Please Bully Me, Miss Villainess!

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

However, Father sternly stopped her, his usually jovial face becoming serious.

After all, concerning a child’s safety, any rational parent wouldn’t agree to such a thing.

“Knight training is not child’s play. Won’t a little girl like you just cause trouble? It’s too dangerous!”

“No… Father, it’s not like that… I don’t want to go to play!”

Yvonne was eager to explain herself, but she quickly realized that a child’s words don’t carry much persuasive power.

“The lower city is far less safe than the capital. There might be frightening monsters on the outskirts, and the lower city is crowded with all sorts of people. You’re the daughter of the Smollett family, what if you get kidnapped!?”

“Uncle is right, Lady Yvonne. You should stay at home.”

Damn it~~~

Being lectured by her father like this, Yvonne felt resentful, hugging her pillow and rolling back and forth on the bed in frustration.

Thinking carefully, as a Duke’s daughter, she had rarely gone out alone before entering the magic academy.

Because there were many interesting books to read, Yvonne hadn’t minded much, after all, she had preferred staying at home alone in her previous life too.

Being away from the hustle and bustle like this, enjoying solitude was quite nice.

But now, she longed to go out more than ever before.

Why?

Just because she was a girl?

If you’re a girl, you can’t even go out freely?

To avoid the bad ending, Yvonne had also practiced swordsmanship and horsemanship diligently, always paying attention to proper diet and strengthening her training,

So the grown-up Yvonne was quite tall among girls her age. Although her magical talent wasn’t particularly strong, she prided herself on not being inferior to those frail young masters in close combat.

In any case, she now possessed years more experience and skills than her peers. Yvonne was confident that if she could reasonably utilize these advantages, given a suitable weapon, she absolutely wouldn’t lose to the current Michel.

She wanted to gain recognition, then have her father allow her to go out,

“From today on, I’ll practice swordsmanship too!”

Even saying this, no one took her words seriously. All the adults present treated her determination as the innocent words of a 7-year-old girl.

‘Wait until you’re taller than a sword, Young Miss.’

Even the Knight Commander, known as ‘Iron Wall’ who always had a stern face, made a joke at her expense.

Damn it~~~

She would prove it to them!

“…Young Miss, what are you doing?”

Maid Linda looked at her mistress lying on the ground in a strange posture with a puzzled expression.

“I’m doing a plank! Linda, time me with the hourglass, I want to do… three sets! Hey!”

Shaking her arms, she spoke tremblingly,

Because she was angered, she decided to intensify her training starting today, until those people acknowledged her—

But soon, without holding on for long, Yvonne felt her arms and core aching unbearably, her body no longer able to support itself, flopping softly onto the carpet.

“Hah…”

Linda shook the hourglass in her hand with a wry smile. In terms of time, not even half of what was planned had passed.

“This is very harmful to your body, Young Miss.”

Putting down the hourglass, Linda crouched down, helplessly using her hands to gently lift Yvonne, who was lying on the ground panting heavily from exhaustion.

“You’re still young, and a girl. Forcing yourself like this is very likely to damage your body.”

Exercise is something to be done step by step. Forcibly doing things beyond one’s ability will only be counterproductive.

“I know… but…”

Yvonne actually understood this principle in her heart. With her current small frame, she could at most do some light exercises like radio calisthenics.

It’s frustrating!

This body is really so weak!

At this rate, how will she ever be able to go out?

Thinking of this, Yvonne felt particularly desperate.

“Does the Young Miss want to go to the lower city so badly?”

Linda felt somewhat helpless. It seemed like her Young Miss was misdirecting her efforts.

“Yes, I want to find someone…”

“Find someone?”

This was an unexpected answer.

Linda had thought Yvonne was tired of staying at home and wanted to go out to play, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“There’s someone I want to see…”

Lying on the bed, she mumbled.

Is it because her body is that of a child…

She felt like crying.

“Young Miss…”

Linda gently patted her back.

Comforting the Young Miss when she was sad and upset was also part of her duty as a servant.

But being comforted like this made her want to cry even more.

Yvonne had heard that a person’s physical state is linked to their psychological state,

Because her body was now that of a child, her psychological resilience seemed to have weakened a bit too,

Becoming more prone to crying and seeking comfort.

Linda sighed.

“Since you want to see that person so much, let’s go ask the Madam.”

“…Mother?”

Mentioning Mother’s name, Linda curtsied to her in a standard manner.

“—I am the maid assigned to you by the Madam. If she allows, I can accompany you out and protect your safety, Young Miss.”

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

“Mm~ That’s fine.”

Yvonne’s mother Lena now looked in much better spirits than when Yvonne had visited her in the morning,

Hearing that her daughter wanted to go out, she reached out with her thin, delicate fingers to stroke Yvonne’s head, smiling and agreeing.

“Let Linda accompany you.”

After Mother agreed, Father relented as well.

“Hmm… if you’re going out, with Linda by your side, I can be at ease.”

Yvonne looked confused.

Why was it not allowed when the knight corps would accompany her,

But it’s okay if Linda accompanies her?

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

This confusion was quickly answered.

Only after going out did Yvonne realize that there were hidden talents around her.

“Young Miss, please hold on tight—”

“Waaah—!!”

Head Maid Linda was now skillfully riding a pure black swift dragon, carrying Yvonne in front, speeding swiftly through the city area.

“So Linda, you’re actually an elf—?!”

Learning this fact, Yvonne was greatly shocked,

“That’s right.”

“—I couldn’t tell at all!”

No wonder her appearance hadn’t changed for so many years!! Things that seemed strange before. The mysteries were being solved one by one.

“But don’t elves have long ears? Linda, your ears look exactly the same as humans!!”

“That’s because I used basic ‘shapeshifting magic’.”

“There’s such a convenient spell??”

“Yes… Although maintaining it for a long time consumes a lot of magical power, it’s still a fairly convenient skill… If Young Miss wants to learn, I’d be happy to teach you.”

Only then did she learn that Linda, who had been by her side since childhood, was actually a long-lived elf who had signed a hundred-year contract with the Smollett family. To count accurately, this year was already her 81st year.

A span of nearly a century… She had been protecting the Smollett family since Yvonne’s great-grandfather’s generation,

No wonder Father and Mother trusted her so much.

“In that case, did you raise Father too, Linda?”

“That’s right.”

She always responded to Yvonne’s questions with a smile,

“Come to think of it… Duke Campell was actually quite slim when he was young… I really don’t know how he became like this now.”

“Eh? Eh!!”

That chubby Father… was actually very slender in his youth?

This was unexpected information.

Though it doesn’t seem very useful.

“Then… how old are you this year, Linda?”

“Young Miss…”

The smile on Maid Linda’s face darkened slightly, becoming a bit scary.

“Some questions can be asked, but some questions shouldn’t be asked, you know?”

It seems that even if you can live for several hundred years, you still care about your age.

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

In any case, gaining an additional helper was always a good thing.

“Young Miss, do you have any specific characteristics of the person you’re looking for?”

“Probably a girl about my age, with brown hair…”

As she spoke, Yvonne lost confidence.

Because she knew that girls with such characteristics could be found all over the streets.

“There’s no other way, we’ll have to search slowly.”

Fortunately, Linda was willing to help her search. Otherwise, relying on herself as a child alone, it was hard to imagine how to start this massive undertaking.

Luckily, the lower city didn’t have that many residents in total, but even so, going door to door to search was not an easy task.

And unsurprisingly, they received many cold stares.

Originally thinking the Young Miss would give up quickly, but in reality, it far exceeded her expectations.

Now Yvonne’s heart was full of regret.

If only she had played through that part of the plot seriously.

But there was no helping it, she was just a tester who had only seen the unpacked CG images, only knowing about the kissing scene in the remembered plot.

She had only recently learned that Elsa’s arrival at the relief agency was unexpectedly late. Sister Delia had told her that Elsa was taken in by the relief agency when she was about 8 years old.

Sister Delia had also told her that before going to the relief agency, Elsa had been adopted by a family, but that family didn’t treat her well, often beating her.

Fortunately, with the help of a benefactor, she was able to escape.

Benefactor…

Without a doubt, the benefactor referred to must be the ‘Soulmate’ plot.

Before that, she had always been in a state of displacement.

But Yvonne was more concerned about something else.

Not treating her well… to what extent?

Thinking of this, Yvonne’s heart felt as if it was being cut by a knife, unable to bear it for even a moment.

If it were her…

If it were her, she would certainly cherish and protect her very carefully, not letting her suffer any grievances.

“…It’s snowing, Young Miss.”

Looking at the small snowflakes falling from the sky, Linda began to worry if her Young Miss might catch a cold.

“Let’s head back for today, Young Miss. It gets dark very quickly in this season.”

In snowy weather, it’s also easy to lose direction when traveling through the forest.

“No, we can’t. I must find her…”

However, her Young Miss stubbornly stretched out her small hands, red from the cold, preparing to knock on the door of the next house.

But before she could knock, the door was suddenly pushed open.

A child covered in injuries was pushed out, stumbling and crashing into Yvonne’s arms.

“Get out of my house—you witch!!”