The Perks of Being a Villainess

While everyone was thrown into confusion, Isidore easily slipped through the people surrounding me and strode confidently toward me. His legs were so long that the distance between us closed in an instant.

"Where are you going?"

Isidore asked with a gentle and friendly tone, his kind eyes curving like a crescent moon.

"What does it matter to you?"

I hurriedly avoided his gaze and replied hastily, trying to defend myself against Isidore's merciless facial charm. My throat was tight with tension, so ironically, my voice came out low—as if I were threatening him.

"If you're free, I was thinking we could have tea together."

"There seems to be a lot of people over there who'd gladly have tea with you."

I gestured toward the neatly clustered crowd. They looked too scared to approach, whispering among themselves while watching us.

"You don't need to worry about other people."

Isidore leaned his face slightly forward and spoke in a whisper. His deep and mellow voice resonated against my eardrums.

This guy… is such a fox.

"Do I look like the type to care about others? Are you really clueless, or just pretending to be?"

Trying to hold onto my dazed mind, I snapped back with a thorny remark.

"Haha!"

For some reason, he suddenly let out a laugh.

What's so funny? Don't tell me this is one of those cliché situations. Like, "You're the first woman to treat me this coldly"—that kind of worn-out trope.

"I'm busy, so I'll be going now."

I shook the absurd thoughts out of my head and turned away.

"That's a shame. I wanted to talk about you and the social club."

A social club?

I froze mid-step.

Isidore's unexpected suggestion had definitely piqued my interest.

If it's a club associated with the Visconti family's young master, then surely it wouldn't be a bad place for me to join.

Besides, considering that the character named Isidore never appeared in the novel, it was clear that the club he belonged to was not Aracron.

But still, why wasn't Isidore in the original novel?

Just by his face alone, he's main lead material on a bullet train!

Either way, since Isidore wasn't one of Miya's many fish in her pond, I had no information about him whatsoever.

I really can't tell what he's scheming. I should probably ask Master to gather some intel on Isidore Visconti.

While hesitating with my back turned to him, I eventually looked over my shoulder.

I couldn't grasp his intentions in approaching me, but one thing was certain—I couldn't ignore his offer about the social club.

"I have to attend class now. Let's talk later."

"Yes. Let's talk later."

Even though my reply was vague, Isidore smiled brightly, his eyes curving gently.

As expected, that face is dangerously charming.

It might cost a lot, but I reaffirmed my resolve to ask Master to investigate him.

With that thought in mind, I quickly headed toward the magic education hall.

***

The magic education hall was filled with a damp and gloomy aura.

It felt unsettling—much like when mana was forcibly channeled into my body. Once again, I was reminded that Deborah's body was incompatible with mana.

If I don't have talent, then money really is the only answer.

Feeling the urgent need for more gold coins again, I walked through the hallway lined with mana stones imbued with lighting magic.

Today's class was on magic formula theory. Since I couldn't handle mana, my curriculum consisted almost entirely of theory-based subjects.

No matter how much theory I mastered, I couldn't use any of it in practice. Honestly, it felt no different from trying to clap with one hand.

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I entered the classroom.

The noisy surroundings immediately went silent, and fearful stares clung to my cheeks.

I found myself getting used to those kinds of gazes as I picked a comfortable seat.

There was a strange sense of relief—like I was playing the role of the villainess without breaking character.

A little while later, a man in a black robe climbed onto the platform alongside a teaching assistant.

His face looked haggard, with dark circles under his eyes and a slouched posture from lack of sleep.

Something about him felt oddly familiar, and I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

Why does this mage give off engineering student vibes...?

Come to think of it, Belec had also been holed up in the magic tower for quite some time, not showing his face at all. I had casually asked a maid, and she said there was an issue with the artifact he had been pouring his efforts into.

Last week, when we happened to cross paths in the hallway, he just passed by without saying a word—like he didn't even have the energy to argue.

Was he really just that exhausted?

Maybe being a mage is just as much of a soul-crushing job as an engineering major...

Suddenly, I had a rational suspicion—could being talentless in mana actually be a blessing in disguise?

Thud!

As I sat with doubts swirling in my mind, the assistant beside the mage dropped a thick stack of handouts onto the desk with a loud thump.

The mage casually gestured to the stack of handouts with a tilt of his chin.

"These are the formulas you need to master this quarter. If you lack the willingness to study on your own, or if your logical thinking is weak, you'll find it hard to keep up."

He spoke with an irritable tone.

His biting warning caused nervous glances to pass between the students.

Sigh…

After being used to mild-mannered tutors, being hit with a 'spicy-level' professor was enough to sour my mood. It felt like I had regressed into a previous life.

"Today, we'll just have a light test, and then that's it. Solve the problems, turn them in, and you're free to leave."

The mage, who clearly didn't want to teach, swiftly exited the classroom, leaving only the assistant behind.

A pop quiz on formulas out of nowhere…?

Over the summer break, the classes focused on magic circles, and since magic formulas were the thing Deborah hated most, barely any memory fragments related to formulas remained in my head.

There's no way I'll be able to solve them anyway—might as well just kill time and leave.

What a waste of time.

I couldn't even sense mana to begin with—I didn't even know why I was here.

Honestly, I just want to quit.

But in the past, it was Deborah herself who had relentlessly begged and insisted on entering the Magic Faculty. If I suddenly changed my mind now, there's no way the Duke would simply say, "Alright."

How do I escape from this...?

While I was racking my brain for a safe exit strategy, the assistant started scribbling quiz questions on the blackboard with the sound of chalk scraping against it.

Hm?

Looking at the board, I had a strange feeling—I might actually be able to solve this.

I picked up my quill and wrote down my answers.

After finishing, I was the very first to submit my answer sheet and walk out.

***

"Why does this answer sheet only have the final answers, without showing any work in between?"

"That belongs to Lady Deborah."

At the assistant's explanation, Professor Kyle, who taught magic formulas, frowned and clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"She must have threatened another student and copied their answers. Just like the rumors say. Honestly… how did someone like her come out of the Seymour family?"

While the twin heirs of Seymour struck fear and despair into the hearts of mages with their monstrous talent, Lady Deborah made people genuinely question how she could possibly share the same bloodline as the twins.

"How irritating."

Kyle tossed the answer sheet to the floor and grumbled in a sharp tone.

Calling her in to scold her felt risky—she was, after all, the cherished daughter of the Master of the Magic Tower.

If he did that carelessly, the blowback might fall on him instead.

But ignoring it would raise issues of fairness, and as a professor, it also felt like a blow to his authority.

He scratched his head irritably.

"I guess I have to call her in and give her a word, huh? Say that cheating isn't acceptable. Damn it. I'm a professor, not a babysitter. I'm already drowning in work, and now I have to deal with something this basic?"

"But... Lady Deborah was the first to write her answers and leave the classroom. If she uses that as a counterargument when confronted, we wouldn't have a solid case against her."

"Really?"

"Yes. Even for someone quick with formulas, it would take at least fifteen minutes to solve those problems. But she walked out in just five."

"Aha, I see. So she just guessed, and somehow got it right. Lady Deborah really is... incredibly lucky."

"Couldn't agree more, Professor."

"Well, it's not just luck. She's pretty too. Though she gives off too strong an aura for my taste."

"She's not really my type either."

"If she's so sharp, why not just marry into a good household? She can't even use mana—what's she doing here? There are people out there pouring their souls into building mana circles and memorizing formulas just to get into a magic research lab."

Kyle muttered in frustration, lightly kicking Lady Deborah's answer sheet with the tip of his shoe.

***

As soon as I arrived home, I called for a servant and told them to prepare for a trip to the library located in the annex.

I had become curious—did I really understand the formula correctly before solving it?

It's fairly big. Still much smaller than a university library, but not bad.

The library run by the Seymour family existed only faintly in Deborah's memories.

It showed just how little this body had to do with books until now.

When I entered the library, the man stationed there widened his eyes in surprise.

Apparently, he didn't expect me to show up.

"Lady Deborah. Are you looking for a specific book?"

The man asked in a somewhat suspicious tone.

Unlike most servants, he didn't seem particularly intimidated by me—suggesting that he probably held a relatively high position in the household.

Well, being a librarian meant he had received a proper education. He's likely the son of a trusted vassal family.

"I'm just here to browse for now."

Upon hearing my response, he glanced down at my high heels and let out a short sigh, wearing an expression like he was dealing with a clueless child.

"If I may offer a word to spare Lady the trouble—this library mostly consists of Imperial histories and magic texts. We do not carry romance novels currently popular among noble ladies."

Excuse me? What's with this guy's attitude?