The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 54
Breakfast Time
For little Erica, mornings were a dreadful moment.
Heavy eyelids kept wanting to close, but they shouldn’t.
She shouldn’t stretch in front of the dining table.
She shouldn’t yawn.
Because meals that began with a prayer weren’t just about eating, they were a time to be with the one and only Yggdrasil, so manners had to be observed.
Failing to keep proper table manners was unthinkable in the devout Portlet family.
… she tried to keep her mind reverent, but it wasn’t easy. The fork she held in her tiny hand kept slipping as she lost her strength.
Then, a word that made Erica’s slowly closing eyes suddenly flash open.
She was getting a fiancé.
And it was the famous third son of the Schugenhartz family.
A letter! A letter had arrived!
She exchanged letters with Vargan.
A time when they didn’t know each other’s faces yet.
It was a time before the engagement ceremony.
Whoa…!
Eight-year-old Erica was amazed when she read Vargan’s letter. His difficult vocabulary was unbelievable for someone their age.
The neat handwriting, as if measured with a ruler.
The refined elegance and consideration felt within.
Erica’s big eyes sparkled.
He was an adult.
An impressive grown-up, different from herself.
Probably, someone like Vargan wouldn’t find mornings hard.
Hey, Laila! What does this mean?
Erica, who hated learning difficult words, went over each word in Vargan’s letter, wanting to understand it.
She wanted to know what he was saying.
She wanted to know what he was thinking.
What he was interested in, what he disliked, what he was looking at…
She wanted to know more about him.
Erica often spent time with her maid, Laila, reading Vargan’s letters and writing replies. That time was the happiest moment of Erica’s day.
[Dear Vargan, I have read your letter well. From your writing style, I can tell you’re a good person… I too want to become someone suitable for you… I eagerly await the day I meet you.]
Done! Surely, he’ll like it, right?
Really.
It was a happy time.
***
“… haa.”
Dressed neatly in a black dress, Erica let out a deep sigh as she headed to the promised meeting place under the clock tower.
It was <of course> not to impress Vargan that she was dressed up.
There wouldn’t be any during dinner, but for the play, there was almost an 80% chance there would be someone her mother had planted there.
Imagine the report saying she met Vargan in shabby clothes. How could she handle the aftermath?
So, Erica was wearing this uncomfortable, frilly dress. The only saving grace was that it had been modified for outings, so it didn’t drag on the ground.
She desperately wanted to go back.
She wanted to return to the dormitory, eat sweet cake, and read a magic book.
Why did they need to celebrate an engagement anniversary that neither of them wanted? Even with such thoughts, her resigned steps clicked as she walked to the meeting place.
“You have arrived.”
A man whose appearance highlighted his aristocratic features.
Vargan had arrived at the meeting place in advance.
… oh.
She hadn’t expected him to be here first.
Erica glared at Vargan from head to toe with a surly look. A greeting came out of her mouth.
“At least you have some sense.”
Vargan was dressed in a stylish suit. He always wore luxurious clothes, but today it was clear that he had dressed even more formally.
Mother would be pleased to know this.
“Did you choose the color for me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It just happened to match.”
Both were dressed in deep black clothes, making them look like a pair. Even their attire had a similar atmosphere, as if made by the same tailor.
“Let’s go.”
“… what are you doing?”
Erica tightened the arm that had been linked and stepped back slightly. Her body reacted instinctively to Vargan’s sudden action.
“I am your fiancé.”
“So?”
“Today is our engagement anniversary.”
“… so?”
Vargan lightly shook his extended hand.
He said confidently, as if it were something obvious.
“It means we should hold hands.”
“…”
Erica’s expression turned pale as she retracted her arm, wrapping herself tightly. She shivered as if she had seen something disgusting.
She snapped at Vargan, asking if this was a new way to torment her by gauging her reaction.
Then she briskly walked ahead.
Seeing her scurrying away like a chick, Vargan let out a wry laugh. Her efforts to put distance between them were futile as he quickly caught up due to their difference in stride length.
Thus.
“… what are you looking at so intently?”
On the airship, Erica crossed her legs and spoke.
It seemed to be a special day as only she and Vargan were aboard.
“I was suddenly reminded of old memories.”
“Old memories?”
“Do you remember, Erica? The first time we rode an airship together?”
“Wait. I know what it is, so don’t say it.”
Erica stretched out her hand to stop Vargan from opening his mouth. Although she tried to appear calm, her tone was slightly agitated.
“Back then, you were gentle and timid. You barely managed to push away your fear to ride the airship with me, but when we rose into the sky and the ground receded, you cried a lot.”
“Ah, stop! I said stop…!”
“Why deny your past self? They are all good memories.”
“It may be amusing to you as it gives you something to tease me about, but not to me!”
Erica stood up and stomped her feet. She rarely lost her temper so openly in front of others, but she couldn’t hold back her anger and raised her voice in front of Vargan.
“That’s unfortunate.”
The childhood memories Erica and Vargan shared were a weak spot for Erica.
She wanted to erase all traces of her younger self. Her naive and fragile childhood. And most of all, the self that had innocently followed Vargan.
“I must have been crazy back then.”
“Childhood is always naive and immature, isn’t it?”
“… you were the most mature when you were a child.”
“When we first met?”
“Of course, it was all just a facade.”
Recalling unpleasant memories, Erica turned her head sharply to look outside. Her sulky eyes stared at the sky.
Thick clouds floated below the airship. It was a view she couldn’t have looked at before out of fear, but now… no, no. Why was she feeling sentimental because of Schugenhartz?
“You’ve grown a lot, Erica.”
“Ugh…!”
As if everything had been exposed, Erica’s face turned red, and Vargan smiled contentedly. Erica felt even more humiliated by his expression, and the feeling lasted for a while.
***
As the sun began to set, Diphelia spent time communicating with plants in a small conservatory near the dormitory.
Her heart felt gloomy.
Even touching the rough bark of trees.
Even smelling the fragrant flowers.
The dark clouds in her heart did not lift.
Then, she felt someone watching her. The small bird, chirping, turned its body and looked outside the glass.
“Who is it…?”
It was someone she had never seen before.
He was wearing the Academia uniform, but she had never seen him even in passing. It was hard to tell if he was male or female. He was wearing pants, but that was a choice anyone could make, so he couldn’t be identified as male for sure.
He entered the conservatory.
Perhaps he was just here to observe the plants? But before she could finish that thought, he walked right up to Diphelia and spoke to her.
Diphelia felt a mysterious sensation upon seeing him. He looked human but seemed not to be. An ambiguous feeling.
“Hello?”
His voice was cheerful.
It was full of curiosity.
But there was an unmistakable sense of detachment from humanity.
“Yes… nice to meet you. Are you here to see the plants?”
Though she knew otherwise, Diphelia slightly diverted the conversation to gauge his reaction.
He laughed, saying, “What? No, no. I would never do something so dull!”
Then, he suddenly changed his demeanor.
He mentioned that he was there to deliver a message from someone, which marked a turning point.
It was as if he became a different person; his gaze, his tone—everything changed. He exuded the aura of some arrogant noble she was supposed to meet today.
“Diphelia, saint devoured by a hollow dream. Do you think you can cut anyone down with such a rusty sword?”
Even his voice changed, which shocked Diphelia.
It wasn’t just mimicry. If she hadn’t seen him warming up his voice, she would’ve thought Vargan himself was speaking—it was exactly the same voice.
“The future you see is a relic of the past. It has passed and will not return. But you, who have never stepped out of that world, would not understand. You do not know how the oracles work.”
He seemed to mock her.
Ridiculing her ignorance and dismissing her beliefs.
Vargan, delivering his will through Naias, found that the saint controlled by the oracles was laughable.
“Oh, I should tell you this.”
In the middle of speaking, Naias reverted to his initial, bright voice. He could partially change his form.
“From here on, don’t misunderstand; this is not me speaking. I hold no ill will toward you. Well, no good feelings either.”
“…”
Diphelia calmly settled her mind and listened to his voice. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t displeased, but she had to listen until the end, as this was a response to her letter.
Naias’s voice once again carried Vargan’s tone.
“Do not try to test me, saint.”
Do not evaluate.
Do not judge.
Do not attempt to understand.
“You are ignorant. With your aimless ideals, you lack the capacity to understand others.”
You, who merely follow behind what you called a god, picking up breadcrumbs, did not know the essence.
You probably never tried to understand.
It was truly lamentable.
A person who should lead others and illuminate the path, reduced to peering at the ground like a lamb.
… but I was a noble and one who sincerely loved humanity.
“Therefore, I wish to give you a chance.”
Naias took out a music box from his bosom. He placed it right in front of Diphelia, to make it easier for her to take.
Diphelia frowned and looked up at him. Her closed eyes met the spirit’s deep gaze.
Naias delivered his final message.
“It’s a music box filled with illusions. I’ve imbued it with my will. I won’t force you, but if you wish to escape from us, it would be wise to open it.”
“…”
Diphelia stared at the music box for a long time with her unseen eyes. With Naias gone, the music box’s presence became even more prominent.
A small music box placed on a glass table.
What it contained was Vargan’s curse magic.
At the same time, it might be his ideals.
Should she open it or not?
The saint pondered.
She didn’t believe that her thoughts or the path she had walked were wrong. She only felt that Vargan’s twisted notions were trying to belittle her.
Her minor threats had no effect on Vargan. He would act as he pleased.
But he left a possibility.
Maybe by examining the music box, she could understand the structure of his thoughts and enlighten him.
As a saint, she had particularly strong resistance to curses. If he had set up something strange, she could dispel it.
In that case, opening it might be the right choice.
Perhaps she could cleanse him and hold his hand to keep him from falling into a dark pit.
“…”
The saint placed her delicate hand on the music box. Though she had made up her mind, her hesitant hand did not move easily.
She steadied her resolve once again.
Slowly.
Carefully, she grasped the top of the music box.
The saint gently lifted the small lid.
***
I had an early dinner with Erica.
It was a proper course meal.
There was a long wait between courses, allowing us to have a lot of conversation, during which Erica mentioned the saint’s name.
“Don’t mess with Diphelia.”
She spoke with eyes sharp like a fierce cat.
She seemed to be referring to when Diphelia handed me a letter.
Apparently, Erica thought I had made some underhanded move on Diphelia, causing her to be dragged around in fear. From the looks of it, Erica had not heard the full story, indicating she was not on good terms with Diphelia recently.
I have no interest. If it’s not business, I wouldn’t say a word.
Well, that’s a relief.
Erica still looked uneasy, but she didn’t ask for details. That was just like her.
After a somewhat enjoyable dinner, we arrived at the theater.
I was standing in front of it, admiring the overall structure of the building.
It was a spacious building that combined the structure of a past theater with modern style, giving it a luxurious look as if an orchestra were about to perform.
“…”
“Aren’t you going in?”
Lost in memories of the past, Erica woke me up.
A play here.
It felt different.
“Hmm…?”
Erica, hesitating, extended her hand slightly.
She turned her head to avoid my eyes.
“If we don’t do this, it will look suspicious.”
She seemed worried that someone from her household would report on her. Well, it wasn’t a wrong judgment.
I took her hand as it was.
The slightly cold, delicate hand conveyed its feel.
The sense that had been dormant within me through Vargan’s memory seemed no different from back then.
“…”
“Are you embarrassed?”
“… not at all.”
She emphasized her indifference by gripping my hand tighter. Her easily provoked nature made her seem simple.
“…”
I gradually got lost in such sentiments.
But I shouldn’t fully let my guard down.
Never forget.
This outing wasn’t just a date.
Clack.
A wide stage came into view.
So did numerous seats.
Clack.
With this quarter, the future would change significantly again.
There were things I wanted to test.
He would be the target and disappear from the world.
Clap, clap, clap.
Eventually, the curtain rose.
Darkness surrounded us, and the only ones brightly illuminated were those on stage.