Really, really love your thoughtful comments! It seems the comment section split into two factions, but maybe this chapter will clear some things. Enjoy the chapter!
TL: clover
ED: clover
"I know I have no room to talk as I was also outrageous, and I can"t interfere in other people"s affair, but……Yugo-niisama, this is too over-the-top."
"Milady……"
Luke was looking at me with eyes as if looking at something pitiful.
I pretended not to notice it and observed the appearance of Yugo-niisama once again. Nii-sama seems to be having a lot of fun. Surely, the previous me also had the same expression.
Prepare new dresses, teaware, confectionery, and invite only those who will praise me.
Only those who I acknowledged was allowed to attend, and I was the center of every tea party. It was terribly pleasant.
As I am watching from the distance and as a third party, I realized. Everyone follows Yugo-niisama dispa.s.sionately, pointing meaningless smiles made for Nii-sama.
Nii-sama is a son of the Ducal House. Even if he is a shut-in son, if seen from the lower-rank aristocrats, they probably would want to make a connection with him. They praise my older brother with insincere words and promote themselves.
Seeing that, I understood.
—My own tea party was also the same.
Right now I am busy working hard to not become a 『villainess』 so I haven"t organized any tea party, but previously it was organized once a week. I recalled the members I invited.
—Everyone praised me with a similar smile.
And, for the first time, I noticed that I wasn"t close with any of the members.
There is no one whom I can call a friend.
There is no one whom I can ask for advice.
They were just people who praise me, they were not friends.
I couldn"t show any weakness to them.
—Aah, I see.
Once I realized it, it turns out that it was a terribly hollow event.
An insincere tea party only for superficial relationships. It was not productive. It was only made for praising me.
And I used to host that kind of event every week.
If I think about it, none of the tea party members objected the fact that the usual tea party was canceled. Everyone was all "I see. I understand. Please invite me again." and said that it was regretful, but I guess they actually felt relieved. Now I know.
"Yugo-niisama……"
It"s a bad thing to notice after seeing my older brother"s tea party, nevertheless, the sight that I am seeing now is the same as what the previous me experienced. n.o.body laughs from the bottom of their heart. Only the organizer, my older brother, is having fun.
"Milady, let"s go."
Luke broke the ice while I was staring fixedly at Yugo-niisama. I nodded at him.
"Yes, alright."
"……surely, Yugo-sama will also realize it someday. Like Milady."
"Then I think it will surely be too late. Next time, I will talk to Yugo-niisama about this."
This has nothing to do with being a 『villainess』, but still, I feel like my older brother will head towards the wrong path if this continues as is. However, Luke shook his head.
"You shouldn"t do that."
"Why?"
"……when Milady was having a tea party, for example, if I had said the same thing, would you listen to me?"
"That"s……"
He hit my weak spot.
Probably, no, I definitely wouldn"t listen to him.
Luke said to me who fell silent.
"He has to realize this kind of thing by himself. Otherwise, he wouldn"t think of changing in the real sense……like Milady."
"I didn"t notice it by myself."
Even if I tried to change myself, surely I wouldn"t be able to change. Everything was thanks to Al. Because he gave me a hint and showed me the way, I could move forward willingly.
"It would be great if someone like that appears for Nii-sama too."
"They will surely show up, someday. That"s why Milady, first of all, you should think about yourself, alright? About the 『villainess』. Isn"t that your primary goal?"
"Yes, you"re right."
I nodded to his reasonable words. Luke who noticed that I managed to come to terms with my older brother"s situation said, "If so, Milady, why don"t we go out for a bit right now for a change of pace?"
It"s obvious that he"s concerned about me, but I"m happy with his feelings.
I haven"t been to the town for about a year, so it certainly will be a change of pace.
"Alright. It might be good to do something like this occasionally."
A better idea to not become a 『villainess』 may come up if I go out rather than staying inside the mansion.
When I nodded, Luke looked like he was relieved and took me out of that location with "If so, let"s get ready."
So yeah, all three siblings are proud in their own ways. And unless they realized their faults themselves, they probably won"t change no matter what people say. Lily only changed herself because of Al (whose beauty is top notch and is also a prince and her fiancé, and she doesn"t want to be hated by him) and because of her pride which doesn"t allow her being looked down upon by Prince Wilfred (she wants to prove him wrong).
Lily and Luke will go to the town for the next couple of chapters! What do you think will happen there?