I Favor the Villainess Chapter 10
âGood morning, Claire-samaâ
I visited Claire-samaâs room to help her with morning preparations, only to be met with suspicious look.
Yup, sheâs irresistible.
â⌠You really have become my maid, huhâ
âYes, I will assist you in all sorts of ways from now onâ
âYou should be grateful to me, should you not?â
âEh? But, Iâm a maid, so itâs my job to take care of Claire-sama?â
âI have not said that sort of thing!â
âYeah, please be strict with meâ
Claire-sama is lively from the morning.
âRei-chan, you cannot inconvenience Claire-sama too much? Yes, Claire-sama. Iâve prepared the change of clothesâ
The one who admonished me with a gentle voice is another Claire-samaâs maid, Lene Orso.
Sheâs a little older than us.
She has fluffy flax-colored hair and feels like a tolerant woman.
âGood morning, Lene. Dress me up.â
âAh, please let me do it!â
âCould you step back!?â
âAra ara, arenât you enthusiastic about work?â
Claire-sama squealed to threaten me who wasnât hiding her motives with Lene watching over us with a friendly grin.
Lene is a commoner just like me, but even if I say commoner, sheâs the eldest daughter of a leading merchant company in this country, Orso, sheâs not particularly lacking money.
As for that Lene works as Claire-samaâs maid, itâs due to the companyâs ulterior motives.
Claire-samaâs father, Rod-sama, is Minister of Finance.
A company would by all means want to have a connection with him.
Therefore, Orso Company made their eldest daughter Lene Claire-samaâs maid to curry favor.
âBecause she kindly offered, why donât you get dressed by Rei-chanâ
âI donât want that! Weâre talking about this commoner, nothing good will come of it!â
âMy, my. In the future if my physical condition worsens I may not be able to assist Claire-sama with changing clothes. At that time, if Rei-chan lacks experience, wonât Claire-sama be troubled?â
â⌠That⌠might be soâ
I think you can understand from this conversation, but Lene is well liked by Claire-sama.
Lene is how to say it, very skilled at handling Claire-sama.
Even though her position is inferior, in reality, at times she has Claire-sama in the palm of her hand.
Sheâs not just a gentle girl.
âRei-chan, you too, tease Claire-sama in moderation. It canât be helped that your love overflowsâ
âFufu, Iâm kiddingâ
Lene laughed cheerfully as if she was Claire-samaâs older sister or something.
Actually, their relationship is a long one.
Rene has worked as a maid before Claire-sama could even remember.
Claire-samaâs had a lot of maids but owing to her severe character it was unusual for them to serve her for long.
However, only Lene continued serving Claire-sama.
This was not mentioned in the game, but Iâm well familiar with setting materials.
âNow, letâs change clothes. Rei-chan, could you take off Claire-samaâs clothes?â
âYes. Claire-sama, excuse meâ
I wonder if she gave up, Claire-sama entrusted her body to me.
What Claire-sama wears are custom-made super-high-class goods.
Her pajamas are no exception.
Theyâre made of smooth silk, in this world where linen or cotton clothes are commonplace such goods arenât easy to come by.
Be that as it may, Iâm barely looking at her pajamas.
My gaze seems to be licking Claire-sama.
Itâs undoubtedly sexual harassment.
Looking from up close Claire-sama is so lovely itâs dangerous.
Her white as porcelain skin thatâs without a single blemish has a fine texture.
Although she isnât tall, her limbs are long and slender.
Thereâs no fault to be seen, sheâs a perfect beauty.
Her almond-shaped eyes might be seen as either a pro or a con.
â⌠Isnât your gaze wicked?â
âExcuse me. Claire-sama is too beautifulâ
âIâm tired of hearing flattery. Have you finished yet?â
âIâd like to look a little moreâ
I put myself together and dressed her in the academy uniform.
The Royal Academy uniform is similar to blazers in modern Japan, but the high-quality design gives off an elegant impression.
In this world, there are few schools with uniforms.
Itâs because thereâs not much sense in producing uniforms.
To begin with, itâs rare for commoners to attend school and thereâs a meaning for nobles to dress up.
As for why the Royal Academy adopted uniforms, itâs because they serve as a kind of status symbol.
Only the selected elite can wear this uniform.
While in Japan uniforms are a symbol of standardization and lack of individuality, this academyâs uniforms are a symbol of grace.
I put a white blouse decorated with frills and embroidery over her arms.
âDoing the hair is still impossible for Rei-chan. Iâll do itâ
Claire-samaâs trademark winding curls are not naturally curly, they are done every day.
There seems to be a trick to it, although Iâve been practicing on a wig, I canât reproduce them yet.
Lena skillfully did them.
By the way, thereâs no such thing as shampoo or conditioner in this world, you only use soap to wash your hair.
However, it seems its formula differs from the real world, even without shampoo or conditioner you can wash your hair reasonably clean.
With another world transmigration, itâs a common development to produce shampoo and conditioner, to my disappointment Iâve also thought of that.
âAs expected of Lene. It is a splendid workâ
âIâm unworthy of such wordsâ
Claire-sama looking in the mirror satisfied was the perfect image of a young noble lady no matter how you looked.
âThen, letâs go to the dining hallâ
The meals in the academy are exclusively provided in the dining hall.
Because noble children attend the academy, the menu is quite extravagant.
Although as expected full-course meals arenât served, a set menu with staple food, main dish, side dish, soup, and dessert is.
Itâs no exaggeration to say such rich meals are one of the daily pleasures of scholarship students of commoner origins.
âHaa⌠It is a poor mealâ
Be that as it may, thatâs only true for average nobles and scholarship students.
They arenât at a satisfying level for a genuine upper-class noble like Claire-sama.
âIs that so? Even though itâs so deliciousâ
Iâm enjoying a gyuudon set.
Itâs something Claire-sama would never eat.
âThis why you are a commoner. I wish I could at least eat Blumeâs full-course mealâ
Blume is currently the most popular restaurant in the Royal Capital.
Introducing never-seen-before recipes one after another, itâs a famous shop where nobles gather.
A full-course meal in Blume is a high-class meal worth half a year of a commonerâs income.
No matter how abundant royal funds are for the academy, such an extravagance would clearly be the managementâs transgression.
âClaire-sama, you mustnât be picky about foodâ
Claire-sama is skillfully avoiding bell peppers.
Lene who noticed it with her sharp sight, rebuked her.
âBell peppers are not a human food. It is not fine. There are other vegetables as wellâ
âThatâs not the problem. This meal was made with citizensâ taxes. Claire-sama who is a noble has the obligation to eat bell peppersâ
Claire-sama was at a loss for words when it was said itâs noblesâ obligation.
Letâs defeat her with another push.
âAh, then, can I eat them? Hooray. An indirect kiss with Claire-samaâââ
âThank you for the meal!â
Before I could finish speaking, Claire-sama moved her fork with terrific vigor and threw all bell peppers into her mouth.
âRei-chan, way to go. You made Claire-sama eat bell peppersâ
âNo, it was nothing much?â
âYou absolutely followed your instincts, did you not!?â
When the meal ended, it was finally time for a lecture.
Today it was Liberal Arts lecture.
Having memorized the setting materials collection, I found it nothing but boring.
âThen, regarding the impact of the policy of Coulee III on the world later⌠Claire-sama, please answerâ
Despite their positions as teacher and student, she still attached sama to Claire-sama.
The teachers may be nobles, nevertheless thereâs no house that surpasses François house.
Despite the official stance being that everyone in the academy is equal, itâs the proof that in reality social status matters.
âThe food policy of Coulee III quickly resolved the great famine that started with a poor harvest in the neighboring country Appalachia. But with it, the vulnerability of the kingdomâs food infrastructure was made evident. Afterwards, the kingdom put effort into developing western, agricultural region, committing to improving food self-sufficiency without relying on importsâ
Claire-sama can study very much.
She received special education from an excellent tutor from the early age, but most of all, she absolutely hates losing, even when left alone she voluntarily studies.
Having lost to me in Liberal Arts on the previous test, Claire-sama is enthusiastically tackling her studies.
She may have a poor image as a villainess, but sheâs a real hard worker.
Among the roles I received from François house is also the role of a tutor, but as of now I havenât been asked to teach anything.
By the way, Lene doesnât participate in lectures.
Sheâs Claire-samaâs maid without being an academy student.
Near the academy dormitory where the students live thereâs an establishment created for those who serve them.
Lene commutes from there to Claire-samaâs place.
While Claire-sama attends lectures, Lene and other maids work.
They wash their mastersâ clothes, contact the parentsâ houses, gather intelligence to prepare for winter socializing, they have plenty of work.
As Iâm a maid while being an academy student, such work is left to Lene while I assist Claire-sama within the academy.
Itâs just, I havenât been able to do stuff typical for that line of work.
âI want to quickly do this and that with Claire-sama. With great attention to detailâ
âWith the way you are saying it, I will not let you do anything, okay?â