I'm in Love with the Villainess!-Chapter 193: Housecleaning...?

First things first, this damn room. No noble should be living in a place like this, especially her. And I’m not a slouch when it comes to cleaning, either. This isn’t my first time cleaning an entire mansion.

Multiple disguises are coming in handy once again, I guess.

Luckily for me, everything I needed was in the abandoned servants’ room downstairs. Dusty as it was, it still had all the tools I needed to get this entire place tidy before tomorrow.

[Dark Recovery] should be enough for me to clean everything without stopping. It’s not like I’m fighting, after all.

But seriously, did the academy really never bother giving us servants to start with? Isn’t that basic?

Even if they want us to start from scratch, this is definitely overkill.

Well, when Julius and Lillian were given this task very late in the novel, they seemed fine. So I guess it won’t be that bad... assuming all that elven stuff doesn’t reach here.

But I doubt that’ll happen.

I’m way too unlucky for that.

Anyway, enough thinking. It’s time to get to work.

***

First, of course, was the room Evelina was sleeping in. It wasn’t that difficult; all it took was a duster, a mop, and a traditional broom. I just needed to be as silent as possible.

That meant no using the vacuum cleaner—not that it was really an option in the first place.

It wouldn’t even work if I wanted it to; I guess years of being abandoned clogged up its machinery or something. Still, it was surprising to see one at all—I didn’t expect this world to have working vacuum cleaners.

"You’re surprisingly good at cleaning..."

The succubus followed me around while I cleaned, probably just trailing after me to fight off her boredom.

"Can’t you, like, play inside the choker or something?"

"My mistress needs all the magic she can get. If I go around having fun in the choker, I’ll just leech away the magic she needs to recover."

Well, I guess having her watch me clean won’t be too bad after all. As long as it helps Evelina wake up sooner, I’ll put up with her presence.

"Then stop hovering and make yourself useful."

"Oho~? Ordering me around already?" She spun midair, floating upside down so her face was level with mine. "You clean, you carry her, you guard her... and now you want me to work too? How greedy~."

"You said it yourself. You’re bored."

"I am bored. Doesn’t mean I want to do chores." She puffed her cheeks, then glanced around the room again, nose wrinkling. "...But this place is offensively ugly."

"Exactly."

"Fine~." She snapped her fingers.

A faint ripple of dark pink energy spread through the room, subtle but noticeable. Dust that I’d missed gathered into tiny clumps and rolled toward the corners like it had suddenly developed a sense of shame.

I paused mid-sweep, raising a brow. "You could do that the whole time?"

"Of course." She smiled sweetly. "But don’t get used to it, I’m trying my best to keep magic usage to a minimum."

I stared. She just smiled wider.

"What about you actually help physically?"

"Not part of the contract~."

After that, it didn’t take long. Between my hands and her selective bursts of magic, the room finally started to look livable. Dust vanished, sheets were replaced, and the windows were cleaned enough to let real sunlight in.

By the time I finished, the difference was night and day.

Not perfect.

But acceptable.

For now.

I stepped back, resting the broom against the wall and taking in the room one last time—clean bed, clear floor, no dust in sight.

Good.

My gaze shifted to Evelina. She hadn’t moved, still breathing softly, silver hair spread across the pillow like she already owned the place.

Which she did.

"Much better," the succubus muttered, now lying on her stomach in midair, chin in her hands as she stared at Evelina. "Now it actually looks like somewhere my mistress can wake up in."

"Don’t underestimate me."

I sat on the edge of the bed and brushed a loose strand of hair from Evelina’s face.

Still no reaction.

"Tomorrow, huh?"

"Mmhm~." The succubus kicked her feet lazily. "You’re lucky. If she stayed in that field any longer, she might’ve slept for days."

"It’s not luck, it’s called love."

"I’m a succubus, yet even I find you cheesy."

Silence settled.

Then—

"So~," the succubus leaned closer, voice dropping into a teasing whisper, "what are you planning to do after she wakes up?"

"Fix the city."

"Boring answer."

"It’s the correct one."

She hummed, unconvinced. "And here I thought you’d say something more... romantic. Come on, it’s just you two in a mansion, have some fun!"

"There’s a time for everything."

"Liar~."

I chuckled, "You’re right, but even I think Evelina will get mad at me if we fool around the entire day."

I stood, stretched, and glanced around.

Still more to do.

If Evelina were waking up tomorrow, the entire mansion needed to be presentable.

Not just barely livable or simply good enough—I need it as close to perfect as I can make it.

"I’m heading downstairs."

"Okay~" the succubus groaned. "You’re really going to clean the entire mansion?"

"Yes."

"...Good luck with that."

"You’re still helping me from time to time."

I stopped at the door. "But for now, keep watch."

She waved lazily. "Yeah, yeah. If anything happens, I’ll scream dramatically or something."

"I should have convinced you to sign a worse contract."

"...Too late to regret it now."

***

Now that I don’t have to worry about her anymore, it’s about time I got as efficient as possible.

I cracked my knuckles as black, orange, and white flames crawled up my arms. Cleaning was one thing, but pests and disease were a different problem entirely. And the best way to deal with them?

Burn everything.

It shouldn’t take that much mental effort. Besides, I need to practice my flames—and considering how annoyingly fast cockroaches are, they’ll be perfect targets for precision training.