The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 7
“Still slightly lacking.”
I calmed down the mana energy that was boiling in my body. The cold wind, saturated with the night air, brushed against my skin. Still seated in a cross-legged position, I slowly steadied my breathing and raised my head. The breath I exhaled formed a white mist.
The moon and stars were bright.
A night sky filled with countless stars, a breathtaking sight I couldn’t see where I used to live. The stars densely filling the sky shone brightly. In the original world, there must be just as many stars emitting their presence. It was surprising to realize that the city lights had hidden such bright lights.
“Master, you’re still not asleep?”
“There’s something I wanted to test with the magic power in my body.”
While I was taking a short break, Alicia, who had just finished her arduous training, approached, and spoke to me. Her white hair glistened with moisture she hadn’t fully dried.
“If you don’t dry it properly, it’ll freeze.”
“… ah, right. The moisture from my recent wash is still there. I’ll dry it right away.”
Alicia activated her magic to let warm air pass through her hair. It seemed she was adjusting the intensity, conscious of my presence, to avoid looking unsightly.
“It’s done. It’s all dry now.”
“You’ll become a hero after graduating from Academia. If a prospective hero catches a cold, it would be quite embarrassing. Be careful.”
“Yes, I’ll be careful. Ah, Master? How long do you plan to stay out here?”
About another hour, I guessed.
There were still many things I wanted to confirm.
When I said that, Alicia asked me to wait a moment and quickly disappeared, only to return soon after. She wasn’t holding the towel she had used to wipe her moisture but something else.
“It’s cold. How about wrapping yourself with this?”
As usual, Alicia showed a gentle smile. What she handed me was a blanket from inside the room. It was warm, likely heated with magic on the way here.
“You were worried I’d catch a cold and make a fool of myself?”
“I don’t worry about such things regarding the Master, but as a servant, I thought it was my duty.”
Alicia, who usually got flustered and embarrassed, surprisingly gave a proper answer this time. It seemed she had gotten quite used to it. Interesting.
“That aside, why are you still here? You can go now.”
“Knowing that you are out in the cold winter night, I can’t just sleep comfortably in a warm room. If it’s not a bother, may I stay by your side? I’ll be quiet and not disturb you.”
“Oh, so you mean you want to stretch out your legs in bed and sleep comfortably, so you’re telling me to stop this nonsense and go to bed already, huh?”
“No, no, that’s a misunderstanding, Master!”
Her lips parted simultaneously, and her hands fluttered nervously. It seemed she still had a long way to go despite getting a bit used to it.
I covered myself with the blanket she brought. The warmth immediately spreads to my shoulders and back.
“It’s a punishment, Alicia. You’ll receive a fitting punishment for suggesting something that’s not beneficial to your master.”
“Master… I didn’t mean it like that….”
“Sit here.”
Tap, tap.
I lightly tapped the empty spot next to me.
“Sit here with me, in the cold winter night wind. You’re only allowed to wear those thin clothes for warmth.”
“Huh…?”
Alicia hesitated, seemingly unsure of my unexpected command.
“Let’s just talk for a bit.”
This minor episode would be a necessary procedure for the upcoming developments. I judged it that way.
***
“Um… Master? When you say talk….”
“It’s nothing much. Consider it a report on your recent condition. To proceed with our work, I need to confirm your growth.”
“Yes… but regarding magic, you’re far more knowledgeable than I am, aren’t you?”
“There are things even the person themselves might not know.”
Until now, Alicia wasn’t familiar with mana and was ignorant of her own condition. Because of that, I never asked her about the changes she felt in her body, but now that she was getting the hang of it, it was different.
“Are my words that surprising to you? You’re making that stupid face again.”
“It’s a bit surprising… oh, no. It’s just that you suddenly asked for my opinion, so I was taken aback.”
What nonsense.
It was all the same things.
Alicia frowned, analyzing her current condition.
How was it when she just trained? Did the flow of mana become smoother? Such processes were happening inside her. It was obvious what she was thinking about just by looking at her. She was the kind who couldn’t lie unless her personality changed drastically.
“I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong. You’d know the visible results better than I do, Master, but I feel like my stamina has improved recently.”
“That naturally improves as you control your mana. Anything else?”
“Anything else? Hmm….”
Alicia pondered again.
“It doesn’t have to be related to magic.”
“Oh, really? I thought it was only about that.”
Though it was necessary, there was something even more important right now.
“Even minor things like feeling down lately or feeling stiff in the mornings are fine.”
“Mornings… ah.”
Seeing her eyes widened like that, it seemed she remembered something.
“Is there something?”
“Ah… well, it’s nothing major. It’s really trivial….”
I met Alicia’s clear eyes. Her gaze momentarily shifted away, unable to face mine directly.
“I can’t overlook that you’re hiding something from your master.”
I continued. If you didn’t speak now, I would hypnotize you and make you confess, so you better speak properly.
Alicia seemed to realize that ignoring my overbearing attitude was impossible and started hesitatingly.
“It’s… a childish concern, but I’ve been having frequent nightmares recently.”
“Oh, nightmares. Specifically, what kind?”
“Fragments of my childhood memories… to be exact, the moment my village was burning.”
Alicia’s head gradually drooped. The brightness in her eyes faded, and darkness began to engulf that space.
“Keep talking.”
“Keep… talking?”
Alicia was showing obvious reluctance, but I didn’t need to be considerate.
“You showed a similar attitude at the breakfast table the other day. Is there something you can’t even tell your master?”
“… it’s not that.”
Alicia’s voice shrank to the size of a mouse hole.
“It’s a boring story from the past. Do you still want to hear it?”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Don’t make assumptions on your own.”
Her eyes wandered, trying to avoid mine, but eventually, she gave up and faced me.
And then.
Her heavy lips finally opened.
“… actually, the people you met the day you came to my house were not my biological parents. She is my second mother who took in an orphan like me.”
“I see.”
It was just as the original story went.
Even though I already knew the story, there was value in hearing it directly from her.
“Before I met my second mother, I was part of a family in a small rural village with my parents and my older sister. We weren’t wealthy, but I thought we were a very happy family.”
Alicia smiled briefly at the thought of her family. The problem was that it didn’t last long.
“You mentioned it yourself, didn’t you, Master? That wasn’t the first time I touched mana. …You’re right. When I was young, I secretly tried to follow my sister, who showed exceptional talent in magic, without my family’s knowledge. I didn’t know anything and thought I had no talent, but I believe I succeeded in touching it.”
A talented older sister.
An untalented younger sister.
Even if it was just her misconception, it was because of this disparity that Alicia began to undervalue herself from then on.
“Everyone in the village said it. They said my sister would become a hero and bring pride to our village. Yes, I thought so too. I admired my sister, who everyone had high hopes for. But… it seems I was jealous of her. … so, God punished me for that.”
Alicia’s eyes trembled, and the grip on her clothes tightened, deepening the wrinkles. For the first time, she spoke out about what she had kept tightly sealed away.
“… one day, red monsters attacked the village. Everything burned and was destroyed. My sister was the only one who could fight against them, and everyone wanted her protection.”
Alicia felt her breathing quicken and forced herself to calm down, continuing to speak. Once she started, the chain of emotions couldn’t be broken.
“My sister was strong. No matter how many monsters appeared, she stood her ground. I was pathetically crying at her side, unable to do anything, just clinging to her.”
And the story inevitably led to tragedy.
“But even my sister couldn’t protect everyone. The villagers, one by one, coughed up blood, including our parents. Realizing the situation was becoming dire, my sister locked me in a nearby shed and continued to fight. Her body gradually became covered in wounds.”
At first, the wounds were small, but eventually, there wasn’t an unscathed spot on her body.
“In the end, she couldn’t hold out. That’s it, isn’t it?”
“Yes…. at that time, I watched through a small crack in the shed. … I saw it. My sister’s body… her heart… being pierced by a red monster.”
Haa.
Alicia composed herself, wanting to quickly finish this painful story.
“After that, I lost consciousness and don’t know what happened. I was the only survivor in the village, and my sister’s body was nowhere to be found. It must have been too badly damaged to recognize.”
Though she didn’t say it, Alicia later created a grave for everyone in the village. For several days, without proper food or sleep, she mourned them all. Alicia, who accomplished that unbelievable task, was only ten years old at the time.
“It was the woman you met who took me in after I wandered away from the ruined village.”
A mother who sold her for 100 gold.
A woman who treated Alicia as she pleased.
She had her own excuses, it seemed.
Alicia said that the scene in her nightmares was the dark shed where she witnessed her sister’s death. Although the frequency of the nightmares had decreased as she grew older, they had recently started again.
“Oh… I’ve burdened you with a heavy story. I’m sorry, this isn’t something you wanted to hear.”
“No, this is exactly what I wanted to hear.”
It might have been somewhat cruel to Alicia, but it was a part I needed to confirm, knowing the original story.
“……”
I could feel the flow of mana around me. Even without a clock, the mana was evidence of the passage of time.
“It seems quite some time has passed.”
I stood up and casually placed a blanket over Alicia, who was still sitting.
“I’m heading in. Your sad story has dampened my mood. We’ll postpone the mana check for now.”
“Are you… upset…?”
“Don’t just sit there, go back to your room. It’s very late. Tomorrow will be even busier than today, so you need to rest properly.”
“Ah, yes! Understood.”
I began to walk away. I heard Alicia rustling as she folded the blanket. When I glanced back, she had neatly folded it and was holding it in her arms.
“Goodnight, Master.”
Alicia bowed her head gracefully, like a flower wilting. She wouldn’t lift her head until I responded. There was no need to torment her unnecessarily.
“Goodnight.”
I gave a brief reply.
***
The only light in the room came from the moon through the window. In the dark, I leaned back on a luxurious chair, facing the shadows.
Alicia had told me about her past. There was a bit of coercion, but I had only pushed slightly, and the rest was of her own will.
What she said matched the story I knew. This meant there wouldn’t be any changes to Alicia’s schedule.
As I pondered about Alicia, a particular word she had mentioned came to mind.
Nightmares.
The recurring dream of her sister’s death.
I hadn’t asked when she started having that dream again. It would have been problematic if she became suspicious. There was no need to take such a risk without any benefit.
She still didn’t know.
She probably wouldn’t until things truly began.
“Everything is proceeding well… as expected.”
It was inevitable.
Recently, she must have started dreaming again.
“Because I made sure of it.”
The day she collapsed in the den of vermin.
I had cast a curse on her while brushing her hair aside. I made sure her most terrible memories would resurface and hold her back.
Guilt?
I felt none.
I used everything for her exponential growth, including trauma. Even if it meant Alicia became mentally unstable.
I used everything at my disposal.
And I derived benefit from it.
That was how a villain survived.