Volume 1 Chapter 8 Mean Villainess, Counseling
By the time I got used to school, I was feeling stuck.
I couldn't find anyone to show me the Attack Magic textbook.
By getting close to Rudger, I seemed to have succeeded in creating the impression that nobles could talk to commoners, so I was less likely to be avoided.
However, we weren't close enough for me to ask to see the textbook.
It's hard to make friends with classmates.
Why is that?
One day after school, I was asked by the Healing Magic teacher to carry some used materials to the storage room.
If I was nice to the teacher, they would tell me the content of the textbooks I was studying for prep faster than what we learned in class.
So I never turned down the teacher's requests, even though I was the daughter of Count.
"That should do it."
I arranged the materials on the shelf in the storage room and took a breath.
Since it was a decent amount of labor, I thought about taking a break, but I had come without telling Rolus, so I would end up making him wait.
Well, Rolus has been raised to be a loyal servant, so he can wait patiently, but that doesn't mean I should make him wait.
Thinking about that, I considered the quickest route to the entrance where Rolus was waiting.
The school's building was a bit complicated, so taking the official route would take more time and be a hassle.
It should be fastest to go straight through the backyard, so I decided to cut through.
"Haah..."
When I stepped into the backyard, I heard a big sigh.
Apparently, someone was there.
I didn't expect to find anyone in the backyard after school, and I was a little startled by the sudden noise, making my shoulders shake slightly.
Looking around curiously, I quickly found the source of the sigh.
It was a boy sitting on the roots of a big tree, cradling his head and exuding an aura of despair.
Since he was holding his head, he probably didn't see my surprised expression.
But given this situation, should I say something or just ignore him? The fact that he was spilling out despair there obviously meant something was wrong.
However, given the location, it might be that he called a girl to confess his feelings but got rejected.
If that's the case, I wouldn't know what to say.
I thought it might be better to just leave without getting involved, but the moment I moved, the boy who had been holding his head up looked my way.
Our eyes met, and he had such a charming face that my guess about being rejected disappeared in an instant.
That was not a face that gets rejected.
His honey-colored hair danced gently in the wind, and his eyes were as stunningly blue as a clear sky on a sunny day, a real picture-perfect beauty.
Wow, that was definitely not a face for rejection.
"Well, so Sir Lorentz was here for personal training, huh?"
Since we had completely locked eyes, I thought it was strange to just walk away without saying anything, so I greeted him lightly, and he asked me if I could listen to him for a bit.
So, following his lead, I sat on a tree root and introduced myself a little.
His name was Lorentz Blanche.
He was the eldest son of the Marquis Blanche family.
He was a year above me in school.
If I remember correctly, there was only one son in the Blanche family, so he was the next Marquis.
When I asked why he was here with his head in his hands, he said he was troubled because his grades weren't improving as he hoped.
"I'm supposed to be doing personal training, but..."
Seeing his gloomy expression, things clearly weren't going well for him.
"They say focusing on studies at the academy should boost one's magical power..."
"Seems like you're struggling, huh?"
The pressure of being the heir to the Marquis family seems really strong.
When I asked about his current magical power, he said it was slightly above average, which is somewhere above yellow in classification.
It doesn't seem like a problem if it's not low, but his position doesn't allow for that.
In the noble world, magical power is an important status.
In a world where nobles are always comparing their status, having low magical power can lead to being looked down upon.
If he were a Viscount or Baron, it might be different, but with the Marquis family, that's serious.
I'm not very familiar with high society myself since I haven't debuted yet, but I believe there are about 4 Marquis families in this country.
If he were looked down upon, not only would his position weaken, but he could even be pushed down by other Marquis families.
Being the only son adds even more pressure.
There's no one else to take over, so he has no choice but to do his best.
"Well then, Sir Lorentz. Is it okay if I touch your body a little?"
At my sudden words, he seemed a bit taken aback, but once he realized he couldn't change the situation, he quietly nodded.
"Sir Lorentz, you're tensing your shoulders a bit too much. Please relax your shoulders and keep your back straight."
As I said this, I gently rubbed his shoulders and placed my hand in the middle of his back.
"Close your eyes softly and breathe in slowly through your nose and out through your mouth."
He obediently followed my instructions.
After taking 3 deep breaths, I spoke to him in a calming voice.
"Forget about the idea that you have to increase your magical power. There's no obligation to do so."
"But..."
He opened his eyes, looking at me with an anxious expression.
"Let's wish to increase it. The more you think you have to increase it, the more tension you'll feel in your body, and it will wear your mind out."
Basically, it's a story about accumulating stress.
If you're already feeling crushed by strong pressure and keep building up stress, you'll eventually become sick.
Honestly, his face currently doesn't look too good.
"Wishing, huh?"
"Yes. When you wish with positive words, it surprisingly comes true."
"Oh?"
"It seems that writing those positive words down on paper and reading them out loud is also effective. Write it down with your hands, see it with your eyes, read it with your mouth, and hear it with your ears. This way, you imprint it in your mind."
I remember hearing something like this in my past life, so I'm just passing it on.
"Interesting, I'll give it a try."
"Yes, please do. Also, the breathing technique I mentioned earlier was in a book as a method to increase magical power, so you might want to try it every day."
"There's a book like that?"
"It was in the library. I've been doing it every day recently too."
"So that means your magical power is..."
"It's a reddish-orange."
When I said that, Sir Lorentz seemed a bit downcast.
I felt guilty for not having a small amount.
"Rolus... no, my attendant's magical power was unbelievably blue, so I was trying things out together──Oh, right, Rolus!"
Remembering that I just said Rolus, I realized that I had been keeping him waiting!
I came here to take a shortcut, but I ended up staying far too long.
"I'm sorry, Sir Lorentz, but I have to go now!"
"Ah, thank you for listening, Ellie."
"It's no trouble at all! Oh, and I heard that before bed, if you close your eyes for about 30 minutes and think of good things that happened during the day, like how cute a cat was or how beautiful the sky looked, even small things are good, so please try it if you'd like!"
I said this and hurried towards Rolus.
* * *
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Rolus."
I approached Rolus, who had been patiently waiting by the entrance.
"I am your servant, lady."
"Ah, servant. I got delayed a bit because I was listening to a lost little lamb."
"A lamb?"
Rolus tilted his head curiously, and I whispered that it was nothing.
"Hey, servant, what snack do you want today?"
"Excuse me, lady, but I do not need snacks."
"Even a servant needs sugar. I want chocolate muffins and cheese soufflé, but I don't want to gain weight, so please eat half of it."
"..."
"Oh! You thought that was selfish, didn't you? Well, of course, I'm being mean. I could get 60 points for my meanness, right?"
"70 points."
"That's a high score!"
"However, since you are sharing snacks with your servant, I must deduct 90 points."
"I'm in the negative!!"
The path to becoming a mean villainess was still far away.
It's frustrating.
* * *
The next day, I happened to see Sir Lorentz on campus, and he looked brighter than when he was holding his head in his hands.
He seemed to be in better spirits, which was great.
I quietly hoped in my heart that he could defeat stress and pressure using the self-suggestion and mental strengthening techniques I taught him.
At that time, I never thought that this fake counseling would later change the lives of several people.
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