The murmuring crowd suddenly fell silent as if doused with water.

The audience held their breath.

Some noble ladies rushed to their husbands, trembling in their arms, while others tried to escape to the terrace or out of the banquet hall.

The husbands of the noble ladies, with tense expressions, reflexively reached for the swords at their waists, but then sighed as they remembered that weapons were not allowed in the banquet hall.

Unable to draw their swords, they instead clenched their fists and stood guard in front of their ladies.

“Kyaah…!”

A small scream erupted from somewhere.

“……”

“Heuugh……”

A noble lady who had been holding her breath gasped in surprise.

“Hic, sob……”

“I-I thought there was no mention of her coming to this party, could it be not Serena Kelahinum but Celina Kelahinum, the hidden sister of His Grace Duke Kelahinum… or perhaps Cellulite Kelahinum, a hidden older sister……”

Someone burst into tears, while another muttered like a madman, denying reality.

In fact, it’s true.

Magnus von Kelahinum had no intention of attending the party amicably with Serena Kelahinum.

But he had to clean up the mess he had created.

His claim that he was contacted only two days ago was unavoidable.

Everyone unanimously put down their drinks.

They slowly moved away from the tables with food.

In fact, they were just moving away from the red carpet in the center.

For a gathering of nearly a hundred nobles and servants, it was so quiet that even the sound of an ant crawling could barely be heard.

Click, click, click.

The sound of heels hitting the floor echoes.

Serena’s expression was slightly stiff as she entered, wearing a dress that was quite uncomfortable to move in.

‘It’s quieter than I expected.’

It was much better than the conference disguised as a party where various discussions never ceased wherever she went.

Click–

Serena took one step.

Rustle–

“……?”

Click click-

Serena took two steps.

Rustle rustle–

“……?”

Click, click, click–

Serena took three steps.

Rustle rustle rustle–

“……”

Stop.

She stopped walking.

“Gasp…!”

Her face was expressionless, but that expressionless face felt so chilling that everyone held their breath.

She took another step forward.

Click–

“Hic!”

Finally, she completely stopped walking somewhere in the center of the banquet hall.

‘Are they avoiding me?’

She felt a bit wronged.

Because wherever she went, she could see pale faces tensing up.

It didn’t seem like anyone would approach her.

‘Is this the power of being a villainess?’

However, she thought differently.

No one approaches at a party?

That means she doesn’t have to open her mouth unnecessarily.

In other words, if she just stands still and maintains the atmosphere, no one will bother her.

‘…Not bad?’

Because Serena was always tormented by discussions at conferences disguised as parties.

That’s why she hated parties.

Because usually, she had to skim through the recent papers of the participating professors at least a month before the party.

She thought that those who chose the profession of ‘professor’ and ‘scholar’ were all people who needed attention.

Serena thought so.

Because whenever they attended conferences or parties, they would grab her and not let go.

They wouldn’t let go right away.

She had to struggle through discussions and Q&A sessions disguised as conversations for at least 30 minutes to an hour.

Of course, Serena was partly to blame for this.

Usually, no one reads even a rough overview of all the participants’ papers.

However, Serena, who had rolled around under Lemerun, appeared extremely diligent from others’ perspectives.

Lemerun was a genius.

Serena was smart and resourceful, but she became talented through hard work.

However, she still didn’t meet the standards of a genius who had reached the pinnacle of magic, mathematics, alchemy, herbology, and could achieve average results in anything on the first try.

“You didn’t even look at that? Tsk. Don’t even mention that you’re my disciple anywhere!”

“Isn’t it natural to read all the papers of the attendees? Otherwise, how will you tease those stupid fellows? Tch, these young people these days live so comfortably with their full bellies!”

“Huh? You don’t know this? Disciple, are you sick by any chance? How can you not know this unless you’re a newborn insect? No, do you really not know this? Really? …Seriously?”

After enduring the nausea from those words and working like a dog, when she finally attended a party and responded without stumbling even once, Lemerun said,

“You’ve finally started walking on four legs.”

He summed up her dog-like struggles in one sentence.

Someone else might have understood it to mean that she had finally become independent.

But she saw it in Lemerun’s eyes. Those eyes that furrowed his brows as if pitying her!

The gaze of looking at a lowly creature!

He had so elegantly said that she had just been born as a human!

And a newborn baby crawling on all fours at that.

Therefore, Serena’s expectations for herself were very high.

Anyway, for these reasons, Serena gladly welcomed the phenomenon of everyone avoiding her.

‘Not bad.’

It’s rather good.

She unconsciously raised the corner of her mouth slightly.

“……Gasp.”

The sound of people inhaling sharply was heard here and there.

She looked truly evil when she smiled.

She moved her steps again.

‘I want to drink something….’

There’s not even an ant within a 1-meter radius.

“……”

Apart from being comfortable, she became curious.

What on earth did the woman who lived as the villainess Serena Lavernia, who had possessed my body, do…?

Serena approached a maid standing in the corner as she moved to the edge.

With each step she took, the maid’s shoulders flinched.

Regardless, Serena focused her gaze on the tray the maid was holding.

There were cocktails, wine, and brandy in glasses.

‘Is there nothing but alcohol?’

She didn’t want to drink alcohol in a crowded place.

As she slightly furrowed her brow, the maid fell to her knees with the tray still in her hands.

Thud—!

Surprised by the sudden situation, Serena was startled.

‘…Doesn’t her knee hurt?’

There’s no carpet here, it’s marble, isn’t it?

Meanwhile, somehow the drinks on the tray remained intact.

Feeling more hurt herself, her brow furrowed even more. At that moment, the maid, whose face had drained of all color, bowed her head to the floor.

“I-I’m sorry!!”

Suddenly… for what?!

At this point, Serena felt a bit wronged.

“If there’s any mistake, I’ll correct it right away! So please, please… spare my life…!”

“……”

The prostrated maid started begging with her hands clasped.

“…In the end, another sacrificial lamb appears.”

“I wonder what part displeased her this time?”

“Well, maybe she didn’t like the way her hair was tied?”

“It could be that pale skin.”

“Or perhaps she saw some dust on the carpet?”

It wasn’t.

She just wanted a drink without alcohol.

But now that things had come to this, she couldn’t say it.

Because she still wanted to live as a villainess.

Except for some inconveniences, she liked that no one approached her now.

‘But why are all their guesses like that?’

How petty had she been living to pick on such trivial things?

For the first time, Serena wanted to confront the illegal intruder.

“…You.”

“Ye-yes…! Pl-please speak, Your Grace.”

Despite hearing the response, Serena just stared at the back of the maid’s lowered head for a long while without saying anything.

The longer her silence continued, the more quiet the audience became.

Finally, Serena lowered her voice and opened her mouth.

She thought she should break this stifling situation.

After staring at the maid for quite a while, she flicked her finger.

“Stand up.”

Serena, who finally found a reason that was appropriately trivial yet wouldn’t greatly offend the other person, could be seen as advice for the future if pondered upon, and would make the person angrier and hate her more if heard, called the maid.

“Yes!”

The maid stood up abruptly like a new recruit in the army and stood at attention.

“……”

She reached out her hand towards the maid.

“In the end…!”

“Ah……”

“I-I can’t watch anymore…!”

The spectators let out sighs one by one, and some even tightly closed their eyes and turned away.

“Hic……”

The maid also closed her eyes tightly, gripping the front of her maid uniform so hard it turned white.

She hoped that her anger would be appeased with just a few slaps to the face.

Slap!

Thud, rustle.

A series of sounds were heard.

The maid, who had been tightly closing her eyes, felt strange when she didn’t feel any pain even after waiting for a while.

‘What’s going on?’

After a long time, the maid fluttered her eyelashes and slowly opened her eyes.