Blood Contract with her Royal Villainess

♕CHAPTER 3♕

♕CANA ANNALIS ♕

As I gracefully cut the steak on my plate using the knife on my right hand and a fork on my left hand, I secretly took a glance over at Keisha, Kiera's sister, who's sitting in a chair opposite to mine. I can sense her irritation towards me from where I am sitting right now as she frowns while cutting her steak with a bit force than what is needed. I quietly took a deep breath before focusing my eyes on my plate, and I couldn't help but remember my real sister because of her attitude towards me. It was a memory of my biological family during my childhood years.

I came from a broken family, and ever since I was young, I was a victim of bullying, and I knew how it felt like to be criticized and made fun of due to my family background. My former elementary classmates used to laugh at me whenever the family day is coming, asking me things like, "Who will attend for you? Your mom or your dad? Or maybe none of them will come," then they will start laughing. For a child with a challenging family problem, that is very uncomfortable and painful.

But when I reached the age of fifteen, I wanted to change how the people around me treated me, so I started to change myself first. From a quiet and pitiful attitude, I learned to love myself more by becoming an emotionally strong woman and a person who can defend herself and her family. I also wanted to know more about why my parents got separated, so I did all I could to understand and learn more about it. And I found out that, before my parents signed the divorce paper, they've been quarreling all the time due to my father having an affair, which leads to their separation. It was tough for my sister and me to cope with the sudden changes in our family, especially for my sister.

When I reached the legal age of eighteen, I noticed that my parents still had some feelings for each other and that my father had changed, so I asked them if my hunch was correct. They both said yes, so they decided to give their relationship another try, and everything was so great, and we were so happy, except for my sister. She was three years younger than me, and she loved my parents so much that she became depressed when they separated. Later on, she found out about our father's mistake. From then on, she started to ignore my parents and me; she became distant emotionally.

I silently sighed as I felt someone looking at me with dagger eyes as I took a bite of my steak, and I knew that it was Keisha, but she wouldn't even look at me for more than five seconds, she will quickly look away as if looking at me will make her puke. It was so clear that she hates me more than she could ever hate someone, though I don't know why.

The long silent meal we had been sharing for a few minutes was disturbed when the Duke, Kiera's father, talked. As the head of the family, he's sitting at the far end of the long table.

"So you finally decided to join us for breakfast, huh, Kiera," the Duke said without giving me a single glance.

"Well, of course, your grace, Kiera has finally recovered from her illness, isn't that wonderful news?" Kiera's mother answered on my behalf while smiling towards her husband, and the Duke nodded his head as a response. Hence, I decided to shut my mouth and continue eating this exquisite meal in front of me, though I couldn't taste it at all due to my nervousness.

Once again, the silence filled the dining area, but then the Duke spoke once more.

"So, are you going to attend the graduation ball at Lumire Academy?" Duke Roman asked as he grabbed his glass of expensive wine, took a sip from it, and gently put it down to the table.

"Yes, your grace," I answered as I cut another bite-size of my steak. I noticed him looking at me with a furrowed brow. I know that he and the others have been wondering why I'm acting a bit strange, and it's probably because I am different from the Kiera they used to know. For the past weeks that I was here, I've been silently staying at Kiera's room while indulging myself with her unopened books from her huge bookshelf. I also want to learn more about this era while planning for the safety of Kiera Deidara Romulus, the villainess from the black book and the owner of this body which I possess right now.

I gulped as I looked at the Duke, who is still looking at me with confusion.

Please stop suspecting that I am not your daughter; even though it's true that I am not Kiera, but stop doubting me, for Pete's sake! It's still too early for me to be found out!

"Are you sure you have fully recovered? Maybe we should call the family doctor," Duke Roman suggested and was about to signal a servant, but I immediately stopped him and replied in a calm voice.

"I'm perfectly fine now, your grace; thank you for your concern," I said as I grabbed the white table napkin on my lap and gracefully wiped both sides of my lips.

"I'm done with my meal. May I be excused now?" I asked for the Duke's permission, and at first, he's still not convinced that I am fine already, but later on, he just murmured the word "Yes, you can go" and nodded at me before beginning again with his breakfast. I quickly stood up as I saw his response, but before I could leave the table, I noticed Keisha glaring at me and wondering why I'm acting the way I am right now. I decided not to say or do anything at all and just walked out of the dining room.

As I passed by the hallway of the mansion, I sighed once again.

"I didn't do anything at all, so why is she acting like that towards me?" I asked myself as I remembered Keisha's actions towards me.

I was so freaking nervous that I couldn't even taste the flavor of that steak; that is why I only had a few bites of it.

What a waste.

I took a deep breath to stabilize my fast beating heart before I quickly walked back to my bedroom and locked the door. Then I ran towards the bed and jumped on its soft mattress, and buried my face on the pillow before screaming my nervousness out.

"Arrrghh!!!!" I let everything out as I buried my face more on the pillow while taking in a few breaks and inhaling a lot of air before burying my face on the pillow again and scream.

"Ah, that was so nerve-racking," I uttered while my face is still glued to my pillow.

Being surrounded by Kiera's family is scary, plus the Duke talked to me; thankfully, he stopped questioning me. I thought to myself and lay down properly, facing towards the ceiling.

Two days left before the graduation ball, I thought as I stared at the ceiling.

And on that day, Dianna will be crowned as the Princess of the Lumire Empire, and if that happens, it will be just a few days before she and Viggo meet each other at the black market. So I unconsciously bite my nail at my right thumb while thinking about the future events that will happen soon. I always do this when I'm nervous or thinking deeply about something. It's my mannerism since my elementary days.

That means the time of Kiera's death is nearing. I shuddered at the sudden thought.

Honestly, I don't have any idea about what will happen to me when this body dies. If that happens, would I return to my own body or die together with Kiera? That's why I don't want to make any sudden decision like taking my own life as Kiera because there is no guarantee that I will go back to my own body.

I must ensure Kiera's safety first before focusing on my return to my own body and time. I thought to myself and nodded my head before getting up. I stepped down from my bed and walked towards the round table inside this room, then I grabbed the notebook on top of it and looked for a pen, which I found inside the drawer of my vanity table before walking back to the sofa and slump myself on it.

"Okay, so the first problem is how am I going to buy Viggo first before Dianna does if I don't even have any money on me? And where am I going to get that huge sum of money?" I asked as I wrote the exact words that I uttered down to the notebook.

Another question popped into my mind, followed by another one and another, and it's making my head hurt, so I threw the pen on the table and grab a handful of my hair and pull as hard as I could, just to ease my frustration. After that, I looked down at the notebook where I wrote Diana's name.

"Hmm..." I uttered, then grabbed the pen and encircled her name repeatedly until a possible solution popped into my head.

"There's the part where I could just not take Diana to the black market so she wouldn't find out that place, since, from the black book, it was Kiera who brought Diana to that place where she met Viggo. But, that doesn't change the fact that I will still not be able to buy Viggo myself, since, again, I still don't have enough money to purchase him," I talked to myself while looking down at the notebook.

"Argh! Where am I going to get the mon–" I stopped blabbering when an idea came to me as I looked at Diana's name on the notebook. It feels like a light suddenly turned on on my head as I slowly laughed like creepy mischief.

"hehehe," I laughed as I jot down the scenes that I remembered from the black book.

As I remembered from the original story, there was a scene where the other students from the academy will bully Diana. They will laugh at her and made fun of her, and one of those students is Kiera herself, but since I am the new Kiera now, I think it will be for the best if I helped out the other characters that surround Kiera, too, especially Diana. And I will start protecting her from those bullies at the graduation ball.

I will make Diana trust me wholeheartedly, and once she is crowned as a princess, I will borrow money from her to purchase Viggo. I chuckled at my plan.

"Even in this era, I'm still borrowing money from others; I guess that is a habit of mine already," I joked as I continue to write down on the notebook, and once I'm done, I closed it and put it at the corner of my bookshelf, just to make sure that no one will notice it.

"So, since it is a ball, I have to prepare our outfit for that special moment," I said as I walked towards my wardrobe and opened it. My jaw dropped as I saw the clothes hang inside. Every clothes here looks so daring and seductive.

I didn't know Kiera is a fan of this kind of clothes; this is too revealing! All of your dresses show a lot of your shoulders or your cleavage, and the slit on the side! Oh my gosh, the slit is too high! If I wear underwear while using this, it will be seen for sure. I complained in my head.

I tried to look for a more decent dress, but to my dismay, I found none. I facepalmed and sighed before I decided to look for the sewing kit and grab some dresses from the wardrobe.

I'll just make a new dress that will suit Diana's innocent and sweet personality. I thought to myself as I started making the dress; good thing, I know how to sew and make dresses because I used to recycle my old clothes during my childhood when my mother can't afford to buy us new clothes.

During the three years when my parents separated, my mother was the only one making a living for the three of us. Her salary was not enough to buy any extra leisure items like new clothes, so my sister and I trained ourselves to recycle our clothes.

I grabbed all the clothes with the same or almost the same color as the dress for Diana and cut off some pieces of them before sewing them to the pink sleeveless dress. Next, I made a long see-through sleeve using a sheer pink fabric and sew it to the pink dress; then, I cut off some pink and pastel-colored flowers from the other gowns and sew them on the top part of the sleeve.

"Now it looks like an off-shoulder dress, but much decent than before," I said as I looked at the right sleeve that I made.

"On to the left side," I uttered and proceeded with the other side sleeve. After making both sides of the sleeves, I added some pastel-colored flowers on the waist, right side of the dress itself, and since there are still a few flowers left, I decided to sew them on the upper part of the gown's skirt.

I was too busy making the gown that I did not even notice the time, not until someone knocked on my door. I quickly turned around and looked over at the door, then heard another set of knocks, so I put down the needle and thread and instantly run towards the door; I even almost tripped myself.

As I approached the door, I immediately opened it and saw a servant standing outside, her hand still formed as if she was about to knock again.

"Yes?" I asked while raising my right eyebrow.

"Uhm, My Lady, the Duchess told me to ask you if you have prepared your dress for the graduation ball tonight?" the servant asked.

"HUH!? THE GRADUATION BALL WILL OCCUR TONIGHT!?" I exclaimed, which startled the servant.

"Ye-Yes, My Lady," the servant replied as she looked at me with confusion.

"What!? No!!! What am I going to do now!?" I uttered, and the servant just looked at me like I'm acting weird.

"M-My Lady, a-are you alright?" the servant asked, but I can't answer her.

What am I going to do!? I was so engrossed at making Diana's dress that I didn't even notice the time! I haven't had enough sleep yet, and worst, I haven't prepared my dress for the ball yet! So I thought as I pulled my hair again.

I looked over at the dress that I made for Diana, and I was so happy about it because it turns out to be a masterpiece. I even noticed the servant's reaction when she saw the dress, too; she was astounded.

"My Lady, we're you the one who made that?" she asked with her eyes still mesmerized by the pink dress as if her fear of her boss vanished as soon as she saw the newly completed dress, worn by a headless mannequin.

"Yes, I made that, and for your information, I do have a talent for sewing," I replied with a proud tone.

"Wow, My Lady, that is so beautiful," she commented, and I proudly lifted my head high and smiled.

"Is that what you're going to wear for tonight's ball?" the servant inquired, which brought me back to the reality that I haven't prepared anything for myself yet.

"Uhh, no, I made it for my friend Diana, and she'll be here soon," I answered while scratching the back of my neck. Her eyes tell me that she's wondering why I made something so beautiful for someone else, which is also out of Kiera's character.

Sh*t.

"Oh, I see, well, Uhm, it's so beautiful, My Lady, I'm sure she'll like it," the servant said and smiled at me, then we were surrounded by silence, and I looked at her and back to my messy room.

"Uh, it's fine if I ask you to do some chores for me, right?" I inquired with my usual tone, and she immediately nodded her head because she probably thinks that I'm mad at her.

"Good, so I want you to clean all the mess in this room and also help Diana and me to prepare for tonight's party, call the other servants too, who knows how to do makeup and hairdos," I ordered, but she just looked at me as if she's having some second thoughts if she'll follow me or not.

Wait, why is she having second thoughts? I'm a Lady in this mansion. So why is she hesitating to serve me? I thought.

"So, are you going to do it or not?" I asked, and she quickly shook her head which made me knit my eyebrows.

"I-It's not like that, My Lady, it's just that, all of the servants who know how to do makeup and hairdos are under Lady Keisha's commands," she answered while looking down at her feet.

So I can't borrow her maids? Even though I'm also a Lady here? Unbelievable! No wonder Kiera is always not in the mood. I thought.

"If ever I borrow one of her maids, will she get mad at you?" I asked, and she nodded her head, so I just sighed and gave up.

"Alright, but just clean my room first, and then you can leave. Oh, if Diana arrives, send her to my room immediately, understood?" I ordered, and she nodded as a response.

I guess I'll handle the preparation for the party tonight. I thought and sighed again.

After the servant cleaned up my room and after I pick out the most decent dress that Kiera has, Diana finally arrived.

"Greetings, My Lady," Diana greeted with a smile, and her beauty enchanted me.

"Are you alright, Lady Kiera? You look exhausted and sleepless," she commented as she looked at my face.

Well, I am, because I was busy making your dress. I answered in my head as I pulled out the dress I made for her.

"I'm fine, and this is yours; wear it for tonight's graduation ball," I said as I hand over the dress to her.

"Wow! A-Are you sure, My Lady!? I-Is it really okay if I wear this?" she asked, teary-eyed, and I secretly smiled.

"Yes, you can have it. I don't like the style of that dress; it's ugly," I acted because I knew that that is how the real Kiera will reply.

"Oh, thank you, My Lady! Thank you so much!" Diana said in pure happiness that she even hugged me.

"Okay, okay, let's proceed with the makeup and hairdo," I said and dragged her towards the vanity table.

"You're going to apply makeup on me? By yourself, Lady Kiera?" she asked, surprised. I looked at the vintage wall clock inside my room and counted the remaining time for me to prepare myself and Diana before nodding my head and looking at our reflection in the mirror.

"Yes, and don't worry, I will make this night a very memorable graduation ball for you," I said, and she nodded at me with determination.

TO BE CONTINUED