Reincarnation: I am the Villainess and Love Target?!

Chapter 11: Feeling

Vell and I usually communicated only when necessary, but ever since her magic test, she has been more talkative and expressive... Towards me at least. She's usually incredibly stone-faced whenever she's with me. Even now, as she observes me during my magic training, she never failed to give me a smile whenever our gazes met.

After a while, I saw her lost in contemplation, but then her face contorts into what looked like weariness. Thinking that perhaps she felt some kind of discomfort due to being in her second body - I, without much thought, asked her if she's well. However, once asked, her smile returned and she brushed my question aside by offering the drink that she was currently sipping on. I was stunned for a moment, but nonetheless obliged.

It would be a long while for me to realize that her previous behaviour towards me was due to my own incompetence as an older brother...

Resting my eyes from the blurring lines of a classical book, courtesy of my language teacher, I silently observed Velloa (in her second body) in the corner of my eye. Mother and Father had told me the results of her magical test, and while her high mana and water attribute was of no surprise, her dual affinity to the darkness element was. I've heard of what the Attribute of Light Sect has been saying about people of darkness affinity and it is admittedly quite concerning. Needless to say, I, of course, agreed to my parents to not say a word of Velloa's dual affinity to darkness.

After some time, having seen her attempt to reach for a book out of her reach for long enough, I placed a bookmark on the appropriate page and stood up to assist her. Standing just behind her, I reached out for the book she had been attempting to obtain. Glancing at the book's cover, I had just realized that it was a fictional children's story about a girl and a legendary water dragon.

Putting on a friendly smile, I handed her the book. "I liked this one when I was younger." I commented.

As she reached out for the book, she returned my smile. "Thank you, Brother. If you have time, can you please help me read this book?"

I hope it didn't show on my face, but her reaction took me by surprise. When was the last time she ever smiled and talked to me like that?

If it was the old Vell, she would be tearing up, ready to throw a fit – but that wasn't the case when I had declined to teach her magic before her instructor could even have a chance to meet her. In the first place, she had gone to me for such a request, when she would usually ask for such things from either Mother or one of the servants by her side. There's usually an outburst whenever things don't go her way, but now she simply pouts and comprises her request to a more reasonable one.

"Then could you please help me read instead, Brother?" She queries.

I couldn't help but sigh as her upturned, doe-like eyes met with mine. This seems to be a pattern of hers as of late. I was still wondering why she would be asking for my help, but it would seem that I have been obliged to grant her requests recently. They weren't ridiculous, usually, she would ask for me to help her do something somewhat outlandish, like teaching her how to ride a horse (by herself), but after declining, she would then ask for something more reasonable like asking if she could ride on a horse with me.

Aren't all these requests something her maid Ana could do for her?

Still, despite my thoughts, I agreed to her request.

With a small squeal of glee, she brought out a book that I didn't realize she had been holding and, with no hesitation, sat on my lap. Her recent behaviour would often leave me stunned and this moment was no exception. I was not getting used to Vell's behaviour at all, and so, perhaps noticing that I was taken aback, Vell turned her gaze to meet mine and gave me one of her innocent smiles.