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“Good morning, Gilles,” I say the moment he wakes up. He looks over at me drowsily, his eyes still half closed.
“Alicia?”
“Yep, it’s me.”
“This bed is so soft…..”
Gilles must still be half asleep. But that’s true, in comparison to Grandpa Will’s hard and flat mattress, this one probably feels like a cloud.
“Where is this?”
“My house. And starting today, this will be your room. Feel free to use it as you like,” I tell him.
Gilles’s eyes fly wide open. I guess he’s feeling wide awake now.
“My…. My room!?”
Gilles has probably never had his own room before. With wide open eyes, he excitedly looks around, taking in every minute detail.
“Now that you’re up, hurry and get ready. We’ll be leaving for the magic academy today.”
“Today!?” Gilles asks a bit disappointedly, turning regretfully to look back at me.
“Yes. Also, just so you know, the saintess is also attending the academy. You should have read about her in some of the books I brought for you, right?”
“The saintess that’s said will bring world peace? She actually exists?”
“Yup. She’s real. And on that subject, what I’m going to tell you today needs to be kept an absolute secret, do you understand? Can you promise not to breathe even a word of this to anyone else? Needless to say, even my own brothers can’t be allowed to find out.”
Gilles gives me a huge nod of his head, and looks at me directly with wide open, earnest eyes. Eyes that are brimming with intelligence and determination.
The fact that from now on, Gilles is going to always be by my side really puts my heart at ease.
I suck in a little breath and start.
“I’ve been selected to monitor that saintess.”
“Monitor her?”
“That’s right. It’s my job to judge whether she has the wisdom to be able to lead this country and if not, I’m supposed to guide her into making the right decisions.”
“Won’t that mean you’ll be doing the world a huge favor? Alicia, I thought you wanted to be a villainess though?” Gilles asks me, tilting his head to the side skeptically.
“If you look at it in a different light, this job will actually allow me to flourish as a villainess. Since everyone loves the saintess.”
“Oh, so that’s how it is. You mean, because you’ll have to publicly go against the saintess’s opinions, people will end up thinking badly of you? Since you’ll be forced to openly criticize her in order to keep her from making mistakes?”
“Exactly,” I say smiling proudly at him.
As expected of Gilles, he’s quite quick on the uptake.
“Alright, enough of that. Quickly get changed into these new clothes.”
“What’s my role to be in all of this?”
I haven’t quite figured that out yet…..
Hm, let’s see…. Since I’m going to become this world’s best villainess, then that would make her brilliant attendant….. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter. He can do whatever he wants. He’s smart enough to make good decisions for himself.
“I’ll leave that up to you, Gilles.”
“Then, I’ll just act in a way that I imagine a villainess’s right-hand man would.”
“Will you even be able to keep up with me?” I tease.
Gilles scoffs.
“Just who do you think I am? I’ve already seen you at your worst. When I first saw you, you were acting so horrendously towards a kid who was fighting for his life. After these past couple years together, I think I should be able to manage something like this just fine.”
That’s true…..
What a comeback. I can’t say anything back to that.
Looks like Gilles really will be able to pull off becoming my ideal villainess’s assistant.
“Other than that, it sounds like you need keep your origins a secret. No one can know that you’re from the impoverished village.”
“Got it,” Gilles says, nodding his head.
….He’s grown up to be such an honest, obedient child. Your big sister is so proud of you!
Especially since the first time I saw you, your eyes were completely devoid of life. You were in the pit of despair, but look at you now!
“Come out once you’ve gotten changed. I’ll be waiting for you just outside,” I tell him, and then I leave the room.
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T/N: We’re off to the academy next chapter~
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