The Villainess Does Not Want to Die

Chapter 54: Reunion

I felt awkward approaching the children at play, but with no one else to ask, I called out to one of them.

“Hey, little one.”

The kids, who had been running around so energetically, all turned to stare at me.

I had only meant to call out to the girl who resembled Alina, but now all of them were looking at me.

After a moment of hesitation, one of them asked, “Are you from the city?”

Was the estate, situated in the middle of the duchy, considered a city? It wasn’t too far from a proper city by carriage, so I decided it wasn’t a lie to agree.

“Yes.”

“Then, do you know when our dads will come back?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The men with guns took all the dads in the village.”

“Then I definitely don’t know.”

“Oh, okay.”

Satisfied with that, the children quickly lost interest and resumed playing.

Only the little girl who looked like Alina lingered, so I called out to her.

“Can you tell me your mother’s name?”

She answered in halting speech, as though she’d only recently learned to talk.

“Are you going to take Mama too?”

Then she swatted my hand and ran off to join the other children.

I wondered if she might trip, but I didn’t follow.

Kids like her probably played like this every day.

There was an obvious hostility toward outsiders here, despite my appearance, which I thought might have endeared me to children.

“Raphael, we might have to search every house one by one,” I said.

He shrugged and replied, “Looks like we don’t have a choice.”

Mounted on his horse, Raphael looked more authoritative than I liked. Not wanting to approach Alina while literally looking down on her, I tied the horse to a nearby post and started exploring the village.

There wasn’t much here apart from a small shop.

Looking around, I didn’t see any villagers nearby, save for a shepherd high up on a hill and an elderly man tending cows in the distance.

The shepherd seemed to be missing a leg, leaving the sheepdog to do most of the herding.

Raphael, seemingly still preoccupied with what the child had said earlier, muttered as he walked beside me,

“The kid said her dad hasn’t come back. That means…”

“He’s probably dead.”

“…He could still be alive.”

“Do you think a man with a family like that wouldn’t send a single letter if he were alive? Just look at that girl. She’s well-loved, clearly cherished. That kind of father wouldn’t leave them in the dark.”

“…….”

From a distance, the village had seemed small, with only a handful of houses. But the large fields meant the homes were spaced far apart. It was a much larger area than I’d expected.

Crossing a stone bridge over a stream that ran through the village, we were approached by a man.

He walked with a limp, missing an arm and a leg, and his ragged clothes hung loosely on his frail frame.

The man glared—not at me, but at Raphael.

“What brings a knight all the way out here?”

I had warned Raphael not to flaunt his knightly status, so I feigned ignorance and spoke lightly.

“Knight? He’s just a swordsman with a little training.”

The man didn’t buy it.

“The emblem on his sword grip—I’d recognize it anywhere. You lot were always at the front, charging ahead.”

“…We’re just here looking for someone.”

“In a village this small, I know everyone. Who’re you looking for? Give me some coins for a drink, and I’ll tell you where to find them.”

I tossed the man a coin pouch.

In hindsight, it was a thoughtless gesture—the pouch landed in front of him, as he couldn’t catch it with his missing arm.

He smirked, but his expression shifted to surprise when he peeked inside and saw how much money was there.

“…This is enough to drink for a year. You nobles don’t think small, do you?”

“Do you know Alina?”

“Aliona.”

“I said Alina.”

“Ah, you mean Aliona. Stop pretending to be posh with your pronunciation—it’s not like you’re some high noble.”

Raphael looked like he wanted to say something, but he bit his tongue as the man turned and started leading us.

The limping man moved slowly, using a stick for support, each step looking as if he might topple over.

I’d seen too many people like him to feel pity.

Judging by his recognition of Raphael’s emblem, he might have been caught up in the same mountain conflicts.

Not that it had anything to do with me—I hadn’t been the one fighting.

But Raphael seemed to feel differently. His expression was complicated, and he matched the man’s halting pace without complaint.

“What’s your business with Aliona in this backwater village? Did she steal something from the estate where she used to work?”

“None of your concern.”

“Not my concern? That cheerful girl came back looking like she was ready to die, spent months moping around.”

“And what does that have to do with you?”

“Everything. I’m her uncle,” the man replied, glancing back at me with an accusing gaze—or was it?

It looked more like he couldn’t see clearly.

“You city folks… First you take her father and husband to the grave, and now you want to take her too? I can’t trust a word you say. You always talk in circles, never saying anything straight.”

“Those bastards dragged me off to that damned war, and they didn’t even pay me the paltry sum they promised!”

The man flailed, dropping his stick and landing hard on his backside.

Watching him thrash about, I sighed, realizing I’d run into the worst kind of lunatic.

Even in the slums, people avoided messing with those who had nothing left to lose—cripples, beggars, and madmen alike. They were trouble incarnate.

Still sprawled on the ground, the man pulled a weapon from his belt.

It was a pistol.

Nothing dramatic happened.

I simply walked over, grabbed the barrel, and yanked it from his grip.

The gun wasn’t even loaded.

Even if it had been fired, there would’ve been a doctor nearby—or Raphael would’ve dragged me to one.

Having lost interest in me, the man turned his ire toward Raphael, pointing a trembling finger at him and yelling furiously.

“You! It’s all because of you! Everyone’s dead—everyone!

It was a meaningless, senseless slaughter!

You knights don’t care about us commoners, do you? You and your so-called honor—what a filthy joke!”

He collapsed onto his back, screaming at the sky like a tantrum-throwing child.

I didn’t bother listening too closely, letting his words drift in one ear and out the other.

His missing limbs were still bandaged, white gauze tinged with hints of red.

Dragged off to war and maimed—so what?

Even without his limbs, he was alive and well in this peaceful village, eating his fill every day.

His clean bandages suggested someone cared enough to change them regularly.

His round, well-fed face spoke of a life without hunger.

I’ve never been one to envy others’ happiness or empathize with their suffering.

But Raphael seemed shaken. When I glanced at him, he stood frozen, staring intently at the man, his face stiff with emotion.

He even seemed to be paying attention to the man’s rant.

I couldn’t let Raphael—prone to tears as he was—start crying here. Tossing the pistol back at the man, I pulled Raphael along, practically dragging him as we walked away.

A woman approached the fallen man, crouching to check on him and soothe his tantrum.

“Uncle! I told you to stay inside—you’re not supposed to strain yourself yet.

Auntie already said you shouldn’t be out here.”

She helped the man to his feet and steered him toward a house before turning to us.

“Sorry about that. My uncle tends to… Oh?”

“Didn’t think you wouldn’t recognize me, Alina. That’s a shame,” I said.

Her eyes widened.

“Miss… Miss Marie?”

Alina’s face hadn’t changed much.

She’d grown up a bit since we last saw each other—her figure had matured slightly—but that was all.

If she dressed up for high society now, she’d be considered prettier than most.

It must’ve been a testament to how much better her life was now. The dark circles under her eyes were gone, her once-pale skin looked healthy, and her lips—often cracked and bleeding back then—had a vibrant tint, as if she wore lipstick.

“I spent so much time trying to think of what to say when we met again,” I said, smirking. “But since you didn’t recognize me, maybe I’ll just go with a simple ‘long time no see.’”

Alina scratched the back of her head, a little sheepish.

“…You’ve grown so much, I didn’t recognize you.”

“You’ve become beautiful,” I said.

“Haha, you’re flattering me. By the way, who’s the gentleman with you?”

I wasn’t joking.

“This is the kid I brought back from the lake that one time.”

It occurred to me that back then, Raphael had been about my height. Now, he towered over me, the difference between us like a giant and a dwarf.

As shy as ever, Raphael kept silent despite my introduction, only nodding awkwardly. Alina seemed a bit taken aback.

“Uh, um… Would you like to come inside?”

I nodded.

As I followed Alina toward her house, I noticed that Raphael couldn’t take his eyes off the limping man, who was slowly making his way home.

His gaze was heavy with a deep, unshakable sorrow.