Villainess Reform Project

Maids Must Endure

Ophelia has been quite joyful lately, although I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because of the nice weather recently. Her potted plants have been doing well.

Have I ever mentioned Ophie's potted plants? It's actually an adorable thing she's been doing. To make sure she had the feeling of home at the school, Lady Ysabelle sent some of Ophelia's favorite plants to the school for her to take care of. And you know what?

She's named them.

There's the aloe vera named Evangeline, the peace lily named Aggie, the bamboo named Mei, and the plant I don't know the species of named Elodie. Apparently Elodie, despite being the smallest plant, produces fruit. I haven't seen them yet but once I figure out what kind of fruit it produces I could make snacks with it.

I can still never get a chance to finish my conversation with Merlin, as Ophie seems to have made it her life's goal to never let me talk to him. I'm always off doing something and Merlin never gets a break so there's literally no way for us to ever converse. Which is fine, I guess. It's not like I don't have other people to talk to.

I actually have an abnormal amount of people to talk to. My roommates, Ophelia, Alexander, various teachers for some reason, the other servants that were brought in by other students.

Rather than having an abnormal amount of people to talk to, I believe that there's an abnormal amount of people wanting to talk to me.

It was another day at the academy, beginning to get colder and colder. Which meant that it was getting closer to the winter holidays, along with Ophelia's winter break. The winter holidays lasted for an entire month in this world, which meant that school was out for an entire month. Mother was quite excited to see me at home again for the holidays, mentioning that all the other servants were missing my presence as well.

I truly am a crowd favorite for whatever reason.

"Ava, what do you want for the Midwinter's Festival?" Ophelia questioned me, head slightly turning to look at me from her seat at the vanity. I was brushing her hair before bed as I often did, wanting to keep it as smooth and pretty as possible. The Midwinter's Festival was the Christmas of this world, although it had a different meaning in comparison to the Christmas I've known.

I let out a soft hum and continued to brush Ophelia's hair with a gentle hand. "What do I want? Hmm... I'm not sure. There's not much for me to wish for."

"There's nothing that you want?"

"Not that I can think of right now. What about Ophie? Is there anything that you want for the Midwinter's Festival?"

Ophelia looked at her reflection in the mirror for a bit, mulling over her thoughts before speaking again. "A miracle."

I paused in my brushing. "A miracle? Why a miracle?"

"You remember how we talked about the person I liked a while ago?"

"Yes. The dense person, correct?"

Ophelia laughed. "Yes, that person. I'd like a miracle so that they'd realize my feelings and their feelings as well."

"That's quite a wish for the Midwinter's Festival." I commented, placing the brush down on the vanity in its usual place before petting Ophelia's head. "It sounds a bit ambitious, but perhaps the Midwinter Queen will be able to grant it."

"I hope so." Ophelia sighed, standing up from her seat at the vanity and clinging onto my arm. "Ava, can you tell me the story about the Midwinter's Festival before I go to sleep?"