The Perfect Villainess desu wa!

The afternoon sunlight filtered softly through the lace by the window.

In the room stood Koleha and Summer in academy uniforms. Her maid, Emma, was present as well.

Koleha Nyarlathotep was now fifteen years old.

Her beautifully lustrous purple hair was like a bouquet of balloonflowers — though aconite might suit better — and her sharp eyes were like a masterwork blade — though poison needles might fit better.

And without any special styling, her sidelocks curled into perfect ringlets.

It was the exact same villainess Koleha as she'd seen in the game's 3D model.

Standing before the mirror, Koleha swished the skirt of her academy uniform, raised a hand to her lips, and laughed grandly.

"Ooh-ho-ho-ho! A good day to you, Heroine… Fufu, don't make that face. I don't concern myself with the likes of you in the least, you see? You're no more than aphids clustering on flowers, aren't you?"

When she finished, she fixed her gaze on her own expression. The angle of the brows, the cold curl of her lips, the height of her gaze. Everything was calculated, but Koleha still wasn't satisfied.

"Is it a bit too sticky? Maybe the laugh needs a longer wind-up… Ooh-ho-ho-ho-ho! A good day to you, Heroine. Oh my, with the prince? Pressed so close, how indecorous. Are you unfamiliar with the manners of nobility?"

This time met Koleha's standards.

She nodded and reached for the tea set on the table.

"Good work, Ojou-sama!"

"Yes, Summer. With this, rehearsal is perfect. I can torment the Heroine and His Highness Harks any time, desu wa!"

"Cheaters deserve death. No mercy! Yeah!"

There was Summer, the former orphan who had risen from maid to lady's maid.

Summer, like Koleha, wore the academy uniform. She had successfully secured admission in the academy's lady's maid slot.

"Summer. Do not encourage Ojou-sama's rampages. I'm serious. Truly."

"Yes, Emma. Ojou-sama's joy is my joy! I will serve her at the academy with utmost devotion!"

"That's not the point, and you know it. You're doing this on purpose."

Emma, who had served first, interjected at Summer.

"We'll be relying on you at the academy, so you must keep a proper eye on Ojou-sama, Summer."

"But I want Ojou-sama to enjoy a wonderful academy life as her heart desires."

"Ojou-sama will be the future queen. It's time she tightened the reins."

"It's the opposite, Emma! Now is the last time she's allowed to cut loose!!"

Meanwhile, Koleha watched their bickering with a fond smile.

In any case, after she got her serves-you-right, she didn't plan to become queen; she would live at ease on medicinal herb income. Living on her own was easy, and she had more than enough passive income to hire two or three assistants.

Someday her younger brother would inherit and she would have to leave home, so perhaps she could start looking for a place to rent.

… Yes, Koleha was no longer the Nyarlathotep family's daughter and sole heir.

Thanks to work only parents could do, a younger brother seven years her junior, Motomoto Nyarlathotep, had been safely born.

At eight years old, Motomoto had already begun education as the next lord, and he even had a fiancée.

What's more, she was a young lady whose life had been saved by Koleha's medicinal herbs, so both the brother and his fiancée greatly respected Koleha.

Yare yare. Being a capable villainess is such a burden! Or so she thought, not displeased.

"Summer! Time for one more practice for next week's entrance, desu wa!"

"Yes, Ojou-sama! So Emma, let's end the debate here!"

"… Haaah… What exactly does His Highness Harks see in this Ojou-sama…"

Her engagement to Harks continued, and he visited regularly.

There were birthday gifts, and he escorted her at her debutante ball.

Each time, Koleha would sneer at Harks.

The prince would make a vexed 'grr' face each time, but for some reason his affection did not drop.

Koleha assumed it was because the game had not begun yet.

… In that case, she would laugh as much as she pleased and use him for stress relief, growing increasingly unrestrained.

Lately, Koleha had been losing more often at board games and getting teased back a little, but in the end, she still always won. One might say she played until she did.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!! I am the marquis's daughter, Koleha Nyarlathotep, desu wa———!!!"

Today again, the young lady's laughter resounded through the manor.

It was such a daily occurrence that both family and servants leisurely took it to mean, "Ah, it must be about lunchtime."