That Villainess Is A Man - Chapter 1

‘This is where I’ve been sold.’

I looked up at the towering doors of the magnificent mansion with a sigh.

At the front entrance was a family emblem that had a complex design of a star and eagle intertwined.

It was the symbol of the Bernum family, one of the two great houses in the empire.

Although I’ve been sold for quite a bit of money, it is said that this family, the Grand Duchy of Bernum, had a lot more.

I’m afraid it’s even more than the combined amount of money of my entire extended family.

The problem was that Baron Harvina’s noble family had no monetary substance, it was like an empty can.

It was okay when I was very young. However, a short time ago, My parents’ slave trading business collapsed and left us with huge debts.

Finally, my parents decided, the spring that I turned eleven, to sell me. One would think that I held a grudge because they told me that they are going to sell me, but I don’t have any complaints against them.

Rather, it is fortunate that I was sold to a powerful family.

If I was thrown out onto the streets because of the debt, I still would have been marked as a nobleman and targeted.

Besides, no matter how many times my family bought and sold their titles, it would have been impossible for them to repay their debts even if they sold every baron families’ titles that had a short history.

In that sense, I think it is a reasonable and acceptable decision for my parents to sell me out.

If I were an ordinary child, I would have been angry and sad, but this was not the first time in my life.

In my previous life, I was very poor and died before I became an adult.

Considering that time, this life, which I was born as a daughter of an aristocrat, seemed to be very prosperous.

‘What kind of work will I do in this house?’

My parents looked like they were absolved of their debts in return for selling me, as well as given extra funds.

It is definitely too much money to pay for a poor baroness girl.

Isn’t it too much to pay for a maid or something?

In the first place, there must have been a line of people who wanted to work in the Grand Duchy even if they didn’t get paid.

(……I’m sure they’ll treat you roughly.)

I heard that many high-ranking nobles have strange personalities. There were many terrible cases where people were treated like objects or thoroughly abused.

There is no guarantee that I wouldn’t be treated the same as long as I had been sold for money.

I went into the Grand Duchy imagining negative things like that.
Because of that, I felt extremely nervous when I introduced myself.

“……….I-I am B-Becky Harvina.”

A middle-aged woman with a strict face, who appears to be a maid, grabbed my hand and led me to some other maids without giving much thought to my introduction.

“Wash and dress this lady up. She will be greeting the Princess.”
‘Princess?’

I listened. It seemed that the reason why I was sold here was because of the princess.

Of course, not all women are good people, but women are less scary than men.

My body, which had been stiffened with tension, seemed to be loosening a bit.

After greeting me politely, the maids took me to the bathroom.

I was bathed in fragrant water under the instructions of the servants.

After drying my body, I wore a high-quality dress that I would never have been able to see before when I was in the Baron’s household. They brushed out my hair so that it wouldn’t be difficult to handle or look disheveled.

Looking in the mirror, I was like a princess in a fairy tale book.

‘I think today is the prettiest I’ve ever looked in my life.’

As I was waiting in the drawing room after they finished grooming my appearance, the door opened with the sound of the approaching princess.

I got up from my seat in surprise.

“…..!”

A doll is walking.

No, it was a person. A girl who is so beautiful that I have mistaken her for a doll.

Her flowing blonde hair was shining as if it was radiating the sunlight from outside the drawing room, and her facial shape is as delicate as a glass sculpture.

When I saw her face, I almost forgot to breathe.

“Everyone, get out.”

At the princess’s command, the maids left and she and I were the only two left in the parlor.

I was even more nervous than before entering this mansion and I just swallowed my saliva.

The living doll approached the sofa and sat down in a disrespectful manner. The posture was also very lax. The princess looked at me, frozen in place, with her amethyst eyes. I didn’t know what to do under that heavy gaze. Should I ask her something? No, do I have to introduce myself first?

“Hey.”

The lady with a beautiful smile was looking at me as if she were a popular judge/actress in a TV show. Then she asked in her beautiful and clear voice:

“It’s my first time getting a human as a toy, what can you do?”

The only flaw I noticed in her beauty is that the words from her pretty lips lacked a sense of compassion.

“I’m a human being, so I can basically do whatever a human being is able to do?
“Hmm.”

It was a silly answer, but when the princess heard it, she crossed her arms and thought hard about my reply.

‘What the hell are you going to make me do?’

Looking nervously, I tilted my head and blinked.

“What’s your name? You are not an animal, so someone must have already given you a name.”
“B-Becky Harvina.”
“Becky……… it’s nice to have a name that’s easy to pronounce.”
“Thank you.”
“I am…”

She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say her name and frowned afterwards.

Then she shook her head and told me her name, I was even more nervous during that stretch of silence because I thought I had offended her without knowing it.

“…Liande Rox Bernum. You can call me Liande.”
“Oh, I see. Ms. Liande…”
“Sit down for now.”

I sat across from Liande with my head bowed. I was so distracted by her face that I hadn’t noticed it before, but when I looked closer at how she was dressed, as a princess, it was quite simple. Rather, I thought the dress I wore was even more lavish and expensive.

Her hair was also loosely tied in a half up style, with a ribbon as the only hair accessory, but there was no sign of extravagance.

“You know you have been sold, right?”
“……yes.”

The princess spoke very directly about other people’s family affairs without batting an eyelash.

“Why didn’t you try to run?”
“What good reason would I have to run? I think it’s better to eat well and live well in a palace where I am being sold to than to starve in the streets.”

Even if I think about it myself, I can’t find any pride.

The reason for that was, it was common for me to starve in my previous life. It was fortunate that I could eat school meals at the very least. I was in that situation because I had a grandfather who would lose the money he would get from the government to strange people. Then I died before I became an adult, so it was a strange and short life.

Now, I can’t help but feel like it’s someone else’s business because I have those hazy memories from my first life and they made me rather numb to misfortune. After my reincarnation, I was glad that I didn’t have to starve because I was in a baron family, but my family collapsed. Perhaps it was a good thing that I was sold like this before starving.

Likely because she didn’t expect such a servile and detached answer to come back, Liande looked caught off guard.

“I don’t know if you’re serious, or if you’re just being sensible, but you must be rather fearless either way.”
“Thank you……?”

I didn’t know if it is okay to voice out my gratitude to her, but I still said thank you.

“Well, that’s good. A human being who came to be a toy would be better off being brave rather than being nervous.”

I was betrayed enough before that I thought that I’d better have low expectations.

‘Well, I can’t help it. Since I have been sold at a high price, it’s worth it.’

“………what kind of game should I play with you? Should I be on a leash and walk on all fours?”

When I gave her an example of “playing with a toy” that originated from my previous life’s knowledge, Liande looked puzzled.

“Do you make your toys do such unpleasant things?”

‘No, you’re the one who talked about toys when you first saw me.’

For some reason, my tastes were questioned and I felt misunderstood.

“No! I don’t do that!”

I struggled to prevent a misunderstanding and tried to come up with an explanation, but Liande did not look at me disbelievingly so I let it go.

“Then what do you do with toys?”
“Umm, I changed their clothes and played house. If it wasn’t a doll, it was a toy like a block….”
“That’s not very interesting.”

Now, her taste has been slightly determined. More than that, this relaxed conversation that didn’t have an ounce of the tension it had when I was shaking in fear earlier seemed like a lie.

“Then you can find a creative way to play with toys.”
“Well, I don’t think I’d be able to come up with another fresh idea other than hanging a leash on you or me.”
“……I won’t do it!”

When I denied it by inflating my cheeks, Liande giggled.

‘Wow, she’s so pretty when she smiles.’

I couldn’t think of the right words with my limited vocabulary, but it is true that Liande is very pretty.

Even if she calls people toys as soon as she meets them, ignores other people’s desires, and her personality doesn’t seem that good she is still beautiful.

“Well, that’s enough. I’ve never had a toy for myself before. I’ll think about how to play with you.”

‘You’re the richest woman in this magnificent Grand Duchy. Wouldn’t it be weird that you don’t live in piles of the most expensive toys?’

Her remarks were a little out of place.

Well, since she’s a princess of a high family, she might have avoided toys because she doesn’t want to appear childish.

After having such a strange conversation, I heard a knock from the outside.

“Princess, it’s time.”
“……yes.”

Liande’s expression didn’t look very good. She got up from the sofa and walked towards the door.

Wondering about what time it might have been, I chased after Liande, and she gave me a weird look.

“Why are you following me?”
“Huh… because I’m your toy?”

Liande shook her head as if she was dumbfounded by my answer.

“I’m going to study. There’s no reason for my toy to follow me.”
“Then what should I do?”
“Well… the maid will tell you. Stay and be calm.”

She went outside, leaving her last comment lingering as if I were a stray dog.

I looked around the room, determined there was nothing I could do in here, so I went back to the sofa and sat down. After a while, as Liande said, the maid came to pick me up.

“The Lord wants to see you in a moment.”
“Oh…okay.”

I can’t believe I am staying in the Grand Duchy.

This is as if the Grand Duke is telling me not to be so relaxed.
My body, which had been relaxed while I was talking to Liande, tensed up once aga