The Self-Proclaimed Villainess (3)
"But sis, how exactly are you supposed to cook this thing? I have no idea..."
Her younger sister tilted the turkey this way and that, sounding genuinely stumped. Elaine, who had been unpacking her bags, immediately dashed into the kitchen.
"You just sit down, dear. I'll take care of everything!"
Thanks to her ingrained habit of polite speech, she ended up speaking formally even to her own siblings. As she hurried toward the kitchen, her younger brother's exasperated voice drifted after her.
"Before that, at least change your clothes, sis. It's not exactly appropriate for the kids."
"My clothes?"
"That old outfit you used to wear all the time. I washed it and hung it up to dry."
The tunic her brother held out was a pale green with white sleeves. Elaine took it, slipped into her room, and quickly changed. When she emerged with her black hair tied back by a simple ribbon instead of a headscarf, letting it fall over her shoulders, her entire impression had transformed. Just by switching clothes, she looked like any innocent village maiden. She seemed like a completely different person—so much so that she was almost unrecognizable.
"Is it really okay? It's from a few years ago."
"It's a perfect fit except for the chest feeling a bit tight!"
Just as she said, the buttons over her chest were straining dramatically, on the verge of bursting. It seemed her breasts had grown again in the meantime. Her younger brother, Elsie Enfield, wondered if she might have some kind of condition.
"Sit at the table and wait! It'll be ready soon!"
Once inside the kitchen, Elaine began cooking with practiced skill. She sliced green and yellow vegetables like celery and carrots into neat chunks and spread them across the bottom of the roasting pan. With smooth, confident strokes she cleaned out the turkey's innards, then mixed butter, whole-grain mustard, and garlic into a sauce and rubbed it evenly over the skin. This was clearly not her first time.
Before long, the turkey emerged from the oven, filling the air with a sweet, fragrant aroma. Its skin had turned a glossy, crispy brown, perfectly blended with the gelatinous juices, while the meat beneath glistened with moisture from the vegetables, so tender it looked like it would release liquid at the slightest touch.
Elaine pulled the tray from the oven, beaming as she carried the turkey to the table. Her siblings, who had been waiting with mouths watering, immediately descended on the food. They were practically fighting over who got which pieces on their plates.
Elaine smiled brightly and used her fork to intervene. "Now, now. Family shouldn't fight over food."
"But she took all the breast meat that was on my plate!"
"Hmph, just because it was on your plate doesn't mean it's yours!"
After calming the squabbling younger girls, Elaine divided her own portion of turkey among them. The siblings who had just been battling for every extra bite now hesitated, staring at the meat as if afraid to touch it.
"W-what about you, sis?"
"Big sister already ate plenty of this while she was away!"
Only then did the little girls relax. They eagerly stabbed their forks into the meat and began to eat. Their older brother, Elsie, simply rested his chin on his hand and gave a small, knowing chuckle.
"And I have good news for you too, Elsie!"
"Huh? For me?"
Elsie's eyes widened. Elaine dashed over to her bundle of belongings, returned with a pouch heavy with gold coins, and set it down on the table with a satisfying clink. She puffed out her chest proudly.
"Your big sister has secured your tuition for the advanced sword academy! Registration is next week, right? So if you take this and—"
"I'm not going."
Completely contrary to Elaine's expectation that he would be overjoyed, Elsie turned back to his book and refused instantly.
Startled, Elaine asked again. "What? What did you say?"
"I'm not going to the academy. Finishing middle school is enough for me."
His voice was firm, as if the decision had been made long ago. Elaine stood there stunned for a moment before her expression turned serious and she began firing off theories.
"Why the sudden change? Are your grades slipping or something?"
"I'm top of my year."
"Then... are you being bullied?"
"I'm the student council president."
"Then... is the eternally second-place glasses-wearing beast lord secretly obsessed with you? You know, the one who feels inferior to the seemingly delicate pretty-boy student council president who somehow never drops from top of the class despite his difficult circumstances..."
"I told you to stop reading those trashy novels, sis! And there's nothing between us!"
Elsie's face flushed bright red. He slammed his book shut and smacked the desk, then let out a long sigh and finally explained.
"It's because I hate seeing you struggle."
"Struggle? Me?"
"You're leaving home again soon, aren't you? Going somewhere far away?"
The younger sisters, who had been devouring the turkey, froze with their eyes wide. Elaine waved her hands in a panic.
"W-what? How did you—?"
"Every time you get sent on one of those dangerous missions, you always make this exact dish beforehand. Of course I noticed. And this money... you earned it the same way, didn't you?"
"No, that's not—it's completely separate!"
"Don't lie. It's the same as when you applied to become a combat saint for the tuition waiver and scholarship even though no one else wanted it. Or when you joined the hero's party to pay off our debts because the hero was such a disaster that none of the other saints would apply. This is the same thing, isn't it?"
Unlike his sister, Elsie was remarkably perceptive and grounded. He pushed the pouch of gold coins back toward her.
"You have your own life to live. There's no reason for you to suffer alone. Take this money back."
"But then the academy..."
"I was planning to drop out anyway and become an adventurer. I already checked with the professor—he says I have more than enough talent to succeed as one."
Elsie picked up his book again, speaking with determination.
"From now on, I'll be the one earning money. You should go find your own dream. Back then, you always said you just wanted to marry a good man and become a wonderful mother."
Elaine gazed at her younger brother—who was trying so hard to act grown-up—with a complicated expression.
When Elaine had turned seventeen, the Enfield family had suddenly collapsed. Their parents had died under mysterious circumstances. Relatives had swarmed in like hyenas to seize the family fortune, and no one spared a thought for the children left behind. That was simply how noble society worked.
Until then, Elaine had been an ordinary young noblewoman who simply wanted to become a devoted wife and mother. In fact, she had been so painfully shy that people worried about her. She grew her bangs so long they covered her eyes, walked with her head perpetually bowed, and was so timid around the opposite sex that she couldn't even ask a male servant for help. People had called her gloomy.
With few friends due to her personality, her only hobby was reading. Since she wasn't particularly academic, most of the books she read were light romance novels.
Yet sometimes, even those novels could save a person.
When her parents' sudden deaths caused the family to collapse, she had sat there with dead eyes, as if the world had ended. It was then that she happened upon a certain book that gave her strength.
The Villainess's Success Story.
It was the tale of a young noblewoman from a family that had fallen into ruin after her parents' abrupt death—just like the Enfields. Using her beauty, political schemes, and outright villainy, she restored her family's glory.
Elaine had wanted to become like her. She had wished for it with desperate, burning intensity.
So she wiped away her tears and worked through every night. She trained herself to be more outgoing, practiced smiling in front of the mirror, and cut the long bangs that had hidden her face. Those outrageously bold clothes were also the result of her efforts. To her, that nun's habit was a kind of armor. When she wore it, she could act like the confident, bold villainess from the novel.
"It's fine," Elaine said with a gentle smile, reaching out to stroke Elsie's hair. He had grown so much.
"This is an order from your eldest sister and the current acting head of the Enfield family. You will attend the academy."
"But..."
"To restore our family, our brilliant Elsie has to become a knight. Your sister was too stupid to do anything more than barely graduate from the academy, but... you're wise. I believe in you. You can do it, Elsie."
"Still... you just got back from a life-threatening adventure, and now you're leaving again."
Elsie hung his head as he spoke. Elaine wondered if he simply didn't want to be separated from her. She flashed him a bright smile.
"This time it's not dangerous at all. You could even call it a vacation!"
"If that's true, then... okay."
"You're accepting it surprisingly easily?"
"Because you always give it away when you're lying. This doesn't seem like a lie."
Having finally accepted the pouch of gold coins he had stubbornly refused earlier, Elsie made a firm demand moments later.
"Then tell me properly what this mission is."
"Huh?"
"Last time you lied and said you were going to catch some monster cat, but much later we got a letter saying you had joined the hero's party. Do you know how much the kids cried? So this time, tell me everything from beginning to end so that doesn't happen again."
"B-but..."
"If you don't, I won't go to school."
It was a rather novel threat. But for threatening Elaine, this was more than enough material. With a deep sigh, she began to tell him everything—the full story of the hero's party, the reason Jain had gone berserk, and why the party had been disbanded.
And, of course, Elsie immediately noticed the truth this time as well.
"Sis. You're actually close with that dark mage, aren't you?"
"O-of course we're very close!"
"That's a lie, isn't it?"
At a loss for words, Elaine hung her head. Elsie scratched his head and pressed further.
"Are you really okay?"
"I'm perfectly fine! Don't worry. As a matter of fact, I've used the generous activity funds I received to prepare two secret weapons to conquer that man!"
Elaine gestured toward the large bundle and puffed out her chest with pride. She puffed it out so enthusiastically that one of the already strained buttons finally gave up and popped off, clattering onto the table.
Elsie narrowed his eyes, studying his sister's face. Whatever secret weapons this sister of his had come up with, they were probably nothing sensible.
"Then show me those too."
"Hehe, just don't be too shocked when you see them."
Completely unaware that her front had come undone where the button had popped off, Elaine excitedly ran over to the bundle. She brought back a luxuriously wrapped box and set it down on the table with a heavy thud.
"First, the first one!"