Living a Normal Life as a Villainess

Chapter 3: A New Friend

Catherine POV

A few days have gone by and some aspects of my life changed.

I started reading romance novels again although I wish there are visual novels in this timeline.

My past and present life have merged making it feel weird when I interact with other people.

Speaking of past life, wonder what happened to the student council. I felt sorry for them to suddenly leave them behind. Well, I'm sure on who is the replacement as the student council secretary. I hope they are doing well.

In my past life, I was a student council secretary. I was 5th place in my school so the teachers recommended me to participate in the student council. I participated in the student council elections out of curiosity and won the position of student council secretary. Apart from school events, there really isn't much for us to do in the student council. Storage checks, patrolling the hallways every break, budget reports...you know, pretty easy stuff to do. I also enjoyed my position because I don't like being put in the spotlight. I am glad that the president and vice-president always made the speeches and announcements while I write it for them.

I distanced myself away from my "acquaintances" because of their gossiping nature. I don't like people badmouthing others behind their back.

As I am reading my romance novels, a thought came to my mind

" I want a friend to talk to"

I want to discuss the romance novels I've read and recommend some to them. I also want to hang out with them and have fun. Maybe, they can even invite their own friends.

Unfortunately, it is difficult for me to find a noble friend.

Many nobles gossip and badmouth others even as small as the color of their hair. Because of this, I am scared about people knowing I read romance novels.

After coming up with a solution, I figured that I should just befriend a commoner. I was a commoner in my past life after all.

As I was walking the streets, I saw a bookstore and walked inside of it. I always read books that mother already bought so I don't always go to bookstores. But our servants told me that the books I have been reading are quite old and suggested that I should buy new ones.

As I was looking for books to buy, I saw a girl holding too much books as it was about to fall off. I ran to her but it was too late and the books start falling all over.

"Are you okay?" I questioned

"I'm okay. I'm sorry for troubling you." She answered

She looks about the same age as me. She has blue eyes and blue hair. She shows a shy and timid personality.

I helped her pick up her books and carried half of it.

"Sorry for troubling you. You can leave the books here." She stated

"It is better if I help you really." I answered.

After hesitating, she let me help carry her books and brought it in a carriage.

Her family must be influential like a merchant or a noble.

After putting it inside the carriage, she told me that she wants to hang out with me as thank you for helping her.

I told her she doesn't need to but she insisted so I oblige.

We went to a café and ordered.

At first, we had an awkward atmosphere because of our first social interaction with each other. But as I started talking about books, she eventually opened up.

I came to realize that we have a connection through books. In addition to novels, she also talked about dogs and how she wanted to own one.

Yay! I got a new friend!

As the sun sets, we realized that it is time for us to part ways. We scheduled a time and place for us to meet again.

Wait....

"Perhaps it is too late for me to ask but what is your name?"

I almost forgot to ask her name! We got so absorbed into our conversation that I forgot about it!

"Oh pardon me for not introducing myself. My name is Stella Sinclair."

"Oh don't worry about it. I also forgot about formalities. My name is Catherine Crocus."

Wait....

"Are you the daughter of the Duke of Sinclair?"

"Well yes but actually I just got adopted by them. I may be their daughter in paper but not in blood."

Her brother is a main love interest from the otome game!

Samuel Sinclair is the heir of the dukedom of Sinclair. He has black hair and eyes. Because of his past, he developed an inferiority complex and became distant with people including his adopted sister.
When he learned that Emily past him in ranking, he started to view her as a rival and after some interaction, he will eventually fall for her.

Stella Sinclair, the adopted daughter of the duke of Sinclair and Samuel's sister, became friends with Emily because of their shared connections and experiences. She became a wingwoman for Samuel and Emily as thanks for Emily helping her reconcile with her brother.

"Ms Catherine?"

Ah..

I got distracted to my thoughts that Stella got worried.

"I'm sorry Lady Stella for my rudeness. I'm just thinking if I can visit and hang out with you in your house sometimes."

"Thank you for your thought but I first need to ask my family if I can invite some people over."

"Thank you for your consideration. I'm sorry for being selfish but.... can we start calling each other's first names? If it's okay with you, Lady Stella."

"Of course. But I apologize if I need to take some time adjusting.... Catherine."

"Take as much time as you want....Stella."

As I said my goodbyes with Stella as she boarded her carriage, I also returned back to my house.

As I finished my dinner and prepared to go to bed, I thought about my next move after learning she is the duke's sister.

"Am I getting in the way of the story?"

In the game, I never became friends with Stella and gossiped about how unfit for a lady to be friends with a commoner.

I became friends with her so does that mean that Emily wouldn't be able to be with Samuel?

Wait...

The reason why Stella supported Emily and Samuel's relationship is because Emily helped Stella reconcile with her brother. And after learning about her just getting adopted, I can conclude that the problem about them being distant hasn't been solved yet.

I'm not trying to romance the duke's son! I just want to comfort her since she feels out of place because of sudden events that led to her becoming the duke's daughter.

Before I slept, I promised myself that I'll not accidentally trigger Samuel's route.