DVDID | Chapter 13
The next day, Elle woke up in a fresh mood after she slept well for the whole night. She felt good for a while however, waking up with the rising sun beaming on your face can be a little annoying.
The new room Elle transferred to was even more spacious and has tall glass windows where morning light easily comes through.
"Tofu!"
Today, Elle woke up by herself surprisingly before Tofu could come and wake her up.
"Woof!'
I immediately hugged Tofu who sprung towards me with a fervent wagging of his tail. I gave him a few kisses before I stood up and headed for the window which overlooked the scenic view below. After a while of looking at the well-maintained garden, I finally made up my mind which I couldn't do yesterday.
"... Lari." I said after I heard the door open while still looking at the view outside.
"Oh! Lady Elle, it seems you're awake already."
"Yes, I've been thinking... I've decided to be villainous."
"Pardon?" Lari gazed open-mouthed in surprise at my sudden declaration.
It's hard to train my physical strength so I've decided to exercise a little bit by being mean and live as I pleased. Keeping emotions bottled up would be taxing to one's mind, especially depression. So not holding back would be beneficial to my mental health.
I still have to conduct myself properly unless otherwise provoked. Being a complete feebled and naive woman would make me the target so behaving a bit like a villainess might lengthen my survival in the palace.
Even before, Raella's notoriety was at a different level, despite not being one of the main characters. Acting like a Saint would not make my reputation change for the better. Also, it could be quite tiresome and annoying if I behave like a benevolent princess in front of a trash such as that nose fly.
Duke Landmiken already knew all about his daughter and yet still married her off to another country, so he probably wouldn't mind her being shameless, and losing sight once again of who she was. After that incident with Coffari, the news of me hitting someone had probably spread throughout the Imperial Palace by now.
"Once I eradicate that nose fly, the whole Lily Palace will finally find peace."
"Ah...! I'm so surprised. Suddenly, Lady Elle is going to be mean...."
"The Second Prince will probably never come out again, so this palace would be my world until then."
"Woof!" Tofu barked loudly as if he agreed.
I laughed and gently rubbed Tofu's head.
"I think Lady Elle has gotten a lot brighter and better since Tofu came."
"...... Is that so?"
"Yes! I like the Lady Elle now!"
"Thank you."
Looking at Lari concerned at my wellbeing felt warm inside.
After dawdling in the bedroom all morning, Elle had lunch with Tofu and soon took a stroll with him before heading to her office. She immediately started sorting out the account books piled in front of her the moment she sat in the desk.
I piled the copies of the books on the side after analyzing them one by one. It must have been quite faithfully recorded since it was neatly piled in a bookcase. However, when I opened one up and checked, what's written on it got me confused.
Looking at the date, I think this is the latest book. I immediately asked Lari who was cleaning the bookshelves at the corner, "Lari, what have I eaten these days?"
"More on soup and salads, sometimes fruit tea and refreshments."
"But why is the cost of the food too high?"
I was speechless looking at the figures written on the page. Even if I had to eat purely meat three meals a day, the cost will not add up. And what's more, it says here I've received 300,000 gold in status maintenance funds I haven't even received once.
Wow. They've given me a huge allowance just to maintain my imperial status?!
But I never got a glimpse of that gold. '300,000 gold' isn't even the name of my new residence.
"Have I ever been paid status funds?"
"...No. Actually, I barely even managed to ask for your meals."
"What? Why didn't you tell me?”
"I was afraid you'd be upset once I told you..."
Huh, then it means that nose fly recorded a false ledger. I thought there would be corruption at least, but this is just plain theft.
Elle almost crumpled the book in her hands as her anger arose, but then she caught a glimpse of something dark flashing through the crevices of the slightly open door.
Did I leave the door open? As soon as she thought of that, Tofu was alerted of it as well. He barked loudly and ran out after that thing.
When Elle hurriedly followed Tofu and opened the door, a maid fell unseemly on the floor. Tofu held the helm of her skirt tightly, and the maid tugged at her clothes, but to no avail.
Elle approached the maid and made a hand gesture to let her rise after Tofu let go of her hem. She then loomed over the maid with arms crossed and asked. "Did that Coffari send you?"
As I observed her face, it seemed she was a maid I've never seen before, and her answer was obviously a lie.
"Oh, no, Your Highness. My name is Lena. I'm a maid originally assigned to this area and I'm here to clean as usual."
"Lena? You're my maid then?"
"Ye, yes—!"
"So, you're here to clean today, yes?"
"Yes, Your Highness—!"
"Of course, Coffari did order you, correct?"
"Ye—ah, no! I voluntarily came here—"
"Never mind."
"......"
Elle's presence seemed to be exuding a threatening aura because whenever she says something, it would frighten the maid who was almost reduced to tears even though she didn't do anything untoward to her.
Elle came close to the maid. At the same time, the maid stepped back.
"I'll take care of the cleaning, so don't come near this place again."
"Ah, but—!"
"—But? Are you talking back to me?”
"No, Your Highness..."
"Go tell that nose fly. Don't play stupid games."
"......"
"What are you waiting for?" Elle said while smiling affectionately, but the maid must have felt it was scarier because she was running away as if the devil was after her.
When I glanced down, I found Tofu snarling at the maid running away for dear life then he noticed my gaze and immediately turned to look up at me with beady eyes while wagging his tail. He was sitting dashingly as if asking for praise.
"Good job, Tofu~.”
Lari immediately took the snack out of her pocket and handed it to Elle.
Before, Lari specially made snacks that make it easy for dogs to eat, but he didn't touch it. Therefore, I asked Lari to boil some chicken meat in private.
I've heard that it's not good for dogs to keep eating human food, so I became worried but it seemed that he particularly like meat and wouldn't eat anything else. Thinking that I should start training him myself, I tore the chicken breast into smaller pieces before feeding it to him followed by stroking his fur.
And a kiss as an added bonus.
"Oh, so handsome—" I bend down to kiss him on the nose but Tofu stiffened yet again. Tofu doesn't seem to like my kisses very much, especially on the nose and near the mouth. I've done it a few times, but it gets hard every time.
After being amused at the stiff Tofu, Elle looked into the direction where the maid ran and soon hardened her expression.
Earlier, the maid said she came to clean up this area, but she was definitely peeping inside the office.
It seems that Coffari ordered the maid to monitor my movements in secret. That means you're being stabbed, and if it's true, then that stupid book was indeed a fake.
However, the next day, Elle became desperate for the first time after coming into this world because Tofu never came to wake her up and suddenly vanished.
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August 19, 2020
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