This Three Year Old Is a Villainess-Chapter 229
The next afternoon,
Masa hurriedly ran through the streets.
‘What am I going to do... I’m late!’
She had an appointment to meet Erilot, but something came up before she could leave work.
A baron had come as a guest of Serian, the second child of Duke Ishiron.
Serian welcomed the guest, even bringing along servants.
‘Serian is sometimes hard to understand...’
She heard the guest was a baron with a danseung title.
A man who had amassed wealth by trading with commoners.
He donated most of his fortune during a terrible famine to feed his hometown’s people.
For that merit, he received a danseung title from the Emperor.
‘He basically bought his title with money. Without any culture...’
To be late for a meeting with the granddaughter of Duke Astra because of entertaining such a person.
If Blossom heard this, she would have jumped in shock.
Masa dashed to the meeting place shouting,
“Ah, Your Grace!”
Erilot, standing beneath the clocktower, looked at Masa.
“Hello, Masa.”
Masa spread out her skirt widely, lightly bent her knees, then straightened.
“I greet a noble.”
The man with Erilot, Hanira, widened his eyes.
Masa smiled shyly, “Ehehe.”
It was surprising that a commoner like her knew the noble greeting.
When she had learned this greeting, the young ladies in Blossom’s group couldn’t hide their amazement.
They covered their mouths with fans or gloved hands, unable to hide their pleased smiles.
Erilot seemed quite surprised and answered a bit late.
“...Indeed.”
“You’ve waited a long time, sorry. The baron suddenly came, so I left late.”
“I see.”
“Shall we go inside, Your Grace?”
Masa took Erilot’s arm and laughed softly.
Hanira frowned at the sight.
But as he tried to approach Masa, Erilot stopped him.
“It’s fine.”
“...Yes, Miss.”
After Hanira withdrew, Masa smiled shyly at Erilot.
‘See? Your Grace doesn’t mind at all.’
Everyone was like that.
Doing all this meant they weren’t just ordinary friends.
It could only happen if Viscountess Erilot liked Masa a lot.
Masa recalled the talks she had with the young ladies.
“But it’s strange...”
“What do you mean?”
“No matter how close they are, to provide a house and support living expenses... The place Masa lived had insanely expensive land, right?”
“Well, if it’s not given but only lent... isn’t it better than teasing? They’ll manage it for her too.”
“Would a house worth that much be easy to manage? Especially supporting living expenses... No matter how you look at it, it seems like charity...”
“Your Grace...!”
“Oh no... I mean it’s too much to call it support. It only shows how much the Western Wonhwa likes Masa.”
At those words, Blossom smiled and nodded.
“Why not?”
“If that’s the case...?”
“Astra is a bit... ruthless, isn’t it? It’s not like they make friends going to the academy or seminary...”
“Right. They can hardly go outside because of bloodline education.”
“So maybe ‘friend’ is a special word for the Western Wonhwa. Masa as the first friend is even more special.”
“Ah, that might be so.”
“She has a surprisingly cute side, doesn’t she?”
Then the young ladies all giggled together.
‘I’m a special person to Viscountess Astra.’
Masa chuckled and glanced at Hanira.
Erilot asked her,
“Where are you going?”
“Ah, to that café.”
Masa pointed to a café occupying an entire three-story building.
Its main clients were wealthy merchants and high nobles.
“...There?”
“Is it your first time?”
“Yes, it is...”
When asking for today’s meeting, Masa had said, ‘I want to serve tea.’
She’d have to pay, but with her salary, it was an unaffordable place by appearance.
“My recent hobby is finding a tea master who brings out the unique flavor of tea leaves well.”
“Huh?”
“Rather than huge places like that, more peaceful ones with a tea master brew more interesting tea.”
She said this carefully to not upset Masa.
Even a cheap tea shop in an alley would be fine.
But Masa waved her hand and laughed.
“Still, it wouldn’t beat good tea leaves.”
“Hm?”
“Oh, Your Grace might not know. It’s Allegro—an extremely excellent tea leaf distributor! That place serves Allegro.”
“...”
“I’ve been drinking it often recently, and it’s wonderful.”
“...”
“The more you enjoy good things, the more cultured you become.”
Hanjihyuk made a bewildered face.
‘Does she not realize how that sounds?’
If you can’t enjoy good things, you lack culture.
There was nothing to say against that.
Masa smiled casually and entered the café with Erilot.
The waiter greeted them.
“Welcome. Where would you like to sit?”
“By the window, of course! Right, Your Grace? The view from the window is spectacular!”
Erilot replied, “...Sure.”
But the waiter looked troubled.
“All the window seats are already taken.”
“Uh... Then can’t you clear a seat? You did that last time...”
“It would inconvenience other guests—”
“This is Viscountess Erilot, granddaughter of Duke Astra. Don’t you know the Western Wonhwa?”
“...!!”
The waiter’s eyes widened.
He stared at Erilot and swallowed hard.
“Ah, my apologies. Please wait a moment!”
The waiter rushed inside.
A few minutes later,
A man dressed as a manager hurried out to greet Erilot and Masa.
“Welcome, Your Grace. Please come inside!”
Masa took Erilot’s arm, smiling brightly.
“That’s great, Your Grace!”
“...”
Erilot glanced at Masa then followed the manager.
The table they were led to was being cleaned.
“We hurried to prepare a seat; please excuse the inconvenience.”
An elderly couple who looked like they had been sitting by the window glared at them unhappily.
The manager ignored them and said nonchalantly,
“We will serve the best tea in the shop.”
He bowed and quickly left.
Masa smiled sweetly and sat down.
“Please sit here, Your Grace.”
Erilot sat opposite Masa but looked gloomy as she watched the elderly couple leave.
Masa looked at Erilot and the couple and said, “Ah.”
“Does that bother you?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, you don’t have to be. It’s a bit unfortunate, though.”
“Unfortunate?”
“This isn’t a place only nobles come to. Commoners also come here after great effort. Unfortunately...”
Indeed, to Erilot’s eyes, the elderly couple looked truly unfortunate.
The elderly man spoke gloomily to the woman who seemed his wife.
“I’m sorry this happened on our 50th wedding anniversary...”
Yet Masa chatted without concern.
“It would be nice if people judged by status before accepting, right?”
“...Are you saying it’s unfortunate?”
“Huh?”
“...”
Erilot sighed deeply.
“So? What did you want to discuss?”
“Ah, let’s drink tea first. It’s a very exquisite tea, suitable for Your Grace... Here it comes!”
The manager appeared, pulling a tray.
He filled the teapot with water and smiled warmly.
“You know Allegro tea, right? It’s our best tea. Please enjoy the aroma.”
Masa poured out the warmed water once, didn’t add new water, and threw the tea leaves in all at once.
“Ah, wait! The scent needs to develop more.”
She then poured milk and cream generously into Erilot’s and her own cups.
The tea steeped for over 20 minutes, becoming very dark.
She poured the tea gently into the cups.
Masa tapped her teaspoon three times and put it in her mouth.
“Drink!”
“...Alright.”
Erilot drank and smiled brightly.
“It’s your first time drinking Allegro tea, right? Truly excellent tea is different!”
Erilot glanced at Masa.
Allegro took reservations mainly from the high nobility on a first-come basis.
But the shares for Astra and the imperial family were personally handled by the owner, so Erilot had been drinking Allegro tea like water since childhood.
‘This isn’t Allegro.’
It was a tea sold in stores with a similar scent added to imitate Allegro.
But Erilot said nothing and just looked at Masa.
“Shall we talk now?”
“Ah, um, what I want to say is...”
Masa looked flustered, glancing around.
She even anxiously checked the wall clock and murmured.
“Masa.”
“Well, um... It’s about my sister.”
“Mari?”
“Yes, we had a bit of a fight. How should I say, she’s a bit... um, jealous...”
“Jealous?”
“I’ve recently made good friends. Since they are nobles, it seems to have made my sister jealous...”
“...”
“How would Your Grace solve this kind of problem?”
Erilot put down her cup and stared at Masa.
Masa drooped her eyebrows and mumbled,
“I want to introduce my friends so my sister won’t be jealous, but my friends say... they don’t want to meet anyone who’s not a commoner like me...”
“...”
“How should I persuade my sister? What should I say so she understands the situation...”
“From my view, the one who needs to understand is—”
Then,
“Oh, Masa!”
Startled, Masa jumped up.
“Kurong!”
“We meet so often here~ Ah, but who is this with you...?”
“She is Viscountess Astra!”
“Oh my!”
A girl dressed in a yellow forsythia-colored dress greeted Erilot.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Pinessa Kurong~ # Nоvеlight # To see the famous Western Wonhwa in person is a great honor to my family!”
Masa quickly moved to sit beside her.
“What a coincidence meeting here, please sit for a bit!”
Hanjihyuk’s face twisted in displeasure.
Such rudeness!
But Pinessa Kurong quickly sat and said,
“I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m good friends with Masa.”
“Yes.”
“Your Grace, Kurong is the niece of Baron Kurong, who owns a huge confectionery company. Their madeleines are fantastic.”
“Oh my, thank you for the compliment.”
Masa and Pinessa Kurong chatted casually in front of Erilot.
Pinessa Kurong said,
“Um, Your Grace, is the Western Imperial Guard enlistment test really over? I actually failed because of a mistake. That’s not my real skill.”
Then,
“Oh, Masa!”
This time, a girl in a pink azalea-colored dress appeared.
Masa greeted warmly,
“Ruri!”
“Pinessa is here too. What a coincidence, can I sit with you for a while?”
“Of course.”
The situation repeated similarly.
They chatted together, then glanced at Erilot with subtle expressions.
“Your Grace, has Joshua’s marriage been decided yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Oh! That’s great~ Our parents say Joshua would be a good match for me—”
“Oh, Masa!”
Then a young lady in green arrived.
“Our parents really want to serve the Second Duke of Astra! My aunt is still single, she loves children, so a remarriage would be fine—”
“Oh, Masa!”
Finally, a young lady in purple arrived.
Erilot’s expression grew steadily colder.
Masa smiled slyly.
“Ah, Your Grace, instead of staying here, how about moving to the salon? It’s Kurong’s salon...”
“So you weren’t here to consult?”
“...Yes?”
“Then I don’t need to stay. Have a good time with your friends.”
Erilot stood up.
Masa panicked, “W-Wait!”
“Um, Your Grace...!”
Blossom hadn’t arrived yet...!!
If she left like this, Masa would be in a terrible spot.
Erilot left the café without hesitation.
Masa hurried after her and caught her arm.
“Your Grace, please wait a moment...!”
“It’s already been three hours since you were introduced to your ‘friends.’”
“Did you find the café uncomfortable? The salon is different, so please stay a little longer, okay?”
Masa forced a smile and held Erilot’s arm.
Her eyes sparkled.
‘If I ask, she’ll stay. We’re special friends—’
Erilot stared at Masa and opened her mouth.
“Why?”
“...Yes?”
Erilot sighed.
“Do you really think those girls consider you a friend?”
“What...?”
“They want me. They treat you well only to gain benefits from me.”
“...That’s harsh.”
“I’ve said enough. If you still don’t understand, there’s nothing more to say.”
Erilot withdrew her hand from Masa and turned away.
Masa stood there dumbfounded, staring at her departing back.
‘What? Why does she talk like that?’
Now she saw Erilot wasn’t just a nice person. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
Maybe she was a bit arrogant.
‘She says things without knowing anything...’
She didn’t see how much the others liked her but spoke carelessly.
Masa bit her lip hard and returned to the café.
Blossom, waiting out of sight, was there with the young ladies.
They had come knowing something had gone wrong.
Masa looked upset.
“Blossom... I’m so upset... Could you listen? It’s about Viscountess Astra...”
“What happened?!”
Kind Kurong stood up sharply and glared at Masa.
The other young ladies did the same.
“...Yes?”
“They say the Western Wonhwa does everything for you! But your words don’t match!”
