The Villainess’s Stationery Shop

Chapter 1

“Meldenique! A useless thing like you doesn’t deserve to be a part of my family.”

I agree. Meldenique Babelloa, the girl I possessed not too long ago, had squandered more than ten billion bekrels.

Ten billion bekrels. Here, the typical yearly earnings for an ordinary family of four amounted to thirty million bekrels. Naturally, the duke was angry.

Meldenique had no talent when it came to business. Her messed-up family dynamics undoubtedly played a significant role in this girl’s inability to prove herself to that career path. Her stepmother, Duchess Hildegard, always tried to interfere in every single thing Meldenique tried to do. However, Meldenique’s own father, Duke Babelloa, seemed oblivious to the fact.

My father hates me, after all. While sitting opposite Duke Babelloa in the living room, I gazed intently at him. Sure enough, his face was red with anger like a ripe tomato. Looking at those venomous eyes, I kind of expected the next words that came spilling out of his mouth.

“Take this money and get the hell out of here. I never want to see you again!” He tossed a hefty bundle of cash my way.

He probably intended for it to strike my face. Fortunately, this girl’s reflexes happened to be quite exceptional. Smiling internally with satisfaction, I swiftly caught the bundle of money he threw at me.

Nice catch!

“Same here. I hope I never see you again,” I retorted while putting the thick lump of cash safely in a pouch I had prepared beforehand.

I already knew he was going to kick me out after handing me the money. After possessing this girl, I had waited for this day—and for this moment in particular.

While I was busy putting the money away, Duke Babelloa uttered a question, blankly staring at me. “You... Where the hell did you get that pouch? No, more importantly, are you challenging my authority?!” His green eyes were trembling with rage and the few strands of blond hair that remained on his head were quivering like flower petals in the wind. “How dare you?”

I shrugged and shook my head.

“It’s not like that.” It had to look strange—the fact that his daughter, who would typically have cried a river while uttering apologies, had now calmly accepted his offer to leave this house without protest. “I am simply following your orders, Your Grace.”

If this were Meldenique, she would be eager to use her deceitful tactics or a tearful act to avoid being kicked out of this family. But all this time, I had constantly been looking for a way to accomplish just that. I could feel the weight of the bundle of money secured in my arms.

“The responsibility for poorly managing my business weighs heavily on my shoulders, and...” In reality, I felt no sense of debt toward them. I believed that Duchess Hildegard, who had intentionally ruined my business, should be held accountable. “Anyway, since you told me to leave, I’ll see myself out!”

I turned away from the man glaring at me. It was better to stay out of sight until Father managed to calm his anger. I’d squandered a staggering ten billion bekrels, which he valued more than his own blood.

After all, I had long been planning to leave this place for good. I didn’t want to get involved with this dysfunctional family to fight for my inheritance and shorten my lifespan. Besides, there were other things I wanted to do.

Goodbye, House Babelloa. As if returning to his senses and snapping out of his previous frozen state, I could hear him shout after me.

“That’s ridiculous! Even if you come back begging for money, I am not going to take you back.”

I turned my head to stare at him.

Beg? Don’t make me laugh. With the brightest smile that Duke Babelloa had ever seen, I bade him farewell.

“All right! Goodbye!”

I never intended to beg in the first place. I slipped away through the open doorway with a playful grin. Finally, I could leave this family behind!

I hummed a tune, confident that Duke Babelloa, who despised me, would soon draft an official letter to banish me from this house.

* * *

Although I had already received money from Duke Babelloa, I still needed to escape this family as soon as possible. The duke could change his mind and decide that he doesn’t want to waste his money on me. That would cause Hildegard—the duchess and my stepmother—to come after me, snatch away the money, and give me a good thrashing.

After returning to my room, I changed into a featherlight dress. Most dresses in this world were so elegant and luxurious that it was a struggle to put them on without the help of a maid. Some of the other ones were light and didn’t need a petticoat, so they were easier to don on my own.

I slipped my arms into the long-sleeved, sky-blue muslin dress, fastened the buttons along the neckline, and finally glanced at the mirror. In the reflection stood a gracefully beautiful woman with a tense expression.

She had flowing waves of glossy golden hair cascading down to the waist, porcelain-white skin, and large, unreadable emerald-green eyes. It had been a few months since I had possessed this girl, but I still wasn’t used to her face. After absentmindedly touching my face for some time, I quickly started to pack my things.

I put the money pouch with the money I had received from Duke Babelloa—around 200 million bekrels—along with a deed from the sale of a small building left by my dead mother, a few pieces of precious gems and jewelry, and a few dresses into a magically enchanted suitcase. It would be enough to lead a normal life for the time being.

I should get going now! However, as soon as I was done preparing and was about to leave, I found myself facing an unexpected obstacle.

“M-my lady! Where are you going on such a cold day?” My maid Rosaline gasped when she saw me with my luggage, about to leave. She had been by my side ever since I was young and was the only person in this household who liked me.

Without thinking, I peered down at her gray hair and whispered, “It’s not that cold now. It’s March, and the flowers are blooming. It’s spring.”

“Th-then... Um, where are you going?”

“To fulfill my dreams.”

It didn’t take long for Rosaline’s expression to change to one of shock.

Seriously? I’m planning to fulfill my dreams! Why is she giving me that look?

Rosaline carefully clutched at my dress. It was unheard of for a maid to dare grab her mistress’s dress. It was unacceptable. But the woman timidly muttered under her breath without easing her grip on my dress.

“A-are you planning to go to House Hessman? To... ask the duke to marry you?”

Oh, right. Come to think of it, people seem to believe that my dream is to marry Duke Hessman and become the duchess, I thought to myself nonchalantly as I recalled my fiancé, Duke Lennox Hessman.

“You stopped sending letters to Duke Hessman a while ago, s-so I thought you had given up on him...”

I looked down at the teary-eyed Rosaline, contemplating where to start with my explanation.

I guess it might seem strange since Meldenique’s obsession with Lennox was indeed excessive. Before I possessed her, Meldenique, despite her reputation as a villainess, genuinely harbored a pure, unrequited love for her fiancé. But not me. The cold, aloof, and indifferent duke from the northern region—a typical male lead—wasn’t the type of man I liked.

I prefer cute, handsome, younger men. You couldn’t tempt me with a truck full of men overflowing with cold, male-lead energy.

“Forget the proposal. I am not interested in Duke Hessman anymore.”

The maid’s face turned oddly puzzled as she watched me give such an indifferent response. “Th-then, what will you do?”

I glanced briefly at her. Though I had been indifferent this whole time, when I thought about what I really wanted to do, I couldn’t help the excited flutter in my heart.

Bewitched Lovers was the title of this romance fantasy novel. No one knew exactly why the novel was called that. It had nothing to do with the plot.

The novel itself was an ordinary Harlequin-style romance fantasy. The story revolved around the cold but perfect male lead, Duke Hessman, who was engaged in a forbidden relationship with the beautiful and lovely Lady Sheria, a noblewoman admired by all.

If only I could have possessed the protagonist or just some side character. Unfortunately, I was Meldenique, the villainess of the novel, stepsister of the female lead, and wicked fiancée of the male lead. Meldenique was jealous of Sheria to the point that she even attempted to murder her, only to end up getting her throat slashed.

A villainess. Even though I hate this, there’s nothing I can do about it. Exhaling a shaky breath, I looked at the maid and locked eyes with her before getting lost in my thoughts again. It had been a few months since I found myself living in Meldenique’s body, adorned with a plethora of derogatory labels.

I denied the reality of suddenly being someone else, slammed my head on a desk, and even tried to contact the spirits for some kind of solution. However, no matter how many bizarre things I tried, I couldn’t return to my own body.

So what did I do? After several futile attempts, I boldly gave up on returning to my previous life. After working out the timeline from the original novel, I pondered for a long time about what I wanted to do in this second life, and what my true dream was.

To hell with the original story! I’ll do whatever I want. There was someone I had envied back in elementary school. It was the owner of the stationery shop right in front of the school.

Root beer candies, chewy treats, and sweet snacks. I lost count of the times I had found myself captivated by the enchanting items on display. With a bag heavy with money and all of my necessities slung over my shoulder, I whispered softly into the maid’s ear, as if sharing a confidential secret. It was amusing to see the maid gulping nervously.

“My dream is to become the owner of a stationery shop.”

I would sell stationery, notebooks, toffees, and root beer candies as well. I would make sure that all the children on this continent could use the things I craft, enjoy the sweet and unhealthy snacks I made, and create good memories!

Get ready, kids!