Ignoring her death glare that bypassed the unsuspecting duke for some reason, I curled my lips and beamed at him with the puppy eyes nobody can resist. Duke Trevor stared at me, his eyes wide with fascination.

Could've sworn he flinched just now. Didn't he?

Has he detected Camiel's unusual behavior? Hmm... no, that shouldn't be the case. After all, in the original story-

Duke Trevor turned around. Camiel slowly turned her head to the side, upon making eye contact with Trevor. A single tear drop trickled down her cheek, and her lips trembled, suppressing a muffled sound.

A very effective method to seduce men. To be precise, in my novel, the possibility is 80 per cent.

There was an itch in my throat. Either I'm gonna laugh, or vomit, unless we leave in five minutes. For a backstory villainess, she sure packs the punch.

Trevor's gonna get caught in her deceit, no doubt.

With limited choice comes limitless possibilities! Time to bow down to your Creator, Cami!

I breathed in, held for three seconds and blew out all the accumulated snot from my nose (best attack weapon). Then, switched shoulders as soon as I'm done. Ah~ the perks of being a kid.

Duke Trevor flinched again. I only wrote him in paper. It's hard discerning the expressions of a cold handsome face. He must be shocked.

"You must be exhausted, young Miss. Please, allow me to hold you instead of the master." The honey mouthed Camiel began her solo theatrical.

"Nonsense!" Duke Trevor exclaimed. His eyebrow twitched. "Ria is a big girl now! There is no need for either of us to carry her. I am sure she will compose herself and return to her room soon."

Dude, you can't seriously be thinking of continuing once your daughter leaves, right? How deprived are you!

A tiny smirk instantaneously appeared and disappeared on Camiel's face.

"You wann me to weave, dada? (You want me to leave, daddy?)" I sobbed with my cute kitten-like eyes. "Dun wuv (Don't love) me no more?"

Hehehe~

"No, no, no. That isn't it." Trevor pleaded with his eyes, while I pretended to remain clueless of his intentions. His eyes locked with Camiel's once again. Sparks flew everywhere that reeked of a forest fire.

"The master is right, Miss. Surely, he thinks of you daily." Typical Camiel retort. Heh, so what you mean to say is, Duke Trevor is a very busy man, the likes of which my tiny brain is incapable of understanding and not only am I being a bother to him now, but also behaving like a miscreant, causing him to worry day and night.

"Yes, exactly. Your mother and I love you very much, dear."

Camiel's forced smile almost cracked.

"Yeah? Yeah?" I inquired merrily, gaining an unexpected advantage.

"Absolutely!" Trevor responded firmly.

Camiel slammed her wrist on the desk. The loud bang startled us.

"My ankle seems to have twisted. Perhaps it would be better if I left for now. Pardon this servant, young miss, master."

"Oh dear! Cami... - ahem! Are you hurt? Here, grab hold of my arm to find balance." Trevor volunteered.

"Yesh! Let's go to mommy! She has the best a-bal medchhinth (herbal medicines)!"

A true villainess is always the centre of attention. Ria is best known as 'a walking disaster'. Think you'll win against me, Cami?

With a solemn expression, Trevor took his hand back and Camiel got up by herself. She even did a little curtsey and walked towards the door.

Miracles do happen.

"Go'nigh, Ca,mi-e (Goodnight, Camiel)!" I waved, sounding sweet and innocent. She flinched, but did not turn around.

Hoho~ I wonder how the latest gossip will be like. I've only ever written about rumours in the royal palace, but this should be quite the delight! Let's see how low the bar goes as far as reputation is concerned.

Camiel's neck blushed pink from behind. I smiled at my father and hugged him. As the door creaked shut, I heard a low whisper from him, "Yes, good night."

Why is he so smitten with Camiel? Isn't Melane clearly better? Come to think of it, I never wrote any reason. This love triangle is only a BG-story Of! The! Villainess! It wasn't relevant to the main plot at all, so I bypassed it. Does that mean Camiel still holds the upper-hand?

"Daddy?" I titled my head, continuing to act cute and helpless.

"Right. Let's get you to your room now, shall we?"

While his face showed a vague smile and his expression seemed softer, there was no guarantee. I could only nod and grab onto his clothes. Tightly.

Time to initiate Emergency E.

-----

Hi Sweets~ 🤗

Been a long time! How have you all been?

So, I am resuming Author Villainess for now. Sorry for the constant delays... I apologize.

Anyway, I hope you are enjoying the story so far? Do share your opinions from time to time ♡ Makes me motivated! 😄

See ya soon~ 👋🏼