The Year I Saved the Villainess
Ten years ago.
The single covenant I received from the goddess was extremely simple.
Covenant 2
Warning: Purify the 'Witch's Red Eyes' of the villainess 'Elysia Cadeliz' and save her from misfortune.
So, what exactly was an ideal villainess?
She was born into a high noble family, enjoying a life without any lack from a young age, with luxurious meals, and receiving affection from countless people.
Her silver hair that looked like it could freeze at any moment, and her red eyes that glowed like well-ripened fruit, would be more than enough to make her first impression chillingly cold.
A face that didn't smile easily in front of others. Eyes sharply curved. But a beauty that one couldn't look away from. Even the ordinary school uniform she wore seemed to have been crafted with some strange difference, carrying an out-of-place sense of familiarity and an oppressive atmosphere — it was inevitable.
“Even though you’re just a commoner… how dare you…”
With that girl biting her red lips, shooting sharp words at a peer female student, and raising her palm high in the air, that would be the minimum condition for being a 'villainess,' wouldn't it?
At least at this moment, it was enough to explain without further ado that the eyes of the academy students were fixed on their fellow student, the villainess Elysia.
And the reaction coming back from the person the fine palm was aimed at was, as expected, set in stone.
“Waaah…! Princess! D-don't hit me!”
“…………… What?”
“I-I’m sorry! I don’t know why you’re angry, but I’ll apologize anyway! I just wanted to get along with you as family! I’m really sorry for acting so carelessly like that!”
“Family……? Chloe! You… is that what you said…! Hah! Are you crazy? Me and you?! Shut your mouth! Your attitude is really disgusting!”
“Haa… waaah…! I’m sorry…”
Eventually, the girl burst into tears.
Elysia’s face had hardened with anger, confusion, and shame.
In an instant, she had become a villainess who, without regard for her status, lashed out at a same-age commoner student, and instead of making excuses, she raised her double-edged sword and glared around her.
I let out a faint sigh.
Putting aside the fact that pride didn't allow it, Elysia wasn't used to situations like this.
When would she understand that this would only backfire?
Especially since she had been hearing all sorts of things like 'witch' or 'villainess' and her reputation wasn't good to begin with.
I pushed through the crowd of onlookers like clouds, whispering, and placed my hand on Elysia's shoulder.
She startled and flinched, then quickly recognized me and bit her lip.
“…… What?”
“Elysia. No more nonsense, come with me.”
“What? Where are you taking me all of a sudden? You…! What exactly…!”
“Let’s go inside. Don’t stay here.”
“Wait! I haven’t finished what I have to say to that girl!”
She was throwing a tantrum. I naturally grabbed Elysia's hand and pulled her along. The students' piercing gazes turned on me, but I dispersed them with a sigh-mixed voice.
“Everyone, go into the classroom. What are you doing? It’s over, go watch somewhere else?”
Just as we had passed the courtyard, Elysia strongly shook off my hand and shouted.
“Let go of this! I know!”
Elysia calmed her flushed face and started her speech. As if waiting, she shot at me.
“Who are you? Where have you been all this time that I haven't seen you?!”
“… There was something I needed to do.”
“Don’t lie! You were with that girl, weren’t you.”
Elysia was breathing heavily as she looked at me with an anxious expression.
She clung tightly to my sleeve and muttered as if spitting out a sigh.
“I did contact you…! …… I couldn’t see it…? I didn’t see it……? At least make an excuse!”
Upon checking the communicator, there were dozens of missed calls. A communication device for students' safety in the academy, barely functional inside the school.
Through communication magic, it could only convey a brief 'I'm looking for you now', but I couldn't ignore the silent pressure emanating from the overwhelming number of missed calls from Elysia.
“There was an order from the Duke this time. You know Elysia too. For a while, I have to protect two people. The covenant said so, right? You and that Chloe from earlier…”
“Are you saying you left me behind because you were worrying about that illegitimate child? Don’t say that. You don’t know? How wicked she is. She’s a person with two faces, right?”
“Elysia.”
“It’s not a lie. Look at this. I received this from that girl not long ago. A letter. I read it carefully with almost invisible eyes, and it was about how kind our family is, how I’ll live as a member of the family in the future, and then it listed several pages of things that happened when that girl went out with you, subtly making me eat dirt.”
Going out — it was something that happened not long ago. As someone who had to be half-pulled along by Elysia's stubbornness about wanting to buy something and my role as her guard.
But since I knew Elysia would react this way if she knew, I had kept my mouth shut on purpose, and there was nothing particularly embarrassing.
What exactly was written in the letter that made her this angry?
While I was tilting my head, Elysia couldn't suppress her anger and said, panting.
“I knew about this because I knew about your 'constitution'. You have eyes that can barely see, so why would you make me read a letter that doesn't even let in light, one letter at a time, chewing on each word? It has to be. This is provocation to scratch me.”
I cut off Elysia's words, which were full of excitement.
“You’re not like that, Elysia. She probably didn’t do it with malice.”
Then Elysia's face darkened.
“It’s not some kind of delusion! You don’t know, but there are many more like this! And…! You are my guard! So you should be on my side! Not like some commoner!”
She suddenly panted and continued with difficulty.
“Hey… you know…? I… I hurt… Whether it's the witch's constitution or the red eyes, it's too hard and tiring now. My vision is almost gone too, so I've been unable to see things right in front of me for a long time. I don't need this useless power that I can't control anymore. But still…!”
“Elysia.”
“Why… why… you too… me…”
She bit her lip hard and swallowed the rest.
Elysia, a daughter of a prestigious family highly regarded in the empire, had a tragic fate despite her glamorous appearance from being raised in a sea of jewels.
The Witch's Red Eyes.
Now, it was a remnant of the witch, recorded only as a fairy tale villain or in the distant past.
The thick witch's mana that should have been diluted over a long time and inheritance had manifested irregularly through the bloodlines of the Cadeliz family's daughters.
In the past 200 years, no daughter of the family had manifested the red eyes.
The long period of curse had been broken on the day Elysia was born.
In those eyes, dyed in a deep red deeper than blood, tears welled up.
Her pride wasn't so weak as to allow tears to be seen casually.
The sight of her clenching her fists tightly while barely holding back was somewhat pitiful.
I didn't know why the academy students treated her antagonistically, but at least the Elysia I knew wasn't a girl who deserved the labels 'villainess' or 'witch'.
“… Elysia. Even if so, the action just now was reckless. You called Chloe a 'commoner' in front of all the other students. There will be some kind of punishment in the academy no matter what. It would be better to apologize later to avoid any aftereffects. If the Duke finds out…………… Hey! Elysia…!”
On that day, Elysia disappeared without a word, biting her lips tightly and turning her back.
The crumpled letter she threw at me weakly might have been her last act of defiance.
“…… It’s fine. Go. Leave. You’re just like the others. Now, I don’t need you anymore.”
After that incident, for a while, Elysia didn't show her face.
I went to the dormitory looking for her because I was worried she wasn't showing her face in classes, but she maintained silence.
Of course, a worrying atmosphere began to flow in the school.
“The princess scolded Chloe again? Hmph! I knew it would be like that. After all, that woman can't leave that Chloe, who is like a stone that rolled into the Duchy, alone. It's really outrageous! How can she do that to Chloe? What makes that bastard so special, openly discriminating against the illegitimate child? That's why she gets treated as a villainess by the people around her. It can't be helped, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. That witch's nature is so dirty. Don't even think about getting along with her. Chloe, are you okay? Did the princess hit you from behind or something? That witch, not only has eyes that are bright red because of the 'Witch's Red Eyes', but also has terrifying mana. Be careful. She's a woman who might do anything. Chloe, if anything happens, you must tell us right away.”
“Yeah, Chloe. The Witch's Red Eyes are like a time bomb! I didn't understand from the beginning. How could such a witch enter the academy? It must have been with the backing of the Duchy…”
“Ah… sorry… that… ah, no, sorry, Chloe. I didn't mean to insult the Duchy…”
Many students gathered around Chloe's desk, flattering her.
It was only half a year ago that Chloe, who had lived her childhood as an ordinary commoner, transferred to the academy with the status of the Duke's illegitimate child.
These people gathered around her like clouds, fanning her without even drying their mouths.
During this time, the students who couldn't afford to make enemies with the Duchy because of Elysia's existence were clinging to the illegitimate Chloe for their own purposes.
The academy also had the purpose of training future nobles.
If it were Elysia, she would have coldly mocked their calculating behavior, but unfortunately, Chloe didn't have the tendency to cut off such atmospheres.
Instead, she seemed to enjoy it.
Chloe accepted the insincere empathy of the flatterers sweetly.
“Hahaha… It’s fine. And don’t get too carried away~ The princess wasn’t born like that because she wanted to, right? The Witch's Red Eyes are a headache for the Duchy too.”
Chloe, already speaking on behalf of the Duchy.
At this point, it might seem early for her to be speaking as if she had established her position in the family, but whether her words and actions were sincere or not was none of my business.
I was quietly fiddling with the edge of the crumpled letter in my pocket.
The letter that Elysia had thrown at me, which Chloe had supposedly written to her.
My conclusion after reading them with a throbbing head the night before was simple.
“… If this is the case, it seems like I'll fail to fulfill the 'covenant'…”
What was the meaning of such an ambiguous covenant to purify Elysia's Witch's Red Eyes and save her from misfortune.
“Ha. I'm going crazy.”
Anyway, the disaster that the failure of the covenant would bring wasn't simple.
That's why I couldn't just take the position of Elysia's guard by borrowing the power of the priests and the temple.
I had to finish the work as quickly as possible.
What should I do…
But I hadn't left Elysia alone either.
Whenever I had time, I went to her room and knocked on the door.
“Elysia. Are you inside? I have something to talk about. Come out and let me see your face for a moment.”
Her room was always tightly closed. But I was just as persistent.
“Sorry. I was reckless yesterday. I read the letter you received too. I really didn't expect it to be written like that. If you want, I can tell Chloe off myself.”
I waited for a long time, but no answer came.
Instead, the voice came from an unexpected place.
I clicked my tongue briefly and turned my body, but the other party was faster by a beat.
“Hello~ Gray-nim. What brings you here?”
Upon turning to the familiar voice, Chloe was looking at me with an innocent expression.
She naturally covered her mouth with her hand and said as if she didn't know anything.
“Ah~ This is the princess's room. Is there something wrong with the princess?”
No one among the students tried to use Elysia's adjacent room.
There was no way they wouldn't have known if they passed by here.
“… I have something to say to Elysia.”
I answered sharply with a cautious tone.
Since I had read the 'letter' myself, it was difficult to respond with goodwill.
The emotion of annoyance, the anxiety that the covenant might fail, and the irritation towards Chloe, the one who half-betrayed the job, welled up and I couldn't control my expression.
Chloe looked at me for a moment, narrowing her eyes, then suddenly changed her expression to a frightened one and asked me.
“Um… I wanted to ask since last time… Gray-nim, do you, perhaps… not like me?”
Confused by what she meant, I watched quietly, and Chloe continued as if waiting.
“I just wanted to get along… but did you not hear what my dad… no, the Duke said?”
She looked at me with a sly expression, waiting for an answer.
There was a strange sense of ease in that expression.
“What did the Duke say? I didn't hear anything specific.”
“Yes. As you know… it seems the Duke didn't like my status as an illegitimate child. This time, the Gray-nim sent from the Astasia Temple, the Duke highly valued his abilities…”
“So what.”
“Um… so if Gray-nim supports me, it would be even better! The Duke said that it would be really good if we two continue to get along well in the future…! Of course…! As long as Gray-nim likes me…”
I didn't need to think deeply.
In an instant, the Duke's face flashed in my mind.
He was a human who calculated profits and losses meticulously. The reason he accepted me without hesitation to carry out the covenant was not for Elysia's sake, but because of the 'me' who could casually use the temple's power.
I didn't know he would plot like this from behind.
Chloe trying to tie me and her together? Wasn't protecting her enough?
Before I could answer, a thud came from inside the room.
“…… Kk…”
Elysia seemed to have been listening to the conversation from inside too.