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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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Chapter 8
The carriage came to a halt as it left ‌‌‌‌the Villa.
The place Vivian had brought Rachel to was....
'...a Small Hill?' ‌‌‌
It was a small hill located behind the Village.
A place where one could freely observe the Village, away from the prying eyes of others.
This location perfectly met those conditions. ‌‌‌
"You want me to climb up there?"
The knights ‌‌‌assigned as ‌‌‌escorts grimaced at the prospect of ascending the Small Hill.
"Huh? Sirs, did you only eat a little bread today? Why do ‌‌you seem so weak?"
Each word from Vivian's lips stabbed mercilessly at the knights' pride.
And most critically....
"Then I'll tell the Duke to give you all ‌‌lots more bread from now ‌‌on."
A threat—or rather, ‌‌‌‌something that sounded like one—directed ‌‌at the Duke himself! ‌‌‌‌
Faced with Vivian's veiled threat, the knights scrambled up the Small Hill in alarm.
If word reached Kaltz, the already grueling training regimen of the ‌Knight Order would only intensify.
Rachel found the unexpected hike tedious as well, but declined the knights' offer to carry him and quietly climbed the Small Hill.
And so, upon finally reaching the summit.
A cool breeze swept through Rachel's hair.
As I ‌‌‌opened my eyes, ‌‌which had closed without my realizing it in that wind, a brilliant blue sky and pale green fields spread before ‌‌‌me.
And at the center of the Small Hill stood a single magnificent, ancient tree.
"Over there, if you go beneath that tree, you can see the entire Village spread ‌‌out below."
Vivian pointed toward the tree and led Rachel in ‌‌‌that direction.
"Ta-da!" ‌‌
Upon reaching the tree, Vivian cried out with delight.
The child's small, ‍‌‌‌‌‌fern-like hand pointed toward a panoramic view of the Village.
'Ah....'
Only upon seeing that vista did Rachel truly realize that I had stepped outside the Estate.
As Rachel stood gazing blankly at the Village's panorama.
Vivian suddenly threw herself onto the grass. ‌‌‌
"What are you doing right now...?"
Before Rachel could even finish asking, Vivian rolled down the grassy slope.
Not only Rachel but the knights watching from the side were taken aback.
"W-wait, little one!"
Tumbling down the slope with a rumble!
After rolling down the incline for some time, Vivian came to a ‌‌stop on the gentler ground below.
"Whee-ha! That was fun!"
She sprang to her feet with a bright laugh.
Her entire body covered in grass and dirt.
At the sight of her, an incredulous chuckle escaped Rachel's lips.
"Sigh..."
For Rachel, raised as a noble daughter and trained in propriety, such behavior was unimaginable.
In fact, not just herself—none of the aristocratic children she'd met at the estate ‌would have done such a thing.
They all pretended to be adults, reading quietly or maintaining dignified composure.
'She was so respectful and cunning in front of Grandfather.'
But now ‌‌‌‌she looked exactly like an untamed colt, thrashing about without ‌sense or reason.
Not the scheming girl trying to impress Grandfather, ‌‌‌‌but a pure child who knew nothing at all.
'She really is strange.'
Vivian climbed ‌back up the slope and scampered toward Rachel.
Her face beaming with joy, yet looking ‌‌‌like a beggar.
Seeing her appearance, ‌‌Rachel frowned and rebuked her.
"You're filthy." ‌‌‌
"Then I'll just ‌‌brush it off like this!"
Vivian brushed at her clothes, indifferent to whether Rachel disapproved or not.
Most of the grass clinging to her fell away, but one piece remained.
"Look at this. I'm clean now, aren't I?"
A single leaf stuck in her crown still fluttered in place.
Nestled among her cherry-blossom-pink hair, the leaf looked as natural as part of the flower itself.
Rachel followed Vivian's movements, watching the fluttering leaf, when Vivian suddenly ‌‌‌asked her a question.
"Would you like to try too, Miss? Since you've come this far, you absolutely must do it. The grass is so soft and spongy, it's so ‌‌fun―"
"That's enough. You go ahead and enjoy yourself."
Rachel refused with a stern expression before Vivian could even finish speaking.
"Ugh, but it's ‌‌so much fun."
Vivian's lips pouted at the sharp rejection, but Rachel ignored the sound and turned her gaze toward the village scenery.
Whatever else, she found herself drawn to this landscape and its ‌‌‌quiet atmosphere.
Vivian sidled up beside Rachel and pointed at the roofs with her finger, explaining.
"That red roof over there is the fruit ‌‌‌‌shop, and ‌‌‌in front of it is a general store, and next to that the green roof is..."
Vivian continued her cheerful explanation, pointing out the village landscape with her finger.
Following Vivian's finger as she gazed at the village, Rachel suddenly looked at the girl standing beside her.
The girl's golden eyes, reflecting the entire village, sparkled like jewels.
Just as Rachel stared blankly at those eyes, Vivian looked back at her and smiled brightly, saying,
"Next time, let's go to the village together, Miss!"
In that moment, Rachel understood what made this child shine so brilliantly.
Freedom.
This commoner child possessed ‌‌‌a freedom that Rachel herself did not have.
In this moment of realization, ‌the mere commoner girl beside her felt like the master of this small world.
And Rachel ‌‌felt a twinge ‌‌of jealousy, and a touch of... longing.
* * *
On the way down from the Small Hill and back to the Estate.
Rachel gazed out the window at the sunset painting the sky.
'Your first outing seems to have been quite satisfying, hasn't it?'
I asked Rachel casually, ‌‍feeling rather pleased with myself.
"How was it, Miss? Seeing the Village like this wasn't so bad, was it?"
At that, Rachel's gaze, which had been fixed on the window, turned toward me.
The sharp edge that had been in his eyes until we stepped outside had softened considerably, but....
Still, no affirmative ‌‌‍‌answer came back.
Truly, our young lady was as prickly as ever.
'I never expected him ‌‌to offer praise willingly anyway.'
Hmph, tsk, tch.
As I pouted my lips, Rachel, who had been watching me intently, placed his hand on top of his own head.
'Huh?' ‌‌‌
I belatedly realized ‌‌‌‌‌this was a gesture for me to do the same, so I placed my hand on top of my head. And then....
"W-what is this?"
A leaf that I had no idea when it had gotten stuck came away in my hand.
It must have attached itself when I was rolling around on the Small Hill earlier!
Only then did I understand why those knight gentlemen had been laughing at me.
"Ugh, why didn't you tell me about this? You knew the whole time!"
"Be grateful I ‌‌told you before you met Grandfather."
Rachel said that and turned his gaze back to the window.
But just a moment ago.
'Did Rachel smile?'
Yet when I looked at Rachel again, his face was as impassive as always.
'I must have been mistaken.'
There was no way the coldest person in the world would smile at me.
I felt through my hair to check if any leaves remained, then recalled Rachel's words and tensed up immediately.
'Once we return to the Villa, dinner with the Duke awaits.'
Seeing how desperately Sally and the Nanny were trying to drive me away, I had taken a ‌‌‌gamble and tried to grab ‌the most powerful string in House of Edelwein.
'And it actually worked.'
It was a stroke of luck that the Duke didn't reject me for it, but....
'The thought of actually facing him terrifies me.'
The Duke was ‌‌‌‌the second most powerful person in the Hildeon Empire, after the Emperor.
The previous young lady of ‌‌‌‌‌the House, the Duke's daughter, had borne Rachel, the child of ‌a traitorous prince, and though his reputation had faded considerably since then.
He was still a terrifying figure who could make even birds fall ‌‌‌from the sky.
'And setting aside such reputation....'
Merely recalling the oppressive presence ‌‌‌the Duke had emanated when I encountered him today was enough to make me tense. ‌
'But I cannot run away.'
I swallowed hard as the Duke's Villa ‌came into view through the window.
'At this point, I'm committed.'

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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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