I, The Villainess, Will Seduce All The Heroines Instead-Chapter 38: The Major Villainess’ Introduction! (1)

The next morning, Verena woke up feeling like absolute garbage. Her body still felt sluggish, her limbs weighed down by the lingering effects of the system's penalty.

Even standing up felt like a personal offense to her dignity.

Still, she dragged herself through her morning routine, slapped on a tolerable expression, and made her way to class.

Classes were... well, classes.

Professors droned on about celestial alignments, magical fluctuations, and theoretical applications of Zodiacal Weaving.

Normally, Verena might have paid attention, if only to avoid embarrassing herself later.

But today, she was barely holding herself together.

Every time she shifted in her seat, her muscles protested like she had run a marathon in high heels.

She was just about ready to throw herself into the nearest bush for a midday nap when, out of nowhere, Evelyn approached her.

"Lady Verena," Evelyn said, hands clasped together with a surprising sense of urgency. "Would you... have lunch with me today? Outside? In the garden?"

It was surprising. Evelyn had never initiated an invitation before. At least, not with such a determined look in her eyes.

"Outside? You mean, like, in the sun? With nature?"

"Yes, with nature. I thought it might be nice to get some fresh air. You've been unwell..."

"You noticed?" Verena asked dryly.

"Well, you look like you're about to collapse, so yes,I just thought some peaceful surroundings might help."

Verena considered it. The cafeteria was too loud. Her room felt too suffocating. And if Evelyn was offering food, she wasn't about to refuse.

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"Fine," Verena sighed. "Let's go."

But the moment they stepped outside and made their way to the secluded garden benches, they encountered a complication.

Beatrice was already there.

The miss former ugly duckling was seated gracefully on one of the benches, reading a book while sipping tea from a porcelain cup. She looked up when she noticed them and smiled.

"Oh? Lady Verena, Lady Evelyn. What a coincidence. Are you here for lunch as well?"

Verena didn't miss the way Evelyn tensed up slightly beside her.

"Ah... yes," Evelyn answered politely, but there was an unmistakable stiffness in her tone. "We were just going to sit here."

"How wonderful!" Beatrice said, closing her book. "Then I shall join you!"

Before Verena could protest, Beatrice had already shifted to make room, gesturing for them to sit.

And so, lunch began.

It was awkward.

Verena sat between Evelyn, who kept stealing hesitant glances at her, and Beatrice, who seemed perfectly at ease, sipping her tea like she was judging a high-society function.

The silence was heavy.

Too heavy.

Evelyn fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve. "So, um... Lady Beatrice, how have your studies been?"

Beatrice smiled serenely. "Oh, quite engaging. The theoretical aspects of Zodiacal Weaving are fascinating, don't you think? Especially how some threads can be subtly manipulated through deep understanding rather than brute force."

Verena choked on her drink.

Evelyn glanced at her. "Are you alright, Lady Verena?"

"Perfectly fine," she coughed out. Subtly manipulated, huh? That was definitely a passive-aggressive way of saying she knew about Verena's recent magical antics.

"Well, well, well."

A honeyed voice dripped with condescension.

The major villainess, Princess Penelope, stood before them, flanked by her usual entourage of perfectly dressed sycophants. Her arms were crossed, her smile all polite venom.

"And here I was wondering where the filth in this academy had gathered."

Verena didn't even look up from her lunch. "Oh? You were lost?"

The lackeys gasped.

Penelope's eye twitched.

"You—"

She didn't finish. Instead, she reached for Evelyn's cup of tea and tipped it forward.

The liquid splashed onto Evelyn's lap. A perfect, cliché act of refined cruelty.

A classic move.

Too bad Verena was bored of classics.