DKVM Ch 8

Chapter 8

The carriage that left the villa stopped.

Vivian had brought Rahel to…

‘…a hill?’

It was a small hill at the back of the village.

A place where they could get away from prying eyes and explore the village freely.

This was the place that fit the bill.

“We’re going up here?”

The knights who had been assigned as escorts were annoyed at the idea of climbing up the hill.

“Eh? Have you guys only eaten a little bread today? Why are you so weak?”

Each of Vivian’s words stabbed at the knights’s pride.

And crucially, she added…

“Then I’ll tell the duke to give you lots of bread in the future.”

A dreadful threat to tell the duke!

Vivian’s not-so-threatening threat sent the knights running up the hill.

Karlz will hear of this, and the knights’ already rigorous training will only intensify.

Rahel, too, was tired from randomly climbing the hill, but she refused the knights’ offer to carry her up the mountain.

Finally, we reached the top.

A cool breeze swept through Rahel’s hair and she unconsciously closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a blue sky and green fields spread out before her.

At the center of the clearing stood a large tree.

“Look, if we go under the tree, we can see the whole village.”

Vivian pointed to the tree and led Rahel toward it.

“ Ta-da!”

Vivian exclaimed as they reached the base of the tree.

Where her plump little hand pointed, there was a panoramic view of the village.

‘Ah….’

It was only then that Rahel realized that she had really stepped outside the mansion.

And as Rahel stood there, gazing out over the town, Vivian flopped down on the grass in the middle of nowhere.

“What are you doing…?”

Before Rahel could ask, Vivian was rolling down the hill on the grass.

This stunned Rahel and the knights watching from the sidelines.

“K-Kiddo!”

*roll, roll, roll*

After rolling down the slope for a while, Vivian came to a stop at a gentle bend.

“Ha-ha-ha, it’s fun!”

She giggled and scrambled to her feet with grass all over her body.

Rahel’s mouth dropped open in a giggle at the sight.

“Heh…”

This was unthinkable for Rahel, who had been raised as a ducal princess and trained in manners.

No, not just her, but none of the other noble children she’d met.

They all acted like adults, quietly reading or sipping their tea.

‘You were so polite and clever in front of my grandfather.’

Now she was like a colt running wild, oblivious to the world.

Not the clever girl who tried to impress her grandfather, but an innocent child who knows nothing.

‘She’s a strange one.’

Vivian climbed back up the hill and came full speed toward Rahel.

She had a merry smile on her face, and she looked like a wild child.

Rahel’s brow furrowed at the sight of it.

“You’re dirty.”

“Then I’ll just brush it off like this!”

Vivian brushed off her clothes, not caring if Rahel was disgusted or not.

As she did, most of the stuck-on grass came off, but one piece clung on.

“Look at that, it’s clean now, isn’t it?”

A single blade of grass stuck to her hair was still fluttering in its place.

Tucked among her cherry-colored hair, the leaf looked as natural as if it were part of a cherry blossom.

Rahel was watching the grass rustle with Vivian’s movements when Vivian interrupted her.

“Would you like to try it, miss? If you’ve come all this way, you must try this. The grass is so fluffy and fun-”

“Forget it. You do it.”

Rahel cut Vivian off before she could finish.

“Ch, it’s fun.”

Vivian’s lips pouted at the blunt rebuff, but Rahel ignored it and turned her attention to the townscape.

If nothing else, she liked the scenery and the quiet atmosphere.

Vivian slid up beside her and pointed to the rooftops, explaining.

“That red roof over there is the fruit shop, in front of it is the general store, and the green roof next to it is….”

Vivian continued her explanation, pointing around the townscape.

As Rahel followed Vivian’s finger through the village, she suddenly looked at the girl standing next to her.

The girl’s golden eyes sparkled like jewels as she took in the view of the village.

As she stared into those eyes, Vivian looked in her direction and smiled.

“We should go to the village together next time, miss!”

At that moment, Rahel realized what made this child so radiant.

Freedom.

This commoner child had a freedom she didn’t have.

And in that moment of realization, the little peasant girl next to her felt like the master of her own little world.

She was a little jealous, and a little… envious.

* * *

On the way down from the garden and back to the mansion, Rahel was looking out the window at the sunset.

‘Still, I guess you were pretty satisfied with your first outing, huh?’

I nudged Rahel, inwardly pleased.

“What do you think, Princess? It wasn’t a bad way to see the town, was it?”

Rahel’s gaze returned to me from the window.

Her eyes, which had been so sharp until we stepped outside today, had softened a lot, but…

I didn’t get an affirmative answer.

As expected of my feisty young lady.

‘Well, it’s not like I expected her to compliment me.’

Sulking, I pouted my lips, and Rahel, who had been looking at me quizzically, put her hand on top of her head.

‘Huh?’

I put my hand on top of my head, realizing in hindsight that it was meant to be imitated. Then….

“Hey, what’s this?”

I grabbed a leaf that had been stuck there for who knows how long.

It must have gotten stuck when I was rolling around on the hill earlier!

I suddenly understood why the knights were laughing at me earlier.

“Ugh, why are you telling me this now? You’ve known all along!”

“Be glad I told you before you met Grandpa.”

With that, Rahel turned her attention back to the window.

Then, a little later.

‘I think Rahel was smiling?’

But when I looked at her again, her face was as impassive as ever.

‘I must be imagining things, right?’

There’s no way in the world Rahel would smile at me, right?

I ran a hand through my hair to remove any remaining leaves, then remembered Rahel’s words from earlier and tensed.

‘Now that we’re going back to the villa, there’s a banquet with the duke waiting for me.’

It was obvious that Sally and the nanny were hell-bent on shooing me away, so I tried my hand at getting into the duke’s graces as much as possible.

‘I don’t expect it to work right away.’

It’s a good thing the duke didn’t strike me down like that, but…

‘I’m afraid to think of facing him.’

The duke is the most powerful man in the Hildeon Empire, second only to the emperor.

Though his prestige is much diminished now that his daughter, the former Duchess, has given birth to Rahel, the child of a traitorous prince.

Still, he was a terrifying man who still had the power to do whatever he liked.

‘And he also has that sort of reputation too…’

The mere thought of the intimidating air he exuded when I met him today was enough to keep me on edge.

‘But I can’t run away.’

I swallowed hard as I looked out the window at the duke’s villa, which was beginning to come into view.

‘Well, here goes nothing.’