Our Villainess Has Changed

Chapter 31

Anette firmly made up her mind and looked at Charles.

When she first saw him, it felt like a dream.

He was a man more dazzling than the sun—beautiful platinum blonde hair and golden eyes that shone brilliantly.

Anette thought he looked like a prince stepping out of a fairy tale.

But where did it all go wrong?

“Why do you keep calling me ‘Master’?”

“Because… I am your lowly slave, and you are my Master.”

Wait, what?

“Since when? Why am I your ‘Master’? And you’re a noble! What’s with this… slave act? I heard the Avenne family is famous.”

Anette had learned all about it from Lucy.

The Avenne family was the closest royal relative and had the highest chance of inheriting the throne.

Yet, here he was, claiming to be a slave?

“That’s right. I am the most noble slave in the world. And you, Master, are the only one who owns me. You should be proud, Master.”

“…”

This made no sense.

Anette quickly changed her approach.

There was no way to reason with him.

“Alright… fine. I’ll accept that you call me ‘Master.’ But stop following me around and spying on me.”

“That…”

Charles couldn’t answer right away. But he was so happy.

Master acknowledged him!

“Yes, I understand, Master.”

He was so overjoyed that he agreed without thinking.

A slave’s duty was to silently watch over their Master from afar.

But if the Master disliked it, then he had no choice.

“Then why did you refuse to clean?”

“That…”

“You just wanted to make things difficult for me, didn’t you?”

“N-No way, Master!”

Bullseye.

Charles had told Julie that just to make Anette come to him.

And sure enough, here she was.

“Disgusting.”

Anette narrowed her eyes and glared at him.

Charles felt like he was going to faint from that look.

That expression of disgust—it was thrilling but also heartbreaking.

Two opposite emotions clashed inside him.

“Master…”

Anette looked down at Charles, who was pretending to be pitiful.

How could a person be like this?

She had considered using him to deal with Asil, but in this state, it seemed impossible.

Some adjustments were necessary.

“Don’t ever call me ‘Master’ in front of others. Got it?”

“Then… how should I call you?”

“Just use my name. You were so rude to me when we first met.”

“That was… my mistake, Master.”

“Ugh, whatever. Just don’t call me that in front of others.”

“Then… Can I call you ‘Anette’?”

“Yes. Please do.”

“Yes, I like that too, Master!”

Anette decided to avoid being alone with Charles as much as possible.

Now that their conversation was over, it was time to clean.

She had more questions but decided to let them go.

Like—why was she his ‘Master’? Since when? And why was he a ‘slave’?

She wanted to demand answers, but she didn’t have the patience to hear responses like, “Because you are my Master,” or “Because I am a slave.”

“Alright, I’m cleaning now, so get out.”

“I-I can’t believe I’m making Master clean. I’ll do it! You just sit back and watch, Master.”

“Oh, now you say that? Just leave already.”

“Master…”

“Get out!”

The roles were completely reversed.

It was Charles’s office, yet Anette was the one kicking him out.

“Then should I go clean your room instead?”

“No, thanks.”

The thought of Charles cleaning her room gave her chills.

“Then, Master, would you at least let your lowly slave wash your feet—”

“Out!”

At Anette’s shout, Charles ran out of the office in a panic.

Anette fumed as she started cleaning.

A little while later, Charles peeked through the door.

‘Master looks so fierce when she’s angry… so cool. But I wish she would love me instead of being mad at me…’

He pouted as he watched her clean.

Then, reluctantly, he closed the door.

‘Master told me not to spy on her… I’m a good slave who listens to the Master.’

He made up his mind and stood outside the door.

For anyone passing by, it would have looked like a stunning scene.

A dazzling man with platinum blonde hair in a white and gold knight uniform stood in the hallway as a gentle breeze flowed through.

Then, someone quickly approached.

“Young Master!”

Charles turned his head.

“Eiden?”

He was a butler working for the Avenne family.

The Avenne estate was far from the capital.

Charles’s father and older brother managed the estate, while Charles lived in the capital as a knight of the temple.

Because of that, the large Avenne mansion in the capital belonged solely to Charles.

But since he mostly stayed at the temple, he rarely went there.

Eiden was the butler in charge of managing that mansion.

He hesitated before pulling out an envelope.

“What now?”

“It’s from the Duke. Please read it.”

Charles looked at the letter with annoyance.

He had never personally opened one of these letters before. It was too much effort.

Eiden unfolded the letter for him.

It was an invitation from his father.

“Ugh, another ball? They keep sending these even though they know I won’t go.

They just push annoying things onto me.”

It was an invitation to a royal ball.

His father and brother rarely attended due to the estate being so far from the capital.

So whenever a royal invitation came, they passed it to Charles.

But he never attended these forced gatherings.

His severe cleanliness obsession made it unbearable.

“Forget it. I’m not going this time either. Just write a reply for me like always and send it to my father.”

“Understood, Young Master.”

The old butler bowed and turned to leave.

“Wait.”

Eiden stopped.

A thought flashed through Charles’s mind.

A beautiful Master in an elegant dress… and himself, the most dazzling man in the world, beside her.

A perfect picture.

“Give me the invitation.”

“Pardon?”

Charles reluctantly took the invitation, touching it with only his fingertips like it was something dirty.

Eiden gave him a puzzled look and left.

Charles glanced at his office door and smiled mischievously.

Meanwhile, Anette had thrown Charles out and was now cleaning.

His office was already spotless, but she wiped down everything anyway—floors, windows, desks, and bookshelves.

It was sparkling clean.

Working hard always felt great.

When she was focused on money, she didn’t have to think about anything else.

Thinking about all the money she would soon receive made her happy.

Her arms didn’t even feel tired.

“Ah, this feels so good.”

After finishing, she stood by the window and enjoyed the breeze.

She looked outside.

Like Lucas’s office, this one also had a view of the knight’s training.

“As expected… impressive.”

Young knights training hard—it was always a great sight.

She smiled with satisfaction.

“Wait, is that Lucas?”

Among the knights, she spotted a black-haired man.

Lucas was running across the training field, shirtless.

It had been a long time since she had seen him without a shirt.

She suddenly remembered their first meeting.

‘He was so rude back then.’

At that time, he had felt like a wild, untamed animal.

His personality and his body had both been rough.

Scars covered him, and his muscles looked ready to fight at any moment.

A completely untamed presence.

Anette squinted, trying to get a better look at his broad shoulders.

“Ugh, too far away.”

But it was too difficult to see clearly from the window.

Disappointed, she closed it.

She took one last look at the spotless office, gathered her cleaning supplies, and opened the door.

And—

“Ah! You scared me!”

“Master!”

Charles was waiting outside, looking hopeful.

Anette was shocked.

“Wait, you stood here the whole time?”

“Of course. How could a lowly slave leave while the Master was cleaning?”

She nervously glanced around. Thankfully, no one was nearby.

“Listen. Don’t call me that in public, okay?”

“Then when can I call you that? Will you give me time alone with you every day?”

Like hell, I would.

“Just call me that when we’re alone. Not in public.”

Which meant—never.

Anette frowned. Charles pouted.

Then, he mumbled under his breath.

“Master is so mean.”

“…What did you say?”

“…Nothing, Master.”

Did he just talk back?

“You know I heard that, right?”

“You must have misheard, Master.”

“….”