’t find even with a magnifying glass.”
“You’re just a bad judge of character, Ilse~.”
“Yeah, I guess so. By the way, what do you actually like about Tristan?” I asked, genuinely curious.
Tristan slowly raised his head, turning hopeful eyes towards Esther, who suddenly seemed uncharacteristically nervous under our gaze.
Please don’t tell me you can’t think of anything.
I peered down at Esther’s face, pressuring her, and her cheeks started to twitch.
“…T-there are so many things! He’s kind, has a wonderful manly face, and comes from a great family. He has many friends… Which means he’s very kind!”
Oh, wow, that was even shallower than expected. How am I even supposed to react to something like that?
“Anyways~, Tristan makes me happy just by being there~!”
“Oh, Esther!”
Esther’s enthusiasm managed to successfully deceive Tristan, who looked at her with admiring eyes. I don’t really get it, but it something she said must have managed to touch his heart.
“I was also moved by your kindness and loveliness. Yeah, That’s right—I’ve always thought that Ilse and I couldn’t get along. She always looked down on me as if I was an idiot. You, on the other hand, compliment me no matter what I do! Esther really is the one I’ve been searching for!” Tristan exclaimed fiercely, having regained his energy.
“Well, that’s fine with me.”
“Still, does he really expect to be praised for everything? Is he a three-year-old?”
“But look, that was enough for him to recover, just like that.”
“That was easy. Maybe he really is an infant.”
Joshua and I exchanged whispers while blankly looking at Esther and Tristan, who were holding hands and excitedly staring at each other’s eyes.
“I’m so glad you understand, Tristan!”
“You’re the only one for me, Esther. I knew it from the beginning. Will you go out with me?”
“Oh, Tristan~! I always knew this day would come!”
They hugged each other, spilling tears. I feel like if I just left them like this, they would suddenly start singing musical songs.
People who get drunk on themselves sure are a pain in the ass.
Suddenly, Tristan looked at me with an unusually brisk expression on his face.
“Ilse. I’m sorry, but I’m breaking off our engagement. I have found my true love.”
“No, I told you, it’s already been broken.”
I really do hate this about him. As soon as I started thinking about it again, I felt like I was going to snap, recalling all the years I had to meekly follow this guy.
“Lady.”
Just as I started thinking like the Earth was about to swallow me, Joshua poked me gently on the cheek.
I mustn’t do this. I am the proud daughter of an aristocrat. I hurriedly put on an elegant smile.
“That’s enough. Don’t worry about it. I’m absolutely fine with this. You two are a perfect fit for each other—There’s no room for me to get involved. You don’t need to worry about me for even a second; just forget about me and live out your love life. Really. Forget about me, and don’t ever bother me again.”
I spoke with an involuntary vigor. If the two of them can stick together, they’ll have no reason to ever bother me again.
Looking back, Tristan didn’t even defend me when his mother, who was to be my mother-in-law, mistreated me. When I came to report to them that through desperate effort, I finally managed to rebuild my parents’ house, she smiled and said, “It really is advantageous for a woman to have a pretty face, isn’t it?”
And when I warned him about skipping classes to play around instead of studying what he’ll need to know to inherit his house, he said, “but I don’t have to do anything to become the head of the family.” And that was when I finally gave up on him.
But those days are all over now.
“Please be happy.”
I smiled earnestly and sincerely wished for their happiness, then bowed smoothly and left.
With this, I will finally be able to stop worrying about the future. I walked lightly down the hallway in a good mood before suddenly noticing something.
“Wait a moment. I’m not a Villainess at all, am I?”
“You were more like a cupid, really.”
“Oh well. I’ll just focus on eliminating anyone who gets in my way. Muhahaha!”
“Ooh, that’s more like it.”
I accidentally ended up doing some good deeds, but I feel refreshed, so whatever.
I was happy with my decision, and just like that, a month passed. But then, all of a sudden, something happened that once again shattered the peaceful life I had finally regained.
I received the shocking news that Esther and Tristan broke up.
“You really are a smart girl, Ilse~. It would have been miserable to cling to someone who doesn’t love you back, wouldn’t it?” Esther said with a triumphant look on her face.
Wow. She’s so filled with her misguided sense of accomplishment over having ‘stolen’ Tristan from me, that she doesn’t even notice how the man himself is staring blankly in shock.
Somehow, her confidence and overenthusiasm just fills me with pity.
“That’s right. You have to cut your losses as early you can. It’s best to just sell off what’s no longer valuable to whoever wants it most.”
“You’re a very peculiar woman, to be so pleased at being foisted with a pointless loss,” Joshua said.
“Joshua, you have to remember that every person’s taste is different.”
“Huh? Loss?” Esther, who probably expected to face a sore loser, seemed confused by our unanticipated words.
Life must be pretty tough when your brain’s processing speed is so low.
“I’m sorry I can only offer you my hand-me-downs, but they’re yours if you want them. I could wrap them with a ribbon if you’d like,” I said, feigning kindness. Esther’s cheeks flushed, noticing she was being made fun of.
“What? Ilse just has no idea what Tristan is worth~!”
“Oh, you’re right. I really don’t. Not even a little. I think you’ll understand soon enough, Miss Jones. You’re very fortunate, Tristan, to have someone who appreciates all those strengths of yours that I couldn’t find even with a magnifying glass.”
“You’re just a bad judge of character, Ilse~.”
“Yeah, I guess so. By the way, what do you actually like about Tristan?” I asked, genuinely curious.
Tristan slowly raised his head, turning hopeful eyes towards Esther, who suddenly seemed uncharacteristically nervous under our gaze.
Please don’t tell me you can’t think of anything.
I peered down at Esther’s face, pressuring her, and her cheeks started to twitch.
“…T-there are so many things! He’s kind, has a wonderful manly face, and comes from a great family. He has many friends… Which means he’s very kind!”
Oh, wow, that was even shallower than expected. How am I even supposed to react to something like that?
“Anyways~, Tristan makes me happy just by being there~!”
“Oh, Esther!”
Esther’s enthusiasm managed to successfully deceive Tristan, who looked at her with admiring eyes. I don’t really get it, but it something she said must have managed to touch his heart.
“I was also moved by your kindness and loveliness. Yeah, That’s right—I’ve always thought that Ilse and I couldn’t get along. She always looked down on me as if I was an idiot. You, on the other hand, compliment me no matter what I do! Esther really is the one I’ve been searching for!” Tristan exclaimed fiercely, having regained his energy.
“Well, that’s fine with me.”
“Still, does he really expect to be praised for everything? Is he a three-year-old?”
“But look, that was enough for him to recover, just like that.”
“That was easy. Maybe he really is an infant.”
Joshua and I exchanged whispers while blankly looking at Esther and Tristan, who were holding hands and excitedly staring at each other’s eyes.
“I’m so glad you understand, Tristan!”
“You’re the only one for me, Esther. I knew it from the beginning. Will you go out with me?”
“Oh, Tristan~! I always knew this day would come!”
They hugged each other, spilling tears. I feel like if I just left them like this, they would suddenly start singing musical songs.
People who get drunk on themselves sure are a pain in the ass.
Suddenly, Tristan looked at me with an unusually brisk expression on his face.
“Ilse. I’m sorry, but I’m breaking off our engagement. I have found my true love.”
“No, I told you, it’s already been broken.”
I really do hate this about him. As soon as I started thinking about it again, I felt like I was going to snap, recalling all the years I had to meekly follow this guy.
“Lady.”
Just as I started thinking like the Earth was about to swallow me, Joshua poked me gently on the cheek.
I mustn’t do this. I am the proud daughter of an aristocrat. I hurriedly put on an elegant smile.
“That’s enough. Don’t worry about it. I’m absolutely fine with this. You two are a perfect fit for each other—There’s no room for me to get involved. You don’t need to worry about me for even a second; just forget about me and live out your love life. Really. Forget about me, and don’t ever bother me again.”
I spoke with an involuntary vigor. If the two of them can stick together, they’ll have no reason to ever bother me again.
Looking back, Tristan didn’t even defend me when his mother, who was to be my mother-in-law, mistreated me. When I came to report to them that through desperate effort, I finally managed to rebuild my parents’ house, she smiled and said, “It really is advantageous for a woman to have a pretty face, isn’t it?”
And when I warned him about skipping classes to play around instead of studying what he’ll need to know to inherit his house, he said, “but I don’t have to do anything to become the head of the family.” And that was when I finally gave up on him.
But those days are all over now.
“Please be happy.”
I smiled earnestly and sincerely wished for their happiness, then bowed smoothly and left.
With this, I will finally be able to stop worrying about the future. I walked lightly down the hallway in a good mood before suddenly noticing something.
“Wait a moment. I’m not a Villainess at all, am I?”
“You were more like a cupid, really.”
“Oh well. I’ll just focus on eliminating anyone who gets in my way. Muhahaha!”
“Ooh, that’s more like it.”
I accidentally ended up doing some good deeds, but I feel refreshed, so whatever.
I was happy with my decision, and just like that, a month passed. But then, all of a sudden, something happened that once again shattered the peaceful life I had finally regained.
I received the shocking news that Esther and Tristan broke up.
