I Never Wanted To Be A Villainess!!! Chapter 16: Guilty

“Rosa Dawn, we, the members of this court, find you guilty!”

“What! That isn’t fai-mmmph~!” Roland tried to stand up for his sister, but Robert covered his son’s mouth.

There was nothing that any of them could do besides accept the verdict.

“For the crime of trying to break the prince's foot as well as enticing him to unleash forbidden area magic, you are sentenced to one month volunteering at the church orphanage. Your sentence is greatly diminished as you are the prince's fiancé. Hopefully, this time serving the commoners will make you understand the importance of your status and how you should behave yourself.”

“Thank you, honorable members, of the court, for your swift and fair judgment,” Rosa said, bowing her head.

Her mask made it seem that she was emitting a calm demeanor, but underneath, she was furious.

While it was true that she purposely stepped on his feet, to go as far as to say that she was trying to break his foot was ridiculous. And then to accuse her for what he did at her party was insane since he almost killed her.

The court served the royal family. It was obvious that they would twist everything against her.

“Mother, we can’t let this stand!” Roland yelled once more after they got into the carriage. “How dare they side with that psycho! We all saw what he did! If it weren’t for you and father, Rosa would have died!”

“Roland, while I do share your anger, going against the court's judgment, fair or not, will only lead to more problems,” Robert said to his son.

“Your father is right, and besides, this punishment is not a bad opportunity for Rosa,” Relena said, holding Rosa’s hand.

She was very proud of Rosa for upholding herself in a dignified fashion.

“But mother, having to volunteer at an orphanage is beneath her.”

“Brother, mother is right,” Rosa said, taking off her mask and smiling.

She was still pissed off that the court conspired against her, but this was a good opportunity to interact with kids her own age.

There was still the tea party that she would have with Cerise later today, but the other participants would be nobles that are forced to act refined. While she was adapting quite well, Rosa still needed time to acclimate to this new society. Interacting with commons would help her relieve parts of her old life.

“I think I will like it.”

“You see. The royal family may think that they are punishing Rosa by making her interact with kids from an orphanage, but she doesn’t hold such prejudices as they do,” Relena said, proud of her daughter.

“But mother, after everything that the commoners have done to her, I can’t trust her to be around them.”

“Roland, it’s not just commoners that do bad things. All people are capable of evil. Just look at the royal family. And if you wish to look at it, our family is quite evil.”

“But we do those things because we have to.”

“Yes, but from an outside perspective, we are the ones in the ones. And besides, who ever said that Rosa would be going alone? She will be well protected by her escort, and Mary will be there with her. That girl was an orphan as well. Perhaps she will be able to meet an old friend.”

“Fine, but I’m coming along as well.”

Roland was eager to keep Rosa safe, but there were times when his over-eagerness would cause problems for Rosa.

“No, you will be staying with me for the next month for the way you conducted yourself at today’s trial, young man.”

Robert would make sure that his son understood that his actions almost caused more harm than good.

“But father-”

“No, I have spoken.”

A tense atmosphere began to form around those two while Relena was already preparing in her mind what her darling daughter would wear to her friend’s tea party.

“Mother, are you sure about this?” Rosa asked an hour later, once they were back at their mansion.

Rosa had gotten used to wearing dresses since she woke up in this world, but the current dress that she was wearing was a bit on the thin side.

“Sweetie, a red sundress and red sunhat look wonderful on you,” Relena said, wondering if a lace trim would work better. “It’s a sundress tea party. If you go in anything else, you would be insulting your friend.”

“…Fine…”

Rosa knew that she couldn’t win against her mother in an argument and allowed Relena to have her way until they finally reached Cerise’s mansion.

“Remember, sweetie, to have fun, and don’t let anyone look down on you. And Mary make sure that she doesn’t try to hide anything from me.

“Of course, ma’am,” Mary said, getting out of the carriage first.

“Mother, it'll be fine,” Rosa told her, pausing for a second before placing her mask on and making her way out of the carriage.

“Rosa, it is so good to see you,” Cerise said, greeting her friend, wearing a light purple sundress and a light purple sunhat. “I heard what happened today. Their judgment wasn’t fair.”

“It already spread this fast?”

“Of course it did. And to no one’s surprise, they are supporting the prince's side. They are making you out to be some sort of villainess.”

It hurt her a great deal that so many people were blaming Rosa for what happened. She was there, and she saw everything that had happened. Just because her father feared the wrath of the royal family, he forced her not to speak.

“It’s fine. Let them think what they want to think.”

Rosa knew that it was her fate to be a villainess, so it would be best to get used to it now.

“Um, Rosa, there is also another rumor that you should know before-”

“Lady Dawn, you've finally arrived. We were wondering if you would come. To think it took our host to personally go get you to come here.”

“Lady Marygold, please refrain from assuming too much,” Cerise said back to Elizabeth Marygold, the daughter of Count Marygold.

“I’m sorry, I was merely concerned that our host had to get up to meet her. We’ve all heard the rumors. We are worried that they may be true.”

“Hmm? And what rumors are you speaking about?” Rosa asked, sitting down.

She knew that there would already be people that disliked her because of the prince, but it looked like everyone here besides Cerise believed in these nasty rumors.

“The rumors that you were the one who convinced the prince to attack everyone at your party. And not to mention the rumors about your appearance.”

“Lady Marygold!”

“It’s alright.” Rosa could tell that her friend was trying to protect her, but it would be fine.  “Please enlighten me.”

“Well, y-you see, the… the rumors….” Elizabeth started to say nervously

What was going on? Why was she getting nervous now? Why did she feel like she was staring into to abyss just by looking at Rosa’s mask?

“There are rumors that you were only able to become to prince's fiancé because you used dark magic to charm him. They say that there was no way that you could win his affection with a face horribly scared with scars.”

“Scars? This is the first time that I’m hearing that I have scars on my face.”

“Lady Dawn, forgive me if this sounds rude, but why else would you wear a mask?”

“Pfft~.”

“She must be hideous.”

“Poor thing. The prince deserves better.”

“To think she would actually show up here.”

Whispering among the other girls at the table began to target Rosa.

She knew that her mask was easily something to be gossiped about, but to think that she was already being called hideous in this short amount of time. The system that runs that game must definitely be behind this. Though she had already come up with a plan.

“Oh my. You must not have heard the full story. Allow me to clarify in order to not cause any confusion,” Rosa said, looking at the other girls, shutting them up with a blank stare from her mask.

“After seeing me for the first time, the prince became infatuated with me and asked for my hand in marriage. My mother and father thought that it was too rash for children our age to get engaged upon our first meeting. Though the prince insisted, and we became engaged.”

Rosa looked around before taking a sip of her tea. It would seem that all the girls were getting invested, so it would be best to continue.

“Per my family’s traditions, I am required to wear this mask until our wedding day. Only myself and the one that truly loves me will be able to take off this mask. This is a test for the prince to show everyone that he is willing to endure not seeing my face before marriage.”

“That… that’s something out of a fairy tale~,” Elizabeth said, blushing from embarrassment like some of the other girls.

“As for any scars, I have none on my face. Though these rumors of my face being scared hurts my heart.

“Lady Dawn, we are sorry. We didn’t mean to belittle your determination by speaking false rumors. I will do everything in my power to help stop these rumors. My father will surely be willing to help.”

Yes, of course, he would. The Marygold family was a family that specialized in rumors and information. In the game, Elizabeth was seen as an outcast because people learned to trust her loose lips. The heroine would go to Elizabeth and exchange money for information about the capture targets and the villainess. However, it was similar to gambling as the information given was set at random. Supposedly there was a way to make her give you the information that you wanted, but she was never able to figure that out.

“Thank you, lady Marygold, but please, call me Rosa. We’re all friends here.”

Rosa smiled, watching the count on the red screen go up.

This mission to make friends created by the system before she arrived was the pretty beneficial one. In the game, Rosa had followers because of her looks and status. Currently, Rosa only had her position. Her mask would make things difficult for her to become a proper villainess in the future.

The system seemed to realize that and gave her specific instructions that she followed to the letter. And with each girl that believed in her love for the prince, the more points she earned.

[+9 Villainess Points]

“Yes, thank you, Miss- I mean Rosa, it is our honor.”

“No, the honor is mine. Now, let’s all enjoy ourselves before the tea gets cold.

“Rosa, I’m terribly sorry for what happened at the party today,” Cerise said, watching the last of the guests leave.

She just wanted to have a nice tea party with Rosa and introduce her to some of her friends, but she never expected that they would act like that. Though she was quite surprised that Rosa was able to turn things around in her favor. Rumors can easily be replaced by new rumors.

Unfortunately, rumors started by the royal family were not easily stopped.

“It’s fine,” Rosa said back to her. “To be honest, I was surprised that they weren’t worse. It’s a shame that they don’t know the real prince, but the one that they were made to believe.”

“I know that it is getting late, but would you like to have another cup of tea with me?”

“Of course.”

There was no reason for Rosa to be mad at Cerise. This world was cruel, and she expected things like this to happen. And with the system helping her, there may be a chance. For her to survive and help those, she cares about.

“As for your punishment, I don’t suppose that you wouldn’t find it rude if I volunteer to come along?” Cerise asked as Mary poured them some more tea.

“There is no need for you to do that. It’ll only be a month. I think I can manage by myself.”

“Please I insist. Think of it as spending time for a close friend.”

Cerise grabbed Rosa’s hands, begging her to accept her kindness. She hated that she was being punished because of the crown prince, and she wanted to let Rosa know that she wasn’t alone.

“Fine,” Rosa said, smiling under her mask. Perhaps spending a month volunteering at the orphanage won’t be so bad.