I Favor the Villainess 198

Papa’s Voice

※ This is seen from Lana Lahna’s point of view.

“Lana-san, you should probably think this through a bit more.”
“That’s right. Even if you do something like this, it might not necessarily turn out well, you know?”

The two children were speaking to me with their innocent voices.
One of them had a hairstyle that was like Rei-sensei’s, while the other had long hair that was similar to Claire-sensei’s.
These kids were Rei-sensei and Claire-sensei’s adopted daughters, Mei and Alea.

Out of the two of them, only Mei was wearing a type of necklace.
It was a magical tool used to seal magic, though.
As for why, it was because Mei was a quad-caster.
If she were to use her magic for real, it would’ve been dangerous for us.
Papa entrusted the tool to me so that I could put it on Mei.
Alea was also quite formidable with a sword, but she was just a powerless child without a weapon.
I was the one who deceived Rei-sensei and called the two of them out to find me.

There were no traces of despair on the faces of the two familiar kids in front of me.
That made me feel a bit annoyed.

“Aha, you two are quite relaxed, aren’t you? Do you even understand what kind of situation you’re in right now? You got kidnapped, you know?”

I said in an attempt to threaten them.
However, the two of them were calm and replied with,

“But I mean, you know…?”
“Yeah.”

The two of them faced each other.

“What is it?”
“Our mothers are definitely going to save us.”
“That’s why we’re not worried at all.”

The two of them said with a smile on their faces.
That really irritated me a lot.

“How do you know that for sure? Maybe they won’t bother coming at all.”
“Ehh, they’ll definitely come.”
“Yes, they’re definitely coming.”

The trust that they had in the two of them was unwavering.

“What’s with that unconditional trust? It’s disgusting.”
“Eh? Is it not the same with you and your mother and father, Lana-san?”
“When you find yourself in a troubling situation, would they not come and help you?”
“――!”

They asked with an innocent tone in their voices, devoid of any malicious intent. That was something that made my blood boil.
‘Maybe I should just kill them off right now,’ I thought to myself.

『Stop it, Lana. 』
『…… Papa. 』

When I was scolded by his peaceful voice, I reluctantly let go of the knife that I was clenching in my hands.
Papa―― Salas Lilium continued with a smile.

『Those kids are just being used as bait to lure Rei Taylor and Claire François out. You mustn’t kill them. 』
“…… Yeah, I’m sorry.”

Papa’s voice echoed through my mind.
It was a very comforting voice to hear.
Ahh, what a foolish thing I was trying to do.
Even though listening to Papa’s instructions was absolutely correct.

『Lana….. My cute Lana. Please listen to me carefully. I’ll tell you what to do from now on. 』
“…… Okay.”

Papa’s voice sounded just like a song.
Just listening to it made me feel like I was drunk on happiness.
I wish I could listen to it forever.
I want to follow this voice forever.

“Lana, is that person really your father?”
“Even though your father is telling you to do such terrible things?”

But there were bothersome noises that kept getting in the way of letting me hear his voice.
It was from the kids.
Their voices were really getting on my nerves.

『You two just don’t understand it. Parents are always right when it comes to their kids. There is no good or evil when it comes to that. 』

That’s right. That’s absolutely correct.
All I need to do is listen to Papa’s instructions.

“Ehh, is that really the case? I mean, Rei-okaasama makes all sorts of mistakes all the time, you know?”
“That’s right. She gets scolded by Claire-okaasama every day too, you know?”

The two of them said, sounding unsatisfied.
Annoying.
They were so annoying.

“Papa, you should let these kids hear your voice too. There’s no other way to shut them up.”

Since it’s Papa we’re talking about, he should be able to do something like that.
However, Papa shook his head sadly.

『These kids have some kind of special constitution. They won’t be able to hear my voice. And moreover――』

Papa paused to put his hand on my cheek before he continued.

『As long as I have you Lana, you’re all that I need. 』
“Papa…..”
『My dear Lana. If it’s you, I’m sure you’ll do a great job. You’re my masterpiece―― my adorable little doll. 』

―― His masterpiece.
Hearing that word reminded me of something.

“Isn’t Lily your masterpiece, Papa?”

I was being a bad girl for doubting Papa’s words.
But even so, Papa simply laughed and said,

『Lily is defective. You’re better than that girl, Lana. You are way, way more amazing than she will ever be. 』
“…… Yeah.”

That made me feel happy.
I couldn’t lose to Lily anymore.
Papa was looking at me properly now.
I’m sure if I did a good job here, I’m sure he’d……

I gently stroked my headband.
It was something really important to me.
It was a very important thing that Papa gave to me.
That’s why I’ll never take it off.
I could no longer hear Papa’s voice now.

“Hey, Lana. Who were you talking to just now?”
“That was my Papa.”
“Who is your Papa? There’s nobody here besides us.”
“What are you saying? Papa’s right here, isn’t he?”
“”?””

The two of them had a confused look on their faces.
Oh, how pitiful.
They couldn’t sense Papa’s presence at all.

“Papa is here too. He’s always with me. I can hear him…… And he can always hear me.”
“It’s fine, Lana. I’m sure that our mothers will come and save you too.”
“Yes. If it’s Rei-okaasama and Claire-okaasama, they’ll surely be able to do it.”
“Shut up.”

I didn’t want to hear that.
I don’t want to hear something like that.
Papa’s voice is the only thing that I want to listen to.
I mean, Papa is the only thing that I have.
And children that don’t listen to Papa’s instructions obediently are thrown away.

“Papa….. Just wait a little longer. I’ll show you. I can do it…… I can definitely do it…..!”

I wasn’t an unwanted child anymore.
I won’t lose to Lily either.
I mean, Papa said it too, didn’t he?
That I was his number one.
That’s why, I need to respond to Papa’s expectations.

At that moment, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching the building.

“Our mothers are here!”
“See, didn’t we tell you? They were definitely going to come and save us.”
“Didn’t I tell you two to shut up?”

I couldn’t stand the blind trust they had in the both of them.
It was frustrating.
Incredibly so.

But just why was I feeling so irritated anyway?

“Could it be that you’re actually just feeling jealous of us, Lana?”
“Maybe that’s why you look so sad right now?’

I could hear something snap and crackle.
But I chose to ignore it.

“Don’t say such stupid things. Who are you to say such――”
“But I feel so sorry for you, Lana. I don’t understand such difficult things, but somehow, I just feel so sad for you.”
“I think it’s very unfortunate that there’s nobody to scold you when you’re doing something bad.”

The snapping and crackling grew louder.
But even so, I kept on ignoring it.

『Lana….. They’re here. Just do everything according to the plan.』
“Yes, Papa.”

The door to the building opened, making a loud noise.
The first person to come in was―― Rei-sensei.

“I’ve been waiting, sensei.”

Now then, let’s get the party started!
And if I’m able to pull this off well, I’ll be praised by Papa.

So then, why do I feel like this?
Somehow, even before we did anything, I suddenly felt like things wouldn’t turn out well.

< Previous | Next >