The Villainess Doesn't Want to Die (4)
"…Ah. Father?"
Three in the morning.
Even for family, it was hardly a decent hour for a visit. And for a father to slip unannounced into his daughter's bedroom, it was worse still.
"Silvia. It's been a while."
Duke Bardo Robbins. Silvia's father spoke with a kindly expression. Through the open crack of the door, corridor light slanted into the bedroom. The glow was so faint that half his face remained swallowed in shadow.
"Father. Why have you come to my room?"
"I heard you've been unwell lately. I simply wanted to check on my daughter's health."
Three in the morning. A dark room with no lamp lit. The excuse was absurd.
The man who had planned Silvia's assassination was none other than her own father.
And yet—
"I'm much better now. I should be fine by tomorrow."
"I'm glad to hear it. Then you'll be able to join the family for meals again starting tomorrow?"
"Yes. I'll eat with everyone from tomorrow on."
Silvia offered a faint smile. She turned her face from the truth.
"Then I'll be going."
"Good night, Father."
The midnight intruder withdrew.
Creeeak. Thud.
The door shut, and even the thin ribbon of light vanished. Complete darkness settled in. Loneliness settled in with it.
"…Hah."
The tension drained out of her all at once, and strength left every limb. Silvia collapsed onto the bed as if her body had simply given way.
"Hhk…"
Emotion surged up and overflowed. Memories of the past rose unbidden.
Silvia had been born the second child of House Robbins. Her mother, she was told, had died of illness when she was still very small. The only person she could lean on was her father.
But her father paid her little mind. He was the sort of man who cared more for chasing women than for his own children.
A third child was born, then a fourth. Silvia drifted further and further from her parents' affection.
Then, one day, while she was still desperately trying to catch her father's eye—
"Silvia. You have a gift for magic. Grow into a fine mage someday and raise this house high."
"Yes, Father! I'll become a mage!"
The moment her talent for magic showed itself, her father finally took notice. He praised her, stroked her hair. Little Silvia threw everything she had into earning that love again.
"Father, Father, look! I used magic!"
"Don't pester me. I'm busy with work. I'll look when I have time."
"You have to look later, okay? You promised!"
"Fine."
His gaze never found her again.
A fifth child. A sixth. Then a seventh. Her younger siblings multiplied, and with every new arrival the attention that reached Silvia dwindled further. No matter how remarkable her achievements, her father never looked her way.
Until one day, little Silvia hit her sibling.
A petty quarrel that flared into violence—the kind of small, ordinary fight children have all the time.
"Silvia! Don't you know you're not supposed to hit your younger siblings?!"
"I—I'm sorry! I was wrong, Father!"
The day she struck her sibling, Silvia was scolded severely. Being yelled at by her father hurt, and it made her sad—but it also made her glad.
Father looked at me.
If she did something wrong, she could have his attention. Drawing his eye with magic was nearly impossible. Doing something bad made it easy.
"Silvia! Why do you only ever choose the worst things to do?! Be more like your brothers and sisters!"
"I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
Being scolded was frightening. But being ignored felt like drowning.
Silvia poured every effort she had into holding her father's attention. Somewhere along the way, the misdeeds turned her into a villainess. Somewhere along the way, grinding away at her magic earned her the title of the Academy's genius mage.
All she had ever wanted was a parent's love. A love that came so easily to others had been impossibly hard for her to reach.
Am I… not worthy of being loved?
Villainess Silvia. Pitiful Silvia. Silvia, abandoned even by her fiancé.
Tears soaked into her pillow. Just as she had as a little girl, Silvia cried herself to sleep.
The next morning, Silvia woke.
"My lady. Shall I bring your meal to the room again today?"
"I'm fine now. I'm going out."
She left her chambers and headed for the dining hall. The Duchess, her half-siblings, and her father—all the familiar faces were there.
Clink.
Without a word, she picked up her utensils and began to eat. Bread and meat. She chewed and swallowed without tasting any of it, focused only on the mechanical act of eating.
Slice.
She cut a piece of meat into small pieces. And suddenly, her conversation with Rix floated back to her.
"Confirm it with your own two eyes."
"Myself…?"
"Yes. If you see with your own eyes who's trying to assassinate you, you won't be able to deny it even if you want to."
Silvia turned over the events of the previous night, then turned over Rix's words again.
If Sir Rix had simply told me my father was the culprit… I never would have believed him.
At the time she had shouted that she would believe him no matter who he named. But if the name had been her father's, she would never have accepted it. To Silvia, her father had been her entire world. Denying the world you live in is never easy.
How far ahead did Sir Rix see?
That man had seen through everything. He had predicted she wouldn't believe him if he named her father, and so he had made her confirm it with her own eyes.
What… am I supposed to do now?
Even the one person she had believed was on her side—her own father—had betrayed her. Inside this vast estate, Silvia had no allies left.
Ah…
One man's face rose in her mind. The unforgettable figure of that dark, dark man etched itself behind her eyes.
"I've eaten well."
Scrape.
She pushed back her chair and stood.
"Silvia. Finished already? Are you still unwell?"
"Not at all, Father. My body is perfectly healthy."
She left the dining hall and returned to her room.
"Maid. Pack my things for a journey. As much as you can. Enough that I wouldn't need to come back."
"M-My lady?! Where are you going this time?"
"The East."
"The same place as before?"
"Yes. I've finally realized something."
There is no place for me in this house.
Silvia swallowed the words. She set out for the rural village where Rix was staying.
"So. That's why you came to my house?"
"Yes. That's right."
"Why me of all people? Don't you have any other relatives?"
"There's not a single person I can trust."
"What about entering a convent, then?"
"Do I look like the sort of person who'd go somewhere like that?"
"…Fair point."
What was I supposed to do with this? I had never once imagined I'd end up looking after a runaway young lady—not some ordinary runaway teen, but a full-blown noble heiress.
"Lady Robbins. What are your plans going forward?"
"I thought I'd take my time figuring that out. I could always just farm for a living, couldn't I?"
"…Do you have any idea how hard farming is?"
"However hard it is, it can't be harder than magic. I'm a mage, you know."
"Magic and farming are not the same thing… Do you exercise regularly?"
"No. Why would I do something that makes you sweat?"
What was I supposed to do with this hopelessly naive young lady? One look was enough to tell she had the stamina of a wet noodle, and here she was declaring she would take up farming.
"Do you have somewhere to stay?"
"……Yes."
"Hmm. I doubt this little country village has any luxury inn that would satisfy Lady Robbins. May I ask where you intend to lodge?"
"…"
Silvia looked at me. When our eyes met, her golden irises sparkled with a luminous light.
"Couldn't I stay here?"
"No."
"I'll pay you."
"That's not the issue."
"Then more money?"
"Still no!"
"Ugh! Why not?!"
We shouted over each other, opinions locked in a standoff.
No—why were our opinions even in conflict? This was my house.
"Lady Robbins. If an unmarried man and woman of marriageable age live under the same roof, unsavory rumors will start. And this estate is small, which will only make the rumors uglier."
"…I don't mind. I don't care if rumors like that get out."
Silvia glanced away, looking almost shy. The atmosphere turned strange.
"I've already got more than enough bad rumors. One more would be a speck of dust next to my reputation."
Ah. So that was what she meant.
For a second I'd thought she was flirting. Good thing I caught myself before that misunderstanding got out of hand.
"Heh. Sir Rix, what were you thinking just now?"
"…Nothing at all."
"You didn't take that to mean I wouldn't mind a rumor that you and I were… involved… did you?"
"Isn't that exactly what it means? You said you wouldn't care if people thought we were lovers."
"Th-That's—!"
Silvia flushed and stammered. If you're going to attack, you should be ready to get hit back.
"The nuance is completely different!"
"How is it different? Looks the same to me."
"Urgh… Forget it if you don't understand!"
Oh. She was sulking.
Hss… Angering a duke's daughter is a dangerous game.
I'd gotten a little too carried away. Abandoned or not, she was still a young lady of a ducal house. I needed to show proper courtesy.
"My apologies, Lady Robbins. Please don't be angry."
"I'm not angry."
"I see. Then I suppose you won't be needing my repayment."
"…Repayment?"
"I was planning to let you stay in this estate as a token of gratitude. But since you say you're not angry, I suppose there's no need for thanks."
"I am angry! Please let me live here!"
"…Very well. I'll prepare a room."
And so began my cohabitation with a runaway young lady.