Even if the Villain's Daughter Regresses

 

“No, I want to go. When are we leaving?”

“Anytime. Whenever you’re ready.”

“Then…”

Laila began to list the things she needed to do before leaving the Count’s estate. First, she would say goodbye to Cecile and thank Count Kaiter for everything they had done for her.

And the maids she had become close with would probably throw her a farewell party.

“How about leaving the day after tomorrow?”

“Sounds good.”

“I have a question for you, Sion.”

Taylor, who seemed to be waiting for Laila and Sion’s conversation to wrap up, quickly interjected.

“How was the evil god?”

“What do you mean?”

“What it looked like, how strong it was…”

“It looked strange and was weak.”

“The evil god was weak?”

“Yeah.”

“You said you fought the evil god for half a month, right?”

“Who said that?”

“I heard rumors.”

“It’s true that I fought for half a month, but…”

Sion glanced at Laila before finishing his sentence.

“I was holding back during the fight.”

“So it was a lame battle?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you must have suffered enough to die and come back to life…”

“…”

“Fighting until death is a terrible experience. It’s good that you didn’t have to go through that.”

“…”

“But how did you come back to life? How did you feel when you came back? How strong are you now? Do you think you could beat all of the palace knights?”

“Let’s move to a different place and talk more.”

Sion, Laila, and Taylor were in the garden. Taylor had shown up unexpectedly, where Sion and Laila had originally been alone. It was as if he had burst in.

“Shall we go to the reception room? Do you want some tea? What kind of tea? Miss, what kind of tea would you like?”

Oh, am I going to the reception room, too?

After thinking for a moment, Laila spoke up.

“I’ll have chamomile tea. Cold.”

 

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

 

The territory Sion received from the king, known as the ‘Axid Duchy,’ was located in the eastern part of the kingdom.

When Cecile learned about the Axid Duchy’s location, she expressed her thoughts:

It’s our neighbor!

It took exactly a day and a half by carriage from Kaiter County to the neighboring territory.

“Welcome, Your Grace.”

“I am Gerick, the butler who will be serving you starting today.”

“I am the head maid, Meidi.”

“I am the head chef, Nudella. My specialty is making chocolate desserts.”

“And I’m the head gardener…”

The Axid Duchy castle, where the servants had already taken their places, was very large. It was similar in size to the Marquis Hildegarde’s castle, or perhaps even larger.

Laila spent the day familiarizing herself with the castle’s structure. And then, just before falling asleep in her assigned bedroom, exhausted, she suddenly thought:

By now, the Marquis Hildegarde’s castle must have a new owner.

Who could have become the new owner of the Marquisate?

Are Vilhel and Marie still working in that castle?

…Are they doing well?

‘Should I try sending a letter?’

Until recently, she had been a criminal hiding in secrecy, so she hadn’t dared to make contact.

But now, Laila was no longer a criminal. Both she and Taylor had been officially pardoned.

Yes, as soon as the sun rises tomorrow, I’ll write a letter.

‘Wait.’

Laila opened her eyes again, which she had closed completely.

A sudden question arose.

I am no longer a young lady of the Marquis of Hildegarde.

Nor am I a traitor.

Then?

What am I now?

‘I’m…’

She soon realized.

‘I’m nothing.’

I’m just Laila. Simply Laila.

Someone who just turned twenty not long ago.

That’s all.

Laila blinked slowly.

…Now that I am just Laila, who has turned twenty, what should I do?

What can I do?

She recalled the time she lived as “Nana Rula.” Back then, Laila survived by selling stolen jewelry she had taken from the marquisate and occasionally did ghostwriting as a side job.

But now, Laila had no stolen jewelry.

There didn’t seem to be anyone in this duchy who would hire her for ghostwriting…

Laila continued to ponder and eventually fell into a deep sleep.

The next day.

Early in the morning, Laila went to find the butler, Gerick.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she handed two written letters to Gerick and asked him to send them.

To the former Marquis of Hildegarde Estate.

“A letter addressed to the Marquis of Biomton, I see. Understood.”

Laila silently nodded. The Marquis of Biomton was someone she had heard of.

He was known to be a person of good character. That gave her a bit of relief.

After parting ways with Gerick, Laila went to find the head maid, Meidi.

“I have a favor to ask. I’d like you to teach me a job.”

“Pardon? What kind of job?”

“Housemaid work.”

“…Yes?”

“I want to learn how to be a housemaid.”

Meidi looked very surprised.

“Why would you want to be a housemaid, milady…?”

“I’m no longer a lady.”

In the middle of speaking, Laila realized a problem. Oh no.

“No.”

Laila corrected her tone. Meidi looked to be at least twenty years older than Laila.

“Please lower your speech, Milady.”

“I told you, I’m not a lady. I’m—no, I’m not a noble lady.”

“But…”

“Call me Laila.”

“Miss Laila.”

“Please drop the ‘Miss.’”

“I can’t do that. And I can’t teach you how to be a housemaid either.”

“Why not?”

“Because Miss Laila is not a housemaid; she is a guest in this duchy.”

A guest. That word suddenly clawed at Laila’s heart.

A guest is… someone who has to leave eventually, isn’t it?

“I want to be a housemaid.”

“I’m sorry.”

“…”

“Then, I’ll be going now, Miss Laila.”

Meidi bowed to Laila and turned to walk away. Laila watched Meidi retreating before turning back.

It’s okay.

It was too early to be disappointed.

“You want to learn to cook?”

“Yes. I want to work in the kitchen.”

“Oh, milady…”

“It’s Laila.”

“Miss Laila.”

For some reason, similar conversations kept repeating. The head chef, Nudella, shook her head with a troubled expression.

“I can’t have Miss Laila do menial tasks.”

“Is cooking a menial task?”

“It means it’s a difficult job.”

“But it’s a valuable one.”

“Thank you for saying that, but…”

Nudella scratched her hat-covered head, then continued.

“I’m truly sorry.”

“…”

“I need to prepare meals for the knights…”

Nuddella left. Watching her hurried retreat, Laila sighed and moved on.

“You want to take care of the horses? That’s absolutely not allowed.”

“Excuse me? Cleaning and organizing books? That’s fine. Miss Laila, you should just read. Would you like me to recommend some books?”

“Sweeping the stairs? Ah, but Meidi would absolutely… um, I’m sorry.”

“We can take care of the carriage ourselves. It’s fine.”

“Miss Laila! Don’t put your feet in there! It’s cold! We’ll handle the laundry. Do you want to play in the water? There’s a lake nearby…”

“Excuse me? You want to move this together? Haha, no, that’s not allowed. It’s scary. We’ll manage on our own.”

As Laila wandered around, she ran into Taylor. He was grinning widely.

It was irritating.

“Are you happy?”

“Yes?”

“What did you do today?”

“Today… I trained.”

“Are you happy about training?”

Taylor tilted his head, but he quickly answered.

“Yes.”

“…”

“Miss, do you know how strong Sion has become? Wow, I was really surprised. A little while ago, I saw him sparring with the knights of the duchy. But…”

Taylor stood in the hallway, rambling on for a while. Laila summarized his lengthy words simply: Sion is very strong.

It was a fact that didn’t even feel surprising anymore.

Laila stood there, lost in thought.

Sion is strong, and then…

What about me?

I’m obviously weak. Weak and…

“Miss Laila?”

Taylor suddenly noticed Laila’s expression. Thanks to that, Laila realized that her expression wasn’t very good.

“Are you feeling unwell? Since we suddenly changed places, maybe you didn’t sleep well…”

“No. I’m fine. Actually, I’m just hungry right now.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to get a snack. Goodbye.”

Laila turned her back on Taylor and walked away. For some reason, her feet moved quickly, as if she were running away.