The Perks of Being a Villainess

"What did you just say?"

Belek stood frozen for a moment, like he'd just been slapped, then gave a hollow laugh—clearly deciding I must've been joking.

"You're getting better at pissing me off every day. If that was a joke, it wasn't funny."

"It's not a joke."

"Deborah, don't say such absurd things so carelessly. Are you seriously declaring that you'll abandon your duties as a noble lady? Have you lost your mind? Or are you actually planning to enter a convent?"

"..."

The moment the word convent came out of his mouth—the one ending I desperately wanted to avoid—my chest tightened in panic.

"Watch your mouth. Stop bringing shame to our family."

Belek growled with a threatening tone, his presence radiating hostility. As his attendants began approaching from behind, he clicked his tongue and backed away.

"We'll talk again later."

"There's nothing to talk about."

I replied while curling my trembling fingers into a fist.

"Whether you want to or not, you will. And as your older brother, here's some serious advice—give up on Pilaf Montes."

"..."

"Louis Gazelle is decent enough. He's from a wealthy family—you'll thank me one day."

Belek forced a fake smile and lightly patted my shoulder.

"The days where you could have whatever you wanted… aren't those long gone?"

After throwing out everything he wanted to say, he walked away in quick strides.

'A convent…'

I pressed my temple, which had started to throb, and stood there blankly for a while.

***

After the argument with Belek, I found myself spiraling into a panic. I never imagined Belek Seymour himself would personally shove a fiancé in my face.

In this family, Belek's influence and authority couldn't even be compared to my standing as just a Duke's daughter. This was a seriously dangerous situation.

'I'm losing it.'

Deborah was nineteen this year.

After this fall's debutante ball, she would be legally eligible for marriage. If things kept going like this, I'd be forced into marrying that perverted creep Louis Gazelle without a single chance to stop it…

"I'm screwed."

Who knew such a horrific subplot was hidden in this story? No wonder Deborah clung so desperately to tormenting the female lead. With her arrogance towering sky-high, being pushed into a match with some Count family's weirdo like Gazelle—it's no surprise she snapped.

And on top of that, the Montes heir she had been eyeing for so long ended up hopelessly obsessed with some unknown girl from a fallen noble house. No wonder she blew a fuse every time she saw Mia.

"Ugh!!"

I'm furious too! After getting burned by a lowlife like Kim Hanjun, I swore off dating altogether. And now they want me to marry a sleazy, twisted freak? This is just beyond ridiculous.

'I should've known. Everything was going way too smoothly.'

Filled with frustration and helplessness, I started slamming my fists into a fluffy pillow like it was a punching bag.

I thought if I didn't mess with the female lead, I could avoid the convent ending and just coast along peacefully. But that was far too naive.

"Wait a second."

Hair a mess and lying face-down on the bed, I suddenly shot up and called out to the servant who had brought me tea.

"Y-Yes, my lady."

The maid, who had just set down the tray, quickly knelt with a face drained of all color.

"I'm suddenly dying to know—what happens when a noble daughter refuses a marriage arranged by her family?"

As I grabbed at my hair in frustration, the maid's expression grew even more pale. Naturally, a crazy person is always scarier than an evil one.

"I-I'm sorry, but… there's never been such a case before…"

"Then use your imagination."

"If… if she refuses to marry…"

What she said next was completely despair-inducing.

If I refused marriage and kept resisting, I'd have no new surname to inherit. That would mean my noble title would be revoked, I'd be expelled from aristocratic society… and sent off to a convent.

'You've got to be kidding. How is this any different from the original ending?'

Was my fate destined to end in a convent from the very beginning? Now I understood why Belek looked at me like I'd lost my mind when I said I wouldn't marry.

'It really was total nonsense.'

With a heavy heart, I pressed the maid further, clinging to a last shred of hope.

"That's weird. Why hasn't anyone ever refused a marriage before? Families can try to marry us off to people we don't even want."

This is a world where people live—there's no way there haven't been exceptions.

"There must be some rare cases, right? I'm just curious. And when I'm curious, I can't sleep. If I can't sleep, that's going to be your responsibility, got it?"

I started throwing out wild logic, interrogating her persistently. I had a feeling that if I kept pushing, something would come out.

Thanks to the original novel, I already knew how well-informed the maids were when it came to social circle gossip. Servants in noble households were basically walking rumor hubs. Gathering during their breaks to chatter about society scandals was practically their favorite pastime.

"Keep thinking until you remember something."

With a fierce glare that screamed you're not leaving until you answer me, the maid began sweating bullets, her brain working overtime. Then, in a rush, she blurted something out.

"Ah! There was a noble lady who fell in love with a commoner mercenary and eloped with him!"

"And?"

"She ended up being granted a title, so the problem was resolved. She was a 5th-class fire mage. I heard she and her husband, who was a mercenary captain, made major contributions in a war and seized foreign territory."

"So she earned her title through military achievements?"

"Yes, my lady."

Ah, I see. So if I want to live life on my own terms, I just have to go to war and conquer land to rule over.

Yeah, sounds simple enough—except I'm not even a 5th-class mage… I can't even handle mana.

As I flailed in an even deeper pit of despair, a memory fragment related to noble titles suddenly popped into my head.

There was a family that Deborah used to sneer at for having "no proper origin," and the reason was that the former head of that house had bought a noble title from a bankrupt family.

'So it's possible to get a title without going to war—just by buying it with money!'

What if I bought a noble title myself and started my own household? Then I wouldn't have to marry that Gazelle guy or whatever his name was.

If I become the head of a family, who would dare tell me what to do—let alone who to marry?

"If I purchase a title, I won't be bound by tradition or customs, right?"

The maid hesitated at my words before finally responding.

"Y-Yes, my lady. But… even the lowest title, like a baron, is said to cost an astronomical amount."

No matter how expensive, it still sounded way more realistic than going off to war.

"How much?"

"I—I'm not sure. I'm really sorry, my lady."

Well, that made sense. Buying a noble title wasn't exactly a common thing, so it was unlikely she'd know the specifics.

"Leave. I'm sleepy."

I dismissed the terrified maid from my room. And as soon as she was gone, I shot up from bed.

"First, I need to check how much money I actually have."

***

"Whoa…"

That's a lot. What am I, a dragon or something?

I was absolutely floored by the number of jewelry boxes Deborah owned—and the sheer amount of jewels inside them. Deborah had enough gems to rival the dowries given out by well-established noble families.

Just how extravagantly has she been living? Well, thanks for that.

The pile of jewels now in my possession was the only thing keeping me somewhat sane.

'Even the jewels sewn onto her dresses are ridiculously valuable.'

If I squeeze every last drop out of the Seymour infrastructure and build up a secret stash, I might actually be able to buy a noble title.

The real issue is time.

'Considering the average marriageable age here, I might be able to delay it by two or three years?'

Most noble girls in this world get married between the ages of nineteen and twenty-two. Since more and more young ladies are completing higher-level courses at the academy these days, the average marriage age has been pushed back by about two years compared to the early days of the empire. Lucky for me.

'Fortunately, I'm also currently enrolled in the academy.'

If I can stall the marriage and save up enough to buy a title, theoretically, there shouldn't be any problem…

'Unless… what if Belek ends up becoming the family head before I can pull it off?'

I quickly shook my head.

Duke Seymour is the empire's only 7th-class mage and wields overwhelming influence over the Mage Tower. Plus, the youngest, Enrique Seymour, is still a child—so there's no way the Duke is stepping down as family head anytime soon.

Still, you never know what variables might come into play. The smartest thing I could do was save up money as quickly as possible and buy myself a noble title.

'So in this world too, money really is everything.'

While I was racking my brain on how to gather gold coins, a soft knock came from the door. To my surprise, standing outside the study was none other than the Duke himself.

"You've arrived, Father?"

I quickly shoved my notebook into the drawer and stood up.

"Did I… interrupt your studies?"

The Duke looked at me with a puzzled expression. Given that Deborah almost never used the study, his reaction made sense.

"It's alright. I'll ask for some black tea and snacks to be brought in."

"Alright."

We sat facing each other in the parlor connected to the study. He was silent, and I didn't have much to say either, so a heavy silence settled over the room.

'Ugh, this is suffocating.'

I fidgeted with my hands and finally broke the silence by adding a cube of sugar to my tea.

"I'll give you the letter when you leave."

The Duke let out a short sigh at my words.

"That's not why I came here today."

Wait… don't tell me—he's going to talk about marriage?

I held my breath, bracing myself for what he was about to say next.

"Deborah. That poem you recited… Could you read it to me again someday?"

The Duke's words caught me completely off guard.

"When the white flowers bloom and the heavy snow falls, I'll read it for you again."

I subtly hinted that I wanted to stay in the Seymour household for a long time. But the Duke just sipped his tea with an indifferent expression.

'As expected, it's not that easy.'

I clicked my tongue inwardly and picked up a cookie.

"Anyway, it must not have been easy to find the poem mentioned in the letter. The poet's quite prolific, and the letter didn't even include the title. It must've taken you a while."

It probably didn't take as long as he thought. In a country called Korea, people hone the skill of grasping a poem's key points instantly for college entrance exams…

But there's no way I could explain that.

"I just got lucky," I replied.

"'Lucky,' huh. You've been trying to act more composed lately, but excessive modesty isn't good, Deborah. Constantly turning things down is the same."

"...."

"I meant it when I said I want to give you what you want. When you told me you wanted to be a bridge between me and Marienne, I finally felt your sincerity. I'm not testing you, so just speak freely about what you'd like."

He was so serious about it that continuing to refuse felt foolish. Maybe because I've never asked for anything in my entire life, I started to feel nervous.

I moistened my dry lips and said,

"Then..."