The Villain Wants to Live a Quiet Life

After some time had passed, the two headed to the theater.

Befitting its reputation as the most famous in the area, the building’s exterior was neat and could accommodate a large audience.

“Does Emilia like romance too?”

“I haven’t enjoyed it before… but I’m thinking of starting to like it now.”

She didn’t explicitly say it was because of someone.

Whether in plays or novels, romance dealing with love between men and women wasn’t a subject Emilia had enjoyed until now.

She had briefly read a few books in her family’s library, but at that time, they didn’t leave any particular impression.

From this moment on, that would change.

Setting aside her desire to appear as a cultured woman to him, shouldn’t she know what love is to put it into action?

Being a woman, it wasn’t her wish to just sit back and expect his one-sided favor.

‘There’s still time left…’

On the other hand, she also thought the timing of becoming Rebecca’s disciple was quite appropriate.

While studying under her, she could hone her body and mind while preparing to approach him.

And until she meets him again, she should plan various things she wants to do together.

This was the big picture Emilia was envisioning.

“This must be it.”

A fairly large piece of paper with a drawing on it was pasted on the sidewall as they entered the theater.

Although the paper wasn’t laminated, it was still a kind of poster.

The image showed a woman dancing alone on a steep hill overlooking the sea, so steep it might as well be a cliff.

Just from this scene, one could easily guess the ending.

“On the Forgotten Hill… somehow the title feels melancholic.”

“Indeed. It might be about parting.”

Ludwig was practically certain about this, but as an audience member about to watch the play, he didn’t want to say such things.

He just estimated the ending roughly while conversing with her.

Emilia furrowed her brow at his words and stared intently at the posted poster.

She had come to watch a play with him for once, but if the ending was a bitterly sad ending about parting, wouldn’t it just ruin the mood?

Should she suggest they just walk around town instead?

Such worries tangled together, instantly throwing her mind into confusion.

“Emilia.”

“Y-Yes!?”

“Let’s go in. We should sit down and wait.”

“Oh, right. Sorry, Ludwig.”

Emilia felt an inexplicable guilt at his smiling face saying there was nothing to be sorry about.

Right. After all, a play is just a play, with no connection to her whatsoever.

She had wasted his time by falling into unnecessary thoughts. Emilia let out a small sigh inwardly as she followed Ludwig into the theater.

‘How strange.’

This was the brief impression that crossed Ludwig’s mind as he entered and sat down.

He had visited theaters since coming to this world, so what he found strange wasn’t an impression of the building.

It was just that having Emilia accompany him made the sensation feel completely different from that time.

That fact alone was strange to him.

‘Get a grip… whew.’

Emilia brushed her unusually sparkling platinum blonde hair behind her ear, smiling brightly when their eyes met.

As his heart sank, he averted his gaze as naturally as possible.

No matter how many times he saw her appearance, whether morning, noon, or night, he couldn’t get used to it.

He had seen quite a few people who could be called beautiful since coming to this world, but Emilia had a unique aura beyond just her appearance.

“Um… Ludwig?”

“Yes?”

Ludwig snapped out of his thoughts at the voice calling his name.

When he came to his senses, he saw Emilia looking at him with a worried face, blinking her eyes.

“Is there something on my face? Did my makeup smear or something…?”

“Ah, no, not at all.”

The words that she was just pretty, let alone her makeup smearing, rose to his throat, but he barely held them back, trying to act nonchalant.

If her appearance could be tarnished by something like smeared makeup, that would be strange in its own way.

Just as the awkward atmosphere that had unknowingly arisen continued to fester, the lights illuminating the theater went out and the curtain on the stage rose.

The long-awaited play had begun.

“Today too… you don’t return.”

The play began with a monologue from an actress.

Judging by the woman’s clothing and the surrounding furniture, she seemed to be a commoner’s wife.

‘She acts well.’

From just the first line of dialogue, one could tell she had considerable skill.

The projection could be heard clearly even in seats far from the stage and the sorrow contained in her voice. He could understand a glimpse of why they were famous even in the central region.

– Clang!

As a dish shattered into fragments on the floor, the woman began to sob alone.

As the plot gradually unfolded and the story behind her tears was revealed, Emilia’s expression began to harden.

Despite it being her first experience watching a play, she was instantly drawn in.

‘Seems she’s alright.’

When he glanced sideways at Emilia in the next seat, he saw her covering her mouth with one hand, engrossed in the play.

Fortunately, it seems to suit her taste. Ludwig inwardly let out a sigh of relief and shifted his gaze back to the stage.

Since plays tend to be quite divisive in terms of preferences, he had been a bit worried when she first expressed her intention to accompany him.

If it didn’t suit her taste and she just had an uncomfortable time, it would be worse than not going.

But contrary to his concerns, Ludwig felt a strange sense of satisfaction seeing her enjoy the play.

Her liking plays was a point that didn’t appear even in the original story.

In other words, the aspect Emilia was showing now was something no one had seen, regardless of whether in this world or that.

‘Am I being perverted…?’

Ludwig briefly wondered if it was too gloomy a thought, but what could he do? It was the truth.

However, if he didn’t watch the play because he was thinking about Emilia, it would all be for nothing, so he decided to sincerely appreciate the play again.

The flow of time felt by the audience and the characters on stage would be different.

As if to prove this fact, the female protagonist who reunited with her lover burst into tears of joy as if they had met after several years had actually passed.

“… Sniff… sob.”

And as the actor’s performance reached its peak, those emotions were vividly transmitted to the audience below the stage.

At this moment, it wasn’t only the female lead on stage who was shedding tears.

“Emilia, are you alright?”

“Hic…! I’m sorry, Ludwig… sniff. It’s just so moving…”

Oh dear. The story hadn’t even reached its climax yet and she was already like this.

It was amazing how she could look like a sharpened sword when she was immersed in swordsmanship training alone, but now she looked simply like a sensitive young girl.

Watching her, Ludwig took out a handkerchief from his pocket and held it out to her as she continued crying.

Emilia, still sniffling but firmly expressing her thanks, took it and began to wipe her tears.

“Not at all. I’m rather grateful. I was worried Emilia might not enjoy it… but it seems you’re enjoying it.”

“I… guess so… sniff. I didn’t know I was this much of a crybaby…”

Well, since she said it was her first time seeing a play, she probably didn’t know it could be such a heart-wrenching experience.

Thinking that this might be a more normal reaction, Ludwig gently patted her shoulder.

Carefully, so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable as if he were brushing off dust on her shoulder.

It was a kind of consideration, but for Emilia, whose emotions had become more sensitive due to crying, it wasn’t such a good thing.

Rather, his actions that seemed to be testing the waters only made her heart flutter.

“Sometimes I hate that about you, Ludwig.”

“Pardon? Did I make some mistake…?”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

Ludwig, who didn’t understand the meaning behind her words, stopped question marks floating above his head.

On the other hand, Emilia found even his naive gaze particularly unsatisfactory.

Instead of just brushing her shoulder, couldn’t he hug her, wrap his arm around her shoulder, or wipe her tears directly? Couldn’t he do at least that much?

Of course, she understood his hesitation since they weren’t lovers, but today she found his one-sided consideration particularly annoying.

– Grab.

“Um… Emilia?”

“It’s punishment.”

“Pardon?”

She seized Ludwig’s hand and glared at him sharply with an upset expression.

He still looked at her with round eyes as if he didn’t understand the meaning.

She wanted to be more petulant, but it wasn’t easy to control her emotions when looking at him.

‘Indeed, it’s hard to be angry at this person. Then I should at least gain something practical.’

With that thought, Emilia placed their overlapped hands between their seats and replied without even making eye contact.

“The one who lets go first loses. Got it?”

“Then let’s say I lost… No, never mind.”

This insensitive man almost ruined it, but she succeeded in subduing him with her gaze.

Feeling that there was still quite a long way to go even after returning from training, Emilia inwardly let out a deep sigh.

.

What could she do? It’s the law that the one who falls in love first starts as the loser. Her only small wish was to be the victor in the end.

She wanted to hear him say “I love you” first. That was the last strand of pride left for the girl named Emilia Bayemühren.

But apart from that resolute heart, she ended up losing the contest in the theater.

Because she unconsciously let go of the hand she had been holding due to the sweat from her heated palm.

translator’s corner

i tried making dalgona coffee. there was not enough coffee ;w;w;w;