I Became the Absolute Hidden Villainess Princess of the Academy

Chapter 18: The Villainess (?) and the Thousand-Ton Hammer (2)

The first lecture for the Magic Department freshmen, “Collaborative Research – Foundations,” had a notorious reputation.

Even Professor Stella herself, back in her academy days, had despised this subject.

The reason was simple: the course relied heavily on group projects.

The academy was a gathering place for talented mages, most of whom had egos towering as high as the heavens.

Forcing such people to work together? It was a recipe for disaster.

A certain wise mage had once described this course:

“When you gather five humans, at least one of them will be useless trash. But when you gather five mages, everyone except me is trash.”

Yet, today…

The atmosphere in the Collaborative Research lecture hall couldn’t have been warmer.

And it was all thanks to Esti.

—Thud, thud. Plop.

‘What is that? My pupil is absolutely adorable.’

When Stella reluctantly began the lecture, Esti toddled over to the seating area and plopped herself onto the lap of a noble lady.

The sight was so disarmingly innocent that everyone’s lips curled into fond smiles.

‘Well, my pupil is quite short. Sitting normally might make it hard for her to see the front.’

Most of the students assumed that Esti’s small stature was the reason.

The lecture hall desks were designed for adults and were quite tall.

At 135 cm, Esti would struggle to see properly if she sat normally.

Naturally, everyone figured she’d opted to raise her sitting height by perching on a friend’s lap.

Her dedication to learning earned collective fatherly smiles from the students.

…But the reality was a bit different.

“Huff… U-um, Princess…”

“Yes, Lady Schefor? What’s the matter?”

—Rub, rub.

‘Take this, you so-called villainess. Feel the weight of my… what was it again? A thousand-ton hammer? I don’t watch martial arts stuff much, but anyway, take that!’

To Esti, Schefor wasn’t a friend.

She was a heartless villain who’d dared to bully her precious Irene.

Sitting on Schefor’s lap was purely to make her uncomfortable.

With the imperial princess seated on her lap like a mountain, let’s see how a mere baron’s daughter handles it, she thought.

Esti even mentally chanted a clumsy name for her imaginary technique, all in her effort to crush the “villainess.”

However…

To Schefor, this wasn’t punishment—it was a reward.

A supreme one, at that.

“Huff… Haaah…!”

‘Oh heavens, how can something so small, so cute, and so soft exist…?’

Schefor, who had a particular weakness for small and adorable things, was overwhelmed.

The primary reason she’d even come to the academy was to get closer to Esti.

She couldn’t resist indulging in her ultimate favorite.

And now, Esti was bouncing her hips right on Schefor’s thighs.

The blood of the Vernone family roared in her veins.

“Haaah…!”

‘I want to hug her tight right this second…!!!’

Schefor’s breathing grew heavy, like a boar that had just found a feast after days of hunger.

Irene, seated nearby, even began to worry that Schefor might pass out.

Her arms trembled with barely restrained impulse.

Should she just close her eyes and pull Esti into a hug?

No, not yet. She still hadn’t cleared up the misunderstandings from yesterday—hugging her without permission might ruin everything.

But… the princess had chosen to sit on her lap, hadn’t she?

Didn’t that mean she was practically inviting a hug?

Her thoughts spiraled into self-justifications.

Yet, ultimately, Schefor didn’t move a muscle.

Drawing upon the iron will she’d honed as a socialite, she exercised perfect restraint.

‘I can’t recklessly hug her and cause trouble for my family. For the honor of the Vernone name….’

“……”

‘Oh, so you can endure the weight of the imperial family, huh? Let’s see how you handle this.’

—Rub, rub.

“Haaah…!”

‘For the Vernone family… For Vernone… Ver…noooone…!!!!’

Schefor bit her lip and mentally chanted her family name like a mantra, desperately clinging to her resolve.

Meanwhile, Louis, seated nearby, thought to himself:

‘…Does she like Esti, too? Is same-sex attraction just more common than I realized?’

If Schefor had overheard him, she would’ve exploded, demanding how he could say something so vulgar and absurd.

Having dealt with Schefor’s attempt to bother Irene by literally sitting on her, I noticed Louis giving us a strange look.

At that moment, my mentor began her lecture.

“This course will expose you to various schools of magic. Most of these will be unfamiliar unless you’re a witch.”

—Flinch.

Irene visibly tensed at the mention of “witches.”

Although her reaction was subtle—a quick intake of breath—it was noticeable to me.

But her small gasp was drowned out by Schefor’s still-ragged breathing, so no one else seemed to notice.

Well, no one except me, the ever-vigilant observer.

From my perspective, her attempt at hiding it was a failure.

‘Oh, come on… You should really take lessons from me on acting, protagonist lady.’

—Smirk.

With a small grin, I covertly cast a spell.

A silent communication spell, often referred to as telepathy.

—Ssshh…

[Testing, testing. Irene, can you hear me?]

“……?”

[Oh, Princess?]

Despite the unexpectedness of the telepathy, Irene responded calmly.

As expected of a witch, no one could rival her magical prowess.

And so, our secret conversation began.

[Since Schefor’s right behind us, I’ll use telepathy. Has she done anything to you?]

[No? Actually, she’s been really friendly.]

[Really? She didn’t look down on you or bully you at all?]

[Not at all. If anything, it feels like she’s been protecting me…?]

‘…Wait, what?’

I tilted my head in confusion.

I’d assumed without a doubt that Schefor was trying to bully Irene again, but apparently, it was the opposite?

For a brief moment, I wondered if I had misjudged her.

‘…No way. Irene’s too sweet. She probably didn’t even realize if Schefor said anything mean about her. Definitely.’

Shaking my head, I dismissed the thought.

There was no way pure-hearted Irene would recognize the subtle and venomous barbs of high society’s insults.

Annoyed, I jabbed my tailbone a few more times into Schefor’s abdomen while sending Irene another telepathic message.

—Jab, jab.

“Huff… Haaah….”

[Irene, you’re too nice for your own good. Tsk, tsk.]

[Me? Really?]

[Of course. Anyway, I’m glad nothing happened to you, but from now on, let’s always stick together—the three of us: me, you, and Louis. Got it?]

‘Schefor managed to latch onto Louis by himself, so we’ll need to handle her with both force and status. Louis can handle the muscle; I’ll bring the authority.’

I laid out our future game plan through telepathy.

Irene, being a witch, had a knack for attracting trouble just by existing, so moving in a trio was the safest bet.

Even the craziest villains wouldn’t dare challenge me, a royal, and Louis, who was stronger than most professors.

My words seemed to reassure Irene as her lips curved into a faint smile.

[But why does it have to be the three of us? Can’t it just be you and me?]

[Nope. It has to be Louis too.]

[Sigh… Fine. I’ll gladly go along with it.]

‘What? What’s with that look at Louis? Is she smiling at him? What’s going on between them!?’

The way she glanced at Louis while smiling—it was unmistakably the look of a girl in love.

She was clearly thrilled at the prospect of spending more time with her prince.

And when she turned to look at me, she was probably just grateful that I’d set this up for her.

Feeling pleased with myself, I couldn’t help but grin.

—Grin.

[Great! From now on, the three of us will stick together!]

[Yes, Princess. I’ll do my best for your sake.]

‘Huh? Why for my sake? Did she figure out I’m trying to set her up with Louis?’

[Wait, was I being that obvious?]

[Prince Louis hasn’t caught on, but… it’s pretty clear to another girl.]

[Hehe… That’s a little embarrassing.]

Although I felt a bit shy now that Irene had seen through my intentions, I wasn’t too concerned.

As long as Irene herself was on board, the rest didn’t matter.

What mattered was getting Louis, who was utterly clueless about women, to fall for her.

[Still, I’m glad you’re okay with this. I trust you, Irene.]

 [As your friend, I’ll do my best. Hehe.]

 [Thanks! If you need anything, just let me know!]

The lovestruck girl and her supportive Cupid exchanged warm smiles.

—Mutter.

“Esti’s surprisingly bold. Pairing up with two girls on the first day….”

From a distance, Louis mumbled something to himself, but I ignored it.

There was no way it was anything important. What would a blockhead like him know, anyway?

Irene couldn’t help but smile softly at Esti’s charm.

To her, the telepathic exchange had felt like Esti nervously asking for help because she was desperate to get closer to Louis.

Why did they have to stick with Louis?

Because Esti had a crush on him.

Why did Irene have to tag along?

Because Esti was too shy to be alone with him.

And when Irene had promised to help, Esti’s bashful little smile had been the cherry on top.

To Irene, Esti was just a girl hopelessly smitten, struggling to figure out how to approach the boy she loved.

‘She’s so endearing in her honesty. Even if I weren’t a witch or in survival mode, I’d still want to help her.’

—Ding!

[Affinity with ‘Irene’ has been adjusted. Current affinity: 65 (+5)]

Irene’s guardedness had softened just a bit more.

And in that gap, her witch-like instincts began to creep in like a snake flicking its tongue.

[Then, Princess, may I ask one favor?]

[Of course! Anything!]

[Could you tell me about what happened ten years ago?]

‘From what I’ve heard, it’s less about what happened and more about how she feels about it. That’ll tell me what I need.’

Irene’s request was startling, even to herself.

Asking the princess to revisit the traumatic events of a decade ago would’ve shocked anyone listening.

To probe the PTSD of the so-called “Tragic Princess” was a witch-like act indeed.

But Irene didn’t care.

She was doing this for Esti’s sake—and witches were never known for their kindness.

Yet, to Irene’s surprise…

Esti showed no sign of being hurt by the question.

‘Huh? Oh, it’s because of Louis, isn’t it?’

[Sure! I’ll tell you!]

Esti readily began to recount her past.

A story that had reduced countless listeners to tears, though the storyteller herself remained unscathed by it.

‘It’s only my first day in this body, so I might slip up a bit… but Irene, being a commoner, probably won’t overreact.’

[It happened on my birthday….]