The Villainesses in the Romance Fantasy Novel Became Obsessed with me

The entrance ceremony.

While my heart was pounding, it was also a bothersome time filled with meaningless speeches.

It was a time when the principal would preach about things that had no use during our school years.

I was bored, so I spent the time staring at the back of Yuri’s head in front of me.

‘Her hair is long and nice. The color is black. And, if she just straightened those slumped shoulders, she’d be quite popular.’

Yuri’s hair was long, and her expression was dark, giving off a somewhat gloomy vibe.

However, if you looked only at her face, she was close to being a beauty.

Her features were delicate and cute.

Her personality was kind. Though sometimes she showed inexplicable bouts of madness…

‘She’s pretty enough, but I guess her self-esteem, which was suppressed from a young age, can’t be helped.’

It was a pity.

Given that she received poor treatment in the North during her formative years, it was only natural she would turn out like this.

While I was contemplating Yuri’s back quietly,

“Now, proceed to your respective departments. You’ll receive detailed instructions there.”

The principal, with his bushy white beard, finished his speech, and the students started heading to their departments.

Yuri turned her fixed gaze from the front towards me.

Her face was as red as a boiled tomato.

“… Were you watching?”

“Watching what?”

With her face about to burst red, Yuri shouted.

“Me, me…! Were you watching me throughout the entrance ceremony…?”

Yuri was embarrassed because I had been staring at the back of her head the whole time.

Did she feel my gaze?

Even though I was just looking at the back of her head, she was this embarrassed.

Still, she wasn’t just embarrassed.

“If you stare at me too much… it’s embarrassing, Damian… Next time, look a little less…”

Yuri’s lips curled up slightly as if someone was pulling them from above.

She seemed unable to contain her own laughter.

I smiled and gently patted Yuri’s head.

“Have confidence, Yuri.”

“Hmm…?”

“I was looking because you’re pretty, so don’t be embarrassed. Have confidence.”

“Wh-what…!!”

Poof—

Yuri sounded as if she exploded at my words.

Yuri was unable to handle even a small compliment.

She stuttered and shouted at me.

“You’re saying I’m pretty…! Wh-what are you saying…”

“I’m just stating a fact. You are pretty enough.”

“I don’t… I don’t know…! I’m leaving…!”

Stomp! Stomp—

Unable to overcome her embarrassment, Yuri covered her face and ran off.

But if I kept complimenting her this way, her lacking confidence and self-esteem would eventually fill up.

Because of my existence.

Yuri, who knew only me, would be filled and validated by me.

Thus, I could put a leash on Yuri’s neck.

To prevent her from becoming a villainess.

‘… This is the only way.’

I was sinking deeper into the mire.

By my own doing.

***

After finishing my conversation with Yuri, I also headed to the Political and Diplomatic Studies classroom.

It would have been nice to see the villainess I hadn’t seen midway through, but unfortunately, she wasn’t in the hallway.

‘Being a noble and distinguished person from afar, she must have quickly gone to the classroom.’

Considering her personality from the original story.

She wouldn’t want to be ogled by the students, so she must have headed to the classroom quickly.

The protagonist should also be in her classroom by now, so there was no need to wander around.

Just as I was about to move towards my department.

“Ouch—!”

I screamed from the sudden sharp pain in my foot.

At the same time, a familiar blue figure’s voice came from beside me.

“You think calling her pretty is funny.”

Suddenly, Bluebell jumped out from behind and stomped hard on my foot. It hurt terribly, especially since she stepped on me with the back of her shoe.

‘What’s this about all of a sudden…? Is she still angry about what happened last time?’

I asked, frowning from the pain.

“Bluebell, what are you doing?”

“What if I glare! I was annoyed, so I stepped on you. Got a problem?!”

“… Why are you annoyed again?”

“Wh-what?”

Maybe because I got angry, Bluebell flinched for a moment.

However, she quickly started speaking again, unwilling to hold back.

“I’m just annoyed! I don’t like your actions or what you say! What’s so pretty about her that you said she’s pretty enough? Ha, that’s ridiculous! I’m prettier!”

“… You were eavesdropping on our conversation.”

“Why would I eavesdrop on you! I just happened to hear it!”

Bluebell turned her head and denied it strongly.

It appeared she overheard my conversation with Yuri and got angry on her own.

She got angry because I called Yuri pretty, thinking she was prettier.

She was totally childish.

‘Comparing and being jealous…’

It was an unhealthy mindset.

Since there were many eyes on us, I endured the pain in my foot and faced Bluebell.

My face automatically contorted from the pain.

“Wh-what! Why! What are you going to do if you frown!”

“… Just come with me for a moment.”

“No, I won’t! Why should I follow you!”

Thud—

I grabbed Bluebell’s shoulder and spoke.

“Come along nicely.”

“F-fine…”

Bluebell, who had been baring her claws, now looked meekly at my pained expression.

At the same time, she held my hand.

“… Where are you taking me? Let’s go quickly, class is about to start.”

Strangely.

She seemed happy to receive my attention and to hold my hand.

‘Maybe she’s saying harsh words to get my attention.’

With such speculative thoughts.

I took Bluebell by the hand and led her to a quite place.

***

In the corner of the stairs.

A place out of sight of the students,

I cornered Bluebell and asked.

“Bluebell.”

“What. Why.”

“How long will you keep this up?”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

Bluebell forced herself to act tough.

But the fear inside her was clearly visible on the surface.

I cornered her against the wall and pressed on.

To get a clear answer.

“I made mistakes when I was at the mansion. But how long are you going to keep this up?”

“Wh-what. What did I do?”

“You keep picking fights for no reason.”

“I had a reason to pick a fight. And you did wrong to me!!”

“That’s why I apologized.”

“Enough! I hate apologies that are just words! How many times do I have to say it!”

‘Ugh, I’m running out of time and this is frustrating.’

Even when I apologized, she hated it, and when I tried to be friendly, she hated that too.

Yet, she always approached me first, starting conversations and picking fights.

What on earth.

“What do you want? Should I go back to the mansion and become your teacher again?”

“Are you stupid, Damian? Do you really not know what I want?”

“You have to tell me.”

“You should know without me saying it! You were my teacher! We spent so much time talking together!”

‘Why can’t you understand my feelings?’

We were back to square one.

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair out of frustration.

“… If we’re going to attend the academy together, we need to get along. As friends.”

“Before that, you need to apologize to me properly. If you can’t even understand that, it means you don’t care about me at all. You left because that girl was more important to you. I might as well die right in front of you so you regret it for the rest of your life.”

“…”

Bluebell wanted something from me.

But I had no idea what that was.

I was not a mind reader, and I didn’t understand women’s hearts well.

I only studied human psychology.

‘To put leashes on each other, our relationship needs to return to normal…’

It couldn’t be just one side with a short leash.

Both sides needed to be balanced, so the leash didn’t choke us to death.

That was why I wanted to restore my relationship with Bluebell…

“If you don’t understand, fine. I’ll just die. I’ll die so you regret it forever and hurt for the rest of your life.”

Given Bluebell’s personality, this wasn’t going to be easy.

Due to the lack of time, I reluctantly turned away.

Bluebell screamed in surprise.

“Wh-hey! What are you doing! Why are you leaving!”

“… I need to get to class.”

“So why are you just leaving! Say something! Don’t go!!”

Thud—

Bluebell grabbed my arm as I tried to walk away.

I really had no idea what she wanted.

But there was one thing I knew for sure.

‘Bluebell wants me.’

Even though she was angry.

It was clear she wanted me.

To give her hope, I gently removed her hand and spoke.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Think about what?”

“What you want. I’ll think about it.”

Did she like my answer?

Bluebell’s frown disappeared, and she smiled brightly.

“Alright! Think about me all day! And apologize to me properly! Got it?! Then… I might become your friend!”

“… Okay. Let’s go back to class. We’re going to be late.”

“Okay!”

Bluebell’s mood was as clear as day.

Watching her hum happily, I thought to myself.

‘A bit of bipolar disorder… still an emotional personality…’

While attending the academy.

I should stay by her side and help her fix those problematic parts.

She was not inherently a bad kid.

‘…What can I do to put a leash on Bluebell and also let her leash me?’

Thinking about this, I walked with Bluebell to our classroom.

***

The first class of the Political and Diplomatic Studies department.

Since it was the first day after enrollment, there were no lessons.

Just introductions of the professors, self-introductions, and the curriculum overview.

No actual lessons were covered.

‘Political and Diplomatic Studies isn’t mainly about studying anyway.’

Studying was a secondary reason.

It was essentially a department for networking.

People without good family backgrounds or status couldn’t get in; they were filtered out in the application process.

There were still 3 to 5 commoners due to the quota system, but…

Even though the academy supposedly removed external statuses, that barrier wasn’t easily broken.

‘Still, there are important characters from the novel. Not bad.’

During the break, students gathered and chatted.

Bluebell was popular among the noble girls as she chatted away.

Of course, she glanced at me occasionally.

In the original novel, when her admission fraud was exposed, those noble girls left her.

But this time, she studied properly to get in, so that shouldn’t happen.

I got up from my seat and headed to the hallway for my next class.

Then, Bluebell came running up to me and asked.

“Where are you going?”

“…To attend an elective class.”

“Huh? Why are you taking an elective now? I have free time.”

“I registered for a different elective.”

“Huh? Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you send a letter? You should have told me if you registered. We could have taken the same class!”

“You need to ask to know.”

“… So annoying!”

Swish—

Bluebell spat out her annoyance and left.

Still, I was relieved to see she was getting along with her classmates.

“… I need to get along too.”

With the heroine from the original story.

And with the villainess.

‘They both take the same elective classes, so I’ll keep running into them.’

Everything.

Just like in the novel, as I wrote in my notebook.

I registered for the same elective classes as the heroine and the villainess.

So, heading to our first encounter.

The first elective class.

‘Understanding Nobility.’

A class on the mindset and lifestyle of nobles.

I opened the door and stepped into the classroom.

Creak—

At that moment, three pairs of eyes focused on me.

One belonged to the novel’s heroine.

Brown hair, brown eyes.

A typical noble young lady.

But inside, she was a girl from the same background as me.

One belonged to the woman who wanted to trap me in her art studio.

Golden hair, green eyes, Nadia Verdium.

The duke’s daughter, whose gaze on me was terrifying.

One belonged to the last villainess, who stared at me with bored eyes.

A princess from the neighboring kingdom of Orsia, across the southern desert.

Red maple-like hair and golden leaf-like eyes.

“… Orsia La Luna Charlotte.”

She had enrolled in the academy of the Fritz Empire to find talent.

“Sinclair Damian.”

From the start, she looked at me with a smile full of affection.

The moment a storm of changes from the original story began.

Translator’s Note: Thank you Andres for your support. It means a lot.