The Villain Wants to Live a Quiet Life

After three days, my parents returned to our main house after a brief visit to the royal palace for business.

Accompanied by Paula, I headed straight to the annex.

Whenever the two of them returned from a journey, they always spent time alone there.

I suppose I should take it to mean their relationship is still good.

“Paula, was Father alright?”

“Yes. From what I heard from my sister, the journey was uneventful.”

Nilia, Father’s personal maid, is Paula’s sister, so they often talk to each other.

They must have chatted about various things right after returning from this journey too. They’re very close.

“Nilia must have had a hard time too. The journey to the royal palace couldn’t have been easy.”

“Hehe, certainly not as much as the master and mistress.”

True. Although there’s an Aiphretz family residence there too, it isn’t anything like the main house.

Moreover, Mother has trouble sleeping away from home, so it must’ve been difficult.

Father was summoned by the royal family, so he must have had his own hardships as well.

I feel a bit guilty, having been cooped up at home.

The path to the annex was quite long.

Although the Aiphretz family may not be as grand as a duke’s family, their accumulated achievements and long history meant a considerable size in the main building and others.

Uniquely, the Aiphretz family has portraits of past family heads displayed in the annex.

It was done by my grandfather, the previous family head, Klaus Aiphretz… honestly, I don’t know why.

I once heard that hanging portraits of those who have become the deceased in the main building is not respectful to the living…

‘Isn’t the annex the same?’

I had such doubts but decided not to delve further, thinking the previous family head must have had his reasons.

Looking closely at the portraits of the ancestors, I headed towards the room where my parents would be.

“Young Master, your clothes…”

“Ah.”

“Excuse me.”

Perhaps because I was in a hurry, my hair and clothes were a bit disheveled.

Since there’s quite a height difference between us, Paula stood on her tiptoes to tidy up my appearance.

Coming to this world, I wasn’t used to the concept of having a maid, so I often put her in difficult situations, but Paula still fulfilled her duties by my side.

“Thank you always, Paula.”

“It’s nothing. I’m just glad to be of help to you, Young Master.”

While her sister Nilia is a bit more relaxed, Paula is the very image of a proper maid.

Father also thought Paula would be more suitable for someone who’s not very put-together and assigned her to me… I can only marvel at his foresight.

She approached the door first, knocked, and announced my arrival. Then, a voice presumed to be Father’s came from inside, granting permission.

– Creak.

“Welcome. You could have stayed in the main building, you know.”

This middle-aged man, seated on a red wine-colored leather sofa and saying words he doesn’t really mean, is Carl Aiphretz.

My second father in this world and the head of the Aiphretz family.

By the way, if I hadn’t come to the annex, what would you have said later? There’s no way I couldn’t come.

“It would be inappropriate of me to stay in my bedroom when Father has returned.”

“You’re not wrong.”

Father raised one corner of his mouth, smiling contentedly.

And beside him, my mother, Diana Aiphretz, patting the sofa as if telling me to come to her side.

Does she still see me as a child? I’m grateful, but also feel troubled.

I told Paula to catch up with Nilia and immediately approached the sofa, sitting opposite Mother.

Mother then appeared sad, asking why I didn’t sit next to her.

Mother, I’m not a mama’s boy…

“I heard the eldest daughter of the Bayemühren family visited?”

“Yes.”

“That’s unusual. From what I hear, she doesn’t leave her residence often.”

That was exactly what I wanted to ask about, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it and just nodded without much response.

Mother, who had been obsessed with finding me a marriage partner, clapped her hands together and smiled brightly as if hearing good news.

“Could she be interested in you?”

“I think that possibility is low…”

“Oh my, what’s wrong with our son? His looks are outstanding enough, his personality is calm…”

As if afraid of not being partial enough, Mother started listing my virtues to the point where my face grew hot listening to it.

Moreover, most of them were things I was hearing for the first time.

I never expected to hear that I’m good at understanding women’s hearts.

“She didn’t say anything else?”

“She said she wanted to attend my coming-of-age ceremony in three weeks. She wanted to congratulate me…”

“Then she must have feelings for you. Listen, Ludwig, girls at her age don’t try to attend the coming-of-age ceremony of a man they’re not interested in.”

“Yes…”

Mother, who rarely uses my nickname in front of others, was speaking seriously even while calling me by it.

She’s not wrong, however. It’s the same for me as a man.

Not investing in someone you’re not interested in – it’s the same regardless of gender.

However, the problem was that Emilia’s character had a predetermined other half, a point which I can’t necessarily speak of.

It was a fact that I alone had to keep a secret, even from my parents. 

“Perhaps you don’t fancy her?”

“How could that be? If anything, she’s too good for me.”

At just over 20, she already had peers among her age group, and at 21, she bore the title of Sword Saint and continued to grow steadily thereafter.

Is her appearance lacking? Not in the slightest.

In the story, there was even a noble son who composed and recited a poem of praise for her, who came to be called the Ice Flower.

In terms of the fame she would gain and her charm as a woman, she was undoubtedly too good for me.

Father held the words “too good” in his mouth, nodding his head as he chewed on them.

“Too good… That might not be wrong. Although both are count families, there’s a difference in reputation, and I’ve heard that the girl has been gaining quite the reputation recently.”

“That’s right.”

The Bayemühren family, although also a count family, is a great noble house of a rare, surpassing extent.

They didn’t inherit military rights and autonomy like a margrave who achieved outstanding merits in border regions adjoining other countries.

However, many of the previous heads of the Bayemühren family were warriors who left behind great achievements and prestige on the battlefield.

Moreover, with a long history of pledging loyalty to the royal family and the vast size of the territory they rule, they stand in a position that can’t be easily challenged except by ducal families backed by the royal family.

Some even said their influence could rival that of a ducal family, despite the lack of promotion to such a status.

While the Aiphretz family also belongs to the count class, they’re merely a local power in the southern region, whereas the Bayemühren family is one that can wield power even in the central forces led by the royal family.

In other words, in an era that placed utmost importance on birth and family, Emilia was like a flower on a cliff.

“But remember this. While you’re free to push that child away, if the reason is simply that you feel overwhelmed by her family and reputation, you might regret it later.”

“…”

I’m not sure if this advice came from Father’s own experience, but there was something about it that struck deep in my heart.

Is this the difference of a forerunner who has lived life ahead? Although that time may not be very long, at least it’s enough to understand the heart of a foolish child.

“Father, are you certain she has favorable feelings towards me?”

“If you’re asking whether those feelings are romantic, I don’t know. I haven’t seen the child myself.”

Father took a sip of the red tea placed on the table and continued speaking.

“However, that’s not the important part. To me, it only looks like you’re trying to deliberately distance yourself from her.”

An accurate observation. In reality, I was trying to reduce unnecessary contact with Emilia.

In three weeks, if she comes to the coming-of-age ceremony, I was planning to refuse the sword training matter as well, citing some random excuse.

Is she a character who will take my life? I didn’t particularly think about that point. I was just anxious.

If I accept the hand she’s extending, how will the subsequent development change? What variables will arise from that? Perhaps Emilia, whose meeting with the protagonist has been delayed, might face a terrible tragedy.

For me, who was only thinking about how to dodge fate somehow rather than completely overturning it, this encounter was truly a fatal meeting.

“Take time to think about it. Even as your father, I can’t gauge the worries you hold, but I don’t think my son is troubling his head with useless thoughts.”

“Yes, Father.”

After that, Mother kept asking about Emilia, so I answered her questions.

How does she look, what’s her personality like, how does she speak, and so on… I tried to answer within what I knew.

In the end, I couldn’t point out any flaws in Emilia. When Mother tried to find some flaw anyway, asking what there might be, I gave a nonsensical answer, stating that having no flaws was her flaw and had to listen to Mother’s lament that I must be deeply infatuated.

Although I felt wronged, I didn’t feel like trying to clear it up. Even I thought something must have gone seriously wrong.

translator’s corner

smth definitely went wrong ;w;