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T/N: Today Id like to thank my Cookie Donors, Pradeep and Alice! Thank you for the snacks~!

.Stop?

But why? I ask, my voice coming out slightly whinier than I had intended.

Alicia, I dont want you to keep getting put in harms way. What will you do if something like this happens again?

As I look into his eyes, I can see how truly worried he is for me.

However, theres really no need for him to feel concerned. Im still training every single day to make sure that I can handle anything thats thrown my way.

I can protect myself, I say definitively.

Youre still just a thirteen-year-old girl, he says gravely. His voice is low and has a hint of authority sharpening its tone.

Hm? So youve finally realized that?

Ali, what would have happened if there had been more men? You could have been killed!

Even with more men I would have been fine. Last time, if I had died it would have been..

.the saintesss fault. is what I was going to say, but then I stop myself. I dont want to make Father any more worried than he already is.

Everything. Its all my fault. I never should have let them ask such a thing of you. Just because you have exceptional talent doesnt mean that you should be forced to deal with these sorts of situations so young.

A heavy furrow forms between Fathers eyebrows as he says this. His expression screams of pain and regret.

Please dont think like that, Father. You dont need to worry about me! Ill be fine. And since Ive promised to take on the councils request, I want to see it through to the end.

Id be rather troubled if they dismissed me from my role as Liz Cathers monitor at this point. All of my efforts to be able to stand on equal footing with her would all go to waste!

Liz-san is already a vital component to getting my name be immortalized in history as an amazing villainess.

Just as my father and the rest of the council view me as a mere chess piece a means to an end Im basically using Liz-san in the same way in order to bolster my fame and notoriety.

Ha! Even I feel like thinking of Liz-san as just a tool is quite a dastardly train of thought. As far as villainous schemes go, Im sure this one will earn me full points.

Even if youre fine with it, Im not. I realize just how disgustingly hypocritical I must sound to you right now. To suddenly tell you to stop doing something when I was the one who had requested it of you in the first place, I know how absurd that must seem. I know that its unreasonable But, Ali. I cant bear to see you keep getting hurt.

Fathers expression is pleading and earnest, begging me to understand. From this one look I can tell that he loves me dearly.

But still, it really is an unreasonable request.

Sure, Liz-sans head is filled with nothing but flowers and her followers are brainless, brainwashed idiots, but they havent hurt me at all. Ive been amazed by their endless imbecility and insipidity, but Im the villainess and shes the heroine, you know? All of that is still well within my expectations.

Right from the start I knew the two of us wouldnt see eye-to-eye. But to expect me to give up when Ive barely even started because of some tiny hiccup No way! I refuse to step down.

I dont care! Im not going to quit! I chose to go down this road myself, so Im not giving up halfway. Ive already made up my mind and no one can change that.

In the heat of the moment, my voice gets a little louder than it ought. But thats just how determined I am.

As stubbornness flares between us, the tension rises in the room.

Its way too selfish of you to force me to quit now.

Hes probably not very pleased to be called selfish by his thirteen-year-old daughter, but as a villainess, this is not the time for me to be pulling my punches.

Hes likely thinking that Im an unfilial, hateful child right about now.

And, because my voice was quite loud, Im sure that any passing servants should have easily heard what I was saying. Any minute now, there are bound to be countless rumors circulating about what a terrible child I am.

Ooh, how awesome would that be.!

Alicia, please try to understand.

I dont want to. Im not going to change my mind.

A villainess does not bend her will in accordance to the will of others.

If I was the heroine, then I would probably try to listen to him and understand and end up quickly giving in. But sorry, Father. Thats not me. Im a villainess through and through.

He stares fixedly at me for a few seconds without saying anything.

Nope! Sorry! Even if you look at me like that, I have no desire to reconsider my decision.

Ali, I just want you to be happy, he finally sighs. His voice is quiet and sounds almost sad.

For a moment, my heart is shaken.

Is it really okay for me to act like this to him when Father cares this much for me? He really just wants to do whats best for me, and Im practically throwing all that effort back in his face.

But, my dream is to become a splendid villainess. I cant let anyone get in the way of that. This is the only thing that I refuse to give up on.

Father I.. I wont quit.

This time my voice is resolute, but quiet. Subdued.

As before, he continues to carefully examine my face, searching for something. And after long moment of silence, as if he found something hidden in my expression, he heaves another small sigh.

Alright. I wont make you quit. But there are going to be some conditions that youll have to meet before I allow you to continue.

There is an amazing air of command and dignity in his tone that Ive never heard there before. Its something that says there will be no arguing on this point.

I cant help but sit up a bit straighter as a slight chill runs down my spine. Instantly, the atmosphere of the whole room feels different. Ive never seen my father act like this before.

Plus, to suddenly attach conditions to something that is well underway. is rather odd, is it not? Though, if hes willing to let me continue monitoring Liz Cather, then Im fine with it. Its a thousand times better than him trying to force me to quit.

Fine with me. But if I do manage to clear all of your conditions, then I want you to promise to let me continue to monitor Liz-san.

Alright. I promise, Father says, nodding his head.

His every move is suddenly filled with a grace and solemnity that Id never noticed in him before.

The first condition is that you are not allowed to meet with Liz Cather or anyone else until you are 15.. That includes family. Youll have to live in a little cabin thats far from our estate.

Theres a funny glint in his eyes as he says this.

Also, by the time you turn 15, you need to have acquired at least level 90 magic.

What!? Level 90!? But a regular 15-year-old is only expected to reach level 20. Thats the entrance requirement for entering the academy.

His first condition is completely ridiculous, and theres no way the second one is possib Oh! So thats how he wants to play it.

If he tosses out these impossible, nonsensical prerequisites, he must think that Ill just give up being Liz Cathers monitor without even trying.

What a dirty, rotten schemer.

Those are my conditions, Fathers low voice rings throughout the room with a sense of finality.

Those conditions are absolutely ludicrous.

But. If doing those two things is the only way that Ill be allowed to continue monitoring Liz Cather. Ill just have to deal with them the best I can.

Honestly speaking, I dont need to be her monitor in order to bully her. Even without it, I can bully Liz-san to my hearts content, no problem! But.. as a villainess, it just doesnt sit right with me to give up halfway on something I committed to.

My bad name will be run through the mud if word were to ever get out. History would remember me as the half-baked villainess, the witch who was too capricious to bother finishing what she started. That is definitely not the sort of infamy that I am striving for.

Okay. Deal, I say confidently.

Ill show him the true spirit of a villainess. Father must have thought there was no way that I would ever agree to those conditions. But jokes on him for underestimating me!

All that majesty and bravado that had been in his face is completely blown away like a flickering candle in a hurricane. All thats left is my father standing there in shock; stiff, wide-eyed, and gaping.

Oh-ho~ Even if you regret it now, its already too late. I wont take pity on you for something like this. You dug your grave and now youll have to lie in it.

In fact, Ill help you make that hole a bit deeper and make you wish youd tried harder to think of more impossible conditions.

Youll be living in a tiny. shack, you know!?

I know. That wont be a problem, I tell him cheerfully.

Youll be completely alone for two years!!

A villainess is originally someone fated to be alone. A little isolation before I get officially ostracized certainly wont be an issue.

Plus! It will give me ample time to train in peace.

Yup. I realize that. But, I hope youll at least continue to supply me with a steady stream of new reading materials during that time period.

Level 90..

Dont worry, Ill make sure to acquire it before the time is up.

I give him a content, angelic smile as I assure him that I will fulfil all the conditions perfectly. Though, Im sure to him my grin must look like something from the devil himself.

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T/N: Good ol Dad tried to pull a fast one on Alicia.. but shes not having it! Lol. I cant believe he thinks that a thirteen-year-old living in isolation is safer than her staying at home and continuing to monitor Liz XD I would have thought hed try to take back the conditions, but maybe he was hoping that shell give up after a couple of days?

And now I am back to questioning his parenting skills hahahaha.

Also! I was wrong about that time skip haha. Its happening. Now. XD Well be getting a fun chance to pick Alicias dads brain and see what hes really thinking about~!

P.S. This was chapter 5 for the week, so Ill be taking Sunday off~! Well come back with Arnolds POV on Monday (EST) Hope to see you then!