Please Bully Me, Miss Villainess!

Chapter 265 : Special 3_ First Encounter with the Protagonist 1

"Why don't you take a few guards and go for a stroll in the city? It'll be good for clearing your mind."

Yvonne had also discussed her intention to withdraw from school with her mother, Lena.

Lena was more open-minded about it than Campbell. Regarding her daughter's wish to withdraw from school, she didn't say much, only hoping that Yvonne would go out more during this period of free time.

More than the withdrawal, she was concerned about her daughter's mental state, which made Yvonne feel guilty.

I'm really inconsiderate, aren't I? Reincarnated with memories, I should be more mature, yet I'm still making my parents worry so much...

But Yvonne couldn't think of a better way to avoid the countless death flags she was about to face. The most straightforward method she could think of was to withdraw from school.

As long as she didn't participate in the various events taking place at the academy, she could directly avoid all the plot points related to the protagonist.

This way, she would just be a character in the story background with only a name and no portrait.

Of course, Yvonne didn't think that just asking for permission would get her father's approval to withdraw from school. She had originally planned that if she couldn't withdraw, she would insist on staying at home and not going to school, becoming a school-hating rebellious teenager.

Doing so would certainly make her father and mother sad, and Yvonne didn't really want to do that. For her, this was a last resort measure. To save her family, Yvonne had prepared herself to cause a big scene if necessary. But what she didn't expect was that her parents were surprisingly understanding.

She had thought her father would strongly oppose, but under her insistence, he reluctantly nodded in agreement. Her mother didn't say much either... It was almost too smooth, making Yvonne feel a sense of unreality.

Is this... where it ends?

She no longer needed to face death flags, and her family wouldn't face execution like in that terrible Bad End? Was everything resolved just like that?

Yvonne felt unexpectedly relieved. If it weren't for the clarity of her past life's memories, she might have even doubted whether those game plot points were just her delusions.

In any case, the crisis was averted—so she didn't need to think too much about it. As a noble's daughter, she should just enjoy her life from now on.

Yvonne consoled herself, taking a deep breath of fresh air, her mood lightening considerably.

"Ah... what beautiful weather."

Yvonne walked briskly along the clean, tidy street.

She squinted, looking up at the clear sky. The azure expanse looked as if it had been washed clean, the clouds becoming adorable and pleasing to the eye, almost like a scene from a picture book.

If only...

Yvonne sighed, stopping in her tracks. The uniformly synchronized footsteps behind her also came to an abrupt halt.

"I mean... It's rare for me to go out, can't I just wander around the city by myself?"

Thanks to Campbell's excessive protective instincts towards his daughter, Yvonne rarely had the opportunity to go out alone. Every time she went out, she was always followed by a large group of people, like an honor guard.

"Protecting the Young Lady's safety is our top priority."

Peggy, the lead female knight, answered seriously. Including Peggy, the squad of thirteen were all top experts Campbell had found in the knight order, specifically responsible for protecting his daughter.

Looking at the imposing guard squad behind her, Yvonne felt deflated. Although these guards weren't bad people, her father always used the pretext of protecting her to have Peggy and the others follow and monitor her...

Although she could understand her father's concern for her safety, having every move recorded and reported made Yvonne feel extremely uncomfortable. Moreover, it had been a long time since she had entered the city. If she continued to stay at home, Yvonne felt that one day she might tear up her noble dress and start parkour on the city walls.

For certain reasons, after inheriting the title of Duke, Campbell had chosen to build the castle in a forest nearly a hundred miles away from the royal capital. Apart from some scattered hunter settlements, there were hardly any inhabitants there. For this, Campbell had specially hired people to cultivate farmland on the estate, growing vegetables and fruits. Additionally, the castle had long-term residents such as blacksmiths, carpenters, leather workers, tailors, and physicians, so that almost all matters, big and small, could be handled within the domain. If they needed to purchase daily necessities, dedicated servants would be sent to shop in the city.

Campbell was always uneasy about letting his underage daughter go out. When little Yvonne insisted on going out, he would have his daughter accompany him. Without a guardian's company, Yvonne could only stay in the castle for most of the remaining time.

This time, because Campbell had been summoned by King Oz, he had temporarily entrusted the affairs of the duke's mansion to Lena's management. This outing opportunity permitted by her mother was very rare for Yvonne. After regaining her memories, she had many things she wanted to do, and she didn't want to be as restrained as before.

"I'm not a child who's just learned to walk! Today I'm just going to browse around the upper city and buy some things. I don't need so many guards!"

Yvonne raised both hands in protest. Because she possessed memories from her past life, sometimes Yvonne's unconscious behaviors would surprise the adults around her. So, to avoid raising unnecessary suspicion, Yvonne occasionally needed to deliberately make her actions and speech more age-appropriate.

"If the Young Lady doesn't want so many people following, how about just I accompany you?"

Peggy proposed a compromise, but it still didn't satisfy Yvonne.

Having rarely been granted permission to go out, Yvonne still preferred to explore the map freely by herself.

"The capital's public security is so good, nothing will happen~ I'm just going to look around here today and buy some things. You can come pick me up at the city gate before sunset, Peggy—please~ Sister Peggy~"

The cuteness offensive was very effective against this meticulous female knight.

Yvonne had researched the backgrounds of those around her in advance. She knew that Peggy had a younger sister about her age. Every payday, Peggy would send clothes and gifts to her sister, being a typical sister complex.

The blonde girl blinked her eyes, her pitiful appearance nearly crumbling the firm walls in Peggy's heart. But her professional ethics as a knight quickly restored her senses.

"...N-No way! Young Lady, the Duke will surely blame us if he finds out!"

"If I don't tell and everyone keeps it a secret, Father won't know. I'm always staying at home, and I rarely have the chance to play freely like other children."

"Sister Peggy~~ You're the best,"

The blonde girl stepped forward and hugged the female knight's arm, gently swaying it in a coquettish manner.

Although she still maintained a strict appearance, Peggy's stiff limbs clearly showed the wavering in her heart.

It had been three years since she was transferred from the knight order to here. Peggy had always been responsible for protecting the Duke's daughter.

When Yvonne was younger, she often needed servants to help lift her onto chairs when attending various occasions. When Lady Linda wasn't around, Peggy was responsible for this task.

Every time she held the Young Lady, she would secretly be happy for a long time.

Peggy had also raised three younger sisters. If a child was well-behaved, didn't throw tantrums, and was cute enough, it was like an angel descending from heaven.

Peggy had always wanted to be closer to Yvonne, and now seemed to be an excellent opportunity.

"Alright, Young Lady. If this makes you happy."

Now, faced with Yvonne's plea, after an internal struggle, she finally relented and agreed.

"Young Lady, please make sure to wear this."

"...What's this?"

Peggy bent down and put a bracelet on Yvonne.

Yvonne held out her hand, curiously looking at the circular metal on her wrist. Runes were engraved on the inside of the bracelet, with a magic crystal providing magical power embedded in the center. It appeared to be some kind of magical item with special functions.

"If you encounter any trouble, infuse magic power into this bracelet. We'll receive a signal on our end, immediately know your location, and come to help you."

Peggy held a compass-like device with a needle floating in a sphere. The tip of the needle was also embedded with a similar magic crystal. It was said that this kind of tool was made from parent-child magic crystals from the same vein. The two crystals would have a magical connection between them, so they could be used as tracking devices.

"And... please definitely don't go to the lower city! The public security there is chaotic, and it's too dangerous for a child like you."

The royal capital Greenwoam was divided into three areas: the royal castle area surrounded by white walls, the upper city where nobles and wealthy merchants lived, and the lower city and slums for commoners.

The upper city was located on the west side of the royal castle's white walls, an area where nobles and rich people lived. Here, the architectural design style was distinctive, with street lamps inlaid with magic stones along the streets. The roads were paved with neat stones, and fully armed soldiers could often be seen patrolling nearby, ensuring good public security.

But the lower city on the east side of the royal castle wasn't as prosperous. Just across the central street was where commoners lived. The roads here were potholed, and the houses were visibly more rudimentary. Even more concerning were the slums adjacent to the lower city, where many non-human races mingled, and thieves and robbers were rampant.

"I understand, I wouldn't go to such a place~"

Yvonne obediently agreed on the surface.

But she also knew that Peggy and the others wouldn't leave it at that and would definitely secretly follow her from a distance.

So, after Peggy and her subordinates had moved away, she took advantage of the moment when she walked into a street corner to jump onto a cargo wagon pulled by a land dragon, swaying away from the upper city's gate.

She wasn't going to obediently listen.

Yvonne took out the short sword hidden in her chest, shortened her skirt, then took out a coarse cloth cloak she had prepared in advance from her small bag to wrap around her body. She then took out the map she had prepared beforehand.

She had already explored the places worth visiting in the upper city with her father. This time, her purpose was to map out the lower city.

Yvonne was somewhat curious about the lower city because the protagonist Elsa was born there.

Although her goal was to break away from the main storyline and the protagonist... it was always better to have more information. In case of any variables in the future, she might be able to escape a calamity with the information she had learned in advance.

Seeing the people walking on the street change from well-dressed gentlemen and ladies to laborers and farmers wearing rough cloth with patches, Yvonne knew she had reached her destination.

So she seized the opportunity to jump off the wagon and blend into the crowd.

This seemed to be some marketplace in the lower city. It was spring now, and the weather had become a bit warmer. Many merchants and travelers who had been blocked by winter snow had successfully returned after the thaw, bringing back many interesting goods.

The traveling merchants had set up various stalls along the street: there were exotic southern fruits, small wooden carvings that could be held and played with, and stalls selling scrolls and books. The lively hawking sounds were incessant all along the way.

Besides local residents, there were also many demi-humans setting up stalls here. Seeing the fluffy ears and scaly tails that appeared before her eyes from time to time, Yvonne's heart fluttered.

This was the fantasy world she had idealized~~!

Compared to the luxurious shops in the noble district, this place was more to her liking.

It wasn't because Yvonne couldn't afford those expensive and gorgeous luxury goods. With the Smollett family's wealth, buying out an entire street of shops wouldn't be a difficult task.

Yvonne just didn't like the appraising looks and fawning tones of those people when she followed her father as the Duke's daughter.

Family background, race, wealth, class... no matter which world, people always liked to use various standards to divide people into different levels.

In such an environment, even without her harassment as the villain, the protagonist born as a commoner probably wouldn't have an easy time.

Yvonne couldn't help but worry about the protagonist she had yet to meet.

...

What's wrong with me, I'm supposed to be the villain! Yvonne patted her face, trying to wake herself up.

At a time like this, she shouldn't be so kind-hearted and worry about her nemesis. The protagonist had plot armor; it wasn't her place to worry.

Yvonne's thoughts were simple: as long as there was no intersection, she wouldn't have to bully the protagonist, and thus wouldn't have to be the villain.

As for that inexplicable villain system... just ignore it.

Today was the opening ceremony. The protagonist should have already entered, right? Hehe... But this villain would no longer appear. Although she hadn't completed the withdrawal procedures yet, she was certain that she wouldn't intersect with the protagonist from now on—

Thinking of this, Yvonne happily joined the crowd at the market, selecting various handmade ornaments from the small stalls.

It should be a good thing for the protagonist too, right? Without villains obstructing her, her progress with the "person of destiny" should be much easier.

Yes, it would be best if everything went smoothly like in a fairy tale.

Yvonne recalled the number one male lead in the game, the Second Prince Michel of the Oz Kingdom.

Michel had been giving Yvonne a headache recently. According to the original plot, he should have been avoiding her like the plague, but before she regained her memories, Michel had gotten along quite well with her. He had always been gentle and polite. When he came to visit the mansion during his free time, Yvonne would occasionally practice swordsmanship with Michel. Over time, the elders around them thought the two got along well and believed they could marry successfully.

After all, Yvonne and Michel's engagement was arranged by their parents. Without major changes, it couldn't be casually canceled. Moreover, there was no apparent discord between them on the surface, so there was no suitable reason to break off the engagement at this stage.

Fortunately, Campbell was a daughter-con. Although he was polite on the surface, in reality, every time Michel came to the mansion, he would be angry for several days. He would always mutter in private that the Second Prince looked like a frivolous playboy, a debt collector from a past life, coming to steal his daughter.

Campbell didn't want his precious daughter to marry off so early, so he also agreed to the request to delay the engagement, buying Yvonne a lot of time.

But it was just an extension of time—if this marriage were to take place, Yvonne would officially fulfill her engagement with Second Prince Michel when she turned 18.

This gave Yvonne a headache. In the original work, it was clearly Michel who insisted on breaking off the engagement, while the Smollett family tried every means to prevent it.

Now the situation was completely reversed. Ever since he nearly lost his life after being sent poisoned pastries by a crazy admirer, Michel had developed severe paranoia.

If he were to break off the engagement this way, losing Yvonne as a shield, all kinds of crazy women would appear around him—so Michel treated her, whom he had grown up with since childhood, as a shield, refusing to dissolve the engagement no matter what.

Thinking of this, Yvonne felt quite exasperated.

What a useless man.

Michel was still afraid of yanderes, just like in the original work, except this time the yandere wasn't her.

However, Michel wasn't the type to pester relentlessly. He promised that if either of them found true love, they would dissolve the engagement.

Until then, she could only wait for him to get together with the protagonist.

Yvonne felt somewhat uneasy.

Although she possessed knowledge and memories from another world, many known pieces of information contradicted the current situation.

For example—as one of the factors leading to the original villain's descent into darkness, her mother Lena should have passed away due to her weak constitution when Yvonne was young. But for some unknown reason, during the time before Yvonne awakened her memories, although still frail and sickly, Lena was living well.

Logically, without awakened memories, she shouldn't have been able to take actions that could change the original plot. Yvonne also had no memory of doing anything herself, but regardless, her mother being alive was ultimately a fortunate thing, so Yvonne didn't pay too much attention to this change.

What she worried about was that she couldn't guarantee at all that the protagonist Elsa would still be the Elsa she knew from the game.

If the protagonist grew up in an environment without bullying... she might turn into an arrogant Mary Sue who could defeat anyone at first sight.

In that case, she would probably be crushed to dust when forced to bully her.

Perhaps it would be better to matchmake Michel and the protagonist after all...

Yvonne pondered how to make the plot reach a satisfactory conclusion.

Maybe she still needed to create opportunities for Michel and Elsa to meet. After facilitating their relationship, her engagement with Michel could be smoothly dissolved, and she would be completely safe.

After that, she could just enjoy life, being an idle young lady wasn't so bad.

"Oof!!"

As she was walking, Yvonne's shoulder was suddenly bumped.

"Excuse me, excuse me—sorry~!"

A small boy wearing an oversized coat with patched-up trousers darted past Yvonne like a wild dog, quickly disappearing into the crowd.

"How careless, watch where you're going... really."

Yvonne patted off the dust on her clothes, frowning slightly.

But she didn't pay it much mind and continued browsing the street.

A fragrant, fresh scent made Yvonne pause.

It turned out to be a flower shop.

Looking at the fresh flowers covered in dewdrops, Yvonne felt her mood lighten considerably.

Come to think of it... the bouquet by Mother's bedside was almost wilted.

Since she rarely went out, she might as well bring back a gift for Mother!

"Ah... Welcome! Young human miss, are you looking for some flowers?"

The shop owner was a rabbit-eared lady wearing a headscarf.

The rabbit lady was holding a watering can, pausing her watering of a strangely writhing, peculiar vine plant.

Seeing the swaying long ears before her, Yvonne's hands itched.

She really wanted to ask if she could touch her ears if she bought several bouquets.

"Do you have any yellow tulips? I'd like a bouquet, not too many, I want to bring them back to put in a vase."

Yvonne remembered her mother saying she liked the faint fragrance of tulips, which could help calm the mind and aid sleep. Placing them in the room should help with her mother's recovery.

"Yes, we do~ Would you like them wrapped?"

"Yes, please."

"That'll be 30 copper coins, thank you for your patronage."

"Alright."

However, just as Yvonne was about to take out money to pay, her fingers went through the bottom of her pocket.

"............"

Yvonne was dumbfounded.

Her pocket... had been cut open?? When did this—

"Oh my, how unlucky. It must have been those bad kids from the slums."

Holding the wrapped tulips, the rabbit lady covered her mouth with her paw, looking somewhat regretful.

Yvonne then remembered the small boy who had bumped into her shoulder earlier.

Could it be that at that time, he stole her purse?

"Judging by your attire, you must be from a wealthy family, right?"

The rabbit lady smiled as she looked over the girl before her. Although she could see that the young girl had made some simple attempts at disguise, just from the smooth golden hair peeking out from under the cloak and the beautiful, fair fingers that had never done hard labor, she knew the girl wasn't from the lower city.

"In the lower city, you need to keep a close eye on your purse. Here, have a cup of tea to calm yourself."

Seeing Yvonne panicking and spinning in place, the shopkeeper smiled and brought her a chair and some hot tea, letting her calm down properly.

"Th-thank you..."

Holding the hot tea, Yvonne found herself in a predicament.

The money itself was a small matter, but having lost her purse within an hour of going out meant that her subsequent actions would become very difficult.

What should she do? Should she notify Peggy and the others to come pick her up?

Yvonne glanced at the bracelet on her hand. After a moment's hesitation, she gave up on the idea.

No, she couldn't give up like this.

Moreover, letting those thieves get away so easily was too pathetic.

"Miss Shopkeeper, do you know those thieves?"