The Villainess Enjoys Her Seventh Life as a Free-Spirited Bride (hostage) in a Former Enemy Country

After returning to the castle and parting with Arnold, Rishe decided to take a hot bath before it got dark.

She washed off the seawater and sunscreen, and used her homemade soap to make her body glitter. She wasn’t afraid to bathe alone in the light.

After she left the bathroom with her hair completely dry, there was a knock at the door of the room she had been using as a study.

The maid, Elise, bowed politely as she entered the room.

“Rishe-sama, Chairman Tully has delivered the goods.”

“Thank you. What do you think of it, Elise?

“Oh…! Chairman Tully is amazing.”

Elise looked up and said, her eyes glittering in spite of her blank expression.

“I received exactly what I had hoped it would be. I was surprised that what I asked for in the morning arrived in the evening, but it was exactly what I requested…”

Rishe smiled at Elise’s reaction. She got up and decided to move.

She already agreed with the other party.

However, when Rishe visited the room, she reacted with a look of genuine surprise.

“Hello, Harriet-sama.”

“Ri-Ri-Rishe-sama!”

“Hey, are you all right?”

Harriet tried to get up in a panic, but her knee hit the table with a thud. When Rishe rushed over to her, Harriet apologized in a tearful voice.

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“Wh-Why are you here in my room?! I’m sorry you had to come all this way. My life is truly in vain…!”

“Oh, please calm down, Harriet-sama. I thought I had requested from the servants for some time with you in the evening…”

Rishe glanced up at the head maid and saw that she had neatly tied her hair up and had a crisp expression on her face.

“If we give her advance notice, Her Highness might fall unconscious from the strain of waiting.”

I-Indeed…

Rishe smiled wryly at the not-so-exaggerated sound of that.

“I’m sorry, but I really wanted to talk to Harriet-sama. ―― In addition, I also asked a favor from you, Head Maid.”

“Oh, I-I heard about t-t-that. Rishe-sama wants us to teach your maidservants about the work of Fabriana maids…”

The head maid nodded, looking prim with lowered eyes.

“I’m aware of it. It would be nice if I share my experiences with the girls who are still inexperienced――. I am still in the process of learning, but I will do my best to encourage them.”

“Thank you, Head Maid. My maids will be very happy to hear that.”

The maids had recently become accustomed to most of their work and were slowly learning to read.

Thanks to Dianna, their educator, who intensively taught them the words and letters used in their jobs, they were able to take simple notes about their work.

This made their learning more fun.

When Rishe asked who would like to hear what the head maid had to say, everyone raised their hands.

I would have wanted to hear the head maid’s teaching as well, but…

Rishe’s purpose was essentially different.

“I’ll get right to it then. ―― I’m sorry to leave you in charge, but please.”

“No problem, Head Maid.”

Elise, who was standing next to the door, nodded with a mysterious look on her face.

Once the head maid disappeared, the three of them were left in Harriet’s guest room.

“Rishe-sama, um…”

“Harriet-sama, is there anything you want right now?”

While asking, Rishe gently sat down on the couch.

It made Harriet even more nervous. However, Rishe waited calmly until Harriet eventually spoke.

“Um, I especially…”

Harriet started with a faint voice, and then she hurriedly finished her words.

“Um…! Garkhain is, um, a wonderful place, and the rooms are beautiful. In a sense where it’s a luxury to want more. I-I’m sorry…!! I really can’t find anything to talk about at times like this…”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not here for a conversation. I just really want to know.”

Harriet looked at Rishe in bewilderment.

“Harriet-sama, if you could have anything you wanted, anything at all, what would it be?”

“――Lots and lots of books.”

“!”

Her answer that reverberated all too clearly made Rishe’s eyes wide.

“I want so many books that I can read them and never finish them.”

“Harriet-sama…”

“But to ‘get’ more books than you can read and keep them all to yourself is just not right…I don’t want to keep a lot of books to myself. I want to share them with all the people who love books!”

Did she feel happy just by imagining it?

Harriet shared happily and looked to indulge in her fantasy.

I knew it.

Her appearance convinced Rishe.

I don’t believe that Harriet, who is here right now, would crush the national treasury for the sake of buying her own jewelry and dresses let her people suffer…Or without caring what happens next.

Then Rishe asked what she wanted to confirm.

“――Earlier, you mentioned about your facial features.”

“!!”

[If I show my face, His Majesty might terminate our engagement.]

She seemed to have kept her bangs long to hide her face.

“Did someone say something terrible to you, Harriet?”

“I-It was awful! He just stated the facts. They were nothing but facts…!”