The Villainess Will Not Bring Dishonor To Her Family

57 - Cookies

I lose my composure in an instant. My life would doubtlessly be simpler without Claire in it. In fact I might have just calmly settled with the idea of marrying Alstair as well... but more important than how easy things would be without her... I cannot let myself be the one that ended up getting her killed because I was careless.

Not because of the possible consequences of it, or because there is any fondness of her... but because I do not want to kill someone like this. I'll do it with words, magic or a sword but never... ever something like this.

I swiftly move to her side with the intention of making her throw it up, while Gilbert dramatically slumps to the floor.

"I-it's my loss..."

I grip Claire's shoulder tightly and move my hand to her jaw to force it open.

"She's fine," a dejected sigh comes from Gilbert.........

Eh?

I freeze up and look back to Gilbert while my hand tightens on Claire's shoulder... I ignore an annoyed click of the tongue coming from the crowd as well.

Gilbert slowly gets up with a somewhat sullen expression.

"To think you had a trick like this up your sleeve..." he takes out a small note book and begins writing in it... and with that I slowly realize...

The cookies aren't poisoned... Gilbert is... competing against me? No no no, this is Gilbert we are talking about.

Claire is staring at both of us confused.

"Uhm... Gilbert-sama and... L-Lily-sama... what happened?"

"Ah, it's just a game. I try to make Lily-Chan eat the cookies and she tries to reject them or not eat them."

With that he gives the Heroine a bright smile, which sends a chill down my spine...

A game....?

A GAME?!

"Eh?!"

During my beginning rage, our Heroine is in shock.

"S-sorry, Lily-sama, I didn't notice," she apologizes... but my target is another.

"Since when?" I growl out at him while trying to contain my anger... we are in a hallway after all with people around us.

"Ever since you started having nightmares every year~" he chimed with a perfect and innocent smile... which makes you ignore the fact that not only did he dig up private information on me, but he also just delivered said information to the masses, without a hint of hesitance.

"...Gilbert..." I call his name with a forced smile.

"Haaaaai?" He chime back.

"Doesn't this mean the game is over now?"

If he isn't poisoning me then I can just eat them freely. As for Gilbert... he just smiles...

"I suppose so~"

Then he turns to Claire.

"Did you know that the chocolate has a mild effect that stimulates... love?"

He makes the pause to the last word because he does not in fact mean love, but sex when can be talked about as 'making love'...

"I hear that there are other things with the same effect. I think things like that would be a good present to make two single people hook up, how about you, Claire-chan?"

...wait

"It works o-on love? L-like a love potion?"

Her eyes round.

...both of you... stop right there...

"Hai," he responds.

She goes quiet for a moment and then nods determinedly.

"Gilbert-sensei! Please teach me how to cook!"

I don't want to be the target of that kind of thing! That is an indirect threat!

"Sure!" Gilbert and the heroine both sparkle. Gilbert... you're made out of a fabric I cannot deal with...

I let go of Claire and get ready to leave. After all, I cannot show them my immense exhaustion.

"L-Lily-sama!" Our beloved heroine stutters out nervously.

"What?" I nearly ended up sneering.

I do not like being messed with. I'm painfully aware that I've partly been tricked by Gilbert to keep thinking they may be poisoned... so I've been distressed about it for so long, only to find out I've been a practice partner... how else would you describe that book?!

"A-am I a b-bother?!" She bursts out while holding her own hands.

"A bother?" You certainly are.

Unexpectedly her happy smile has cracked and instead began to ruin whatever happiness lingered in the eyes of an observer.

"T-that... uhm... L-Lionel-sama said..." she fidgeted nervously and slowly tearing up.

Gilbert went to her rescue.

"Ah, don't worry about that one. He was really tired by last night after acting as his Highness' bodyguard all day. And he needs some love too~"

As expected, Gilbert's comments appear to be aimed at chaos.

Meanwhile our heroine doesn't seem whether to blush or to cry.

"Lily-sama," she says again with tears in her eyes.

"I... definitely love Augustus-sama... d-do you think it is impossible for me to stand by his side?"

I don't intend to answer her vaguely.

"You can never stand there as a lover."

She lowers her head obediently.

"Lily-Chan is as honest as always, don't mind it Claire-chan. She usually wants the best for you," he tried to soothe her.

"Come, let's go to the kitchen and I'll teach you how to bake those cookies," he chimes and half drags a dejected Heroine along with him.

I turn and head back towards the dorm. I can't help but to feel incredibly unsettled by everything that just happened. Though the Heroine just had her event with Gilbert, I feel like things are wrong...

At least I'm not sensing any malice... still... nauseous... I'll go check up on Eric together with Magdalin. He should be supervising knight students exercising and sparring in the next class.

I'll bring a table, chairs and tea as well. Nothing else appears to quite be able to soothe my worries.

[A/N: A single short chapter for today, as I am exhausted. We will visit Eric and the knight students next chapter!]