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“He needs me?”
I parrot back the words of my father.
From my point of view, Gilles was already a full-fledged person. Maybe he had to grow up, even if he didn’t want to.
I wondered if I had deprived him of a childish life.
“Gilles was able to grow up because of Alicia. For that, he is very grateful to Alicia.”
After a pause, your father added,
“However much he has grown, he still needs you to be there for him. Besides, as strong as he may be, Gilles is unstable right now. …Alicia is unstable, as well, right?”
“Because of Uncle Will?”
I hadn’t let myself realize how unstable I was.
I had managed to get myself back to a certain level. Yet, how could Father understand how I felt?
“Yes.”
I responded to his short answer with, “I’ll be fine.”
It was true that there was a gaping hole in my heart, and this hole was not going to be filled easily.
Uncle Will wouldn’t want that for me.
“…Where is Gilles now?”
“In the impoverished village …or, perhaps, former impoverished village… but, I’m not sure.”
“Can I leave for a moment?”
The thought that I had to go to Gilles suddenly came to me.
Perhaps he would like to be alone now. Maybe that’s why all of his brothers were in this room together….
Father never told me where Gilles was until just a moment ago.
But I needed to go see Gilles at that very moment!
I wouldn’t know if he told everyone that he wants to be alone. But, I was a selfish Villainess!
“I don’t know if anything will matter if you go now.”
“I don’t care.”
I said the words as if I were covering Father’s words.
“Then, I’ll be leaving.”
With that, I left the place as quickly as I could.
I left the mansion quickly and headed for the impoverished village. It was hard to run in heels, but I couldn’t bother to complain.
Even if I put on a brand-new dress, put on makeup, and dress nicely, I was still me after all.
It didn’t matter how much I dressed up, it probably wouldn’t mean much. Being a Villainess should feel like getting dirty.
For the first time in a long time, I ran along the road leading to the impoverished village. I had been running through this place since I was a child.
Every day, to see Uncle Will….
Looking back, Uncle Will made me meet Gilles. From the middle of the trip, I started visiting Gilles as well.
Then, I freed Gilles from the impoverished village. …Without Uncle Will, I might never have met Gilles.
Uncle Will, you had left me a wonderful treasure named Gilles.
…I would protect Gilles even if I had to stake my life.
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