I Favor the Villainess Oneshots

Worlds Apart (Request)

*This is a request by Puripuriguri. This may be a shorter chapter than usual, sorry!*

*Claire POV*

"Mistress Claire! I'm so sorry for being late, I got caught up with something!" My maid, Rae, exclaims, barging into the throne room, earning looks from my current guests.

"Insolent commoner, can't you see I'm busy speaking to sister? Please step outside while we're talking," I command.

"Ah, sorry darling- ah, I mean my lady!" She says, exiting the room.

"So that's you new head maid, huh? She seems interesting," Manaria states.

"Who, her? She isn't that... interesting..." I say, looking away to hide the obvious blush on my face.

"Hm... you sure about that?" She asks.

"Y-yes! Of course I am! Now, what were we talking about before we were interrupted?" I ask, trying to quickly change the subject.

"I think we just finished, actually. I should get going, we shall see each other another time," Manaria says, giving a quick bow.

"Oh, must you really? But there was so much more we could talk about!" I whine, but Manaria just shakes her head.

"We're both royalty, we have a lot we need to do... actually, one question before I depart," Sister says.

"What is it?" I ask, and I see her face suddenly get serious.

"Who is that girl to you?" She asks, shocking me. Why is she asking about her?

"Um... what girl?" I ask, trying my best to play dumb.

"You know who I'm asking about, that maid you sent away," Manaria states, clearly not buying my dumb act. Dammit, why is she asking about Rae?!

"Oh, that... commoner? J-Just a maid," I state, stuttering a tiny bit. Gah, why'd I have to stutter, she'll totally catch on at this rate!

"Just your maid, huh? Well, dear Claire, why were you blushing when she left?" She questions, pushing me further into a metaphorical corner here.

"You're simply imagining things, Sister... I wasn't blushing," I lie, hoping she'll buy it.

"Hmm... I know you're... no, never mind," Manaria begins saying, before she suddenly cuts off her train of thought. Oh god, she totally knows, doesn't she?! But how did she find out that quickly, over such a minor interaction?! If the people find out...

"Well, whether it's what I think it is or not, I just want you to know... please don't make the same mistake I did," She declares.

"What do you mean, Sister? What mistake did you make?" I ask concernedly.

"Why not ask your maid? It's rude to eavesdrop, you know," Manaria says out loud.

"Eek!" I hear blurt out from behind the door, as it's opened to reveal Rae listening to us.

"Look, I apologize for the eavesdropping, Princess Manaria, but I ensure you, whatever you think is going on between me and her isn't true. I'm her maid, that's it," Rae calmly explains. I mean, I know she's lying, but still... it kinda hurts hearing her say that. And oh no, Sister seems to have noticed the slight frown in my facial expression there.

"Just be careful, you two. The world won't always be as accepting as it should be," Sister says, before finally taking her leave. Rae closes the door behind her, it's finally just Rae and I, alone.

"She totally knows, doesn't she?" Rae asks, looking concerned.

"It seems she does... and she doesn't seem to be against us. But what did she mean when she told me not to repeat her mistake?" I ask Rae, and she just sighs.

"She had fallen in love with her maid, too... only difference is, her maid wasn't as into this as I am. She gave into her lust, and her maid abandoned her the day after. Then, to chase that high again, she started visited lesbian brothels. She tried her best to hide her identity, but it was only a matter of time before she got revealed," Rae explains.

"Those rumors about her were true? I can see why she doesn't want me following that path..." I state, and Rae nods her head.

"Yeah, I can see where she's coming from. But, I'm not leaving you, ever. We just have to keep us a secret until you're officially coronated, then, no one can tell you who to love," Rae states, as I get up and walk towards her.

"But that could take years, darling... I hate that we have to keep our love so secret," I whine, and she goofily pats my head in response.

"It won't be easy, Claire. But what we have is special. Just think about how sweet it'll be to finally be open and free about us. Also, as long as we don't get caught in any lesbian brothels, I'm sure we'll be fine," Rae jokes. Leave it to her to make a joke in such a serious conversation.

I chuckle a bit, then respond with, "that is true. But, I'm also worried about how easy it was for her to just figure us out. It seemed like she caught on to such a small detail," I admit, but she once again pats my head.

"It... might've been my fault. We had a conversation before she went to talk to you, and I didn't admit it or anything, but I feel like she was starting to get a bit suspicious even just from that. I think she just knows from experience what this looks like, I wouldn't worry about other people being as observant," Rae reassured me, and I ended up breathing a sigh of relief.

"You're right, as always. We've kept it this long, we cannot let this go," I say, a tear beginning to form in my eye.

"Claire? What's wrong, why're you crying?" Rae asks, using her hand to remove the tear from my cheek.

"I'm just... so happy that I have you. Everyone always leaves me at some point... so thank you for sticking by me," I tell her, causing her to pull me into a hug.

"Of course, I'll always be with you. Even if the world hates us, I'll always be at your side. I love you Claire, I always will," Rae soothes, petting my hair as we embrace.

We stay like that for a few minutes, until there's a knock at my door.

"Well, it seems we need to get back to work," I say, and we separate for the time being. But I can smile, knowing that this will only be temporary. Rae will always be at my side, and the world can do nothing to stop our love.