Mastermind: Genderbent Villainess

"There's no use complaining about it, Robert was the heir from the very beginning. I am just the second born child that doesn't get much attention." Diana sulked. 

"Your brother's name is Robert?" Yuri had never actually known who Diana's brother was since she was just a baron's daughter that had long since given up on men. 

"My brother is good at swordsmanship, magic, literature, military tactics, archery, mathematics… he's good at everything. On top of that, people say he's more handsome than Prince Evan. How am I supposed to compete with Robert?" Diana ignored Yuri's question, drifting off into her own brooding spiral. It had been a long time since she had even thought about her life at the Jeanne Duchy, and now all of the gloom was rushing back.

"Hmmph! But you have Tanya." Yuri pouted. As a supportive friend that had been with Diana since the beginning of the academy year, she did not take well to Diana being so depressed. The both of them had considered each other as best friends, thought they had never said it in words. It was more or less a de facto situation.

"Tanya is Tanya. If I compare Tanya to my brother, then my brother is a pile of burning sh*t. But if I compare myself to my brother…"

"I get it." Yuri did not want to hear Diana continue her sentence. The mood was bad enough as it is.

"I don't even know what I'm good at. I think I just wasted the entire year if I'm being honest. All I've done is follow Tanya around and not make a move until last month."

"Hush hush… Diana, I will help you outshadow your bro." Yuri placed her finger on Diana's lips, attempting to emulate the confidence of Tanya.

"Only Tanya can put me at ease with that. Stop copying her." Diana felt violated.

"..." 

"Tanya said that the move would be enough to calm anyone down." Yuri murmured to herself.

"You didn't do it right."

"..."

The room became silent again. Without Tanya to help liven up the mood, it was very hard. Yuri wasn't exactly adept at cheering people up even though she was practically a saint. She couldn't really read people too well either.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Come in."

The door opened. The other girls immediately streamed through and jumped onto the huge bed, all tired and weak from sitting around the entire day.

"I'm finally done with the paperwork for the rest of the month… it feels good to have nothing left to do." Tanya sighed, stretching her body while tossing and turning on the huge bed. Everyone followed her into the bed and got into comfortable positions.

"Does that mean you won't be giving us the cold shoulder tonight?" Rose looked at Tanya with a bit of sass in her tone, clearly wishing for spring to return.

"Tanya… please help Diana." Yuri spoke up, buried under the other girls that had jumped onto the bed abruptly.

"With what? Diana, what do you need?" Tanya asked.

"Yuri, I think it's better for me to handle it on my own. Robert would probably flame me if I show up with Tanya as my backup. It's just invitin* humiliation." Diana interjected. Under the mass of bodies, she still wanted to get her point across. 

The shifting massed eventually separated slightly and everyone bunched together more neatly. Tanya was at the centre and the girls crowded around her as usual.

"Diana, that's no fair. Your affairs are my affairs." Tanya pouted, feeling untrusted by Diana. After all of the time they had spent together, surely Diana would trust her more than this.

"If you have any trouble, I will always be here to help~" Tanya smugly smiled as she tickled Diana's waist.

"Engh~!" Diana twitched as she nudged back. The life had returned to her face as soon as Tanya returned. It was like she had become alive again.

"So it's something about Robert Jeanne huh? I heard he's going to go through his official coming of age ceremony soon; I wonder if you are troubled because of that?" Tanya guessed right. She had spent plenty of time researching and keeping up to date with domestic politics. This is one of the reasons she was so busy lately.

"He's going to be a Duke soon… I'm not even a baroness. My life will only be reliant on marriage at this rate." Diana explained.

"Okay… do you have any unique talents which can make you shine?" Tanya asked all of a sudden.

'Perhaps Diana can become a duchess before me…' Tanya thought to herself. If Diana could be proven to be better than her brother, she just might be able to take the seat of duchess. But that was just speculation.

Tanya did not waste much time with these questions.

"Not really. I'm average in everything." Diana responded tiredly.

"Okay."

"What level are you with your strongest job right now?" If Tanya was correct, Diana should at least be at the 2nd ascension after going hunting with her.

"I remember you were training as a [Warmage] so you shouldn't be bad at magic."

"I am only level 7 right now. It's so hard to level up." Diana answered. After going with Tanya to hunt, she had gained many levels, it was just that she couldn't get any of those kills if Tanya hadn't been there. So her recent level increases have declined.

"Okay. I think your brother should be at the early 2nd ascension by now. So why don't you not go to the ceremony and stay with us? I don't see why you have to be there, you won't be keeping your surname for much longer anyway." Penelope believed that Tanya would probably take Diana too, so being an heiress wouldn't count for too much. 

"Your brother is a creep. He tried to propose to me earlier this year. This is among the reasons that I approached Tanya in the first place." Serena commented. Her opinion of Robert was not any good. She honestly disliked him.

"I understand your reasoning, but this is a pride thing. I can't just not attend… I would be losing my parents plenty of face."

The words were true. Diana would be disrespecting her parents by not attending.

"Diana, you don't really want to go. Therefore, you will not go. Tomorrow it will be announced that Robert Jeanne went after Serena Golde and has therefore incurred the displeasure of Countess Sera, Duke Vermillion, King Golde, and everyone else I feel would be good enough to threaten him with. The case is closed from then onwards, okay?" Tanya announced, attempting to reassure Diana one last time.

"If this happens, I doubt your parents will continue the ceremony as scheduled."

"But then I would just be relying on your power. What about my own strengths?"

This was truly a tough dilemma.

Tanya had never dealt with a scenario like this. She just wanted to help yet Diana wanted to be so independent.