Hey my Sweets! (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ

I was thinking of starting a discord, as I love the thought of interacting with all of you! If I start a discord, there you will be able to get sneak peaks of a chapter before it is released and other fun stuff. Lemme know if you all like the idea of a discord, if enough of you like it then I will release the link on my page. (͡ ͡° ͜ つ ͡͡°)

Thank you all for reading Lovely Villainess! Please don't forget to Like, comment, and follow for more updates!  (•◡•) /

~Sweetpea

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I woke up to Chrysta bringing me breakfast in bed. I'm not going to lie, it feels wonderful to wake up and not have to head to work. Once I finished eating and had Chrysta clean up, a knock came from the door.

-Knock-Knock-

"Come in." I said warmly, as I was in a good mood. Maverick came in and bowed not looking up as I was still in my night clothes.

"The interior designer you asked for, will be here after lunch." As he said this I got excited.

"Thank you. Gather a list of people I can hire as staff. I need a cook, and office worker to handle the paperwork. They all need to be commoners. Once you give me the list I will conduct interviews." I was glad that I had Maverick to help me, I wouldn't know what to do without him.

"Yes, young miss." Maverick took his leave once I waved my hand to dismiss him.

As soon as I dismissed him I called in Chrysta to help me get ready for the day. As I was getting ready I thought of the dreams I have been having recently. They were all heart wrenching, I cannot make myself see her as a villainess anymore.

Shaking my thoughts off I look at myself in the mirror. I wore a light pink dress with my hair down, showing off my thin frame. Although my frame was thin, I wasn't too pleased with it. It was hard to gain weight with this sickly body.

Time flew by and the meeting with the interior designer came. It was a lady who specialized in decorating inns and also decorated the villa for the duke.

We quickly came up with a design plan. We decorated all the rooms neutral so the rooms could be used by any gender. We made the plans for a lab, green house, office, dining room, and kitchen. I left all the work of ordering and moving to her and Maverick.

I couldn't contain my smile all through out the day, the orphanage made me excited because it was the only thing I was doing out of pure joy. Everything else I have been doing so far it out of survival. Life has been tedious ever since feeling like my life is on edge, but this makes it all worth it.

***

A few days passed, I continued to have dreams of Alina's past. I chose not to think of the memories as they were too sad.

Maverick finished making a list of employees that I could hire to run the orphanage while I wasn't present. I went through the list an chose the most suitable ones to have an inter view with.

"Now, Mrs. Ren, it says here you cooked for a Chain tavern throughout the empire." I said with a warm voice but in a serious tone.

"Yes miss, I've worked as a cook for 10 years now. I saw the orphanage and thought that this was my calling to help children." She said with a wistful smile on her face. I loved how genuine she was, she gave up a well paid job for a simple one like this.

"I think your perfect for the job. I look forward to working with you." I said with a beaming smile.

I continued each interview smoothly and ended up choosing Mrs. Ren as a cook, Mrs. Burk as a maid, Mrs. Glen as the director handling office work, and Miss Tammy as a teacher. All I needed to do now was collect orphans from the slums and talk to Odin. I had everything ready for him to work in.

The only catch was that I was going to present myself as a rich commoner starting a non-profit organization. I knew he would never work for me if he knew I was a noble, because if other nobles figured out that he was working for me he would receive an endless onslaught of offers and threats from nobles.

I called Chrysta in after finishing all of my interviews.

"Prepare me an outfit a rich commoner would wear for me and my guards. Tell Maverick to call a carriage for me to go out." I said while sipping on my tea, to wet my dry lips.

"Yes young miss." Chrysta quickly left with a bow. She soon came back with a commoners dress, and helped me get ready. It was a simple grey dress, with a blue bow tying my hair into a simple bun.

I quickly made my way to the carriage leaving Chrysta behind as I didn't wish for her to know what I was doing. We quickly set off once I had gotten in the carriage. I watched the scenery pass me by through the window until we arrived in the city. I got up to the sliding window where I could speak to the driver.

"Take me to Odin Cushburts residence." I said once I opened the window.

"Yes young miss." The driver said gruffly.

I sat back watching all of the people walking through the city, going about their everyday life.

'They don't even know they're all apart of a novel.' I couldn't help but feel pity for them all, their lives were being tossed around by a mere book. My pity soon turned to an unexplained guilt as I thought of the original Alina. I knew I wasn't to blame for her fate but I felt guilt for the way her life was controlled by a book and how it made her into a villainess when all she needed was a helping hand.

I was snapped out of my thoughts once the carriage stopped. I got out while being escorted by my knights, they were different from when I last went out. I guess it had to do with Casper, I suspected they were his men. We walked a trail for a minute before arriving at a cottage.

It really was a beautiful scene, the pure green nature surrounding the cottage as if protecting it. The cottage looked warm and inviting with ivy growing up it's walls showing it has been long been built.

I slowly made my way toward the door once I snapped out of my daze. I calmed my mind while strengthening my resolve.

-Knock-Knock-

I knocked lightly, and waited as I heard a scuffling inside the house. The door slowly opened to show an intelligent looking man. I could tell who it was as soon as I saw him.

"Mr. Oden." I said while giving my biggest smile.