The Villain Wants to Live a Quiet Life

Tanya Ansberg is, surprisingly, a rather old-fashioned girl.

Her manner of speech may seem light for a count’s daughter, and she tends to bounce around energetically, but these are merely external aspects.

Helene Ansberg, who serves as the mistress of the Ansberg family, valued dignity and manners above all else, and like mother, like daughter, Tanya closely resembled her mother’s temperament.

Being old-fashioned doesn’t always have a negative connotation.

As if to prove this, she places great importance on the bonds between people.

Her specialty is suppressing her own desires if she thinks they might distort her relationship with someone. However, this also means that when multiple relationships are intertwined, her feelings are pushed to the lowest priority.

‘Father’s words fit perfectly…’

What exactly fit? Tanya tried hard not to verbalize this fact.

She felt that the moment she uttered those words, even in her heart, they would spread uncontrollably.

It was like a spark. Though burning nothing and having no form, she was certain that once it grew, even she wouldn’t be able to stop it.

Even if water were poured on it to calm it down, it was unlikely that a wildfire could be extinguished by one person’s hand.

If that were the case, it probably wouldn’t even be a wildfire. At best, it would be just a small campfire.o

‘I thought he might be in the garden… but he’s not here.’

She’s not particularly inclined to enjoy the scenery. Whether it’s the moon or flowers, she simply appreciates the object for its beauty.

The sensitivity to savor the atmosphere or surrounding air was quite distant from the girl.

The reason she had been scanning the outside view beyond the balustrade was the same.

She had merely overheard that someone often took walks in the garden at night, so she was trying to find traces of that person.

Disappointed by the lack of success, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the dimly lit garden.

If she had been distracted for just a little longer, she might not have heard the maid’s voice that came afterward.

“My lady, you should retire to bed soon…”

“I’ll stay like this a little longer. You go and rest.”

Rel, who had been by her side until now, carefully suggested sleep, but it seemed to no avail.

The atmosphere of her mistress, with her gaze fixed on the moonlit garden, was quite different from usual.

Being quite perceptive, she could easily notice this, but her not saying anything was largely due to her personality.

“…If that is your wish, my lady.”

If she were a maid of some young master elsewhere, she might have added a word here and silently remained in place until the end.

But that was far from the loyalty Rel pursued.

She believed that a servant’s mission was to follow her master’s words with faith. Unless it was a situation where her mistress’s life was in imminent danger like yesterday, she tended to prioritize her mistress’s orders above all else.

This was why she didn’t probe into her troubled mistress’s mind, and why she couldn’t add another word even though she was worried about her health.

Some might say this isn’t true loyalty… Well, that’s purely a matter of personal belief.

“Rel.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Her figure, about to leave the room after giving her greetings, was caught by her mistress’s soft voice.

As her gaze shifted, she saw Tanya looking at her, having turned away from the garden.

‘Ah…’

The eyes that had been full of life when walking around the garden with someone earlier now had dimmed.

Perhaps she had never turned her gaze from beyond the balcony to hide this fact.

This groundless speculation unconsciously circled in her mind.

“Good night. I forgot to say it.”

“…Yes. I hope you have a peaceful night as well, my lady.”

“Thank you.”

A brief greeting, no different from usual. However, the emotions contained within it had a strange resonance.

To Rel, that sentence sounded like her mistress’s final cry, asking her not to inquire further.

But what was strange was that she felt as if that cry also contained a voice asking for her help.

It was a first feeling this helpless since being assigned as her maid.

Even when monsters appeared before her eyes, she didn’t fall into such helplessness, thinking that as long as she could protect her mistress’s life, it would be enough.

And it was also a discomfort she would never feel again in her life.

“My lady.”

“Yes?”

Tanya, who had been fiddling with her damp hair, turned her head again at the voice calling her.

Her hair shimmering softly in the moonlight streaming through the window.

But thinking that she seemed to be holding back tears, Rel’s mood sank once again.

‘My lady, who always said that hair is a woman’s life…’

Tanya was a girl who was extremely thorough in managing her hair.

When such a mistress refused assistance, saying there was no need to dry her hair today, Rel initially wondered what was going on.

She even briefly entertained the silly thought that perhaps her mistress had learned a new hair care method.

But now, she seemed to vaguely understand. Perhaps there was the same intention behind it all, just as how she went to avoid eye contact all day.

Things that others might dismiss as simple whims appear different to a maid who has been constantly observing her.

“I may lack eloquence, so I don’t have proper words to offer, but…”

“…It’s okay. Go ahead and speak.”

If it were her usual self, she might have playfully retorted, “I know that.”

Rel felt that Tanya’s behavior of calmly gesturing while hiding her dark expression, acting as if nothing was wrong, was quite out of character.

But at the same time, she thought:

If she couldn’t say anything more, overwhelmed by this strange sense of déjà vu, there would be nothing more shameful than that.

This small conviction allowed her to continue her unfinished words.

“Please don’t be afraid.”

“……”

“Please remember that no relationship or matter in this world crumbles or falls apart as easily as you fear.”

It was a mysterious sentence, like grasping at clouds. But a small glimmer appeared in Tanya’s eyes as she silently listened to those words.

Had she realized something? Though faint, Rel didn’t miss it.

But this was the boundary of what she thought she could do as a maid.

Her intelligent mistress would surely be able to grasp the meaning behind these words.

With such a vague expectation, she cut her following words short.

“Then I shall… I apologize for suddenly speaking such incomprehensible words, my lady.”

“No, everyone has moments like that sometimes.”

The two pretended not to understand the meaning of each other’s words, letting the conversation pass, as if out of consideration.

Rel wanted to offer a small piece of advice, wishing not to further confuse her mistress’s heart.

Tanya wanted to receive a small comfort without showing any more of her unsettled state to her servant.

Like mistress, like maid, perhaps?

The actions of caring for each other might be a bit clumsy, and a few words might be lacking, but still, they could convey their sincerity.

There existed a strangely different kind of closeness between the two, distinct from friendship or affection.

“Rel.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Tanya’s voice once again stopped Rel as she was about to leave the room.

However, Rel felt that the tone was quite different from before. Although it might just be her own hopeful observation, she felt an inexplicable certainty.

“Thank you. Sleep well.”

“It’s nothing. I hope you have a good night.”

Rel responded calmly and gave a small bow.

Tanya silently watched as she carefully opened the door and disappeared. As the door closed, creaking slightly, a faint smile formed on her lips.

‘I guess I was born with good fortune in people.’

The ripples in her heart had calmed like a placid lake.

Knowing she wouldn’t fall asleep right away, she looked up at the sky again, and the night sky had a strange hue.

That color, neither black nor blue, made her face flush involuntarily as it reminded her of someone.

Hurriedly shaking her head, Tanya closed the window leading to the balcony and returned to her bed.

The soft touch of the bedding enveloping her body made her feel naturally drowsy.

There were things she wanted to think about more, but she decided to stop for today.

 *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Today, it seemed his maid was in a bad mood.

This small doubt had been bothering Ludwig right up until he was about to go to bed.

“Paula.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

The response was no different from usual. However, the feeling that there was no inflection in that voice wasn’t entirely due to his imagination.

“Did something bad happen today?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Uh, well…”

Somehow, he felt that if he answered incorrectly, he might be digging his own grave.

Although there was no evidence, sometimes personal intuition can make more accurate judgments than any objective evidence or reason.

This was why he swallowed his words.

“If it’s just my imagination, then never mind. You can retire and rest now.”

In the end, Ludwig decided to avoid the current situation.

Although she was a cherished maid whom he thought of as an older sister, he didn’t have the fortitude to listen to her sulking in the middle of the night.

There’s plenty of time, isn’t there? It might be better to have a calm conversation when the day breaks tomorrow.

Thus, he turned a blind eye to reality and inwardly made such a pitiful excuse as he ordered her to withdraw.

“……”

But that seems to have been the cause of trouble.

Although her gaze remained unchanged, the aura she emitted became a bit more ominous.

Paula stood still, not leaving, keeping her eyes fixed on her master without a word.

In the end, it was Ludwig who raised the white flag first in response to her silent protest.

“It’s not because of me, is it?”

“Well, Young Master, why do you think I would be in a bad mood because of you?”

“Ah.”

A sigh escaped his lips.

This was practically the same as confessing out of guilt. Although even Ludwig himself didn’t know if he was really at fault.

“Well… When you’re angry, it’s usually because of me, isn’t it?”

What came out of Ludwig’s mouth next was a line so servile it made one wonder if this was appropriate for someone in the position of a master.

At the words he carefully uttered, being mindful of his servant’s mood, a small laugh escaped Paula’s lips.

“Pfft…”

“Are you laughing right now?”

“I-I’m sorry. It’s just that your words sounded so servile… Pfft!”

“Servile…”

Ludwig thought his words might have looked unseemly, but he didn’t expect to hear such a response.

He wasn’t particularly angry either. If he had to express it, should he say he felt wronged? No, even that didn’t seem to fit the emotion quite right.

“Ahem… I apologize, Young Master.”

After struggling to hold back her laughter for a while, she finally composed herself, wiping away the tears that had formed in her eyes.

From what she had observed all along, she thought her master was truly someone ill-suited to standing above others.

Of course, this wasn’t meant negatively. To put it in words, he was exceptionally good at understanding others’ feelings.

Those who stand above others must, whether they like it or not, occasionally lead while ignoring the feelings of some of the crowd.

That was the image least suited to the man named Ludwig.

At least from what Paula had seen so far, he was someone who would actively try to cheer her up when she was in a bad mood, and who strived to embrace and understand even the inner feelings of a mere maid.

“Sigh… Alright, alright. It seems your mood has improved. Right?”

“Yes, thanks to you, Young Master.”

“In the end, I didn’t even hear the reason… but I guess it’s best to think that what’s good is good.”

Ludwig was the type to prioritize results over process.

This doesn’t mean he was a results-oriented person, but rather that he had a temperament that could generally accept most things as long as the outcome was good.

“Since you’ve improved my mood, as a token of gratitude, I’ll bring you some warm tea so you can sleep comfortably.”

“That sounds good.”

As someone with knowledge from another world, Ludwig didn’t think caffeinated tea late at night would be good, but it has become a familiar routine since coming here.

‘Maybe I’ll get some fresh air.’

Thinking it would take some time for Paula to return, he stepped out onto the balcony, intending to view the garden for a while.

A wry smile formed at the thought of his hard-to-please maid, but he also felt that this was the relationship befitting them.

And so, under the same roof, the bond between the master and servant with slightly different atmospheres was quietly deepening.

translator’s corner

;w;