This Three-Year-Old Is A Villainess - Chapter 17
Conrad brought me to my room and left.
I rested my chin on my hands and pondered deeply.
‘Why did Grandfather get angry though?’
No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one answer.
Because I greeted Conrad first.
I let out a sigh and grabbed the armrest.
‘Has Grandfather always been the type to hold grudges?’
In the novel, he was ruthless but not so vindictive…
Nevertheless, I was fortunate that it didn’t seem like he would take any drastic action against me.
When he genuinely decided to do something, he was actually quite composed and taciturn.
‘In any case, let’s be careful for now.’
I shouldn’t cause any problems that might delay in bringing Father here just because I’m disliked.
With that conclusion in mind, I walked forward.
I went to grab the doorknob, but the maid Hilda called out to me.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to pway.” (I’m going to play.)
“Please don’t go outside the mansion. The branch families who came to greet you are still inside the castle, and it might cause confusion.”
In response to Hilda’s words, another maid named Greta frowned.
“Why haven’t they gone back? They must be deliberately making a fuss to have some kind of conversation with the powerful figures inside the main residence.”
“Because of the appointment for the Toliso Marquisate’s territory, right?”
“Yes. The person who’ll manage that land hasn’t been decided yet. They just want to secure their own interests one way or another.”
“Doing that to the Young Miss… They’re heartless.”
“Were there ever any people with a heart around here?”
The maids grumbled with grim expressions. While they were talking, I opened the door.
The maids were just about done with their conversation, so when I went inside, they greeted me first before leaving the room.
“We’ll be right back, Miss!”
I saw them off as they went down the hallway.
‘I should familiarize myself with the castle’s layout.’
Until now, I had been too afraid of the guard monsters to explore properly. I never knew what might happen if I encountered one of them with my small body.
But today, with many people coming and going, it seemed that the monsters had been cleared out.
After all, attacking the branch families by mistake would not be acceptable.
Instead, a considerable number of soldiers guarded the castle. So, I decided to take this opportunity to explore the castle.
Roaming the castle was entertaining.
‘It’s like I’m on an adventure!’
The castle’s size and grandeur were exciting in their own right. I wandered around the castle’s interior.
‘Wow, the armory. This feels like a real fantasy novel.’
‘The kitchen is here. The smell of baked bread is lovely!’
‘The corridor on the 4th floor connects to another building at the end.’
I kept exploring. How long had I been wandering around the castle?
When I exited from the west side of the first floor…
“Wow?!”
There was an incredibly beautiful garden.
Even in winter, fresh roses bloomed on the vine wall.
Lush grass, like a carpet, spread out.
At the fountain, there was a statue of a goddess holding a water jug, and pure water flowed gently from it.
I happily rushed into the garden.
It was more beautiful from the inside than it appeared from outside.
There were pretty stones around the fountain.
It would be great to pick some up and give them to the maids.
I tried to find the prettiest stones while crouching down.
‘By the way, I need a way to make Grandfather acknowledge Father more clearly… Ah, this one’s pretty.’
As I was about to pick up a stone, I suddenly bumped my head.
“Owwie—!”
It hurt so much that I slumped down.
‘What’s this?’
I was surprised and looked ahead, seeing a child about six years old.
It seemed like I had bumped into his forehead.
Their clothing indicated he was of noble birth.
Maybe this was a child of one of those people who came here for the sake of currying favor with the higher ups.
“Uuuung…”
The child began to whimper, rubbing his forehead.
Before long, the whimpering turned into a loud cry.
“Uwaaaaaaah!”
‘Oh no.’
I myself was already startled by bumping my head.
But now, the kid’s loud cries left me in complete disarray.
‘If this continues, I might get a penalty for being a supporting character.’
My lips had already started to tremble.
My nose started becoming runny, and tears filled my eyes.
I was slowly becoming a child myself.
I clenched the hem of my skirt tightly.
‘You mustn’t cry. This is near Grandfather’s study.’
A crying child was annoying. Grandfather might find me troublesome.
But even though I tried to hold it in, my nose kept running.
At that moment, I heard an adult voice from outside the garden.
“Julian, where are you?”
“Mommy—!”
The child cried even louder and rushed over.
Then, she picked up the crying child.
“What’s wrong? Hm?”
“Waaaah!”
“Did you bump into something? Let me see.”
She seemed extremely concerned.
“Who on earth doesn’t watch out…”
Then, the woman furrowed her brow and turned to me.
That’s when I could see her face properly. She was the noblewoman who had come to greet me earlier.
She appeared to recognize me as well, as her eyes widened when she saw me.
“Young Miss.”
“…”
Since I was the granddaughter of the duke, there was nothing she could say to me, but she heaved a sigh.
“My child has been rude.”
“…”
“He’s still quite young. I hope you can understand.”
While holding her crying child, she got up and bowed to me.
“We’ll take our leave then.”
