The Villainess Who Was Dumped Got Married into My Family, a Mob Noble from the Frontier, and Turns Out, She's an Amazing Capable Wife? - Chapter 09: The Rude Man - From Alicia's Perspective

Chapter 09: The Rude Man – From Alicia’s Perspective

I, Alicia Gran Oldwood, had my marriage partner decided for me from as early as I can remember. 

His name is Edward Gran Aetherdam, the Crown Prince of the Aetherdam Kingdom.

I will never forget the first time I met him, brought there by my parents.

His golden hair shone beautifully, his eyes sparkled like stars, and his somewhat fleeting expression was more than enough to make a young girl fall in love at first sight. 

I felt as though I was born just for him.

Being the first in line to the throne, it was decided that I, his fiancée, would one day become the queen. 

Aetherdam is a great country that values traditions, and I never found it boring to walk the path laid out for me. 

In fact, it felt like a more splendid path than those of other nobles, with the prestigious position by his side waiting for me at the end.

I resolved to become someone worthy to stand beside him and worked hard for it, dedicating myself to magic and my studies, all for the prince and for my parents who had arranged our engagement.

However, I made a grave mistake.

The mistake was that I couldn’t keep the prince’s heart and, out of childish jealousy, challenged a commoner woman to a duel, only to be defeated in front of everyone.

I had lived my life as if it were dedicated to the prince, so it was certain that seeing an unknown woman appear by his side on the path I was supposed to walk filled me with indescribable anxiety and loathing.

I should have been able to hold back, but the situation of a commoner woman being in a noble’s school didn’t sit well with my entourage, who overreacted, and I couldn’t stop them. 

Standing on the manufactured stage of a duel, I became so lost I didn’t know how to act, ending up with injuries so severe they made me unworthy of being a noble lady.

I blamed my reckless entourage, but deep down in the carriage, I reflected that it was all due to my own failings.

When the prince broke off our engagement, he said something like this:

“I don’t like traditions, customs, or the path that’s been laid out for me.” 

“Do you even know what food I like? My favorite places, books, or hobbies? You probably don’t…” 

“Living as the perfect example of a noble, decided by our parents, I just can’t bring myself to like you.” 

“Patricia, on the other hand, has gently embraced my feelings. She would go around the town with me and make delicious, fresh meals and sweets.”

He was right.

Although I knew he would sneak out to the town, I never took an interest in what he did there. 

I had no interest in books or games, couldn’t cook, nor make sweets.

I thought servants handled all that, never doubting that was the way of nobility.

My role was to become someone who wouldn’t embarrass the prince when he became king…

After my defeat, I painfully realized I no longer existed in the prince’s world and humbly accepted my parents’ scolding and my fate of being married off to a remote place. 

What is love, what is affection? 

My feelings and efforts over the past years were undeniable facts, but to the prince, they meant nothing. 

It was complicated, beyond control. 

Having lost everything, I found myself in utter confusion. 

The scar from a burn near my left eye throbbed painfully. 

At the same time, it felt as if needles were piercing my heart, and dark emotions overflowed no matter how much I tried to suppress them. 

I didn’t want to accept this reality, this fact, and it felt as if it filled my blank mind completely. 

The events at the school flashed back in my mind, making me feel like throwing up, as the carriage arrived in the desolate land.

There was nothing there, no trains, no tall buildings, just a land with a good view facing a mountain range.

That’s where I met Count Ragna Vel Brave.

I had thought him to be a middle-aged noble of a dangerous territory known as the wasteland, but he appeared as young as me. 

“Uwaa…” 

He made a face as if he had seen something unpleasant when he first saw me. 

It made me angry, but the burn scar was indeed something that anyone would react to, whether they voiced it or not. 

It wasn’t much of a problem since every noble who came to the ducal house after the broken engagement had looked at me the same way.

“How did you get that scar…?” 

He asked about my burn in a way that seemed too forward.

I was taken aback, but he quickly added that it was okay not to talk about it if I didn’t want to.

I thought to myself, why ask in the first place if that’s how you feel?

I’ve seen my share of clueless nobles, but none quite like this. 

This is the Brave territory, known as a forsaken land. 

Mentioning it aloud doesn’t seem to make much difference, but being directly pointed out like this stings a bit.

With the lord behaving this way, it’s likely that the servants and retainers will follow suit, treating me harshly.

I wonder if this is the punishment I must accept.

He spoke up again,

He spoke up again, “Around here, that’s pretty normal,” with a carefree smile. 

His smile seemed so genuine, it was as if he really meant that everything was normal. 

It’s been a while since someone smiled at me like that.

Then, as I were led by the butler to the mansion, he brushed off my shoulder without a word.

“…What? Was there dust on me? Sorry, it’s an old dress.”

Among the belongings prepared by the servant, there were no clothes that I had worn before.

It’s as if they thought an old, dusty dress was good enough for a damaged woman like me. 

Being treated this way by servants I thought I could trust was hard, so I couldn’t help responding with a bit of sarcasm.

“No, it’s just that our place is even dustier, so you’re all good.”

He responded with a smile again. 

I wasn’t the kind of person who deserved such smiles, so it made me feel uncomfortable.

He kept talking after that, but I ignored him and headed inside the mansion. 

It really was dusty. 

Yet, for some reason, I felt a bit lighter, as if the dark emotions filling my heart had faded slightly after talking with him.

At first, I thought he was a rude man. 

However, Ragna Vel Brave turned out to be a strangely unique man, unlike anyone I had met before.