The Villainess Lives Twice: Butterfly's Dream (IF Story) - Chapter 25
The referee, Marie, shouted loudly.
“3, 2, 1… Beep!”
At the sound of the whistle, Artizea, Lysia, and Pavel raced toward the nearest boards to flip them.
The training ground had a total of 40 boards laid out. Artizea and Lysia were blue, while Pavel was red. The boards were painted blue and red on both sides, with 20 of each color laid out initially. For two minutes, they had to flip the boards so that their color was visible. At the end, the color with the most boards facing up would win.
Lysia, with frantic energy, flipped a board and then sprinted to the next one. Artizea also did her best, running around with all her might.
“Haha, do you think you can beat me?”
Pavel shouted with excitement, flipping over the board Artizea had just turned and then rushing ahead to the next one.
Artizea, looking upset, quickly turned the red board back to blue, but by that time, Pavel had already flipped all the boards on the other side and was chasing after her.
Lysia, flipping a red board, ran toward Artizea to help her escape from Pavel’s excessive interference.
It seemed like an unfair match for two eight-year-olds to compete against a thirteen-year-old, but even more so, the match between Lysia and Artizea seemed destined for a clear result.
Artizea lacked athletic ability. Lysia was truly baffled by how she couldn’t do anything.
It was understandable if she couldn’t play racquetball, as hitting a moving ball is difficult. But seeing her fail to hit a stationary ball with a croquet mallet five times in a row, Lysia was extremely surprised that such a person existed.
When she suggested they play together, Artizea said she’d rather just watch. Pavel, who had come along only to watch, shrugged as if he had expected this.
[She can’t hit anything.]
Lysia liked ring toss, but that was also no good. Artizea’s throws only flew half the distance that Lysia could throw them. And when they stood at the distance Artizea could manage, Lysia never missed, which made it no fun.
Even games that didn’t require precision usually ended in failure. Artizea would turn bright red from just a little running and would cough so much that she nearly threw up, sometimes even coughing late into the night.
‘Lady Tia is really weak.’
Lysia felt sorry for her, and in her heart, she made a firm resolution.
‘I have to protect her.’
That was probably why the Young Lord had asked her to take good care of her.
Anyway, from then on, the games were usually played with Pavel included. Cedric joined occasionally, but he didn’t seem to genuinely engage, so it wasn’t as fun.
BEEP!
Marie blew the whistle, signaling the end of the game.
Panting heavily, Artizea looked up with a flushed face. Lysia, too, was out of breath, scanning the training ground.
Marie announced the results.
“Blue team: 22, Red team: 18. The blue team wins!”
“Yay!”
Artizea cheered, while Pavel, looking perplexed, surveyed the boards and counted them with his eyes.
“Ah, I guess I was too relaxed.”
“It’s because you were just bothering Lady Tia.”
Lysia said seriously. Pavel pouted and responded.
“Let’s play one more round.”
“Let’s, let’s take a short break first.”
Artizea said, sitting down on the ground. Marie brought her some water.
She gulped down the water. It had been exhausting. Running around like this had only started since Lysia arrived as her companion.
If they played another round, Artizea thought they’d definitely lose. The game wasn’t really up to her, but it didn’t seem like it would help Lysia either.
But it seemed Pavel wasn’t ready to end on a loss. He had originally called it a childish game for little kids, but somehow, without realizing it, he became the most serious one, putting his heart into winning.
“Alright, let’s take a short break then.”
With that, Pavel came over and plopped down next to Artizea, grabbing her water and drinking it.
Lysia sat next to Artizea, and when their eyes met, they both smiled without any particular reason. It was just a smile, nothing more.
Pavel handed the water bottle back to Marie and asked,
“What’s going on? Why are you two laughing?”
“Just because.”
“Just because? What kind of answer is that?”
“It’s really just because.”
As the two of them playfully bickered, Artizea chuckled and watched them. Cedric appeared.
Pavel stood up and patted his backside.
“Hey, Ced!”
“Were you having fun?”
Cedric asked in a tone that seemed to be directed at a child.
Pavel, raising his chin defiantly, answered.
“I was playing with them.”
“It must have been hard to beat Lysia.”
Cedric said, casually glancing at the boards scattered around. Pavel seemed a bit defensive.
“I could’ve won!”
“Even if you did win, beating an eight-year-old with a score of 22 to 18, you should be embarrassed.”
“It was 2 against 1!”
Pavel argued, but just as he did, Lysia raised her hand and shouted.
“We won!”
Cedric shrugged as if to show it.
“And I don’t think Tia was much help.”
“Ugh… I tried my best.”
“Yes? How confident are you?”
The voices of a grumbling Artizea and a frustrated Pavel overlapped. Lysia also stared at him with eyes burning with competition.
Cedric chuckled.
“Alright, bring it on, all three of you.”
“Ha. Look at that confidence. No matter how fast you are, how are you going to beat all three of us?”
Pavel scoffed, but Cedric was confident. From what he could tell, Artizea was already out of the race, and Lysia was clearly exhausted. Pavel still seemed to have some stamina left, but he couldn’t match Cedric’s agility.
“We’ll see once we try.”
Cedric motioned with his finger, challenging them.
Marie was already flipping the boards to make them even. Pavel, eager to show off, stepped forward, and Lysia hopped over to stand by his side.
Artizea, looking regretful, hesitated but forced herself to stand and positioned herself next to Lysia.
Seeing the serious expressions on the children’s faces, Marie couldn’t help but smile. Then, she headed to the center of the training area, where the four children stood.
“Alright, blue is for the Young Lord, red is for the three of you.”
They all nodded in agreement.
“Then, let’s start. 3, 2, 1… Beep!”
At the sound of the whistle, the four scattered in all directions.
The result was a victory for Cedric, 24 to 16.
* * *
Afterward, Artizea and Lysia were completely exhausted and went to take a nap.
Pavel repeated a single word with a sulky expression.
“Hey.”
Cedric shrugged and, nonchalantly, replied.
“So, don’t just play around—train seriously.”
“Ugh…”
Pavel had no reply. He knew that Cedric’s lack of time spent playing wasn’t just because of his duties as the heir but also because of his long personal training sessions.
Cedric added another remark.
“You won’t regret it. No matter what happens or what situation you face, a well-trained body will always be there for you.”
“‘There for you’?”
“A trained body. It’s an asset that you’ll never lose.”
Pavel would never fully understand the depth of Cedric’s thoughts, but he could tell that Cedric truly meant what he was saying.
“When did you start thinking like this?”
Pavel asked, unable to understand some parts.
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