The Perks of Being a Villainess

Chapter 6

* * *

When I appeared accompanying his aide, Duke Seymour stared at me questioningly. “What are you doing in my office out of the blue?” he asked in an icy voice.

My hands felt cold and I flexed them nervously. His frigid stare made me cringe every time I saw it. I’m not scared. He’s the one who provides for me. And what must I therefore do? Make a good impression. Reminding myself this mentally several times, I greeted him politely.

“I saw that your lights were still on despite the late hour, so I brought some tea and refreshments. I heard you’ve been working late nights a lot because you have so much to do these days.”

“You’ve never shown any such concern for me before,” he scoffed. He tapped the ash from his pipe with a graceful flick of his wrist.

Would you look at that? He certainly looks the part of a perfect gentleman. I very nearly found myself just staring at him openly, astonished to find someone sitting in front of me who resembled a character straight out of a movie.

“Why are you just standing there like a fool? Sit.” His tone implied he’d prefer to just throw me out, but instead, he rose from his desk and moved to the low tea table in the office’s sitting area. He hadn’t outright told me to leave just yet despite my unexpected visit, so I could only assume the duchess’s letter had softened him a little as intended.

I quickly took the seat opposite him. As soon as I did so, his aide placed a pot of strong black tea on the table along with some refreshments before backing away. I could feel the man’s nervous stare on the back of my head.

I told him I wouldn’t cause any trouble. He really needs to have a little faith in people. When I’d met with the aide in the flower garden, I’d asked him to call on me when next the duke found himself tired in his office. He hadn’t done so over the last two days but then had suddenly appeared earlier today in the afternoon. Thursday. Of all the days in a week, it was the most tiring.

“My lady. The duke usually takes tea between eleven and one in the morning to help wake himself up a little. That is when he’ll be at his most fatigued. No matter what you do, you mustn’t upset him. Please.”

“Understood,” I’d told him.

“I’m taking your word for it, my lady.”

“I’ve assured you seven times already that I understand.”

The aide had seemed dubious despite reassuring him over and over again that I wouldn’t cause any trouble.

The duke sipped his tea without speaking, no doubt waiting for me to state my business. He doesn’t believe I came here just to have tea with him. His suspicion was only to be expected given Deborah’s foolish reputation. Pressing my lips together nervously, I nudged the plate of dessert closer to him.

“You must be hungry. Please eat. I bought these tarts at a dessert shop that has been very popular lately in the Iones District.”

The lemon tarts I’d brought to be his snack today were a deeply meaningful dish to the duke. He hated sweet food, and apparently only ate sour lemon tarts even when he’d gone on dates in town with his wife. The diary is proving itself to be very useful.

“Sweets in the middle of the night? I don’t think I can stomach it,” the duke grumbled sulkily, like a child.

“You’ll like these tarts, I assure you.”

“How do you still know so little about me after all these years?” he complained, visibly displeased, despite breaking off a small piece with his fork and bringing it to his mouth.

As the taste of lemon burst in his mouth, he fell silent, his face expressionless. Eventually, he took a sip of tea and said, “There must be a reason you came to see me so late at night. Do you want to request a reward for delivering the letter you found in the garden?” he asked with a mean smirk.

He had such a nasty personality.

“Of course, the letter you found is priceless,” he continued. “But if it’s the pink diamond you mean to ask for, you’d be better off just returning to your room. I’m not a man who goes back on his word, and I will never buy you that diamond.”

“I’m not here to ask you for anything in return.”

The duke frowned slightly. “What, then?”

“I have something to give you.”

“Give me?” he repeated, his suspicion obvious on his face. Deborah had always been the type to ask for things, not give them.

I placed my teacup down carefully and tugged another letter from within my pocket.

The duke’s tired eyes glowed as soon as they fell on the light-purple paper. “Wait, is that… another letter?”

“That’s right.”

“Why do you have it…” He paused for thought for a moment before his expression brightened. “You found more than one letter, didn’t you?”

“That’s right.”

There were a considerable number of letters inside the box. The duchess, a woman who was terrible at expressing her love for the duke and rather reticent, had written in those letters the words she otherwise struggled to express.

In her diary, she’d described that she lacked the courage to hand the letters to him and that the duke was often very busy, so a pile of letters had slowly begun to grow that she didn’t know what to do with. She had written that she wanted to relive the memories she was recording in her letters one day, giving them life again after years had passed and deprived them of color. She had probably intended to bury the letters like one might a time capsule and take them out again once they were both older and more mature.

“The letters… How many of them do you have?” the duke asked, voice quivering with excitement.

“You’ll learn in time how many there are,” I said cautiously.

His eyebrows shot into his hairline. “What do you mean by that?”

“Just as it sounds.”

“You’re refusing to give me the letters until I get you that diamond?”

I’d only meant that I planned to give him the letters slowly, one by one, but he seemed to have interpreted my words as a threat. “I wouldn’t stoop to such a dirty trick.”

He maintained eye contact for a long moment, then reached for his tea. “I’m surprised to hear you say that.”

It’s surprising to hear me say that? I knew exactly why he was saying this though. He’d hit the nail on the head when it came to Deborah’s usual personality. I dropped several sugar cubes into my tea and changed the subject.

“This tea is bitter and smells strong. I think a madeleine would be better suited to it than these lemon tarts,” I said.

“I’ll tell them to prepare a weaker tea or hot chocolate for you next time. This tea is a very heavy brew, and you won’t be able to sleep if you drink too much of it.”

Could it be… Is he worried for me? I felt briefly hopeful that the relationship between me and my sponsor—or rather, between the duke and myself—might yet improve. “I’ll just drink half a cup. Thank you for worrying about me.”

The duke scoffed, making sure there was no room for misunderstanding. “Worrying about you? I’m only telling you this because I don’t want you to come to me later and complain I kept you from sleeping and made your skin dry.”

He wasn’t an easy man to win over, that was for sure. I suppose this was only to be expected since Duke Seymour had stubbornly turned a blind eye even when his only daughter was put on trial for blasphemy in the novel.

That’s how much bad blood exists between them. This relationship wasn’t going to be easily salvaged with just a few letters. Ugh.

I sipped the dark tea, which washed over my tongue in waves of bitterness and sweetness in turn, and only spoke again after I’d drank about half the cup. “Father, it’s getting late. I’ll retire to my room now.”

“All right.”

“I shall escort you to your room, my lady,” the aide said, visibly relieved. He had been on edge the entire time, afraid I’d do something to set the duke off.

Suddenly, Duke Seymour rose to his feet, following us out of the office. “I’ve been sitting for too long. I need to walk a little to stretch my muscles.”

I didn’t ask, I thought. Of course, I was too scared to say such a thing out loud.

“The days are feeling a bit warmer lately, wouldn’t you say?” The duke addressed his aide out of the blue.

“Yes. Perfect weather for a walk,” the aide agreed, a cold puff of white, icy air accompanying his words.

It’s damn cold outside. What is he talking about? I pulled my thick shawl more tightly around my shoulders and picked up the pace a little. Silence fell over the three of us, and the duke accompanied us to the front of the annex where my room was located.

He turned back toward his office. “Rest. Let’s meet again,” he said as he left.

* * *

After that night, I requested that his aide call on me whenever the duke seemed overly tired from his work. I visited the duke two more times, delivering a new letter to him each time. I’ve given him two letters already in the past week.

From the beginning, it hadn’t been my intention to get anything in return from the duke by using the letters. Since there were plenty, my priority was to use them as an excuse to meet with the duke more often and repair our broken relationship a little, if possible. I didn’t feel as if we’d gotten any closer, however, and wondered if I’d already squandered too many of the letters.

But the desserts have been lovely. As I ate a piece of chocolate cake that seemed to just melt on my tongue, the duke smiled faintly, reading the letter I’d brought him.

He was busy idolizing his wife and seemed hardly aware that I was even in the room.

I feel like a delivery driver… I’d scooped the gigantic piece of chocolate that lay on top of the cake into my mouth and was letting it melt on my tongue when the duke suddenly placed the letter down on the table.

He stared at me quietly for a while, just sipping at his tea. There was an emotion simmering in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before, which made me nervous.

Why is he looking at me like that?

“Deborah. By any chance, have you been bringing me these letters whenever I’m tired?”

“That’s right.”

“Why? So I’ll buy you the only pink diamond that currently exists in the capital?” he asked, obviously attempting to suss out my angle.

I need to choose my words wisely here. If I sounded like I was trying to suck up to him, he would only have more reasons to doubt my good intentions again. I considered what I should say for a moment, finally attempting to reply with some difficulty.

“Because I am Georgeois Seymour and Marienne Seymour’s daughter. I decided I wanted to be the link that binds you together,” I said, quoting the first line of the letter he had just been reading.

The duke looked taken aback and was silent for a while. I gulped anxiously, fidgeting with my hands.

It was Duke Seymour who broke the silence. “Do you have time this weekend?”

Of course, I had time. I’d been ordered to stay in my room as punishment. Why wouldn’t I have time? But I didn’t feel frustrated to be confined at home. I was a homebody, and this place was heaven on earth. I could eat lovely food, sleep when I wanted, laze about in a comfy bed, take walks in a garden that looked like something out of a palace, and was pampered with daily beauty treatments. Every day is like a freaking dream. It’s wonderful to be rich and unemployed.

“Of course, I do,” I replied immediately.

“Why don’t we go out for a meal?”

“Outside?” I confirmed hesitantly.

“Yes.”

“But you said I couldn’t leave my room…”

“The weather has gotten warmer, and I’m sure you would like to get some fresh air. And you’ve behaved yourself as ordered, not making any trouble.”

“Yes… Thank you.”

“Odd. I thought you’d be happier to be set free,” the duke pointed out, rather accurately when you took into consideration the old Deborah’s attitude.

I could feel my palms growing sweaty. Running my fingers along the handle of my teacup nervously, I rambled, “I… I really am glad. I’m just a little taken aback by your generosity. I don’t really feel the need to go out. Having tea with you here is already so nice.” I was so surprised that I accidentally ended up laying it on a little too thick.

The duke also seemed to take note of this, frowning and clearing his throat. “What is it that you’re after, exactly? If there’s something you want, just tell me already. I’m starting to get nervous.”

“I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Does that mean you really enjoy—” he began, but at that moment someone knocked on his office door.

He clicked his tongue irritably and glanced at his pocket watch. He had a meeting scheduled with his retainers in the afternoon. The duke needed to go over the agenda for the meeting, so I left his office.

The mood today felt a little different than our previous get-togethers. I suppose it’s a good sign that I’m no longer grounded. I was a little worn out by it all, though. It wasn’t easy to sit with the wintry duke. I feel drained. Looks like I’ll have to put even more effort into relaxing than I usually do.

I sent an attendant off to fetch some books and also asked him to purchase a few novels that were quite popular these days. Planning on losing myself in a romantic story, I was making my way down the corridor outside the duke’s office when I heard voices murmuring from the other end. Veleque Seymour and his vassals were walking toward me.

His eyes raked over me briefly before he spat, “Even the way you walk isn’t lady-like. You truly are a sorry excuse for a Seymour. I don’t want to see you wandering around—stay in your room. How is this even a punishment?” he hissed softly in my ear, shoving me aside by my shoulder.

His vassals all nodded half-heartedly, barely making any effort to greet me even though I was the duke’s daughter, before following the bad-tempered heir away.

What’s his problem this time? I had no defense to speak of against guys with handsome faces, but in his case, my distaste exceeded my appreciation for his looks. In that sense, he was pretty incredible.

I stared after him, stunned, before gathering myself and returning to my quarters. Waiting in my study already was a large pile of the books I’d asked the attendant to fetch, as well as the new romance novels I’d had him buy.

Found it! I smiled triumphantly to myself, finally finding what I’d been searching for after an entire afternoon spent reading in the study.