A Fairy Tales For The Villains

 

‘Stupid, idiot, jerk.’ I paid tribute to Lettis for

inspiring such words from

Estelle’s mouth.

 

That stupid little Duke now

had

a face of bewilderment, and he didn’t know where to hide himself. I staggered up, completely ignoring him as he

tried

to say something to me. Venya

attempted

to support me, but I quickly snatched myself away.

 

“Sasha, are you alright…”

 

“I told you, I’m okay. Let’s do something about this mess first

!

“

 

“We’ll clean it up on our own.”

 

I wanted everyone

to leave

because they didn’t need

to clean

, but I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t okay at all.

 

‘Ughh, my stomach is still tingling; how much power could a kid who hasn’t even matured yet have?’

 *   *   * 

“Sasha.”

 

The library was the only place

available when

you were sick or just wanted to be alone. So I left the messy kitchen to the kids, went downstairs, and sat reclining between the bookshelves when I heard a hoarse voice. It was Lettis.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

When I responded without raising my head, he hesitated then sat down next to me, moving his body

awkwardly.

 

“Are you really okay…?”

 

“Well, who knows, even if I’m not okay, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

 

I was just a humble maid. Tch.

If any of you were to say something like that to me,

I thought it would be Venya, but I never thought that you,

the one

I trusted the most, would be the

culprit.

 

Lettis scratched his head when I deliberately answered in a bitter tone, wanting to make him feel bad for what he did. However, it was already noticeable that his rich, glossy hair

had lost

its shine and looked dull.

 

“I’m sorry. I—”

 

“That’s enough, stop it

!

I’m the one who stepped in. It didn’t even hurt that much.”

 

But truthfully, it hurt so much that I wanted to pass out.

I was more astonished

to think that you guys were still okay after hitting each other with all that strength.

 

“Not just that… What I said before, that… I didn’t really mean it. I’m sorry.”

 

Only then did I turn my head and face our little Duke. Now, the

familiar sky-blue eyes were clouded with

gloom and remorse.

 

“Just… I guess I wanted to keep turning a blind eye. It’s too much to admit that we might have been betrayed by our relatives, that we don’t know how long we’ll be here….”

 

“…”

 

“So, even though I know that you are working hard with all your might… Even though I knew… I wanted to deny it somehow, so I

buried

it and ended up taking my anger out on you. Sorry.”

 

‘Yeah, it seemed like that. It was a big

grave

, but… Whaaa, You’re not guilty of anything. Really, how can yu say all that? What’s with all this?’

 

“Oppa… if someone

locked us

up here on purpose, who do you think is

behind

it?”

 

Lettis seemed to be struggling for a moment and soon replied in a melancholic tone.

 

“Honestly, I don’t know. When my mother and father were alive, all my relatives were on good terms… It’s hard to assume who did it because they used to love us all together. The most ambiguous one right now is Uncle Jerome, but I’m not in a position to make such an assumption.”

 

Was Ipolit an enemy or an ally? Or was he just half-baked? I didn’t know. However, considering his attitude while going in and out of this place, he

seemed

strangely flustered.

 

“But you know, Sasha, it’s hard to believe that the servants and the vassals betrayed us all at once. That’s why I’m even more confused.”

 

“They could be

cooperating

, or it could be that they are all being deceived. What exactly

did

you

talk

about

in

the meeting the night before we came here?”

 

“First, the stories about studying abroad in Pzeya… temporary consignment issues, things like that. I signed the agreement, left the bank seal ring, and so on.”

 

‘I see. Having gone through all these procedures, no one would have suspected what had happened in the residence

when the children disappeared

. But, of course, it will not be easy to control Python’s bank more than your stake because the successor was studying abroad…’

 

‘How the hell did they

cover

for the children studying abroad?’ That was the biggest question. Or was there another

twist

?

Whatever it was, we all needed to live together safely in this place. I didn’t know how many people might have betrayed us and what could happen if we acted unwisely.

 

“Huh, Estelle is right. Maybe I will have to live here until I become a really old man. I don’t want to live to that extent.”

 

“Don’t think about it, Oppa. Maybe not right away, but one day we’ll be out. That’s why we don’t have to stop here. You are the heir of Serpente. The day will surely come when you will be responsible for this family.”

 

“Do you really think so?”

 

“Mnh, I do. Did you forget that my mother

was

of gypsy blood? We can see the future.”

 

‘Hang in there. We had to hang in there

together

… Until that day, two years from now.’

 

‘May the eyes of the boy I’m facing be the same until then… Please preserve the innocence and kindness of now.’

With such a wish, I smiled brightly. Lettis’ eyes widened for a moment, and then he smiled, too.

 

‘Hmm, now you look a bit like the first Young Master I know.’

 

“Sasha! Sasha!? Sasha, are you alright—”

 

With a loud entrance, Venya

sidled toward us,

then paused

and stared

at Lettis. The latter reacted relatively quickly to the stare. In other words, he blushed and insisted hastily.

 

“I apologized! I apologized from the bottom of my heart! We are making up!”

 

“…Ha!”

 

Venya snorted as if saying he did the right thing, then came over and sat down in front of me. The aisle between the bookshelves was quite narrow, so our knees were almost touching.

 

“Are you all right?”

 

“To be honest, I wasn’t fine before, but I’m fine now.”

 

“…Damn it. I need to know what to do in this kind of situation. It’ll be a big deal if you have bruises.”

 

‘Isn’t your face in a worse situation than mine? Aishh. What a sight, both of you having such red and

swollen

faces.’ I smiled at Venya, who was awkwardly bickering about nothing.

 

“Is Estelle sleeping?”

 

“Oh, she was amazing earlier. It was worth it, don’t you think so? Stupid Hyung?”

 

“Come on…”

 

“Ah, stupid, idiot, jerk Hyung. Whoaaah, it’s very catchy

!

“

 

“Hey!”

 

As the two of us giggled side by side, Lettis

blushed and tried to obje

ct to the insult strongly, but he stopped because he had nothing to say.

Instead

, he groaned and got up.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“…I’m going to apologize to Estelle. Sasha, I want to tell her that I reconciled with you.”

 

“Whoo, our remarkably reliable and kind first Young Master.”

 

“Don’t say things you don’t mean!”

 

There was a moment of silence after the reliable and friendly idiot

left

. There was a smell of burning candles. The sunlight coming in through the small north-facing window was always insufficient… 

 

‘Maybe one of these days, I’ll actually use books as firewood…’

 

“Your hair grew a lot.”

 

Quietly sitting with his back against the bookcase, Venya’s observation came

out of the blue. Was he just saying it because he had nothing else to say?

 

My hair was already long, so I wasn’t sure if there was a remarkable difference in just two months. Although, two years won’t be enough to grow it long like Rapunzel and escape from here.

 

“Your hair has grown a lot, too. You’ll end up with bobbed hair like Master Karsape at this rate

!

“

 

“…Damn, that’ll be terrible

!

I’ll have to cut it off before I look like that idiot

!

“

 

“Don’t. If you do it you’ll end up with an ‘eaten by a rat’ hairstyle.”

 

“My father always said that the beginning is half the battle.”

 

‘Yeah, you’re good with words. Why don’t we all go play at the hair salon? Then I’ll put a big hole in the back of your head. Huhuhu.’

 

“

What evil

things are you thinking now?”

 

“I, I didn’t think about anything.”

 

“Why aren’t you wearing Estelle’s clothes these days?”

 

This was also out of the blue. Who was the one who said it was a waste to give those clothes to a pumpkin? What were his intentions asking that now?

 

“It was because I had no choice then, and now I have my clothes. Why would I want to dress like a princess?”

 

“No one here will say anything about you wearing Estelle’s clothes.”

 

“But it bothers me. I’m satisfied after wearing it for a while.”

 

Well, when will I ever wear Princess Serpente’s dress again?

Had I done that elsewhere

, I would probably have been

discharged

immediately and would not be able to work in any noble family in the Imperial capital.

 

It was a

discipline

to take turns washing and

wearing

only two sets of clothes. Rather than that, I was at a loss as to what to do when everyone

grew.

Also about a room to use for winter…

 

‘Who will bring us new clothes?’

 

“…It suits you.”

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing, my head is itchy. Damn, maybe something came from there?”*

 

‘What a terrible thing to say!’ I shook my head as much as I could; it would be a big issue if he had something in his head. But, on the other hand, if I just stick to that, maybe I can get rid of everything. So I leaned forward, sitting on my knees.

 

“No way. Let me see. If you really do, you’ll have to cut all your hair

!

“

 

“Are you revealing your true intentions?”

 

Regardless of my evil intentions or realistic worries, fortunately, Venya’s head seemed perfectly clean.

It seemed that there was no need to worry about his hair yet. Unlike Lettis’ and Estelle’s curly, rough hair, Venya’s hair was smooth and soft, resembling his mother’s. I would feel sorry if I had to shave it completely.

 

“It’s clean. I’m glad you don’t have to get rid of your only virtue

!

“

 

“Whoa, my only virtue right now is my head?”

 

“There are a few other minor things but… let’s say it’s true for now.”

 

I shook my hands and got up. Then, all of a sudden, I stumbled and felt dizzy. Venya quickly rose and grabbed my arm as I wobbled.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay? Why are you suddenly about to faint?”

 

“Fainting is something only noble ladies do.”

 

“Is that so? So if you faint, let’s pretend you had a noble’s initiation ceremony.”

 

“Really? Can I become a noble young lady if I just pass out?”

 

“Lady Sasha D’ Salloma De Serpente. It doesn’t sound too bad.”

 

“Well, thank you.”

 

I responded

with a smirk

to reflect

his playfully smirking face,

but

his sky-blue eyes blinked in embarrassment. ‘Hum, it was supposed to be funny, bu

t I seemed to have made

it worse.’

 

Well, I didn’t mean to catch you off guard either. It was a bit strange, but I was trying to express my gratitude

for your earlier actions

.

 

Thank you for

taking

my side back then. I mean, I was really happy.

   Gina’s Corner:*In case you don’t understand, Sasha was worried thinking that Venya might have some kind of bug in his head, like pediculosis.