I, The Villainess, Will Seduce All The Heroines Instead
Chapter 52: Blackmailed!

Chapter 52: Blackmailed!

Verena’s so-called "quick trip" from Evelyn’s dorm to hers turned into a full-blown side quest from hell.

First, she had to dodge a flock of aggressively territorial pigeons that decided she looked like prime target practice.

Then, she nearly fell into one of the academy’s mimic fountains because apparently, the school thought it was hilarious to enchant random water sources to bite people.

And to top it all off, she got chased by a sentient broom that mistook her for stray dirt and tried to sweep her off the damn path.

By the time she reached her dorm, she was sweaty and questioning all her life choices.

And that’s how she ended up here yet again on glamorous stair-cleaning duty.

As punishment for being late again, she was handed a bucket, a brush, and the soul-crushing task of scrubbing the academy’s endless, winding staircases.

At this point, she was starting to think they assigned this punishment just to humble students into contemplating their poor life choices.

Because the universe just loved to mess with her, Vivienne was here too - the dense heroine extraordinaire.

Now Verena was officially trapped between two black holes of brain cells.

She aggressively scrubbed the marble stairs, her face contorted in frustration.

Why the hell am I always cleaning something?

At this rate, she might as well start charging the academy for labor.

To her left, Vivienne was happily humming while barely wiping the same spot over and over again, as if the power of positive thinking alone would make the dirt disappear.

To her right, Cassandra Taliahart, was scrubbing the stairs with all the enthusiasm of a tragic farm girl monologue.

"Haaah... Back on my family’s farm, we used to scrub wooden floors by hand. But, of course, noble ladies wouldn’t understand real hard work," she sighed dramatically, tossing her hair.

Verena rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. So tell me, how exactly does that farm wisdom help you clean stone stairs?"

"W-Well, it’s about the spirit of hard work, you know? Unlike those spoiled noblewomen..."

"Right."

Meanwhile, Vivienne finally glanced up from her completely dry rag and pouted. "Wait... are we supposed to use water?"

Verena stared at her. Then at her bone-dry cleaning supplies. Then back at her.

"Vivienne."

"Yeah?"

"What the hell have you been doing for the past fifteen minutes?"

Vivienne looked at her rag. Looked at the stairs. Looked back at Verena.

"...Manifesting cleanliness?"

Cassandra, for all her not-like-other-girls energy, was at least competent at basic tasks.

Which was why, after another ten minutes of watching Vivienne wave her rag around like she was casting a cleaning spell, even she couldn’t take it anymore.

"...Are you seriously just pretending to clean?" Cassandra asked, squinting.

Vivienne gasped, looking deeply offended. "Excuse me?! I am putting in effort!"

Cassandra pointed at the same step Vivienne had been "cleaning" for the past twenty minutes. It still had a visible footprint on it.

"I just believe that if you act like something is clean, eventually, it will be clean."

There was a long silence.

...I think this girl might actually even more dumber than Cassandra. Makes sense.

After spending half the morning trapped in detention, scrubbing floors like some tragic medieval peasant, Verena finally made it to class for Planetary Alignments.

She all but collapsed into her seat next to Beatrice, sighing dramatically.

Beatrice barely glanced up from her notes. "Where were you?"

"Detention."

Her quill paused mid-stroke. "Again?!"

Before Beatrice could scold her, a sudden buzz of excitement spread through the room.

Students began whispering, giggling, and shifting in their seats, their eyes glued to the classroom door.

Verena turned just in time to see three impossibly beautiful people stride into the room.

The first, Crown Prince Lucien, carried himself with the effortless grace of someone born to rule.

His snow hair caught the morning light just right, practically glowing like some divine being stepping into a mortal realm.

Beside him was his ever-present advisor, Edmund Valmont, sharp-eyed and immaculate as always, radiating that unapproachable genius aura that made people both respect and fear him.

And then, there was Anastasia.

Tch.

The fangirling hit critical levels.

Squeals, hushed whispers, and lovestruck sighs filled the air. Some students looked ready to pass out from sheer admiration.

Great. More walking perfume ads.

As the trio reached the front of the class, Prince Lucien cleared his throat, commanding immediate silence.

"We’re here regarding the upcoming elections," he announced, his voice smooth and authoritative. "Each department must establish its own local government unit. We need nominations and volunteers to fill the necessary positions."

Oh, hell no.

Politics? Responsibility? A headache wrapped in a fancier headache?

In this academy, at least from what she remembered, there were always two political factions at odds with each other in each election.

"That is, of course, if you’re brave enough to join our side," he said with a mischievous grin. "The POLARIS party. Just head up to the third floor. Room 314, you can’t miss it. We’ll be waiting."

Once they left, all eyes were suddenly on her.

She had no clue how it happened, but one minute she was just standing there, and the next, she was right in front of the room.

How the hell did I end up here?!

Before she could even think, her classmates had practically shoved her in and nominated her for... something. The second she walked in, Anastasia’s glare hit her like a laser beam.

"Eep! You know what, maybe I’m not cut out for this room!"

"No!" The prince’s voice rang out. "Come in."

Well, looks like there’s no backing out now...

"So," Anastasia said slowly, her gaze never leaving her. "you’ve been nominated to join the POLARIS party. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s optional."

I thought this woman hated me... No, wait! She wants to torture me with council duties!

The prince, who had been casually leaning against the wall with an amused grin, straightened up and gave her a look that said you’re not getting away that easy.

"You’re not leaving until you accept, you know."