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Chapter 29
The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Everyone Got the Wrong Idea
I turned my gaze away from the four knights struggling to pull the carriage out of the mud. I simply couldn’t bear to watch.
As expected, Maren, the leader of the four knights, was a simple country lad at heart. He had the sturdy build befitting a knight, but with round eyes and gently drooping corners, giving him a soft and harmless appearance.
I thought that was all there was to it…
The trouble had started only thirty minutes after departure, when they realized the luggage had been loaded incorrectly and had to turn back.
That alone didn’t bother me much. People make mistakes.
But after that, Maren read the map upside down and led us in the opposite direction. Then, after lunch, someone left the lunchboxes on top of the carriage roof before departing, resulting in a complete disaster.
And now, after confidently claiming he knew a shortcut, Maren had led the carriage onto a side path and gotten it hopelessly stuck in the mud.
“Some shortcut…”
Pressing a hand to my forehead, I sighed.
“M-My Lady! I’m terribly sorry! We’ll get it out right away!”
Covered in sweat, he shouted desperately.
Completely drained, I replied,
“…Just take your time. At this rate, I don’t think we’ll reach our destination today anyway.”
“My Lady…!”
His expression became strangely emotional. Then, for some reason, his eyes sparkled as he looked at me.
Why, exactly?
“No! I will definitely get us there today—”
Splash!
Maren lost his footing in the mud and fell flat on his face.
“…”
I turned my head away.
Just ignore it. Ignore it…
“Oh my! Sir Maren, are you alright?”
I heard Jini’s startled voice as she rushed over. As my personal maid, she was accompanying me to the territory.
Watching her dirty her skirt while pulling Maren out of the mud, I stroked my chin thoughtfully.
No wonder the Duke overreacted.
When I had secretly visited the underground prison and returned, the Duke had seemed far angrier than expected. It appeared Maren wasn’t exactly known for being dependable under normal circumstances either.
…Wait. If Maren ends up being my escort in the territory, that might actually be convenient.
Shaking off one absent-minded knight would be easy, making it much easier for me to move around freely.
Of course, I fully intended to compensate him properly.
After all, when I rewarded people, I rewarded them generously.
As for what happened last time, I’ll just give him an extra bonus as part of this escort mission’s payment…
I looked at Maren with shining eyes.
Flinch!
Maren suddenly raised his head, glanced around nervously, and rubbed the back of his neck.
* * *
“I heard what happened, Evelyn.”
The person waiting in front of the ducal manor to greet me was none other than Killian.
I hadn’t expected to see his face again so soon after our recent parting.
With his expressionless face, nearly identical to Duke Rosenthal’s, it was hard to tell whether I was in the capital or back in the territory.
“Father was quite angry.”
“…Do you really think so too, Brother? That I was in the wrong?”
“What, are you saying you weren’t?”
“That’s right. I did nothing wrong! If I’m guilty of anything, it’s voicing my complaints to Father. Just thinking about being stuck in this countryside already makes me feel miserable.”
“Countryside…?”
Killian let out an incredulous laugh.
“This is actually a fairly large territory. I’ve put a great deal of effort into managing it.”
“But it still can’t compare to the capital’s social scene!”
“What are you talking about? Not long ago, even Count Schtark, a famous figure, came to visit. Along with several close friends.”
“That’s only because he’s acquainted with you, Brother. Anyway, could you take this for me? The carriage ride was so uncomfortable that I couldn’t get any proper rest.”
Yawning, I handed him the small bag I had been carrying.
Though he looked disgusted, he accepted it and immediately passed it to a servant beside him.
Then he spoke irritably.
“Evelyn, please—”
But I cut him off, brushing my hair back.
“More importantly, I think I’ll spend the entire day napping. Or maybe I’ll indulge in enough sweet desserts to give myself a headache. Surely you have a dessert chef?”
“We do, but that’s not the issue—”
I interrupted him once again and started walking.
“So don’t come looking for me today. Absolutely not. Understood?”
“…Evelyn!”
His angry shout echoed from behind me, but I ignored it and continued forward.
It had been a long time since I had received such openly hostile gazes, and it was making me unusually sensitive.
I had forgotten.
Here, I was still “Evelyn.”
The villainess Evelyn from before I transmigrated into this body.
Ah, my head hurts.
I wanted to clutch my throbbing temple, but with people watching, I maintained a proud expression as I headed toward my room.
I could find Evelyn’s room with my eyes closed.
Behind me, Jini was organizing my luggage with the help of other maids, allowing me to enter alone.
Click.
As the door shut behind me, I collapsed onto the floor.
Damn it…
How long did I stay like that?
Gradually, the sharpened nerves and heightened awareness caused by the silence began to settle.
Only then did I press a hand to my forehead and let out a long sigh.
It’s been a while since I’ve felt like this.
It felt as though I had returned to the days before gaining freedom within the system.
…This feels awful.
The eyes of the manor servants.
Their whispered conversations.
The gestures that were never friendly toward me.
Whenever I faced those cold, indifferent expressions, I sometimes couldn’t tell whether their hostility was directed at me or at “that Evelyn.”
Everything was familiar.
And yet impossible to get used to.
I had thought that now that I had a goal, the opinions of those around me wouldn’t matter.
Apparently, I had unknowingly become accustomed to the softened attitudes people showed me in this timeline.
The hostility toward Evelyn within the territory was even worse.
After all, most of the deeds that earned her the title of villainess had taken place here.
That was why, in previous loops, I had avoided returning to the territory whenever possible.
After calming myself, I abruptly stood.
“…Well, since I’m already here, maybe I should do something to improve my mood.”
From the only bag I had personally brought inside, I pulled out a robe.
I had already instructed Jini to bring the rest of my belongings in during the evening.
Unless something unusual happened, nobody would come near this room.
Evelyn is basically an outcast here, after all.
Wearing a bitter smile, I draped the robe over myself.
…
…
“Hah! There’s one here too! And another over there!”
Once outside, I began collecting quests with reddened eyes.
Jackpot. Absolute jackpot!
The gloomy mood from moments ago had already completely vanished.
Who cared about being an outcast?
There were more than enough things I could do on my own!
Actually, this was even better.
Whistling cheerfully, I reviewed the list of quests I had already completed.
As expected, because the territory was heavily agricultural, many of the quests were farming-related.
Helping with labor shortages in the fields.
Gathering medicinal herbs.
Watching over farmers’ children.
It was ridiculous.
Like region-specific quests in a game.
I didn’t have enough time to help with actual farming work, but I still managed to complete quite a few short tasks.
Then—
Ding!
[Congratulations! Your has reached Lv. 4!]
Filled with anticipation, I waited for the next system notification.
“…?”
What?
Why wasn’t anything appearing?
After announcing the level increase, the system fell silent.
“…Don’t tell me there’s no reward for reaching Level 4?”
[By reaching Lv. 4 of the stat, the ON/OFF function for “Conditional Branching Choices” has been unlocked.]
[A wider range of actions is now permitted.]
“…Easy for you to say.”
In other words, the system was telling me to read the room.
I could either turn off the choice system and rely on my own judgment, or keep it on and follow a safer but more restricted path.
“…”
After thinking for a moment, I turned the choice function OFF.
Life was a solo game anyway!
“Noona!”
“…?”
When I turned around, a shepherd boy was waving at me.
A little earlier, I had helped recover a sheep that had escaped from its pen.
“Thank you!”
“…”
Instead of answering, I casually waved my hand.
The boy immediately gave me a thumbs-up.
His canine tooth gleamed as he grinned.
…Hmm.
Scratching my head, I turned away again.
In just that short time, I had helped sort scented candles at a herb farm, flipped grain-drying mats, recovered a lost sheep, and repainted the lettering on an old signpost.
I wiped my dirt-covered hands on my robe.
“As expected, when quests run out, you need to move to a new area.”
A satisfied smile spread across my lips.
The quest waiting list was still completely full.
Feeling pleased, I headed back toward the ducal manor.
However, the moment I returned to being Evelyn, that good mood instantly crashed.
* * *
The next day.
First, I need to start relief efforts within the territory itself.
After going out yesterday, I had realized that the damage caused by the war was far worse than expected.
Far too severe to ignore.
The sprawling slums.
The abandoned farmlands that had turned barren.
The disabled people visible everywhere.
In the past, when I had been struggling just to survive myself, I had never noticed any of it.
The kingdom did have relief programs in place, but their reach rarely extended this far from the capital.
This needs to be handled more systematically.
This wasn’t a problem that could be solved by completing quests one person at a time.
For now, I’d use the allowance allocated for my personal expenses.
Later, I’d talk to Rakiel and—
“Mmph!”
Without thinking, I took a sip from my teacup and immediately clamped a hand over my mouth.
It’s bitter!
The tea tasted unbelievably bitter.
It had just been served by a maid.
How could someone possibly brew tea this bitter?
Ding!
[A clue has been detected through the player’s <Observation (B-)> ability.]
[‘A color difference has been detected between the tea currently served and the herbal tea usually favored by Evelyn Rosenthal.’]
