The Villainous Noblewoman Is About to Be Forced into Love, Isn't This Wrong?-Chapter 94: Vivian approach

"If you lock the door, no one will be able to enter later. If Liana needs help when she wakes up feeling sore, someone has to be there. This is for her own good."

As the two walked downstairs, they found Loraviel already waiting there on time.

"Your Highness, Lady Minoja." Loraviel and Olivia bowed to the two of them.

"Why are you here so early today, Loraviel?" Mepeilu asked. "The festival’s opening ceremonies are over, so there’s no need to wake Liana up this early, is there?"

"Yes, so I was just waiting outside. If Her Highness Liana needs anything, I can go to her immediately. Without her permission, I cannot return to the estate," Loraviel replied.

"You must always be ready to appear the moment your master calls for you?"

"My maids will take good care of Liana. Consider this time a short break for you. As for Liana's affairs during this period, I will handle them, so there’s no need for you to worry too much," Mepeilu said. "If you want to buy anything or go shopping, feel free to do so. Anything you spend in the Lisat royal capital will be covered by me."

"Thank you, Your Highness, but there’s no need. The festival is nearly over, isn’t it? There's no point in causing unnecessary trouble for either Liana or you during these last few days," Loraviel said.

"Alright, I understand."

Mepeilu didn’t say much more. After exchanging a few words with them, she left.

...

Not long after they departed, Vivian, who was supposed to be in the basement, appeared on the first floor instead. She first confirmed that the two had left before locking the main entrance—ensuring no one could come in and interrupt her.

Vivian reached for the key to Mepeilu’s room from her brooch, but when she tried to unlock the door, she realized it hadn’t been locked in the first place.

"Princess Mepeilu is far too careless," Vivian muttered, opening the door. Once inside, she locked it behind her.

She approached Liana.

Even in her sleep, Liana sensed something amiss and abruptly opened her eyes.

[Create: Gemstone Longsword.]

A gemstone-encrusted longsword materialized in Liana’s hand just in time to block the silver dagger that was coming toward her.

"Good morning, Your Highness Liana."

"Ahhh!" Liana let out a pained cry.

"Shit! My hands hurt like hell! My muscles are cramping all over!"

Even the slightest movement sent waves of pain through her body, let alone the force she had just used to clash blades.

But that wasn’t the main issue right now. No matter how much it hurt, she had to endure it.

"Vivian?" Liana looked at the woman holding the dagger without a hint of panic on her face. "Are you testing me?"

"Her Highness Liana isn’t quite as the rumors say—you're not someone who can’t use magic," Vivian remarked.

"There were simpler, safer ways to test that, weren’t there?"

"Rest assured, Your Highness. I am very precise with my strikes. There was never any real danger," Vivian said.

Indeed, if Vivian had truly wanted to kill her, Liana wouldn’t have had time to react at all. And if that were her goal, there would have been no reason to cause such a commotion.

"What do you want?" Liana asked.

"In the four years I’ve lived in the Lisat Kingdom, I’ve heard about you from time to time," Vivian said, wiping her silver dagger with a cloth. "Of course, I never deliberately sought out information about you."

"If there's anyone in Lisat I care about, it’s only the one who saved me—Her Highness Mepeilu, and Lady Milenja."

"So, if Your Highness has remained unharmed, it’s entirely because Princess Mepeilu often speaks of you."

"Although your name is... quite a mismatch for your image."

"Even so, you're not as you were in the past."

"I wanted to confirm something for myself. But in any case, that’s not the main issue."

"Then what is? Why attack me so suddenly?" Liana asked.

"Her Highness Mepeilu is a truly, truly kind person. She is gentle, warm, almost like an angel—she gave me a second chance at life."

"A second chance?" From what Mepeilu had told her yesterday, Liana had already guessed that Vivian was referring to protecting her sister.

"Her Highness Mepeilu cares about you deeply. I also noticed that about a month ago, she suddenly became much happier. She smiled more often."

"But... I don’t believe you," Vivian continued. "Judging from your past actions, I think it’s very likely that you are merely pretending to be close to her to use her."

That made sense. If Liana put herself in the position of an outsider looking at this situation objectively, it was only natural to have doubts.

For example, if her own sister—Aileen—brought back a notorious villainess who had spent nearly five years playing the role of an antagonist and then told her, ‘She’s changed now,’ Liana wouldn’t believe it either. She’d assume the person was scheming to take advantage of them.

"So, what do you plan to do with me? Do you want me to leave Mepeilu?" Liana asked.

"I won’t do anything. I only came to talk to you."

"Talk about what?"

"If you genuinely mean well for Her Highness Mepeilu, then I welcome you. But if you ever do anything to harm her, I will kill you without hesitation. My life ended two years ago," Vivian said.

"Don't think that if you tell Her Highness about this, I'll be forced to hold back. If you don't intend to harm me, then there’s no need to be afraid of me."

"I am always prepared for a one-to-one exchange."

Liana had somewhat expected this. If what Mepeilu said about Vivian was true, then hearing something like this from her wasn’t surprising.

"I understand."

"You don’t seem particularly afraid," Vivian observed.

"Why would I be? You just said you wouldn’t hurt me," Liana said quickly. "But tell me—are you saying this as a maid? Or as a sister?"

Vivian’s expression wavered slightly. "What does that have to do with you?"

"Nothing at all. I just think that, like Mepeilu’s sister, you must be a very good one too," Liana replied.

"...I am not a good sister."

"If she had truly been a good sister, her own little sister wouldn’t have died. She would have been able to protect her."

"But how do you define what it means to be ‘good’? I don’t really understand."

"By the results, huh? Sure, the outcome is important, but does that mean everything you've done up to that point is meaningless?"

"For example, take Mepeilu. You’ve seen firsthand how much she’s done for me. Should her actions be judged solely by the final result? If I had died back then, would you say she was an unqualified sister?" Liana asked.

But Vivian nodded. "Yes. Princess Mepeilu is, without a doubt, an unqualified sister."

"Eh?" Liana hadn’t expected that answer.

"If Princess Mepeilu had already made the decision to spare you, then she shouldn’t have allowed you to continue making mistakes. Even if she had to use forceful measures—like locking you up—it would have been better than letting you go unchecked," Vivian said.

"......"

"She’s not wrong," Liana admitted to herself. "Sometimes, being a little more forceful might be the better approach."

"And if Mepeilu had been more forceful, she might have had more people supporting her."

"If that’s the case, then isn’t it the same for you? If you had just gotten rid of me from the beginning, none of these problems would exist, right?" Liana countered.

"That’s exactly why I said you are an unqualified sister," Vivian muttered, lowering her head with a dejected look.

"Wait, hold on a second?"

"So, if we’re looking at the results, was Mepeilu wrong?" Liana pressed. "Isn’t she moving toward something better now?"

"If you had killed me back then, things might have turned out differently. But that would also mean that Mepeilu would have never realized how magic could change things, right?"

"And what you're doing now—aren’t you also protecting Mepeilu in your own way? If you're using that logic to deny yourself, aren’t you also denying Mepeilu?"

"...Pfft." Vivian took a deep breath before suddenly laughing.

"No wonder Liana likes sweets so much. You sure know how to talk. You’re nothing like the rumors say."

"Your Highness Liana, you really are different from what I’ve heard. I don’t fully understand what happened between you and Princess Mepeilu, nor do I know if this kind of change could have happened in another lifetime. I trust Princess Mepeilu’s judgment, but I still won’t take back what I said."

"She probably means that if I ever do anything to harm Mepeilu, she won’t hesitate to blow herself up along with me."

"Then I should accept it." Liana shrugged.

"I hope so. I’d rather not have to go through with it."

Vivian lightly ran a fingertip along the edge of her dagger as she casually delivered her threat.

"Do all maids love using daggers as weapons?" Liana asked curiously.

Loraviel, Nepitot, and now Vivian—each of them wielded a dagger as their primary weapon.

"Daggers are easy to carry, easy to conceal, and easy to dispose of. For women, they make the most suitable weapons." Vivian sheathed her dagger before grasping the hem of her skirt and giving Liana a polite bow. "Now then, let’s start over."

"Good morning, Your Highness Liana."

"Good morning?"

"Breakfast has been prepared for you, but judging by your current state, I don’t think you’ll be able to eat on your own," Vivian said.

"What do you—ow!"

The moment the tension from Vivian’s presence disappeared, Liana’s body relaxed, and she was hit with an overwhelming wave of soreness. She immediately collapsed onto the bed. "Help me, Vivian."

Every tiny movement sent sharp pain through her arms.

"It looks like you won’t be using the training grounds today... or for the next few days, for that matter," Vivian remarked.

"Is that really the most important thing right now?!" Liana groaned, unwilling to move an inch.

Even the slightest motion made her muscles scream in protest.

"Still, the training grounds need to be maintained regularly. After all, considering what just happened, Princess Mepeilu will probably be using them more frequently in the future," Vivian murmured to herself.

"Hey!" Liana protested. "Are you holding a grudge or something? No, wait! We don’t even have a grudge! I haven’t done anything to Mepeilu lately! I swear!"

Vivian looked at Liana. "You'll need a little... intimate assistance. I’ll leave that to your personal maid."

Liana blinked. "Huh? What does that mean?"

But before she could ask further, Vivian opened the door and walked out.

"Hey! Don’t just leave me like that!"

Vivian made her way downstairs and opened the entrance to the residence.

"Lady Olivia, you're still here."

"Guarding Her Highness’s residence is my duty," Olivia replied robotically.

"I should have just chosen to be Princess Mepeilu’s gatekeeper back then," Vivian muttered to herself. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

She turned her gaze toward Loraviel. "You are Her Highness Liana’s personal maid, correct?"

"Yes. Why?" Loraviel nodded.

"Her Highness Liana has run into a little trouble. She needs your assistance," Vivian stated.

"Liana’s in trouble?!" Loraviel’s expression immediately tensed. "What happened? What kind of trouble?!"

"Don’t overreact. It’s nothing serious," Vivian said.

"It just requires a bit of... close contact. And I believe you’d be more suited to help her than I would."

"???"

"???"

Both Olivia and Loraviel had large question marks above their heads.

"Close contact? What do you mean?" Olivia asked first. If it was something serious, there was no way she’d allow Loraviel to go in alone.

"Her Highness Liana has some muscle strain and needs someone to massage her. There will be some physical contact involved. As an outsider, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to do it. But as her personal maid, Loraviel should be the most suitable person for the job," Vivian explained.

"Oh... That’s all?" Loraviel had been expecting something far worse.

"I see. I’ll go help her immediately."

"Then I’ll leave it to you, Lady Loraviel." Vivian stepped aside, allowing Loraviel to # Nоvеlight # go up.