The Villain Wants to Live Quietly

Interlude 1. Return (2)

When we reached the front of the main building of the mansion, there was a group of people who came out to greet the three.

First of all, the Bayemurn couple, who were at the forefront, greeted them with open arms. Yulia, in particular, seemed to be filled with emotions because she had worried a lot about her daughter, and faint dew formed around her eyes.

After patting his wife on the shoulder, Stefan, who walked out as a representative, approached the Sword Saint and readily extended his hand.

“I met you once before at the palace. Sir Rebecca.”

“… You are still there.”

Rebecca laughed as if the memory of that time came to her mind and held her outstretched hand.

Originally, she naturally treated nobles with respect, but she wasn’t held back to the point where she would carelessly treat even those who treated her with respect. Besides, he was also an opponent who was older than himself.

‘At that time, I only thought he was a man like a bear.’

The other day, I had been forced to attend a banquet held at the royal palace, and the first impression I felt when I met Stefan for the first time at that time was ‘an upright man’. Even the heavy momentum and gigantic appearance that seem to prove that he has been rolling on the battlefield all his life. Should I say he’s a man who doesn’t know how to compromise?

That’s why I thought I would treat myself without hesitation. To put it a little further, I’d belittle it. However, I still vividly remember being embarrassed by the opposite of what I expected.

Unlike other aristocrats, it was an honorific word that he persistently maintained even when he asked to be lowered. It was the first time I felt respected by the nobility, so it was a very fresh experience for a swordsman.

‘It seems that this man was reflected.’

Even recently, when I was having trouble meeting a stubborn boy who was persistently respectful, there were occasions when someone’s face barely appeared above him. Looking back, I wonder if that face was this man, Stefan.

“Daughter, come on. Confucius thank you too. I’m worried about my child, so I went to that distant place… As a parent, I have no face.”

Meanwhile, a mother-daughter reunion was taking place on the sidelines.

Although her eyes were still slightly reddened, Yulia smiled as she did not show it as much as she could at the thought that she could not act rude in front of her daughter and guests. Seeing that, Emilia felt the sensation of something gripping a corner of her heart.

‘You must have been very worried.’

He pretended to be calm and smiled when he sent it off, but he said he was just hiding his emotions so as not to worry himself. Upon reaching such a thought, even Emilia, who is good at controlling her emotions, felt depressed and she felt like shed tears for no reason.

Ludwig, who had been watching her profile, stepped forward. I had no intention of interfering with the mother-daughter reunion, but I thought that if I left it as it was, one of the two might shed some tears. Wouldn’t it be nice to have only laughter on a happy day?

Although, someone might curse at me for pouring cold water on a touching situation. But he didn’t need any emotions. I just don’t want to see tears in the eyes of a girl named Emilia. Because that was all.

“no. Like I said before, please be comfortable with me.”

Ludwig naturally relaxed the atmosphere by mentioning a conversation he had had at his coming-of-age ceremony the other day.

oh. Yulia opened her eyes wide and laughed as if she couldn’t live.

“It was true. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but I forgot about it.”

At most, it was very strange to mention her age with her appearance in her early 30s. Is this person really the same age as his mother? It was a sudden doubt that passed through his mind.

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Just like that, before the conversation slowly matured, Stefan clapping his hands to refresh the atmosphere. It’s not like this here, but let’s go inside the mansion and have a conversation that we couldn’t finish. The heads of the people standing huddled together nodded in unison.

On the other hand, among the calm companions, Ludwig was in a slightly different situation. To enter the mansion of the Bayemurn family, which was only seen in books and heard only in words. That fact alone made me struggle to keep my heart beating faster and faster.

* * * * * * *

Even if the reduction was carried out due to the insistence of the current head of household, it did not mean that the interior scenery of the mansion was freed.

In particular, thanks to the hostess who likes painting, various types of paintings such as figure paintings, oil paintings, and landscape paintings, which are well known as masterpieces, were displayed in frames throughout the corridor.

“It’s my wife’s hobby. As I am blind in this direction, I have no idea what is good.”

Considering the wealth of the Bayemurn family, hanging up a few famous paintings like this wouldn’t put a strain on the finances. However, it was the tone that Stefan, who was not good at this kind of thing, could not understand his wife’s hobbies. Even so, he wasn’t a man with a narrow distribution enough to dissuade his wife’s few hobbies.

“You are too. What if I say that in front of guests?”

When Yulia grabbed his arm and rebuked him in a low voice, he cleared his throat and withdrew his words.

Even though he was a warrior who dominated the battlefield in his glory days, now he was just a man who could be found anywhere, afraid of his wife’s pillow head lawsuit.

“It is a wonderful picture.”

Meanwhile, Ludwig, who was following the group from the rear, found an oil painting in a frame and burst into low admiration.

I’m not particularly good at drawing, but I liked to watch and draw. No matter how blind I was, I was able to notice that the pictures in the frames were excellent pictures.

“Come to think of it, Ludwig was well versed in painting, right?”

“no. It’s not to the extent of being joe. It’s just part of my hobby.”

He waved his hand and denied Emilia, who asked him, recalling a conversation they had had the other day.

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Joyer, at least, was a word that did not suit him. At least I have some pride in landscaping, but I couldn’t speak confidently about painting because of my conscience. It’s literally just an extension of a hobby.

“Oh, you have a knack for painting… It seems to get along well with me. Do you often paint oil paintings at home?”

“Yes? oh, that’s… … .”

When Yulia asked with her eyes shining, a bitter smile formed on Stefan’s lips.

‘It seems to have started.’

Even if his answer was slightly off, I could be sure that he would jump right in and not miss it.

Normally, she is a quiet and modest wife, but since there is no one in her family to share her hobbies with, she tends to talk a lot when she meets someone with a good taste. At first, I was delighted with the idea that the conversation went well, and even the person I was talking to seemed to get tired of it at some point.

‘Sir Stephen… … !’

‘I’m sorry.’

The two men’s eyes crossed and a short conversation came and went. The one who desperately wants a helping hand and the one who is sorry but has no choice but to close his eyes. Darkness passed over Ludwig’s pupils at the sight of Stefan turning his head lonely.

Since he was the man his daughter liked, he wanted to extend a helping hand as much as possible, but his wife, who had fallen into such a state, could not stop her. There was a high possibility of getting involved if you made a mistake, so it was best to live at least one person at a time like this. This is the cool and accurate judgment of a warrior who has gone through countless battlefields.

“Do you have any favorite painters? I’ve been interested in Valleère’s works lately… … .”

As expected from someone who had lived with her for half a lifetime, she immediately fell into her own world. While Ludwig was answering as sincerely as possible and rolling his eyes in search of someone he could ask for help, his gaze met with a man standing behind him.

“Master, the guests will be tired too, so it’s better to postpone the chat… … .”

Then, the man who came straight to Julia’s side carefully remonstrated in Yulia’s ear.

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that. Thank you Ern.”

“no. Rather, I’m sorry for interrupting you in the middle of my talk.

Is it true that the person who steps up when the owner can’t step up is a true servant? With the help of Stefan’s servant, Ern, Ludwig was fortunately freed from her grasp.

Although the execution time was delayed by delaying the conversation until after dinner, there was no big worry as the fatigue of the journey would be relieved by that time.

“Well, it’s impossible to keep more customers who have come a long way. The room is ready, so go ahead and heal yourself. We can continue talking after dinner.”

“Sir Steinbaum can come this way.”

At Stefan’s signal, a servant approached Rebecca and showed her around the room.

After leaving the words to see you later, the Sword Saint waved his hand and slowly disappeared. Ludwig laughed at the sight of him walking around the house of a great aristocrat as if it were his own bedroom. Anyway, he’s such a great person.

“Father, Ludwig’s room… … ?”

He was in the middle of chasing the back of the swordsman who disappeared before he knew it.

Emilia, feeling strange, questioned her father when no one of the servants to guide him around the room approached him.

Stefan smiled at him and gave him a hint of what he was saying. The smirk in his eyes didn’t suit him very well.

“Since it’s such a long time ago, you yourself guide me to the innermost guest room. Wasn’t he the man who owed a lot to you when you were living in the Ipretz family, and who came all the way to visit you?”

“ah… … .”

Only then did she notice her father’s consideration and let out a low exclamation.

It must have been intentionally sent to the room in advance to create time for the two of them. After all, parents are the first to understand their children’s feelings. Inwardly, I thanked him infinitely and grabbed his hand.

“Eh, Emilia?”

Although he had gotten used to her sudden behavior, Ludwig had never thought that this would happen even in the situation where the two of them had their eyes open red.

“Come on. Ludwig. I’m fast here, so please leave it to me with confidence.”

“It is, but… Now, wait! Emilia!”

I wonder if it is still difficult to defeat her by force despite repeated training. Of course, it wouldn’t be impossible if he had tried his best to resist, but there was no way that such an action would be possible.

In the end, Ludwig is dragged away with a reluctant smile while receiving the gaze of the warm Bayemurn couple. It resembled a cow heading for the slaughterhouse.

How many more times have I walked the same path since I took a break along the way. Almost at the end of the hallway, the two of them arrived in front of a nicely decorated door.

“This room is relatively large, so it will be comfortable to use. You can see Ludwig’s favorite garden at a glance.”

“okay. I didn’t expect to be given such a nice room. Please convey your thanks to Lord Stefan.”

“Your father will be pleased.”

Sigh. He greeted Emilia briefly at the door that opened with a noise and entered the room. Maybe I’ll see you after dinner.

‘yes?’

Contrary to his expectations, however, she followed him with a smile on her face and eventually entered the room.

Do you have anything left to say to yourself? Or was he thinking of giving some precautions for using the room? It was Ludwig who did not express any doubts, thinking that there must be a reason.

“It would be better to ventilate. I don’t know if the users have already done it… … .”

“That makes sense.”

It was only then that he could guess that the reason he had followed him was for this.

‘I don’t need to take care of this in detail.’

I’m grateful for the thoughtfulness, but she must be tired from traveling too. Even if she hadn’t been in a hurry before, Emilia should have gone back to her room and rested. I’d rather go there on my own, because I didn’t want to cause trouble.

Opening the large window, Emilia enjoyed the winter wind blowing. Although it was quite chilly, it didn’t feel too cold. Could it be because of the training in the mountains with the teacher?

“Ugh!?”

Something invaded Ludwig’s eyes, who had been watching her from behind. It was probably dust that flew outside the window or something like that. Because it flew quite violently, I closed my eyes tightly and wrapped my hands around it, and Emilia was startled and hurriedly approached me.

“Ludwig! What happen?”

“Oh, no. It looks like dust got into your eyes for a while. You will be fine soon.”

To dismiss it as simply dust, the inside of my eyes stung quite a bit, but I couldn’t help it. That’s why you can’t just put your hand in and get it out.

As soon as the whites of her eyes began to turn red from the tears welling up before she knew it, Emilia realized how serious the situation was and approached him.

“I’m sorry, but could you lower your head for a moment?”

“Yes… … .”

He could guess what she was going to do, but this time it was Ludwig who was obediently accepting the favor.

As she lowered her body and bowed her head slightly, Emilia raised her head as well and brought her face closer. It was a dizzying situation, as if their lips would touch each other if they got a little closer, but now she had no time to worry.

“Whoa. Whoa.”

Emilia carefully blows air through her mouth and tries to shake off the dust remaining in his eyes. Fortunately, the foreign body sensation in the eyes gradually began to disappear.

“It’s fine now. Emilia.”

“Just a little more. You never know.”

Ludwig did not show his pounding heart and tried to let her go, but it was Emilia who shook her head resolutely and clung closer.

It was the time when he was about to step back, thinking that the fragrance of freesia that had been smelling from her had grown thicker and was harmful to his mental health.

“Are you here already? Ludby… he?”

Without even knocking, the door suddenly opened and someone entered.

A new model of a girl humming a song with her pink hair down stood tall. It’s like facing a sight you shouldn’t be seeing.

“… Are you riding?”

Tanya’s eyes as she looked at the two friends who had been reunited for the first time in anticipation, suddenly became confused.