The Side Character Turned Villainess - Chapter 289

[Author’s note: These next few chapters are just extras and don’t really pertain to the main story. They contain short stories of how our favorite characters are doing. It won’t be from anyone’s POV except for maybe the author’s. *eyebrow wiggles* If you have any requests you want to see or any questions you never had answered, let me know in the comments.]

It is true that King William lived in a life of luxury. As King he is able to eat the finest foods and sleep in the best of rooms. However, that didn’t mean he got to have fun. Since he was determined to be an excellent King, he never had time for himself. The life of a King was not as glamourous as one was led to believe.

Every morning before daybreak, the maids would come in and wake him up.

From 6am to 8am, he would check in on the Palace issues as Seri followed him around grumbling incessantly about how tired she was.

From 8am-9am, he would eat his breakfast as he looked over his tasks for the day while Seri stood behind him glaring.

From 9am-10am, he would give in to Seri’s complaints and give her an endless supply of coffee.

From 10am-12pm, he would look over documents while Seri ran around the room from drinking too much caffeine.

From 12pm-1pm, he would eat his lunch at his desk as Seri crashed on the floor from drinking too much caffeine.

From 1pm-3pm, he would complete his paperwork while Seri stood behind him trying not to fall asleep.

From 3pm-4pm, he got to listen to Seri curse from not eating at all for the entire day while he attempted to finish his paperwork. Although, it was her own fault since she would be too busy complaining or going through caffeine withdrawals.

From 4pm-7pm, he got to meet with nobles and listen to them complain about their petty problems.

From 7pm-8pm, Seri would be ordered to help him solve the complaints, which she did quickly and effortlessly. William never pried into how exactly she solved these since he was glad to be absolved from the task.

From 8pm-midnight, Seri would go back home and he would finish completing his tasks before collapsing onto his bed to fall asleep.

Day in and day out, he would follow this schedule without relaxing once. The days were becoming too monotonous. He sat at the desk twirling his pen in boredom as Seri stood behind him complaining about her work schedule. There was a knock at the door and William answered it, “Yes?”

A servant spoke, “My King, Mary is here wishing to visit you for a moment. Shall I let her in?”

William immediately dropped the pen and jumped up, “UH! O-One moment!”

Seri looked at him with a giant “?” above her head as she watched him run over to a mirror to fix his hair and suit. He ran back to his desk and tidied it up before dumping hundreds of documents and books around his desk. He sat down and took out a paper document. He cleared his throat, “Let her in.”

Mary walked into the room holding a plate of cookies, “King William! Seri! I brought you both a fresh batch of cookies. I figured you both could use a break.”

“Thanks.” William responded while never raising his eyes from the document in front of him. One would think that he was a diligent King if they hadn’t just seen what he was doing just moments before. Mary placed the cookies down and Seri instantly jumped to grab one. William immediately smacked her hand, “No eating sweets on the job.”

She pouted as she rubbed her hand. Mary looked around the room with sparkling eyes, “Wow! King William you are so hard-working. I think you are the best King to ever grace our Kingdom.”

William responded in an aloof manner, “Hardly. My father was the best King. I am just trying to live up to his expectations.”

She giggled lightly, “I don’t believe that. I think you are still the best. What other King would work as hard as you for their Kingdom? You even look out for those who are poor and those with low status. We are all so lucky to have you as King. If you ask me, you’ve far exceeded your father’s expectations. Only a fool would not be proud of the man you’ve become.”

William’s eyes turned up briefly to look at her with a shimmer of happiness before he quickly buried them back in the documents in front of him. He cleared his throat calmly, “Then I will continue to work hard to not disappoint you.”

“You could hardly disappoint me.” Her eyes gently fluttered across his body with a coy smile, “Well, you seem busy so I will leave you to it. I will bring you more snacks next time. Don’t forget to take a break once in a while. I wouldn’t want the best King to burn out.”

William spoke indifferently, “Feel free to visit whenever. I will let the servants and knights know to let you come in freely.”

Mary gave a bright smile, “Wonderful! I can’t wait to see you again.”

“Mmn.” William responded apathetically as he kept his eyes on his paper. When she left the room he turned bright red and buried his face into the document. He giggled to himself like a crazed man. Seri watched him in disbelief as she imagined him as a pure maiden who was just given roses by their crush. William looked at her in anticipation, “Seri! She said I was an excellent King!!! What do you think?! Did I look cool?”

Seri raised her eyebrow, “Your document was upside down the entire time. Mary definitely noticed.”

William: “…”

After that, the only thing that seemed to cheer him up was the occasional visit from a close “friend”. However, with the Nobles continuing to dump their ridiculous problems on him and complain nonstop, he soon found himself growing more and more tired. He continued to work around the clock until one day, he refused to get out of bed.

Seri walked into the Palace and was surprised that William wasn’t already waiting on her to complete their rounds. The maids noticed her and rushed over, “Lady Seri! We have a problem!”

Seri drew her sword with a frightening expression, “What is it?! Who attacked the King?!”

The maids nearly fainted at her terrifying aura. They knew that she was not a morning person and was dreadfully scared of her. This is why they hadn’t wanted to seek her out and ask for help. However, they didn’t have a choice.

The head maid trembled as she spoke, “N-No one hurt the King! He is in his room-”

Before she could finish explaining, Seri charged forward with a war cry. The maids all squealed in a panic and hurried after her. Seri sprinted down the hall and made it to William’s room where she promptly kicked the door so hard it flew off its hinges. She charged in only to see William laying on the bed face down.

She tossed her sword and began to shake him, “NOO! YOU CAN’T DIE ON ME! How will I find a job after this!?”

William’s face twitched in irritation, “I’M NOT DEAD! STOP SHAKING ME!”

“Oh.” She dropped him back down and spoke calmly, “Then why are you still in bed? If you were giving me a day off you should have said so sooner. I could have slept in.”

William turned to glare at her, “What part of work 7 days a week do you not understand!? You don’t get a day off! Did you forget you are supposed to be reflecting on your actions?!”

She crossed her arms as she stood by his bedside, “Yeah, yeah. I am properly reflecting on my crimes. Don’t worry, I have learned my lesson. But why are you still in bed?”

He groaned as his head fell back into the pillow, “I can’t take it anymore! Every day is exactly the same. I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but I have no energy to get out of bed…”

She sighed, “Well it’s not a surprise. If you work hard everyday you are going to get burned out eventually. How about you take a day off today?”

“I can’t. I have to meet with a few Nobles tonight.”

“To discuss nonsense again? Those rich bastards are always the same. They complain just to hear themselves complain. Don’t worry about them, I will take care of it.”

William glanced at her smile with a frown, “Nothing illegal.”

Her smile fell, “Fine. I am sure just showing my face will have the same effect.”

“Must you extort everyone?”

“It’s not extortion. I only nudge them in the right direction.”

He let out an exhausted sigh, “But I can’t just lay in bed all day… I need to do something.”

She tapped her chin. Then her face lit up with a brilliant idea, “Then how about a date?”

“Haah?” William looked at her with a dismayed expression, “Won’t Dante get upset?”

She slapped him over his head, “Not with me you idiot. With Mary.”

William blushed upon hearing her name and looked away bashfully, “Oh… But… I am sure she doesn’t want to go on a date with me…”

“Shut up. Of course she will. I am sure she has been hanging around just waiting for you to ask her. If I know her, she is in the rose garden tending to the flowers.”

After Mary graduated, she came to work at the Palace. During the morning she would take care of the extensive flower garden which she had begged William to create. Then in the evening, she would help prepare the most spectacular cake for William to enjoy. Many believed that she had used her body to bewitch William into giving her such a high position, but that was only a 10% true.

William immediately jumped out of bed, “Let’s go find her then.”

Seri stopped him quickly, “Uh.. William?”

“Yeah?”

“You are still in your pajamas. If you go out like that she’s going to faint.”

“Ah, right.”

William quickly got dressed while Seri waited outside. Once he finished, she followed him to the garden where he paused. He immediately jumped behind a pillar to hide.

Seri: “?”

William peered from behind the pillar to look and see Mary humming while watering tulips. His face flushed as he silently watched her. Seri stared at him with disappointment clearly showing on her face. She knew he would probably just watch her since he was too nervous to actually go up to her to speak. Seri decided to give him a push.

As in, a literal push.

“HEY MARY!” Mary turned as Seri grabbed onto William and shoved him forward. William stumbled forward and froze with an embarrassed expression as Mary looked at him. Seri chuckled, “William has something to ask.”

Mary skipped over with a bright smile, “What is it?”

“Uhh…” William’s cheeks began to turn red as she peered into his face with a smile of anticipation. Seri clicked her tongue in annoyance and stomped on his foot. He yelped and spoke quickly, “Would you like to go… To town with me?”

Seri shook her head in disbelief.

Mary smiled, “Oh, like a date?”

William immediately panicked and started spouting out words, “No! Not a date! Why would I want to go on a date with you! HAHA! I would rather drink poison! ARGH! I mean…”

William crouched down holding his head in annoyance. It seemed as though his tsundere personality was still very much there. However, Mary didn’t seem to mind this much. She clasped her hands together in excitement, “I am so glad you asked! I would love to go on a date with you!”

William glanced up at her with a flushed face, “R-Really?”

“Where should we go?” She snapped her finger, “Oh! I know. We can go to that new bakery. I heard they have excellent cakes that come in several flavors.”

William jumped up and nodded excitedly, “Excellent! Let’s go now!”

Mary nodded. Seri handed them both a cloak to hide their appearance, “Don’t forget you have to remain undercover. You can go through the town from the secret tunnels. That way no one will think it is you. Now if you excuse me-”

Seri quickly turned to leave. As Mary put on her cloak, William pulled Seri to the side and whispered, “Where do you think you are going?”

Seri whispered back, “What?! I am going to go take a nap!”