Don’t Look for the Resurrected Villainess - Chapter 62

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 62

“Well, that’s obvious just by looking…”

Instead of the stammering man, the people around him defended him. Things like, can’t you tell just by looking, what would a child know, we should show mercy during this joyful festival period. All nonsense.

I snorted and focused only on holding onto the child.

The child, realizing that they would truly be handed over to the guards, glared at me with tear-filled eyes. Then they raised their voice as if for everyone to hear.

“My throat is being squeezed! It hurts!”

The child cried out weakly while gripping my wrist. Despite the frail cry, the force gripping my wrist was quite strong.

I felt a sharp pain in my wrist. Startled by the sudden pain, my grip loosened.

The child didn’t miss that moment and turned their body as if to quickly escape.

“I’ll be going now… Aaah!”

The child tripped over someone’s foot and tumbled forward. Someone grabbed the fallen child by the scruff of the neck and lifted them up.

“Show mercy because it’s a festival? What kind of nonsense is that?”

The one who muttered grumblingly looked around at the onlookers who had been adding their comments and spoke cynically.

“If you want to show generosity, do it with your own affairs. Don’t get absorbed in other people’s business and forgive on your own. You stay still, you little brat. Learning such bad behavior at such a young age.”

The one grabbing the child by the scruff and flicking their head was Jeon. Surprised by his unexpected appearance, I stood there dumbfounded when Palides appeared, pushing through the crowd.

“Here, this is the one… Huh? Master’s servant?”

A guard appeared behind Palides.

“Excuse me, who is the pickpocket?”

The guard who took the child from Jeon looked back at Palides. At the request for a moment to briefly assess the situation, Palides was inevitably dragged away again.

The people who had gathered as if there was something to see lost interest and turned away.

The people who had been criticizing me also muttered among themselves before flinching at Jeon’s glare and hurriedly turning around. Jeon, who had been clicking his tongue at them, looked back at me.

“I heard you were resting, so why did you come out?”

“Just because. How did you get involved? How did you know I was here?”

“I was following Nesi and happened to see. The onlookers explained the situation before I even asked.”

Only then did I notice Nesi, disguised as a dog, wagging her tail at me.

I gave Nesi a faint smile and nodded calmly.

“You must have been on your way back after taking care of business.”

“Yes. But are you alright?”

“Yeah, I got my pouch back.”

“Not that.”

Wondering what he meant, I looked at Jeon and then suddenly remembered something I had forgotten and quickly raised my arm.

When I checked the wrist that had stung earlier, I could see a wound between my bracelets. Droplets of blood were beading up over the thin scratch marks.

Seeing how skillfully the skin had been clawed, it didn’t seem like a first or second attempt.

“It’s fine. There doesn’t seem to be any poison.”

It’s not like a pickpocket would go around with poison on their nails anyway.

When I muttered calmly, Jeon approached in alarm.

“Are you injured? Did that kid do this?”

“…Wasn’t that what you were asking about?”

“If I had known you were hurt, I wouldn’t have let them go so easily. That brat would be released soon anyway even if dragged to the guards.”

“What if you hadn’t let them go easily?”

Besides handing them over to the guards, what else could I have done to that young child?

Jeon seemed to have the same thought as he frowned and closed his mouth. Even so, his gaze didn’t leave my wrist.

Since it wasn’t really a serious injury but his reaction seemed excessive, I quietly pulled down my sleeve.

Considering my recovery ability, a wound like this would disappear completely in half a day.

“You should go back now.”

“What about you, Anelli?”

“I…”

I was about to say I would look around more but hesitated. It was because there wasn’t really anything worth doing.

I could watch the circus I hadn’t finished seeing, but I was no longer interested. The crowds and noise that I hadn’t even been conscious of until a moment ago seemed to grate on my nerves.

Having traveled choosing routes without people, this bustling atmosphere had become unfamiliar instead. There was probably also the aspect of becoming more sensitive due to my developed senses.

When I closed my mouth awkwardly, Jeon glanced around the surroundings. Then he soon suggested in a light tone.

“If you don’t have anything particular to do, would you like to go get some fresh air with me? I happened to get a recommendation for a quiet place.”

I pondered for a moment and then slowly nodded.

Since I didn’t have anything particular to do anyway.

* * *

The place we arrived at with Jeon leading the way was a swamp located on the outskirts of the city.

The dense aquatic plants created quite a scenic view, and upon seeing the water, Palides seemed to want to go boating again as he eagerly looked around the area.

“Most events take place in the central square, so other places have become relatively quiet.”

As Jeon explained, the swamp was quiet. Of course, quiet didn’t mean silent.

In the swamp, flocks of birds were chattering here and there. Jeon called out to me as I was watching a few ducks floating among the sparse aquatic plants.

He had spread his cloak on reasonably flat ground and sat down, taking something out of his bag.

“Would you like some?”

What he offered was a translucent bottle. I could see yellow liquid sloshing inside.

“It’s a local liquor sold only during festivals, but it’s not strong. Even children can drink it, they say. They emphasized so much how delicious it was that I bought several bottles, and the timing worked out well. Ah, please sit here.”

When I opened the cap, it had a sweet smell. If I hadn’t been told it was alcohol, I would have thought it was fruit juice.

I accepted it but didn’t drink, just looking at it quietly, so Jeon demonstratively opened his bottle first and drank it down. I watched him silently and then asked casually.

“Planning to push me in when I get drunk?”

“Cough, ahem! Those kinds of jokes aren’t funny, you know?”

Jeon, who had been coughing violently while drinking, protested with an aggrieved expression.

Well, since Palides came along too, a surprise attack would be impossible. Moreover, the righteous wolf Nesi was beside us with her eyes wide open and alert.

Perhaps noticing that I was assessing the surroundings, disappointment crept into Jeon’s voice.

“We haven’t been traveling together for just a day or two, yet you still don’t trust me that much?”

“It was a joke.”

“I know you were completely serious.”

He’s unnecessarily perceptive at times like this.

Giving up on making excuses, I drank the alcohol instead of answering. It was my first time drinking straight from a bottle, so it was a bit awkward, but the mouth was smooth so it wasn’t uncomfortable to drink.

When I took a sip, apple fragrance filled my mouth. I could barely taste the alcohol.

It was also slightly cold, which was just right. Perhaps because I drank better-tasting alcohol than expected, my mood improved.

“It’s just like juice, right? You probably won’t get drunk from this much.”

Seeing my relaxed expression, Jeon grumbled and sipped his alcohol again. I sat at the edge of the cloak he had laid out and replied calmly.

“I’ve been tricked a few times before.”

“Pardon?”

“There’s an artificial pond in the Imperial Palace.”

A very splendid and beautiful pond. It was supposedly built to commemorate the current Emperor’s coronation.

There’s even a fountain installed in the center, and it’s surprisingly deep, so they even raise carp there.

“It’s beautiful, so many people visit it during banquets.”

It’s also a place that lovers secretly visit. Lilia and Maxel did too. Lilia especially liked feeding the carp in the pond.

Not long after Lilia appeared, when my influence was still considerable.

At that time, several young ladies who followed me tried to push Lilia into the pond but failed.

Those who cherished Lilia were furious, saying I had instigated it.

They seemed to want revenge on me. They threw my jewelry into the pond and planned to push me in when I was lurking around the pond.

Fortunately, their scheme was so obvious and transparent that I couldn’t help but notice. I wrote off that jewelry as thrown into the pond.

They didn’t give up easily. Next, they seemed to hope that I would stumble while drunk. What they didn’t know was that my alcohol tolerance was actually quite high.

After two failures, I thought this matter would be settled vaguely. But then…

Well, I was destined to fall into that pond after all.

“It’s a very cold pond.”

It was the day I learned that Maxel had given Lilia the Empress’s jewelry as a gift.

I was angry and tried to take the jewelry away, and we ended up struggling in front of the pond. I remember Lilia’s beautifully arranged hair becoming completely disheveled.

It was Maxel who separated me from Lilia. In the process of being roughly pushed away, I fell into the pond while clutching the jewelry.

The servants immediately rescued me, and aside from being soaked, there were no significant injuries. The flustered Maxel took off his coat and put it on me.

“That wasn’t my intention.”

What was absurd was the joy I felt in that instant.

The fact that he worried about me and cared for me made me happy, and for a moment it seemed like all the humiliation disappeared.

“I didn’t know you valued that accessory so highly, Princess.”

If only Lilia hadn’t pointed to the accessory in my hand and spoken so delicately.

“I’m sorry. If you had explained it to me, Princess, I would have given it to you, but you suddenly got angry and I was flustered. I’m truly sorry.”

Even while crying, Lilia spoke loudly and clearly. Only then did Maxel look at the accessory in my hand. Soon his face, which had been full of worry and regret, hardened stiffly.

“You were tormenting her over something trivial like this?”

It wasn’t because of the accessory.

“To think you’d do something only low-class women would do.”

It was because of Maxel’s feelings contained in the accessory.

“Lady Anelli.”

“Yeah.”

Looking at the swamp, my heart was trying to turn unnecessarily sentimental. Finding that bothersome, I frowned and turned my attention to the bottle.

Just as I was tilting the bottle greatly and drinking it down in one gulp, Jeon rummaged through his bag and handed me another package.

“No matter how weak the alcohol is, it’s dangerous to drink on an empty stomach.”

“You said this much wouldn’t even get me drunk.”

“Even so.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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