I Don't Know The Playthroughs Of The Returned Villainesses - Chapter 28

The morning sun, warm bordering on scorching, struggled to pry open my tightly shut eyelids. It was a cool dawn, yet the sunlight felt as intense as the midday summer sun.

“Ugh!”

I stretched, cracking my back as I got out of the hammock that served as my bed.

“Phew…”

After loosening my joints with a series of pops and cracks, I leaned out the window and took a deep breath.

“Refreshing.”

Invigorating, to be precise. The oppressive weight that had been crushing my shoulders, a constant reminder of my accumulated fatigue, was gone. It was probably thanks to the copious amount of blood I had coughed up last night.

“It’s nice to start the day feeling refreshed.”

*

Having woken up earlier than usual, I arrived at the academy earlier as well. My footsteps echoed through the silent hallways.

‘I guess no one else comes this early.’

It was still practically dawn, the sun barely peeking over the horizon. The only reason nobles would come to the academy early was to engage in meaningless power struggles and flattery, so it would be strange for anyone to arrive this early.

I hummed to myself, playing the “first one to school” game in my head as I opened the classroom door.

“I’m first…”

“Then, what he’ll do when we meet again…”

Two pairs of eyes met mine the moment I opened the door.

“…”

The voices I had heard trailed off into silence. At the same time, the other elves around the person I had made eye contact with also turned to look at me.

Their eyes seemed to ask, Who is this weirdo?

‘Well.’

I seemed to have found at least one strange… person. Or rather, people.

*

“Good morning. I am Aaron Dite.”

I introduced myself first, bowing my head slightly.

“We met before, but I was a bit… disoriented at the time, so I didn’t introduce myself properly.”

I had met him when I was blocking Rioness’s attack. I was so exhausted then that I had rushed back to the dormitory without exchanging names.

“I am Modred Glinair.”

‘That’s a concise introduction.’

He probably didn’t see a need for anything more.

The prince of Alveheim, the Elven Kingdom. Modred, standing before me, was one of the future leaders of the continent, a position far above that of the nobles who served the king. It would be strange if any of the nobles at the academy didn’t know him.

“…”

An awkward silence followed. We had greeted each other, but there was nothing more to say. Even if I wanted to start a conversation, humans weren’t exactly viewed favorably by elves, so I couldn’t just speak carelessly.

Besides…

‘Couldn’t you guys say something?’

It would have been different if it were just Modred and me, but his retainers were standing silently, staring at me intently. Their eyes were practically blazing.

The continuing silence and their flinching at my slightest movements prompted me to finally speak.

“…Shall we sit down and talk?”

I gestured towards a chair, slightly bending down as if about to pull it out.

“…”

Had I only increased their suspicion? Their pupils constricted even further.

‘Please say something.’

I was dying of embarrassment.

I maintained my awkward posture, the silence stretching on…

“Pfft… Hehehe…”

Modred finally broke, covering his mouth with his hand as if trying to suppress his laughter. But the stifled giggles escaped through his nose.

“HAHAHAHA!”

He finally burst out laughing.

“Hehehe…”

The other elves around Modred also started giggling, covering their mouths and shaking their shoulders.

“HAHAHAHA!”

Modred was laughing wholeheartedly.

“…?”

I just tilted my head, watching him in confusion, still frozen in my awkward half-bow.

*

“Ha… Ha… I haven’t laughed like that in a while. Thank you, Aaron.”

He finally calmed down, clutching his stomach as he thanked me.

“You’re… welcome?”

Was I supposed to be the one thanking him? Come to think of it, I had just been thanked by the Elven Royal Family, so maybe I should be grateful.

“I apologize for laughing like that in front of you. But please believe me, it wasn’t out of mockery.”

After his hearty laughter, Modred seemed to have regained his composure, extending his hand in apology.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you had a good laugh.”

I shook his hand, accepting his apology.

“You have a cheerful personality.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“Then, as you suggested, let’s sit down and continue this conversation.”

“Yes.”

*

“Um… I have a question.”

“Ask away. I can’t just clam up after laughing like that in front of you.”

We sat facing each other, and I asked Modred directly, without beating around the bush.

“Why did you laugh like that?”

I was a little offended.

Modred rubbed his chin for a moment, then replied with a wide grin.

“To put it simply, you were very different from what we expected.”

“In what way?”

“In every way?”

“?”

What was he talking about? What were they expecting that made them react like that?

I gave him a pointed look, urging him to elaborate.

He sighed, giving in to my persistent gaze.

“Well, we were expecting you to be a high-ranking noble from the Empire in disguise.”

“Me?”

What a strange assumption. What had I done to warrant such suspicion?

Seeing my incredulous expression, he quickly continued, as if offering an explanation.

“Well, my sister is quite infamous among humans, so who would believe that someone who came to stop her would be from a fallen noble family?”

He sounded a bit offended himself.

“That’s fair.”

I could understand that. It would have been insane for someone like me, essentially another mosquito, to approach Rioness, who was ready to swat anyone annoying, like someone trying to kill a buzzing mosquito in the middle of the night.

The elves behind Modred nodded slowly, as if agreeing with his statement.

“And for some reason, you’ve been seen with Aslan Reinhardt since the beginning of the semester. It’s unheard of for a duke and a fallen noble to be seen together so often.”

“I see.”

I couldn’t help but agree. Even I didn’t know why I was hanging out with Aslan, a duke.

‘It just… happened.’

That was the only explanation I could offer.

“So, you were a complete anomaly.”

“Well, that’s that. But why did you laugh?”

He seemed to be avoiding the main point. I had asked why they were laughing so hard.

“Haha. As I said, because you were so different from what we expected.”

“…That’s it?”

“To be more precise, we thought you were a spy planted by a ducal family and were discussing how you would approach us.”

“Ah.”

“But then you appeared in front of me, looking completely dumbfounded, greeted me, and then, when the atmosphere got awkward, you even suggested we sit down. How could I not laugh?”

“Uh…”

“By the way, before you came in, we were expecting you to try and flatter us to build a relationship.”

That was somewhat accurate. Considering I was now sitting here, having this conversation with Modred.

“So your strategizing was for nothing.”

“I never imagined you would be this different.”

Modred looked up at the ceiling, his expression a mix of amusement and disbelief.

It made sense. They probably thought there was something going on when a fallen noble, barely above a commoner, suddenly tried to stop Rioness as if he had a death wish, and then started hanging out with a duke.

And the revealed truth… even I had to admit, was completely unexpected. It must have been quite anticlimactic for Modred, who had been anticipating some hidden agenda.

“You could have at least tried to flatter me like the other nobles, or just stood there silently. But to suggest we sit down after a moment of awkward silence…”

“Wouldn’t our legs get tired if we kept standing?”

Modred looked even more dumbfounded.

“…Do you know who I am?”

“Yes. You’re the prince of Alveheim.”

“So you’re ordering the prince of Alveheim to sit down?”

Uh…

“Is… that how it works?”

“Well, normally, people wait for those of higher status to move first.”

Modred’s words finally made me understand.

‘They were expecting a hidden boss, spent two days nervously planning, and then the guy who showed up was just an idiot.’

A rather significant idiot, at that. Even I found it a little funny.

“To think you stopped my sister out of sheer guts, without any plan…”

Aslan looked exactly like a high school senior after finishing his mock exams, slumped in his chair, his mind blank.

“Do you not value your life?”

“No. I want to live a long life.”

I didn’t take my life lightly. I was doing all of this because I wanted to live.

“And yet, you approached my sister, who was holding a bow, at that very moment?”

Modred’s voice was filled with genuine curiosity. That kind of line was usually used in a dramatic scene about protecting one’s family. It was the first time I had heard it used in such a casual context.

“I also wanted to ask Rioness—”

Suddenly, something grabbed my shoulder.

I snapped back to reality, noticing a hand on Modred’s shoulder as well.

“Ask me what?”

‘Ah.’

There was a hand on my shoulder too. And that hand, along with the one on Modred’s shoulder, belonged to a woman standing between us.

“Continue your story.”

Her eyes were sharp.

“And don’t mind me.”