The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 58
Erica slowly opened her eyes.
It had been a long sleep.
It was the first time since she was very young that she had slept so soundly in a single day.
She could see the form of a man bathed in the soft light of the night sky.
He spoke to her.
“You’re awake.”
“… where are we?”
“As you can see, we’re on an airship returning to Academia. It’s well past curfew already.”
“…….”
The professors continued their investigation at the scene of the incident, while only Vargan and Erica were returning on a separate airship. There was one other staff member beside them, but he was sleeping, exhausted.
Erica’s eyes widened as she roughly grasped the situation. She urgently called out to Vargan, asking about the details.
“Altife… what happened to him? And you…?”
Vargan smirked.
“He’s dead. And there’s no need to worry about me.”
“…….”
Erica’s eyelids fluttered down like a butterfly landing. After a brief silence, she added that she hadn’t been worried about him.
“… are the people who were there safe? The place was full of spectators.”
Vargan shrugged.
“There were no spectators or actors to begin with. Only a single monster on the stage.”
“So, it was a trap from the start?”
“Exactly.”
“I see… but why us…?”
Vargan shook his head, saying he didn’t know the exact reason, and that it might just be a matter of bad luck.
“There was no one who seemed to be from the Portlet family either. If there had been, you wouldn’t have been in danger.”
“… just a string of bad luck then.”
Erica didn’t judge the truth of his words. She was already overwhelmed just by absorbing the information he was providing.
The ticket her mother had sent.
The bishop-level Altife hiding in the theater.
The absence of family members who were supposed to be there today.
All of it connected by a single thread of <bad luck>.
“Ha…”
Erica let out a sigh filled with relief and self-reproach.
Vargan had realized the Altife’s trap and dealt with him.
But what about herself?
The lady of the Portlet family had foolishly fallen into a monster’s trap and struggled. Not only that, but she had also incurred a great debt to the detestable man, Schugenhartz.
“…….”
“If you want to apologize for being a burden, do it later. We’ll see each other often enough.”
“…….”
Erica looked up at the man with an arrogant expression. It was absurd. Even after facing a bishop-level threat, he remained so nonchalant.
In a way, she even felt a bit of respect, making her feel even more pathetic.
Maybe that was why.
Erica spoke words she didn’t mean, or perhaps she slightly did.
“… you should have left me behind.”
“What are you talking about?”
Erica lowered her head, unable to look at him.
“I mean… when you realized it was a trap, you should have left me behind.”
She bit her lip and spoke in a small, trembling voice. Her confidence was already at rock bottom.
If he had left her behind, this wretched relationship could have easily ended. An engagement neither of them wanted.
The ticket was from the Portlet family.
If Vargan had realized it was a trap and left her behind, he could have easily broken off the engagement with a valid reason.
He could have simply announced that he barely escaped, but unfortunately couldn’t save his fiancée.
It would have ended cleanly.
There might have been some gossip, but he could have avoided most of the blame.
“…….”
“Erica.”
Vargan called her name.
Erica didn’t lift her head. The myriads of emotions kept her from doing so.
Then, she heard a long sigh near her ear.
Of course, it was Vargan’s.
“I asked what you were talking about.”
“…….”
In a reproachful tone, Vargan continued.
“Are you saying I should have left you behind to make up my own story?”
“… yes.”
Erica nodded slightly.
Another long sigh came from him.
From the sound of it, he seemed somewhat angry.
“I’m not such a… no, you’re right. If I had, we could have ended this engagement easily.”
“……”
“No, perhaps I might have taken advantage of this incident. When you miserably died and became fertilizer, I could have held the Portlets responsible for killing my lovely fiancée and putting me in danger.”
“……”
“I could have fiercely gone after them, ruined the Portlet’s reputation, and demanded a hefty compensation. Then I could have wasted that money frivolously, living a debauched life.”
“…!”
Unable to bear the continuing abuse, Erica raised her head defiantly.
There were a few tears welling up in her eyes.
Vargan saw those tears.
And he smiled.
“Finally, you raise your head.”
“… you… you…!”
Erica hastily wiped away the tears that were about to fall. Before she could continue speaking, Vargan interrupted.
“Yes, as you said, I could have done that. I could have severed everything in an instant.”
“Then?!”
“But I didn’t, did I?”
Vargan reminded her of the reality she was facing.
“Such hypothetical talk is meaningless. Right now, you’re alive, breathing in front of me. And not just that, you’re hiding your tears and clenching your trembling hands.”
Erica, you’re alive now.
I didn’t abandon you.
There’s no need to hide your feelings with harsh words.
Looking into Vargan’s eyes, Erica felt that was what he was saying.
… I don’t understand.
Schugenhartz, I don’t understand you.
Why did you save me? Why didn’t you cut ties?
Why… why are you coming back to me?
“What is it that you want to say?”
Vargan snapped at her. He would not tolerate Erica hiding behind a veil.
“Or did you really want to say something like that?”
“……”
She tried to steady her trembling pupils with a breath and stared directly at Vargan.
No. This isn’t what I wanted to say.
I didn’t want to bind myself with such negative assumptions. It’s one of my bad traits that I can’t be honest even in moments like these.
Although she felt that way, her pride flared up, not wanting to bow to the man who had crushed her precious person like stepping on a bug in the room.
……
Erica steadied her breath.
Right now, she wasn’t being rational.
She was too emotional.
At this rate, nothing would change. There would be no progress at all.
This can’t go on.
She made up her mind.
Vargan was reflected entirely in Erica’s eyes.
“I still resent you. I always will.”
Probably for the rest of my life, I’ll live hating you.
“I don’t feel any positive emotions towards you. I don’t even want to say thank you.”
“Well, I expected as much of a reaction.”
“But!”
That single short word changed the flow of the air.
“But… as the second daughter of the Portlet family… as a representative of my family… I will thank you.”
Erica stood up and bowed. One leg was placed behind her, and she held the hem of her dress with both hands.
A graceful gesture. The faint light reflected on her.
The picturesque scene seemed to draw the viewer in.
“Thank you for saving me… for not leaving me alone…”
Erica did not lift her head. She held the pose for a long time.
Even without seeing her face, Vargan could roughly guess what expression she wore.
At least, it wasn’t an expression of sorrow or anger.
Rattle, rattle.
The airship trembled lightly.
In the silence created by the two, the sound was especially loud.
Rattle, rattle.
They felt the small vibration.
***
On the way back to the dormitory.
Tomorrow, when the day broke, I would have to go through the bothersome process of explaining what happened today. It was really inconvenient being a student at times like these.
As we walked together, Erica said she didn’t need me to escort her and went straight in. Her usual sharp tone was missing, and she seemed somewhat deflated.
“Hmm?”
Upon reaching my door, I saw a familiar face. Our eyes met as she turned her head.
“Welcome back, Master.”
Alicia greeted me with a faint smile.
She embraced a serene dignity as she welcomed me.
“… yes. Have you been waiting here the whole time?”
“Not knowing when you would return, I stayed here.”
She nodded as if it were nothing, answering with a gentle demeanor.
For over four hours, she had stood in front of my door without moving an inch.
“… foolish girl.”
I did tell her to wait for me, but if it got too late, it would have been normal to go back… oh, right, expecting common sense from this girl wasn’t right. That was my mistake.
“I spent the time expanding my mana pool and removing impurities, so it wasn’t wasted.”
“Good job.”
Alicia hit the nail on the head, as if scratching an itch.
Honestly, it wasn’t that I was concerned about Alicia’s progress. I was more dumbfounded by this ridiculous situation, but she seemed to have misunderstood my reaction.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Alicia said as she carefully inspected me from head to toe.
Her attentive gaze reached every part of me.
“It’s a relief that you don’t seem to be injured.”
“Obviously.”
There was no way I’d bleed from such a low-level monster. Given the right conditions, I could dispatch even a high-ranking bishop effortlessly.
“……”
She lowered her head, looking at my feet. Maybe it was just my imagination, but she seemed slightly anxious and uncertain, as if she had something serious to ask.
She finally spoke.
“It’s late today, and you look tired, so I will take my leave now.”
She fidgeted with her hands, bowing deeply again.
It was true that we were past the usual time for checking her progress, but she thought I look tired? That shouldn’t be noticeable at all…
No, that aside, what was this girl doing?
“M-Master…?!”
I grabbed Alicia’s hand firmly and pulled her into my room, throwing her onto the nearest chair.
She looked bewildered, not understanding why she was suddenly seated. I took her by the chin and examined her face. Her cheeks were red and hot, her eyes wide and wandering.
I confirmed that there were no physical injuries and flicked her forehead.
“Ouch?!”
My finger stung a little after a long time.
“Who said you could decide on your own to skip your check-up and leave? How ridiculous!”
“Y-Yes…? But… it’s already very late, and… you seemed to be tired…”
“Then why were you waiting?”
“That’s because… I wanted to make sure you returned safely, young master… ow!”
Striking the same spot twice made tears well up in Alicia’s eyes. Her excellent acting only made me more exasperated.
“I’ll admit your observation skills have improved, but you seem completely unaware of your own condition lately. Today, I’ll address that.”
“W-What do you mean by that…?”
“I worked hard to build up your self-esteem, but recently it seems to be dropping again! You foolish girl!”
Smack!
A third strike on the same spot.
Her forehead turned bright red. So did my finger.
“Master… it hurts too much…”
“That’s your current state. You’re mentally distressed. But don’t worry. I’ll make sure to forcibly boost your plummeting self-esteem.”
“Does that mean…!”
Alicia’s face, which had been as red as a ripe peach, turned pale. Her eyes were filled with shock.
“You might need to cover your forehead with bangs tomorrow if you don’t want to be embarrassed.”
“M-M-Master…!”
And so.
The clear sound resonating from the male dormitory
Continuing until dawn.