The Villainess With A Heroine Harem

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Although Noelle and Sam had already started spreading their wings in Carmen as best as they could, the information network they had established was still in its infancy.

If not for Ginny and Jasper, maybe they wouldn't have learned about the Nightingale clan's attack on the home minister at all.

Of course, in addition to utilizing these 'borrowed resources', Noelle was also able to redirect her 'spies' more efficiently after becoming aware of exactly what to look for and where.

"So what happened then?"

The girl on the other side of the screen sighed. "They're really doing their best to keep everyone in the dark about it, so there's no way to be sure. But since none of the members of the Nightingale clan's assault team have been spotted since, I think it should be safe to assume that they've either been detained or killed."

Emilia hummed thoughtfully. "I see… I didn't expect the Nightingale clan to make such a bold move against the government, but then again, I underestimated their decisiveness in cutting the Gray Wolfe off as well."

Although her thought process was somewhat justified given the history of the Nightingale clan's subservience under the Gray Wolfe and the government of Carmen, the crimson-haired girl knew that her opinions on the matter still needed to be reevaluated if she didn't want to mess up in the future.

She may not need to be familiar with the rules of movement of certain pieces on the board if she was just going to flip the board, but she still needed to be mindful of the ones that were pointy enough to poke someone in the eye when they went flying.

Emilia tapped her now somewhat childishly chubby chin in thought. "What about the ones that I beat up?"

Noelle coughed while resisting the urge to jump through the skin to pinch the crimson-haired girl's adorable face."Still in a coma, as far as I know."

"… I didn't even hit them that hard, you know?"

"Were you holding back?"

Emilia's sheepish grin told her all she needed to know. That being said, she had no sympathy for these people, despite their common 'origin'.

After all, if not for certain circumstances, Noelle knew that these people would be fully cooperating with Alexander's father to draw out Emilia's blood drop by drop.

The gray-haired girl shrugged. "I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you. The Nightingale clan right now must be in a deep conflict with the government and the Gray Wolfe both as they try to get their people out of trouble, which is great news for us, right?"

Although she had her own ideas, Emilia still nodded with a grin. "Right, I'll go tell Penny to stop arguing with the manager, then!"

Noelle rolled her eyes as she waved the 'little girl' goodbye, but her exasperated expression quickly turned frosty the moment the screen went dark. "Ancient and honorable fighting clan my ass… these people are no better than third-rate villains who use their strength to bully people unreasonably."

Before she came to Carmen, her opinion of the Nightingale clan hadn't been very good either, but that was mostly because of her own personal life experience based bias, and Noelle knew it.

Now, however, she was able to observe the exploitation and abuse of the weak by the strong firsthand, and the gray-haired girl couldn't help but feel a surge of rage in her veins.

For better or for worse, she shared blood with these people. And now that they were doing these kinds of things, it was impossible for her to not feel ashamed, especially since it was impossible to hide it from Emilia.

She knew that although her little boss often appeared carefree and easygoing, the girl was actually very sensitive when it came to certain things.

This could be seen from how meticulously she had arranged everything for the people in the Empire of Blue Dawn to the best of her ability, just to make sure they remained happy and safe.

Others may not know, but how could Noelle be unaware of just how popular her little boss was among the people of Blue Dawn?

It would be no exaggeration to say that if their will could be manifested into a weapon, it wouldn't take long for the empire to take over the world!

Plus, having personally enjoyed her loving embrace, Noelle knew just how gentle and kind Emilia's heart was deep down, no matter how naughty or disobedient the girl usually appeared.

Despite being abandoned by them, Noelle hadn't truly hated the Nightingales before. She did not feel the need for revenge against people who didn't even know she existed, nor did she have any plans to 'reform' them even if she had the chance.

After all, she had already convinced herself that their existence in her heart had the same weight as hers did in theirs… which was nonexistent.

Her so-called 'parents' who threw her away might as well die the next day and she wouldn't care.

Well, that wasn't true. Maybe she would feel something deep down, even Noelle couldn't be sure.

After all, it was impossible not to feel even a little wronged for being treated like this by the people who were supposed to be the ones who loved her the most while growing up.

But in exchange of the love of those so-called parents, hadn't she obtained the care of Sam's family, and even found someone like Emilia?

If it were to be considered a deal, Noelle believed she had only profited endlessly. If she still had regrets, wouldn't she be too greedy?

The only reason she still went along with Emilia's plan was because there was no way to sway the will of her little boss once she made up her mind about something, especially when it came to doing something involving one of her lovers.

Besides, even if she convinced herself to not care about the Nightingales, the same couldn't be said for Emilia. It was impossible for her to not feel anything when the gorgeous empress lowered herself to a disguised mascot, just to seek justice on her behalf.

Now, however…

'I know Emilia won't associate their misdeeds with me, but for my image in her heart to be even slightly stained by those unworthy worms… unforgivable!'

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━