The Villainess in the Romance Fantasy Is Strange - Chapter 71



71. Shadow Fight

After several nights of staying up all night, the morning of the departure day arrived.

A ray of sunlight appeared at the end of my vision as I tossed and turned all night. The sun had risen while I was unable to sleep due to the tension that covered my entire body.

I’m not even joking, and I’ve been like this for days, so I don’t think I’ve slept even three hours a day. My body is tired, but strangely, my mind is clear.

What is this? I’m not even a kid yet, about to go on my first school trip. I don’t know why I’m doing this.

“… … Phew.”

No, it’s not that I don’t know why. I know the reason better than anyone else, but I’m afraid I’ll look stupid if I admit it, so I just pretend not to know.

He let out a self-deprecating sigh and raised his upper body.

Judging by the angle of the sun glimpsed outside the window, the current time is approximately between 6 and 7 a.m.

Since our departure is at 8 AM, I need to check my packed luggage and then take a quick shower.

“see…….”

Just like the previous outing, this trip will be just me and Leah without any escorts. So checking to see if we have forgotten anything is a necessary step.

Since it was a multi-day trip, I packed plenty of extra clothes and underwear, and I also prepared emergency potions in case of an unexpected situation. I also stored the necessary items in the spare space.

Well, now all that’s left is the long-awaited ‘it’.

“… … .”

I never thought the day would come when I would be able to take care of this with my own hands.

As I was fiddling with the slightly torn packaging, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

If I were to go back in time 10 years and tell my ten-year-old self, “As soon as you turn twenty, you’re going to pack some contraceptives and go on a trip with Leah,” I don’t think she’d believe me… … .

“… … I guess so?”

No matter what, back then I couldn’t have imagined that Leah and I would become this close and even promise to get married. My future self would be hostile and tell me not to talk nonsense.

Thinking about it that way, it was a little funny, so I smiled without realizing it and waved ‘it’ around.

“Well, I don’t trust the country either.”

I muttered to myself and checked the status of each ‘thing’ before coughing in vain and placing them under the potion bottle.

Since I’ve packed everything I need to pack, I’m ready to go. I made sure to close the entrance of my backpack so that no one would see me.

-dripping.

─Cain, are you awake?

No, I was going to do it. I probably would have done it even if someone hadn’t happened to knock on the door at that very moment.

“… … This is a surprise.”

This familiar high-pitched voice is Bona Mana Ria. Feeling sorry for making you wait, I quickly got up from my seat.

“Yes. I woke up.”

─Okay, should I go in?

Leah opened the door and came in. Her pink hair looked particularly damp, as if she had just woken up in the morning, taken a bath, and come straight to my room.

I just stared at Leah’s hair, which seemed to be shinier than usual. She tilted her head as if she was wondering.

“Why? Is there something weird on my face?”

“… … Uhm, no.”

If I say that I looked at you because you seemed to be getting prettier, Nana and Riana would be embarrassed.

So I kept my mouth shut, but it’s not just my imagination that Leah’s beauty seems to have been rising lately.

As I had read in a book, if Leah grows up well, she will become a beautiful woman who will shake the empire. So, it is only natural that Leah, who is just one day away from turning twenty, looks pretty.

“… … .”

What on earth am I sitting here talking about?

As I was reflecting on myself for having such foolish thoughts and picking up tricks, Leah looked at my face for a moment, then reached out and touched my eye.

“There’s still eye boogers in your eyes? Did you just wake up?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Huh, I thought so too. You look tired. Hurry up and wash up and come back.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Actually, I looked tired because I didn’t sleep well, but I hid it and just nodded my head because I was afraid of looking ugly.

Let’s go wash up quickly.

* * *

“Did he go… … ?”

Leah, who had stuck her head out of the room, looked back and forth in the hallway. Cain was nowhere to be seen. He was tall and big, so his strides were long, so he must have arrived at the bathroom not long after he said he was going to wash up.

“… … went.”

Leah, who realized that Cain had completely disappeared, took action immediately. There was no hesitation. She quickly reached for Cain’s bag, grabbed the hem of his pajama dress, pulled the zipper slider, opened it, and inspected the contents.

Spare clothes, underwear. Potions. Various tools. On the outside, it looks like an ordinary travel bag. However, it must contain something inside. The ‘thing’ that Cain prepared after studying women’s minds for several days and nights.

“Where is it… … ?”

The reason Leah stopped by Cain’s room early in the morning was to take advantage of the gap that arose during this brief moment. She rummaged through her bag without hesitation.

‘Did you hide it between your clothes?’

No.

‘Then, between your underwear?’

Not here either.

‘Could it be that this potion is inside the vial?’

… … No matter what, that can’t be right. Even if it’s well packaged, it’s a bit strange to use something that’s been put in a potion bottle in such and such a place.

If you take something out that’s so wet and wet, it’ll ruin the mood. If Cain were a man with deep thoughts, he wouldn’t have done something so ridiculous.

But, aside from that, isn’t there no place to put it? Venus clearly saw it put in the bag through the ring, so it should be in here.

‘… … Where is it?’

Strangely, it doesn’t show up. This shouldn’t be happening, I need to find it and hide it before Cain comes. Where on earth is this?

“… … .”

Kuk-.

Leah bit her lower lip without realizing it. She felt anxious that her grand plan was going awry without even getting off to a good start.

That must never happen. Everything else may fail, but this must succeed. Only then will Cain never be able to look elsewhere, and he will be held as collateral for me and look only at me for the rest of his life… … .

-thud.

At that moment, a sound was heard from far away. Leah, who had been thinking a little, no, a lot, of something dangerous, pricked up her ears.

-Thump, thump.

These heavy footsteps that resonate at regular intervals are 100% Cain’s footsteps.

Cain is coming back.

“… … Ah, sir.”

Why are you coming so quickly? I haven’t found it yet.

Leah, who was getting anxious, roughly pulled out her clothes. However, the shape of them was completely invisible. Where is this? Where on earth did this man, Cain, hide it… … .

──… … Baby.

“……yes?”

──You seem to be in a lot of trouble. Do you need my help?

“No, sorry, a little later… … .”

Leah, who was about to refuse, hesitated. A thought flashed through her mind.

‘Venus… … wouldn’t you know?’

By the way, wasn’t the fact that Cain was trying to take several contraceptives information itself Venus’s foot?

Yes, Venus shared what Cain heard and saw through the ring. So she had no choice but to know… … !

Leah, who had thought about it that far, changed her words.

“Yes, please help me.”

──Huh, okay. How can I help you…?

“Venus, you know, right? Con.”

──Cone?

“… … That, that. Please tell me where you hid that.”

But since she was a heavenly woman, I felt awkward saying her name out loud, so I spoke indirectly.

──I can tell you, but you have to pay a clear price for it… … Is that okay?

“What, what do you want?”

──If I were to ask for something from my child, it would be obvious.

“… … .”

In the not-so-distant past, Leah made a deal with Venus to obtain the ingredients for a potion to feed Cain.

The deal was that at least one of his and Cain’s children would convert to the Venus Church…

Venus seemed to be demanding something additional on top of those conditions.

Judging by the mood, he probably thinks that it would be more cost-effective to convert two people rather than just one.

“Isn’t that a bit too much? Just one piece of information and one child? It’s hard enough for one child, so what if both children decide to live without religion?”

──Then wouldn’t the problem be solved if we had more children?

“No, that’s easier said than done… …! How long does it take to give birth to a child?”

──Didn’t you say that you want to have as many children as possible? I don’t know what the problem is. I think that this is actually a favorable condition for the baby.

“… … Ugh.”

The more children you have, the better… … This was something Leah would often say when talking to Venus.

Although it was a statement made to win the favor of Venus, the goddess of love, it was also because he himself thought, ‘There’s nothing wrong with having many children.’ It wasn’t something he said out of thin air.

Judging from the notes in the notebook written in Cain’s handwriting, it seems like Cain is not completely uninterested in that area, and could probably make one or two children in no time.

Still, giving birth to a child and having the child join the Venus Church are two completely different matters. Is it right for me, as a mother, to decide this on my own?

From noble mtl dot com

-thud.

While I was pondering, the sound of footsteps came closer. Perhaps Cain was halfway down the hallway. Now, there was only 20 seconds left, no, not even 15 seconds.

──Honey, there isn’t much time. What are we going to do? Should we just pretend this never happened?

“… … .”

-Thump, thump.

One step, two steps. As Cain came closer, Leah’s heart also became a little more anxious.

There are now about 10 seconds left.

Leah, who was biting her lower lip, was really worried… … .

“… … Ah, I understand. Okay, then tell me.”

──Huh, right. The item you’re looking for is under the potion…

Eventually, he accepted the deal with Venus.

* * *

──Thud, thud!

“……hmm?”

What is this noise? I stopped as I was about to enter the room, drying my hair with a towel. This was because I heard a loud noise coming from inside my room where Leah was waiting.

Did you happen to step on the hem of your nightgown and fall over? You don’t want to get hurt before you even start.

As I entered with a worried heart, I saw Leah with red cheeks hurriedly adjusting her clothes. It was impossible, but she looked like someone who had been caught trying to steal.

“Are you okay, Leah?”

“… … Huh? Yeah. It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s not a problem. Yeah.”

For some reason, he was stammering, but his body seemed fine. After confirming that there was nothing wrong, I looked down and noticed that my bag’s zipper was slightly open.

“uh.”

Why is that open? It makes me feel awkward for no reason.

Since it was well hidden, no one would have noticed unless you deliberately searched for it, but it was still embarrassing. As I approached the bag to close the zipper, my chin-.

Leah grabbed my wrist.

“… … What, what are you doing, Cain?”

“Huh? Oh, just. Let me just… … .”

The moment I was about to reply, “I’m just trying to organize it,” Leah strode over to me and poked my stomach. Thanks to that, I backed away from my bag in the blink of an eye.

“Go, I’ll pack your bag. First, get dressed and come. You know we’re late, right? We have to leave quickly. We don’t have time for this… …!”

“The scheduled departure time is 8 o’clock, and you know it’s not even 7 o’clock yet… … .”

“… … Eight, do you keep asking for forgiveness? This is something you should prepare for in advance, in advance! Now, hurry up and get dressed and get ready to go out!”

“Oh, yes… … .”