FBBV 07

Chapter 07

 — Searching for the Backing of the Betrayed Villainess

Without hesitation, I threw myself over the cliff.

Even the flow of air brushing past my body felt like pain.

While falling, I pulled out a pill made from a dyed potion and shoved it into my mouth.

Now everything depended on my luck.

“Farm… damn it… ugh… the subspace…”

And then—

Subspace ‘Farm’ is being summoned.

In the fading consciousness, I thought I heard the sound of flowing water.

And then—complete darkness.

It was a beautiful landscape.

I was running wildly across a hill covered in lush green grass. Even as I ran uphill, I didn’t feel out of breath.

It felt like I had wings on my legs.

At the end of the hill stood a towering mountain, and colorful birds flew between majestic trees.

A mountainside wrapped in clouds… maybe immortals lived somewhere up there.

As I turned around while thinking that—

Something grabbed my ankle tightly.

—This is not where you belong.

A heavy sound, like a blow to the head, rang out.

And immediately, the lightness of my body was replaced by overwhelming pressure.

It felt like I was being crushed into something. Darkness swallowed everything.

“No…!”

“Oh my, are you awake?”

Suddenly, it felt like my ears opened and the world became vivid again. A faint herbal scent and unfamiliar warmth wrapped around me gently.

My throat burned, and I coughed violently. As if waiting for it, a cup of water was pressed to my lips. I drank it desperately.

“You’ve been asleep for three full days. Frostbite, cuts all over your body, constant vomiting blood, and a raging fever… I really thought you were a corpse. We even splinted your ankle.”

The one who handed me the water was a kind-looking middle-aged woman.

I couldn’t understand the situation. Where was I?

“This is a clinic. I’m its owner. My name is Maria.”

As if reading my thoughts, the woman—Maria—spoke.

The first thing I felt was relief.

So I survived. I made it out of that place. That hut is no longer my home.

A thrilling sense of liberation filled my body, my heart pounding wildly.

But then I heard something even more shocking.

“You were found on the riverbank in the southern part of the duchy.”

What?

“…Duchy?”

“Yes. The Grand Duchy of Winttergarten.”

My eyes widened.

Still half-dazed, I pinched my cheek hard. The pain was real.

“This is… really Winttergarten?”

“Yes.”

While I was unconscious… I had arrived at my destination!

It was unbelievable luck, and yet strangely unsettling.

As I tried to sit up and process the situation—

“Cough… hack… ugh.”

Another mouthful of blood spilled out.

I wiped my mouth with my sleeve; the metallic scent stung my nose. I still wasn’t fully detoxified.

I reached into the bag beside the bed, pretending to search for something.

My hand brushed against a potion pulled from my inventory.

I pulled out a vial with faint golden ether swirling at its center and drank it immediately. My stomach settled at once.

“……”

Suddenly, everything around me went silent.

Maria had gone completely still.

I turned toward her in confusion—

“W-wait… that—”

Her eyes were wide with shock.

Right… my potions were probably banned by now. Hopefully people weren’t punished just for using them…

“Oh, I just had this stored away from before—”

“Po-potion! Where did you get that?! Nearby? It’s almost impossible to find anyone using or selling these anymore… and that’s a real, properly made potion!”

Maria’s eyes were practically glowing.

Startled, I leaned back, but she stepped closer eagerly.

Carefully, I handed her the bottle.

“You’ve heard rumors?”

“Dark magic… side effects… things like that. Where did you get this?”

“…Dark magic?”

I asked casually, but my heart sank.

Dark magic?

There was no way my power—my abilities—could come from something so unclean.

Even the kingdom that had cast me out never labeled my potions as dark magic. This was a serious insult.

“Who’s saying that?”

“Well… there have been rumors in the kingdom, and a few cases… also—”

Maria quickly tucked the potion away into a drawer, as if she had done it many times before.

“And above all, the Grand Ducal physician, Dr. Tinte—”

Before she could finish—

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Someone violently knocked on the clinic door.

“Maria! It’s bad! Something terrible happened!”

Maria stood up immediately.

I desperately wanted to hear what she had been about to say, but the urgency outside made me hold back my curiosity.

She rushed to the door and flung it open.

“What happened?”

“The blacksmith in Maline—there’s a huge fire!”

“What?”

“We’re short-handed. The fire spread too fast… we need a clinic. Quickly!”

For a moment I wondered, Why would a blacksmith shop suddenly catch fire? but seeing Maria go pale and grab her medical kit in a hurry pushed those thoughts aside.

“I—I have to go. Young lady, can you rest here? The emergency treatment is done, so you should be okay.”

The man at the door looked desperate, and the air he carried smelled sharply of smoke.

I checked my condition again. I was weak, but I could still move.

I stood up.

“…I’ll go with you. You said you’re short-handed.”

“What?”

“I can help.”

“No, you’re a patient!”

“Call me Lita. And I don’t have money for treatment anyway. I’ll do whatever I can.”

A brief argument followed.

And of course—I won.

The situation was too urgent for anything else.

Maria handed me thick clothes and a robe, looking worried. I gave her a thumbs-up as if to say I’d be fine.

I tied a cloth over my head to cover my face, just in case.

“Maria, hurry!”

She ran out with the villagers.

I followed slowly, looking around.

Old houses, bare winter trees, and newly lit magic lamps. Evening was beginning.

It wasn’t hard to find the fire. A thick column of black smoke rose into the sky, and people were rushing toward it.

As I got closer, the smell of burning intensified, and screams filled the air.

“Aaaagh! Father, father! Please wake up!”

“Is there a doctor?! My wife… something’s wrong with her, please!”

“Maria, over here! He’s not breathing!”

Black despair settled over everything like smoke.

Maria had already arrived, running between people with sweat pouring down her face.

White-robed healers with belts of cloth around their waists were scattered here and there, but there weren’t nearly enough of them.

“Here! Please help here too! Aaaagh! Celine! Celine!”

Someone grabbed my hand and dragged me forward.

A woman, crying desperately, ran beside a stretcher without even looking at me properly.

I followed.

A healer was shouting instructions.

“Bring clean cloth soaked in cyan juice! Quickly!”

“Celine, stay with me! Don’t lose consciousness!”

Celine was clearly in critical condition.

She looked around fifteen. Blisters covered her body—at least second-degree burns, possibly worse in some areas.

“Hah… it hurts… it hurts…”

“Celine! Please!”

I bit my lip hard.

My stomach still felt slightly nauseous, and my ankle throbbed.

And then—

My mood turned sharply foul.

‘I… I think… this is… the end.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘I… I wanted… just a little more… time to live…’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not going to die.’

Because fragments of a deeply buried past suddenly resurfaced in my mind again.