This Villainess’s Parenting Method is Her Fists

“Are you feeling better?”

Yulid changed the subject, apparently not interested in discussing the drawings further.

He sat in a chair with his legs crossed, resting his hands casually on his knee.

“I was worried when you collapsed, bleeding profusely from both your ears and mouth.”

“…”

My mouth might have been my fault, but weren’t my ears your doing?

“Y-yes. I’m fine.”

I carefully touched my earlobe where he had torn it, making sure my words didn’t bypass my brain before coming out.

I felt a hard scab of dried blood.

‘D*mn. They didn’t even treat it.’

That handsome face smiling at me was detestable.

“I’m glad you’re alright. Shall we continue our unfinished conversation?”

“Unfinished conversation…”

“I’d like to hear about your plan. If you had succeeded in deceiving me and infiltrating this place as one of my subordinates, how would you have extracted information from my collaborator?”

“…I didn’t expect you to be curious about that.”

That was a lie. Of course I knew. Since he also had Henrik’s insects in his stomach, he must be contemplating how to use me.

But I couldn’t let on that I knew this.

“I also have things I want to get from him. So, your answer?”

“…If I had become a member here while undercover, I would have waited for Henrik to arrive. Or secretly caused problems that would force him to come.”

“I see. And then?”

“Then I would have gained Henrik’s trust. By expressing my interest in joining the special magic division.”

Yulid laughed mockingly.

“You speak about gaining someone’s trust like it’s easy. Do you think there have only been one or two people hanging around him trying to learn black magic?”

“That’s something we’d only know by trying.”

“He has no interest in mere pawns. Rather, he would find it offensive for an insignificant person to approach him.”

“That would actually be better.”

“…?”

“When someone who initially thought poorly of you shows an unexpected side, their heart opens more quickly. My sponsored child, don’t you know?”

Yulid gave me a puzzled look, not understanding what I was talking about.

“You mean the child who won at the Harvest Festival?”

“Yes. At first, he really disliked me.”

I took a deep breath internally and put on a crooked, arrogant smile.

“But how about now? You must know what happened at the Harvest Festival. How much that child follows me.”

“…Hmm.”

‘Time for some self-promotion.’

To pass a job interview, you need to exude confidence even with an unremarkable resume.

This was exactly that situation. Rather than substantial experience, what I needed now was self-confidence. That would make Yulid want to try using me.

He rested his chin on his hand, staring at me intently before asking:

“I knew that the Lady wasn’t properly taking care of her sponsored child. And that your relationship was poor. Are you saying you changed that relationship according to your intentions?”

“That’s right. It was a piece of cake.”

Sorry, Noah. You know I don’t mean it, right?

“Winning children’s favor is easy. But adults are the same. Duke Ortega, you know him? We were like enemies. Now—”

“Wait.”

Yulid interrupted just as I was about to emphasize how ‘I became friends with people who disliked me.’

“How did you win their favor?”

“Huh?”

“The child’s favor. How did you win it?”

“Well… some nasty kid was bullying him, so I threw myself in to save him.”

“Bullying?”

“Yes. Children without parents are often treated carelessly by adults too. Even if they’re missing just one parent.”

“…”

For some reason, Yulid gritted his molars.

“So, after saving him, did he open up to you?”

“No. Relationships don’t improve that quickly.”

“…Then?”

He leaned forward from his relaxed position in the chair.

“Did you give gifts? Delicious food? Or money?”

“Those are obviously necessary. But to truly become close, you need more than that.”

“More? What exactly?”

Why has he suddenly become a question mark murderer?

“Well, if I had to put it in one word, I’d say attention.”

“Attention? That’s too abstract.”

“Let me give you an example. Once when Noah got lost in the forest…”

I recounted stories of how my relationship with Noah improved after I possessed Calliphe’s body.

Yulid was extremely focused. He even suddenly picked up a pen and started taking notes.

[Yulid’s trust level +1]

[Yulid’s trust level +2]

Wait… I hadn’t even properly delivered my prepared PR speech, but I was already seeing results.

It was surprising, but I gratefully accepted the trust points.

However, I couldn’t keep talking about my past actions, so I needed to wrap it up.

“Things like that. Adults aren’t much different.”

“…Are you sure? Do these methods you mentioned work on adults too?”

“Of course.”

I nodded confidently. My answer seemed to have moved him, as Yulid fell silent for a moment.

[Yulid’s trust level +2]

“So give me a chance. You said you also have something to get from Henrik. If things go wrong, you can pin it on me, so there’s no loss for you.”

“…Alright.”

Finally appearing to have made up his mind, Yulid looked at me and flicked something from his hand.

I quickly caught it. It was the perception-disrupting magical tool he had taken from me.

“I’ll give you a chance. Let’s see what you can do.”

“Thank you…!”

Success! Trying not to show too much joy, I said:

“Since you’re giving me a chance, please help me with one thing. To appear as a member of this place to Henrik, I need to know internal affairs. So please give me permission to move around freely.”

The echo ore bracelet would still be operational.

‘I can now relay information about this place. Even Lynen will have to admit my plan was good!’

Just as I was gloating internally:

“Then you need to know me.”

“What?”

Yulid stood up and beckoned to me with his index finger.

“Come closer.”

“L-like this?”

I took one step forward.

“Closer.”

“Like this?”

Just as I took another step:

In the blink of an eye, he approached and grabbed my wrist firmly.

“Wait…!”

I staggered in alarm as he pressed down on my shoulder, fixing me in place.

I was now just half a step away from Yulid.

“Maintain this distance from now on.”

“Why…”

“Stay by my side.”

He put his hands in his pockets and smiled loosely.

“Because that’s the fastest way to understand this place.”

“…Like a secretary?”

“You catch on quickly.”

He nodded toward the door, indicating that I should leave now. He added:

“Only a few know your true identity. I’ve silenced them. So be careful not to give yourself away first.”

“I understand.”

Agreeing to start my secretary role tomorrow, I left Yulid’s room.

Looking down at my echo ore bracelet, I smiled slightly triumphantly.

‘Did you hear that, Lynen?’

That’s how good I am.

‘Now that I’ve broken the ice…’

I need to be vigilant for opportunities to gain Yulid’s trust. It would be nice if there was a way to increase it substantially at once rather than just 1 or 2 points at a time.

‘I need one big breakthrough.’

By the way, I wonder if Noah is behaving himself?