Super-dreadnought Villainess – Chapter 6

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Chapter 6 – Chose The Wrong Person to Flatter

“Now then… you all have been pleading for help and whatnot for a while now… but may I ask, what reason do I have to help any of you?”

　

I asked, without letting up on my intimidating presence, with an uncharacteristically beautiful smile.

　

“I’m allowing you to speak, aren’t I?”

　

Their mouths were the only thing left free. Enough that they could form words.

However, their limbs were stuck to the floor as if they were sewn to it, unable to move.

Whether they were male or female, all they could do was look up at me.

　

“I was deceived!”

“That’s right! Those women deceived us all, my lady! Please help us!!”

“We were tricked into serving them, only to be discarded in the end?!”

“I will serve Lady Lunaria with all my heart and sincerity, so please show mercy!!”

“Lady Lunaria!”

　

Hearing the chaotic pleas, the servants loyal to Lunaria all frowned in unison.

How ironic—these very people once obeyed the step-mother’s every command, tormenting the kind-hearted Lunaria like a punching bag. Now they dare flip their allegiances so brazenly?

I listened to the pleas with no expression.

Now, what should I do?

Then, as a sudden thought struck me, I squatted down next to a maid and continued speaking.

　

“Hey, would you forgive this? The water I asked for to wash my face with was ice cold. When I asked for tea because I was thirsty, what came was something so bitter it was undrinkable, like muddy water, supposedly tea. My accessories were stolen, even the smallest ones, and there’s hardly anything left. And the dress, which was a keepsake from my mother, was torn to shreds.”

“Huh……”

“It was a keepsake. The one-of-a-kind silk dress gifted by Her Majesty the Queen herself.”

“Ah…”

“The matching pearl pendant was trampled on and shattered, as were the earrings.”

　

Emotionless and expressionless, I continued.

　

“Everything was made to match. The custom-made white silk dress, the pearl pendant, earrings, and even a lace fan. And you laughed as you trampled, smashed, tore, and ruined them all.”

　

The head maid, who had personally served my mother, looked so pale that she appeared to be on the verge of fainting, but her anger kept her upright.

She glared at the young maids with disgust, and they desperately tried not to look in her direction, sensing her gaze.

　

“Did you even notice? Everything you destroyed was marked with the Queen’s personal insignia?”

“I, I didn’t know that!”

“Of course not. You were too busy enjoying yourselves to care.”

　

Poke, poke.

I lifted a strand of the maid’s hair and pulled it gently. It was so light, so light.

　

“But you can forgive that, can’t you?”

“Eh?”

“You did it because you could forgive it, right?”

　

The hand lifting her hair slowly tightened its grip.

What had begun as a single gathered strand suddenly twisted into a brutal grip.

　

“Aaahh!! Ah, i, it hurts!”

　

I ignored her cries and maintained my grip, forcing the maid’s head up by her hair despite the magical pressure bearing down from above.

Being pulled up by the hair against the crushing force from above must be agonizing.

　

“M, my, l, la, dy.”

“Where are your precious things?”

　

My eyes must have looked as cold and lifeless as glass beads as I pierced the maid with them.

　

“I must do the same to you.”

“N, no… p, please… d, don’t…”

“Let’s start with this.”

　

When I snapped my fingers with my other hand, cold water splashed on the maid’s face.

It was as cold as the water Lunaria was forced to wash her face with in the past.

　

“Ah !! C, cold…… Huh?”

“I had to endure this, every morning, remember?”

“…?!?!?!?!”

“Just like this, forced face-first into the basin.”

　

With a soft plop, a sphere of water materialized at the perfect height for the maid’s face. It was large enough to fit her head inside.

There was no mercy. There was no hesitation.

I forced the maid’s face straight into the hovering water.

　

“~~~!!!!!!”

　

Glug-glug-glug—!  The maid thrashed wildly, but she couldn’t even struggle. She couldn’t breathe. Her face distorted with fear. But this action…

　

“Are you in pain? But I was treated the same way. My arms restrained, my head held from behind, and my face shoved into the washbasin just like this.”

　

The other maids with the stepsister trembled, their teeth chattering.

This is the bullying that was routinely inflicted on Lunaria within the mansion on a daily basis.

　

Lunaria was originally a very kind-hearted girl.

The turning point came a year ago when her mother passed away. This was also the case in the game, when Lunaria was 16 years old.

At some point, the father stopped coming home, his spending became increasingly reckless, and about a month after her mother’s death, he brought home a gaudy woman —the step-mother. The step-sister came with her. This is also the same as in the game.

The long-time servants were forced to do work far away from the main house, and were eventually driven out. Lunaria took over the duties of the Duke. Taking a leave of absence from the academy, Lunaria desperately adjusted their work and she brought them back within her control.

Having been educated as an heir, Lunaria could ring the magical bell, which could only be rung by the head of the Duke Household. It was also a magical tool bestowed by the Royal Family and only the head of the family could use it. She knew that ringing it would establish her as the head, but she hesitated.

Before she knew it, the father and brother had become indulgent toward the step-mother and step-sister, and had stopped performing their duties. However, the brother had once said, ‘It’s okay, just pretend to be kind. We’ll find the right moment to bring Father back to his senses.’ so she believed him.

It was impossible. The earnest older brother had fallen so easily.

Without her former allies, Lunaria was forced to bear every burden alone and quickly reached her limit.

To make matters worse, the new servants began to bully her, at the step-mother’s command, of course.

They lightly tripped her, splashed water on her dress under the guise of an accident, and laughed at her after tearing up her territory management documents.

At first, that was about it.

However, the step-mother grew increasingly bold.

Emboldened by Lunaria’s refusal to retaliate, things escalated— she was served her meals with rotten ingredients, forced to use ice cold water to wash her face in the morning, and had all her mother’s keepsakes taken from her. The dresses were torn up, accessories destroyed, and her mother’s room ransacked beyond recognition. The precious room where Lunaria spent precious time with her mother. The room filled with memories of her family… of the warmth Lunaria once knew… now lay in ruins, as if it had never existed at all.

So far, it’s the same as the game.

In the game’s scenario, witnessing the room being ransacked triggers a magical backlash that causes Lunaria to destroy half the mansion. This led to the expulsion of the step-sister from the house, along with the brother, and the step-mother was killed in the partial destruction of the mansion. The father, who happened to be there, was also caught in the collapse and died.

Incidentally, this is an event that is only revealed when players unlock Lunaria’s route, and it’s only briefly mentioned in tiny footnotes within the official setting materials.

The content is basically just a short story.

Due to the fact that few ever enter the Lunaria route, this episode was cut from the budget version of the game software, and so most players are unaware of it.

But “I” knew. After all, I was practically a Lunaria stan.

The main story of the game begins after this, when Lunaria turns 17 and returns to the academy after her leave of absence.

That moment was just around the corner, yet something happened that changed the course of the game’s original plot.

In place of the magical outburst that should have shattered the mansion, Lunaria instead reached her psychological breaking point and chose to kill herself, pulling out an item that could kill her. And then there was the soul of “I” which had somehow taken over the body of “Lunaria”.

After losing her place in the academy due to the unexpected magical outburst, Lunaria bullies the Saintess who tries to usurp her position as the Crown Prince’s fiancée, the only thing she had left in the world, and as a result is condemned and meets death.

However, I refused to let that fate unfold.

The mansion wasn’t destroyed, and now I’ve come to this point, enacting revenge on the maids, the step-mother, the step-sister, and the brother.

Snapping back to reality, I pulled the ball of water from the now-limp maid.

I watched dispassionately as she coughed and gagged, then turned the same freezing water upon the other trembling maids.

　

“Kyaaaaaaah!!!!!

“F, freezing…!”

“Oh? But you all had no trouble dousing me with water every single morning, did you? Since when do you get to complain about the cold?”

　

I also splashed some water on the step-sister, who glared at me with just her eyes, but the level of our anger wasn’t even comparable.

Her body stiffened under my icy stare… just before I drenched her head-to-toe.

　

“KYAAAAAAHH!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING SISTER!!”

“You’ve been doing this to me all along, so what’s the issue now? And you maids, how does it feel to experience your own cruelty firsthand?”

“T, that doesn’t justify this!”

“You should gratefully accept that I’m not killing you. If I were to retaliate for everything you’ve done to me, none of you would be able to survive…”

　

I paused and smiled again.

　

“After all, I would grow tired of it, wouldn’t I?”

　

They finally understood.

They realized that they had chosen the wrong person to flatter.

Not the brother or the father.

The hidden ruler of this house, was the young woman standing before them, the one that they should have desperately flattered and demonstrated their worth to.

　

“Well then. You are all hereby expelled from this house. Be gone by morning. Ah yes, and as a parting gift—step-sister you may keep dear Brother. Step-mother, Father shall be yours to cherish later.”

　

Both the step-mother and step-sister grinned, but the joy was fleeting.

　

“Neither of them has ever worked a day outside noble privilege… well. Since they know nothing of commoner life, why not learn together—all four of you~♪.”

“”……………………………… Huh?””

　

Perhaps they had grown overconfident.

Even though I spoke of retribution, Lunaria was always lenient to her family, so they assumed I would let them stay in this annex.

　

“I have no interest in sheltering parasites. Oh, by the way, don’t bother clinging to these walls. Thus…”

　

With the snapping of my fingers, all the glass within sight shattered into pieces in an instant, and as a final act of kindness, the shards flew outward, away from the occupants.

　

“This annex will be dismantled bit by bit like this, so eventually it will be reduced to a vacant lot. Now then, I suggest you all hurry along. All that’s left is… that’s right… I’ll set up a timed spell… um, so, here, like this, and this…”

　

Like a child playing with a toy, I gently constructed magic circles with airy gestures and set timed spells that would reduce the annex to rubble.

　

───── I was dead serious.

　

“The clock is ticking, so do hurry. I suggest you flee while you still have your lives~.”

　

With a loud clap of my hands, they were finally released from my magical pressure.

　

“Oh, and rest assured—every detail of your misdeeds will be documented in numerous copies… and then there’s… oh, I almost forgot! Ah, how careless of me! I neglected to provide reference letters for you servants. But don’t worry, I’ll personally share details of your conduct in this house with every employment agency. Via magic, of course.”

　

Just as they were about to run, the death sentence was pronounced.

Their faces turned deathly pale, but I couldn’t care less.

　

“Do try your best to survive. Now, here comes the first boom~!”

　

Despite my casual tone, a violent explosion erupted, rocking the annex while sending shockwaves through the air.

Of course, those loyal to Lunaria stood safely within my protective barrier.

Screams could be heard from all around, and the older brother, who was beaten awake to at least secure one male help, was dragged away by the step-sister, their figures shrinking into the distance as they fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

　

“How odd. There is no barrier around the main residence, yet they didn’t even try to grab their belongings from there… Human survival instincts are fascinating. They all just ran empty handed. Ah well… At least we finally have some peace.”

　

Amidst the echoing explosions, inside the barrier was very quiet and protected them from the falling debris.

Cain, the butler, renewed his perfect posture and bowed to Lunaria.

　

“My Lady, no… Your Grace. Though long overdue, we pledge our lives to serve as loyal vassals of the Duke of Solfege Household. First of all, we must hasten your preparations. A missive has arrived from His Majesty the King.”

“Its contents”

“Yes. It reads: ‘Congratulations on this joyous news. Present yourself at the Royal Palace at once.'”

“Right… Let’s get ready then, shall we?”

　

There was no trace of fatigue in Lunaria’s body as I cast a powerful barrier around the main estate with a mere flick of the fingers.

While protecting everyone with a barrier, we leisurely walked towards the main residence, only the youngest footman lingering to watch as the annex collapsed into utter ruin behind us.

As for the former servants who scattered and fled, the stepmother, stepsister, and brother—I didn’t care at all about what happens to them.

We will provide them no aid, nor employment referrals.

There is no evidence that they had ever served in the honorable duke household. To the world, they would now be nothing more than delusional imposters—dangerous fools who had perhaps imagined serving an illustrious house, their counterfeit uniforms the only “proof” of a record that never existed.

　

Ping ♪

　

【During your audience with His Majesty the King, you will encounter His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Will you wear the Crown Prince’s colors?】

▶       Yes

No

　

Time stopped completely around me as we walked.

Compared to what I had experienced the previous times, the “Yes” option shone a little brighter.

　

“… Wearing the color of the fiancé is the proper formality, but… I refuse. No need, unnecessary.”

　

Without hesitation, I chose “No”.

The father, who often wanders around in high society, will probably rush to the castle once he learns of his family’s dire situation.

The father hates nothing more than being publicly humiliated.

As I think about it, another prompt materialized before me.

　

Ping ♪

　

【Will you judge your father before His Majesty the King? Or will you be merciful? He’s the only family you have left!】

▶       Judge him

Show compassion

　

“Oh no…”

　

As expected, the gentle Lunaria of the past would have chosen “compassion“.

　

“……………”

　

Unnecessary things must be discarded without hesitation.

That is the way of nobility.

　

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