“Then I will... take the child to the village entrance and come back.”
“Yes, then.”
He said goodbye and stepped outside. He felt devastated at not being able to lift Aila's curse, but he still wanted to see her off.
When Cloud came out, Aila was waiting, looking as if she'd just rolled down a slope. Blood was streaming from a scratch on her cheek, and her knee was badly broken and looked very sore.
“Is it really necessary to go this far?”
Cloud frowned at the sight of the wounds and asked Capella, finding it hard to believe they were all intentional.
Capella glared sharply at her younger brother, saying she only did it because it was necessary. It was the same expression he wore whenever he unnecessarily showed sympathy for Aila.
And Aila, who had actually been wounded, felt no pain at all. This was because she had not yet recovered from the shock of having to skip the ritual to lift the curse.
“Miss, come here.”
Cloud placed Aila on the saddle and climbed behind her. It seemed they would ride to the village.
They rode along the forest path in silence. When they reached a place where the village lights were in the distance, he lifted Aila into his arms and helped her off his horse.
Cloud met the gaze of a child staring at him in the darkness.
When they first met, the child was so small that she could barely reach his knees. How on earth did she grow so much that she was now at eye level with them?
The guilt of having committed an unforgivable sin against this child tormented him throughout those years.
“I’ll do something about the curse. So don’t worry, young lady...”
“...You? What are you going to do? Once I get home, you won't be able to properly contact me without going through Laura.”
As he opened his mouth with difficulty, Aila snorted.
After returning to the dukedom in her past life, she never met Cloud again, not even once, until the moment of her death.
Only then did he realize the blind spot in her words, and he made an "Oops" expression.
Aila chuckled at the foolish sight and reaffirmed her resolve.
At first, she was panicked. She was afraid that she would have to continue living with her life in Byron's hands.
But as she rode his horse through the dark forest, she blew away her fear.
Until now, she was alone, but now... She will have strong parents by her side just by existing.
Things like curses didn't matter.
“I will find my own way to survive, so you...”
Aila looked at the man standing before her. He had been her enemy, but now he was on her side.
"If you want my forgiveness... On the day we plan to attack the Duke of Weishaffen, reveal the truth, and surrender. Then I will take responsibility and spare Laura's life."
With that said, she walked towards the village, not once looking back at Cloud.
Although her knees were sore from the stone that Capella had struck down on her, Aila limped along steadily toward the light.
Now it was really time to go home.
Einsnit, a small village nestled at the edge of the Herzlich estate, was a quiet village.
The small village, with only a few houses, consisted of a small general store, a blacksmith shop, a mill, and an old inn, and thanks to this, the villagers were so close that they knew how many spoons the next house had.
In a few years, there was a commotion in that small town.
One morning, a young girl who appeared to be thirteen or fourteen years old appeared in the village covered in wounds.
When the guard dispatched to protect the village discovered the girl, he had to rub his eyes several times to make sure he wasn't seeing a ghost.
It had been three years since he had been dispatched to this peaceful village, and not a single incident had occurred during that time, so he had become accustomed to it.
And then, the guard who realized that he was not hallucinating screamed and woke up the whole village, and the quiet village became noisy.
"Why, you know that weirdo who built a cabin on that mountain and lived there? He used to stop by the general store sometimes, didn't he? She's his daughter. Apparently, bandits broke in and killed both husband and wife, leaving only the daughter alive."
“Oh, you mean Scott? He died...”
“But I don’t think I’ve heard that he has a daughter?”
"He was such a quiet person. I thought he couldn't speak. I only heard his name five years after we first met."
As Arbo, a blacksmith in the village, grumbled in discontent, several men around him murmured in agreement.
Scott was so alert and sharp-tongued that he would snap at the villagers who approached him whenever he came to town.
"Hey, you gentlemen, won't you be quiet? The kid can hear! She lost both her parents last night!"
When Griselda, the miller, pointed angrily at the crying girl, the village men who had been talking about how unsociable Scott was suddenly silenced as if their mouths had been glued shut.
They were not people who lacked empathy enough to not feel sorry for a child who had to go through such a difficult time.
“So? How did you escape?”
The guard scratched his head and asked.
He contacted the lord, but he felt he needed to hear the situation before receiving further instructions, so he sat the child down and conducted something similar to an interrogation.
“My mother hid me under the bed... I barely escaped the house after the bandits set it on fire and left.”
The girl, Aila, began to cry and tell the story of the night before.
Of course, it was just according to Byron's script, not the actual performance. Still, perhaps because she's already performed on stage in a past life, it wasn't all that difficult.
The villagers who had surrounded her and watched her clucked their tongues. Some even shed tears of pity.
And soon after, the town was in an uproar once again.
The lord, Baron Herzig, personally visited Einsnit.
After hearing the exact location of the house from Aila, the Baron sent guards to investigate. He even took the poor, lost girl to his castle.
‘...He’s still a good person.’
Watching Baron Herzig take a commoner girl, dripping with sloppy soup, into his carriage, Aila briefly reminisced about the past.
This was also a flow no different from the past life.
Soon, the carriage carrying her arrived at the lord's residence.
The Baron Herzig family wasn't particularly wealthy, so even their castle wasn't particularly grand. They had only a few servants, so even the Baron's wife and daughter had to help out with chores.
Byron had chosen this village because Baron Herzig's stubborn nature made it easy for him to manipulate him as he pleased, but Aila didn't think it was a bad choice.
Because the poor Baron Herzig will receive a reward for finding Aila.
And there, Aila was able to meet again one of the people she had been missing.
'Lisa...!'
It was the Baron's daughter, Lisa Herzig, who had entered the ducal household with Aila and become her maid.
Unlike Laura, she was a maid who truly cared for her and was also Aila's closest companion during the two years she lived as a Princess.
Because of that, Laura, who was unable to brainwash Aila, was in trouble and had to return to her hometown, Herzig Estate, after framing Lisa as a thief.
Stealing the master's jewel was a serious crime, but since Baron Herzig was the one who helped find Aila, the incident was covered up, and she was sent back.
'... And this time, I will protect Lisa too.'
Just as she had secretly taken Scott and Debbie out of Byron's care, Aila was determined to protect Lisa from being driven out by Laura's plot.
Because the time when she met Lisa had come earlier, she looked a little younger than Aila remembered, but she was still happy to see that her reddish brown hair was braided and had a large ribbon attached to it, not much different from her memory.
Her father's kind, sorrowful eyes and bright smile were just as she remembered them.
But Aila tried hard to suppress the urge to pretend to know.
There must have been Byron monitoring somewhere around here, and Lisa would have been flustered if a girl she'd never seen before suddenly started pretending to know her.
“Hi, I’m Lisa Herzig. What’s your name?”
Lisa smiled affectionately and asked Aila's name.
“...My name is Aila, Young Lady.”
She bowed slightly to Lisa, bowing slightly to her knees.
This would soon be overturned if it was discovered that Aila was the lost daughter of the Duke of Weishaffen, but now it was Lisa who was the noble daughter, and she was an orphan of commoner origin.
"I heard you've been through something tragic. I don't know how long you'll be staying with us, but I hope you'll be at peace while you're here. Let's get along, too. We're not that far apart in age, after all."
Lisa held Aila's hand, which was covered in charcoal, tightly and spoke. It was something no ordinary noble lady would ever do.
“Thank you, Young Lady.”
Lisa's hands were warm, and her cheerful smile put Aila's heart at ease.
A few days passed by in the blink of an eye at Baron Herzig's mansion.
During that time, she had been doing odd jobs with the servants, but her life was incomparably more comfortable than when she was being looked after by Laura.
Today, as always, Aila was helping with the vegetable prep work in the kitchen.
“Aila, the lord is looking for you.”
The manor's caretaker came to the kitchen and relayed Baron Herzig's summons. It seemed the time had finally come.
“Yes, then.”
He said goodbye and stepped outside. He felt devastated at not being able to lift Aila's curse, but he still wanted to see her off.
When Cloud came out, Aila was waiting, looking as if she'd just rolled down a slope. Blood was streaming from a scratch on her cheek, and her knee was badly broken and looked very sore.
“Is it really necessary to go this far?”
Cloud frowned at the sight of the wounds and asked Capella, finding it hard to believe they were all intentional.
Capella glared sharply at her younger brother, saying she only did it because it was necessary. It was the same expression he wore whenever he unnecessarily showed sympathy for Aila.
And Aila, who had actually been wounded, felt no pain at all. This was because she had not yet recovered from the shock of having to skip the ritual to lift the curse.
“Miss, come here.”
Cloud placed Aila on the saddle and climbed behind her. It seemed they would ride to the village.
They rode along the forest path in silence. When they reached a place where the village lights were in the distance, he lifted Aila into his arms and helped her off his horse.
Cloud met the gaze of a child staring at him in the darkness.
When they first met, the child was so small that she could barely reach his knees. How on earth did she grow so much that she was now at eye level with them?
The guilt of having committed an unforgivable sin against this child tormented him throughout those years.
“I’ll do something about the curse. So don’t worry, young lady...”
“...You? What are you going to do? Once I get home, you won't be able to properly contact me without going through Laura.”
As he opened his mouth with difficulty, Aila snorted.
After returning to the dukedom in her past life, she never met Cloud again, not even once, until the moment of her death.
Only then did he realize the blind spot in her words, and he made an "Oops" expression.
Aila chuckled at the foolish sight and reaffirmed her resolve.
At first, she was panicked. She was afraid that she would have to continue living with her life in Byron's hands.
But as she rode his horse through the dark forest, she blew away her fear.
Until now, she was alone, but now... She will have strong parents by her side just by existing.
Things like curses didn't matter.
“I will find my own way to survive, so you...”
Aila looked at the man standing before her. He had been her enemy, but now he was on her side.
"If you want my forgiveness... On the day we plan to attack the Duke of Weishaffen, reveal the truth, and surrender. Then I will take responsibility and spare Laura's life."
With that said, she walked towards the village, not once looking back at Cloud.
Although her knees were sore from the stone that Capella had struck down on her, Aila limped along steadily toward the light.
Now it was really time to go home.
***
Einsnit, a small village nestled at the edge of the Herzlich estate, was a quiet village.
The small village, with only a few houses, consisted of a small general store, a blacksmith shop, a mill, and an old inn, and thanks to this, the villagers were so close that they knew how many spoons the next house had.
In a few years, there was a commotion in that small town.
One morning, a young girl who appeared to be thirteen or fourteen years old appeared in the village covered in wounds.
When the guard dispatched to protect the village discovered the girl, he had to rub his eyes several times to make sure he wasn't seeing a ghost.
It had been three years since he had been dispatched to this peaceful village, and not a single incident had occurred during that time, so he had become accustomed to it.
And then, the guard who realized that he was not hallucinating screamed and woke up the whole village, and the quiet village became noisy.
"Why, you know that weirdo who built a cabin on that mountain and lived there? He used to stop by the general store sometimes, didn't he? She's his daughter. Apparently, bandits broke in and killed both husband and wife, leaving only the daughter alive."
“Oh, you mean Scott? He died...”
“But I don’t think I’ve heard that he has a daughter?”
"He was such a quiet person. I thought he couldn't speak. I only heard his name five years after we first met."
As Arbo, a blacksmith in the village, grumbled in discontent, several men around him murmured in agreement.
Scott was so alert and sharp-tongued that he would snap at the villagers who approached him whenever he came to town.
"Hey, you gentlemen, won't you be quiet? The kid can hear! She lost both her parents last night!"
When Griselda, the miller, pointed angrily at the crying girl, the village men who had been talking about how unsociable Scott was suddenly silenced as if their mouths had been glued shut.
They were not people who lacked empathy enough to not feel sorry for a child who had to go through such a difficult time.
“So? How did you escape?”
The guard scratched his head and asked.
He contacted the lord, but he felt he needed to hear the situation before receiving further instructions, so he sat the child down and conducted something similar to an interrogation.
“My mother hid me under the bed... I barely escaped the house after the bandits set it on fire and left.”
The girl, Aila, began to cry and tell the story of the night before.
Of course, it was just according to Byron's script, not the actual performance. Still, perhaps because she's already performed on stage in a past life, it wasn't all that difficult.
The villagers who had surrounded her and watched her clucked their tongues. Some even shed tears of pity.
And soon after, the town was in an uproar once again.
The lord, Baron Herzig, personally visited Einsnit.
After hearing the exact location of the house from Aila, the Baron sent guards to investigate. He even took the poor, lost girl to his castle.
‘...He’s still a good person.’
Watching Baron Herzig take a commoner girl, dripping with sloppy soup, into his carriage, Aila briefly reminisced about the past.
This was also a flow no different from the past life.
Soon, the carriage carrying her arrived at the lord's residence.
The Baron Herzig family wasn't particularly wealthy, so even their castle wasn't particularly grand. They had only a few servants, so even the Baron's wife and daughter had to help out with chores.
Byron had chosen this village because Baron Herzig's stubborn nature made it easy for him to manipulate him as he pleased, but Aila didn't think it was a bad choice.
Because the poor Baron Herzig will receive a reward for finding Aila.
And there, Aila was able to meet again one of the people she had been missing.
'Lisa...!'
It was the Baron's daughter, Lisa Herzig, who had entered the ducal household with Aila and become her maid.
Unlike Laura, she was a maid who truly cared for her and was also Aila's closest companion during the two years she lived as a Princess.
Because of that, Laura, who was unable to brainwash Aila, was in trouble and had to return to her hometown, Herzig Estate, after framing Lisa as a thief.
Stealing the master's jewel was a serious crime, but since Baron Herzig was the one who helped find Aila, the incident was covered up, and she was sent back.
'... And this time, I will protect Lisa too.'
Just as she had secretly taken Scott and Debbie out of Byron's care, Aila was determined to protect Lisa from being driven out by Laura's plot.
Because the time when she met Lisa had come earlier, she looked a little younger than Aila remembered, but she was still happy to see that her reddish brown hair was braided and had a large ribbon attached to it, not much different from her memory.
Her father's kind, sorrowful eyes and bright smile were just as she remembered them.
But Aila tried hard to suppress the urge to pretend to know.
There must have been Byron monitoring somewhere around here, and Lisa would have been flustered if a girl she'd never seen before suddenly started pretending to know her.
“Hi, I’m Lisa Herzig. What’s your name?”
Lisa smiled affectionately and asked Aila's name.
“...My name is Aila, Young Lady.”
She bowed slightly to Lisa, bowing slightly to her knees.
This would soon be overturned if it was discovered that Aila was the lost daughter of the Duke of Weishaffen, but now it was Lisa who was the noble daughter, and she was an orphan of commoner origin.
"I heard you've been through something tragic. I don't know how long you'll be staying with us, but I hope you'll be at peace while you're here. Let's get along, too. We're not that far apart in age, after all."
Lisa held Aila's hand, which was covered in charcoal, tightly and spoke. It was something no ordinary noble lady would ever do.
“Thank you, Young Lady.”
Lisa's hands were warm, and her cheerful smile put Aila's heart at ease.
A few days passed by in the blink of an eye at Baron Herzig's mansion.
During that time, she had been doing odd jobs with the servants, but her life was incomparably more comfortable than when she was being looked after by Laura.
Today, as always, Aila was helping with the vegetable prep work in the kitchen.
“Aila, the lord is looking for you.”
The manor's caretaker came to the kitchen and relayed Baron Herzig's summons. It seemed the time had finally come.
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