The Villain Wants to Live a Quiet Life

By the time the Ansberg family’s soldiers had improved in their condition, Tanya had already become quite accustomed to life here.

In particular, she had become greatly close with Diana, the lady of the house, so much so that Carl chuckled that she was being treated almost like a daughter.

“You’re late today.”

“Ahaha… I’m embarrassed, but I overslept.”

“What’s wrong with oversleeping? I do it often as well.”

As if to prove that she had blended in, recently when Ludwig would come out to the yard for his morning routine, Tanya would already be there waiting for him.

Today, thinking he was strangely late and wondering if he wasn’t feeling well, Tanya’s lips curved into a relieved smile when it turned out that wasn’t the case.

“By the way, Tanya, is there a reason you come out to watch every morning?”

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

“No, it’s not about liking or disliking, I just think…”

Although there was already a woman who had captured his heart, as a man, he didn’t dislike having a pretty girl watch him train every morning. He was just curious about the reason.

Unlike Emilia, Tanya had no particular interest in swordsmanship, so he wondered why she would spend her time coming all the way to watch someone else’s sword training.

Worried that she might have taken it as a request to leave, Ludwig glanced at her cautiously after speaking, but Tanya, sitting on the grass with her chin propped up, replied nonchalantly.

“I often watched Emilia too, you know? It’s more interesting than I thought.”

“Is that so?”

Ludwig nodded slightly as if he finally understood, but at the same time, a small question arose.

‘Didn’t Emilia dislike showing her training to others?’

If she even made her maid Greta leave, it must have been quite a habit.

Or perhaps childhood friends were an exception. She did say from the start that it wasn’t something she absolutely had to keep to, so maybe it’s not that surprising.

Even when she stayed here, she eventually allowed Paula and Greta to watch from the side.

“Why are you standing there blankly? Aren’t you going to train?”

“I will. I just suddenly thought of Emilia and…”

“Hmm…”

She looked like she had a lot to say, but Tanya swallowed her words after nodding a few times.

Unaware of this, Ludwig started stretching his body in place.

“Even a warm-up… you’re diligent.”

“If I don’t do this, my muscles might cramp up in the middle.”

There was a small backstory related to this warm-up as well.

When he used to train with Emilia, she always warmed up, so he would follow along and do warm-up exercises together.

But after Emilia left, he wasn’t used to doing it alone, so he tried training without warming up and his body screamed in protest due to the sudden intense movement.

‘I was careless…’

Recalling the hardship from that time, he realized how important this process was to the genius swordswoman who would later be called the Sword Saint. Did it mean that even the smallest processes in her training had meaning and reason?

“Ludwig, won’t you teach me some swordsmanship too?”

“Swordsmanship? I’m not that proficient… Wouldn’t it be better to learn from Emilia when she returns?”

“How long do you expect me to wait for that?”

Tanya retorted grumpily with a sullen face. Realizing that what he said was unreasonable even to himself, he nodded slightly.

Of course, there was nothing he couldn’t teach. It’s not like she was asking to be made into a master swordsman, just to be taught basics like posture and how to swing.

But what worried him was Tanya’s body. Wasn’t she described as sickly even in the original work? What if she moved her body wrongly and fell ill?

“Are you sure you’ll be alright with your weak body? I’m worried, even though it won’t involve intense movement.”

This was what came out of Ludwig’s mouth as he received a wooden sword from Paula standing next to him, cracking his shoulders audibly.

Tanya felt a quiet emotion realizing he was concerned about her, but on the other hand, she was puzzled about how he knew this fact.

“How do you know I have a weak body?”

“Well, I heard it from Rel.”

It wasn’t a lie. Rel did mention it in passing once. Still, his stuttering probably added to his guilt.

Tanya turned her gaze to Rel, standing like a statue beside her, and made eye contact. Rel nodded silently with a small smile.

Having completed her verification, Tanya finally raised the corners of her mouth contentedly.

“If you’re that worried, I guess I have no choice. I’ll just watch then.”

“Yeah. I’ll finish as quickly as possible and play with you.”

“Hey, I told you not to treat me like a child!”

It would be a lie to say she didn’t want him to finish training quickly.

But more than that, she couldn’t tolerate being treated like a whining child.

Tanya immediately stood up and started protesting vehemently.

Perhaps due to her stature being even smaller than Sofia, the shortest woman he remembered, she really did look like a child from this perspective.

Of course, the moment he voiced that fact, he would have to face her now more intense anger.

“Then would you like to have some snacks? It seems Paula brought a few.”

Paula had carefully placed a basket and a cloth picnic mat in a sunny spot. So that’s what the contents were – snacks.

Tanya, who wasn’t a big eater but preferred snacks between meals, had her eyes sparkle at hearing this.

‘She really is like a child.’

Ludwig swallowed this thought and gave Paula a nod.

She answered with a small bow and immediately spread out the mat, taking out the contents of the basket one by one.

When he urged Rel to enjoy them without hesitation, she sat on the mat while glancing at Ludwig.

And so, a small, untimely picnic was taking place in the yard, leaving a person training alone on the side.

 *          *          *          *          *          *          *

‘What a man of good action.’

This was the impression Tanya inwardly expressed, making sure Ludwig couldn’t hear.

When he suddenly suggested going out right after his training, she agreed without much thought.

As a result, Tanya now found herself on an unfamiliar hill nearby, having to enjoy an unexpected picnic with Ludwig.

“…Why a sudden picnic?”

“Huh? You’re asking now?”

To think that someone who came all this way riding in a carriage would ask such a question only now.

Even the two maids who were spreading out the mat exchanged glances and chuckled.

Tanya’s reaction was just that amusing.

“I said I’d play with you, didn’t I? Do you not like picnics?”

“It’s not that I don’t like them… it’s just so sudden.”

Even if they had gone out to the village market or something, she probably wouldn’t have felt it was this unexpected.

Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t like it. If asked which she preferred, she would have welcomed it with open arms.

While watching him train as she sat on the mat, she had thought the weather was perfect for a picnic, but now that it was happening, she felt a bit dazed.

“I thought it would be good for a picnic since the weather is nice.”

“R-really?”

Tanya’s face reddened at the fact that Ludwig had the same thought as her.

Watching her cool her flushed face with a hand fan, Rel felt both pride and pity in her heart.

“And I heard from Rel. That you couldn’t go out often because of your weak constitution.”

“Uh, yeah…?”

Tanya blinked her eyes as if to check if she had heard correctly, as this was news to her.

It was true that she had a weak constitution.

But Tanya inherently loved going outside, so even when she was in her domain, she would roam around here and there paying no mind to her body.

For her, physical weakness and the desire to wander freely were completely separate things.

She wondered what her maid had said.

Tanya’s rolling eyes met Rel’s for a moment.

It was truly a fleeting moment, but Rel didn’t miss it and winked, putting her index finger to her lips.

‘Rel…’

Only then could she understand. That her maid had designed all of this for her sake.

Unable to voice it, Tanya inwardly recited her loyal maid’s name softly. A gentle wave of emotion rippled in her heart.

“It seems we both have good maids.”

“Right? I agree.”

Tanya actively agreed with Ludwig’s brief observation.

What a capable maid indeed. It seemed his maid Paula was also quite skilled, but for her, there was only Rel.

She made a mental note to speak to her father immediately upon returning to their territory to arrange a long vacation and ample rewards for her.

“Now that the mat is spread, why don’t you two sit down to talk?” 

“We should. Thank you for your hard work.”

While the two were having a short conversation, the maids had finished spreading the mat and tidying up the surroundings.

Paula’s graceful manner as she politely guided them to their seats was almost captivating.

‘Very classic.’

Although she was a maid, there was much to learn from her. Tanya unconsciously thought she’d like to emulate such elegance as she headed towards the mat.

She stumbled a bit as the grass was quite slippery, but fortunately, Rel caught her, preventing any incident.

“Since you’ve already had a meal, I’ve prepared some light snacks.”

What Paula and Rel took out of the basket were mostly sweet treats.

For Ludwig and Tanya, who preferred sweet foods, it was like a treasure chest. Their faces brightened with each item that appeared.

They had carefully selected items that wouldn’t lose their shape during the carriage ride, like Kifli or Cannoli, so the variety wasn’t that diverse.

But spending time leisurely in a place with clean air and good scenery made for an enjoyable picnic.

The two weren’t so narrow-minded as to quibble over the number of snack varieties.

“Mmm…! Wow, the weather is really nice.”

After stretching, Tanya took a deep breath of the surrounding air and started munching on snacks again.

As she kept eating foods that tend to dry out the mouth, her throat soon felt parched, and she hurriedly urged Rel to bring her water.

“My lady, you can eat slowly. No one’s going to take them away.”

“I-I know that…! First Ludwig, and now you’re treating me like a child too?”

Tanya gulped down the tea, which had been boiled but had cooled considerably.

Although she had recently come of age, she sometimes found Rel’s subtle treatment of her as a child frustrating.

She felt like saying something more today, but remembering her maid’s thoughtfulness earlier, she decided to let it go this time.

“More importantly, this is a nice place. Did you come here with Emilia too?”

“With Emilia? No, unfortunately, we’ve never been here together.”

“Really?”

Tanya found Ludwig’s casual head shake quite unexpected.

Wouldn’t a couple in their prime want to have secret meetings in places like this, regardless of others’ gazes? Was their relationship different from what she imagined a couple to be? Maybe they unfortunately didn’t have the time.

Thinking it would be pointless to ponder, she decided to ask him directly.

“Don’t couples come to places like this alone? I feel a bit sorry for coming first.”

Friends could come to a place like this too. However, she felt it was more suitable for couples than friends.

Feeling guilty as if she had stolen Emilia’s turn, Tanya spoke self-reproachfully, and a moment of silence fell.

Not long after, he swallowed the cookie he had been chewing and spoke.

“Um… Tanya? What do you mean by Emilia and I being a couple?”

“…Huh?”

His voice tinged with puzzlement.

It wasn’t just Tanya who looked like a rabbit struck by an arrow at this, but also Rel, who had been watching from the side.

translator’s corner

confusion +7