Please Leave The Sickly Villainess Alone

Did the Carven Kingdom suddenly become wealthy?

No, that can’t be.

Surely when I last checked the economic situations of neighboring countries through the magic tool business, the Carven Kingdom was a country with such corrupt royalty that it wouldn’t be strange if they declared bankruptcy soon.

In the original story, it wasn’t mentioned how the famous sword appeared, so I couldn’t have imagined a swordsmanship competition.

‘What did I earn money for?’

Of course, the more money the better, but it felt like I’d been hit hard on the back of my head.

The one fortunate point was that I could wield a sword.

‘But with top swordsmen from all over the country coming, there’s no guarantee I’ll win.’

Moreover, according to Sister Serine, my body’s condition was like a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.

Sister Serine placed her hand on my shoulder as I was in denial of reality.

“You can do it, Ria. I’ll try my best to keep your body in good condition until the swordsmanship competition.”

“Sister…”

“And from what I’ve seen of you, I’m sure you can win.”

Sister Serine smiled as if remembering yesterday.

She recalled how I had quickly dispatched the Selon soldiers I encountered as I advanced.

“A swordsmanship competition…”

I stared down at the newspaper.

* * *

“Hey, have you heard that rumor?”

“What rumor?”

A woman from the fruit shop joined in the conversation of two men walking around the town.

“Ah, you mean that rumor?”

“What on earth are you talking about? Is there something only I don’t know again? Do you mean that the Greffin Empire won the war?”

“Is there anyone who doesn’t know that? It’s something else.”

“I don’t know about anything else…”

At the man’s response, the woman covered her mouth with both hands and whispered softly:

“Well, you know that beautiful abandoned castle on the outskirts of this city?”

“Ah, you mean the castle left behind when the baron died without an heir? I heard it was so expensive that no one came forward to buy it.”

“It’s been sold!”

“What, that castle?”

The man’s companion chimed in.

“It must be a wealthy person who moved in. Surely it’s a stubborn old man.”

“From what I hear, it’s a young lady.”

“How would a young lady have the money to buy such an expensive castle, haha.”

* * *

On the outskirts of the capital of the Carven Kingdom, there was a picturesque beautiful castle.

Behind the castle stretched a blue sea.

The quiet and peaceful castle had only a minimal number of servants.

It was far too few people to manage the castle.

They were all hired by the mysterious owner on the same day and time.

“The laundry is already finished.”

Diana was a maid of the castle with red hair tied in two braids.

In the noble mansion where she worked before, the laundry wouldn’t be finished even after half a day, but here it was done in less than an hour after starting.

Diana gathered the few clothes and hung them on the clothesline.

A maid of similar age approached her.

“Do you want help?”

“No, it’s only ten pieces. I’ll do it all.”

At Diana’s words, the maid plopped down on the warm grass.

“I wonder who our master really is. Honestly, there’s no place as good as this.”

Another maid worked in the kitchen.

Including herself and Diana, there were only fifteen servants working in the castle.

It was far too few people to sweep and clean the vast castle, but the owner who hired them gave only limited tasks.

Cleaning the master’s room, maintaining the training ground – only parts of this vast castle were their workplace.

“If I could, I’d like to work here for the rest of my life.”

“We all agreed to work for only one month.”

That was right. After a month, they would have to leave this earthly paradise.

“Is the master practicing swordsmanship again?”

Diana asked while shaking out the laundry.

“Yes, she has stamina that puts even healthy men to shame. Though she looks delicate on the outside, even a novice like me can tell her swordsmanship skills are top-notch.”

Their master was a very mysterious figure.

Just that she was an incredibly beautiful woman who took your breath away when you encountered her.

That she was using an alias for some reason.

That she trained in swordsmanship day and night as if she had some unfulfilled regret about not being able to wield a sword in her past life.

That she was very close only with the head maid.

Other than that, they didn’t have many chances to talk, so that was about all they knew for now.

“Do you think she came here to escape after a lovers’ quarrel with her sweetheart in the Empire?”

“What? Diana, have you been reading too many romance novels? Hahaha.”

“Why? I think it’s quite possible!”

The maid was too busy laughing, saying it was ridiculous.

* * *

“Huff, haah…”

The straw dummy in front of me was already a mess after being struck dozens of times.

“I should end today’s training here.”

I wiped away the sweat beads and looked out at the sea, now tinged with sunset.

The reason for buying this castle was nothing special.

I just liked the sea.

It reminded me of the sea in the west I once visited with Luka.

I decided to spend the now useless money without regret.

I needed a place to stay in the kingdom, and I needed a place well-equipped with a training ground.

By the time I trudged back to my room, my hair, which had been dyed red, returned to its original silver color.

Red hair was common in the Carven Kingdom, so I also lived with temporarily red hair thanks to Sister Serine’s magic.

After all, silver hair was too conspicuous, and the Rayes family of the Empire was famous even in this kingdom.

It had already been two weeks since I came to the kingdom.

In the meantime, Luka had won a complete victory against the Selon allied countries as he had promised me.

According to the newspaper I read this morning, it seemed he was preparing to succeed to the throne immediately after returning home.

‘I wonder if he received the letter I sent.’

I had sent Luka a letter saying I was in the Carven Kingdom for a while and not to worry.

Since it was a letter stamped with the seal Luka had given me, it should have been delivered to him directly.

Unlike in the original story, the Emperor had no health problems, but he recognized Luka’s ability and handed over the throne.

‘But what’s the use? I can’t be there for the moment Luka succeeds to the throne!’

Why on earth did they introduce this variable?

All the artifacts discovered so far had been put up for auction, and yet…

As deep frustration began to creep up again, Sister Serine entered the room.

“Good work today too. I’ve drawn a bath, so relax and soothe your fatigue.”

I must look like a wet tissue right now.

That’s why Sister Serine is smiling like that.

“Ah, right. We need to stabilize your magic today too.”

Saying that, Sister Serine took both my hands and suppressed the magic raging inside my body.

“Thank you, Sister.”

“As I said before, this is just a temporary measure.”

I answered Sister Serine’s firm words.

“I know. I also know that everything will be over the moment I develop a resistance to your magic stabilization.”

In fact, I had been receiving Sister Serine’s help for several days, and it felt less effective than at first.

My body was gradually developing a resistance.

Sister Serine slowly stroked my head and said:

“Everything will be alright. If you can’t win the swordsmanship competition, I’ll steal it for you…”

It was a touching consolation.

I couldn’t turn our kind-hearted sister into a great thief who would shake the kingdom because of me.

To begin with, if it’s a famous sword put up as a prize, it would probably have double security magic, so stealing it wouldn’t be easy at all.

‘I have no choice but to win.’

Well, if it really doesn’t work out, we can steal it as Sister said.

What else can we do, even if we become fugitives for life?

* * *

Time passed, and it was finally the day before the swordsmanship competition.

During that time, I hardly left the mansion, almost in seclusion.

At first, I kept checking the newspapers out of concern for Luka, but after seeing the news of his victory, I felt relieved and focused only on the swordsmanship competition.

I just kept swinging my sword like someone training in the mountains, oblivious to how the world was turning.

“Finally tomorrow.”

“I’m sure you can win, my lady.”

The swordsman who had just been crossing swords with me said.

He was a sparring partner I had hired separately.

I had recruited him without hesitation because of his excellent skills.

“Thank you, Leo. This is our last sparring session. You’ve worked hard all this time.”

“No, I’ve learned a lot too. Well then, I wish you success tomorrow.”

Leo gave me a light bow and left the training ground.

Receiving words of encouragement from someone who rarely gives praise boosted my confidence.

Back in my room, I wiped off my sweat and skimmed through the newspaper that Diana had brought, which I hadn’t read in a while.

That’s when an unbelievable sentence caught my eye.

[The Emperor’s lover has run away? Emperor Arzenluka obsessed with finding the missing Princess Rayes…]