This Three Year Old Is a Villainess-Chapter 276

A few days later, the people of Mendea Village who had gone to the Chamber of Enforcement were released.

They puffed out their chests and triumphantly returned to the village.

“Oh, when we showed up with hoes, you should have seen how flustered those Astrans were...!”

“They even delayed the Public Affairs Bureau’s schedule. They were watching us, haha!”

“But they still sent our lady off to the mines! Those bastards...! Let’s go back to the Chamber of Enforcement!”

“That’s right! This time we’ll teach them a lesson and bring our lady home!”

“Let’s do it! Come on, let’s depart—”

At that, the man urging departure had his sleeve grabbed by his wife.

“Hey...! Can’t you keep your mouth shut?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you know what you’ve done? It’s infuriating!”

The others glared at them coldly.

“That was stupid.”

“You stormed the castle gate and caused all that fuss? If things had gone smoothly, everyone would have benefited...!”

“But you rushed in without thinking it through....”

Those who had gone to the Chamber of Enforcement were bewildered by the public reaction.

“What on earth is going on? Don’t they know how wonderful our lady is?”

“Wonderful, my foot! She upended that whole deal so foolishly!”

“What do you mean? How dare you speak of our benefactor like that! She sold her clothes and jewelry to save our village in the drought...!”

“Yes! All she did was sell her clothes and jewelry! It was Lady Erilot Astra who really saved this village!”

“What are you even talking about!”

“They were going to build a station in Ezlo Domain! For us, trembling in the famine!”

“W-What...?”

“Think about it. With a station there, shops would flock in, and we wouldn’t have to farm in these conditions any longer!” 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

The men who had gone to the Chamber of Enforcement looked stunned.

The world had turned upside down.

Those who once praised her as their hero now flipped their attitudes like turning over a palm.

Not only them, but the entire village of Mendea had become public enemies.

“They say you’re from Mendea? Good riddance! We’ve got nothing to sell to any Mendea folk!”

“N-No, that’s not—!”

“Do you know what happened to the Ezlo people because of you?!”

“What do you mean? What did we do!”

“We can’t even leave Ezlo Domain because of the scorn!”

Even going to the market caused an uproar.

Merchants slammed their doors shut, and people glared at them with icy eyes.

Public opinion can shift astonishingly fast with just a few words.

“But how did the Mendea folk learn so quickly that Florence Ezlo was imprisoned?”

“They say Viscount Ezlo stirred them up.”

“What?”

“I heard he spread rumors among those who benefited from Lady Florence Ezlo. So the excited Mendea folk ran to the Chamber of Enforcement that night.”

“The Mendea folk are stupid, but Viscount Ezlo is a steward—he used his own people like that?”

“Now that I think of it, yes. All he ever did for us was pretend.”

“What good is pretending to starve together in a drought? He’s incapable—couldn’t even provide relief funds.”

“And look at House Astra.”

“When farming is impossible they build the continent’s premier shopping district and keep crime from spreading to civilians.”

“That’s not all. They heavily support port operations to boost commerce and invest endlessly in magic development to attract people everywhere.”

“It’s strange when you think about it. Daymond Jurisdiction is the most generous to its people.”

“They even slashed the tax rate absurdly low during this drought—the lowest in the land, they say.”

“Those retainers who were driven off were squeezing their tenants dry, it seems.”

“I always thought it odd to call such a man a villain.”

“Isn’t this also Viscount Ezlo’s stirring up trouble?”

As public opinion turned, the branch line nobles shrank back.

They came to Viscount Ezlo, their focal point, to reproach him.

“What will you do about this? Now everyone says the branch’s arrogance exceeds even the main house’s!”

“There was a rebellion in my domain!”

“Damn it! Shall we lose the station before our eyes? Let’s revoke that protest letter!”

“Yes, let’s go to the Chamber of Enforcement!”

Events unfolded exactly as Erilot had guided.

The castle rang with the laments of the branch line.

Conrad chuckled as he delivered the news.

“The branch is begging for the lady’s return.”

“Viscount Ezlo?”

“He’s helpless from afar.”

“They always thought public opinion was on their side. No wonder they’re at a loss.”

I let out a quiet laugh and sifted through papers.

“Anward and Shimoric are doing well.”

“Yes, they’re excellent talents. But none match our lady.”

I raised an eyebrow at Conrad.

“You dare flatter me so?”

“With your position vacant, they’re in quite a bind.”

“You’ll return soon. Hold on until then.”

We exchanged wicked smiles.

With Alexis having secured Lagon’s scale, things were progressing smoothly.

“Hmm, then let’s deliver the scale to Uncle Cainroad—”

Then—

Bang! Bang bang!

A commotion resounded.

‘What now?’

I opened the door, and at that moment someone dashed toward me.

“Your Grace!”

“...Florence Ezlo?”

She stood there in shabby attire, as if today were indeed the day she departed for the mines.

A maid spoke in a flustered voice.

“My apologies. She insisted on apologizing in person, since the branch nobles are making such a fuss....”

So that’s how it was.

The branch nobles must have knelt to implore me to reverse my decision. Chairwoman Bastina of the Bureau must have approved, wanting to see those arrogant branch lords kneel before the main house’s lady.

But I had been refusing their visits since the day before yesterday.

My maid, acting on my orders, had blocked «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» them, hence the current uproar.

“If you wish to apologize, go ahead.”

At my words, Florence glared fiercely.

“You were the one who caused all this!”

“Come to apologize, you say? That must be an excuse—or why else that look?”

I grasped the doorknob.

“Then you have nothing further to say.”

“My father—!”

Florence half-sobbed as she cried out.

At that moment, other branch nobles arrived.

They meant, once Florence apologized, to coax me into resuming the deal with the Prince.

Behind them stood her father, Connon Ezlo.

“O-Oh, you...!”

“Hurry and apologize!”

A branch noble roughly grabbed Florence, but she shook him off and shouted.

“My father is a just man. Kind, and caring!”

“And yet?”

“And yet he incited the people to do this...!”

I folded my arms and sighed.

“You—you. Do you truly believe that?”

“Of course I do! My father doesn’t squander a single penny of tax revenue. On that stormy night he personally repaired the collapsed wall! Everyone saw! His kindness—”

“You think they saw that?”

“...Pardon?”

“They had no choice.”

I stared intently at the pale Connon Ezlo.

“In your father’s domain, monsters pour in from the east and sea winds batter the south. It’s a harsh land cut off from the center, making commerce difficult.”

“Why are you talking about that here?”

“Because the only power he had was the people’s trust.”

“What...?”

“The timing was perfect. The Bureau was established and the direct line scrambled to draw your father in.”

“....”

“So he had to appear kind, just, and caring.”

Connon Ezlo averted his gaze and swallowed dryly.

“How would people know that your house fasted in drought or repaired walls in storms?”

“....”

“He called them together. To show them: look at how good I am!”

“....”

“See? Even now your father has come with branch nobles to beg me to resume the deal.”

“N-No, Father did it for the people....”

“Well, he should have knelt to me himself. Instead he forced his daughter to kneel.”

“....”

I asked Connon Ezlo,

“You hated doing it, right? It hurt your pride. So you used your daughter as a pawn, yes?”

“N-No, I....”

Connon Ezlo stammered in embarrassment.

“So here’s what we’ll do. You kneel and beg for forgiveness. Then I’ll resume with the Prince. Though, as for the station’s location... yes, let’s put it in your domain.”

I pointed at the nearby branch noble.

His domain lay far from Ezlo lands.

So even with a station there, the benefit would be small.

Connon Ezlo’s expression twisted.

I said to Florence Ezlo,

“See? Your father won’t kneel. There’s no benefit to him, so he won’t sacrifice his pride.”

“F-Father....”

“And if he did kneel now, the branch’s new focal point would be that branch lord whose domain gets the station.”

“....”

“Having lost public support, his only power is being the branch’s center. He clings to that and refuses to move.”

“....”

Connon Ezlo swallowed again. His face was fixed in a bitter, petty scowl.

Florence Ezlo looked at her father with trembling eyes.

I stepped close to Florence.

She flinched and met my gaze.

“And you?”

“...Me?”

“Are you just, kind, and caring?”

“W-What... I, of course, try to live that way—”

“No, you don’t. You just liked being admired, am I right?”

“...!!”

In her clear eyes shone my derisive reflection.

“If you were truly caring, you wouldn’t have told everyone you sold your clothes and jewelry to raise relief funds.”

“That’s... that’s because....”

“But you proudly announced it. ‘I love you so much I sold my clothes and jewelry to raise funds—’ right?”

“....”

“Some were moved, but others felt sorry and wouldn’t part with even a grain of oats.”

“....”

“You never considered that, did you? No, you didn’t.”

“....”

“You wanted to boast, didn’t you? Right?”

“....”

“Why did you lead the branch nobles here to block me? A caring person would have acted alone, fearing they’d be punished too.”

“....”

“You wanted to show off, didn’t you? Look at me, the noble lady of the main house. Like that.”

“....”

“Why, upon arriving, did you reproach your father? If he’d knelt immediately to beg forgiveness, I might have built the station for your people.”

“....”

“You didn’t want that, did you? You couldn’t bear everyone seeing the dignified, just you kneel before someone like me.”

Florence trembled.

The guards outside the door glanced at her with reproachful eyes.

The maids whispered among themselves.

The branch nobles tutted and clicked their tongues.

“What a petty woman.”

“The people would—”

Florence looked around, went pale, and said to me,

“No! That’s just your assumption!”

“This will all become known. I have no reason to silence guards or maids.”

“O-Your Grace!”

“Don’t like it? Then beg me. If you plead, I’ll hide your petty, attention-seeking arrogance from the world.”

Florence’s face twisted in conflict.

If she knelt now, those words would never spread. But to kneel before others would admit her cowardice.

I smiled.

“Now you see? You are not the kind, caring person you pretend to be.”

“...!!”

“Now get out.”

I shoved Florence’s shoulder and slammed the door. Through the crack came the branch nobles’ tumultuous voices.

“You stupid wench! If you’d knelt and apologized...!!”

“Lady Erilot, please let us speak with you!”

“Damn you! Scurry off to the mines!”

Amid their shoving, Florence’s scream rang out.

Conrad and Han Jihyuk stifled laughs.

“Well, now the branch won’t dare cross our lady.”

“But isn’t it strange....”

“What is, Han?”

“Why hasn’t the Duke intervened in this situation?”

“That is....”

I collapsed onto the sofa.

“It’s a test.”

“A test?”

“Yes, a test. To gauge who is fit to inherit the dukedom.”

Mirth filled the Duke’s study.

Viscount Debussy chuckled softly.

“Are you so pleased, Your Grace?”

“I knew there was something here, but each day it becomes more satisfying.”

“Lord Daymond is a double-edged sword. A powerful weapon but one that could cut even his own allies. However....”

Viscount Debussy raised an eyebrow.

“Whoever won Daymond entirely to their side was very clever.”

“Did you score points?”

“Well, I’ll need to confirm further.”

The Duke rose and looked out the window.

“Debussy.”

“Yes?”

“It’s about time to decide the successor of the Red Star.”

Viscount Debussy bowed.

‘A storm is about to break.’

The day to appoint the heir to the dukedom approaches.