Breakfast has gone smoothly without any problems.

The moment Donatella left her chambers to eat, Belladonna was left in charge of cleaning up after her– the pillows and messy sheets were soon carefully fixed into place, the washbasin and water were removed from the premises, laundry was collected, and the room dusted and swept.

Alongside this, Belladonna and the other maids would busy themselves in tidying up the manor, only eating breakfast once their masters had dined.

The moment the luncheon approaches, another set of preparations would ensue– but this time, the young maid is delegated to a different set of tasks:

“Bel, come here and look at this flower!”

“My lady, it’s a good flower.” Belladonna bowed gently as she looked at the small bloom.

Yes, most of her time after morning preparations were to be spent in accompanying her lady to whatever activity she wanted for the day.

In short, babysitting.

“My lady, please refrain from touching weird plants.” The young maid spoke, a hint of anxiety in her voice.

Sensing the anxiety in her voice, the young noble relented from touching the plant.

Even if Belladonna is the most unenthused, the noble lady knows that her maid’s special upbringing is not to be trifled with— her experience with dealing with the outside world is something Donatella valued.

Therefore, if the plant in front of her is something her maid is cautious about, then she’d be wise enough to listen to her.

In reality, Belladonna was simply terrified that Donatella was going to touch a weird plant. If the girl can be murdered by a murder of crows for touching a hairpin, then even a plant in the garden can become lethal to her lady.

Moreover, in one specific route of Lady Donatella’s Wonderful Life, specifically, the Crown Princess route,

Donatella recounts a time in her childhood where she touched a beautiful flower in their estate, which turned out to be a poisonous, invasive species that caused her to nearly die.

—this story would actually raise the Crown Prince’s interest in her. The game’s justification for this? Because no noble lady would have such a unique near death experience!

If that is the future king of our country, then it’s better to burn this country to the ground!

Belladonna bit her lip as she thought those words, forcing the anger down her throat to her stomach. Her previous life nearly vomited blood from that scene, and for good reason.

Even as a child, she’d find such a reasoning unpleasant— the lady nearly died and you found it mildly interesting?!

With this, the young maid kept it in her mind to tend to the garden with the gardener when the Lady is off to etiquette lessons or so. Even if she has to burn the garden to the ground, she’ll make sure no such thing would ever happen!

Donatella was about to retreat from touching the little plant on the ground when—

“Don’t touch it, Donatella. It’s poison.”

“Tch.”

Belladonna turned to her lady— was it her? Was it her who clicked her tongue in distaste as if she’d rather swallow poison than listen to that voice?

My lady, please don’t click your tongue.

The young maid closed her eyes. Her own mother doesn’t even let her click her tongue at anything, and she is considered a low-class woman. What more of a daughter of a noble?

Turning towards the owner of the voice, Belladonna was greeted by the sight of a young man with dark hair and blue eyes.

Villiars Brigandine,

Donatella’s older brother, and the heir to the Brigandine name.

As far as Belladonna remembers with her previous life’s memories, he does have a route— a platonic route where Donatella decides to stay at home instead of leaving to further her education.

One might think, this would have been the best route for someone as accident-prone as Donatella.

No, not really.

“You. Maidservant. You should take care of my sister more. What if she touches that plant? Answer me.” Villiars’ cold voice went in Belladonna’s ear and out the other.

The young maid sighed inwardly. According to her previous life’s memories of the game, Villiars’ route is taxing, as if a ball of metal is tied along your legs as you sink deeper into the water. An unpleasant experience that reminded her previous life, and in her opinion, the entire fanbase of the game of their own overbearing families that attempt to control every single aspect of their life– from their food, clothes, to the people they associate with.

The realism of such a character was so jarringly accurate to their overbearing family members that a few even noted that perhaps the developers have a certain experience with certain family members who possess Villiars’ key characteristics, down to the point that a good ending with him is just plainly, miserable.

Well, to summarize that paragraph into something more palatable, and perhaps understandable, Villiars’ is the epitome of a helicopter parent— well, brother.

He’s insufferable.

Villiars Brigandine was born ahead of Donatella by a year, he is the only son of the Brigandine family, so it was safe to say that he had it all: intelligence, physical prowess, riches, power, beauty—almost perfection.

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His fatal flaws being: he is bossy, insufferable and downright suffocating to be with.

As they say, God took a bite of every apple, but the bite He took from Villiars’ is just so damning that it made his existence absolutely insufferable to the point any synonym with insufferable just does not do his insufferability any justice.

“Are you even listening?!”

“Yes, My Lord. I apologize.” Belladonna answered blandly.

Simply talking to him is destroying every bit of me inside.

The young maid channeled every single iota of strength she has left into calming herself down, lest she breaks down and cries from the overbearing bastard of a brother in front of her as he chirped incessantly into their ears, polluting their hearing.

“You are as bland as your apology! Keep away— Donatella, take a walk with me!”

Donatella winced, and the young maid felt immensely sorry for her.

If Narcissus was as suffocating as this thing, I would have set him straight.

Belladonna quietly trotted a few meters behind them as they took their walk. The silence was something she appreciated— well, at least she can drone out Villiars’ annoying voice as he explained the genus and species of each plant in the estate, an information that Belladonna can use to eradicate any sort of poisonous specie in the garden, but the fact it’s Villiars who was talking just made the entire lesson unpalatable.

And from the looks of it, Donatella herself was having a torturous time as well.

The young maid struggled to keep a poker face, if her real feelings slip out, she would probably lose this job, and perhaps land an injury on the young nobleman.

Donatella’s current misery as she walked beside Villiars is just a preview of what awaits her if she does abide by her brother’s words and (unfortunately) choose the platonic route of being a good younger sister.

In short, she’ll end up caged in an estate that bores her to death.

Every suitor? Denied.

Every attempt at staving her boredom? Denied.

Friends? No need, they’ll betray you! Denied!

In the end, Lady Donatella withers away from boredom. If the player manages to maximize Villiars’ affection points, the bastard actually takes her out on a picnic every week, and that was it. The credits will roll and the player is left with the nasty aftertaste of sending a fellow sister-in-arms into a life of eternally being nitpicked and hounded by her overbearing brother.

As she organized her thoughts, Belladonna’s eyes twitched.

What is Donatella, a helpless animal that can’t live without its master?

This buffoon simply crippled her!!

While objectively, Villiars and Belladonna share the same goal of keeping the lady safe, it’s simply a rose-tinted way of keeping her in jail. What is wonderful in living a life next to an overbearing helicopter parent? Nothing! Nothing at all– such a life would suck out the soul from your body and grind it to dust!

Besides, if Donatella chooses this route, no doubt Villiars would be berating her service for the rest of her life, and she’ll have to listen to his annoying antics too.

I don’t think I have the strength to do that at all.

The young maid bit her lip as she focused her gaze onto the young nobleman’s back.

Older brother or not, you need to go.

All of a sudden, Belladonna met Villiar’s gaze. She underestimated a nobleman’s primitive instinct of knowing when someone is glaring at them with such bloodlust!

Nobles are rarely confrontational. They prefer to battle using their wits, especially politically savvy ones who master the art of coating their words with sugar to hide the poisonous meaning within.

Sure enough, they’re well-versed and much attuned to their surroundings, most especially when it comes to unbridled resentment and absolute loathing, just in case their opponent is one that will take their resentment to the next level and act upon it.

Oh no!

Belladonna froze on the spot as she attempted to recalibrate her expression into one filled with neutrality, but her distaste for Villiars overpowered her indomitable will to slip back into her neutral, bland stance. Desperate, she turns away to look at some foliage, pretending not to have looked at her young master with such blatant hatred that could have killed him, had looks possessed the power to murder.

H-He hasn’t noticed that I was glaring at him, hasn’t he?

The young maid thought madly as a bead of sweat trickled down her spine. Grudge for the overbearing treatment of his sister or not, Villiars’ is still part of the Brigandine family, and in turn, is a hand that feeds her, whether she likes it or not.

Suffice to say, he can still throw her out..

Belladonna tried to quell the panic in her heart, but the more she tries, the more fidgety her hands became as she tightly grasped them to prevent them from trembling. Hopefully, Villiars doesn’t take it to heart and throws her out.

However.

Villiars had completely come to a different conclusion.

Earlier, whilst Belladonna had intently expressed her distaste towards him with a murderous gaze, Villiars had been busy explaining the medicinal properties of one plant he and Donatella had come across.

It was his only way of showing himself off to be a reliable older brother that Donatella can always rely on– whether it’s botany or herbology, swordsmanship or even the arts, she can always rely on him, as it was his duty to be reliable!

“--Yes, when you boil this plant, you can…” He drawled out, pride radiating from his voice as he glanced at his sister, who seemed to be intently listening– she wasn’t, she was wondering what was for dinner instead.

“ –as such, Donatella, it’s important that you don’t touch the sap of this plant, nor ingest it–”

Donatella inwardly rolled her eyes. Was she too stupid in his eyes that she’ll put whatever herb or flower she finds in her mouth? Isn’t it common sense for every living person not to eat foliage? Was she the stupid one, or is Villiars’ stupidity has this infectious property that can infect everyone around him?

I wish Belladonna would shut him up..

Was what Donatella Brigandine thought as her brother drawled onto the medicinal properties of the next foliage they’ve seen. However, he suddenly stopped as he turned his entire body around to peer behind him–

A chill had rolled down Villiars’ spine as he felt murderous intent behind him, and instinctively, he had turned towards the source.

–the damned maid their parents brought home!

Her jewel-like lilac eyes glimmered with murderous intent. Her poise was perfect— hands clasping each other in front of her, not a single hair in her head was out of place, her uniform pristine—

But her glare was so demeaning that it was as if she was looking at something disgusting!

Does she dare look at Donatella this way?!

Villiars thought madly as he opened his mouth to reprimand her, to tell her that she has no right to glare at his sister like that—

Until their gazes met.

He was the one who was being glared at like a disgusting bug, but he didn’t miss the sight of Belladonna’s murderous expression becoming rather surprised instead as she broke away from their eye contact.

He was about to reprimand her— how dare a servant glare at their master like a beast to destroy? That’s just too much, isn’t that too unfair?!

Yes, Villiars was about to reprimand her until he saw the young girl’s hands clasp itself so tightly, her gaze averted, but he could not miss the slight tremble of her lips and her watery lilac eyes—

In that instant, the young nobleman had a revelation.

It can’t be!

Villiars gasped softly, much to Donatella’s puzzlement.

The gears in his head started turning, like clockwork, it shifted into overdrive– according to the entire household, Belladonna is expressionless. Almost doll-like, mechanical to a fault.

She never smiled, nor did she cry from the moment a few of their knights pulled her out of the carriage that held her and a few other prisoners off to be trafficked to some trader—

She didn’t flinch at the sight of blood around her, according to their steward.

Yet, her current expression betrayed a hint of humanity, breaking all sorts of rumors that she is just a doll in human flesh.

That expression, directed to him.

In that instant, the truth had become even moreso clear to him, as if the gods have revealed themselves to the young noble, and with that all the knowledge of the universe became available to the young Villiars, who had finally drawn out a conclusion he had thought most sound.

My God!

Belladonna fancies me!

—was what the young nobleman thought.