Chapter 20
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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How to Survive as the Villain's Younger Sister
Episode 20
The Territory was fundamentally Parkision's land.
However, there were places that belonged to Jenin and Dreiny.
'My late Father and stepmother had sold them off.'
Most were among the few lands within the Territory where farming could be conducted.
The Wasteland was only a small portion of those.
It was close to the center of the Territory, so it seemed they had acquired it to construct buildings, but they had abandoned it because the soil was so poor.
Currently, this Wasteland was their headache.
'But Night Spirit Stones must be buried here as well.'
Even if only partially, the deposit would be considerable.
Dreiny's land could be confiscated by charging him with a crime.
He would be executed soon anyway.
'But Jenin's land is the problem.'
I couldn't let it fall into his hands under any circumstances.
'What should I do? If I say I'm buying the Wasteland, he'll suspect something is there and grow wary.'
I had to reclaim this land by any means necessary.
"Maran, I'm entrusting this task to you. Reclaim the Wasteland from Jenin. Be careful not to let the Spirit Stones be discovered."
"Understood, my lady!"
* * *
Something ticklish brushed against my cheek.
"Mmm...."
It was cool and soft, yet somehow felt firm.
The pleasant tickling sensation made me smile with a soft laugh. "Hehe."
Then suddenly, it pinched my cheek.
"Huh?"
My eyes snapped open.
A low, pleasant voice rang out from above my head.
"Sleepyhead. You're awake."
Deep, ocean-blue eyes filled my vision.
It was Alexis.
"Eh?"
I let out a startled sound, but since my cheek was caught in Alexis's grip, it came out strange.
Alexis withdrew her hand, looking embarrassed.
"The physician said it was time for you to wake up, but you kept sleeping, so I tried to wake you."
"I see."
I rubbed my cheek and sat up.
Alexis clenched and unclenched her fist, as if reluctant about something.
"Sorry for sleeping in."
"It's fine."
"And thank you for saving me."
She averted her gaze with her usual bluntness.
'Is she still upset?'
I craned my neck to observe her more closely when Alexis thrust something into my hands.
"Take it."
It was a small basket and a tiny shovel that fit perfectly in my palm.
'Children's sandbox toys?'
"I was going to give it to you yesterday."
"!"
"You seemed to love playing in the dirt so much that you'd ditch the servants to go outside. You're quite skilled at playing with your bare hands too, it seems."
Alexis must have seen the deep pit I'd dug.
"So you saw those beautiful stones there? Tons of them?"
"Yes. Just as you said, there were quite a lot."
Alexis had discovered the Night Spirit Stones!
Thank goodness.
Now Alexis was wealthy.
She would no longer have to struggle with debt or take on dangerous monster subjugation work.
And most importantly....
'I received a gift from Alexis!'
I hugged the basket tightly to my chest, hardly believing it.
It wasn't a dream.
It was definitely a toy that Alexis had given me!
"Wait, sister. Did you... did you go there to give this to me?"
"No. That's impossible. I just happened to pass by. I picked up the toy on the way."
Alexis spoke coldly.
At her words, my eyes grew moist without my realizing it.
'Either way, I received a gift from Alexis! My sister gave me something...!'
It made me happier than finding the spirit stones after all that grueling labor.
I laughed foolishly, letting out a "hehe" sound.
Watching me, Alexis wore a subtle expression.
It was the expression of someone who had never smiled before attempting to do so.
* * *
Late at night.
Someone climbed through the window of Cyrilia's room.
A dark shadow approached the girl sleeping soundly in her bed.
A silhouette with a build between a young man and a boy gazed down at the sleeping girl.
Then it crawled under the bed.
Just as the figure was about to hide its entire body beneath the bed.
Whoosh!
"Ugh!"
Something grabbed at the Young Boy's ankle, dragging insistently.
"Caught you, little thief!"
I pulled the resisting Young Boy with all my strength.
He gave up the struggle and was dragged toward me.
It was a familiar face.
The blonde-haired boy who had been with me when Dreiny kidnapped me.
The boy who had tried to save me, failed, and disappeared.
'I'd been worried whether he'd managed to escape safely, and now we meet again like this!'
"Huff... huff..."
"For something so small, you're surprisingly strong."
The Young Boy grumbled.
With beads of sweat dotting my forehead, I lay sprawled out feeling utterly wronged.
"Who are you?"
"Kyle."
"Ah, Kyle. That's a cool name... wait, that's not what I meant to say! Why did you sneak into my room? And why did you suddenly disappear that day?"
"There's something I need to say first, before all that."
Kyle crouched down in front of me as I lay there.
His crimson eyes looking down at me felt oddly unsettling, and my cheeks flushed.
I quickly got to my feet and spoke.
"Thank you for helping me when I was kidnapped."
Kyle grinned as if that was exactly what he'd been waiting to hear.
"Think nothing of it."
When he smiled, his face was quite handsome.
'No, actually. Even sitting still, there's an air of nobility about him—he's genuinely handsome.'
Though he was wearing shabby-looking clothes today as well.
'He must be a noble, right? Or perhaps a noble's illegitimate son?'
But then why does he look like this, and why has he been following me around since last time?
And today, he even tried to sneak under my bed.
It was all far too suspicious.
I didn't bother hiding my suspicion as I studied him.
"Now answer me. Who are you...?"
"Will you hide me?"
"What?"
"I'm being hunted."
Kyle grinned again.
For someone being hunted, his expression was remarkably composed.
"Why should I trust you?"
"You look simple-minded, but you're actually quite suspicious."
"What did you just say?"
I bristled with indignation.
Kyle didn't seem to have as pleasant a personality as his appearance suggested.
"If you look at the clothes I'm wearing, you'll understand—I fled from the Mercenary Company."
"Why?"
"It's a mercenary company that hunts monsters, but it's far too harsh and grueling. Look at my face. With features this delicate, would I really take on such brutal work?"
"You certainly have some nerve."
He snorted at my words.
"Anyway, I fled the Mercenary Company with a massive debt hanging over my head, and now they're hunting me. Would you hide me until they give up?"
"If you're skilled enough at hiding to sneak into the Duke's Mansion undetected, it seems you wouldn't need me to hide you at all."
Kyle's eyes narrowed.
"You really do look innocent, don't you..."
"And you look like a nobleman, yet you're a mercenary."
"Not backing down an inch, are you? Fine. How about thinking of it as repaying a debt?"
"Hmm..."
"No matter how skilled at hiding I am, constantly moving from place to place is exhausting. But if it's the Dukedom, I could rest easy and hide comfortably."
I deliberated.
'What should I do?'
Hiding a stranger seemed far too risky.
In that moment, a brilliant idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
"Fine."
His eyes widened at my surprisingly easy consent.
"You're really allowing it?"
"But there's one condition first."
"What?"
"If you do just this one thing for me, I'll hide you."
I smiled as I spoke.
Kyle sighed with an expression that said, "I knew it!"
* * *
Preparations for mining the 'Night Spirit Stone' proceeded smoothly.
Since Alexis was overseeing it personally, the secret remained well-guarded.
With Dreiny's execution, the Wasteland was confiscated.
'Now I just need to reclaim Jenin's lands.'
Maran was confident.
Everything seemed to be progressing favorably.
But not long after.
Alexis received news like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
"Your Grace, I apologize. It appears Jenin has already sold all the Wasteland he possessed."
"What? To whom did he sell it?"
"That is..."
A few days prior.
An unexpected visitor had called upon Archbishop Jenin Parkision at his residence.
He was someone from out of town.
"I'm devoting myself entirely to prayer, so tell him to come back another time."
Jenin said this.
In truth, he had been in seclusion ever since the will forgery incident from before.
But at the monk's words, he quickly changed his mind.
"He appears to be someone in need of assistance."
"Are there only one or two people in need of help in this land?"
"Moreover, he's brought a considerable sum of money."
"Why aren't you showing him to the Reception Room at once?"
The elderly man in shabby clothes with his hat pulled low looked hopelessly out of place at first glance.
Yet despite his appearance, he produced a bulging purse of money.
But what truly startled Jenin wasn't the money—it was the man's identity.
"My name is Jamie Rolleng."
"No, you are...!"
An illegitimate son of the Rolleng Marquessate.
I'd heard he'd wandered the world long ago and perished.
'He was alive all this time.'
The hardships he'd endured had transformed him so completely that he was utterly unrecognizable.
"I wish to give my nephew a gift—the first and last I'll ever give—but having severed ties with the world so long ago, I find myself uncertain what would be appropriate."
"Is that why you've returned to the Parkision Territory?"
"Yes, precisely. My nephew resides here."
"Having been estranged from the world for so long, you're unfamiliar with its ways?"
"Indeed. That's why I've sought out the Archbishop."
"Then you've come to exactly the right place!"
Dreiny's instincts flared to life.
'A perfect mark!'
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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