The Reincarnated Villainess Waits Patiently For The Afterstory

7 - Games of the Heart and Mind

Clovis' Point of view

I sigh heavily.

How did it turn out like this? It was only supposed to be a single month of hard work, where nothing would be changed...

I- have to go ask Beatrix why she'd do something like that.

I push off the bedpost and wander tiredly through the palace to the gate, and to Beatrix's mansion. Knock on the knocker, and because the door opens fairly quickly, I expect a servant, but it's only Beatrix again, with a loosened corset and bare feet. From the way her dress sags a bit, that one is probably loosened too.

"You... really..."

"How do you manage to look worse than this morning?"

I give her a stiff stare, but she looks genuinely surprised.

"Because someone was trying to poke my cheek to wake me up, and now Delia thinks I slept with you," I accuse her rather bluntly.

"Poke? Ahh~, I was checking how deep the bags under your eyes were."

"And why by the gods were you doing that?"

She stares at me for a long moment after I ask that, and then looks away somewhat awkwardly, while brushing loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"You know I can see into the royal gardens, right? I've seen you running back and forth like a fool for a week, so I decided to check up on you before you fell over with exhaustion. I figured you wouldn't let me check while you were awake, so I may have crossed some boundaries..."

I sigh.

How the mighty has fallen, if I need Beatrix to look after me. I guess Delia must have looked at or said something to Beatrix that made her angry, so she moved away and called me to wake up.

"It's fine, as long as you don't mess things up more, or do that again."

I take a step down from the stairs to her door. With that cleared up, I should go back now.

"Is she still the girl you fell in love with?"

I pause, and grit my teeth.

"It makes no difference," I end up snapping back at her.

"Do you hate me that much?"

I'm tired of playing games. This isn't how things were supposed to turn out.

I turn back, losing my temper, as I grab Beatrix by the arms, and pour out the frustration that has been building up for weeks.

"This is all because of you! You set up a situation you knew she couldn't handle. A situation where she would be miserable! You knew she would be jealous of Louise, and knew that she would be miserable not even to get a single full day with me, because otherwise our agreement wouldn't be valid! You've done your absolute best to make this month as miserable for me and her as possible! You're cruel, you are calculated, and I hate you! I hate you for making me doubt her!"

I puff. That is right. That is why I never looked at Beatrix. She's cruel.

"Isn't Delia cruel too?"