The Villain Bought the Heroine

Chapter 8

A refreshing morning.

The soft sunlight creeping in through the old window is welcoming.

“Ugh.”

Creak. An elderly man struggles to rise from his bed. As time goes by, there’s no part of his body, be it his back, joints, or elsewhere, that isn’t aching. Seeing his only beloved grandson get married is a joy, but he wonders if his body will hold up until then.

He changes his clothes while pondering. The room is chilly. Today, with the cold weather, it seems like he needs to wear thicker clothes.

His birthplace and a place with minimal contact with the outside world, the village of Rubid. This small village may not be grand or extraordinary like other major cities, but it is always peaceful and unchanging. Even looking back on his childhood memories, it doesn’t seem much different from now.

Only the members change. The buildings and nature remain unchanged.

Birds start chirping outside. Starting another leisurely day while listening to that sweet sound…

“Village Chief, Village Chief—! Come out quickly! It’s urgent! Hurry, hurry.”

Thud thud thud. A man pounded on the door looking for him. Startled enough to straighten his hunched back at the sudden noise, he pounded his waist with his fist and opened the door.

“What’s the matter? Urgent?”

A young man standing in front of the door, panting from running from a distance, continued with his breathless words.

“Panting. No, it’s that. A fancy carriage has arrived, looking for the highest-ranking person in the village. It’s early in the morning, so we tried to handle it locally, but the person is not listening…”

“Wait, wait. It’s too chaotic for this old man to keep up. So, who has come to the village…?”

The young man frowned, exhaling deeply. Why would such a person suddenly appear in this village, completely unrelated to the high nobility! The young man is being driven by the current situation.

The young man repeated that there’s no time to lose and pulled the Village Chief’s hand, urging to go quickly. But the Village Chief couldn’t just go like that. He needed to assess the situation at least. Reluctantly, he raised his head, asking to be informed about which family the visitor came from.

“Hey, it’s frustrating. We need to go quickly! How much trouble are the villagers going through right now!”

“Well, this person. At least we should know which family they belong to, right?”

The young man looked frustrated. There was no room for such a commotion at the moment.

“Shugenharz!”

The man urged the Village Chief.

“Oh well, Shugenharz’s son has come to our village!”

“What…? Wait, descendants have come?”

Upon hearing that name, his brain, which had been neglected for so long and filled with dust, suddenly started making strange noises as if electricity was flowing in.

No matter how little he knew about the news outside the village, he was familiar with that name. It was one of the few prestigious family names he knew, second only to the imperial family of the Troa Empire.

The heir of such a prestigious family is said to have come to this rural village. Why? For what reason? No matter how much he thought, there didn’t seem to be a plausible explanation.

Filled with all sorts of questions, but first, there was a course of action to take.

“Come on, let’s go!”

The busy legs of the Village Chief thankfully remembered the act of running. He dashed up the steep hill with his thin legs.

***

“What an unimpressive village.”

Whether the word “development” had been buried as fertilizer or the village seemed to be regressing. It was my honest impression, accustomed to mansions and bustling cities.

The man who seemed to be the Village Chief of the village was nodding his head without any response to my words. I thought this village, full of people who didn’t even know the name of the current emperor, would be devoid of the grandeur of Shugenharz. Yet surprisingly, the prestige of Shugenharz extended to this rural village.

“As you say, our Rubid village is a humble place with nothing to boast about except nature.”

“I included that nature in my statement.”

“Oh….”

I didn’t expect towering mountains or magnificent rocks, but there was nothing remarkable, even in the nature the man was talking about. If simplicity is charming, then perhaps it is charming, but it doesn’t catch my eye.

“Um… Excuse me.”

The Village Chief hesitated, unable to speak, and his awkwardness was far from amusing. I nodded, encouraging him to speak.

“The, the esteemed descendants of Shugenharz… Um, may I ask why you have visited such a humble village?”

“It is not allowed.”

“Pardon?”

Are commoners all like this? The reaction of Alisia and the villagers was so strange that it gave me chills.

Next, the Village Chief raised his head with the same foolish expression.

“You don’t need to know.”

“Ah… I understand. It wasn’t something for the likes of me to know, I apologize—.”

“You’ll be staying for a few days, so provide the best room available here. Oh, right. Since you’re the head of the village, your room must be the finest.”

“…Yes, understood. If this humble abode is acceptable to you, I will have it cleaned immediately.”

The village head’s eyebrows, which had been furrowed, twitched for a moment.

Don’t make such a fierce expression. Do you think I’m some gangster who won’t offer any benefits?

Clang. When the thin conductor-filled bag was thrown to the ground, a rather solid sound resonated. The village head slightly raised his head to sneak a glance at it.

“Open it and check inside. I didn’t put it there to disappoint you.”

The village head’s movements were cautious, as if touching a suspicious object. His hands, with creases forming, began to untie the elaborately decorated bag. Then, he gently opened it to inspect what was inside.

“Th-this… Are you really giving all of this to me?!”

Wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

The hand holding the silver bag trembled.

Yes, this seems to elicit a similar reaction from commoners.

The amount was equivalent to what one would spend at the most luxurious inn in the capital city. It should be more than enough to cover expenses in this small village.

“If you don’t want it all, I can give you only a portion.”

“I will have the room cleaned immediately. Please wait a moment!”

“Since the room is taken care of, bring some sheep or a few goats. I mean lively ones.”

“S-sheep and goats, you say? Understood! I’ll prepare lively ones right away.”

The village head’s busy day had begun with a bang.

***

“It’s a small but charming village with a unique taste. Although you, sir, seemed displeased with everything the moment we got off the carriage, I like it here.”

Paula looked at Alicia next to her, hoping for a response. However, Alicia just stared ahead with unfocused eyes, not answering.

“…Alicia, why are you so absent-minded?”

“…..”

“Alicia?”

“Oh? Oh! I’m sorry, sir.”

“Come to think of it, Alicia, your hometown was also in the countryside, right? Are you immersed in nostalgia for your hometown?”

“Yes….”

Traces of a harvest already reaped and shortened. Black fertilizers are scattered all over the golden stems. Beside them, a small stone wall made of several angular rocks stretches out.

Showing signs of age with various marks of time….

“Oh? There’s someone over there?”

Paula pointed with her finger towards the vicinity of the stone wall. Alicia’s gaze naturally followed in that direction.

Rustle. Brown hair is visible. She tried to cover her body, but it seems she didn’t consider hiding her long hair.

Step by step. Alicia approached the stone wall. As she got closer, the surprised children, who didn’t expect her to approach, lifted their heads and blinked rapidly.

Two young girls even smaller than the low stone wall. Judging by their appearance and height difference, they seemed to be sisters.

Presuming the older girl, blocking the younger one’s path, greeted Alicia with cautious eyes.

“It’s, it’s the first time an outsider has come in… So… we weren’t trying to do anything bad!”

The girl’s voice trembled. She was consumed by the thought that they might get scolded, yet she did not move to protect a life smaller than hers.

Alicia, looking at them with clear eyes, realized she was seen as a threat by them and adjusted her movements.

She grasped the end of her skirt with both hands, lightly moved her right foot back, and slightly bowed her head to show respect.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Alicia.”

Clean and neat movements. What Alicia learned from being sold to Bargan wasn’t just magic and swordsmanship.

The girl standing in front of her starts blinking her eyes again. Her large eyelids move rapidly. Then, the muscles on her face, which were frozen in fear, change. She then speaks in a high tone.

“You look like a princess!”

The girl’s eyes sparkle. Like a child seeing snow falling from the sky for the first time, she expresses wonder with a delighted expression.

“A princess? Are you a princess? Did you come from the castle? Why? Why did the princess come out?”

The girl quickly turns around Alicia, continuing with her questions. While questioning Alicia’s existence as something special, she also seems convinced.

“Your hair is sparkling, and your skin is so pale! You must be a princess because you are so white! But why aren’t you wearing princess clothes?”

“Well, I’m not a princess…”

“Oh! I know! You’re in disguise, right? You sneaked out in disguise to meet the prince!”

The girl’s own fairy tale was unfolding right here. She had heard countless stories from her mother for 7 years now. Based on her long indirect experiences, the puzzle in the girl’s mind was starting to come together.

Suddenly realizing something, the girl shrinks her body even more, making her already small body even smaller. She even extends her index finger to cover her mouth.

“Shh! We need to be quiet, right? It’s a secret, we shouldn’t get caught, right?”

The tense girl even started to fidget nervously, swallowing hard. Alicia didn’t know how to handle her unexpected reaction. Just as Alicia was feeling flustered, Paula approached.

Alicia thought Paula would smoothly resolve the situation, but…

“Yes~ This lady is a princess who secretly left the castle to meet the prince. So, you must not tell anyone about this fact. Keep it a secret, okay?”

“Wizard! She’s a wizard! She’s wearing a really big hat. Just like in fairy tales!”

“I just told you to be quiet… Fine, I’ll turn you into a frog!”

As Paula reached her hand up, making exaggerated gestures, the girl wrapped herself around a smaller girl, shielding her. She was saying things like, “I thought you were a good wizard, but you’re a bad wizard!”

“Oh no, the situation has worsened. I’m sorry, Alicia.”

“No, it’s my fault for not handling it properly from the start.”

A little boy behind them tilted his head curiously. The fearlessness in his eyes was filled with curiosity.

“Gondyu? Sister, Gondyu?”

“Freesia, no. There are bad wizards too!”

“Bad wizards? Why are bad wizards with Gondyu?”

“Well, that’s…”

The girl rummaged through the knowledge she had accumulated through long indirect experiences. She knew of similar situations. Among the countless stories her mother had told her.

“Kidnapping?!”

There was that too.

“No, it’s not that…”

“You’re making a fuss. Was I just idling while negotiating? Ridiculous, I should have surrounded the area more than once!”

As Alicia tried to clear up the misunderstanding, a man’s voice cut in. Bargan, who had finished talking with the village chief, approached briskly. To the children, his imposing figure and firm tone were enough to instill awe.

The girl struggled to open her small mouth and said, pointing her finger firmly at the target.

“I, evil wizard leader…!”