The Villainess Is Too Difficult

Muriel is in charge of being Ariel’s personal maid in the Walpurgis Ducal House. Although she comes from a commoner background, thanks to the Duke’s policy of not caring much about one’s origins and the fortunate timing of Ariel’s personal maid position being vacant, she was able to rise almost to the level of a lady-in-waiting.

But the joy was short-lived. Less than a year after becoming Ariel’s personal maid, Muriel wanted to run away.

[Don’t tell me what to do, you worthless commoner.]

[When did I ask you to bring me tea? You say I did earlier? It seems your ears have gone bad now.]

[Don’t try to touch me carelessly. If you do so without my permission, I’ll cut off those fingers.]

In the world, what kind of duke’s daughter could speak such harsh words without hesitation? Is this really what a 17-year-old young lady should be saying?

Moreover, it’s not just words. She would deliberately spill tea or pretend to make a mistake and cast magic right next to Muriel.

Even though they have a lower status, unlike ladies-in-waiting who are often from noble backgrounds, maids selected from commoners often face discrimination. However, it’s fair to say that it’s rare for a master to openly disrespect them like this. But Ariel had been doing such things for years.

At first, Muriel tried to endure it. A mother who passed away right after birth, a father who doesn’t even show interest, a brother she never gets to meet. Growing up in such a family, it was unavoidable and perhaps even natural for her personality to become twisted. She tried to endure out of pity.

But when it goes on not just for a day or two, but for years, it’s a different story. No matter how much she tried to talk to her, or sought help from others, there was no effect. Eventually, even the senior maids and ladies-in-waiting who could be considered her seniors merely advised her to give up, to the point where there was no proper solution.

Recently, Muriel had been seriously considering whether it would be better to leave the mansion. Simply stepping down from the position of personal maid wasn’t enough. If she continued working here and happened to encounter that ill-tempered young lady, who knows what would happen.

Even when Ariel collapsed, that resolve didn’t waver. Ariel, lying quietly on the bed with her eyes closed, was extremely beautiful, but when she thought of the venomous words and cold gaze that would come from that face when she woke up, it was enough to give her chills.

Thinking that this might be her chance, Muriel was about to speak to Fritz, the head butler, or Matilda, the head lady-in-waiting. She didn’t even need to worry about what to say. Wouldn’t everyone understand if she just said it was because of the young lady’s recent tantrums?

But of all days! The young lady woke up on the very day she had made up her mind to take action. It felt like the world was crumbling, but Muriel quickly collected herself.

Right, who cares if the young lady wakes up or not. She just needs to wait for the right moment to speak. Nothing changes. It’s just that speaking has been delayed a bit.

But something seems strange about the awakened young lady’s condition. She’s looking around the room with a dazed expression and doesn’t show any particular reaction to being called. Wondering if she was now being completely ignored, Muriel unknowingly raised her voice.

‘Oh no!’

She had done it. She had yelled at that ill-tempered young lady. What would happen now? Which would hurt less, magic or a sword?

Thinking about what was to come, she found herself whimpering without realizing it. This shouldn’t happen, crying won’t solve anything. She might even hit harder because of the crying.

The young lady points at herself with her finger, as if asking if she had just yelled at her. Yes. She’s going to get hit anyway, so there’s nothing to hold back now. Muriel nods and closes her eyes tightly. She hoped that if she was going to be hit, it would be with magic, which might leave fewer scars.

But no matter how much time passed, the pain didn’t come. Feeling that something was strange, she slowly opened her eyes to find the young lady looking at her with a peculiar expression.

“Um, Young Lady…?”

“What’s your name?”

“Pardon?”

“Where is this place?”

From that point on, Muriel could sense that something was going strangely wrong.

After realizing that I was “Young Lady Ariel,” I quickly began to assess the situation. First, I decided to check my appearance.

To be honest, considering my original face, the word “young lady” could never come out in a sane mind. That means there must have been some change…

Carefully lowering my gaze, I couldn’t hide my shock. I was wearing women’s nightwear, something I had never seen in my life. I didn’t have a cross-dressing hobby or anything.

“What’s this?”

Carefully raising my hand, a small hand boasting fair white skin came into view. Could it be? Is this what I think it is?

Raising my head once again, I saw the maid still standing there, looking as shocked as I was. Alright. I can ask her.

“Um…”

“Y-yes?!”

Ah, she’s trembling. Earlier, I was too flustered to notice properly, but she’s trembling too much even for being in front of her master. She looks as if she’s feeling fear towards “Young Lady Ariel.” Has she been bullied? It wasn’t an unbelievable thought. The tyranny of the rich has been an ongoing issue.

So, who are you again?

“Where is this place?”

“T-the mansion of the Walpurgis family.”

The moment I heard those words, my mind came to a complete halt. Walpurgis family. Young Lady Ariel. Combining these two keywords means that I am now Ariel Walpurgis.

There’s a novel called “The Chronicle of Arsian.” With a title like that, it didn’t attract much attention in the current market, and the content was somewhat old-fashioned romance fantasy. The protagonist enters an academy in the empire, falls in love with the crown prince, and later fights against the demon race invading the continent.

Ariel Walpurgis was a character in “The Chronicle of Arsian.” However, her position was far from favorable. She was the same age as the protagonist and in the same year, but the position she held was not that of a good character, but a villain. And not just any villain, but the so-called villainess role, deliberately tormenting the protagonist.

The protagonist’s background is that of a commoner. Thanks to the emperor’s meritocratic policy, she easily passes the academy entrance and always scores high, but as is often the case, there are those who look down on such a protagonist.

Ariel Walpurgis was the leader of such a group. She always tormented and bullied the protagonist, and eventually even made a contract with the demon race.

She was a perfect villainess, to the point where no further explanation is needed. In fact, readers, including myself, were quick to curse whenever Ariel appeared, saying that this villainess should die quickly, calling her an irritating woman.

And now they’re saying that Ariel is me. Ah, I feel like I’m getting a crick in my neck. Ah…

“Um…”

“Y-yes!”

“What’s your name?”

“M-Muriel, Young Lady…”

Muriel, Muriel… I remembered. From what I can tell, Muriel seems to be something like Ariel’s personal maid. How did I know? It just feels that way.

“Muriel… I’ll remember that.”

In the original work, Ariel’s maid wasn’t mentioned much. That’s because there was a description that Ariel treated her subordinates so harshly that they had all left long ago.

It’s not that there were no servants at all. But there was no one dedicated to Ariel. The people she used were only those employed by the Walpurgis family itself or those hired on a short-term basis. There were no regular characters at all.

By the way, Ariel wielded her tyranny even against those few people. Naturally, as time passed, she became increasingly alone, and later, she fell into depravity with no one by her side and was ultimately dealt with by the protagonist’s group.

What kind of ending is this with no dream or hope? I absolutely don’t want to end up like that. To begin with, I have no particular reason to bully the protagonist. The main reason Ariel bullied the protagonist in the original work was because she caught the crown prince’s eye.

Until the start of the original story, the crown prince was engaged to Ariel. The Walpurgis, a long-standing family loyal to the imperial family for generations. A match not lacking as an empress. That’s how it looked when considering just the background.

But the crown prince began to lose interest as he saw Ariel becoming increasingly tyrannical day by day, and then he meets the protagonist at the academy.

Although of low status, the crown prince began to be drawn to the protagonist, who was capable and warm-hearted, and Ariel, noticing this, began to persistently bully the protagonist.

However, the crown prince eventually catches her in the act. Feeling disillusioned, the crown prince declares the engagement off, and Ariel, unable to accept this fact, disappears only to reappear later having made a contract with the demon race. And then… well, as I said earlier, she’s brutally killed by the elite party led by the protagonist and the crown prince.

And now they’re telling me to do such things? Are they crazy? I absolutely won’t. To begin with, the crown prince is a man. You’re telling me, a man, to be obsessed with a male character? Ugh, I’d rather become a shut-in.

Growl!

“Ah…?”

What woke me from my deep contemplation was the distress signal felt in my stomach. Forcibly pulled back to reality by the sudden sound, I could see Muriel’s face twitching.

“Hic!”

Of course, she started hiccuping as soon as I looked at her. Well, it’s okay to laugh. Honestly, I can understand. If a young lady who looks like Ariel suddenly makes a growling sound, wouldn’t anyone find it hard to hold back laughter?

“I-I’ll prepare the meal.”

“…Okay.”

But even so, I think it’s unavoidable that my face is turning bright red right now.