I Never Wanted To Be A Villainess!!! Chapter 17: The Heroine

“Oh, now don’t the two of you look lovely,” Relena said in the carriage as they approached the orphanage.

Rosa and Cerise were given simple and plain clothes to wear while in the orphanage to ensure that kids with sticky fingers wouldn’t take what didn’t belong to them. As well as to make the kids feel more comfortable around them. Rosa’s mask was also painted to make her look like a doll.

“Cerise, I am so glad you offered to volunteer with Rosa. This means the world to her. And Mary, ensure these two staytwo stay. It’s safe and don’t cause any trouble.”

“Mother, please stop. It’s embarrassing,” Rosa said, blushing under the mask. When was her mother going to stop treating her like a child?

“Alright, alright, no more teasing, but do be safe, and Rosa, take breaks when you need them. Your body is not well enough to be running around all day.”

“Yes, mother.”

“And don’t worry about eating anything here. There will be a nice big feast waiting for you when we get home. And-”

“Mother~!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Relena said, hugging Rosa. “I worry, is all. Please stay safe and try to have some fun. You’ll be surprised.

After finally saying their goodbyes, Rosa, Cerise, and Mary left the carriage, where the orphanage director greeted them.

“The children are so excited to meet you three. They have always wanted to meet a noble their age,” he said, leading them to the backyard through the orphanage.

“The Eckart family actually sponsors this orphanage. Everything here was given to us generously by the Eckart family. While it doesn’t look like much, the kids live quite decent lives. They can eat three meals a day, learn how to read and write and play all they want. We are so lucky that the young Miss of the Eckart family decided to accompany the beloved crown prince’s fiancé.”

“No, the honor is mine. If it weren’t for Rosa, we wouldn’t be here,” Cerise happily said back to him, glad that her family’s donations were being used properly.

“Yes, young lady Dawn is truly a special person. Rumors of her unique taste in fashion have even reached commoners. It is wonderful that you decided to change up your mask style to make children more comfortable.”

“Thank you,” Rosa said, annoyed that he would talk about her as if she was not there.

“Here, right this way to the children,” he said, opening one last door where a group of 12 children waited for them in an empty dining room.

The children looked no older than eight years old. Each of them was appropriately dressed, but you could tell they had been slightly malnourished. Despite what the director said, he must have pocketed some of the money. Corruption runs deep anywhere you look.

“Alright, children, I would like you to greet our two guests today, Lady Cerise Eckhart and Lady Rosa Dawn.”

“Thank you for visiting us today!” They all said in unison, most likely having practiced that line multiple times.

“So I shall leave the two of you with the children, and if you have any questions, please don't be afraid to ask your helper. She is the oldest member of the orphanage, but she is more than skilled enough to handle any problems you might face.”

“Here she is now. Please greet our two noble volunteers today,” the director said as a young girl with pink hair dressed in clothes much finer than the other children walked up to them.

“Greetings, Lady Eckhart and Lady Dawn,” the girl said, bowing her head before them, walking them a small courtesy.

Rosa found this odd since this was the type of greeting you would see from other nobles rather than from commoners. Just who was this girl?

[Special Event Started: First Meeting With The Heroine!]

[Make her understand her place as a commoner (+15)]

What? There was no way that… wait, this could have been a secret cutscene in the game to make Rosa look like even more of a villainess.

“My name is Flora, it is a… pleasure?”

Flora paused for a second when she raised her head to look at Rosa, surprised to see a mask covering her face.

“Is there a problem?” Cerise asked, seeing a look of concern etched across Flora’s face.

“…I’m sorry, Lady Eckart, I was just distracted by Lady Dawn’s beautiful mask. I am curious as to why she wears it.”

What? Even the way this girl spoke made Rosa feel uneasy. This girl was the one who would bring Rosa to her doom. There was no way that she could stay near her. Luckily, the system wasn’t going to punish her for disobeying.

“I… I wear it to show the prince, my love,” Rosa said, almost gagging on her own words, speaking loud enough for the other children to hear.

“The prince?”

“Is she a princess?”

“Why does she look like a doll?”

“I wanna play with the princess.”

“No, me.”

“I called playing with the princess first!”

The children began to swarm Rosa, each one interested in seeing the “princess.”

“Now, now, everyone, I’m sure that the princess would like her space,” Flora said, gently pushing them away from Rosa. “I’m sure she must hate having orphans like us get so close. It’s only natural for nobles and princesses to shy away from us.”

Rosa was certain now that Flora did not like her. While Flora may have a smile on her face, she could hear the malice in her words. It was almost as if the girl was trying to make Rosa mad.

“No, it’s almost, though, as Flora mentioned, a bit of restraint is needed. I don’t think I can answer all of your questions simultaneously. I’m sure that’s what you meant to say, right?”

“Hehehe~. Of course,” Flora said, still smiling, but Rosa could see her left eye start to twitch.

“Miss, as instructed, the snacks have been prepared outside,” Mary said, coming up to her after meeting with the kitchen staff to set up an area outside for everyone to eat and have fun.

During the short time that Rosa had to prepare, she thought of many different ways to have fun with these kinds, and what better way than to give them snacks that they were never given before? Luckily, she informed Mary to prepare everything beforehand.

“Mary? I can’t believe it’s really you!” Flora yelled, running straight up to Mary as if they were long-time friends. “I waited so long to see you!”

“…Miss?” Mary looked back towards Rosa with a confused look across her face.

“Flora, do you know my maid?” Rosa asked, patiently waiting for Flora to let go of Mary, but she never did.

“Maid? Mary, you’re already her maid? Was I too late? Princess, how could you have someone that is no older than yourself serve as your maid? That’s so cruel.”

“The princess is forcing her to be a maid?”

“Why would she do that?”

“Is the princess a bad princess?”

“Flora knows best.”

“Flora looks more like a princess than the princess.”

“Shhh! She’ll hear you.”

“Princess, please tell me that aren't you abusing her,” Flora said, seeming to have waited for the other kids to start gossiping amongst themselves.

“I have no idea what you are… hmm?”

“Excuse me, Miss, but I would be grateful if you allow me to speak for myself,” Mary said, stepping forward. She had no intention of letting Rosa’s name be besmirched.

“Of course, Mary.”

Rosa had no intention of stopping Mary from speaking. While they hadn’t been together long, Rosa knew that she could more than trust her.

“Thank you, Miss. As for you, while I do appreciate that you are concerned, I have no issue with being a maid. Miss Rosa offered me this position after she saved my life. I am grateful to have met such a kind and caring girl.”

“Mary, there is no reason for you to say that if you don’t mean that. I’m sure that being a maid must be tough. Wouldn’t you want to have fun with all of us? “

“I would, but I enjoy being a maid, and please stop making it sound like we know each other. I may have been an orphan like you, but I lived on the streets. That is where the Miss found me.”

“I-I… I’m sorry!” Tears began to flow out of Flora's eyes as she ran out of the room.

“Princess made Flora cry!”

“Princess is mean!”

The kids ran off after Flora, leaving Rosa, Cerise, and Mary alone.

Rosa had expected something like this to happen since Flora was the heroine, but for some reason, she couldn’t help but feel that Flora was out to get her from the very beginning. No, it had to be her imagination.

“Well, she’s quite the dramatic one,” Cerise said, confused by what happened. “Why did she start crying all of a sudden, Mary didn’t sound that mean.”

“I’m sorry, Miss,” Mary said, bowing her head. “I should have been a bit more respectful with her.”

“It’s fine. Once they see what we have planned outside for them, they are all sure to feel much better,” Rosa told her, excited to see the kid's bright expression from eating all of the treats that she had prepared. “Come on, let’s go make sure that everything is okay.”

The three of them followed after the kids upstairs, where Flora was crying her eyes out.

“Leave me alone!” she yelled, trying to make everyone avoid her. “You’re here to mock me, aren’t you!”

What? Why would Rosa do that? What the heck was this girl talking about? The director said that she was dependable, but looking at her now, Rosa couldn’t see what was so great other than that she was the heroine.

“Don’t bully Flora!!!” several of the kids shouted, misunderstanding what was going on.

“Don’t worry, we’re not here to bully here. We’re here to apologize to her and share some special snacks. If you follow Cerise downstairs, she can bring you to them. I promise that you’ll love them.”

“Really?”

“Really, now go on, have some fun. We’ll be down in a second.”

“Please don’t take too long,” Cerise said, doing her best to lead the kids away from Flora’s room.

“…Leave me alone,” Flora said, refusing to look at either Rosa or Mary. “You’re just going to make me seem like a fool again for standing up for a poor, defenseless maid.”

“No one is here to do that,” Rosa said to her, thinking that this girl was taking things to a higher level than they needed to be. “Next time, don’t make assumptions before you talk. That way, things like this won’t happen.”

“Sniff! I guess you’re right. A commoner like me isn’t worthy of speaking her mind. Sniff. I’ll go down and tell the others that I learned my lesson,” Flora said, her crying stopping as if she was upset at all, leaving the room before Rosa could wrap her head around what that girl was thinking.

[Make the heroine understand her place as a commoner-bzzzzzz- Error!]