I Never Wanted To Be A Villainess!!! Chapter 18: Error? (Patreon)

Error? What did this mean?

Rosa had never seen an error message before from the system. What happened?

[System has experienced a minor malfunction. Rewarding +50 points as compensation to the user. System will now undergo. A week-long maintenance period is to ensure that this error does not occur again. We apologize for this inconvenience and wish for your safety, future villainess.]

50 points? Rosa would definitely have to use the store feature when the system reboots. Though, she was still curious why the system malfunctioned like this. Was it because of how odd the heroine was acting? …No, that couldn’t be it. There had to be something else going on here.

“Lady Rosa, is something the matter?” Flora asked, noticing that Rosa’s mind was elsewhere. “I knew it. You must still be upset!”

“No… no, you’re fine,” Rosa said, realizing that she must have been acting weird.

"Does that mean that you really forgive me?"

"Of course she does. Miss Rosa holds no ill will to you," Mary said, speaking for Rosa, wary of Flora.

"Mary! I knew you liked me!"

Flora tried to hug Mary, but she stepped away.

"Please refrain from touching me. We are not that close."

"Oh... of course, sorry, I must be too eager," Flora said, acting cute to cover up her mistake.

"That's fine. Let's go get some snacks," Rosa said, wanting to relax. They hadn't been here for that long, but she knew that she needed a break. Dealing with Flora was not going to be easy, especially since this was the first day.

Once they finally made their way outside, Rosa was happy to see that all the other kids were having a good time eating the snacks she prepared. However, their table manners were less than ideal. They were eating like the food would get stolen from them at any moment.

“Flora’s back!!!” several of the kids shouted, running over to Flora with food for her to eat. “Was the princess mean to you again?”

“No, the princess properly apologized,” Flora said, sounding somewhat smug in her response.

“That’s good!”

Yea! The princess needs to be kind and sweet!”

“The princess needs to be like Flora.”

“Flora would make a great princess!”

“Maybe the prince will want to make Flora the princess instead.”

“How-”

“It’s alright,” Rosa said, stopping Mary from making a scene. “They don’t know any better.”

“Hmm, she really is quite… charismatic,” Cerise said, trying to find the right word to describe Flora.

“Indeed, she is,” Rosa said, agreeing with her friend. “To be honest, I don’t know how to handle someone like her. She’s too erratic for me to get a grasp of her. Not to mention, it looks like she has all the other kids under her thumb. They’re willing to do anything for her. It’s kind of creepy.”

“You are right. It is a bit unsettling. And why does she seem to want to get closer to your maid?”

“I have no idea, Miss Cerise. I have never met her before today,” Mary said with a calm expression etched across her face.

Mary was right. Her introduction as Flora’s maid in a small cutscene in the game expresses how it was merely a year before the events of the game. Flora saves her from the streets, and Mary becomes her personal maid. However, interactions with Mary are limited mainly to the shop. The main heroine would request items from Mary, and she would acquire them. And similar to the capture targets, you could increase her affection level.

For the rest of the day, the girls did their best to interact with the orphans, playing games and telling stories. Flora remained quiet, but Rosa could tell that Flora had her eyes on her the entire time.

“Thank you both once again for coming here today, and I expect that Lady Dawn will be back here tomorrow?” the director said, looking quite pleased with himself.

“Of course, Mary and I will return tomorrow,” Rosa said, making sure that the director did not deny Mary’s contribution today.

“Ah, yes. Once again, thank you three, and I will see you both tomorrow,” he said, wiping the sweat from his brow and watching the three of them enter Rosa’s carriage.

“So, how was your first day?” Relena asked Rosa as they entered.

“It was tiring but fun at the same time.”

The energy from the other kids was infectious. Rosa couldn’t help but have fun, but knowing that the heroine was there consumed her thoughts. The heroine was a kind and gentle girl, according to the game, but when they interacted today, it was almost as if she had something to gain by messing with her.

“Fufufu~. I can hear that from your voice. Don’t worry, as promised, there is a big dinner planned for you tonight, Cerise, there is a plate ready for you if you wish to eat with us.”

“Of course, I would. Thank you for the most generous offer,” Cerise happily said, sitting next to Mary, watching Relena lay Rosa’s head down into her lap.

“No, thank you for being friends with our dear Rosa. As you already may know, Rosa needs someone that she can be close to like this. I talked with your parents, and we have come to a mutually beneficial arrangement. Roland will learn about this soon enough, but it’s best if I tell you beforehand since calming him down will be hard enough. Cerise, you are….”

“No! I refuse!” Roland yelled on the top of his lugs, slamming his fists against the table, causing some of his food to leave the plate.

“Roland, this is for your future,” Relena said, knowing that this would happen.

“I don’t want to get married; you can’t make me! I need to protect Rosa from the stupid prince. I can’t focus on any other women!”

“Roland, you should mind your manners. Lady Eckart is able to maintain her composure. Why can’t you?”

Rosa looked over at Cerise, who was fiddling with her hands under the table. Her face was completely flushed, though it was much worse than when she had originally heard the news. While surprised at first, Rosa was actually excited about this. She really liked Cerise, and based on the game’s setting, Cerise would always be his fiancé.

Cerise always acted rude and uptight in the game around Roland, but after spending time with her, Rosa understood that she was just nervous. Cerise was a kind, sweet girl, and the stupid game portrayed her as a villainess alongside Rosa.

“Why should I? She clearly doesn’t want this any more than I do! Rosa, tell them that you don’t want me getting married!” Roland yelled, trying to get help from his sister, but he wouldn’t be receiving any help from her.

“Brother, you don’t have to marry her,” Rosa said, which brightened up his eyes. “You're just becoming engaged to Cerise. You don’t have to marry until later.”

“What! Rosa, not you, too! Don’t you care for how your big brother feels!? I just want to protect you!”

“Brother, please calm down.”

This was good for her brother. She knew just how much he cared for her, but he needed to live his life as well. Constantly protecting her was not something that she wanted him to do for the rest of her life.

“No! I refuse!”

“Roland, as the eldest child of the Dawn family, you should understand the importance of your position,” their father said to him. “Acting out like this makes you no better than the crown prince. Do you want it to be known that your sister has a fool for a brother? Just think of how this will affect her.”

Robert usually stayed quiet in scenarios like this, but just as his son was protective of his sister, he was weak to the will of his daughter, and seeing that Cerise was her friend, he had to step in.

“But I, nnnn~! Fine, fine… you’re right, I overreacted,” Roland said, lowering his voice. He knew he had gone too far and needed to repent.

“Good, I’m glad that you agree,” Relena said, whipping her mouth with her nappkin. “You and Cerise will sign the official engagement documents in a week.