This Three Year Old Is a Villainess

It was the middle of winter. As I was wet with cold water, I knew I would shiver soon.

The aide who came with Grandfather walked straight towards me. He took off his jacket and put it on my shoulders.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 going on?鈥?br>
鈥淭hat鈥檚鈥︹€?br>
Looking at the Duke, the flustered Baron Moro laughed awkwardly.

鈥淚 heard about what happened in the Main Castle. When I heard that she had cheated, she passed out while screaming. Even if she didn鈥檛, I thought she needed to reflect on herself, but she even quarreled with another child.鈥?br>
鈥淲hat did you say?鈥?br>
鈥淧lease don鈥檛 worry. Since at this point, she should have reflected on herself, such a thing won鈥檛 happen agai鈥斺€?br>
鈥淲hat nonsense are you talking about?!鈥?br>
The aide raised his voice.

With a flustered look, Baron Moro looked at me and Grandfather in turn.

鈥淒ue to cheating, today she returned home late鈥?鈥?br>
鈥淭he reason why the lady was late to return was because she had manifested her Blessing!鈥?br>
鈥溾€ardon?鈥?br>
Grandfather looked at me.

鈥淵our words were right. The area where the dragon鈥檚 bones were buried was really the former Myrten Plain.鈥?br>
I thought it would take a long time, but it seemed they had already found it.

Well, searching wouldn鈥檛 have been difficult if they used a Blessing.

Baron Moro turned pale.

He seemed to have slowly grasped the situation.

His hands trembled.

鈥極f course he鈥檇 be like that.鈥?br>
The thing Grandfather hated the most was the mutiny.

Even though I looked like this, I was still the granddaughter of the Duke of Astra.

Even if he treated me as an invisible person before, now that I had proven my value, I was clearly one of the small masters of Astra.

Baron Moro opened his blue lips to make excuses.

鈥淭-this is鈥?So鈥?鈥?br>
鈥淚鈥檒l ask once.鈥?br>
It was Grandfather鈥檚 words.

Even though it was only a few words, goosebumps spiked up from the tip of my toes.

Even the sound of wind was engulfed by the darkness of the night.

The moonlight flowing from the window broke along the outline of his silhouette.

As he walked, the sound of his low-pitched heels echoed. Baron Moro collapsed.

Grandfather asked.

鈥淲hat are you?鈥?br>
There was no change of tone in his voice.

When he glanced down, only the glint of the Duke鈥檚 dark blue wrath lingered in his eyes.

Baron Moro swallowed and said.

鈥淚-I鈥檓 the Moro Family鈥檚 16th generation鈥斺€?br>
鈥淣o.鈥?br>
Grandfather raised Moro鈥檚 chin with the end of his cane.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e a dog.鈥?br>
鈥溾€?鈥?br>
鈥淒ogs bark when asked to bark, and bite when asked to bite.鈥?br>
The tip of the cane trailed down from Baron Moro鈥檚 chin until it reached his adam鈥檚 apple.

鈥淎nd because the dog failed to recognize its owner.鈥?br>
Baron Moro could barely speak using his voice.

鈥淧le鈥?Please save me.鈥?br>
鈥溾€?鈥?br>
鈥淧l鈥?Please鈥?Please save me. Please save me. Please save me. Please save me. Please save me. Please save me. Please save me. Please save鈥?鈥?br>
鈥淪o you do know how to bark.鈥?br>
After leaving those words, he turned his back on Baron Moro.

The aide took care of me and followed Grandfather.

It was only when the aide put me down that Baron Moro finally let out a breath.

What touched my ears at that moment was.

Crack

鈥t was a strange cracking sound.

鈥淐ou-cough鈥? Co, cou, cough鈥?鈥?br>
My body turned stiff. I slowly turned my head like a broken machine but,

鈥淧lease do not look back.鈥?br>
The aide stood close and covered the sight from my eyes.

It wasn鈥檛 difficult to predict what Baron Moro鈥檚 state was.

***

I was moved to the main castle.

When I packed up my luggage and came out, the teachers and children who had already heard the news were waiting.

The teachers saw me off from the hallway.

鈥淐lass with the Young Miss was really fun.鈥?br>
鈥淓ven if you go to the castle, please stay strong.鈥?br>
鈥淪ince you鈥檙e wise, you鈥檒l be good at anything. If by any chance, you need anything, please contact me.鈥?br>
The teachers were really nice to me.

They even gave me a lot of candy, and even gave me milk.

鈥淭hanw you, tweachers. If you invesht in Sabon Banw, you鈥檞 mwake a woth of money.鈥?[Thank you, Teachers. And if you invest in Sabon Bank, you鈥檒l make a lot of money.]

The teachers took out their notebooks in tears.

鈥淵es, Young Miss. You have to be well. But, is it Sabong? Or is it Sabon?鈥?br>
鈥淚 will never forget the two years I spent with the Young Miss鈥?The ink isn鈥檛 coming out. Can you lend a pen to me? Did you say Sabon Bank?鈥?br>
We had a tearful farewell.

The teachers saw me off in front of the carriage, and as I got in the carriage, I waved goodbye.

Subsequently, the aide in the carriage looked at the teachers, who were stroking their notebooks while crying loudly, with a strange expression.

鈥淚sn鈥檛 that Sir Annward and Sir Simoric?鈥?br>
鈥淵esh. It鈥檚 the tweachers鈥?nwames.鈥?[Yes. It鈥檚 the teachers鈥?names.]

鈥淎ren鈥檛 they each the heads of the eastern and western academies?鈥?br>
The aide murmured, 鈥淲hy didn鈥檛 such talented people take the bureaucratic exam, and become teachers instead鈥斺€?br>
It was because鈥?br>
The teachers were actually talented enough to get their names mentioned in [IPTVG].

The reason why people like them were my teachers right now was because鈥?br>
鈥極f course it鈥檚 because they had no money.鈥?br>
The smart ones knew.

Even if you became an official, you would only end up rolling yourself to death without any money and backing.

That鈥檚 why, they become the teachers of the 12th Tower.

Even if it housed only the indirect descendants, they could still establish ties with the nobles of Astra.

鈥楢nd that鈥檚 how they were going to get their backing, right?鈥?br>
But the children were so young that it would have taken decades to bring them to their side.

At that time, I appeared.

The granddaughter of the Duke of Astra (backing), and a child who possessed amazing information (money).

In other words, a treasure that would allow them to get both backing and money.

鈥楾he teachers think I only gave them investment information, but that wasn鈥檛 true.鈥?br>
I was investing.

Just in case, it was to create a talent who would be my strength if I entered the Astra Castle.

The teachers were still crying and waving at me.

I kept waving my hands too.

鈥楺uickly make capital and become the Main Castle鈥檚 officials, Teachers!鈥?br>
After a while, the carriage began to move.

I looked at the aide in surprise.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no Gwandfather!鈥?[There鈥檚 no Grandfather!]

She was asking if they could depart even when the Duke wasn鈥檛 on the ride.

鈥淭he Duke wanted to stop by another place for a while, while he was out. You鈥檙e going with me together to the Main Castle.鈥?br>
鈥淵wesh.鈥?[Yes.]

I said, obediently folding my hands neatly.

The aide smiled brightly.

He was a friendly man who did not seem like the aide of the terrifying Duke.

鈥楨ven his face is handsome.鈥?br>
Soft brown hair and yellow eyes.

He was a handsome man with a gentle image.

He even had the charm of making people feel comfortable, so the trip to the castle wasn鈥檛 uncomfortable.

When the carriage arrived at the castle, it stopped. The aide hugged me and carried me down.

鈥淭hen, I will guide you to where you will stay for the time being.鈥?br>
I got to stay on the third floor of the annex.

He opened the door and said.

鈥淭he servants will unpack the luggage. Please rest.鈥?br>
I quickly grabbed the end of his jacket and he turned back.

He lowered himself and asked.

鈥淚s there anything that you need?鈥?br>
鈥淣wame, I wanth to know yow nwame.鈥?[Name, I want to know your name.]

At my words, he hesitated for a moment.

鈥淎s expected, you鈥檙e unique.鈥?br>
鈥溾€?鈥?br>
鈥淎h鈥? I don鈥檛 mean it in a bad way. It was simply because none of the direct descendants wanted to know the name of an employed person.鈥?br>
鈥淵wesh.鈥?[Yes.]

鈥淚t鈥檚 Conrad Marshal.鈥?br>
He smiled with his eyes, and then rose from his bending position.

鈥淚 hope you have a pleasant dream.鈥?br>
Then he left.

I looked at his back without even thinking of closing the door.

鈥楥onrad?鈥?br>
Did he say Conrad Marshal?

I covered my mouth with my two small hands. It鈥檚 because I almost screamed鈥?

鈥業f it鈥檚 Conrad Marshal, then it鈥檚 that man.鈥?br>
There were many words that described Conrad in the novel.

The Commander of the Blackout.

The Youngest Person who Passed the Bureaucratic Test.

And also鈥?the Traitor.

鈥楽ince he stabbed Grandfather and fled.鈥?br>
After that, he appeared as the Head of the Information Guild.

***

The next day.

It was the morning. The birds were chirping and the wind was cool, but I was not refreshed at all.

鈥楽o Conrad comes out from here.鈥?br>
Conrad played the role of a helper for Dahlia, the protagonist of [IPTVG].

He was targeted by the Duke of Astra his entire life because he betrayed the Duke.

It was Dahlia, who was loved by Grandfather, who interfered and mediated their relationship.

In fact, Conrad, who was tired of Astra鈥檚 pursuit, became her person.

Until then, there was no problem.

鈥楾he problem is that after being attacked by Conrad, Grandfather was in a coma for some time.鈥?br>
When Grandfather falls into a coma, this place will become a battlefield.

Astra鈥檚 direct descendants were like beasts. And they weren鈥檛 the tamed kind either.

Right now, they were bound by the leash called Grandfather, but if that disappeared, it would surely be chaos.

鈥楾hen, I, who has no one to protect me鈥?鈥?br>
It felt like my heart was being ripped off.

I was thinking like that, when a knock interrupted.

鈥淢ay I help you get ready?鈥?br>
鈥淵wes.鈥?[Yes.]

After I answered, the maids came in with a basin full of water.

The maid wet a towel and used it ro remove my eye boogers and wipe my face.

She also brushed my hair, but somehow it didn鈥檛 hurt at all, even for me who had very curly hair.

鈥淲hich ribbon do you want to use? I think this yellow lace ribbon will look good on you.鈥?br>
鈥淵esh.鈥?[Yes.]

鈥淵oung Miss is very well-mannered. It was easy to help you get ready.鈥?br>
鈥淵wesh!鈥?[Yes!]

The maids laughed as if I was cute for answering well.

After everything was finished, they showed me myself in the mirror.

鈥淒o you like it?鈥?br>
My eyes opened wide as I looked in the mirror.

I couldn鈥檛 believe it. To think that my hair which was like a bundle of hay had become so neat?!

Indeed, they were the maids of the Main Castle.

鈥楻ight. Erylotte鈥檚 setting was the world鈥檚 best beauty.鈥?br>
Since my hair wasn鈥檛 managed, I looked like a sick poodle and because of that, I forgot about it.

After being well managed, even the first impression was different.

It was a very cute face.

After I finished preparing, I had breakfast.

It was cream soup with light beef and fresh vegetables that was cut into small pieces.

It was delicious because it was savory and soft.

When I was about to eat the garnish with it, I paused when I saw the bell peppers.

Then I stealthily looked at the maids.

鈥業 hate bell peppers.鈥?br>
I didn鈥檛 eat bell peppers. Bell peppers were a child鈥檚 enemy.

If I were in the 12th Tower, I would have quietly buried it in another vegetable, but now the maids of the castle were looking at me.

Every move I made would be reported above and would undoubtedly reach the ears of Grandfather.

I really don鈥檛 like bell peppers, but Grandfather must like children who eat bell peppers, right?

I pierced the bell peppers with a fork and I swallowed.

Then with a rustle, I bit a piece off but I immediately became teary.

The maids, who were looking at my war against bell peppers with an exciting look, laughed.

Fortunately, the employees seemed friendly to the young me.

鈥業n order to continue being as carefree as this, Grandfather is important.鈥?br>
Even if he was in a coma, the house must not fall into chaos.

I made up my mind.

Since I don鈥檛 have any other choice, I鈥檒l protect Grandfather.

***

After eating, I played with the maids for the rest of the morning.

Playing with the maids was fun.

鈥淜yaa, please look here.鈥?br>
鈥淐ome over here, Young Miss. There you go. You did a very good job.鈥?br>
鈥ather than me, it looked like the maids were having fun.

As a matter of fact, what kind of fun would there be to work inside the terrifying Duke鈥檚 Castle on the surface and also in reality?

鈥楶oor Older Sisters.鈥?br>
I played passionately with the Older Sisters.

In the afternoon, there was a summons, so I went to Grandfather鈥檚 study.

Several scholars and vassals were present in the study.

As I learned from the maid in the morning, I put my hands on my belly button and bent down flatly.

鈥淗ewwo.鈥?[Hello.]

The vassals opened their eyes widely.

鈥淎ah, yes. I am called Debussy. It鈥檚 an honor to meet you.鈥?br>
He said in a bewildered voice.

Because they had only seen direct descendants who would easily beat people up from a young age, it seemed that I, who was polite, looked rather peculiar.

Viscount Debussy smiled.

鈥淭hanks to the Young Miss, we were able to discover the dragon鈥檚 bones.鈥?br>
鈥淵wes.鈥?[Yes.]

鈥淭urns out, the Blessing of reading ancient languages is very useful. So, can you read another part of the history book?鈥?br>
鈥溾€?鈥?br>
鈥淭oday, we invited the Young Miss to check how much you can read and understand.鈥?br>
鈥溾€?鈥?br>
鈥淏ecause using a Blessing is a hard thing to do, we know you can鈥檛 read that much in a day.鈥?br>
鈥溾€?鈥?br>
鈥淧lease read comfortably. You can stop if it hurts your body.鈥?br>
The servant brought me a book.

When I opened the book cover, the adults nodded as if asking me to read it now.

Grandfather, who was sitting at the highest seat of the big table, also focused on me.

I began to read the book from the first sentence.

鈥淔wom the begiwwing, Despwair cweated a wowd.鈥?[From the beginning, Despair created a world.]

鈥淗m. As expected, the limit is one sentence鈥斺€?br>
鈥淭he fwirst worwd is a wand wuled by siwence and daknwess. We caww this Vain.鈥?[The first world is a land ruled by silence and darkness. We call this Vain.]

鈥淥ne paragraph is also fine鈥斺€?br>
鈥淟wife was born fwom Vain.鈥?[Life was born from Vain].

鈥淥ne page鈥?鈥?br>
I read a series of texts in a row.

At first, the vassals watched while nodding their heads, but then their expressions gradually changed.

1 page.

2 pages.

.

.

13 pages.

鈥溾€?!!鈥?br>
The vassals screamed. Even the scholars and executives looked at me with their mouths open.

鈥淗-how long has it been since she started reading the book?鈥?br>
鈥淚t鈥檚 30 minutes.鈥?br>
鈥淚s it possible to use a Blessing for 30 minutes at that age?鈥?br>
That鈥檚 because it鈥檚 just Korean.

It wasn鈥檛 that I was really using a Blessing. So, reading a book was not difficult.

But my throat was a bit dry.

鈥淰ain fewt sowwy for the fwagile Lwife and gave them Bwessing. To mwaintwain a stwong Bwessing, a lwand of gwace was bestowed and鈥斺€?[Vain felt sorry for the fragile Life and gave it Blessing. To maintain a strong Blessing, a land of grace was bestowed and鈥擼

鈥淎 land of grace?鈥?br>
[A land of grace was bestowed to maintain a strong Blessing.]

鈥擜t that part, people鈥檚 eyes opened wide.

鈥淎re you saying that there is that kind of land?鈥?br>
Of course, there was a fuss.

鈥淲here is it? Is there a location?!鈥?br>
鈥淣o.鈥?[No.]

鈥淭here must be a hint in the book. Oh my God!鈥?br>
It felt like I was in the middle of a festival.

***

The Duke looked at Erylotte with a strange look.

It had already been about an hour since she started reading the book.

That kid didn鈥檛 seem to know the word tired.聽

She also didn鈥檛 know how to complain.

鈥楤ut she does resent the tower鈥檚 matters.鈥?br>
The vassals screamed and after that, they were in a mood to dance at the tremendous content that came out from the book.

Erylotte, who had been reading for a long time, coughed.

The vassals and scholars hurriedly looked at that kid.

鈥淚t鈥檇 be better to stop here today.鈥?br>
It was a look that said they were worried that her precious Blessing would go bad.

The Duke nodded.

鈥淥fficers, organize the contents of the book. Let鈥檚 call it a day.鈥?br>
The Duke got up from his seat.

He left the room with the elder, Viscount Debussy.

鈥淭he Young Miss is amazing.鈥?br>
Even Viscount Debussy, who was cold-hearted in evaluations, could not hide his surprise.

鈥淗ow鈥檚 the progress of the dragon bone excavation?鈥?br>
鈥淚t鈥檚 going smoothly. To the point where the fruit flies are already twisting after hearing rumors.鈥?br>
Boing.聽

(t/n: In the raws, it was actually written as 虢€歆?[bbojjak]. It鈥檚 a slang word聽that means that someone looks very cute with their little movements or gestures.)聽

鈥淓ven the Imperial Family was looking forward to grabbing it.鈥?br>
鈥淪urely we can鈥檛 give it to them easily.鈥?br>
Boing.

鈥淕o to the Capital of the Empire yourself and find out those bastards鈥?weaknesses. It鈥檚 not because their drooling isn鈥檛 annoying.鈥?br>
鈥淵es, I鈥檒l manage the officials right away鈥斺€?br>
Boing.

鈥樷€oing?鈥?br>
He felt a sound of constant worry behind his back.

Glancing back, there was Erylotte, who held a rabbit doll鈥檚 ear, running.