My Step-Daughters Are The Villainesses

The coming-of-age ceremony of Princess Camellia van Skargardia ended in uproar.

What should have been remembered as the night a royal princess entered adulthood became something far darker. Five demons had infiltrated Skargardian Keep, hidden among the musicians and guests, then sealed Queen Kaliantha inside a barrier during the traditional dance.

The attack had been aimed at the Queen herself.

By the end of it, Kaliantha stood without a single wound.

Count Ulrich van Rubenhart, trapped inside the barrier with her, had protected her throughout the entire ordeal. He had kept her close, moved her beyond every blade, and killed the five demons before the royal knights managed to break through the barrier.

For those who had not been in the ballroom, it sounded like something from a fairy tale.

A handsome Count saving his Queen from certain death.

But every person who had watched the barrier shatter knew it had happened exactly that way.

They had seen Ulrich standing at the center of the bloodied floor, wounded and holding Kaliantha close beneath the falling fragments of broken mana. They had seen the five dead demons around him. They had seen the Queen wearing his crimson coat over her gown.

No rumor could make the scene more dramatic than the truth already was.

Unfortunately, Ulrich had not come out of the attack unharmed.

One of the demons’ or perhaps several daggers had carried poison.

Once Airam noticed the strange reaction in his wounds, the royal physicians had acted immediately. Ulrich had been taken from the ballroom and brought into the royal castle, where he could be treated under better conditions. The physicians worked through the night, cleansing the poisoned cuts, controlling the fever, and applying medicine to prevent the demonic poison from spreading any further through his body.

The poison had been potent.

It had been prepared for Kaliantha.

The physicians eventually determined that it was especially lethal to those with elven blood, designed to work quickly through the body before magical healing could be attempted. Against a human, it remained dangerous, but Ulrich’s body had resisted it far better than the demons would have expected.

His constitution was unusually strong.

The poison still hurt him. The number of cuts he had received during the fight gave it too many paths into his body, and the fever had lasted through most of the night. But he had survived the worst of it.

By Kaliantha’s order, Ulrich was given one of the royal guest chambers.

Knights guarded the corridor outside his door day and night. No servant entered without being checked. No physician worked alone. Even the medicines brought into the room were examined before they reached him.

The Queen did not intend to allow another threat near the man who had protected her.

During Ulrich’s treatment, his three adopted wards were given chambers within the royal castle as well.

Three witches being received as royal guests would normally have caused another scandal. There would have been whispers about their presence in the Keep. Nobles would have complained that witches had been allowed near the royal family. Some would have demanded that they be watched, searched, or removed.

But the events of the ceremony overshadowed everything else.

The sisters had remained in the ballroom through the attack. Esther had burst into tears the instant Ulrich collapsed from the poison, crying so openly and desperately that even the nobles who distrusted witches had fallen silent. Hermione and Airam had held her between them while physicians rushed around Ulrich, and the sight had left little room for the old image people carried of cruel, heartless witches.

They were simply three girls concerned for the man who had taken them in.

So the royal household offered them hospitality until Ulrich recovered.

The sisters were each assigned their own chamber, each furnished with rich bedding, wardrobes, and attendants ready to meet every request. They were given the privileges appropriate to honored guests under the Queen’s protection.

None of them wanted to sleep apart, however.

They chose one room together just like in Ulrich’s estate.

Esther also insisted that it be as close as possible to Ulrich’s chamber. Hermione tried to reason with her at first, pointing out that the royal physicians had said he needed rest, not three worried girls waiting outside his door.

Esther only shook her head.

"I want to be near him," she had said.

Airam had said nothing.

But when the maids asked whether she wished to return to her assigned chamber, she simply walked into the room Esther had chosen.

That settled the matter.

Fortunately, Ulrich did not require a long recovery.

The royal physicians gave the treatment their full attention, and by the next morning, his fever had begun to lessen. The poison had been meant for Kaliantha and her elven blood. Against Ulrich, it had been less efficient, though still serious enough that the physicians warned everyone not to disturb him.

His wounds needed time.

His body had endured more than anyone expected it to.

But he was recovering.

The next morning, the sisters woke early.

Royal maids entered their chamber quietly, carrying basins of warm water, folded towels, brushes, and fresh clothes. Morning light slipped through the tall curtains.

The routine itself was not unfamiliar.

At Rubenhart Estate, they had grown accustomed to servants helping them prepare for breakfast, arranging their hair, and laying out the gowns they had brought for the trip. The royal castle offered finer fabrics, more servants, and more careful attention than they were used to, but none of it made the sisters feel comfortable.

The castle was too large.

Its corridors were too quiet.

Every servant seemed to know when to lower their eyes. Every knight at every doorway made the place feel less like hospitality and more like a beautiful cage.

Hermione sat before a mirror while a maid arranged her hair.

Esther stood near the window, dressed but still looking tired. The usual brightness in her face had not returned. Her blue eyes remained shadowed, and she kept turning toward the door as though she might somehow hear news of Ulrich through the thick walls.

Airam allowed a maid to fasten the last clasp of her gown, then immediately stepped away when the woman tried to adjust the sleeves.

"I can do it," Airam said.

The maid bowed quickly and retreated.

None of them spoke much while they prepared.

They wanted to return to Rubenhart Estate.

It was less grand. Less crowded. Less suffocating beneath the eyes of strangers.

The royal castle had finer rooms, but it did not feel like home.

Once they were ready, a maid led them through the corridor toward breakfast.

Their room had been placed close to Ulrich’s chamber. When they passed his door, Esther slowed. Two royal knights stood outside, their armor bright beneath the morning light coming through the high windows across.

Esther looked toward the closed door.

"Is Lord Ulrich awake?" She asked.

One of the knights hesitated.

"The physicians said the Count is resting, my lady."

Esther nodded, though she did not look satisfied.

Hermione gently touched her shoulder.

"Let him sleep," she said. "We will see him later."

Esther followed her reluctantly.

They had only gone a short distance farther when someone appeared at the end of the corridor.

Princess Camellia.

She wore a simple morning gown rather than the elaborate dress she had worn two nights before. The absence of jewels and ceremony made her appear younger, especially with the fatigue still visible around her eyes. Yet she stood straight, her hands folded politely before her as she waited for the sisters to approach.

Hermione reacted first.

"Your Highness."

She curtsied properly.

Esther followed a moment later, lowering her head and gathering her skirts. Airam just looked at her.

Camellia smiled.

"Good morning," she said. "I was hoping I might find you."

Hermione rose from her curtsy.

"Is something wrong, Your Highness?"

"No." Camellia shook her head. "I only thought we could have breakfast together."

The invitation was phrased as a question.

But none of the sisters could reasonably refuse the royal princess.

"Of course," Hermione said, offering another polite nod.

Esther would normally have answered first.

She would have brightened at the thought of sharing breakfast with the Princess.

This morning, she only looked down.

Her expression remained subdued, dulled by everything that had happened to Ulrich. Worried above everything.

Camellia noticed.

Her smile softened.

"I heard the physicians say he is recovering," she told Esther. "Mother has made sure they are using every medicine they have."

He was already actually given the best vials, but he still had to be watched over since he had been hurt by demonic mana.

Esther lifted her eyes.

"Really?"

"Yes." Camellia nodded. "The Count Rubenhart is strong. He will recover."

Esther did not fully smile, but some of the tension left her shoulders.

Camellia turned toward the breakfast hall.

"Come," she said. "I would rather not eat alone this morning."

The sisters followed her through the long royal corridor.