Rehabilitating the Villainess

Chapter 87: The Villainess

As I rode my horse, a pleasant scent filled the air, emanating from brightly blooming flowers in the wide plain. 

It reminded me of Shael, or more precisely, Shael's unfortunate tendency to trample on pretty flowers.

"I’m hungry…" Shael exclaimed from behind, prompting a request to rest. 

Dismounting my horse, and helped Shael get down as well. 

Shael fixed her dress and walked through the field of wild flowers. Although her actions weren't intentional this time, it also held true that she was carelessly trampling on the beautiful flowers.

Considering this bad habit persisted even in the Holy Land, I felt the need to address it promptly.

"Why are you stepping on a flower?" I questioned.

"I didn’t step on it, there was a flower where I put my foot." Shael confidently replied.

Well, she always had a unique way with her words. 

Suppressing a laugh, I continued, "Even if it wasn’t now, didn’t you trample the flowers whenever you saw them?"

Shael nodded confidently, unbothered by my criticism. 

Therefore, I tried to convince her, "Look at the flowers blooming everywhere. How pretty are they? Not only do they look good, but they also smell good."

"Is that so?" Shael questioned my words, and it occurred to me that perhaps even flowers seemed disgusting to someone with such unique taste.

Fortunately, that wasn't the case. 

Shael's dissatisfaction stemmed from a different issue, as she voiced, "I don’t think you’ve ever complimented me like that before."

"Compliment?" I was taken aback. 

Shael, who had been talking about flowers, shifted the conversation to an unexpected direction. 

It took me a moment to grasp her line of thought. 

‘Is it a problem for me to say that the flowers were pretty?'

After a brief internal confirmation, I realized the severity of the situation. 

We had been expressing affection for each other, and I couldn't control Shael's jealousy over trivial matters. Yet, it was also a heartwarming realization that her love for me had grown.

"Why are you silent?" Shael's stern voice brought me back to the present. 

Before I could respond, she added, "I’ve been with you for a long time, and I didn’t receive any of such compliments. Yet you saw the flowers for the first time today and immediately called them beautiful. Why is there such a double standard?"

"No…it’s just flowers. I absolutely have no other intention." It was a reflexive excuse, but it didn't take long for me to realize what Shael really wanted to hear. 

As she waited for my words, I finally mustered an appropriate response, "You are very pretty."

"That’s more like it." Shael responded, a hint of satisfaction in her demeanor.

"It just…I didn’t think it was important to mention such an obvious fact." I added, attempting to maintain a playful tone.

Shael, who had been glancing at me, nodded her head as if she had achieved her goal. Afterward, she naturally took my magic pouch and started eating dessert. 

I felt the occasional chirping of birds all around us. So I crushed a cookie, and spread it around little by little. 

However, I could also feel Shael’s grim gaze beside me. She was being deprived of one of her desserts, so she might be feeling hostile towards the birds as well. 

Well, Shael always tended to casually interrupt any gathering of cute birds she might find in her walks, but this time she also had a motivation. 

I intended to prevent that from happening, so I handed Shael a basket of crushed cookie crumbs and said, “Would you like to try it?”

Shael took the basket, and kept watching the birds for a while, and I realized my mistake right away, as something similar had happened before; the basket I gave to Shael was empty before I knew it. 

I should’ve predicted it, but in a moment of carelessness, I failed.

And, before I could say anything, I heard Shael’s excuse, which was mixed with obvious lies. 

“I gave it to the birds.” She shamelessly lied.

I raised an eyebrow, asking, “Is that so?” 

Then, I noticed the cookie crumbs on her mouth. The question didn't need to be asked because the answer was obvious. So I just kept staring at Shael, who kept making excuses. 

“It was a pretty bird.”

‘A pretty bird? Could it be that she compared herself to a pretty bird?’ 

After that excuse, Shael blushed, probably remembering the compliment I gave her a little while ago. 

It felt very cute. 

Next, I stared at the bread crumbs on her mouth. 

So I approached her, holding back the laughter that was about to leak out, and I said, “A pretty bird indeed, but…it’s also quite cute.” 

Shael blushed as if she understood the meaning behind my words.

After that, we continued our journey until we reached the Imperial boutique.

* * *

Finally, we arrived at our destination, the imperial boutique. 

It was a boutique recommended by one of the Baslett family’s knights. Moreover, it was a boutique whose owner was a very high ranking nobility. So, it was safe to say that it had many clothes of good workmanship.

Shael complained as soon as she saw the boutique. “It's too shabby.” 

I responded, “It’s better than a fancy boutique. I heard that the owner is the mother of Duke Prell, so you should be polite.”

I had heard that, due to her eccentric personality, the owner lived alone in a boutique. She was old, but I had heard that she possessed excellent military prowess, befitting the blood of a duke, and she didn’t allow any escort. 

Upon entering the boutique, I couldn’t deny that the interior was quite elegant. Its size was quite wide as well. As expected of a boutique with good reputation, there were many luxurious clothes at a glance.

“The atmosphere is gloomy. I’d rather go to an abandoned house,” Shael remarked while she looked around. 

Since she had lived in Azbel family all the time, she must be feeling quite accustomed. Actually, it was true that the atmosphere was gloomy.

Then I felt a presence approaching us. 

It was an elderly woman, walking towards us with a cane as her support. The woman gave us a ferocious look as she remarked, “It’s shabby you say? And did you say that it would be better to go to an abandoned house?”

The owner must have found Shael’s comment quite rude. 

Even I thought that Shael’s words weren’t very appropriate either, so I couldn’t say anything, and noted that I would have to correct that habit someday.

In addition, I shouldn’t increase my enemies from the start. Even though she was living alone in a boutique, the owner had the blood of a ducal family. Considering the soon-to-be social gatherings and imperial festivals, it was important to build a close relationship with the Duke Prell. 

For now, I needed to apologize for Shael’s rudeness, “I’m sorry for being rude. There was no intent to belittle.”

“Oh, you are quite polite…unfortunately you met the wrong mate.” The owner, who had said that, turned around, as if she unwilling to sell us anything. 

Thump! 

“You may leave!” Said the owner as she hit the wooden desk beside her. Then she left the place. 

She must’ve used quite the strong force, as the desk cracked with a single hit!

I could understand why she was running a boutique by herself. Personality-wise, she was eccentric, and her temper was quite inappropriate for her age. 

‘So the rumors were right.’

Still, I didn’t want to give up.

Shael was the first to commit the rudeness, so she should be the one to apologize. So, I tried to talk to Shael first. 

But before I could do that, I heard was Shael’s voice, “Shall we go somewhere else?”

“…?” 

I thought she would spit out a series of complaints about the owner. But Shael didn’t complain; she suggested going somewhere else. 

Suddenly I noticed something interesting, and I immediately understood the situation, “Are you scared?”

“…no…no way!.” Shael stammered.

Anyway, it seemed right. 

Shael was feeling scared!

Honestly, it was quite funny. 

But on second thought, it was quite natural. Shael was not used to such treatment. She was someone who grew up with all the convenience in the world, so she was truly bad at dealing with such situations. 

It the same in the past, when I first talked back at her, she couldn’t do anything.

“Let’s go.” Seeing her current state made me laugh. 

‘Is this the same Shael, the renowned villainess?’ 

I didn’t know. In front of my eyes, there was only a cute princess.

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