Transmigrated as the Villainess Fake Young Lady, Please Spare Me, Female Lead Sister - Volume 1 Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Fully Automated Favorability Reduction System

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Lavendia tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear and lowered her gaze to sip her red tea.

The tea was clear and transparent, gleaming like a ruby when sunlight shone through it, clearly no ordinary brew.

The tea’s aroma was richly bitter with a lingering aftertaste.

She hadn’t added sugar, wanting to taste the tea’s natural flavor.

With just one small sip, a warm sensation spread from her tongue throughout her body, the bitterness perfectly balanced, while a fragrant aroma lingered on her lips and tongue…

Her taste buds were actively expressing their enjoyment.

This was her first time tasting such excellent tea, but unfortunately, she couldn’t focus on fully enjoying it.

Lavendia gently set down her teacup and raised her eyes again, looking suspiciously at the young lady across the dining table.

It was the same pretty, delicate face, wearing the same overly elaborate dress that seemed too grand for her.

Looking at her appearance, not even a single hair had changed.

But for no apparent reason, something felt off.

To use a metaphor:

Just moments ago, she had thought this child’s eyes were like two clear pink-orange crystals, with sunlight shining on her golden twin-tails making her look like an exquisitely crafted doll…

Now those same eyes seemed more like the cold and fierce pupils of some magical beast, constantly plotting malicious schemes.

Stay calm, Lavendia.

Don’t let emotions sway you easily, try to think this through.

Everything was fine just before, but since entering the dining room, things suddenly became very strange.

How could someone’s aura change so dramatically in an instant?

Was she really plotting something?

Just as Lady Sophia had warned her at the door, would she make her move after breakfast?

Was this place… the trap she had prepared…

Could it be that even that slight feeling of goodwill I had towards her earlier was just being deceived by her facade, falling right into her scheme?

At this moment, Claire suddenly dropped her fork onto her plate, creating an especially jarring metallic clash.

Lavendia’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.

She frowned slightly, then regulated her breathing, trying hard to suppress this feeling of discomfort.

…For some reason, looking at her face now was particularly irritating.

But this feeling seemed different from the genuine hostility and killing intent she had faced before.

Claire, what exactly are you trying to do?

Without realizing it, Lavendia had already stopped using her knife and fork, completely losing interest in breakfast.

Her expression blank, eyes slightly narrowed, she stared directly at Claire’s face, her gaze cold and sharp as a knife, as if trying to dig out the hidden schemes within.

(Staring)

(Staring…)

The proud noble young lady felt this almost tangible gaze.

She leisurely raised her head from her dessert, the corner of her mouth lifting in what seemed like a challenging smile.

A small piece of blood-red strawberry jam clung to her lower lip, crystalline in appearance, but not at all pleasant to look at.

Rather, it made her look like a vampire who had just finished drinking blood.

“Is there something you need?”

“— Sis… Sister?”

Lavendia felt an terrifying, ice-cold pressure like a mountain emanating from the young lady before her.

Her voice carried a thick tone of mockery, and this sarcastic “sister” seemed to contain countless underlying messages.

“You bastard from who knows where, with blood mixed with who knows what, how dare you sit at the same table as me?”

“I’m doing you a favor by calling you sister, don’t tell me you really think you’re a noble? No way, no way, surely no one could be so shameless?”

“Low-class, small fry, small fry~! Get out of my house already!”

…

It must be an auditory hallucination.

Lavendia irritably shook her head, trying to chase these strange delusions from her mind.

Whatever Claire was planning to do.

Before she takes any actual action, I just need to stay put.

…Wait.

Lavendia’s gaze toward Claire carried a hint of wariness.

Could it be… she’s trying to provoke me into making the first move?

If I really let her get to me and do something to her, or let her lead me along, that would be falling into her trap!

Once I make a move against her, Duke Grendel’s fragile trust in me would be completely shattered… is this her way of securing her own position?

Claire…!

Thinking of this, Lavendia became more irritated. She took a deep breath and forced herself to lower her head, focusing on the food on her plate.

However, her dining knife still uncontrollably made scratching sounds against her meat.

——————————

Claire was panicking.

Very panicked.

So panicked she was about to faint.

Because from just a moment ago, Lavendia had been looking her up and down with eyes like she was looking at garbage, and the favorability rating above her head was fluctuating between -40 and -60. Each fluctuation made her heart race once, and now she was so scared she felt dizzy and lightheaded, feeling like she might die from heart palpitations.

She struggled to maintain a polite smile, mechanically spreading strawberry jam on her bread, then tremblingly stuffed it into her mouth.

Inside, she was crying and frantically calling for help.

“H-help! System sir! I’m going to die!!”

However, the System’s tone somehow seemed a bit gleeful about her misfortune.

『Host is very healthy, Host doesn’t need to worry, you won’t die, hehe.』

“What do you mean hehe! Lavendia’s favorability is already dropping to -60! What… what kind of level is this?”

『Oh, that’s enemy level, right? The kind of enemy who would hire assassins?』

Claire almost choked on her bread.

So that’s why she’s cutting meat so forcefully, she’s considering hiring someone to kill me!

Haha, I’m done for!

Nothing good ever comes from listening to the System!

Originally wanting to lower Anna’s favorability, who knew Anna would actually like this kind of thing? Right now she’s standing guard at the door with a “my lady I knew I followed the right person” expression, cackling evilly, her favorability increasing instead of decreasing…!

And as for the ordinary maids around…

Claire looked around tearfully.

Except for Anna, everyone either kept their heads lowered, hid behind pillars, or took the chance to run and hide in the back kitchen, afraid to make eye contact with her.

Looking at the favorability ratings above these maids’ heads again, alas, they had basically all dropped into negative numbers.

Claire was immediately overcome with grief.

On her second day after transmigrating to another world, carefully trying to survive in the cracks, but before the main storyline could progress much, she had already alienated everyone.

The female protagonist’s favorability had just increased a tiny bit, only to be reset to square one by her…

She could already see that execution stake waving at her outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

Oh, and while waving it was also making the same evil cackle as Anna.

“No, no…”

“I haven’t done anything, don’t hate me!”

The System enthusiastically added fuel to the fire: 『What is Host saying, how can you follow the villainess route without being hated? Host shouldn’t struggle internally, you need the courage to be hated!』

Claire was speechless.

She angrily ate a spoonful of milk pudding.

Wuwu, it’s delicious.

Since it only lasts 10 minutes, just do nothing and normally eat breakfast for ten minutes…

『Really don’t want to experience another ten minutes, Host? Isn’t it exciting to feel feared by everyone, Host?』

『Look at this female protagonist, she’s such a loser, she must be thinking “Claire, you’re really not as simple as you appear”…』

“I am exactly as simple as I appear!”

Claire wanted to cry but had no tears, biting her fork and making an Er Kang hand gesture in her heart.

“Don’t hate me, sister!”

She channeled her grief and fear into appetite, and under Lavendia’s cold gaze, she stubbornly finished the milk pudding.

It was really delicious.

Just as she let out a soft breath and put the empty plate aside, Lavendia suddenly reached out and pushed her own milk pudding towards Claire.

Claire trembled.

Lavendia’s face was like frost as she said word by word:

“Eat, little sister.”

This was not an ordinary morning in the Grendel household.

In the warm morning sunlight, at opposite sides of the pristine dining table sat two princess-like young ladies.

The petite and lovely blonde girl rested her chin on her hands, her fingertips crimson, the corner of her mouth carrying a malicious cold smile.

Across from her, like an ice mountain, the silver-haired beauty with a high ponytail met her gaze without servility or arrogance, her purple eyes covered with a thin layer of frost, seeming both guarded and looking down from above.

The System summarized: 『You both seem to think the other is very scary.』

『Host, only one minute left on the experience card, take this chance to say something fitting a villainess’s character, reinforce your image?』

『It’s a rare opportunity, since we’re already here—』

Claire (Villainess Mode) curved her lips craftily and said sweetly:

“Thank you, sister.”

“Sister is so understanding~”