The Villainess has Shattered

Scene 3

"Performance number..." Odette exclaimed, surprised. Her legs began to shake.
"No, no, Odette. It said number one. So you have several attempts. But what's changed?"

Odette thought. In each and every rehearsal, nothing had changed. She returned to Act 1. Back to the same chair. Ever since the acts first began.

She paced back and forth, her panicked state causing a surge of power to leak from within her. Odette remained unaware of this until the clinking of glass could be heard.

Waking up from her thoughts, she looked at the small hand mirror near her, the glass having cracked from the centre outwards.

"How? I'm sure I was in control. I wouldn't make a mistake." She pondered. Though she had previously destroyed all the glass in her room, that time she actually chose to allow her power to leak to relieve stress.

"My powers were already unstable, but this shouldn't cause me to leak any ether." Odette tried to calm her and suppress any ether. The sharp surge of power slowly diminished. "This doesn't happen so early in the rehearsals."

'Does that mean that I'll become it sooner?' She thought.

"I need to figure out what has changed... later." She stated this as she turned to the cooling food the maids had brought her. The food wasn't anything fancy but merely the same food the servants ate. Though not ideal for her status, she had long since stopped caring. Complaining never helped.

After finishing her meal, Odette rolled into bed and laid her head on a mildly soft pillow.
——
[In Duke Sopher's Office]

The gentleman sat in his office reading documents needed for approval, yet his mind wandered.

'What happened to that girl?' He thought. His mind was truly confused, as he felt like something had changed about her.

"Hey! Wallace, come in!" The duke commanded as the butler who alerted him to Odette's situation walked in and gave him a polite bow.
"You have finished asking the staff about Odette, right? Has anything changed?"

"Sir, I believe it's too early to notice a change."

"Then how is she usually? I'm aware of the tantrums. What about her frequenting the library? Or going out?" The Duke rapidly inquired.

"Sir, what brought about this change? This is sudden. You have never shown interest in the girl before." The butler questioned him, as caring for the girl was extremely unlike him.

"It's just that..."

~~~***~~~

[Before the Duke left Odette's room]

"Who... What are you?" The Duke asked with a slight trepidation in his voice as he looked at the girl. An incomprehensible and sharp feeling washed over him as he sensed an uncomfortable aura emanating from her.

Odette just looked up to meet his eye. Her gaze was empty yet filled with anger and annoyance.

"Who am I? Can you no longer recognise your own daughter?" Her listless voice slivered through the room.
"When last did you see me face-to-face? I should be 19, so has it been 3 years? No. 4, my debut was when I was 15, I think?"

She closed her weary eyes and continued to think, yet soon gave up.
"It truly doesn't matter. I barely remember you either."

The Duke was stunned to hear her cruel words. It's true he wasn't that close to her, but for her to say she barely remembers him was a surprise.

"Odette, that isn't something you should be saying to your father!" The rebuttal made no change in her demeanour; his words made him feel off.

"Father, do I have one?" Was all Odette replied with.

The Duke remained silent at those words for a while before walking away.

~~~***~~~

[Back in the Duke's Office]

"I feel like a lot has changed with her." The duke couldn't help but say. He began counting all the interactions he had with Odette, and he only needed two hands.

"Well, I can't say I'm particularly close to her either, but I know she seemed quieter. Though she just had a tantrum this morning, that's to be expected." Wallace replied, referring to the shattering of windows as an outburst.

"What about the other staff? What did they say about it?"

"They said similar things to me. None of us really know Miss Odette that well." The servant replied, giving the Duke confused looks like it was saying, 'Well, this is expected. What's wrong?'

The Duke heard those words before immediately looking up in even more confusion.
"Why doesn't anyone know? Shouldn't you and the others be around her enough to know?"

"I don't see how we could know her; our interactions with her are limited to just meals and such."

Hearing this, the Duke seemed shocked and appalled by it. Most aristocrats, even those who view commoners beneath them, would have an amicable relationship with at least one servant. The Duke was close with several servants, like Wallace; the same was true of the Duchess and his son.

"Why has no one been close with her?"

"Well, your Grace, it's because you didn't want us to be."

"What?!"

——

Within [A Garden of Jewels], the heroine faced several obstacles. Those jealous peers who deemed a commoner unworthy of being on the same level as them. Or those who coveted the attention showered upon her by men such as the sons of the Empire's four pillars and even the Crown Prince.

Though all those obstructions paled in comparison to the main antagonist, Odette Sopher, the illegitimate daughter of Sopher Duchy,.

Odette's malice was a huge problem, not due to her status but to her unbridled determination to harm the heroine and her friends. Yet when confronted with solutions, nothing satisfied her desire to watch others in pain.

Even going so far as to [REDACTED]

"She was truly a villainess, and the part I now have been playing..." Odette whispered as she turned around in bed.
"Over and over again for almost six centuries."

Slowly, she closed her eyes, wishing this painful dance would end and that the stage lights would go out. Hoping that she'll finally learn why she is here.
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[Soul Core Condensation: 1% Complete]