I’m a Villainess, Can I Die? - Chapter 63

What I realized from yesterday’s activities was that it wasn’t good to have a competitive hobby.

In this manner, lessons kept increasing day by day. Who was I going to visit today? As I strolled through the garden, I recalled the people in the Duchy.

Mother… she’d seem to recommend something like cross-stitching… And Father… Well… pass. As for Brother, I visited him yesterday… As I was walking alone in the garden after a long time, I thought of the people one by one, and a familiar figure with a blunt face was walking on the opposite side.

“Priest Ian?”

“Princess.”

After my physical condition had improved, I had been seeing doctors and Ian about once every two weeks. Until then, Ian was not so awkward as a person I saw often.

Ian bowed his head and said his greetings, so I bowed my head with him.

Ian raised his head and looked at me with a slightly darker expression than usual.

Then his lips moved as if he was about to say something.

I slowly stood facing Ian until he opened his mouth. Perhaps Ian had gained courage from my leisurely patience, as he spoke immediately.

“There is something I would like to discuss with you.”

The two of us decided to walk together. The wind was especially cool today and the grass smelled fragrant. The soft grass crunching under my feet also felt good.

“Please speak.”

“I… I was wondering if I should leave the Duchy.”

“What?”

“What?”

The stupid retort got repeated, and the two of us shut our mouths and stopped walking.

I was very serious now. Ian is leaving the Duchy. That was a bit difficult to handle.

Because Ian was the Duchy’s vitamin. Yep, a literal vitamin. A walking nourishment tonic.

Ian used to give everyone a fair boost, to the tired employees, the knights and my family.

Thanks to this, even though Ian had a slightly blunt tone and expression, no one misunderstood him badly.

It was the same with me.

In my case, I spent a lot more days with Ian because I was much weaker than the others.

For him to suddenly leave… How did he come up with such an unfortunate thought?

“I feel like I am being treated too much.”

As the words ‘treated too much’ came out of Priest Ian’s mouth, something came to my mind.

Treated too much. Perhaps…

“So, even with Priest Ian, wherever you go, do people come in to move you?”

T/N: refers to the scene when she was sick and was ‘crowdsurfed’ when she went out of her room hahaha

“What? No.”

A look of embarrassment appeared on Ian’s face. Yes, I didn’t think it was that much. I was asking just in case.

Then what did he mean by being treated too much? As I tilted my head silently in thought, Priest Ian, who erased the embarrassment from his face, opened his mouth in a slow tone.

“I sleep in a good, soft bed, eat meals that don’t suit me and get compliments that don’t suit me.”

I closed my mouth for a moment.

Were priests so frugal in the first place… Was sleeping in a bed, eating well, and receiving compliments seen as being treated too much…?

Ian was looking at me with a calm expression showing his sincerity. I resumed walking after I had stopped. As I moved, Ian, who had stopped following me, started walking again.

Walking like this reminded me of the time I used to go for walks with Brother.

“What is your daily routine, Priest Ian?”

“I wake up in the morning to pray and learn medicine from the doctor. After eating, I would learn how to use my power, take a walk, and give out the power to people in need. And after dinner, I prayed with the Doctor and went to sleep.”

Ian’s daily routine was very intense. Wake up and work, then eat, then work, then eat, then work, and sleep. It was the complete opposite of my simple and clear routine.

He was a young man who spent his days to the fullest.

While I was admiring his hectic daily routine, I suddenly remembered that I, too, had lived each day as busily, or even more busily, than this in my previous life.

Wow. The past me was great.

Now that I was here, I didn’t think anyone could force me to do it.

“I roll around in bed every day, but the bed is better than that of Priest Ian’s, and I eat better food. Compliments are… Well, I’d rather not mention it. Anyway, as Priest Ian said, all of this is too much for me.”

Once again, I came to this world and thought that I was really not doing anything. Well, if the villain was quiet, everyone was comfortable, so this was a happy ending, right?

I just said it without much thought, but Ian was flustered as he waved his hand to me.

“How could that be? Isn’t Miss Selena the princess?”

“Yes. A princess who has no intelligence, no swordsmanship, and no magic or divine powers.”

To be honest, I had nothing. If Selna hadn’t been the princess, she would have starved to death wherever she went. I didn’t have that much for myself.

Oh, there seemed to be a bit of a blessing in the fate of ‘Selena’… The important thing was that I was very satisfied with my situation like this.

There was nothing particularly special about it, but the fortune was good, so there was no need to force anything.

It was the best environment for me, who had been tired all my life.

It was good that I didn’t have anything to do, and the people around me liked it because the villain was quiet, so this was killing two birds with one stone.

“I was lucky enough to be born as a princess and live in such an environment. I was just completely lucky. However, Priest Ian is different. You were brought to the Duchy because we needed you. You’ve saved a life, and you’re helping others…”

Ian gave no reply. I couldn’t see his expression because I was walking in the front, but I didn’t feel like turning back.

“It’s not too much. Priest Ian deserves such treatment.”

It was Ian who stopped walking, not me. When the sound of footsteps near me stopped, I looked back.

Under the bright sunlight, Ian closed his eyes and held his hands together. He looked more comfortable than before.

His prayer was longer than expected. Tired of watching him pray, I sat on the nearby grass and watched the clouds drift by.

Then I looked at Ian praying one more time, and I wondered if something good would happen if I prayed like that, so I put my hands together and closed my eyes.

Surprisingly, nothing happened. When I opened my eyes and turned my head to Ian, he had already finished praying.

“Did you pray?”

Ian asked kindly. After the long prayer, Ian seemed to have achieved something. Prayers… Did they suit me?

“Yes. I prayed for Priest Ian.”

It was sincere. The chanting of ‘Don’t go, don’t go’ was similar to hypnosis, but… Well… This counted as a prayer too, right? Well, the subject was Ian, so it wouldn’t be very wrong.

Ian shuddered and shook his shoulders as if a little startled, then bowed his head reverently. He was just as reverent as the first time I met him. He sat down in the grass and bowed his head.

Why was it like this every time I met Ian?

I patted my butt, got up and walked again. I wondered what would happen if there was grass on it.

I didn’t mind wearing the smudged clothes, but our employees would try to clean it with blazing eyes.

E/N: The original phrase she used was “if I had grass up my butt” but… well… based on the context I’m assuming that’s not what she really meant hah

I glanced at my butt for a moment, but couldn’t see whether the skirt was stained or not.

“Actually, a letter has arrived from the High Priest.”

“A letter?”

After also concentrating on Ian’s butt, I took my gaze away from him at his words and looked at his face.

Ian nodded at my words and pulled something out of his sleeve.

Wow, so clothes with wide sleeves like priest’s uniforms really had the sleeves used as pockets?

The song, ‘Mister Elephant With His Nose-Hand’ crossed my mind.

Priest Ian’s sleeve was a pocket, so if you gave him a letter, he’d put it in his sleeve. All of a sudden, the song was completed in my head.
.
*T/N: so the lyrics to the ‘kokkiri ahjussi’ song is {Uncle/Mister Elephant’s nose is a hand; if you give him a cookie, he’ll take it with his nose} the imagery is a bit similar right?

“The day before yesterday, a letter from the High Priest arrived.”

The stiff and clunky paper was neatly folded. I looked at the letter that had been handed out to me with a timid hand and accepted it.

“Can I read it?”

“…Yes.”

It was subtle, but it felt like his voice was trembling. If it was Ian’s High Priest, then it was High Priest Vanetssa* of the Aria Temple.

*T/N: yes, i think it was an intended mistake! 바넷사

The priest who appeared only by name in the novel.

As I unfolded the rough paper, the neat handwriting of a priest caught my eye.

‘My dear son, Ian, how are you?’

I read the first line and looked up at Ian.

“Are you the high priest’s son?”

“No, it’s just in name.”

“Aha.”

What did father and son mean? … Well, they would take care of their relationship.

[While I was away, I heard that you went to the White Duchy. It would be a lie if I said I didn’t feel sad that you made such an important decision and left the temple without me.

Ian, if your needs and missions are over, it’s time for you to go back to the temple. No matter how common it is for priests of the Os period to enter the noble family, is it okay for you, my son, to leave your place vacant?

I want you to firmly secure your position as a just and loyal priest. Without you, I feel so lonely.

My son, Priest of Aria, Ian. Too much is sometimes poisonous. Private greed tends to gnaw.

I love you and want to call you again, so I hope to get a good answer.

– Your father and teacher, High Priest Vanessa. ]

In a word, the content of the letter was a request for Ian to return.

“You thought you were treated too much because of this.”

“No. I was always thinking about it.”

Well. Even though he was always thinking about it, it was this letter that fanned it.

I casually scanned the letter once more and folded the paper.

“Do you still want to leave because you feel burdened with the excessive treatment?”

Ian slowly shook his head at my question. His face was as blunt as usual, but his eyes were brighter than ever.

“No. I want to stay here.”

“Then that’s it. Stay here.”

It was a simple and clear conclusion suitable, but Ian did not readily answer that he would.

It seemed that the letter was bothering him.

“Are you worried about refusing the High Priest’s call?”

“…Yes.”

Well, I understood. It wasn’t easy to say no to your father. Besides, there were a lot of mentions in that letter to come back…

“Then… Let’s invite him here and ask for permission.”

***

The search for my hobby was delayed for a while due to Ian’s situation. However, I didn’t give up. Once I finished dealing with this matter, I would start again with Ian as the lead.

So, I would have to talk to the High Priest and have Ian stay here.

We decided to talk in detail tomorrow, and Ian and I separated. I moved to a place other than my room. I was heading to the corner of the garden.

A place with few trees or flowers, instead being mostly flat lawn.

‘Was this right…’ As I was walking while reviving the fuzzy memories as much as possible, I heard a rumbling sound. It seemed that I had come to the right place.