I'm a Villainess, But So What? Fuck Off.

The Brightly Colored Cube in the Hall

I stepped down the stage exquisitely and smiled at the other students applauding. "Thank you for your support," I told them roughly before taking my seat in the front row along with the princes.

I felt like I was in a concert hall for a piano recital rather than a camp talent show. The lights were dim and focused on the stage. The quiet and anticipating air made it hard to breathe. Everything was the same, except for the people performing on the stage.

Really does bring back memories.

----

Soon, I found Ciar. I didn't know who exactly 'Lord Na' was, so I didn't know his social standing in Class S either, but it seems he masqueraded as a fairly high profile figure, since he was only a few spots behind me.

Ciar wasn't doing anything to do with stealth or knowledge. Figures, it was just a bad move for an assassin. Instead, he was doing some sort of snake dance to showcase. It looked like he wasn't trying to draw attention, though that probably is for vain since he has already joined Class S with me and has kept his past appearance (although his hair and eyes have changed), which, if I may remind you, was absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking.

After his performance ended and the screaming sounds of his fangirls died down, a few more students streamed in before Ax. Since Ax became 'Viscount Elen' in an empire, his rank was boosted. Ax did a few sword tricks and stepped down the stage. In all honesty, for me, it wasn't all that impressive, but it seemed that the crowd disagreed (well, except for the princes sitting next to me).

I got bored really soon. It wasn't that interesting to watch people do random and generic stuff without magic. So I used creation magic. [ମୋର ଆବଶ୍ୟକତା ଏବଂ ଇଚ୍ଛାକୁ ଡାକ, ଏବଂ ମୁଁ ତୁମକୁ ମୋର ମନ ସହିତ ପୁରସ୍କୃତ କରିବି, ଘରେ ଥିବା ଏକ କ୍ୟୁବ୍ | ମୋ ଗତି ସହିତ ବାନ୍ଧିବା, ବୁଣା, ନାଚିବା] A magnetic 3x3 rubik's cube appeared in front of me and fell into my lap.

"Choiiii!" I whispered happily and started playing around. Uh, damn, I don't have any muscle memory. It still feels awkward to move this. I looked down and saw my hands moving stiffly to different positions of the cube. Well, at least I still remember all of the algorithms.

Up, side, down, side, up, side, down, up, side, down, up, side, side... My hands slowly got accustomed to the toy and soon it started moving faster and solving quicker. As the people on the stage performed, I was focused on my magnificent movements on the cube. "Done!" I muttered cheerfully as I solved it for the umpteenth time.

I looked up and saw that the people in my general vicinity were all watching my cube like they were hypnotized or something. What? Aren't you guys supposed to be watching the talent show? Uh, kids these days, am I right? I began to focus on my cube once again and started mixing it with swift and accurate movements, once again preoccupied and distracted by my toy.

"Uhhh... Lady Novea, may I try...?" A hesitant watcher asked me, looking at the cube with shining eyes.

"...Why, of course." I handed the cube to the boy discreetly and flopped back on my dark red velvet chair. Damn, they should all just mind their business and watched the show. He'll never solve it, it took Erno Rubik a month to find out one solution with only three algorithms, and a week to solve it, and my algorithms are from MODERN Earth, so there are countless ones depending on the situation. And indeed, my guess was right. After fifteen minutes of toying around with the cube, the student handed it back to me begrudgingly. I took it back smugly and began playing around with it again.

Eventually, after the student tried and failed to solve my cube and started complaining about it, the entire audience started eying the brightly color-coded cube in my hand, watching my skillful movements closely. Hahahaha! I'll only get faster when all of this is transferred into muscle memory. I thought as my hands spun around and across the cube.

The audience were so put into a trance by me that they forgot to watch the stage. Soon, the talent show reached its finally participant. Pink Fluff Ba- I mean, Aveline Belle, the worthless puppet.

----

"Miss Belle, singing the folk song 'To The North'."

A violin accompaniment started playing, and soon, her silky smooth voice hovered around the room. I, who was so focused on my rubik's cube, completely forgot, or maybe just disregarded the sounds, and continued listening to the crackling sounds of the rubik's cube's beautiful conflicts.

"Deep in the quiet wood~ as the light branches from those trees~ find me in the north~"

However, some of the prior onlookers turned their eyes back onto the stage to watch Worthless Puppet's performance in awe.

Eventually, after I heard the voice slowly winding down, my attention turned to the stage. Oh. This is Pink's voice? It was said to be 'entrancing' and 'angelic' but I really didn't think much of it. Rubik's cubes sound better. My singing was much better. I thought to myself before turning my attention back to my movements. Her voice is so fragile it seems like it'll break if she doesn't sing louder. No wonder people kept watching me, it's because they couldn't hear you, dumbass. It's clear she hasn't had any vocal training before in her life, and isn't used to projecting her voice, even in a professional environment. I mused while rolling my eyes.

I heard clapping and a few whistles and cheers from the audience farthest from me, but it seemed like the people near me were all looking at me, and just now realized that someone's performance had started and ended. Aveline looked at the audience and found that some were just looking at her dazed and bored. Her eyes started tearing up and, as expected, she started crying crocodile tears and weeping away. Well, it seems that your crying voice is different from your singing voice. So loud and grating.

I frowned in annoyance, and so did the princes near me. A teacher lazily made her way backstage to comfort the crying heroine, while I just slumped back in my chair, feeling a headache come on.

"Lady Novea! Are you feeling alright? Shall I take you to the infirmary?" Prince Lionel asked worriedly. Uh, shut it, Ragdoll. I glared in his direction but it seems he was used to it and just kept looking at me like a dead moose.

"Prince Lionel, thank you for your concern, however, if you wish for me to feel alright, then please go after that crying lady. She seems like she is severely embarrassed, although I do not know the reason why. I would feel very reassured if you went." I restrained myself and answered in a kind and concerned voice. Just shut that worthless puppet up. Ragdoll frowned at my words. It was clear he didn't like the sticky heroine, but still obeyed and left reluctantly.

I listened in, and soon, the crying stopped and whimpering followed. Just SHUT IT! I evoked dark magic, and soon, loud coughing fits and choking sounds followed. CAN'T YOU JUST SHUT UP LIKE THE TEACHERS DO WHEN I DO THIS? ARE YOU JUST PHYSICALLY INCAPABLE OF SHUTTING YOUR TRAP? I gripped her neck harder and eventually, I heard a thumping sound come from backstage. Finally, she fainted like a good girl. I let go of my grip and moved my hand back to my rubik's cube. She really is useless. I'll find some way to deal with her later, then.