I Became the Absolute Hidden Villainess Princess of the Academy

Chapter 6: The Princess Picks Up the Protagonist (1)

Louis’s expression remained stiff, refusing to relax.

It was all because of the words he’d just heard.

—”Honestly, anyone who sees someone like me as a woman is a weird one, don’t you think?”

‘Someone like me…?’

Esti had said it with the intention of forgiving his mistake.

But in reality, her words only drove his guilt deeper into his heart.

How low does her self-esteem have to be for her to say something like that?

And she wasn’t just anyone—she was the 3rd Princess of Avrien.

The beloved youngest daughter of the imperial family, adored by all.

The more he thought about it, the more the weight of his guilt threatened to crush him.

But then—

—Pat, pat.

“Watch your words next time, alright?”

“…….”

Despite being much smaller than him, Esti stood on her tiptoes to pat him on the head.

Her small hand gently patting his head didn’t ease his guilt.

Instead, it became fuel—fuel to stoke the flames of his resolve.

—Mutter, mutter.

“I’ll atone for it, Esti. No matter what it takes, I’ll make it up to you.”

‘While we’re at the academy, I’ll heal Esti’s wounds. No matter what it takes.’

Moping around and feeling sorry for himself wasn’t befitting of the Blézer name.

He would take responsibility for his mistakes with his own hands.

He would make Esti happy.

This absolute goal burned brightly in his mind, and his thoughts raced furiously.

‘But how?’

How could he restore Esti’s self-esteem as a woman and her happiness, which he had destroyed?

The answer came quickly.

‘In the end, the only option is to find someone who will love Esti as a woman.’

The plan to find Esti a fiancé, one that the imperial family had attempted many times before but failed.

No matter how he thought about it, this was the only solution.

If Esti thought she was unworthy of love, he’d find someone who would love her unconditionally.

He’d find someone who could heal her heart and make her feel cherished.

—Scratch, scratch.

“Louis, are you okay now?”

“…Yeah.”

‘I will definitely find him. The one who’s perfect for Esti.’

…The fact that Louis didn’t even consider himself as a candidate was a classic move from a Blézer man, a family whose bloodline had an unshakable preference for tall, mature women.

A little while later.

Louis found himself following Esti as she wandered around the academy.

She had asked to freely explore the campus.

—Louis! Let’s go for a walk together!! I want to check out the academy!

—If that’s what you want, I don’t mind at all.

—Hehe. Then you guys head to the entrance ceremony first. I’ll take a walk and meet you there later!

—But, Princess, as your escorts, we can’t allow that…

—Louis will guard me, so don’t worry!! It’ll be a hassle if all of you follow me!!

—…If Lord Louis will be accompanying you, then I understand. Please be safe, Your Highness.

With her personal guards dismissed, Esti and Louis walked together.

Esti’s white hair swayed side to side as she moved.

—Sway, sway.

“Hehe~.”

“…Are you really that excited about attending the academy? I didn’t think you liked magic that much.”

“Huh? Oh, that. Well, you know, I didn’t leave the imperial palace for three years while I was growing my hair, right? I picked it up to kill time, but it turned out to be really fun.”

With excitement radiating from her, Esti wandered around like a chick pecking at grains, her head constantly moving as she looked at everything.

Louis walked alongside her, mentally jotting down notes in his mind.

‘Esti likes magic… Hmm. If possible, I should find her a partner with the same interests.’

A critical piece of information for his “Find Esti a Partner” plan.

Once he recorded the information in his mental notepad, he glanced over at Esti.

—Tap, tap.

“Is it here? Or maybe there~?”

‘…Will I really be able to find someone suitable for her?’

The sight of her wandering around so innocently made his heart feel a bit heavier.

He wondered if he could truly find a partner worthy of Esti—a kind girl who, despite the wounds she carried, still comforted the one who hurt her.

He felt unsure of his own ability to fulfill that role.

But those doubts were quickly blown away.

Because Esti, who had been looking around restlessly, finally spotted something—or someone.

‘Hehe finally found her. Hehe.’

—Grin.

“Louis, Louis!! Something’s happening over there, let’s go check it out!!”

Her face lit up with a grin that she believed was a devious, mastermind-like grin.

But to everyone else, it looked more like an adorably silly smile.

Louis couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

‘Alright. I’ll think about everything else later.’

“Sure. But don’t stray more than 3 meters from me. If you get any further than that, I might not be able to protect you in an emergency.”

“Okay!!”

Their footsteps echoed together, Louis’s steady tap, tap overlapping with Esti’s light thump, thump.

—Murmur, murmur.

“Ah, no, it’s just… there’s a reason for this….”

———The sound of a small commotion drifted over from a secluded area.

***

After comforting the tearful Louis, I used the excuse of “going for a walk” to begin my search for the protagonist.

Up until now, even after sending out search orders through the TS Brigade, I hadn’t been able to find her.

But today was different.

Today was the day the main story begins.

She will definitely appear today.

She’s probably getting caught up in some unlucky accident somewhere right now. 

I have to find her as soon as possible.

And, as expected…

It didn’t take long for the incident to occur.

—Murmur, murmur.

—Ah! That scared me!

—Ugh, that’s disgusting…

—So dirty, so filthy…

‘This is it!!’

“Louis? Something’s happening over there. Let’s go check it out.”

Thanks to my “Enhanced Hearing” spell, I could clearly hear the commotion in the distance.

Without wasting a second, I grabbed Louis and headed straight for the scene.

—Rustle, rustle.

—What’s going on with the princess?

—Should we follow her?

—Her little stomping steps are so cute ♡

‘…Why are there so many spectators?!’

A whole crowd was trailing behind us.

…Well, I guess it made sense. The noble 3rd Princess and the eldest son of the Blézer Ducal Family were suddenly rushing toward something. Of course people would be curious.

But what was happening over there was not some kind of spectacle for gawking onlookers.

I quickly cast an illusion spell to deal with the growing crowd.

—Ssss…

‘Come forth, glowing dinosaur!!’

The result?

A radiant, glow-in-the-dark dinosaur carrying both me and Louis.

Since I made it in a rush, it was a bit shoddy. Anyone with a keen eye could probably figure out it was an illusion at a glance.

…But that didn’t matter.

Even if people realized it was fake, it wouldn’t stop them from being distracted.

—What… What the heck is that!?

—The princess and Lord Louis are riding a giant glowing blob?!

—Hey, wait, isn’t that just an illusion…? NO, WAIT. IT’S MOONWALKING!

—What the heck am I even looking at right now…?!

‘A moonwalking, glow-in-the-dark dinosaur. How are they supposed to resist that?’

Even my magic mentor, who had seen it once before, had to ask, “How did you even come up with this?” There’s no way the average person could resist gawking at it.

Sure enough, the people following us stopped dead in their tracks.

—Halt.

“…What is that?”

“Louis, if you stop too, what are we supposed to do? I’ll show you as much as you want later, so let’s move for now.”

“O-oh, right…”

Louis had also been momentarily hypnotized by the sheer awesomeness of my masterpiece, but he snapped out of it quickly.

With the unnecessary onlookers successfully left behind, we headed straight for the source of the disturbance.

It was a secluded area at the back of the academy, far from any bustling crowds.

Soon, we saw about ten people gathered in a circle.

In the center of the group was a girl, her whole body covered in mud.

—Murmur, murmur.

“Sniff, sniff… It hurts…”

“Who are you, exactly? Where did you come from? And what’s with that filthy appearance?”

“Uh, um, well… I…”

A girl sat on the ground, clutching her head in confusion.

My eyes quickly scanned her from head to toe.

Brown hair. Golden eyes. Braided hair.

Her appearance was identical to the description of the protagonist, Irene, from the novel.

But even though I had finally found the Irene I’d been searching for all this time…

A giant question mark floated above my head.

‘What on earth is that mess? Did she just finish a 19-night, 20-day camping trip or something?’

Her appearance was far too filthy for it to be the result of just one or two days of hardship.

She looked as though she had been homeless for weeks—a complete contrast to how the protagonist was described at the beginning of the original story.

I found myself unable to approach right away, stopping in my tracks instead.

—Halt.

‘Is that really her?’

I paused to assess the situation. Louis, noticing my hesitation, also stopped walking.

His gaze flicked back and forth between me and the girl—between me and Irene.

“Esti? Are you stopping because of that girl…?”

“———Excuse me, but I’ve never seen someone with such an unpleasant face in my life.”

“……Huh?”

Suddenly, a woman in a flashy outfit stepped forward.

She bluntly spat out those nasty words at Irene, a girl who was objectively beautiful and lovable.

Both Louis and I tilted our heads at the same time, our confusion perfectly synchronized.

‘Isn’t that Lady Schefor? She wasn’t supposed to be a bad person. What’s she doing picking on our lovely protagonist?’

“Sure, she’s a bit messy right now, but is it that bad?”

None of us agreed with Lady Schefor’s harsh criticism.

In fact, I knew Lady Schefor from previous social gatherings.

While Louis and I watched in bewilderment, Irene frantically waved her hands in denial.

“Ah, no, it’s not like that! There’s a reason for this…!”

“Oh? So what exactly is your reason for suddenly crawling out of the bushes looking like that? And to top it off, you tripped in front of me. Care to explain yourself?”

“…I-I was rushing so I wouldn’t be late for the academy entrance ceremony…”

“Did you crawl here like a bug? If your face looks unpleasant, the least you could do is dress properly.”

Those cold, cutting words rained down on Irene, who already looked like she’d been through hell.

The woman’s voice was laced with subtle but unmistakable anger.

As if she saw Irene as something she had every right to despise—like a “witch” that should be loathed by all.

It was at that moment that I became certain.

‘Yeah, that’s definitely Irene.’

The girl being despised and hated by all.

———The last witch surviving in this world, Irene.

With that certainty came action.

I took a step forward.

With the grace of a noble, I spoke in the “noble socialite voice” that I had mastered.

“You know, with that filthy appearance, one could easily mistake you for a witch…”

—Thump, thump.

“Oh my, Lady Schefor. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“……!!!!!?”

The moment she heard my voice, Lady Schefor flinched and recoiled in shock.

“Eh, E-Esti, Your Highness!!!?”

“The last time we met was during Foundation Day, right? So, about half a year ago?”

‘How dare you lay a finger on my protagonist? She’s literally the “world destruction switch,” you know.’

Ignoring Lady Schefor’s stunned reaction, I placed myself squarely between her and Irene.

As if I were shielding Irene from all the malice in the world.

Irene’s tear-filled eyes slowly turned toward me.

“…Huh?”

‘Don’t worry. This isn’t Witch’s Flesh. In this world, you’re only going to walk on a path of flowers.’

—Step.

“Esti. I told you not to get more than 3 meters away from me.”

“Oh, uh…?”

‘…And here’s your knight in shining armor, too!’

Golden eyes shifted to Louis, who had naturally taken his place at my side.

Seeing the two of them together, a wide grin spread across my face.

The very first meeting of my ultimate ship.

There was no way I wouldn’t be smiling at this.

‘Oh, oh, what’s this? What’s going on here? Look at this first-meeting magic! My shipper instincts are tingling!!’

—Snicker, snicker.

“Louis, would you mind wiping that girl’s face? It’s a shame to leave the most beautiful face in the world looking like that.”

“Hm? Well… if that’s what you want.”

After giving Louis a little push toward Irene to kick off their first event together, I turned to face Lady Schefor with a smile.

But the look in my eyes was different.

I stared at her with a quiet but unyielding pressure.

My actions made it clear.

“This girl is under my protection.”

“She belongs to me. If you touch her, you’re making an enemy of me.”

It wasn’t difficult to make that declaration.

The difference in status between us was overwhelming.

‘I think she’s the second daughter of a Viscount family? I don’t know why a girl with decent influence in the social world decided to enroll in the academy, but… this works out for me. If I crush her here, the message will spread like wildfire among the nobility.’

“That being said, I’m a little disappointed.”

“L-lady Esti, I didn’t mean to—”

“Lady Schefor, you weren’t like this before.”

‘Lose to me. Cry and wail about it. Tell everyone you know that from today onward, Irene and I are one and the same. That an attack on Irene is an attack on me, the 3rd Princess.’