Chapter 1. Angela
Chapter 1. Angela
Richel was a young man from a small village.
He was a diligent man with a warm heart who knew how to be considerate of others, but because he was plain-looking and not wealthy, he wasn't particularly popular.
Richel had a childhood friend named Angela.
Red-haired Angela had grown up being idolized as a beauty ever since she was little.
The villagers couldn't understand why Angela hung out with Richel since childhood and grew up as his childhood friend.
However, Angela was an exceptionally shrewd and cunning beauty.
Because of that, she could tell at a glance just how wonderful a man like Richel would be as a lifelong partner.
But marriage and dating were two different things.
Although she really liked the diligent Richel, he was a boring man, so Angela had no hesitation in hanging around with the crowd of her admirers.
Naturally, there were many men in that crowd, and picking a few whose faces matched her taste, Angela enjoyed dates only to the extent of not crossing the line.
No matter how good-natured Richel was, he naturally felt jealous about this.
"Angela, those guys don't even help out properly with their own family farm work and just go around playing. I'm worried about you."
"What? Richel, who on earth are you to speak to me like that?"
"I'm just worried about you...."
"It's true they're slacker good-for-nothings, but their pockets aren't lacking even if they play around, so they can afford to do so. I'm just getting treated to meals while I'm at it. Does that bother you so much? Are you jealous that you have to work your fingers to the bone just to barely scrape by, while those people can just play and eat?"
"N-No, it's not like that. I'm sorry."
Once, he protested about this, but instead, Angela flew into a rage, asking what kind of relationship they even had for him to act like this.
Since they were officially only childhood friends, the matter was settled by Richel slumping his shoulders and apologizing.
"I'm sorry, Angela."
"I know you're worried about me, but being too meddlesome is not good. I am not your property."
"Yeah, I'm really sorry."
"Please use your brain for once."
On the outside, Angela accepted his apology with great haughtiness and ended it after plunging a few more sharp daggers of words into him.
However, deep down, she flinched, realizing that she had been going too far lately.
After all, Angela planned to marry Richel anyway and had no intention of looking elsewhere after that, plus even when dating other men, she never crossed any line whatsoever.
That was precisely why she had ended up focusing more on fleeting fun than on her childhood friend, and why she could confidently talk back to Richel.
At any rate, Angela thought she needed to soothe Richel's feelings for a while.
So the next day, she visited Richel's workplace.
Since it happened to be lunchtime, Angela, who was thinking of taking him out to share some bread together, witnessed Richel with another woman.
"This is for helping me with work last time. Please eat this."
"No, I'm fine."
"People like us ought to help each other out."
"Still...."
"If you only bestow kindness and never receive it, even your good fortune will run away."
"Haha."
"You only eat lunch every other day anyway."
"...Thank you."
A woman working with him at the workplace was handing her childhood friend a homemade sandwich.
After a brief back-and-forth, Richel—who was even short on money because he was saving up for Angela—could not overcome his hunger and accepted the sandwich.
It was a sandwich merely plastered with sour jam made by heating up old, mushy strawberries.
The woman's name was Demona, and aside from having large breasts, she fell somewhat short compared to Angela.
Seeing the naive Richel shyly accepting the sandwich, Angela became extremely displeased and offended.
A feeling as if her chest was being chilled and sliced open arose, which soon transformed into a burning emotional sensation.
"Uh...?"
Just then, Richel spotted her.
Richel, who froze instantly, snapped back to his senses late and ran over, but Angela flew into a huge rage and pushed him away.
"Forget it! Get lost!"
From that evening on, Richel came to her house every day to apologize to Angela.
"I'm sorry, Angela."
"Hmph."
Angela had no intention of accepting his apology.
She was thoroughly furious and planned to push Richel around until her anger subsided.
From that day on, she started going home as late as possible.
After playing to her heart's content with her crowd until it was pitch black with not even starlight visible, she returned and completely ignored Richel, who stood in front of her house holding an apology gift.
On some days, she came home early, but showed Richel the sight of her linking arms with another man and flirting with him.
"What is that in that guy's hands?"
"It's a bracelet. The kind sold at street stalls."
"Compared to what I bought you, babe, it's way too shabby, isn't it?"
Angela turned stern toward the man.
"Why am I your 'babe'?"
"What's wrong? Things were going so well between us lately."
"Going well my ass, you dumbass."
Shaking off the man's arm, Angela also snapped at Richel, who was standing awkwardly.
"Do you really think cheap trash like that suits me?"
"......."
After that day, Richel was nowhere to be seen for a while.
Angela, whose anger had been cooling down somewhat, became even angrier.
After about a month had passed, Richel brought a silver craft bracelet embedded with gems.
The bracelet was pretty and suited Angela well, but angry at him for disappearing without a word for a whole month, she refused to properly give him the time of day.
The periods of Richel's disappearances grew longer, and whenever he returned, he brought accessories that were even slightly better and more expensive.
"What is all this useless junk? Do you think being expensive is all that matters? Idiot."
But Angela, finding Richel frustrating for not understanding a woman's heart, repeatedly humiliated, insulted, and chased him away.
In truth, it was also true that seeing his crestfallen face brought her quite a bit of pleasure.
About two years passed, and Angela became an apprentice in the Church's Paladin Order.
Coming from a small village and entering the Paladin Order was considered a huge success, so even the village elders praised Angela.
The villagers picked a day to hold a feast to celebrate Angela.
Angela shouted out loud, as if wanting someone in particular to hear:
"If there is a man who gives me a very red and huge gem, I will marry that man."
All the men heard those words loud and clear.
Richel was no exception, and he made a big resolution.
He would get a gem redder and larger than anyone else's to propose to Angela.
If they got engaged, he would be able to confidently ask Angela to please look only at him.
But where on earth could he obtain such a gem?
As Richel agonized over this, someone approached him.
It was none other than Demona.
"What are you contemplating so deeply?"
"I want to get the reddest and largest gem in the world, but I don't know how."
"The reddest and largest gem? That's simple. There is no gem as red and large as the heart of someone in love."
Hearing Demona's words, Richel slapped his knee, realizing he could just take out his own heart.
But soon, he became sullen.
"How do I take out my heart? If I just rip it out, I'll die immediately without even being able to hand it to her."
"I will help you. My grandmother was a ginseng digger who handled medicinal herbs, so I know a lot about these things."
Demona fed Richel anesthetic juice and extracted his heart painlessly for him.
Sure enough, a gem with a truly brilliant red light came out from his chest.
"Thank you, Demona!"
"Keep this in mind. Right now you are fine through the power of love, but if the one you truly love does not accept this heart, you will gradually waste away and die."
"Angela will accept my heart."
"I hope so."
Demona cheered Richel on.
Richel was grateful to Demona for that.
Right then, from the opposite direction, Angela was coming over after enjoying a date with yet another man.
Richel hurriedly hid his heart, said goodbye to Demona, and left.
His plan was to keep it hidden for now and reveal it to Angela on the day of the feast.
However, Angela was thoroughly enraged to the tip of her head seeing him with Demona again.
"Thanks for today, John."
Jjok, she planted a kiss on the man's cheek specifically to hurt Richel's feelings.
Richel turned pale, and seeing that, Angela felt satisfied.
At that very moment, the red light of the gem faded just a tiny bit.
Even so, Richel patiently waited until the day of the feast.
Before long, when the day arrived, even influential figures from the neighboring village attended to congratulate Angela on becoming an apprentice in the Paladin Order, trying to buy her favor with all kinds of gifts.
Truly precious things never seen or heard of before poured out, but what Angela wanted was something else.
"Angela, congratulations, truly."
After everyone else's turn ended, Richel, who was the last in line, finally showed Angela his heart.
Seeing the huge gem still radiating a red light, Angela was fascinated in an instant.
Just when the other men were swallowing their sighs, considering it a lost game, surprisingly, Angela pushed the gem away.
"Go away. You really know nothing about a woman's heart."
"A-Angela?"
"The gem is pretty, sure. But coming from a miserable loser like you, it only lowers the gem's value. Besides, you don't have a single impressive thing going for you. What money did you even use to get this? It's suspicious in many ways. Should I interrogate you as an apprentice paladin?"
"It's not like that! I really put my heart into...."
"Like hell it's not. Get lost, Richel."
Angela spoke coldly.
"Please know your place."