VTGWH 521

The speed at which the door opened felt slow, like slow motion.

I felt like I was standing in a space I had never felt before. …The quality of the dignity was overwhelmingly different from the people I had met so far.

I didn't feel the slightest bit of welcome.

…Alicia, this is a formidable opponent. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I was scared to go before someone for the first time.

I was able to do it confidently in front of the king, but the way he puts pressure on me is extraordinary.

And now I'm the one who's been captured. I doubt I can even talk to him on an equal footing. …Don't lose your nerve!! Me!!

I stepped into the room. The guards followed me from behind, to make sure I didn't run away. As they serve Julie-sama, they are on a different level from the new soldiers.

I felt like I would lose even if I fought seriously. I didn't panic even in those flames...

I want them to acknowledge my courage in going into the enemy camp alone. Well, that's what a villain is like.

"Alicia Williams"

The moment my name was called, I thought my heart would stop. I wasn't under any pressure from magic, but just hearing my name echoed heavily in the room and it took my breath away.

...What is this?

An empty room. There was a large window and a red velvet carpet. I don't know what this room is for.

I just stared at Julie-sama's back. Because I woke her up in the middle of the night, she was still wearing a simple dress.

Her long, white hair was braided at the back. Maybe because she took good care of it, her hair was in great condition.

I thought she was a woman who became queen because of her looks alone, but she has her own hell.

Just from her back, I imagined the pressure she had been carrying up until now. However, she didn't just use her looks as a weapon to live her life.

I think she was prepared to become queen. ...Maybe becoming a villain was her way of life.

"You are..."

I just wait for her to say something.

In this tense atmosphere, I breathe slowly. If I let my guard down, I would collapse on the spot.

"You're Duke's lover, aren't you?"

I knew it even without looking at me. There was a hint of disgust in those words, and they were by no means friendly.

I couldn't answer anything. There was no right answer to those words, but I couldn't find the words.

"And you saved that child, didn't you?"

That child - Uncle Will, I guess.

Strangely, there was a kindness in "that child." Even though she had treated Uncle Will so badly...

I came here to fight Julie-sama, but I couldn't quite understand what she was thinking.

There were four of us in this room, including me, but it still felt like a room for one person.

...It's spacious, but there's nothing here. There's nothing here, and it's not a storage room. It doesn't look like you can play board games here. There's no chair or desk, anyway.

"What do you think you can see from here?"

Perhaps sensing that I was wondering about this room, she spoke with her back to me.

It was pitch black outside the window, but the map in my head allowed me to immediately understand where the view in front of me was.

"...Roana Village"

I said in a voice that was about to disappear.