Villainess Reform Project

The Young Miss Has Changed

It had been about a month since I protected Ophelia from the assassin and as expected, they didn't catch him. I had caught a terrible fever from my injury and been left bedridden for two weeks. It felt terrible, I was tempted to just die. Mother was so worried about me that she would cry herself to sleep and I felt absolutely more terrible than the fever made me. I had only recently gotten back to work with everyone else and Mother was even hesitant to start my training again since my body was still so weak, not to mention something else. Ever since the assassination attempt, Ophelia has been acting strange around me. Really different.

"Ava, why are you lifting such a heavy box?! Have another servant do that."

"Ava, come sit. I just received a cake for tea time. Chocolate, your favorite."

"You're so messy, Ava. Let me get that for you."

"Ava."

"Ava."

The worry was expected I suppose, but what truly worried me was the way she said it and the way she looked at me. Ophelia had begun to look at me with much more adoration than she did before the attack, dare I saw love. Then again, I saved her from an arrow that would've undoubtedly caused her great harm. Maybe it was Messiah Complex but towards me. I'd probably never know because Ophelia would become terrified when I brought up the assassination. I decided not to bring it up until she was more comfortable with what happened, or never. Whatever came first. As of current, there was only one thing weighing on my mind. How had the meeting with Floyd gone?

At the moment, I was standing by Ophelia's side waiting for any orders while she enjoyed her lunch out on the balcony connecting to her room. Her face was serene as she enjoyed a sip of tea from her favorite teacup. If I was to ask her, this was the very best time.

"Ophie, I've been meaning to ask you something." My voice held the perfect amount of curiosity and nervous temperament to get Ophelia's attention. In fact, the second I opened my mouth she was all eyes on me.

"Really? What do you want to know?"

"Well, I didn't get to accompany you with meeting your fiancè and I wanted to know how it went."

Ophelia's face went completely blank. "You mean Prince Floyd?" I nodded. "I suppose it went alright, but I spent the whole meeting worrying about you. Nothing he said was interesting anyway."

I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. I had changed the story! Ophelia wasn't obsessed with the prince, which left hin up to the picking of the protagonist for her harem. She could have him, never a good fit for my lovely Ophie in my opinion. Anyone who would throw away and kill such a devoted partner was no good in my opinion.

I must've been smiling up a storm without my knowledge because I felt Ophelia tug on my uniform sleeve. I finally snapped back into reality and looked at her. Ophelia had a breathtaking smile on her sweet face and I couldn't help but gush.

Mr.Truck or Car, I'm so glad you hit me! I would've never got to see such a pure and cherubic smile without you! Oh god, she's unbelievably cute! I'm getting cavities!

"Are you that happy that my fiancè was boring?"

"Oh no, I just thought about your eventual wedding. You'll look so beautiful in a white dress." The lie came out of my mouth easily, but I did mean everything about the dress. Ophelia would find someone wonderful to marry, someone who would love her just as much as she loved them. That thought made me incredibly happy, but Ophelia gave me a frown.

"What's the point of marriage? It doesn't seem very important to me." Ophelia mumbled, looking away from me.

"Marriage isn't for everyone, but society deems it necessary. My beliefs on marriage are very different from others but... I believe marriage is the binding of two people who are in love. Race, gender, even appearance don't matter as long as they're in love. One day I sincerely hope that" I paused "No. I know that Ophie will find someone she loves with all her heart and who loves her back, even if only for a short time. That's all I could ever wish for."