The Villainess Is Too Difficult

Theodore, who had entered the mansion, responded to the greetings of the servants and immediately headed to the study. Heinrich was almost always in the study.

“You’re here.”

“Yes.”

Although it was a father and son meeting after a long time, not much conversation passed between them. But neither Heinrich nor Theodore felt any particular discomfort about it. No, they didn’t need to feel any.

After a silent time of emptying their teacups without a word, the Duke finally opened his mouth.

“Is it a vacation?”

“Yes. I used the vacation I received recently.”

“Did you come to see Ariel?”

“Yes.”

“How long are you planning to stay?”

If misheard, it might sound like a parent trying to kick their child out of the house immediately, but they both knew well that wasn’t the meaning. Therefore, Theodore brought up a different topic instead.

“Have you not met Ariel yet?”

“That’s right.”

“Until when are you going to avoid her?”

Silence hung in the room for a while after Theodore’s words. But it was only for a moment.

“Work has piled up, so I’ll get up now.”

Theodore sighed at the sight of his father blatantly avoiding the situation.

Compared to sword training, magic was much easier to learn. It’s not that I’m a once-in-a-millennium talent who knows a hundred things when taught one… it’s just that since this is a family renowned for magic, things are well-organized so that even self-study is easy.

“But there’s still a limit.”

No matter how well-organized it is, the most important thing in learning is ultimately the presence of a teacher. There’s a limit to self-study. Unless you’re some once-in-a-millennium genius as I mentioned earlier, but unfortunately, I’m not like that. I’ve somehow managed to master all the magic books in the house, but that’s far from enough.

The magic books in the Walpurgis family are substantial. Both in quantity and quality. There’s even a scene later where the protagonist comes here and marvels at the magic books, so you can imagine. By the way, the reason the protagonist comes here is to deal with Ariel Walpurgis who has awakened as a demon, and to talk to the Duke about the aftermath.

It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Of course, what’s important here is that even though there are many magic books of such excellent quality that even the protagonist is amazed, it’s not satisfying even if you master them. Why? Because the enemies that appear in the latter half are crazy beings that can’t be dealt with just this!

The latter half of the original work is filled with crazy beings who can destroy buildings with a single gesture and split the earth with a single chant. Even Reinhardt and the protagonist barely managed to deal with them after all sorts of awakenings and power-up events in the latter half.

Of course, they won in the end, but in my current state, I can’t even follow in their footsteps. If, just if… a protagonist who has returned after going to the latter part of the original story appears, as per web novel clichés?

[You’re going to betray humanity by making a contract with demons later, aren’t you?! Die right here!]

Oh, please. Anything but that ending. I can’t even scratch them in my current state. No matter how much I’m struggling to learn magic, the protagonist could just wave their hand and it would all be over. Really, in the worst case, that could happen, so I need to build up my strength. POWER OVERWHELMING! Oh, was that not right? Was it? My memory is a bit fuzzy.

To conclude, you need a teacher to become stronger. In the case of magic, it’s less so than swordsmanship, but still, the limits of self-study were gradually becoming apparent.

‘I guess I’ll have to talk to Father after all.’

The empire’s greatest magician is right here in the family, so looking for another teacher? This is really stupid. You could say it’s the empire’s greatest foolishness and I’d have nothing to say. They’re even blood-related? This is a development where it wouldn’t be strange even if all the magicians in the continent knelt down and begged to switch places. But the problem here is…

‘Father needs to be willing to meet me.’

I know well that he doesn’t dislike me, but I also know well that he’s blatantly avoiding me. What am I to Father? No, what is Ariel Walpurgis to him? I closed the book, ending another fruitless contemplation that led to no conclusion today.

“I’m a bit hungry.”

It’s not to the point where my stomach is sticking to my back, but I feel moderately hungry. If I had to guess the time, it’s about 3 PM. It’s time for the important event of calorie intake for a high school girl (?) in her growing years.

Alright. Then shall we call Muriel and request something to fill my stomach?

“Young Lady.”

Huh? I haven’t called yet?

“What is it?”

“The Young Master has returned.”

Young Master? Who? Me? Oh right, I’m the Young Lady. Then who are they talking about? Ah, wait. Could it be…

“Young Master Theodore has arrived.”

They say ‘speak of the devil’, and that saying is always true.

‘But what am I supposed to do?’

I heard the news that my brother, Theodore Walpurgis, had returned. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to run out there saying ‘Brother!’ and welcome him. Me? For what? Why?

Whether he comes or not, nothing particularly changes for me. As usual, I study, rest a bit, and when it’s time for dinner, I head to the dining room.

“Young Lady. Even so, wouldn’t it be good to visit him at least once…”

From what I’ve overheard, Theodore and Ariel aren’t on particularly bad terms. Just exchanging greetings appropriately? A distance where they can stand together if there’s an important matter, just about that level.

In some ways, isn’t that a relationship worse than strangers? What is this hopeless powdered bean family? It’s better than the situation with Father, but this is hopeless in its own way.

‘But I’m willing to talk.’

Maybe because I was originally an only child, I gladly accepted the existence of a newly acquired sibling. I’m already calling him ‘Brother’ in my mind and I can certainly play the role of a younger sister.

But that doesn’t mean I can approach him warmly just like that. I have something called resistance to temptation too.

“You’re here.”

“Huh?”

When I arrived at the dining room, someone was sitting at the table. Really? Is this for real? There’s someone other than me in this dining room?

“It’s been a while, Ariel.”

“Um, well…”

“Hmm, I see. They said you lost your memories.”

A silver-haired man suddenly appearing and acting like he knows me. Surely… it can’t be the person I was just thinking about.

“Theodore Walpurgis. I’m your older brother.”

Wow, you’re not a gentleman, are you.

As dinner time approached, Theodore headed to the dining room. Usually, he would either have food brought to his room like his father or eat outside, but when he heard that Ariel had been going to the dining room for every meal recently, his destination was decided.

How long has it been since he came to the dining room? In the past, when his mother was alive, they always gathered here to eat together. A bright and warm mother, a blunt father who loved his mother more than anyone else.

Even mealtimes that could have easily been filled with nothing but silence could continue warmly thanks to his mother who occasionally lightened the atmosphere.

[Come on, dear, eat up.]

[I have hands, you know…]

[My arm feels like it’s going to fall off. Ah, are you going to coldly ignore me?]

[Sigh…]

A sight unimaginable now. The Duchess casually did something unprecedented, feeding food to the great Heinrich. Theodore had always thought about how nice it would be if he could go back to that time.

After the Duchess’s death, Theodore, who had somehow pulled himself together, tried to use the dining room afterwards, but he couldn’t taste the food he ate alone in the large space, and naturally, his meals also took place in his room.

And Ariel never ate here even once. Her meals had always been in isolated places like her room, terrace, or garden since she was born.

But with the news that Ariel had been continuously going to the dining room since she woke up, he came to the dining room after a long time. What was his younger sister thinking as she came here? He had already given up long ago.

But regardless of the reason, he couldn’t let his only sister eat alone. It was also a good opportunity. Although quite some time had passed since he entered the house, Ariel hadn’t come to see him.

The relationship between the two siblings wasn’t that bad, but conversely, it wasn’t that good either. Both Ariel and Theodore treated each other with minimal courtesy, but there was no sense of sibling bond between them at all.

But that doesn’t mean Theodore was completely indifferent towards Ariel. Rather, he was worried about her. He just hadn’t been able to express it properly until now because he was poor at speaking, but to Theodore, Ariel was his only precious younger sister.

Although they couldn’t have proper conversations because she went astray at some point, that fact hadn’t changed.

“You’re here.”

“Huh?”

Therefore, Theodore could feel at ease for the first time in a while when he saw Ariel’s figure appearing through the opened door.

“It’s been a while, Ariel.”

“Um, well…”

“Hmm, I see. They said you lost your memories.”

A dazed face as if seeing something surprising. How long has it been since he saw such an expression on his sister’s face, which always looked vicious? Theodore unknowingly softened his expression a little.

“Theodore Walpurgis. I’m your older brother.”

The sight of Ariel nodding blankly at his words was exactly the same as the kind person she used to be in the past that Theodore remembered.