The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 116
Alicia visited her hometown after a long time.
Her village hadn’t changed in the year she had been away. The stray dog lingering near the village entrance, the stream trickling through the center, and her old wooden house—all remained as they were.
As if she’d seen them just yesterday.
Alicia was talking to a man in front of her house.
He was dressed in a neat suit that didn’t quite match the rustic village setting, his hair slicked back carefully.
Alicia spoke to him.
“… thank you so much.”
She was calm and composed, more than usual, as she expressed her gratitude.
“It’s nothing. I was simply following the orders of Lord Vargan.”
The man replied, bowing his head slightly.
Alicia didn’t know it at the time, but during the year she had been away from the village, the man—an employee of the Schugenhartz family—had been responsible for protecting her foster mother.
It was a precautionary measure, as word had spread about the large sum of 100 gold pieces that had been delivered.
The man looked into Alicia’s tired eyes and spoke again.
“Rather, I should apologize. I was powerless to stop your mother’s health from deteriorating as the days passed.”
“No… I think she’s still with us because of your care. It wasn’t even your original duty, yet you took such good care of her. How could I ever accept an apology for that?”
After Alicia had been sold off.
Her foster mother’s health took a sharp decline.
Though she had always been prone to illness, this time the affliction gripped her relentlessly.
The man, who had initially been tasked with a simple guard duty, tried various ways to help her, but nothing seemed to have a lasting effect.
It was as if her time had simply run out.
And she was steadily drawing closer to death.
“Miss Alicia.”
The man called, causing her weary head to rise.
After hesitating for a moment, he spoke again.
“… no, never mind. It’s best not to leave your mother alone for too long. You should go in.”
“Yes… I should.”
The man seemed like he wanted to say something more but refrained.
After all, this was a matter between Alicia and her mother.
And he decided not to interfere.
***
For the next few days.
Alicia devoted herself completely to caring for her foster mother, to the point where the word <devotion> itself seemed to lose its meaning.
She had no time for herself, spending every moment by her mother’s bedside, attending to her every need.
She accepted food and firewood from the nearby Yaul family with gratitude, pouring all her time and effort into her mother’s care.
“……”
Her foster mother lay in bed, her eyes open.
A glance downward revealed her frail, stick-thin arms and legs.
Even breathing had become a struggle.
It felt as if, should she forget to force herself to breathe, she might simply stop and slip away into death.
As her breathing stabilized into a rhythm, she slowly turned her eyes.
There was a young woman with white hair, moving busily but quietly.
Though Alicia had always been good at household chores, she now moved with an almost otherworldly skill, her actions nearly soundless.
No doubt, she was being mindful of her dying mother.
Some things never change, the woman thought.
Alicia, still so foolishly kind, easy to take advantage of.
She had been sold off to the Schugenhartz family, but here she was, back during what little time off she had, wasting it on this.
She must be out of her mind.
Truly, she hadn’t changed since childhood—still just a naive little girl.
“Oh, you’re awake. Are you thirsty?”
Alicia asked, noticing her foster mother stirring.
She held out a glass of water she had prepared in advance, but the older woman shook her head slightly, declining.
Instead, she moved her cracked lips, speaking in a dry, harsh tone.
“… you stupid bitch.”
Alicia wasn’t surprised by the insult. She accepted it quietly and even smiled softly in response.
The woman hated that smile.
“Don’t just sit here. Go back. Are you planning to stay until I’m dead?”
“Please don’t say that…”
“<Don’t say that>, my foot…”
Her voice, hoarse and grating, carried a nervous edge as she snapped at Alicia.
She turned her body away, so the white-haired girl was no longer in view.
“……”
Alicia remained silent, staying at her side.
The silence was so heavy that it felt like you could hear the dust settling.
Though the two were in the same room, there was no exchange between them.
Just an unbroken quiet that seemed to stretch on endlessly.
“… I’m grateful to you, Mother.”
Alicia finally spoke.
“You took me in when I was an orphan and raised me. If it weren’t for you, I…”
“— I don’t want to hear it.”
The woman cut her off, still facing the wall, muttering bitterly under her breath, though Alicia could hear her clearly.
“What kind of nonsense is that… <raised you>? What a joke. Are you mocking me by pretending to be grateful for not beating you?”
From the time Alicia had come to live with her at the age of ten, she had known no rest.
All the household chores had naturally fallen to Alicia, and what little free time she had was spent working in the fields.
On bad days, her foster mother would call her inside only to slap her or verbally abuse her.
The neighbor, the ever-meddling Yaul family, had stepped in and fought with her many times over it.
Raised her?
Bullshit!
It had never been out of kindness or compassion.
Alicia had only been brought into the house to work.
She had been a convenient source of labor, nothing more. Alicia had been useful, and that was all.
‘… yes, useful. And disturbingly so.’
Alicia, there was definitely something strange about her.
At first, it was because she was too young. There was a clear power difference between an adult and a child that made it hard for her to resist.
She thought that was why she showed no signs of discontent or any hint of rebellion.
But no.
Even as Alicia grew older, she remained the same.
She never showed a hint of rebellion, always keeping that sickeningly pure smile on her face.
Despite the sting left on her hand after slapping Alicia, she had never once retaliated. She never ran away.
“Even after I sold you… you come crawling back like this…”
What an idiot.
She couldn’t stand that smile, and she never wanted to see her again. If she was going to leave after being sold, why didn’t she just go away for good…?
“You’re truly a foolish girl, Alicia.”
“……”
“You were like this when you were young, and you still are now. Judging by how you act, I bet you’ll keep living like this.”
“……”
“How long are you going to live so stupidly? Do you think the world is a joke? Please, get a grip. Even from what you just said… I… I…”
She never turned her body.
So that Alicia couldn’t see her expression.
So that Alicia didn’t know her emotions, she hid them as much as possible.
“What on earth have I even done for you…?”
… good grief.
I thought my life was finally getting easier, but now I’ve fallen ill.
I shouldn’t have ignored the saying that bad deeds will be punished.
If I had known it would come to this, I would have scolded Alicia less, worked her less.
“……”
Instead of saying anything, Alicia slowly approached her and leaned on her.
When their bodies touched, warmth was shared, and the rhythm of their hearts passed between them.
She could also hear Alicia’s heartbeat.
The space was that quiet.
After a moment, her dry, weakened throat opened.
“… Alicia.”
“… yes, Mother.”
It was far from an apology.
It might not be of much help to Alicia.
But she wanted to convey it.
“When I die, tear up the central floorboards.”
It couldn’t even be called a gift.
It was something she never could have in the first place.
“Live your life with what you find there.”
……
Alicia’s foster mother passed away precisely the next morning.
Alicia wept as she and the villagers mourned her passing.
And then.
After everything was settled, Alicia followed her foster mother’s last request and tore up the floorboards.
What she found there was the 100 gold coins and a few silver coins that had been received in exchange for selling her.
The gold coins were still in the pristine condition they had been in when first received, with no sign of dirt or wear.
***
The Portlet Mansion.
Three days after Erica and Vargan had their conversation by the lakeside at night.
Erica walked down a long corridor, lost in thought.
⎯I want to help you.
The words Schugenhartz had said wouldn’t leave her mind.
No matter what she was doing, they would suddenly pop up and torment her.
An impossible, unacceptable statement.
But Erica’s mother was currently in a state of severe anxiety.
So, Erica decided, just <this once>.
Not twice, just this one time, to accept his help.
She couldn’t say she trusted him…
Given the situation between both families and his position, it would be hard for him to pull any tricks.
Yes… that was right.
This wasn’t about trusting Schugenhartz.
It was about trusting both their families.
She repeated this to herself, thinking of her mother.
‘… I hope she makes a full recovery.’
At Erica’s request, Vargan had entered Lilians’ bedroom, where she was sleeping, and cast a curse spell on her.
From Erica’s perspective, as she watched the process, there didn’t seem to be anything suspicious.
It didn’t take long for the spell to be cast, and the effects appeared the very next day.
Erica’s mother, who had been hearing false voices planted by Vargan, was able to escape from her anxiety as if nothing had ever happened.
Since the cause of her distress had been dealt with, she returned to normal right away.
But this also indicated how overly dependent she had become.
Gradually, they would need to reduce the frequency of the spell and distance her from the voices.
Someday, even if the voices disappeared, Lilians’ mind would need to remain intact…
As these thoughts crossed her mind, Erica arrived at the room where Vargan was staying.
He would remain at the Portlet Mansion until the end of the remaining vacation period to keep an eye on her mother’s condition.
That was why they had lent him a guest room.
The door was slightly ajar.
Since he liked the darkness, only shadows spilled out from the crack, not light.
“……”
There were so many things she wanted to ask him.
She wanted to grab this infuriating man, who told her nothing, and forced him to confess everything.
If she could do that…
If she could do that.
Maybe the suffocating feeling in her chest would ease a little.
Feeling an inexplicable tension, Erica quietly swallowed and placed her small, pale hand on the door handle, waiting for a moment.
She wasn’t waiting for anything in particular.
It was simply because her body felt stuck, unable to move smoothly, as if it were malfunctioning.
⎯…… you.
Just as she was about to open the door.
A faint voice reached Erica’s ears.
A voice filled with delicate beauty. But it didn’t feel unfamiliar. It was a voice she knew well.
The voice was crying.
No matter how hard the speaker tried to stifle the sobs, the thick emotions seeped through the crack in the door.
Erica froze in place, holding her breath so even her breathing wouldn’t be heard, listening to what came next.
Though it wasn’t a standard communication crystal, but an emergency one, the voice quality wasn’t the best, it wasn’t hard to understand.
⎯… Master Vargan.
The voice belonged to none other than Alicia, Schugenhartz’s attendant and a rising star at the Academia.
Upon realizing this, Erica felt her heart begin to beat a little faster.
With a stiff body, she focused her ears.
Alicia was repeatedly expressing her gratitude to Vargan.
As if she were speaking to a savior or a family member she hadn’t seen in decades.
Her words were full of desperation.
And then she heard it. She couldn’t help but hear it.
⎯Master Vargan… I miss you.
Alicia had told Vargan, ‘I miss you.’
The tone of the words wasn’t that of a servant, at least not right now.
To Erica’s ears, it sounded like she was speaking as a woman.
“……”
Erica released her hand from the door handle.
She gave up on opening the door and took a few steps back.
She exhaled calmly and turned her head.
And then.
⎯Click.
With the sound of her heels, she walked away from the spot.