I’ll Become a Villainess That Will Go Down in History

Go in there with the mindset of walking onto a battlefield.”

“Why?”

“I think….
it’s going to be rough in there otherwise,” Gilles replies, being intentionally vague.

What could it be that even he is finding it difficult to say? It’s so unlike him to beat around the bush like that.

“Whatever it is, just spit it out,” I say, giving him a small glare.

As if giving up, he lets out a little sigh.

“Alicia, you’re strong and you don’t care what people say about you.
I know you’ll be fine with whatever badmouthing they do to you but….
Don’t let yourself be tricked.”

“Tricked? Who? ….Me? Who would even try it?”

This time, Gilles lets out a long, drawn out sigh.

Was my question that odd? As he said, badmouthing I’m okay with.
More than okay with! I welcome it as evidence of my wickedness.
But, being tricked? What could he mean by that?

“Within the academy, you’re going to be at a serious disadvantage.
You didn’t attend for a whole two years.
The other students would have gotten used to you not being around.
They probably rejoiced the day you left.
But now that you’re back, they…..”

Right as he’s getting to the good part, he stops.
If he was trying to draw my attention through suspense, then it worked.
But without finishing that thought, I have no idea where he was going with it.

Speaking of rejoicing though….
I feel over-the-moon right now! I’m nothing like the villainess that I was before.
Over these last two years I’ve blossomed into a splendid flower of wickedness and pure evil!

And if during that time, the rest of the student body has recognized my tyranny, so much the better! After all, I’m not aiming to only be a self-proclaimed villainess, but to become an evil villain who’s recognized by the masses.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, no matter what they do, don’t let them convince you to quit the academy.”

“Oh, there’s no need to worry about that.
There’s nothing they could possibly do to make me leave,” I declare.
And I punctuate my statement with a big, toothy grin.

Despite my confidence, Gilles somehow doesn’t seem convinced.

But that’s fine.
If he doesn’t want to believe me, so be it.
I’ll just let my actions speak for me!

And, for now, I think it’s time that I see just how terribly disadvantageous the situation at the academy is for me.
Seeing is believing, after all.
I’m sure it’s nothing that I can’t handle.

And so, for the first time in two years, I stride through the gate to the academy with my back straight and my head held high.