“I don’t know what you might be talking about.”

“So you’re making a fool of me now?!”

Mikhail had been three steps away from her until now, and he prowled closer to her. At the sidelines of the brother and sister, the maids squeezed their eyes shut because of the precarious situation.

“If Father really had the intention to lock you up like this, then he would have done so long before. Yeah, right. What kind of scheme are you concocting this time for the sake of harassing that child, huh?”

“…Fine, let me repeat myself. I’ve changed. Perhaps you should change a little as well, Brother?”

“Change? You? If that’s really it, then before…!”

Grit—

Mikhail clenched his molars.

At this, Violet was relieved that she was wearing a nightgown right now, lest he would have already grabbed her by the collar.

“You should have apologized to Aileen before anything else!”

A loud, furious snarl reverberated all throughout.

And Violet calmly took a step back from Mikhail.

The one who never changes is you, Brother. Don’t you know? About seventy percent of the reason that I harassed that child was you.

Violet smirked, thinking of the words that would never be delivered to the person in front of her now.

Apologize for her misdeeds, he said. And he’s right.

Violet had tormented her younger cousin so many, many times. Because she hated Aileen.

Like a hedgehog that would point its spikes, she had struggled with everyone around her. Always angry, always acting however she wanted.

Since it’s like that.

Why don’t you apologize to me?

Violet laughed inwardly, once again swallowing the words that would never be conveyed.

Yeon Ha-yoon did not deny that Violet had been a villainess, but at the same time, she also did not deny the way Violet had lived her life.

It’s not that she didn’t feel apologetic, but in all earnestness, she also really didn’t harbor any feelings of remorse.

It’s not that she didn’t feel remorseful. However, at the same time, she also truly didn’t feel apologetic.

Human beings were, by nature, selfish. Therefore, they tend to justify their situations according to their own side—their self-interest.

“You’re worried that I’ll bother her, or that I’m pretending to elicit sympathy.”

“……”

“You don’t have to worry. I’ve decided to change. So, I’m only going to stay here, quietly, without bothering or touching Aileen any longer.”

“You, how dare you—”

“What exactly have I done that the phrase ‘how dare’ is directed at me?”

“How dare you say that name with your mouth so easily!”

“……”

“You…”

“……”

“You have no intention to reflect on yourself. You have no humanity in you.”

Hearing his enraged tone, Violet laughed. For slapping someone a few times and pouring tea on that other person, perhaps she needed to be rebuked this much.

Publicly humiliating her in front of other nobles, denouncing her, blaming everything on her, throwing hot tea at her, tearing her clothes apart, ordering her to be lashed, slapping her across the cheek…

All the typical actions of a typical villainess constantly flashed through her mind.

Yeon Ha-yoon looked back on Violet’s offenses, but she soon stopped.

A witch with a frozen heart. That’s what she was called. Against such a woman, Mikhail turned his back.

“You will be kicked out of this household. No matter what.”

Those were Mikhail’s last words before he left. You will be kicked out from this household. From Everett.

At the ending of those novels out there, the villainess would normally be executed. Rather, it’s quite good that all she had to face was getting kicked out.

She wondered what she’d do if she really did get expelled from the household. Her skillset wasn’t all that wide.

Violet tried to guess how much she could earn as a painter in this era. Really, any unknown artist was only bound to starve.

After finishing that quick calculation in her mind, she chuckled.

Violet did not see off her older brother, who was now marching away in the distance.

“P-Pardon me…”

“Ah, I guess you’ve been watching until now. Sorry, but can you let the others know that I won’t be having lunch today? I don’t have an appetite.”

“Y-Yes!” the maid answered quickly.

She’s Mary, the new maid who had been watching the young duke and the ducal lady for a while now.

The other employees had, likewise, silently watched the conversation between the siblings from afar. They all quickly went back to their stations.

It wasn’t very pleasant to be a spectacle, was it.

Since her day was already ruined anyway, Violet thought about whether she should sleep in more. However, in the middle of her contemplation, she called out to Mary before she left.

“Ah, one more thing.”

“Y-Yes?!”

“Would you kindly relay a message to His Grace for me? Tell him, from now on, please ban Mikhail, Roen, Aileen… And Cairn, too… Ah, no, wait. Please just ban anyone and everyone from entering the annex.”

“Huh?”

“Once he knows that I’m the one who sent you, he’ll just roughly let you in. Then, bye.”

Staring back at the ducal lady, who had a much higher post compared to herself, the maid just gaped blankly.

She couldn’t comprehend Violet’s words. How could a maid seek an audience with a duke?

Mary was exceedingly restless, but she eventually lowered her head.

Her superior had given her an order, so did she have a choice?

The other servants briefly sympathized with Mary.

And that’s how bad rumors would start to circulate. They would say, I didn’t know that she would bully a new maid like this.

Then, those gossiping women would also say that they hoped this little girl wouldn’t succumb to this harassment.