Let's Woo the Mother and Daughter of the Duke's Family
Let's Woo the Mother and Daughter of the Duke's Family
Having barely survived by running my mouth, I was being guided somewhere by a lady-in-waiting who had been waiting for me the moment I stepped out of the Duchess's office.
But as we went on, I started to think that this didn't look like it was leading to a guest room, so I watched for a moment before asking carefully.
"Um... are you sure this is the way to the room I'll be staying in at Denius...?"
"......."
Since she was a lady-in-waiting, not a maid, I thought she'd be of higher status than me, so I even used honorifics. Yet, she just kept silent and hurried her pace as if to finish her task quickly.
Look at that attitude.
Anyway, it's an attitude fitting for a servant working in a house with two villainesses.
I clicked my tongue inwardly and just quietly followed behind her.
And after exactly six minutes of walking, we arrived at a space that looked like a central plaza, open on all sides.
As if this were the destination, the lady-in-waiting turned her head for the first time, looked at my face, and said.
"Lady Rihel Denius is waiting for you. Keep going straight, and when you turn into the path where the fourth birch tree stands, you'll find a small garden."
"... Uh, that's too difficult. Can't you come with me?"
"I haven't received permission to do so. Now, if you'll excuse me."
With those words, the lady-in-waiting's back disappeared like a shot.
I awkwardly raised my hand in a gesture to stop her, but soon dropped it and began to walk slowly across the plaza.
"Ugh, why is this so complicated!!"
When I only heard the lady-in-waiting's explanation, I thought the path wouldn't be that complicated... but complicated my ass.
The size of the plaza was much larger than it looked from the outside.
Because there were identical-looking trees scattered everywhere, I had to look around for a long time, confused about which one was the fourth birch tree.
Then, I finally discovered the fourth birch tree with a noticeably thicker base, and I turned onto the side path next to it.
After passing through the maze-like vine fence, the view opened up like a lie, and I arrived at a small, secret garden.
It was as if magic had been cast; pale pink petals and green leaves were embroidering the sky, carried by a gentle spring breeze.
And in the middle of the garden, where those petals danced in the air.
A girl sitting at a pure white outdoor table, elegantly tilting a teacup, caught my eye.
Rihel Denius.
She had jet-black hair just like Duchess Mirea and ruby-red eyes.
But it was a charm subtly different from her mother's mature and sultry atmosphere.
It was like a rose that hadn't fully bloomed yet, with its thorns held up high.
"Wow...."
I stared at her blankly for a while with my lips slightly parted.
The real-life villainess, whom I had only seen once in an illustration in the original novel, was unimaginably beautiful.
Of course, such sentimental appreciation didn't last long.
'Get a grip, Zenon. My goal is to seduce all the villainesses, make them my allies, and achieve a happy ending for the heroine and a happy ending for me.'
Having reminded myself of my only survival plan and only way to live, I clenched both fists, solidified my resolve, and...
First, I deliberately made a 'hem, hem' sound to announce my presence.
At that sound, Rihel, who was putting down her teacup, whipped her head toward me.
I didn't avoid her gaze, slowly approached, and sat down naturally on the empty chair opposite her, straightening my back.
"I heard you were looking for me, Lady."
I opened my mouth with the most polite and gentle smile I could muster.
However, instead of answering right away, Rihel stared intensely at my face with red eyes that shimmered even more vividly than her mother, Duchess Mirea.
It felt like I could even sense her determination to check every single one of my inner thoughts without missing a thing.
Soon, she pushed the extra teacup on the table toward me and lifted the silver teapot to pour me some fragrant black tea herself.
An unusual situation where a noble young lady pours tea for a commoner herself.
But before I could even be flustered, Lady Rihel, who had finished pouring the tea, opened her mouth.
"You're also a piece of trash who came here aiming for our Denius Duchy, right?"
Wow, it's practically our first meeting, and the first conversation is about being trash.
I was about to take a sip of the delicious-looking black tea, but I almost choked on it because the wording was so harsh.
And when I showed signs of being flustered, Rihel let out a scoff as if her thoughts were correct.
"Do you know how many more people have come to the Duchy claiming they would take my mother and my family since that damn biological father of mine?"
"W-well...?"
"Even if I vaguely remember, it's well over a dozen. But now that even a rootless commoner bastard like you is crawling in, it seems like there's a rumor spread all over the streets of the Rodpen Empire that we're a pushover, idiot family?"
A sarcasm that was sharp as a knife.
For some reason, seeing the Lady reacting even more sensitively than the person involved, I swallowed dryly and started to roll my brain quickly.
In the case of Duchess Mirea, there was a clear weakness and target for revenge, the Cheinders family, so I could shake the board using that as bait.
But Rihel Denius was different.
She didn't have any specific events or settings that could be used as a weakness or a strategy.
She is just a woman who is the very definition of a villainess from a cliché romance fantasy novel.
'... Right, then flimsy excuses or justifications will only be poison. I'll go with a direct approach no matter what.'
I'm a commoner with nothing to lose in the first place.
I actually relaxed my body and leaned comfortably against the backrest.
Then, without avoiding her red eyes, I answered in a very shameless and confident voice.
"Yes, that's right."
"... What?"
"All I have is this handsome face and a flashy tongue, so I came here to try and turn my life around with just those two things."
"......."
At my unexpectedly straightforward affirmation, Rihel's eyes widened like a rabbit's.
It must be because she's only seen noble men who always pretended to be noble, pretended to be sincere, and only made excuses, and now she met a guy who openly revealed his snobbish nature.
I didn't give the Lady a chance to come to her senses and immediately drove a wedge.
"Ah, of course, it's true that I also brought some useful information that the Duchess might find appetizing."
"You, you dare to open that vulgar mouth in front of me...!"
"Yes, yes~ I am a piece of trash who came here aiming for money and power. But after seeing you in person, Lady, such things as the Denius fortune don't even catch my eye anymore."
Now, shall I start wagging my tongue?
I straightened my back again, leaned my head slightly toward the Lady, and whispered in a very sweet and seductive voice.
Different from the desperate loyal subject act I did in the Duchess's office earlier.
Filled with a thoroughly slick and flashy bulldozer-style tension.
"I didn't know that the Lady's eyes, which I only heard about in rumors, would shine more dazzlingly than the expensive red diamonds. If a man doesn't know his place, shouldn't he willingly throw his body toward the most splendid and hot light like a moth?"
"You, crazy...!"
"People call you an arrogant and thorny villainess, Lady. But in my eyes, you just look like a pitiful rose that is sharpening its thorns because it doesn't want to get hurt and wants to protect its beloved mother."
I reached out my hand very naturally.
I lightly placed my fingers on the back of her small, white hand on the table.
It was a very soft yet sudden skinship, but Rihel only showed feelings of being flustered and did not avoid the touch.
... Good, it's working.
"Because of the wounds left by that damn father of yours, you must see all men in the world as thieves. But I am different."
"What's different... No, before that, get your hand, get your hand off...!"
Only then did Rihel hurriedly pull her hand away.
However, I didn't care and continued speaking with a smile in my eyes.
"I don't care if the thorns prick me and my hands bleed. I am ready to willingly become the one and only gardener who tends and protects the rough but dazzling rose that is you, Lady. Even your sharp sarcasm just sounds like sweet complaining to me."
"Ugh...!!"
I poured out all sorts of cringey lines from third-rate romance novels that I didn't even know where I picked up.
But this romance bombardment I was determined to pour out was dealing a fatal blow beyond my expectations.
"I will become a knight only for you, and I will fill your side with hot warmth day and night, Lady. You may use me, exploit me, and break me as much as you like. Just please, do not extinguish this blind flame I am blooming toward you."
In the quiet garden, only my cringey flirting poured out like carpet bombing.
"Ugh... I mean... ugh......."
Rihel moved her lips to refute, to scold even more strongly, several times... but in the end, she couldn't say anything.
In the end, the mask of the arrogant villainess who had always crushed people shattered into pieces.
In its place, only an ordinary girl of my age, who didn't know what to do with her embarrassment, remained.
Her gaze wandered aimlessly in the air, and soon her cheeks, which had been as white as a snowy field, began to turn red to the tips of her ears.
It was a reaction that was slightly different from her mother Mirea, yet somehow identical to a chilling degree.
Do the women in this family have absolutely no immunity to this kind of childish sincerity?
I inwardly confirmed my victory and opened my mouth to deliver the finishing blow.
"So, Lady, please, this humble man's...."
"Ah, I don't know!!"
At that moment, Rihel slammed her palms on the table and jumped up from her seat.
Screech—!
The chair pushed back scraped the floor, making a loud noise.
Her face was now dyed bright red, as if it were about to burst at any moment.
In her red eyes, there seemed to be a slight moisture, whether from anger or embarrassment, I couldn't tell.
"Anyway, I'm going to kick you out somehow!! Don't you dare hit on my mom either!!"
She shouted, panting, and without giving me a chance to answer, she ran toward the garden entrance without even looking back.
Watching her small back getting further away, I picked up the cooled teacup and took a sip leisurely.
'Maybe the mother-daughter combo is easier than I thought.'
It seems like things are working out in a way a bit different from what I thought, but... what's good is good.
It was an afternoon in the garden where the scent of black tea lingering in my mouth felt particularly sweet.