Please Bully Me, Miss Villainess!

Night.

The nighttime scene was completely different from daytime.

As the night deepened, the atmosphere in the Duke’s mansion also quietly changed.

Darkness spread through the long corridors, the path ahead pitch black, facing what seemed like an endless hallway.

If not already familiar with the mansion’s layout, one would likely get lost in this maze-like passage tonight.

In the darkness, little Elsa took a deep breath, gripping her skirt, desperately trying to encourage herself.

The mansion’s structure was complex; first-time guests would find it very difficult to locate specific rooms without dedicated servant guides.

Usually, seeing properly dressed servants walking back and forth in the corridors made it not feel so empty. Now, with everyone quietly asleep at night, the spacious hall felt particularly desolate.

It felt like even dropping a button on the floor would be especially jarring.

Looking around, even the oil paintings on the walls seemed to become frightening, as if the settled colors might stir at any moment,

Little Elsa simply closed her eyes, unwilling to look further. If she continued giving herself such psychological suggestions, the last bit of remaining courage would be consumed by this terrifying darkness.

She was very afraid of the dark, especially when alone.

But… she had to overcome it.

—Courage is hidden in your heart.

Remembering the story the Young Miss had told her, strength seemed to surge anew in her body,

She hesitated no more and stepped forward.

“…Excuse me.”

The careful sound of opening the door arose.

Because of her insufficient height, she had to stand on tiptoes every time she opened a door.

“You’ve come.”

A silver bell-like pleasant voice, gentle tone,

The mature beauty sitting on the bed slightly tilted her head towards her, light golden hair shimmering in the silver moonlight,

A familiar air between her brows and eyes,

Almost as if cast from the same mold as the Young Miss…

No matter how many times she saw it, Elsa would sigh like this.

From her, one seemed able to glimpse the shadow of the grown-up Young Miss.

The person before her was Yvonne’s mother—Lena.

“…I’m sorry to disturb you so late.”

Little Elsa curtsied to the Duchess as the sisters had taught her.

“It’s alright, come here.”

Perhaps due to her weak constitution, Lena’s complexion looked somewhat haggard. Moonlight fell on her, making even her body seem ethereal, as if she might disappear at any moment.

But under her rolled-up sleeves, blue veins were clearly visible on her excessively pale wrists. The overly pale skin gave a sense of transparency, appearing with a sickly beauty, like a fragile, beautiful glass doll.

“Little Elsa… you have something to tell me, right?”

She smiled slightly and asked,

“…Yes.”

“Then don’t stand there, come up.”

“Excuse me.”

Given permission, Elsa took off her shoes, her little feet in white silk stockings kneeling on Lena’s bed.

This was Yvonne’s favorite, most relaxed posture when she came to keep her company daily,

Lena habitually gave this child the same treatment as her own daughter.

“Madam… have you been entangled by a ‘Nightmare’?”

Although still somewhat nervous before the Duchess, Elsa strived to overcome her timidity, clearly stating her conjecture.

Last time when Elsa came with Yvonne to visit the Madam, she had noticed black shadows floating behind Lena, with a very ominous aura,

That shadow was exactly the same as the form of a special magical creature—’Nightmare’—that the Young Miss had told her about.

Lena showed a slightly surprised expression, then quickly returned to her usual gentle look.

“You can see it?”

Lena was somewhat surprised.

Little Elsa nodded.

She hadn’t expected someone so young to possess such a special ability.

People born with strong magical power can sometimes sense the presence of unusual magical auras,

This was something only those highly sensitive to magic could achieve, it could be called an innate talent.

This child… undoubtedly possessed extremely strong potential.

Such potential, appearing in a child not born of nobility, would likely bring many dangerous challenges to this child in the future.

Thinking of this, Lena let out a light sigh.

“If so, what do you want to do?”

“Um… Madam, I hope you can believe what I’m about to say…”

Placing her folded hands on her flat chest, little Elsa took a deep breath:

“…I seem to have the ability to communicate with these spirits!”

Hearing these words, Lena slightly widened her eyes in surprise.

Little Elsa nervously raised her head, her gaze fixed on a certain point in the empty space behind her, probably looking at the ‘Nightmare’ on her.

She continued to explain:

“Not long ago, the Young Miss was possessed by a cat spirit. I tried and found I could communicate with that little cat… As a result, I really succeeded in transferring the magical power from the Young Miss’s body to my own…”

She tried hard to explain, choosing somewhat difficult vocabulary, quite verbose for a 7-year-old child, nearly biting her tongue.

“So… if possible, would you like to try transferring the ‘Nightmare’ to my body, Madam?”

The little girl before her spoke very seriously, her gaze containing no trace of false emotion.

Lena naturally wouldn’t agree to such a request,

How could she, with her kind nature, sacrifice an innocent child’s life just to cling to her own?

“…Why would little Elsa think to do this?”

At first, she had only thought her daughter was simply close to her, but now it seemed not just that.

There seemed to be a deeper bond between them.

“I… don’t want to see the Young Miss make that sad expression…”

As she spoke, she began to sob.

“If… if something happened to you, the Young Miss would surely be very sad… Of course, I would too…”

Thinking of this, sorrow welled up unstoppably.

“So you want to exchange yourself with the ‘Nightmare’?”

Lena patted the head of this excessively kind child.

“That’s not a good idea, silly child.”

“Your life is equally precious, I hope you remember this point. It’s a treasure God gave you, not to be exchanged with anyone.”

“But…”

Lena looked beside herself, sighing helplessly.

Then, she raised her hand, and the black shadow seemed to respond to a summon, gathering on her right hand,

As if forming a hand from magical power, gently supporting her hand.

“The ‘Nightmare’ it—How??”

This scene left Elsa dumbfounded, unable to speak.

“Now do you understand? This ‘Nightmare’ on me… is not a bad child.”