I Became the Bully that gets Avenged by The Academy

Chapter 5

Lucia's POV

After the academy reopened, Lucia was deeply troubled.

The crazy girl who had been bullying me suddenly became weird!

Well, she was weird before, too, but at least I thought she was just a crazy girl who only bullied me.

But after the academy reopened, she suddenly started paying for errands! She never paid for it before and even gave clothes as gifts!

Well, it's fortunate that unlike before, I no longer run out of money by mid-month from running errands, but still...

Still…

Something is weird!

Is it normal to give gifts to someone you're bullying?

Maybe this is everyday life for the rich and privileged?

Otherwise, there's no reason to suddenly buy me clothes, rings, and watches like this.

Something became weird.

She gave me money when I bought coffee for her errand like I normally do.

Maybe she saw something strange during the break? Something like that?

I thought she'd just quietly stay at the academy as usual, deliver coffee for that bitch's errands, and somehow get by, and that would be it. That's what I thought.

Until Isabella suddenly took me to the department store.

Getting in the car, passing through streets and places I'd never seen before,

We stopped in front of a tall department store, and she dressed me in various types of clothes, like changing a toy doll's clothes, saying it was a surprise. Clothes I'd never worn before,

Ah, no, I had worn such clothes when I was young. Yes, I had worn them.

I suddenly became depressed.

I became more depressed because I recalled painful memories.

The occasional memories from childhood and the contrasting present only made me more hurt, tired, and sad.

At times like this, it was best to just relieve stress or sleep.

But now in the academy, it wasn't a situation where I could do either.

Right. Since I didn't have a part-time job after classes today, the environment was good for relieving stress.

Let's do something at the karaoke or punch machine near home before going back.

Since she played a lot yesterday, that bitch probably won't ask to go somewhere today too.

***

Isabella's POV

I got muscle pain from walking around the department store too enthusiastically yesterday, buying things for Lucia.

But how do I get muscle pain in my legs just from walking around a department store a bit? Isn't this body too weak? Well, today, I don't particularly have anything to do besides moving around at the academy and to the car, so it's fine.

If I take Lucia somewhere today, too, I feel like the muscle pain will double, no, triple tomorrow, so I can't help it.

"Haa..."

When I have time later, I should try exercising or something.

The body is too weak to do anything.

But I can't find time to exercise.

Is this the inevitable fate of being a wealthy family's child?

But those stupid guys seem to have time to spare and nothing particular to do except heir training.

I started thinking maybe I just handle too many tasks.

Actually, isn't that right?

Isn't it rather strange to ask a child in their early 20s for a consultation about company management and have them go around affiliated companies directly for their training to see what kind of work they do?

An academy student in their early 20s would just be a university student in my previous life.

Well, I wasn't rich in my previous life, and I wasn't interested in wealthy people, so I don't know that much.

Anyway, the point is there's a lot of work.

Someday, I should ask my father to reduce it so I can focus on the academy.

After that, I spent the day as usual. After arriving at the mansion and confirming from the servants that Father was present, I stood in front of Father's study.

*Knock knock*

"Father, may I come in?"

"Yes."

Opening the door revealed countless bookshelves full of books, a table made of what looked like luxury wood, and Father sitting processing documents.

"Father, please reduce my work."

When I said that, Father took his eyes off the documents and met my eyes.

"What do you mean by that, Bella? Asking to reduce your work."

"I just want to focus on the academy for a while. I have other things to do, too."

"Hmm.. you mean you want to reduce heir training-related work? But as White family's only daughter, heir training is something you must receive."

"I'll take the training, but at least remove things like visiting affiliated companies to learn work or spending time on management consultation. I'm not saying I won't do it at all, I just have something I need to do for now, and I'll start again when it's more manageable."

"What kind of matter makes you want to reduce work that much?"

"Um... it's nothing special, um... but really, it's not a serious matter."

"Well, if you say so, I suppose that's how it is. Alright. I'll reduce your training until you're ready for it again."

"Yes, thank you."

Phew... with this, time invested in daily tasks will decrease and I can also secure more time for myself.

This means I can spend happy time with Lucia with the spare time!

By recovering the relationship with Lucia, gradually eliminating her reasons for revenge against me, and becoming close, all factors of anxiety will disappear.

My mouth corners naturally raised gradually as I felt good about the situation flowing better than my initial concerns.

At first, when the original 'protagonist' existed as a girl named Lucia, I was really, truly, really surprised, and when the bullying had progressed much more than expected, I almost couldn't speak for a moment.

But different from those worries then, as I just said, the situation is flowing well.

Let's think about what to do with Lucia from now on to recover the relationship.

"Miss Maid? If you're not busy, could you come with me for a moment?"

This judgment came from thinking that Miss Maid, who has real sociability and a kind personality, unlike me, who acts sociable, might know better about such things than me.

She's the maid I first saw when I first woke up as Isabella, and I've been calling her Miss Maid since then.

"Yes, young miss, what did you call me for? Cleaning? Bath preparation? What should I do?"

"Ah, today I just wanted to consult with Miss Maid."

"Consultation, you say?"

"Yes, I have a friend whose relationship with me isn't good because of me. How can I improve the relationship?"

"I didn't know you had such a person. So you're someone who makes mistakes too, young miss?"

"Haha... right? I thought I didn't make mistakes well either."

"Hmm... to improve a relationship, first, don't try too hard to resolve emotions. Naturally, like time flowing, it will recover naturally. If you try to resolve emotions, misunderstandings might worsen the relationship."

I listened to Miss Maid talk about relationship recovery for a while like that.

Unlike me who just asked thoughtlessly, Miss Maid who answered sincerely said she was sorry but it was time for her to work again and quietly left the room.

And I lay on the bed thinking carefully about what Miss Maid said.

Lucia still feels resistance toward me and confusion between the previous 'me' who bullied her and the current me treating her well.

I thought it would be okay to induce misunderstandings between my previous actions and now, from that confusion, though not quite gaslighting?

It feels like doing something bad, but.. well, this method suits Isabella's style better.

Misunderstanding is common in web novels. Possession, reincarnation, and transmigration are rare stories these days, right? It's just an ordinary means, so,

The next day, I ordered the coffee I always drink from Lucia, and she brought the coffee with a face that somehow looked better than usual—I mean, her face looked comfortable, not her expression.

Anyway, she brought the coffee with a face that looked good.

"What would you like to do today?"

"Hmm... shouldn't Miss Lucia decide that?"

"Won't you just ignore what I say and do something else anyway?"

"But that's because Lucia boringly just asks for money."

"Hah... just please decide yourself, Isabella-nim."

"Hmm... then shall we eat today? I feel like having something delicious after a while."

Of course, I always eat delicious things, but still.

"How about it? Would you like to go to a restaurant or something after finishing? I'll treat you to something delicious."

"...Yes."

Where should I take Lucia to eat something delicious?

I personally want to eat Western food, but I'm a bit worried that it might not be to Lucia's taste.

If she were the same as the original protagonist, it wouldn't matter much, but Lucia is playing the role of the protagonist, not exactly the same existence as the protagonist.

"Lucia, do you like restaurants?"

"Restaurants, you say? I don't dislike them, but..."

"Fufu... then let's go to a restaurant."

The restaurant we're going to today is one of the famous restaurants managed and operated by the White family.

It's a restaurant where only wealthy people come to eat. I hope Lucia will enjoy eating there.