The Villain’s Merit, Chapter 8
“Yes.”
The Duke raised a brow in interest.
“Tell me what you know.”
“I understand that high-ranking people like the Duke need children for various reasons. For example, children who will succeed the family, children who will be used to forming ties with other families, etc.”
“Hmm.”
“Since the Duke only has one daughter, you must have adopted me because you needed another child to fulfill your needs.”
“Did the director tell you that?”
“No.”
“Then how did you know about those things?”
Instead of blatantly saying that I read it in a novel like a crazy person, I made myself look a little smarter.
“I found out on my own while I was at the orphanage.”
“On your own?”
“All the children at the Curtis orphanage are in situations like that. It’s rough for them because they’re unwanted illegitimate children kept hidden in case of an emergency. If the nobles need another child for any reason, they’ll come to take their illegitimate child, but otherwise, the child will be abandoned.”
“Hmm.”
He seemed uncomfortable when the unpleasant stories of nobility smoothly flowed out of a child’s mouth. I pretended not to notice and kept talking.
“Isn’t that why, unlike other orphanages, they teach children aristocratic manners? I moved there from another orphanage, so I knew how different Curtis Orphanage was from other places. That’s how I noticed these things.”
I don’t actually know what other orphanages are like, since I possessed Freddia after she came to Curtis Orphanage. I only learned that it was different from other orphanages when I read about it in the book.
But to Ivan, my words seemed quite plausible.
“You’re smart, but you’re not my illegitimate child. Still, do you have any idea why I brought you here?”
I know all about his situation, but the Duke made his plan all by himself, so I would’ve been misunderstood if I said I knew all of that.
‘Should I say I don’t know much? And should I make a guess that it has something to do with Herace?’
While I was contemplating my response, a chef suddenly appeared from the kitchen with dessert. He seemed to have served dessert after noticing the change in mood, which seemed to signal that the meal was almost over.
The chef picked up a knife and cut it into the center of the cake.
A silver knife dipped in the elaborate whipped cream decorations and cut through the soft cake.
I was instantly mesmerized by the cake.
“Uh⋯⋯. So, I’m guessing that it has something to do with the cake. His Highness, the First Prince, likes cakes⋯⋯.”
I said something strange, so I stopped myself.
‘How long have my eyes been on the cake?’
When I turned my head and looked at Ivan, I could see him biting his lips.
“Sorry, sorry, the cake looked delicious⋯⋯.”
“The First Prince.”
“Oh, yes! His Highness, the First Prince, is a cake.”
“You.”
“Yes, no, that’s me.”
Oh, I’m so embarrassed. This freaking cake! I was pretending to be smart and extraordinary but it distracted me.
Heat rose on my face. When I glanced at Ivan, he was covering his face with his hands, and for some reason, was pressing down the space between his eyebrows.
“Are you okay?”
“Cake⋯⋯. Hmmm, eat the cake first.”
Ivan beckoned the chef to bring the cake in front of me.
“A child is a child.”
The corners of his lips twitched as he mumbled to himself.
What is it? I don’t know what he’s saying, but I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything.
The chef put a large piece of cake on a plate and brought it to me.
“Eat it, my lady. This is a cake topped with whipped cream made with freshly squeezed milk from this morning.”
There was faint happiness in the chef’s voice as he explained.
When I looked at Ivan, he nodded, as if he was permitting me to eat. Then, after having the chef and servants retreat, he said.
“Listen while eating.”
I quickly picked up the fork and cut the cake into large chunks.
Ivan said to me as I munched on the soft cake.
“You don’t have to know everything from the beginning. For the time being, all you have to do here is learn etiquette. I’ll give you a teacher, so from tomorrow on, work hard.”
I answered with horrible pronunciation because my cheeks were full of cake.
“Yes.”
“I hope you don’t disappoint me.”
Ivan said that in a firm voice, but since he had an easygoing expression, it didn’t sound too heavy.
“Since I gave you a nice room and a decent meal, you should study your manners well.”
I nodded with a serious face, with my mouth still full of cake.
“Yes!”
“Alright then. I have work to do, so I’ll get up first. If you want more dessert, you can ask them to bring the leftovers to your room.”
“Yes, thank you.”
As I bowed my head, the Duke suddenly stared at me as he stood up from his seat, raised his index finger, and pressed on my chubby cheeks full of cake.
“⋯⋯?”
When I looked at him in curiosity, the Duke took his finger off my cheek.
“Well, there’s something I need to do, so I’ll go now.”
He hurriedly disappeared from the dining room.
I think your eyes were sparkling just now. But why?
***
Someone knocked on my door shortly after I returned to my bedroom. It was the maid from this morning.
She brought clothes for me to wear temporarily so that I could change out of the rags I was currently wearing. She was holding a dress in her arms.
“I looked around and found a dress that I was going to throw away because it was too small for Lady Isabella.”
Freddia’s stature was on the smaller side for a 14-year-old, perhaps because she didn’t eat well. So, a small outfit from Isabella, who was a year older than her, would fit Freddia’s body.
However, the maid had a subtle expression as she put the dress down.
“Is there any problem?”
“I’m not sure if I can wear it because the skirt is a little torn. What should I do?”
When I checked it, there was a hole big enough for my head through, even though I said that there was only ‘a little’ tear. Have your clothes ever been torn like this? What did you do?
“Is there anything else I can wear?”
The maid cut me off and answered.
“No, we don’t have anything else, but you could continue wearing your current outfit for the time being. Otherwise, the madam will have to browse for new clothes later and decide on what to order, but she’s not feeling well right now.”
This meant that I could have new clothes with Catherine’s permission. She was laying down in her room because she didn’t like me.
I didn’t know when Catherine would leave her bedroom, and even if she did, I doubt she would be willing to buy clothes for me.
“Then, will there be no problem if I wear this?”
“Are you going to wear it? I can’t mend it for you. I’m not good with my hands. The maids in charge of sewing are already busy with the madam’s orders. I’m sorry, but if you want to wear this dress, you will have to do the mending yourself.”
It seems like the maid was aiming for this.
‘To be disrespectful to a child.’
I sighed once, lifted the dress, and looked at it.
The thick fabric looked very warm and seemed like it could keep me warm from the chilly winds throughout the day. It also felt light. And most importantly, it looked beautiful.
I was adopted by a rich family, yet I still have to wear clothes like the ones from the orphanage.
With a slightly sullen look, the maid sighed once more time and asked,
“I can’t help you, but can you really mend it and wear it? Are sure you have nothing else to ask for or to say? Actually, this was the princess’s favorite dress.”
“I’m sure.”
I looked at the dress with suspicious eyes. The clothes did seem like they were meant to be thrown away. But if Isabella really liked the dress, she wouldn’t have let it become so dusty.
With every sway of my skirt, I made my way to the dress covered in dust and carefully held it up, and nodded in feigned reluctance.
“I’m not confident in my skills, but I’ll fix it myself.”
As if she was satisfied with the situation, the maid gave me the sewing box and left. Her expression showed her anticipation to see me fail, and her face would definitely make me smugly laugh when she sees that I succeeded in mending the dress.
“Did Isabella do this, or did the maid act on her own? It’s a little different from the original plot, so I don’t know⋯⋯ But first, let’s mend this dress.”
I went to the window and opened it, stuck my dress out, and shook it. The dust was blown away by the wind.
I brushed off the remaining dust on the dress and neatly spread it out on the bed. It was a pretty dress. Delicate lace, luxurious fabric, and moderately colorful decorations that were neither childish nor modest.
‘Okay, I’m satisfied.’
When I closely inspected the tear, it was torn diagonally, not horizontally, so it would look noticeable if I simply sewed it together.
“Hmmm⋯⋯.”
Did Isabella intentionally rip up the worn-out clothes she wanted to throw away?
“Wherever you go, there are bound to be territorial people. I used to be very territorial when I was working in a factory. It’s because people don’t mature even when they get older.”
A sigh came out.
“Indeed, if everyone is an adult, why are there young adults who have no brains, and why are there old people who can’t distinguish between praise and sexual harassment?”
I clicked my tongue and covered the thread with saliva. I squinted my eyes, looking down at the eye of the needle.
Then, when I could clearly see the eye of the needle, I corrected my slouching posture, which looked like an old grandmother’s back.
“My eyesight has gotten better.”
Oh my god, this posture makes me mumble like an old man with bad eyesight.
Freddia has good eyesight, probably because she never looked at her smartphone in bed at night with the lights turned off. This was the first change I noticed as soon as I possessed Freddia’s body. Oh, all this time, I was seeing the world so blindly.
How can she see the world so well without lenses or glasses? At first, I felt like I had done LASIK. The more I think about it, the luckier I feel to have possessed a character in a book.
“Live well~ Live well~ Live life well ~.”
I inserted a thread into the eye of the needle while humming.
At that moment, the concentration of the whole universe was gathered in my eyes and hands.
Dajie needling method.
The first step, tacking.
“Ura-cha-cha!”
With a loud shout, the needle was inserted into the hem.
Wriggle.
Tacking, also known as basting.
⋯⋯ Sewing was a fixed activity, and I was bored, so I tried to excite myself.
“Now, let’s blind stitch! New stitch! On with the stitching! Now backstitching!”
Actually, I’m a sewing master. With this talent, I had a side job of making clothes for dolls, which I did at home. I was good with my hands, so I made quite a bit of pocket money.
There is nothing I can’t do with sewing, embroidery, and needles.
“Lululala.”
The maid must have been trying to make me wear funny-looking clothes by sloppily sewing the hem.
But unfortunately for her, two hours later, I wore a beautiful dress that was torn, fixed, sewn together, and given a completely new look.
“There’s no difference between making dresses for dolls and dresses for humans. Haha.”