# The Time When Olivia Was 10 Years Old
"Damn it."
Olivia, with her chubby cheeks, was frowning at herself in the mirror.
"D-damn it..."
She was clearly furious.
At 10 years old, Olivia hated the world.
"Hnnng... Hnnnnnng!!!"
Because she thought the world was unfair.
"Damn it..."
Why did her body gain weight?
Sweet things made her gain weight quickly.
Why didn't tasteless things make her gain weight?
Salads.
Leafy greens.
Bell peppers.
They all tasted terrible, yet why did eating them make you healthy? 10-year-old Olivia bit her lip at the cursed natural order of the world and spat out profanities while looking at herself in the mirror.
Someone once asked Olivia:
"Miss, why is your language so crude?"
Why was her language so foul, unlike a typical 10-year-old child?
"No one taught you, yet you keep saying 'damn it' all the time."
"Ugh?!"
"Neither the Duke, nor Lady Rosanna, nor even Master Kain uses profanity, yet you do. It's quite ironic."
She wanted to give a piece of her mind to this commoner who dared question a noble's manner of speech, but young Olivia, for the sake of maintaining noble dignity, answered:
"It's because I'm pretty."
"I don't think that's true."
"Pretty people can swear all they want."
"I see you've decided to ignore what I'm saying."
Because she was pretty, she could swear.
In truth, Olivia could swear at such a young age thanks to the "villainess" genes passed down through generations of the Desmont family. This was a secret she would only realize after having her own child someday, so Olivia of that time didn't know the reason even as an adult.
Anyway.
"D-d-damn it!!!"
Young Olivia was admiring her fierce expression in the mirror while looking at her chubby cheeks.
"Oh..."
While her plump cheeks might have been an eyesore to some...
"Ohhhhh!!!"
There was one thing she could say with absolute certainty.
"I'm pretty."
That she was the cutest creature in this world.
Chubby cheeks.
Fierce eyes.
A light blush and flaring nostrils.
"I'm really pretty..."
Convinced that no one in this world could surpass her cuteness, Olivia smiled contentedly, her lips curling upward.
Who in this world could possibly be dissatisfied looking at her face?
"Hehehe..."
When the cutest person in the world was standing right in front of the mirror.
"Mirror, am I pretty?"
Back then, Olivia had a severe case of princess syndrome.
Using her dolls as an audience, Olivia made alluring expressions in front of the mirror.
"Ooooooh..."
She would wink.
*Flare flare*
She would flare her nostrils to show off her vitality.
While Olivia was seriously imitating adults in front of the mirror for quite some time...
"You look like a pink pig."
At those words from a boy who had been watching everything, the mood instantly chilled. Olivia furrowed her brow and clenched her fists.
She wanted to poke her finger into the eyes of this impudent commoner who dared call her a pig while she was posing elegantly as a noble.
"Eeeek!!!"
With both fists clenched, Olivia charged angrily toward the little boy who had insulted a noble.
*Pitter-patter!!!*
Her target was the little boy who called her a pig.
"I'll crush you!!!"
The probability of winning was 100%.
When she first took him in, they were evenly matched in strength, so she naturally thought she would win since she ate well and got 12 hours of sleep every day.
But.
"What are you doing?"
Olivia found herself flailing her arms in the air as the boy held her back with his hand on her forehead.
This was the difference in growth.
At 10 years old, Olivia hated the world.
"Poooooo...."
"Well, well."
"Pooooooooo!!!!"
"Puffing your cheeks like that is shockingly cute, but that kind of aegyo doesn't work on me."
"Don't call me a pig!!"
"Then I'll call you a guinea pig."
"Guinea pig?"
"A small pig."
"...Damn it!"
Young Olivia truly despised the boy.
"Die!"
"Hehehe... I was about to die, but I'm alive because you picked me up."
"Then... then...!"
Olivia, whose eyes trembled in frustration, could only clench her fist and hit Ricardo's chest.
She felt she couldn't win against him with words.
"Eeeeeek...!"
She had clearly learned and studied more than him, yet somehow this beggar was using sophisticated vocabulary that shouldn't come from a beggar's mind.
"Poop head!"
"Calling a person 'head' isn't the right expression. I'm not a fish to be called a 'head.' And I'm a Desmont servant, no less."
"...Eeeek!"
Olivia was fuming with irritation at the inconsiderate boy who never lost an argument.
After hanging onto Ricardo and throwing a tantrum for about 30 minutes...
"Here."
"...Huh?"
Olivia's eyes widened and her nostrils flared at the small chocolate Ricardo offered her.
"A snack."
"Huh?!"
"Don't you want it?"
"No, I do...!"
Quickly snatching the chocolate from Ricardo's hand, Olivia's eyes widened as she began to smile. If there was anything in this world that wasn't wrong, it was her stubbornness and chocolate as the perfect food.
"Hehehe..."
Ricardo, sitting beside her, took out another chocolate from his inner pocket and put it in his mouth.
*Crunch.*
"It's too sweet."
"..."
"It's sweet enough to rot your teeth. I don't understand why you like chocolate so much."
What an uncultured fellow.
"That's why you're no good, Ricardo."
"I think I'm better than a guinea pig."
"...Don't call me a pig!"
"It's harsh to treat me as less than human just because I don't appreciate chocolate. I'm already a vagrant who's never had chocolate before."
"Eeeek...."
Olivia glanced at Ricardo, then closed her eyes tightly and broke off a piece of chocolate, offering it with trembling hands. Since he said he hadn't eaten much chocolate, she wanted to feed him more so he could appreciate its taste.
"Hmm?"
"Eat it."
"You're giving this to me?"
"Yeah."
"Pfft..."
"What...?! Don't laugh!"
"Isn't this too small?"
Ricardo laughed at the tiny piece of chocolate stuck to the tip of Olivia's finger. He said even an ant wouldn't be able to taste it.
"Why do you complain even when I give you something!"
"No, no. It's nothing."
Ricardo smiled gently and nodded as he put the chocolate Olivia gave him into his mouth.
"This tastes better."
"Right?"
"Indeed."
Giggling, Olivia looked out the window with a gentle smile.
"See? Chocolate is delicious."
"It is."
"Be nice to me from now on. Got it?"
"Yes."
Ricardo opened his mouth.
He spoke in a soft voice about things that diminished the taste of chocolate.
"So, Miss."
"Hmm?"
"How long do you have to stay locked up here?"
"..."
That's right.
"You slapped the Crown Prince."
"...Eek."
"I told you not to fight like that."
"No."
The truth was, Olivia was being scolded.
Olivia spoke with a hint of complaint toward Ricardo who was scolding her.
"He was criticizing what I was eating."
"What did he say?"
"He said to stop stuffing my face... and that the Empire was facing famine because I was being so extravagant. How could I stand that?"
"That was worth slapping him for."
Olivia snorted and nodded her head at Ricardo's affirmation, clenching her fist. She thought only her family and Ricardo truly understood her.
"So you ate a lot today?"
"Yes."
"I brought chocolate because I thought you hadn't eaten anything."
"...Huh?"
"Hmmmm?"
As an ominous feeling crept up from her toes, Olivia stuffed all the remaining chocolate into her mouth and tightly sealed her lips.
"Mmph..."
"...I won't take it away."
"Mmph mmph."
Ricardo smiled at Olivia's square-shaped, distorted cheeks as he knelt down and said:
"Just stay healthy."
"Mmph mmph mmph. (I am healthy.)"
"Just like you are now."
"Mmph mmph. (Ricardo.)"
Olivia tugged at Ricardo's clothes and said:
"Mmph mmph mmph mmph!!! (The chocolate is stuck in my throat.)"
"...Sigh."
"Ughghghghghgh!!!!!"
It was another eventful day for the Desmont family.
*
And now, in the present.
"Yaaawn."
Darvav was looking at Olivia with a languid smile.
"Are you tired?"
At Darvav's question, Olivia shook her head and smiled.
"No."
Before her was a burning heretic sanctuary.
Many heretic priests were trembling in fear as they looked at her, and she merely gazed back at them with cold eyes.
With a languid expression, Olivia opened her lips to speak to Darvav, who was suppressing the eastern heretics. Her words carried concern that her father must be more exhausted.
"You must be more tired, Father."
Darvav smiled faintly and waved his hand.
"Your father is not tired. How could I think of being tired when I'm with my daughter?"
"..."
"I should be the one apologizing for showing you such an unpleasant sight."
"I'm the one who asked for this. Why are you apologizing, Father?"
"Even so."
Olivia shook her head at Darvav's somber expression and opened her lips once more.
"Father."
"Why do you call?"
"Don't tell Ricardo."
Darvav nodded and answered.
"I won't tell him."
"..."
"It would be troublesome if he found out."
Olivia had made a request to Darvav.
"Father, I want to become stronger."
She asked him to arrange an opportunity to practice black magic without Ricardo knowing.
Darvav had initially refused Olivia's request to use such sinister power, but he was no match for her stubbornness.
"I don't want to be a burden."
"Still, it's not allowed."
"I have a disability."
"..."
"I already feel bad for being a burden, but being useless isn't what a Desmont should be."
Only that man could break Olivia's stubbornness.
"You shouldn't push yourself."
Darvav had no choice but to yield to Olivia's persistence.
Olivia needed the strength to protect Ricardo, who always attracted trouble. At the very least, she didn't want to be a burden to him. From the beginning, she had too many enemies, which made her a burden.
"Olivia."
Darvav smiled gently at Olivia and held out a square box.
"Oh..."
Chocolate.
*Crunch.*
After biting into the chocolate, Olivia nodded and smiled.
"It doesn't taste as good as what I had back then."
"Hmm...? I bought the shop and had them make chocolate with the exact same recipe as before. Is something wrong?"
At Darvav's words, Olivia shook her head.
"No. Just saying."
Memories were sweet.
*Crunch.*
Sweeter than any chocolate.