The Villain Wants to Live a Quiet Life

Around the time Emilia received a letter from her childhood friend, a letter also arrived at the Aiphretz family.

The sender was the Ansberg Count family, ruling over the territory in the northeastern region.

As the connection between the two families summed up to a single face-to-face meeting at a ball, it was quite an unexpected event for the Aiphretz family.

“What? A visit from the Ansberg family?”

Carl, who was spending time with his wife in the reception room, hurriedly summoned Ludwig after receiving the letter, and when he arrived, he explained the contents while showing it to him.

“Yes. It seems so.”

“It’s too sudden.”

Although it might be inappropriate to call it sudden since they had sent a letter in advance, it wasn’t entirely wrong given the lack of connection between the families.

Carl slightly raised the corner of his mouth as he shared the same thought as his son.

‘The Ansberg family… The reason must be that character.’

Ludwig knew the Ansberg family well. It was highly likely that this letter was sent due to her influence, as he suspected.

‘Tanya Ansberg.’

The second daughter of the Ansberg family and the only childhood friend of Emilia.

In the original, there was a line saying, “Tanya considers Emilia a friend, a younger sister, and an older sister,” showing how much she cared for and followed her.

He could roughly guess the reason for this visit to the Aiphretz family.

Even when Christian got together with Emilia, she deliberately provoked him under the pretext of uncovering his true nature when the three were together.

It wasn’t that she had a bad personality, but rather because of her strong bond with Emilia.

“Sigh…”

“Do you have some concerns? You don’t look well.”

Why should he face such trials when he wasn’t even Christian?

Diana looked at him worriedly as a deep sigh unconsciously escaped Ludwig’s lips.

“Ah, it’s nothing, Mother.”

“If you’re uncomfortable with the Ansberg family visiting, you can refuse. We don’t have a significant connection with them anyway.”

Her opinion wasn’t entirely wrong, but it wasn’t the best option.

Ludwig was aware of this which is why he hadn’t said anything.

“We can’t refuse and ignore a letter sent from another count family. It’s fine.”

Ludwig decided to take it positively, thinking of it as a fever he had to go through at least once.

Besides, Tanya probably just wanted to confirm his character, not cause trouble. She also had the status of a count’s daughter, so she wouldn’t go too far.

Then, he could treat her just as he did when Emilia visited, as usual, without any unnecessary formalities.

He had decided to graduate from being bound by the original story as before.

Carl’s eyes briefly lit up at the sight of his son calmly expressing his opinion.

He had always known his son was just hiding his intelligence and had clear thoughts and values of his own, but recently it seemed more evident.

Should he say he had become less hesitant in expressing and acting on his thoughts? Somehow, his manly side had grown, and along with it, so too did his intelligence.

“Hoho, you’ve become quite mature. I could hand over the family head position to you right now.”

“If you’re planning to step down from the family head position and go on a trip with Mother, that won’t do, Father.”

“You rascal…! What do you take your father for?”

“It seems you’re the type of father who would step down from the family head position and elope at any time…”

When did he become so bold?

Carl didn’t particularly want to deny it because it wasn’t wrong.

While families with more prestige and power often face bloodshed due to the selection of an heir or unnecessary stubbornness of the current family head, the Aiphretz family was an extreme exception to such cases.

The current head had no desire for power and was simply a man who wished to spend his later years leisurely with his beloved wife.

There was only one heir, and he was not lacking in any way to inherit the position, and even that heir had little desire for honor or power.

It could be said that they boasted a rather peaceful atmosphere for a prestigious count family that firmly held a position in the southern region.

“Dear, it’s still too early to hand over the family…”

Unlike the two who were exchanging jokes knowing it was banter between father and son, Diana, who was watching this scene, seemed to be inwardly anxious.

In contrast to her husband who sometimes dealt with their son sternly, she was the one who had raised Ludwig gently without a single rebuke. She probably still saw him as a child left by the water’s edge.

“I know. Although I’d like to retire and spend some time leisurely with you… it’s a bit early to hand it over.”

“That’s right. Ludwig, did you hear? Don’t be impatient and wait.”

Diana addressed her son in a gentle tone as if soothing a newborn child.

Usually, Ludwig found it somewhat uncomfortable when his mother treated him like a child, but today it was something to welcome with open arms.

For Ludwig, the position of head of the Aiphretz family was not a crown he particularly wanted to inherit, at least not now.

“Don’t worry, Mother. If possible, I’d like to inherit it as late as possible.”

“Ahem…”

Carl cleared his throat and averted his gaze as he picked up the teacup on the table and drained its remaining contents.

The maid sisters watching this series of actions from the corner simultaneously burst into small laughter.

Although he always boasted of his dignity as the representative of the Aiphretz family in public places, at home he was just a foolish husband and father getting scolded from both sides.

Nevertheless, the fact that he wasn’t looked down upon might be a sign of this family’s closeness.

 *          *          *          *          *          *          *

The carriage carrying Tanya had passed through two villages on the way, and it seemed they would finally reach Federbarn today.

Perhaps fatigued from departing early in the morning, Tanya’s mouth opened in a yawn.

If she had shown such a sight in front of her mother, she would have been immediately scolded for being unladylike. Her family was stricter on her mother’s side.

“We’re later than I thought. Was Federbarn always this far?”

Her carelessly muttered words drifted through the air and reached the ears of her maid, Rel.

Fidgeting and watching her mistress’s mood, she finally decided to honestly tell her about a small incident that had occurred during the journey.

“Um, miss… I apologize, but there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Hm? What is it?”

Tanya tilted her head at the sight of her maid, who was usually stiff in character, being particularly submissive today.

“Actually, it seems there was a slight error in finding the route to Federbarn.”

“What kind of error?”

Although it had taken a bit longer, it wasn’t that the path was impassable to humans.

As she asked, Rel rolled her eyes and chewed on her dried lips.

“It seems we were supposed to go through the central region to reach Federbarn, not this direction. They say a difficult path will soon appear this way…”

Federbarn, the directly managed territory among those ruled by the Aiphretz family, is flanked by mountains to the east and a river to the west.

It’s known as an active trading area because it can reach the central region directly north through the river route flowing from west to northeast and the land route.

However, the mountains spread out to the east are quite treacherous, so routes coming to Federbarn from the east usually go through the central region.

This isn’t a big problem for travelers familiar with Federbarn, but accidents occasionally occur because of this, and this case was exactly that.

“Is the path that difficult?”

“Not just the path, but it seems monsters and beasts frequently appear along the way.”

Rel only mentioned the facts to her mistress who asked nonchalantly. Only then did Tanya realize that this wasn’t a trivial matter to be laughed off.

As there was considerable worry about the second daughter of the Ansberg family traveling alone, they had brought quite a number of guards.

Therefore, mountain beasts themselves wouldn’t pose much of a threat, but the problem lay in their mere existence.

“We didn’t change the route as you didn’t seem to want to take more time, miss…”

“That’s right. Even if you had told me, I probably wouldn’t have listened.”

While the monsters were concerning, Tanya was inherently impatient by nature.

Even if she had heard about this before leaving the town today, she probably wouldn’t have changed the route. She would have undoubtedly overlooked it, thinking it wouldn’t happen to her, and proceeded.

Rel was also regretting inwardly. Perhaps it would have been better to secretly mention it to the coachman and guards to change the route covertly.

At least, if she had truly wanted to protect her, that might have been the right choice.

“Rel, don’t worry and just enjoy the view outside. The scenery is nice.”

“But…”

“You always worry too much about things that haven’t even happened. I’m often grateful for that, but… we can’t undo what’s already happened, can we?”

As they conversed, the carriage had already entered the dangerous mountain path.

There was nothing they could do even if they worried now, and the soldiers were prepared for any situation.

All she needed to do now was to maintain her composure as the second daughter of the Ansberg family.

Worrying about things that hadn’t happened yet was also unlike her.

– Rumble.

“…!”

As if heeding her words, the carriage began to shake violently.

Rel hurriedly looked out the window in disbelief.

Although only densely surrounded vegetation was visible, an inexplicable sense of unease crept in.

At that moment,

– Crash!

Another loud noise rang out, and the carriage shook more violently.

Judging by the cries of the horses, something must have happened.

“Wh-What was that sound just now?”

“M-Miss! It’s dangerous!”

Rel embraced her, restraining Tanya who was trying to look at the situation through the rear window of the carriage.

Simultaneously, the soldiers following in the rear ranks stumbled, and a black shape flashed past the eyes of the two.

At that moment, the carriage they were riding in decelerated abruptly, their bodies sharply thrown to the right.

Something must have happened at the front of the procession.

“Miss, we need to escape from here.”

“O-Okay…!”

Fortunately, due to the sudden stop, it was safe enough for the two to escape.

As Rel, who had escaped the carriage while protecting her mistress as much as possible, looked around, the dark shapes they had seen earlier manifested their presence between the trees.

‘Squale Wolves…!’

Rel gritted her teeth audibly as she instantly recognized their identity.

Although she had expected they wouldn’t be mere mountain beasts, they had encountered one of the most troublesome types.

The accompanying soldiers were resisting fiercely, but there were several monsters.

‘We need to get out of here first… while their attention is diverted…’

Squale Wolves are monsters with the unique ability to read the psychological state of their prey.

If they sense that their target feels fear towards them, they pounce without hesitation. That was their way of survival.

Although it wasn’t her first time witnessing monsters, it would be too much to expect her mistress to overcome that fear in such an exposed, threatening state.

The remaining ones that hadn’t attacked yet, watching the perimeter, might pounce immediately if they discovered the fear-stricken Tanya.

Given that even the horses weren’t calm in this situation, the best course of action was to quickly escape from here while the soldiers bought them time.

“Miss, please run as fast as you can towards that path.”

“What!? What about you…!?”

“The commotion might be too big and they might notice the two of us. I’ll head towards where the soldiers are, so in that gap, please hurry…”

“That’s absurd…!”

Although she put it mildly, it was essentially no different from saying she would become bait.

Rel was just an ordinary woman who hadn’t learned any special martial arts, like herself. It was obvious what would happen the moment she caught the eye of a Squale Wolf.

Tanya clenched her fists, attempting to protest, but before she could, Rel silenced her.

“Miss! This is no time to be childish! If something happens to you here, how could I face the Master and Madam!”

“B-But…”

Tanya was aware of it too. Rather than taking time to argue with her words, fleeing would ease her mind more.

Nevertheless, she was enduring and overcoming her fear solely with the thought that she couldn’t abandon all these people who had followed her.

– Growl…!

“…!”

While the two were arguing, one Squale Wolf that had been keeping watch away from the pack discovered them, letting out a low growl.

And in an instant, it closed the distance, moving swiftly through the trees, facing the two.

– Grooowl!

“Ah, Miss!”

Perhaps the latent fear was greater in Tanya than in Rel.

The Squale Wolf immediately targeted Tanya and rushed towards her.

The Squale Wolf charged at Tanya, baring its sharp teeth, ready to tear her in half before Rel could do anything.

‘Ah, I…’

This is the end. Tanya couldn’t finish the thought and closed her eyes, bracing for the impending impact.

– Slash!

What followed and enveloped her was neither the cry of the Squale Wolf nor its sharp teeth, but rather the sharp sound of a sword cutting through flesh.

– Thud.

Soon, a shadow seemed to fall over her closed eyes, and she felt something collapse.

‘Huh…? It… doesn’t hurt?’

What’s this? Is death unexpectedly this peaceful?

Pushing aside her bewildered thoughts, she carefully opened her eyes, and before her, she saw the sight of the night sky rippling like seawater.

It didn’t take long to recognize that it was a man’s hair.

As the man who had sheathed his sword turned around, his coldly settled eyes caught her attention.

Eyes of the same unusual color as his hair. They were neither black nor blue, but rather that of the night sky.

“Who… are you…?”

Tanya’s mouth, frozen with fear, carefully opened and managed to ask the identity of the person before her.

A small smile formed on the man’s cold face as he revealed his name.

“I am Ludwig Aiphretz. I’m sorry we had to meet like this, Lady Ansberg.”

A man who somehow knew her identity. Tanya repeated his name inwardly, as if afraid she might forget it.

‘This man is… Ludwig Aiphretz…’

So this is the man her precious friend had taken to heart.

Unlike the weak appearance she had expected, he had quite a manly impression.

Such thoughts suddenly occurred to Tanya.

translator’s corner

what…was he doing out there…