Reincarnated as the Villainess's attendant

"Wow, someone is clearly extremely biased. That man must be very important, right? Since, you know, you want me to help just him and all. Because that means it's okay if I keep the oxygen level low for everyone else in the castle, you know?"

"!!!"

Miriette, clearly in a bad mood over Zoemi rejecting her offer, turned towards Devios and declared while crossing her arms - and the unfortunate heir of the Perserios family became pale as a ghost when he could not see any signs of the dark-haired girl lying...

Even though he had no idea what oxygen was, it was self-explanatory that Miriette keeping them down was what was causing the officer next to him to have such heavy problems with breathing.

And apparently, it wasn't just him but everyone in the castle?!

"Don't worry. I know who is off-limits - no one whose death could bring me actual trouble would be affected~"

Miriette added, only fueling the actual fear brewing up in the younger boy's stomach.

What about the troops?

What about the staff?

"How can you do this?!"

Devios gasped in disbelief, gritting his teeth while glaring at the dark-haired girl.

"Because you and your underling dying right next to you do not want to make things go my way, obviously. You aren't all that bright, are you, kid?"

"!!!"

"...hhhhhyyy...!"

Miriette shrugged her shoulders dismissively while glancing at Zoemi to her side - the black-haired boy was completely calm, and silent but not because of worry or anything.

Devios, on the other hand, was taken aback and was about to respond to what exactly he thought about the dark-haired girl, but was interrupted by the affected man whizzing while attempting to inhale.

"..."

"..."

The younger boy looked at the black-haired one, but Zoemi was looking out of the window as if the whole situation did not affect him in the slightest way possible.

"...fine..."

With no other way except actually attack the dark-haired girl, the blue-haired boy lowered his head and muttered.

"What was that~?"

Miriette's face bloomed into the biggest of mocking smiles and she leaned forward, turning her left ear, towards the crestfallen boy.

"I said...!"

"I helped out with your little play, but you don't have to go that far, alright?"

Devios raised his head, about to shout that he agrees with Miriette's demands, but that was

the moment when Zoemi stepped between them and reached out to touch the dark-haired girl's face.

"Since when did you become such a good actress, Miri?"

"...huh...?"

The black-haired boy snickered, pinching the girl's cheeks, while the younger boy gasped in confusion at the comment.

"Little Air Emprerror, please show yourself and release that man. In that exact order, if you would."

Zoemi glanced over his shoulder at the boy and the man in the water bubble, and...

"..."

"What in the world?!"

Devios raised his voice and stepped back when the air around the recruitment officer's neck and legs turned vibrant green revealing the shape of a lengthy rope-like snake.

"Devios, deactivated your bubble or this little fellow will take all of your mana on their way out."

"...!"

Zoemi added, motioning at the vibrant green snake unwrapping itself from around the utterly terrified man.

"haaaaaa*

The younger boy did release his spell and the mana ended up making a sound like a person breathing out.

"Wait...! If that is the spell that was causing him to suffocate, then...!"

"If you are talking about Miri taking an entire castle hostage - then it is as you think. She lied."

As the spell slithered back to Miriette, Devios helped the officer up and pointed his index finger with accusation at Zoemi - who promptly nodded, making a lighthearted expression.

"But you already agreed to go along with my plan, so you better do just that or I will make those lies turn into truth really fast."

The dark-haired girl leaned to the side to show up from behind Zoemi and declared with certainty.

---------

*cling*

"He did that on purpose."

Miriette complained while flicking her finger against the rather blocky and uncomfortable-looking helmet.

She was in a room right next to ZOemi's chamber, sitting in front of a makeshift desk while the black-haired boy was standing behind her and brushing her hair like the good old times.

"You made a terrible first impression on him, so there you have it."

Her former attendant didn't have much to add in that regard, as it was easy enough to see that the girl was correct in her assumption.

The protective headgear still had the makings of a very quick and thorough cleaning, so it must have been literally pulled from some ancient stack after laying there around for years.

There even were a few spots that must have had a layer of rust scrubbed off and hurriedly patched up, giving the helmet an even worse look.

"Pshh...! He is an heir of a noble family. He should have taken the defeat with dignity and learned from his mistakes while looking up to my masterful deceit!"

The dark-haired girl scoffed, crossing her as she made a grumpy expression.

"Not to mention that it wasn't our first meeting – although it was the first time he actually experienced my personality as it is... hmph."

Miriette grumbled while glaring at the helmet with an ugly faceplate.

"Oh, I see. Still – you are at fault for not specifying anything about the helmet itself... All in all, if all it takes to make Devios feel like he broke even with you is a bit of malicious compliance, then I guess that it's not that bad."

"Not that bad... hmph... yeah, sure – that's because you aren't the one who will have to wear it all the time! It probably stinks too!"

The black-haired boy smiled refreshingly and nodded with approval – but that certainly didn't make the dark-haired girl feel any better.

The opposite, actually.

But, Zoemi did have a solution to that.

"Hey, Miri~?"

"Hmm?"

He called out in a soft voice which made her turn her head up to glance at him curiously.

*chu*

And as she was in such a position, e went ahead and kissed her forehead.

"..."

"Don't be mean to our allies, please."

As the dark-haired girl turned bright red and she closed her mouth bashfully, the black-haired asked gently while tilting his head to look into Miriette's eyes.