The Beautiful Villainess
Time had flown by swiftly.
By the time three months had passed since Esika had been questioned at the imperial palace, she was deep in her qi circulation and breathing exercises.
Thick beads of sweat poured down her skin.
Cracking sounds began to echo from her bones.
Her body was transforming into a form even more suited for martial cultivation.
It was not the kind of change that would make her grow tall and imposing like a man.
Although she had never been plump to begin with, the transformation was one of refinement—her internal bones shifting and her body’s lines becoming smoother and more graceful with every movement.
Normally, reaching the realm of Hua Jing or Extreme Demon would trigger a complete body reconstruction at the Sword Master level here.
Yet even though Esika had not yet attained that threshold, she was using her internal energy to reshape the pathways of qi and the very structure of her body on her own.
From the form she had once possessed—one far removed from cultivation—to one perfectly suited for absorbing internal energy.
And when the process was complete, she finished the task by circulating her qi through her meridians.
“I’ve regained roughly a third of my internal energy so far,”
Esika smiled contentedly as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror.
Her skin had taken on the softness of a young girl’s, and her body’s curves had become even more fluid and alluring.
She felt she could move with greater agility now.
She would no longer be able to match even the average knight in skill.
“But the road ahead is still long. The water in the empty bottle is filling up, so the rate of progress will inevitably slow.”
In her previous life, she had experienced a true body reconstruction at the very beginning of the Extreme Demon realm.
With the help of the infamous Demon Cult leader who had become the successor to the Heavenly Demon Cult, she had long since reached that pinnacle.
If she were here… she would be the only person she could truly trust.
She thought this with a bitter smile.
“Ma’am, I am entering.”
Sella opened the door, tray in hand, and stepped into Esika’s room.
But the moment she saw Esika, she dropped the tray in shock.
“……Ma’am?”
She had nearly failed to recognize her.
After all, the once-bewitching Duchess who had radiated the aura of a mature woman had changed so dramatically that it was believable even if she were in her early twenties.
Of course, her feminine charm had not vanished.
Early twenties was the prime marriageable age for noble ladies—fresh as the blooming flower of society.
The bewitching atmosphere had lessened slightly, yet she still carried an elegant, almost mysterious grace.
“What on earth happened?”
Her once-knee-length hair now reached her hips.
And the dress she wore was soaked through with something dark.
“Was it because of that meditation?”
Esika had performed qi circulation and breathing exercises twice a day.
To Sella, who did not understand the concept, she had explained it as meditation for organizing one’s thoughts.
“Yes. Today was a bit special.”
“Truly amazing. I knew your skin had improved, but to change like this… You look more radiant than when you first arrived here three years ago.”
Esika nodded.
“If you wish, I can teach you as well.”
“Really? You must teach me next time.”
She had grown quite fond of Sella.
She decided she should teach her the basics of qi accumulation and self-defense at least for her sake.
“In any case, ma’am, your clothes are soaked.
I will bring fresh garments for you to change into.”
***
Sella had combed her hair, and Esika, now wearing a fresh outfit, made her way to the Duchess’s quarters.
Today, catalogs and fabric samples of the new dresses newly launched from Robelia Dress Shop had arrived.
Of course, she had no interest, but Leona had insisted on going with her to see the dresses.
Since there was no need to refuse this time, she accepted the invitation.
Rejecting Calian’s dress gift beforehand had been deliberate—to provoke her.
Once the rejection was known, she would be furious at herself for attempting to harm Leona at the tea time.
While planting seeds of doubt in her relationship with Leona and revealing the truth, the wedge would sink even deeper and stronger.
The plan had gone exactly as she had anticipated.
Yet the mother-daughter bond still had not cracked enough.
Upon entering the Duchess’s room, Leona was already seated in the chair.
The shop owner greeted Esika with a startled expression.
“Duchess, what an honor.”
“The same to you.”
“I recall the dress fitting before your marriage… You are even more beautiful than then… I am astonished.”
Esika offered a faint smile at the shop owner’s tactless praise and nodded.
“How have you been sleeping, Mother?”
“What… It was fine.
Sit down.”
Following the Duchess’s words, Esika took the seat beside her.
Leona’s gaze was not as fierce as if she were aware of others, yet her eyes remained cold.
“This dress features details that are rare even in places like Prihatz.
Even if you did not learn noble etiquette while growing up without a mother, choosing a Robelia dress ensures you can manage the basics.”
A calm voice hiding a sharp blade.
If it had been Esika from before, she would have lowered her head with a sad expression.
“But you are the Duchess of the Klaus Duchy.
Still, you must not dress shabbily and lower your status.
Choose carefully.”
If she truly valued her status, she would not have been locked away in the storage room and ordered to wear maid clothes.
It was amusing enough to make her laugh.
Seeing Esika smile faintly despite the sharp tongue, Leona’s eyebrows twitched.
Esika accepted the catalog and examined the new dresses from Robelia Shop.
As expected, the designs were exquisite, befitting a shop popular in Turesian Empire.
“This is fabric made of Brinail silk.
Feel free to touch.”
From the side, the shop employees were explaining the fabric to the Duchess.
Leona watched them with interest and selected the dress.
The employees approached Leona familiarly to take her measurements.
A staff member then approached Esika as well.
“What do you like, ma’am?”
“This one seems the best.”
The gray dress had a simple design and the fabric was not rough.
There were no cumbersome laces.
“But… this is too basic of a design.
Are you certain?”
Esika had asked Hans to order clothes, and the ones she owned were mostly comfortable dresses.
“Yes.
This is the one I like the most.
The others… do not appeal to me.”
Leona looked at Esika as if ignoring her and lifted the corner of her mouth.
“She seems to be acting arrogantly these days, but her shallow mind still does not realize.”
It was clear she was thinking whatever she wanted from her expression.
And at that moment, the Duchess’s door opened.
“……Mother!”
Esika frowned slightly at the sight of Calian entering the room.
Calian had come here not knowing Esika was present and was visibly startled.
“Esika…”
“Duchess.
Mother.
What a surprise.”
Leona hid her cool smile and approached Calian with a surprised expression.
“I forgot that I was supposed to have tea time with the Duke today.”
“……Ah, it is fine.
Tea time can be anytime.
I simply… was worried about Mother…”
“You made the Duke worry again.”
Seeing Leona raise her hand to stroke Calian’s cheek, Esika felt a surge of discomfort.
Forgetting about tea time with the Duke was absurd.
Leona had deliberately made Calian search for her and worry.
And in the mother’s room where she had come with a worried heart, the wife who was happily fitting dresses without knowing anything was there.
“It seems she was distracted by the thought of giving a pretty dress to Esika.”
An angel-like mother.
A considerate mother.
Leona had always been such a mother to Calian.
Calian spoke to Leona with warm eyes.
“I am truly fine.
We are enjoying time as in-laws, and rather, it seems you are interfering.”
And he slowly approached Esika.
Seeing Leona’s eyes cool down the moment Calian drew near, Esika wanted to laugh.
The son who does not want to be taken away,
The son who wants to sow discord with me,
Does he realize now that it is nothing to me?
Happy thoughts swirled in Esika’s mind.
“You were… choosing a dress?”
Calian’s voice approaching her was a bit stiff compared to when he spoke to Leona.
Because after the dinner the previous night, their relationship had become quite awkward.
“……Well…”
Esika gave Calian a faint smile.
When Calian stared at her and Esika smiled, he felt his heart skip a beat.
Heat rose to his face and his neck tingled.
“…You look a bit… different today.”
Esika’s fine eyebrows subtly twitched.
Thinking she did not understand his words, Calian said again.
Because he believed it was time to ease the awkward atmosphere.
“You look pretty.”
Esika felt good at Leona’s fierce glare without hiding her hostility.
So, smiling foolishly at Calian as if she were a silly woman, she asked.
“Really?
More than Mother?”