I Became The Villain’s Master - Chapter 3.7

We got off at the nearest village and entered a random restaurant.

We could occasionally hear rumors about me, but it seemed the family’s knights and soldiers hadn’t come this far yet.

“Ah! I wonder how long it’s been since we had a proper meal!”

Ann exclaimed with emotion.

We had been eating hastily while moving in the carriage until now.

The restaurant we happened to enter was a specialty shop selling camel meat.

Camel meat, even though we had come so far from the desert.

Ann wore a disappointed expression, but I felt oddly excited.

As the tension eased a bit, it started to feel like we were on a trip.

“Ann. Don’t you like camel meat? It’s my first time eating it.”

“Haha, it’s not your first time, young lady. We often put finely chopped pieces in your baby food and stew.”

Gasp.

So it wasn’t my first time.

I covered my mouth with my chubby hands and opened my eyes wide.

Even if they weren’t full animals but shapeshifters, the idea of desert foxes eating camel meat was quite unusual.

“Are there no camel shapeshifters?”

“No, there are no camel shapeshifters.”

That’s a relief.

If there were, it would have been extremely uncomfortable to eat the meat.

When the food arrived, Rory and I obediently ate the meat that Ann cut for us.

“When you grow a bit older, young lady, you’ll learn that in the Empire, there are only dog, fox, and wolf shapeshifters.”

There are dogs and wolves too?

This was a fact I hadn’t known at all, as the novel only mentioned the Hauser Count family of desert foxes.

Rory, sitting next to me, also listened intently to Ann’s words with wide eyes, as if fascinated.

I poked his plump cheek for no reason.

Our gentle little one turned to look at me and smiled broadly.

“Dog and wolf shapeshifters live hiding their true identities, so it’s hard to recognize them even when you meet them. For humans, that is. You, young lady, being a shapeshifter yourself, might be able to recognize them by their scent.”

“Why do they hide?”

“It’s been that way since ancient times. Fox shapeshifters have been praised for their beautiful appearance and gentle nature since before the Cranberry royal family was established, but dog and wolf shapeshifters weren’t so fortunate. They have a reputation for being… somewhat rough, fierce, and barbaric in nature.”

“Really?”

I blinked while chewing a mouthful of meat.

Amazingly, this small, determined mouth could accommodate whatever food was put into it.

Rory brought a drinking straw to my lips.

It’s strange how natural it had become to be waited on by a child.

As I put the straw in my mouth, I thought that I should eat a lot and grow up quickly to become an adult.

“Yes. I’ve never met them myself, but that’s what I’ve heard.”

“But fox shapeshifters are gentle? That can’t be right.”

“May I speak frankly?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“From what I’ve heard, fox shapeshifters seem to have a talent for seducing people. They’re also very clever and have excellent speaking skills.”

“You mean they’re cunning?”

“Oh my. You even know the word ‘cunning’? Well, that could be one way to put it. It’s said that even the most cold and aloof humans can’t resist being enchanted by a fox shapeshifter’s beautiful appearance and eloquence. Even the previous Count Hauser was so popular that the people of his domain formed fan clubs and showered him with gifts.”

By the way, young lady. Somehow your pronunciation has improved a lot.

Ann muttered as if talking to herself.

I flinched and tilted my head with innocent eyes.

Was it because I talked more compared to the original Merchen, making my tongue more flexible?

Or was it the effect of consciously paying attention to my pronunciation whenever I spoke?

It seemed to be improving little by little.

“The previous Count Hauser? Grandfather?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But why is my father like that?”

“Like what?”

Ann explained with a laugh.

“I heard he was often compared to his younger brother when he was young. Acasia Hauser. He would be your uncle. Your uncle was so exceptional and compassionate that the previous Count wanted to make him his successor. There was a lot of favoritism too.”

Oh dear.

Is that why Honey Hauser became a villain?

Because of an inferiority complex?

But then why did he become the Count?

“Where’s uncle now?”

“He went missing on his 22nd birthday. He went into the desert alone and disappeared. Whether he got lost or fell into a sand pit…”

Missing, huh.

Something smells fishy.

Could it have been Count Hauser’s doing?

***

Swoosh.

Even in the pouring rain, Sugar clung tightly to the railing of the stone steps, not moving.

Not even a single step.

Violet went outside with an umbrella and held it over his head.

“Do you want rumors to spread that the Hauser heir died on our doorstep?”

“……”

“Please come inside. Rest comfortably and return home when the rain stops.”

“Bring Merchen to me.”

His persistence was worse than a leech.

A crack appeared between Violet’s expressionless brows.

“Are you stubborn? Or just oblivious?”

“Probably both.”

“The Hauser young lady really isn’t here. Instead of persisting here, you’d be better off looking elsewhere.”

“I now know that Merchen isn’t here.”

You let me search every corner of the mansion, after all.

Sugar added.

Violet looked down at him with an incredulous expression.

In her 8 years of life, short but full, she had never met someone so frustrating.

“Then why are you still here?”

Sugar lifted his eyelashes, dotted with raindrops, and tilted his head towards Violet, who had dropped her polite speech.

In his naturally poor eyesight, the girl with violet eyes appeared blurry.

“Please give me a hint.”

“A hint?”

“About where Merchen went.”

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Eyes.”

Sugar weakly raised his hand and grasped her sleeve.

Having sat in the rain for so long, he felt dizzy, perhaps coming down with a cold.

“Your eyes are saying that you know something.”

So he wasn’t oblivious, he was a mind reader.

Violet awkwardly averted her gaze.

After staring at the grabbed sleeve, she placed her hand on Sugar’s forehead.

While the raindrops wetting her fingers were cold, his forehead was very hot.

“I’ll give you a hint.”

“!”

“After you come inside and bring down your fever.”

Sugar glared at Violet with intense eyes and stood up unsteadily.

“Give it to me now.”

“If I give it now, are you planning to collapse and die on your way back? You need to be alive and healthy to find your sister.”

“……”

Violet was about to firmly tell him once more to come inside quickly.

However, his eyes, which had been barely keeping him standing, closed and he collapsed forward.

“Oh no.”

Violet caught the falling Sugar, dropping her umbrella and landing on her bottom.

His soaked body was as hot as a fireball.

***

After resting sufficiently for a day in the city, we boarded the carriage again.

If only I could have taken the train, we would have traveled much more comfortably and quickly.

I felt sorry for Rory and Ann.

“We’re going to Greenvalley.”

“Greenvalley? Where’s that?”

“Ah. I misspoke. Let’s go to the eastern forest.”

“The eastern forest?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Greenvalley was a hidden village in the eastern forest that briefly appeared in the original work.

There was a scene where the protagonist Cinnamon, who was traveling with Crown Prince Ardan, got lost and stumbled upon the village.

The people of Greenvalley provided Cinnamon, who was exhausted, with a place to rest and food.

And a fresh-looking young man fell in love with Cinnamon at first sight.

Ardan, who was searching the forest for Cinnamon, also arrived at Greenvalley, and after thanking them for taking care of Cinnamon, he gifted the village chief with a precious jewel before returning to the imperial palace.

After Cinnamon left, the young man who was lovesick went to the capital to meet her, and became her knight, but pined away like a fish in a pond and eventually returned to his hometown.

Unknown to the people of the Empire, the inhabitants of Greenvalley were actually fairies.

The young man who loved Cinnamon was also a fairy.

It was described that they usually lived disguised as ordinary humans.

Greenvalley, is a village hidden and difficult to find.

Since fairies are also good-natured and innocent, there couldn’t be a better place to live in hiding.

We stopped the carriage and got off on a forest path lush with grass and trees emitting a fresh fragrance.

“Why are you getting off here? We still have quite a way to go before reaching the village.”

The coachman asked in confusion, but I sent the carriage away.

Because of this, Ann and Rory’s expressions became uneasy.

“Young lady. There’s nothing in the forest. Why do you keep going inside?”

“Don’t worry. I have it all figured out.”

Ann and Rory followed me without knowing what was going on.

You can find an entrance to Greenvalley anywhere in the forest.

As long as there’s a three-way fork with unmarked signposts.

The forest was full of such three-way forks.

At the three-way fork, take the right path.

At the five-way fork, take the middle path.

Walk 100 steps along the path.

Following as written in the novel, a cave appeared.

We walked into the cave for about 10 minutes.

Along with a bright light, a field full of yellow flowers and a beautiful village spread out before us.

Flutter.

A white butterfly that was shyly perched on a flower flew up into the sky.

Although the season was nearing the end of summer, this place alone was touched by the fragrant scent of spring.

“We’re here! This is…!”

Greenvalley!

I ran into the field reminiscent of heaven with a bright smile.