I Never Wanted To Be A Villainess!!! Chapter 9: Tired Villainess

By the time Rosa opened her eyes once more, the sun had begun to set. Relena stayed by her side the entire time, refusing to leave, knowing that Rosa would need her when she awoke.

“Huh? Mother what am I… no, I… I killed…”

“Sweetie, just breathe,” Relena said to her daughter, trying to make sure that Rosa wouldn’t freak out again.

“M-mother why… why did I do something… l-like that.?” Rosa was still shocked and didn’t understand why she did such a thing. She wanted nothing more than to believe that it was a dream, but she couldn’t. Everything was still fresh in her mind.

“Sweetie, the world is a cruel place. You’ve seen pieces of that cruelty already. The maid that tried to poison you and the crown prince that forced you into an engagement that you never wanted. In this world, it is hard for the weak to survive. Our family refuses to be weak, we make sure that those that dare to harm us pay the price in one way or another. We train our family members from a young age o be able to deal with this cruel world.”

“Living in fear is no way to live. In order to get the results you want you must be willing to do whatever it takes. Before I used our family's training method to force you to do that to the maid. You were merely following my orders.”

“Why?” Rosa couldn’t understand, why would her mother make her do this?”

“To protect you,” Relena knew the cost of those that didn’t follow the teachings of their family. Each one of them perished. “I did it to protect you. I know that what I did was wrong to you, but after what happened with both maids and those thugs that caused you to lose your memories I couldn’t handle it any longer. I’m sorry for being a bad mother. I-”

Rosa couldn’t stand to see her mother act like this. She knew full well that what her mother did was wrong, but she couldn’t be mad at her. This world was filled with nothing more than death flags for her. This world didn’t care about her besides using her as a stepping stone to push the heroine to her chosen partner. If she did nothing while people kept harassing her, assaulting her, and trying to kill her then it would never end. But there was no way that she could deal with them by herself. She embraced her mother to show her that she could never hate her.

“I… I forgive you,” Rosa said to her. The skill that her mother helped her get was the best possible thing to help her right now. She knew she was far too emotional and weak of heart, but this skill would help her be strong.

“Sniff! I don’t deserve a kind child like you,” Relena and Rosa sat together for a while after that, each comforting one other. It would have been nice if there were allowed to spend this time alone, but unfortunately, such things were impossible.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

“Excuse me, Madam, there is a matter that requires the young Miss’ attention,” Jessica said from the other side of the door, not sounding pleased at all.

“Please come in and explain,” Relena said, speaking in a calm manner as the duchess of the house was expected to.

“Thank you, Madam,” Jessica said, entering the room. “About the matter that requires the Young Miss’ attention, it is not a pleasant one. The crown prince arrived a half hour ago and refuses to leave without seeing the Young Miss.”

“Tell him that she is still recovering from his birthday party,” Relena said, annoyed that a mere boy, despite being the crown prince would come here again unannounced and demand to see her daughter. It was utterly ridiculous.

“Madam we had already tried that, given your recent orders, but he refuses to see reason. As the Duke is not currently in the mansion there is no one of high enough ranking to actually force him to leave.”

“Tsk, so that’s the reason why Robert was called to the castle today. That little prince is craftier than expected.” Relena knew that the prince would cause an even greater fuss if they refused him, so unfortunately, they had to concede to his whiny demands for now.

“Mother, can we just send him away?” Rosa asked too tired from before to even consider dealing with the prince. She didn’t want to stress herself out with him demanding that she show him her face.

“I’m sorry sweetie,” Relena said back to her, knowing that her daughter just wanted to rest. “Tell the prince that we will have a small chat over tea. Once this is over we can kick him out.”

“Really?” Rosa felt like she was going to pass out.

“As you wish Madam, I’ll inform him that he is allowed in the unused garden,” Jessica said, bowing her head before leaving.

“Fufufu~. Jessica always knows exactly what I need,” Relena said happily. She purposely built a barely attend garden for unwanted guests. “We’d had best invite your brother as well~. I’m certain that he’ll enjoy the show as well~.”

“Show?” Rosa didn’t understand what her mother meant. She was all for not treating the prince with any respect, but why did her brother have to come along as well?

“Don’t worry sweetie, you’ll see soon enough,” Relena said back to her. Consider this as a present for being a brave girl before. Come along we need to get you ready~.”

Relena knew that it would be better for Rosa’s mental health to rest, but given the annoying little bug they had to deal with another solution to help Rosa ease the stress on her mind was created.

By the time Rosa was changed into a brand new dress and her hair was done, another half hour had passed. Her mother and Jessica escorted her to the “united visitors” garden.

The garden looked terrible, almost like it belonged to a haunted house. The only thing that looked brand new were the pavilion and the table under it. This was done for safety. Relena didn’t wish to take the chance of the table or pavilion breaking while in use.

As they walked over to the pavilion Rosa could already see the prince. He was sitting uncomfortably in a chair that had misaligned legs. Rosa couldn’t help but smile underneath her mask, seeing him struggle. By wearing the mask her new skill [Covered Frozen Heart] was active, but it would seem that she was able to enjoy small things like this.

At first, she was worried when it said that it would dilute her emotions while her face was covered, but she finally figured out what that meant. She believed that it helped her maintain her composure. She could still feel her emotions, but she felt like she was better at controlling them.

Also, another good thing that came out of it was that she was calm right now. She was still mentally exhausted after everything that happened, but her mind felt more at ease than it did before. It was like it was relaxing her.

“Finally! I’ve been waiting forever!” the crown prince Julian yelled, seeing Relena and Rosa arrive.

“We are sorry for the wait your Highness, but as our head maid must have informed you, Rosa is still feeling quite unwell after your party. We needed to be careful while helping her prepare.”

“She doesn’t look sick at all. Take off the mask so I can see your face,” he said, not even waiting a minute into their conversation before asking her to take off her mask.

“Prince, you have already agreed to the terms set in place by your father,” Relena said to him. “If you ask again I will have to inform him of your lack of control. My daughter's face shall remain covered.”

“Tsk, you hid her face because you're jealous of hers,” he said back to her in an arrogant tone. “My mother says that it is only natural for my fiancé to showcase her beauty, and those without are the ones that should be covering their faces.”

What? What the hell did he just say!? How dare he call her mother ugly!?

“Well, not everyone can have such distinct looks like you, your highness,” Relena said, pissed off that this brat called her ugly. “Though you are most certainly right my daughter is indeed quite the beauty, to think that you would want to share that beauty with everyone, instead of holding it on to for yourself.”

“Hehe~! Of course! I am a most generous prince!” Julian yelled out, unaware of the secondary meaning of Relena’s words. His shallow emotions for Rosa would not last, and that was the one trait about the prince that she liked.

“In fact, I’m so generous that I brought my fiancé gifts!” Several servants came out with dozens of presents. Dresses, stuffed animals, dolls, jewels, and even sweets. Julian was told by his mother that the easiest way to win a girl's heart was by showering her with gifts. There would be no way for her to deny him now.

“My, why aren’t those lovely,” Relena said with a fake smile across her face. The prince had not even concerned himself with what Rosa would like. The pile of presents that he brought did not suit Rosa at all. Bright-colored dresses, stuffed animals riddled with gems, jewels that were far too bulky for a child to wear, and heavy sweats. None of these were to Rosa’s taste.

“Hahaha~! I wasn’t asking for your opinion, but at least now it looks like your mother understands that you will be happy if you decide to stay with me! You love my gifts so much that you’re speechless!” Julian was laughing as if he had won Rosa’s heart, but that defiantly wasn’t the case.

“I don’t need them,” Rosa said back to him, feeling that she was no longer scared to face him thanks to the mask. “I cannot accept such gifts.”

“Yes, that's right you must love… what?” Julian was dumbfounded. Did she just say that she was refusing his gifts? “I’m sorry, but I must have heard you wrong. I could have sworn that you just denied the gifts I was offering you.”

“I did,” Rosa said, wondering if there was something wrong with the prince’s hearing. “I have no reason to accept such gifts especially since they weren’t prepared for me.” Rosa couldn’t believe that she was able to maintain such a calm demeanor, in this situation. Before she would be too afraid to even speak.  This new skill was not as bad as she thought.

“What are you talking about? Of course, they’re for you!” Julian yelled at her. His pride was hurt after being denied like this. “Just look at them!”

“Your Highness, it is a shame, but my daughter is correct,” Relena said to the prince, happy to see that Rosa was making him flustered. “None of these gifts can be accepted.”

“That’s not possible! As my fiancé, she should be grateful to accept my gifts!” Julian was furious. All she had to do was accept his kindness and none of this would be happening right now.

“It’s because none of your gifts are worthy to be given to my sister.”