The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 1
“Hand over your daughter to me.”
“E-excuse me?”
Ah, that was a statement that could be misunderstood. Let me rephrase.
“Sell your daughter to me.”
“What do you mean all of a sudden…?”
The woman, with dirt-stained clothes covering her head, looked at me in confusion. I already explained my status and the current situation when I entered this house. Yet here we are. It seemed commoners were slow to understand, as expected.
“I will give you fifty gold.”
“F-fifty…!”
She covered her surprised mouth with her rough hands. Perhaps this amount of money was something she had never seen or heard of in her life.
Upon hearing the exact number, her eyes darted around excitedly. Then, the woman, who had coughed nervously, looked at me with a somewhat serious expression. That was not the look of a mother but of a skilled negotiator.
“I-if I may, could I ask why you want to take my daughter?”
It was rude enough to say that. After all, didn’t what she want was a sufficient amount of money? From what I could see, she was probably trying to raise the price further depending on my reason. To be translated in an easy-to-understand manner, it went like this.
-If I may be so bold, isn’t the amount proposed by the esteemed Schugenharz duchy a bit insufficient?
Yes, desire was a powerful thing. When negotiating, one’s desires tend to surface. Although she didn’t seem to have the talent for negotiation, I would make sure to fulfill her desires this time.
“I will give you one hundred gold.”
“…!!”
“Now, let me make this clear once more.”
I stated it as if it were a final notice, as if it were the last chance.
“Sell your daughter to me.”
And so, the deal was concluded.
***
Creak.
Despite having set up magical mechanisms, here we were. Even the best carriage, which I expected to be smooth, was uncomfortable for someone from an era where roads were well-paved.
The scenery outside passed by. I could see the long stretch of road. It was made as smooth as possible, but it was nothing compared to asphalt. It seemed the problem lay not with the carriage but with the road.
“…….”
A woman sitting in front of me, huddled up, caught my eye.
Her eyes were fixed on the ground, and her hands, clenched into fists, tremble, perhaps from the carriage’s recoil.
For someone of the same age as me, she was unusually beautiful for a farmer’s daughter. It was almost as if she were intentionally designed that way.
“Do you think I would eat you?”
I asked the trembling girl, who seemed surprised by the unexpected question. Her gut seemed to be smaller than a soybean.
“Don’t worry. I’m not a pervert who enjoys human flesh, nor do I have any desire to understand such tastes. Are you still nervous?”
“…….”
“I see you’re not going to answer. Are you going to ignore the words of your future Master now? I thought your gut is smaller than a pea, but it’s actually quite big, huh?”
“Oh, no! … I’m sorry.”
The embarrassed girl lowered her head and confessed her mistake. Her entire body was shaking slightly, as if she was holding back from crying.
“What a troublesome guy. I’ll tell you only once, so listen carefully.”
I spatted lightly.
“From now on, you will be my exclusive servant. I bought you from your mother for a hefty sum of one hundred gold, so I won’t entertain any objections from you.”
“… yes.”
She nodded slightly.
“Your job is to attend to me and perform the tasks I assign you. They won’t be easy tasks. But they’ll be much more valuable than anything you’ve done before.”
Since you had been exploited for labor by someone referred to as your mother, working under me would be a benefit to you.
“What I assign you will be a whole new world you’ve never experienced before. Hm… well, it’s not something to hide, so I’ll tell you straight. How much do you know about magic?”
“Well, if it’s magic…”
“Ah, that’s it. Don’t say. Anyway, for you, magic is a mysterious thing that’s difficult to understand. But magic is not that far away. Look.”
–Tap!
When I flicked my finger, a small fireball was created in the air, conveying its warmth. Although it was small in size, it was a precise and dense fire.
“Uuu. Fire…!”
“You idiot, stop being surprised.”
When she widened her eyes and was truly surprised, I turned off the light and continued.
“What I just said is a very basic thing that nobles learn when they are running around with both feet. It may be surprising to you, a commoner, but not to us.”
I smiled. Now came the main point.
“You’re going to learn magic.”
“M-magic…?!”
… but that wasn’t all.
Actually, you had to learn magic. For this world, for Academia. There were other reasons, of course, but most importantly, it was for me.
“How could someone like me…?”
“Tsk tsk. Your self-esteem must be very low if you think of yourself as a commoner. What’s with your disdain for your own worth? You’re lacking negotiation skills just like your mother.”
There was no need for such useless worries. After all, you…
“You’re a genius.”
“A g-genius…!”
“Yeah, not just a genius, but a crazy genius!”
She looked bewildered. She was undoubtedly shocked.
“Saying you’re crazy doesn’t mean your mind has gone awry; it’s an emphasis that you’ve surpassed the level of an ordinary genius. You have that much talent, more than just a genius.”
At our current age, both she and I were 16 years old. Compared to me, who received elite education from a young age, she was not only slow to learn magic but also exploded with frustration. However, even under such unfavorable conditions, her talent would surpass everyone in Academia.
“So don’t worry unnecessarily. Just believe and follow.”
Alicia is the most important character and heroine of this novel in which I transmigrated to, <I Transmigrated into a Side Character in an Academy Novel?!> After a pilgrim at a church discovered her talent when she happened to visit, she enrolled in Academia and displayed an outrageous genius capability.
But the problem was that she became a hindrance to my future.
Therefore, I resolved to make her my ally before she became an obstacle to me. The result was the current situation.
—I turned the most important character and heroine, <Alicia>, into my <exclusive follower>.
Was my action dirty? If you had money and status, you should use them properly. Wasn’t it foolish not to? Besides, I was a duke’s son and an antagonist. Moreover, it was still a delicate time when her talent hadn’t even been fully revealed. Would I miss this opportunity?
“Any other questions?”
“….”
“No response again.”
“Oh, uh, well… there is!”
In a hurry, she blurted out, unraveling something she had been trying to hide in her heart. Inside was a miscellaneous item that she held dear for reasons I couldn’t understand.
“… how is my mother doing?”
“It seems you don’t want your mother, who has been pressuring you all this time, to see herself being sold off for profit, right? Well, fine. If you want, in a very dirty and lethal way, I can take all her property….”
“That’s not it!”
The girl cried out desperately. It was the first time I had heard such a strong voice. It piqued my interest.
“… okay? It’s uncomfortable to interrupt me like that, but I’m more interested in hearing what you have to say, so I’ll forgive you and ask.”
So, what were you trying to say?
“My… mother….”
Her large pupils moistened with tears.
“My mother, besides me, has no other family… once I’m sold, she’ll be left alone in a sad place with no one else… oh?!”
Tap, tap.
I knocked on her forehead several times, as if to knock some sense into her.
It was an action born out of not understanding what nonsense she was talking about.
Eyes filled with questioning looked at me.
“Oh, I just had to check something in the item I bought today. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“…??”
Her eyes were full of question marks as she clasped her hands around the area I hit.
Sorry, but I had the same question marks.
Strange. So strange.
When I checked, there didn’t seem to be any problems. What nonsense… ah, could it be?
Having a slight hunch.
—Ha
I took a long sigh.
“Could it be that you’re genuinely worried about your mother?”
“… yes.”
“It’s unbelievable.”
Really unbelievable.
I roughly knew Alicia’s personality. She was the heroine with the most screen time among the heroines in the novel I read. That meant a lot of her psychology was expressed.
But I didn’t expect her to be such a naive fool.
Talking to her in person felt new.
“You were sold to me by your mother. Did you forget that?”
“… I know.”
“Even knowing that, if you act like this, the term <insane> might refer to your head rather than your talent.”
“….”
She spoke cautiously, bowing her head very politely.
“… may this humble girl dare to ask for a favor from the esteemed son of a great Duke?”
“What if I say no?”
“… if that’s the case, I won’t show any further disrespect.”
Oh, look at this.
“Speak up. I reluctantly forgive your disrespect.”
“Thank you…. for your vast generosity, like the sea….”
“No need for such flowery language. Get to the point.”
“… yes.”
She raised her head. In her eyes, which were once filled with tears, a strong determination could now be seen.
“Please… allow me, even if only once a year, to visit my mother. If you do so, I will comply with any request.”
Any request.
She said she would comply with any request. I needed to confirm once again.
“You’re clearly saying… you’ll comply with any request? There’s no falsehood in your statement, right?”
Well, if worse came to worst, I could just kill her.
“There is no falsehood. If you grant my request, I will carry out any command.”
“Is that so…?”
A smile involuntarily crept onto my lips. Things seemed to be getting easier.
“….!”
I approached her abruptly.
Our faces were close enough for me to feel her faint breath.
“….”
Then, I removed my thin gloves and grasped her chin, pulling it towards me. Even the warmth of her neck was transferred to my hand.
We were so close that it seemed our lips would touch.
Her skin was unbelievably fine for a peasant’s daughter.
Her cheek felt warm.
Was she startled by my sudden action?
I reached her ear after passing her lips.
Then, I whispered softly.
“I won’t accept your proposal.”
—Clunk.
The carriage stopped.
The destination was the mansion where I lived.
The door of the carriage was opened by a servant who came to greet us, and as I stood up and turned around into the sunlight, I looked back at Alicia, who was sitting hesitantly.
“Welcome. This will be your new home from now on.”
Tell me, Alicia.
My future self.
Did I kill you, or did I save you?