Chapter 9
The Male Lead Went Crazy for the Troublesome Villainess — Episode 9
As the situation worsened, more and more people complained or collapsed where they stood. In the middle of all that, Vanessa's reaction was actually fairly normal by comparison.
I barely managed to haul Vanessa to her feet and get her outside the barracks. The cold dawn air slapped my face. The entrances of the other tents began opening one by one as well.
From a little way off came the shouts of people training. There are people working that hard, you know! If you don't have muscle, you should at least put in the effort!
My goal was simple: make Vanessa capable of at least running away on her own two legs.
"Run, Vanessa. You ran ten minutes yesterday, so today it's fifteen!"
"Uwaaaa, Rosana."
I patted Vanessa's sagging back with a few light taps. Vanessa began shuffling along, flailing both arms and legs. It had only been two days since she'd even started going through the motions of running. Ugh. Making someone who can barely walk run is no easy task.
It was like making a child who had barely learned the ABCs write English sentences.
Still, what else could I do?
If you want to live, you have to run.
"Swing your arms harder, Vanessa! Lift your legs higher!"
"I've never walked this much or run this much in my entire life. At my house, we traveled by carriage......"
"There's no carriage here. We have to walk on our own feet."
Even a declining lower noble family insisted on a carriage because they believed it was a symbol of nobility. Vanessa whined when I reminded her of reality once again.
Even so, she was faithfully lifting her legs higher and moving her arms harder, exactly as I told her.
She really does look like a toddling baby.
"Vanessa, control your breathing. If you breathe too fast, you'll tire out quickly."
"Hah, hah...... yes......."
Maybe five minutes had passed when Vanessa already started struggling.
"Huff, huff."
Actually, she was starting to die. No, her stamina was just too pathetic. What am I supposed to do with this? She looked like she was really going to get torn apart by a monster's teeth. I let out a deep sigh.
"Rosana...... why are you...... such a good runner? Even after walking all day......."
"I practiced hard. For a month before we departed. I worked out hard too."
"A whole month?"
Vanessa looked at me in surprise.
"If you want to live, you do whatever it takes."
People who were waking up one by one were watching us curiously. By now, I was used to those looks. When I trained alone, everyone had looked at me with similar eyes.
When Vanessa started running along with me, they had also watched with curious eyes.
"Everyone...... is looking at me......."
"Think of them as monsters watching you. Then you'll be able to run faster."
Vanessa looked appalled. She'd gained enough composure for that now.
When ten minutes passed, Vanessa staggered.
"Lady...... just a moment...... if I rest......."
"Rest for one minute. Then we'll run lightly for ten more minutes."
"Uwaaaaak!"
Vanessa collapsed on the spot.
"I feel like I'm dying......."
"You're not dead yet. Hang in there, Vanessa."
"Five minutes is too long....... And later I have to walk all day again......."
"Then think about it like this. You have to buy a limited-edition dress, and the shop closes in five minutes."
"Ah!"
Vanessa's eyes flew open.
"What would you do?"
"I'd send a maid to run. Fortunately, our maid is good at running!"
This girl is hopeless.
When I stared at her with dead, unimpressed eyes, Vanessa burst out giggling. It was better than when she cried every day, but she was truly a lost cause.
Good grief, how am I supposed to whip this noble young lady into shape?
After laughing for a while, Vanessa cautiously asked.
"Rosana, do you really think...... something terrible will happen in Greystone?"
"Even if it isn't Greystone, it will definitely happen somewhere. Monsters exist, and we're sticking our heads into their mouths."
Vanessa quickly grew gloomy. I patted her shoulder with a few light taps.
"Vanessa, a week ago you couldn't walk for even an hour. Now you can walk all day, and you can run for fifteen minutes in the morning. Do you know how incredible that progress is? At this rate, even when you're facing monsters, you'll be able to run like a sturdy deer."
Vanessa stared at me with tearful eyes. Laughing one moment, crying the next.
"Starting tomorrow, we should practice jumping too, not just running."
I figured it would be better to give her no room to even think about crying. Vanessa's face filled with horror.
"Jumping like a grasshopper? Without any dignity?"
"You can escape better if you can clear obstacles. Who said you'll only ever run on flat ground?"
Vanessa muttered with a sigh.
"I'll have to research how to jump with dignity......."
The serious look on Vanessa's face as she considered it was funny.
So that sort of thing still mattered to her. I patted Vanessa on the shoulder and encouraged her.
"Now, get up. One minute is up."
"Uwaaaa......."
I pulled the sagging Vanessa to her feet. For the sake of Vanessa's dignified sprint.
* * *
After several days of forced marches, Vanessa had become able to run much longer than before. That was when the young ladies who had been watching us came shuffling over to find me.
"Um, Lady Rosana."
A young lady still wearing a worn dress and refusing to give up her heels parted her lips hesitantly.
"Do you remember me? I'm Herot."
I gave a short nod.
"......I heard what you were saying to Lady Vanessa. Will we really end up fighting monsters?"
"Because the place we're going is Greystone."
Herot chewed her lips with an anxious face. The young ladies behind Herot were the same.
"B-but the Saintess is with us. Won't she protect us?"
In this world, the Saintess was only ten years old.
"......You're a little too grown to hide behind a child's back."
I let out a deep sigh as I spoke. Herot's face turned red.
Then she spoke with tearful eyes.
"Th-then what are we supposed to do?"
They were all looking at me with faces on the verge of tears. They didn't even know what they were supposed to do. I looked them over slowly, then spoke.
"You just have to change, starting now. Take off the dresses and put on comfortable clothes. Instead of heels, wear shoes that are easy to run in."
"B-but how could a noble....... To be honest, I came here to see His Highness."
"Me too."
Voices of agreement came from here and there. So there was a reason they couldn't give up even as their makeup melted in the sunlight and sweat. Well, even Duke Ardena had shoved me into this with the same idea.
There was no reason the others wouldn't think the same way.
"You might die before you even get a chance to speak to His Highness."
At my words, Herot blinked.
"Are you going to risk your life for a hope that may never come true? Isn't that a terrible bargain?"
As it was, a lot of people had died during the first Spider Clan attack. At this rate, those girls would definitely die in that attack.
One of the young ladies standing in the back spoke in a small, whisper-like voice.
"P-please help us. Please help us, my lady."
"Y-yes. Please help us. Like Lady Vanessa...... please help us too."
Every one of their faces was bright red. There was a reason for that. Originally, they had not been on good terms with Rosana. And no wonder, since Rosana had gone around acting as though she were better than everyone else and deliberately ignored them.
She had to, or the mask she wore would slip. They had also envied Rosana because they considered her, having once even been engaged to the Crown Prince, the one closest to him.
The fact that they had swallowed their pride and spoken to me at all was already huge progress. Right, does pride put food on the table?
"You made the right choice."
I dusted off my hands.
"First, let's do something about your shoes! Seeing as you walked all the way here in those shoes, you clearly have patience and endurance. You have potential!"