Who Made Me a Villainess 2

“How do you feel?” I asked, watching Lumiere weave runes into an explosive spell. Mini fireworks bloomed, illuminating the gradually dimming interior of the library and adding a touch of color against the growing darkness of the skies outside the window. A soothing warmth suffused the once cold interior.

“Excellent!” Lumiere watched the glowing embers in wonder, her mouth slightly agape. She raised her hands and ignited another blossoming inferno that tinged the library crimson.

“Careful. I’ve only just lifted the curse. Don’t burn through your mana all at once…” I trailed off in surprise, realizing that immense volumes of mana continued to emanate from my excited protege. This wasn’t the quantity of mana that a regular 16-year-old should possess.

“Is that why they placed a seal on her magic? Were they afraid of her?”

“What did you say?” Lumiere extinguished her flames with a gesture and stared at me sharply. I realized I had unintentionally voiced out my thoughts.

“No, uh…I was wondering about who placed the curse on you and your father. The only thing I’m certain of is that they’re black magic practitioners.”

“Obviously. Curses are firmly within the domain of black magic.” Lumiere scowled sourly. Then she grimaced and waved frantically. “Don’t get me wrong! I…I just happened to read about black magic. It’s not as if I’m familiar with its principles or anything!”

“I didn’t say anything.” I raised my eyebrow quizzically.

“No, but you were thinking it!”

“No, I wasn’t. My thoughts are firmly focused on figuring out who the perpetrators could be. Anyone with a grudge against the Ombre duchy?”

She frowned and folded her arms. “I’m afraid I don’t know. I was…confined in the manor for a long time, and prior to that, I was…well, I was obsessed with pursuing love, to the point I remained ignorant of any court politics, or of any potential enemies my family might have.”

I said nothing. I wasn’t in any position to judge. In my previous life, I had done a lot of stupid things, both in high school and during my first few years of university. It was probably why I behaved so awkwardly around girls – I realized what a creep I had been. Whether it was by making girls uncomfortable by following them along (fortunately, I didn’t go as far as stalking) or making inappropriate jokes that angered more than amused. That was why I empathized with her. Even if we came from very different worlds, we were in many ways so alike.

I had solved the problem by giving up on romance and burying myself in my studies, which was how I ended up pursuing a PhD instead. Obviously, this wasn’t something Lumiere would understand, so I attempted to reframe my assurance.

“I’ve done pretty dumb things myself, and hurt a girl I used to like.” I shrugged. “We all make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them and grow as a person.”

She stared at me in wonder. “You sound more mature than you look. And I thought I was the one who lived life twice.”

“I’ve been through a similar experience, even if it’s not identical to yours. Let’s just say I came from a faraway place…it’s also the reason why I have this unique ability.”

“Fair enough.” Lumiere took a deep breath and rested her chin on her hands, which in turn were propped on her knees. She closed her eyes and sighed. “Perhaps, if it’s you, you might understand. Besides, I know I can trust you. You’re the one who removed the curse and allowed me to use magic.”

“Understand what?” I asked uncertainly. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear the answer. I had a feeling that if I stayed and listened, there would be no turning back.

Then again, I had already passed the point of no return long ago.

Lumiere brought her knees up the chair to rest her chin on them, hugging her legs to her chest. She breathed out softly, as if ruminating for a moment, then finally spoke up.

“You already know I’m a…what did you call it, regressor? That this is my second time living this life?”

“...yeah.”

“In my previous life, I was a witch.” She paused for a moment, and as if worried I didn’t understand, offered an explanation. “I was a practitioner of black magic.”

“I see.”

“You don’t seem surprised.”

I shrugged. “Honestly, if I were in your position, I might have resorted to it too. I understand very well the despair of not being able to use magic. I would have gone, ‘any magic is fine, even forbidden one.’ Hell, I might even be some edgelord, deluding myself into thinking I was special and therefore could control and wield it like no one else, and rise to the top.”

“I never went that far!”

“No, you didn’t. That’s why…you’re a much better person than I would ever be.”

“Don’t sell yourself short!” She caught herself and buried her face in her knees. “Also, don’t be too quick to judge. At least listen to the whole story. I’m not as good a person as you think I am.”

Then she told me. She poured her heart out. Whether it was how her memory remained vague and fragmented, and that she could only recall the major events of her previous life in clarity. Her petty, vindictive behavior against Silvia. Her obsession with Leonard. Her desperation to win her dad’s acknowledgement. The despair she sank into when everyone abandoned her. The turning point when she turned to black magic.

The destruction she wreaked across the capital when she summoned a demon. The deaths of countless civilians, all of their blood on her hands. Her capture. Her trial. Her public execution.

“Then…after I was burned at stake, I opened my eyes, and found myself back here. Ten years in the past. And…here we are.”

She smiled, her cheeks glistening with tears. She hugged her legs closer to her chest.

“See? I’m not a good person. I’m a horrible individual. A criminal, a witch. A calamity.”

“That’s not true. If it were, then why are you working so hard to learn magic this time around? If you truly were a terrible person, then the first thing you would do after regressing is learn black magic immediately, summon a demon during the annulment of your engagement and instantly take out both his highness and Lady Silvia as revenge for ruining your life previously.”

Lumiere stared at me for a second, her mouth wide open. Then she giggled.

“You know, I never thought of that.”

“See? I told you I’m not a saint. If I were you, I would have done far worse things. And I think you’d be justified in doing so too. How dare this kingdom burn you at stake!”

“Well, I deserve it.” She patted her chest as she snickered. “Thank you. I feel much better now after sharing everything. I feel like I can trust you, somehow. You’re not exactly a kindred spirit, but you understand me better than anyone else. You…”

She turned away, her face a deep shade of red as she mumbled.

“You…are someone I’m very grateful for.”

Damn, did I just trigger the villainess route? This was really starting to resemble an otome isekai. Magic, reincarnation, regression, saintess, demons, and now a villainess? What was next, marrying the crown prince?

“Perhaps we should stop for the day.” I reached out and shut the book that lay on the desk in front of her. “I understand your excitement of finally being able to cast spells, but you need to rest.”

“Eh, just one more…I’m just getting the hang of it.”

Before I could firmly refuse, the door to the library swung open and Damien Ombre stalked inside.

“Do you not realize what time it is? Heavens, are you still working on casting magic? Don’t be mistaken, I admire your diligence and determination, but that is no excuse to miss dinner! Both of you, follow me to the dining hall immediately!”

“F…father?” Lumiere blurted, taken aback. She glanced at the window and winced. “Oh, it really has gotten late. I hadn’t realized. Time flew by so fast.”

“Um, before that, my lord,” I began and stood up. “I think we have some good news for you.”

“You think?” He swiveled his head from his daughter to me. Lumiere sighed.

“No, it’s definitely good news.” She raised her hand and ignited crimson flames on her palm, illuminating her smile. “Look.”

Ombre’s jaw dropped. For a few seconds, he stared blankly, but after he returned to his senses, he rushed over to hug her. His daughter frantically extinguished the flames, so as not to accidentally burn her dad, but I doubted it would have mattered. Ombre possessed the same monstrous amount of mana as she did.

“You did it! You finally learned how to cast spells!”

“Actually, it was Sir Trevor who helped.” Though gripped tightly in her father’s embrace, she managed to nod in my direction. “He discovered the curse placed on me and dismantled it, much like he did for you. Once it was lifted, I was finally able to use magic.”

“Curse?” Damien’s face darkened. The desk began to vibrate violently, the books shuddering off its surface. I flinched at both his expression and the surge of furious mana. “Those bastards. Cursing me wasn’t enough, they even had the audacity to touch my daughter…!”

“Father!”

“Ah.” Ombre released his daughter, patting her apologetically. Instantly, the library calmed down, the desk going still and the books sliding to a halt. He glanced at me and must have seen me recoil, for he raised his hand in remorse. “I apologize for the unsightly display. I lost control of my rage.”

“Not at all. I understand how you feel.”

“If only I have clear evidence, I could move against those I suspect are the culprits. Nonetheless, forgive me. I should be expressing my gratitude toward you, not fury.” He bowed. “How could we ever repay this debt? You’ve saved us not once, but twice now!”

“Uh, no need for that.”

“Oh, no need to hold yourself back. Not everyone is capable enough of earning a duke’s favor, let alone two.” Lumiere twirled her hand and sparked a new flame. Weaving crimson runes, she expanded it into a blazing inferno. Once again, I was impressed by the sheer quantity of mana she possessed, which appeared to me a supernova that briefly turned night into day.

Damien must have caught sight of my awestruck expression, for he chuckled and nodded approvingly. “Lumi is my daughter. She inherited the Ombre bloodline. Of course, she’ll possess the same tremendous amount of mana as I do.”

There was an explosion that knocked over the shelves and set the books alight. Lumiere scrambled, slapping at the poor tomes to extinguish the flames.

“Oh no! No, no, no…!”

“Relax, honey.” Ombre waved a hand, and an immense gust of wind blew out the flames in a stroke, leaving nothing but the stench of ash. He smiled. “You might be gifted with an incredible amount of mana, but you still need to learn how to control your magic.”

“Ugh…” She looked at the wisps of smoke rising from her fingers, disappointed. Lady, you literally just started learning how to cast spells today. Weren’t you getting too ahead of yourself?

“I’ll leave the lesson of delicate control to you.” Ombre turned to me. “Can you do it?”

“I can teach her the basics of mana control,” I affirmed, my fingers cupping my chin as I pondered. “But I wonder if it’s worth having Lady Lumiere enroll in Arcana Academy? The semester begins in a couple of months, so there’s still time to submit an application.”

“That’s a brilliant idea!” Ombre’s eyes widened. “I’m an alumnus there, so I can get her in easily. Additionally, there are talented teachers who will be able to assist Lumi in reaching her full potential. They have the resources and facilities to train students in magic use, and those who graduate from there are almost guaranteed a mage career.”

I glanced at Lumiere, who had fallen silent. She appeared to be in deep thought, and when she caught my gaze, she smiled faintly.

“I…I just never imagined that I would have the chance to enroll in Arcana Academy one day. I mean, I dreamed of it sometimes, fantasized what it would be like, but…given how I couldn’t use magic before, I…I never thought…”

I nodded quietly, recalling what had transpired during her previous life. From total isolation, being ostracized by nobility and condemned to a public execution, to the opportunity to live a “normal life.” Become a student just like everyone else.

Also, academy life is an indispensable trope in any otome fantasy world. It’s not otome isekai if it doesn’t feature a school!

“Thank you.”

“Huh?” I stared at Lumiere blankly, unsure why she was suddenly expressing her gratitude. She responded with a gentle smile.

“Honestly, at first, I was…afraid. Like I said, I never imagined there is the possibility of enrolling in Arcana Academy. The suggestion scared me.” She dropped her voice to a whisper, presumably so that her father wouldn’t overhear. Being the sensitive gentleman, he busied himself in salvaging whatever books survived the inferno earlier. “This life isn’t proceeding how I thought it would. Too many things have changed. My memories of my previous life have all been rendered completely useless.”

“Sorry about that.”

“No, you don’t have to apologize. I realized…I like it better this way.” Lumiere paused and stared out the window. “Prior to meeting you, I was living out a script that had already been decided. I was anxious because I knew what would happen, and I strove to avoid my fate. But it never felt as if I was fully in control of my life, simply avoiding the worst options in a script already prepared for me.”

A character who realized that she was in a play, and though she did her utmost to resist the fate written for her, she was still forced to abide by the framework already in place.

“But ever since you appeared, it’s like the script has been completely shredded. The present has diverged so much that the future is now uncharted territory. But…it feels like I’m living again. Not just going with the motion or resisting the flow. I’m truly living.”

Bowing my head, I reached out and squeezed her hand reassuringly. She returned the gesture.

“I recall you’re a scholarship student there too, aren’t you?” Ombre dropped the pile of books that he was pretending to fuss over and glanced at me. His eyes narrowed when he caught sight of our linked hands, but he maintained his composure. “I’ll be counting on you to take care of her when she enrolls.”

“I can take care of myself,” Lumiere huffed, folding her arms.

“I know you can, but that said…” Ombre stomped over to me, his aura intensifying intimidatingly. Pages fluttered, books fell, and furniture creaked. “Don’t get too close to Lumi. Make sure to keep your distance.” He lowered his voice, sweeping his amber gaze across the library where half-charred books and scorched furniture lay. “Ensure you do not harbor any strange thoughts about marrying my precious daughter to gain access to our prized bloodline.”

“Uh…what?” I stared at him blankly. “That thought has never crossed my mind.”

“Insolent! Are you saying Lumi isn’t good enough to be a match for you?!”

How damned troublesome…

“Stop this at once, Father!” Lumiere snapped and smacked her dad across the back of his head, sending him sprawling. Damien crawled to his feet and was about to protest, but when he caught sight of her seething, he wisely shut his mouth. The black-haired girl sighed and shook her head. “Anyway, you said you came to call us over for dinner?”

“I did.” He brightened, grateful for any excuse to defuse his beloved daughter’s rage. “Let’s go, the two of you. Anna has whipped up quite the delicacy for today.”

“…who?”

“Anna is the head maid,” Lumiere whispered as she passed by. She smirked. “You’ll love her cooking.”

“I look forward to it.”

Pushing my glasses up my nose, I followed father and daughter toward the dining hall. As we stepped into the corridor, I took one last glance at the library.

The magnitude of destruction that Lumiere already was capable of, even though it was only her first day of using magic…I tried not to roll my eyes. Deep inside, I suspected that even if I hadn’t lifted her curse, Lumiere would have found some way to break the seal herself.

If anything, I had probably unintentionally usurped the poor original male lead. I wondered who Lumiere would have met if it weren’t for my interference. The gentle and caring crown prince, perhaps. A powerful but distant noble, dispatched to guard the borders of our kingdom? Or a boisterous yet kind-hearted prince from a rival nation? Maybe even a brooding mage several centuries old and guarding a mysterious tower.

Well, whatever. If he was truly the real male lead, he would show up sooner or later.

For now, though, I had to focus on finding a way to teach Lumiere so that her powerful magic wouldn’t run rampant.