I Got Reincarnated as a Villainous Noble, and When I Tried to Create an All-Male Academy to Avoid a Bad Ending, for Some Reason the Gender Ratio Reversed? - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Beautiful

This academy does have dorms, but they’re basically just for commoners and lower-ranked nobles.

See, high-ranking nobles usually have their own mansions in the royal capital, so it’s close enough that they can just commute by carriage.

By the way, the ducal family’s mansion is actually within walking distance from the academy.

Since their rank is higher than a marquis house, it’s totally doable even without a carriage.

That said, high-ranking nobles almost never walk around outside alone, so pretty much everybody still uses a carriage anyway.

But Marilyn was different.

Since she commutes to the academy disguised as a guy named Maris, she can’t use the ducal family’s carriage.

Because of that, it seems she usually walks.

More precisely, she goes back to a room she rents nearby that’s set up for Maris, changes out of the disguise there, and then takes a carriage back to the ducal mansion.

Talk about a hassle.

So basically, once she leaves the school gate, she walks home… or at least that’s how it usually goes.

“Hey, what’s up?”

Marilyn wasn’t moving to leave.

She stopped right in front of the marquis house’s carriage, arms crossed, staring straight at me.

“………………”

Something about this feels bad. Really bad.

“Let me ride with you.”

“Aren’t you walking home?”

“I don’t feel like it today. Let me stay over.”

“I can’t just let the duke’s daughter crash at my place with zero notice or prep.”

“Because of some idiot’s brilliant plan, the mansion feels super uncomfortable right now. So take responsibility and let me stay. Oh—and if you treat me like a commoner, I won’t forgive you.”

“……………………”

That’s spoiled to a whole new level.

Not only deciding to stay over on her own, but also demanding the VIP treatment—classic duke’s daughter move.

If there was a contest for arrogance and sky-high pride, she’d win hands down. No competition.

“Hey, you totally just thought something rude about me, didn’t you?”

“Nope. Anyway… get in.”

I couldn’t exactly leave her standing there, so I reluctantly opened the door. Marilyn climbed in like she owned the place.

We sat facing each other. She crossed her legs with this super elegant motion.

Her long, slender legs were hidden under men’s trousers and fabric.

If she’d been wearing a skirt, you’d probably catch a glimpse of something important. And it’d look insanely good on her, no question.

“The marquis house carriage isn’t half bad.”

“We hire top-class coachmen.”

Looks like she approved of the ride quality. A good coachman’s handling of the reins and the horses’ training matter a ton. You can actually judge a noble’s rank by how smooth the carriage feels.

After that we rode in silence for a while. She rested her cheek on her hand, gazing out at the scenery.

That pose was exactly what you’d expect from a proper young lady. Just her expression and the way she carried herself made her look like a painting. Aside from the awful personality, she was still perfect as ever.

“……………………”

The whole ride, neither of us said a word.

We’re both the quiet type, so if there’s no topic, we just stay quiet. Weirdly enough, though, it didn’t feel awkward at all.

――I wonder if they had this kind of vibe in the original story.

Nah, probably not.

Still… our wavelengths matched more than I expected. We must be pretty similar deep down.

As villainous nobles. Or maybe as people stuck dealing with the crown prince’s mess.

“Stop here.”

After a bit of riding, we passed a flower shop. Right at that moment, she suddenly spoke up.

“Marilyn?”

“I wanna make a quick stop.”

“Got it.”

I signaled the coachman and the carriage rolled to a stop.

I got out first. She held out just her hand, clearly expecting me to help her down like a proper escort.

“What? Got a problem with it?”

“Nah, no problem.”

I gave a wry smile, took her hand, and helped her step down slowly.

Even though she was cross-dressing, every movement and gesture was ridiculously graceful. It almost looked like an invisible skirt was fluttering around her.

“Come on.”

Once we were both out, she took the lead this time—grabbing my arm and practically dragging me into the flower shop.

Among all the colorful flowers lined up, Marilyn picked out a few without even hesitating.

“You don’t really have to do that kind of thing for me…”

“Oh, these aren’t for the marquis house. They’re for me.”

“Oh. Okay.”

For herself? Even though she’s crashing at my place tonight?

I tilted my head, not quite getting it, and she spoke up.

“I actually really like flowers. Surprising, right?”

“Yeah.”

The second I agreed honestly, she kicked my shin—hard.

“…That’s so unfair.”

“I didn’t like that answer.”

“I don’t know what the right one is.”

“You’re supposed to say ‘You’re a beautiful woman who looks perfect with flowers.’ Where’s your tact?”

Marilyn pouted and crossed her arms.

Fran never really calls me out on stuff like this, so it felt kinda fresh.

“You’re a beautiful woman who looks perf—”

“Never mind. Once it’s said, you can’t take it back.”

“Yeah, true.”

Especially for nobles—words carry serious weight. One careless sentence can ruin someone’s whole life.

Still though…

“Flowers, huh…”

“Yeah. Looking at them calms me down.”

“You’ve got a girly side too, huh.”

The moment those words left my mouth, she kicked me again—instantly.

I thought I was being tactful that time, but apparently I hit a nerve.

She glared at me with this intense, murderous side-eye.

“Girly…? I’m not like that. Don’t treat me like a kid.”

“Then what are you?”

“Flowers are beautiful, right?”

Marilyn said it while staring down at the bouquet in her hands.

“Flowers are beautiful. And they always wither eventually. Just like me.”

“That’s way too self-aware.”

“Are you seriously getting off on me kicking you?”

A fierce stare stabbed right through me.

Since we’re almost the same height, our eye level was super close—made it feel way more intense.

“Yeah, you’re right—we’re both beautiful in the same way.”

“…Y-yeah.”

There was a tiny pause. Then she quickly looked away, cheeks flushing just a bit,

“Hmph. Obviously. There’s no one more beautiful than me.”

With that, she marched right out of the shop.

“Hey, wait up.”

She’s been running me ragged all day.

I chased after her while thinking that. When I caught up, she was facing away, looking kinda embarrassed.

Her gaze was fixed on the distant mountains. Parts of them were dusted white, and little flowers were blooming all over the place.

――Snowdrops.

She just stood there, staring blankly at the view.

“You like them?”

“Yeah. They look just like me.”

“…Okay, maybe that self-awareness isn’t so over-the-top after all.”

Yeah, they actually do kinda match.

Graceful, pure white, and somehow fragile. If you ignore the nasty personality, they’re practically identical.

I ended up thinking that while comparing the flowers to her profile.