447
I arrived at the impoverished village. …Perhaps it would be more correct to call it a former impoverished village.
…The air had become much cleaner since I had last seen it.
There was no trace of the place I had visited when I first came here. The image of an unsafe and dirty place disappeared.
This was all thanks to Uncle Will and Rebecca and the others.
Rebecca was very grateful to me, but I didn’t do anything. I just gave them a chance to reform the impoverished village.
The people in the impoverished village who took advantage of that change were much more amazing.
Slowly, I walked deeper into the village.
If Gilles was here, he would be at Uncle Will’s house.
I ran to Uncle Will’s house.
It had been a long time since I had been there, and I felt nostalgic. Meeting Uncle Will and Gilles in this village had changed my life.
“…Gilles?”
I said and went into Uncle Will’s house.
Oh…? Gilles was not here?
I couldn’t find Gilles in Uncle Will’s house. He didn’t seem to be hiding under the bed….
Where the heck did he go?
“I thought for sure he would be here…”
I left Uncle Will’s house and searched all over the impoverished village.
It was a surprisingly large village, I thought.
Surely it could even be suited to be developed as a military base.
As I went around and around the village, I saw a boy standing on an empty piece of land.
“Gilles!” I shouted in my mind and hurried to him.
When I reached him, I slowed my steps and quietly stood next to him. Gilles rubbed his eyes with his right hand, as if sensing my presence.
He must have wiped them away, so I wouldn’t see his tears.
“Alicia, you came.”
“Yes,” I replied shortly.
Gilles gazed blankly at the empty lot. I waited for him to speak.
“…This used to be my house.”
“…I see.”
“There’s nothing left. But that’s okay. I have no memories of my parents, no home, but a place for me to go back to.”
Gilles said in a slightly trembling but clear voice.
“…It seems to me, however, that now that Alicia is here, I no longer have a place to go back to.”
“That’s how important Uncle Will was to us, right?”
I didn’t know what to say to him at a time like this.
I didn’t know how to comfort someone who was grieving. I wouldn’t want to even learn it.
I held the pride of being a Villainess. People might think I was stupid.
They might think that I should throw away such trivial pride. But I still needed this pride.
This pride made me the person I was today, so…this one point was absolutely unbreakable.
“I know I have to move on, but I don’t know what to do. In my head, I know what I need to do, but my emotions can’t keep up.”
As Gilles said this, large tears quickly started to shed from his eyes.
…No one could switch their mind so easily. But we had to.
They might call me cold, but I do believe that was the way of life for those in power.
“Alicia is strong. …How can you be so calm?”
Gilles said as he turned his gaze toward me.
I decided not to cry anymore after Uncle Will’s funeral.
Maybe I was just strangling myself, but that is fine.
I slowly turned towards him. His moist eyes reflected my face. I tried hard to make a face that didn’t reflect a weak girl who looked like she was about to cry.
“…Well, you’re right. We only need a moment to think of those who have passed away. Now we must think about how we, the living, will move on.”
“Isn’t that a little cold?”
I could detect a bit of anger in Gilles’ voice.
“What’s the point of holding up your time for someone who died? Uncle Will isn’t coming back, regardless.”
“I know that. I understand that, but still, Alicia’s attitude is strange.”
Gilles stared at me with tears streaming down his face. I had not seen him glare at me like this ever since the first time I met him.
I guess I looked like a person without blood or tears. But it would be meaningless if I break down here, as well.
I would gladly be cold-hearted if I had to, instead of breaking down together with him.
“No matter how much we scream, no matter how much we ask for it, they won’t come back to life, right?”
“I know! I know! But this doesn’t make any sense! Because Alicia also loved Gramps as well!”
Gilles raised his voice at my words.
When I didn’t respond to anything, Gilles shouted more as he held on to me.
“Have you forgotten how much Gramps helped us and even assisted in our growth! Did you forget how Gramps loved us?”
“That’s what it means to move on, Gilles.”
I replied, interrupting Gilles.
Gilles was silent at my words. I looked him straight in the eye and continued talking.
“You can be considered cold-blooded and emotionless. Positions make people feel trapped. …You may think that a Villainess should live with more freedom, but I am not aiming for such a low standard Villainess.”
Our petty words and actions might cost the lives of many. A person in such a position must not dwell on things like this forever.
“…I know.”
Gilles muttered in a small voice. His voice sounded much more mature.
I noticed that Gilles’ tears had already stopped.
“Besides, I know that Alicia’s been crying.”
I couldn’t help but let my words slip out when Gilles said that.
“You’re bluffing on the surface, but you’ve been crying in your heart for a long time. Maybe I was just frustrated that you didn’t share that pain with me. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
I shook my head slowly at Gilles’ words, as he continued.
“I have to grow up to be by Alicia’s side, to serve her.”
“…Are you sure you want to serve a Villainess?”
“It would be an honor to have a Villainess smile at me.”
With red eyes, Gilles smiled happily.
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