Chapter 12

ARE YOU SCARED

OAKHART VILLAGE

It was early morning when Regis suddenly woke up. They had all arrived at the mansion late last night and gone to sleep right away.

But something felt strange to Regis this time. The fact that she was alone in the room gave her an eerie feeling.

"Where's Alicia?" Regis cried, suddenly realizing her absence.

"Alicia? Are you under the blanket?" Regis pulled at the covers around her feet and tummy.

"Not here..." She jumped out of bed and started looking around.

"Maybe in the washroom?" she called out, but no response came.

"Not here either." She made a final check by looking inside it but found no trace of her.

"Could she be under the bed? Or inside the closet?"

Regis searched every corner of the room, turning it upside down, but she couldn't find Alicia anywhere.

Regis was sure Alicia had taken the room across from hers. But could it be true?

"Did she really sleep through the night alone in her room all by herself?"

Regis couldn't help but recall those odd nights when Alicia would suddenly appear in her room with strange requests — to go to the washroom, drink water in the middle of the night, or ask for a late-night snack.

And after that, she'd stay and fall asleep beside her. Regis had no choice when she learned that Alicia had once spent an entire night outside, unable to find her way back to her room.

Over time, Regis had gotten used to finding Alicia beside her whenever she woke up.

So, she still couldn't believe she had slept through the night alone.

"Something's really off here." Regis pondered.

She finally decided to get down to the matter herself and find Alicia.

Regis headed straight to the room across from hers, officially designated as Alicia's.

"She's not here either," Regis muttered, glancing around. Everything in the room was untouched.

"She wasn’t even here... Huh! Don’t tell me she got kidnapped late in the night because she trusted some stranger to show her around the mansion."

"But no one knows her, so why would they kidnap someone useless like her who won’t even be able to tell the kidnappers where she came from?”

Determined to investigate further, Regis began searching each room. Along the way, she asked the servants, butlers, maids, and even the knights who had accompanied them.

Slowly, they all joined her in her quest to search for Alicia.

Things started getting louder, waking up Alice and Hana and prompting them to come out as well.

“Alice, have you seen Alicia this morning?” Regis asked.

“No. I did not.”

“Hana, do you know where Alicia is?” Regis moved to the next person.

“I can still feel her presence inside the mansion. So, she should still be somewhere around here.” Ana sounded unsure.

It did not help much to Regis’s cause but at least her search area was still limited to the mansion.

Suddenly Alice made a signal and from the shadows behind a pillar, appeared a woman in black shadowy clothes with purple lining.

“Cassa.” Alice beckoned.

“We have found some particular abnormal magical interference in the garden. So, this can be related to that.” Cassa reported and disappeared back into the shadows.

The group decided to head toward the garden. From the outside, everything looked normal in the garden.

“Not what you would expect, if Alicia had supposedly used magic here?” Regis had her own thoughts.

“I am sure Master is here.” Hana said, pointing to the empty clearing in the middle of the garden.

“Let’s see.” Regis quickly walked toward the clearing, with Alice and Hana following closely behind.

Regis had only taken a few steps when her nose suddenly bumped into something.

"Ahh..." She instinctively raised her arms, but they too collided with something invisible in front of her.

She pressed her palms against it and felt a solid, transparent barrier like a circle almost covering the entire garden.

"What is it?" Alice asked, placing her hand on the invisible screen as well.

For a moment, the barrier held firm, shimmering faintly. Then, with a soft crackle, it shattered into a thousand splinters of light, raining down like sparkling drops.

As the last glimmers faded, what had been hidden was suddenly revealed.

In front of them stood a small house, crafted from sturdy wooden logs, its gabled roof gently sloping down.

"Wow…" Hana whispered, eyes wide in awe.

Regis took a step forward, feeling the air grow slightly warmer as she neared the house. "Is Alicia inside?" she murmured, her voice filled with wonder.

"Should we go in?" Alice asked.

Regis nodded. "Let's find her."

Suddenly, the four front steps leading up to a wide porch and in the middle of the wall, what appeared to be a door inside the house flipped open.

Out stepped a girl in pink pajamas, her long hair gently flowing in the breeze as she yawned. When she finally noticed the trio standing outside, her expression brightened, and a warm smile spread across her face.

"Good morning. Everyone." she greeted cheerfully.

***

ALICIA ASCALON ASHBORN

The day after we enjoyed the moonberry tarts at that special restaurant in the Valoria kingdom after the Knight Selection tournament, we were set to head to Oakhart Village as planned.

The place that was now my domain. The place that I had to look after now and take care of its people.

Along with the title, I had been given a mansion on the outskirts of Oakhart. This mansion had originally been built as a vacation home for the royal Hart family.

But since it had been unused for several years, it was the perfect place for me to settle as the baroness, after making a few renovations to it.

It was night when we arrived, and since this was going to be my permanent residence in this world, I had an idea—something I had always wanted and wished for.

Now that I was capable of it, I couldn’t wait to act on it.

Instead of going back to my room after dinner, I somehow ended up in the garden.

And no, it wasn’t because I had already forgotten the way to my room, which was supposedly across Regis’s room.

Yet, there I was, still standing outside in the garden.

“This place will be easy to find even for me no matter where I am.” I said to myself.

And from there on with my magic, I built myself a single-room log house that I always dreamed of having in my previous world.

Either way, the mansion was just too big for me. And this way I could have my room designed the way I wanted and built with magic.

Even dad built his laboratory and library on his own. It’s only fitting as a magical genius I too have my own magical abode. And no, it’s not the kind of witch’s house where children disappear.

Not remembering when I fell asleep the moment I built the bed with magic. And forgot to lift the veil I had put on the outside so that people could not see the house until I was finished.

But the next day, suddenly the veil was lifted, which prompted me to wake up.

As I opened the door, Regis, Athena, and Hana stood outside, looking flabbergasted.

I wished them good morning. But instead of wishing me back, they rushed at me with a thousand questions, jabbing at my sleepy face.

“Alicia, what were you doing here all this time?”

“Didn’t I say you all should have slept and rest for the day? Don’t tell me you spent the entire night working on building this.”

“It’s amazing, master. Can I come and play here?”

There were just too many questions to answer.

“Why don’t you all come in?” I decided it was best to show them what this is.

“Why is it so dark in here?” Regis said as she stepped in. I had the lights off because I was sleeping.

I pulled apart the curtains and a flood of light from the window burst in, lighting the entire room.

“How is this even possible?”

Once again everyone was shocked.

From the outside, the house appeared to be a small room, but inside, it was ten times larger—perhaps even more. I had used advanced space-folding magic to construct it, making the interior far more vast than it seemed.

In fact, I had finally worked so hard to come up with an ever-inflating pocket dimension that would expand the room itself as I try to get close to the walls.

There were also several different empty rooms, a kitchen where I could cook anytime, a pantry for storing food, and access to a giant library to hold all my books.

There was also a personal bathroom, which I needed the most. Now, I didn’t have to go anywhere.

Best of all, I could take a bath myself, and the maids wouldn’t pester me to help with it. I could still feel their seething hands on my body and caressing my hair. I really don’t want bathing to turn into a traumatic experience for me.

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The three had nothing but admiration for the beautiful home I had built for myself.

“And it even has a defense system. If an unknown person tried to come close to this house a transparent barrier would activate.” I explained.

“And what would happen if someone touched it.” Regis asked curiously.

I thought for some time before answering. “They would be turned into sparkly magic dust.” I proudly claimed trying to cover up some of the dirty details that I couldn’t say in front of a child.

Huh! You are saying I could have died by turning into dust. You should know I was the first one to touch that transparent barrier.” Regis suddenly became mad at me.

“I will never let that happen to you. And I still have yet to test it out.”

Regis was not ready to get off my case no matter how much I tried to convince her.

Athena on the other hand was busy looking around with excitement. I am sure she knows just how amazing this is.

“―So, it’s like a witch’s house?” Athena remarked, and at that moment, all my grand ambitions came crashing down like a stack of badly placed glass plates.

“No! It's totally different from a witch’s house! This is my private living space and playroom, where I’m going to spend my entire life, thank you very much!” I cried, dramatically waving my arms.

Defending my house from being labeled as a witch house was my top priority, for which I was even willing to risk my life.

“But why do you want to stay alone here like this? You could have just shifted to my room. Are you scared of something or what?” Regis casually remarked, her tone light and far from serious.

“…Scared. No. I am not scared.“ I emphasized speaking loudly which shocked the three.

“No, I am not.” I turned to look at the other side, embarrassed for overreacting over a simple question.

At that time, it almost reminded me of the same question that knight Izek asked me after our match ended whether I was scared of something during our fight.

Did he notice something? I did promise him that I would fight him at full power. But when I decided to draw my swords.

I hesitated to pull out my black sword.

It felt like if I did, I might have done something unintended that couldn’t have been taken back. I still don’t know how I felt when I fought with the Dungeon Goddess back then or whatever nonsense she spouted about me.

Or rather I was being paranoid, that I was slowly becoming something or thinking in ways even I could not recognize myself. I don’t want to forget anyone again.

Never.

So, it was best that I took a step back before I lost something precious.

“Anyway, I have decided to spend my entire life living in this house reading books and eating good food.” I confidently said.

“First of all, it’s still too early for you to decide on how you should be spending the rest of your life. You are a lord now so you should first go to visit your domain. So quickly get ready. You can start by changing out of your night pajamas.” Athena scolded me.

I wonder was it that bad. After all, I was only trying to follow in the footsteps of my mom and dad.

“But I am hungry.” Hana was devastated at the idea that she might have to travel the domain on an empty stomach

“I know why don’t we eat outside in the garden and I will cook something tasty for everyone after I get ready and then we can leave.” I proposed.

Just as planned after I had a quick bath in my new house and got changed into my normal clothes.

I whipped up a quick breakfast for us with eggs, perfectly scrambled to a creamy texture, and paired them with crispy golden toast, sizzling bacon, and a side of fresh, juicy fruit.

Athena had already planned for us to visit my domain on our first day.

Oakhart was on the northern borderlands of the Hart Kingdom. It was well connected to southern lands as well as to the western plains that were closer to the ocean.

The weather was pleasant year-round, and the area consisted of eight to ten villages, stretching from the west circling up to the east. And in between were fields where they grew food and cultivated.

On the north side to us was a giant forest where monsters dwelt but it was very rare for them to ever come down here. And beyond the giant monster jungle were other neighboring kingdom’s borders.

We planned to travel with a carriage till we had reached the outskirts of the nearest village.

“Alicia, these are all the parts of villages that you protected when you stopped the demon army’s invasion. I am sure the people will be thankful once they know who you are. After all they should be grateful that they get to serve under such a beautiful young lovely lord.” Athena remarked, but I was still nervous of how they were going to look at me.

What if they were disappointed that their lord was just a little girl who just wanted to eat, read, and sleep all day? Now I feel guilty too.

Once we stepped out of the carriage, a small crowd had already gathered. They must have come to see who arrived in the carriage bearing the noble crest of the Royal family.

As soon as Athena emerged, the residents immediately recognized her as the princess and greeted her warmly.

“I came here to introduce you all to the new lord of this domain. They also played a major role in stopping the demon army's invasion and saving the kingdom.” The residents murmured among themselves as they listened closely to the princess.

“She is also my friend and her name is Alicia.”

I quietly stepped forward from behind Athena—or rather, she suddenly shifted to my left, leaving me exposed. With everyone watching me expectantly, I knew I had to say something.

"Hello, I am Alicia. I am the new baroness of Oakhart." I said softly. Without my mask, I couldn’t hide my nervousness from them.

“Thank you for saving our homes, new baroness.”

‘Thank you.”

“The new lord is so beautiful just like an angel.”

“We will do our best to serve the new lord.”

Some of the people clapped while some cheered. All of them looked grateful just as Athena predicted when they were told that I stopped the demon army invasion.

“Thank you as well for giving me such a warm welcome. I will also do my best to look after you all.”

From there, we toured the area. Some villagers stayed with us throughout, while others went about their daily tasks.

Though the village didn’t have a large population, it was home to people of all ages.

Vast green and golden fields stretched out before us, and a cool river flowed along the perimeter of the village. They even tamed small monsters to help with farming.

The village head was also patient while explaining how everything worked to us and relayed to us anything they needed for the upcoming seasons.

They were happy to know that I knew healing magic but were surprised and started revering me once I used my healing magic in front of them to heal one of the villagers who got hurt in his leg while farming.

Hours passed without us even realizing it. It was afternoon by the time we decided to head back and said our goodbyes.

***

ATHENA [ALICE HART]

As we settled into the carriage on our way back to the mansion, I turned to Alicia. “So, Alicia, do you have any thoughts about this place?”

Alicia smiled softly. “Yeah, I really liked it here—the place and the people.”

“I agree. There's something so peaceful about it, no matter where you go. I’d love to go train in that forest.” Regis chimed in.

Hana nodded in agreement. “I liked it here as well. The kids here even asked me to come and play.”

“Yeah, but do you feel like you want to change something here? Maybe make this place wealthier or expand it into a town or major city?” I asked Alicia, curious if she had any plans.

“Not at all.” Alicia replied firmly. “I would never do anything to ruin this place. I feel like people live here because it's so peaceful and warm. If I did something like that, it would attract unwanted attention, and it wouldn't be safe anymore. I'll make sure, as their lord, that they have everything they need.” Alicia expressed sincerely.

I still remember what other reincarnates did in their domains. Some tried to establish new towns along the borderlands, while others built armies, businesses, and more.

I thought Alicia might want to do something similar, but she never once asked me about the other reincarnates. Maybe I don’t have to worry telling about them to her anymore.

Alicia didn’t have any time to think about herself all this time, while she was busy searching for me.

So, I just want her to give this time to think about herself and choose what’s best for her.

“I'm sure you'll become a good lord, loved by your people. And I'm certain it's going to be even more cheerful around here soon.”

“Umu.”

***

VALORIA KINGDOM [FEW DAYS BACK]

It was the night the tournament had ended, and the next day, Athena, Alicia, Regis, and Hana were scheduled to set out for Oakhart Village.

However, in a small, secluded meeting room of the hotel where they were staying, Athena found herself speaking with Izek Valoria, who had unexpectedly requested a late-night meeting.

“Apologies for asking to meet at such a late hour, but once I heard you’d be leaving tomorrow, I couldn’t stop myself from coming.” Izek said, offering a sincere apology.

“I didn’t expect we’d meet so soon like this either, Sir Izek.” Athena replied with a smile.

“It's nice to meet you too, Princess Alice Hart. I've heard a lot about you, and even in our kingdom, we've implemented some of your administrative reforms. You’ve earned my utmost respect.”

“I'm happy to hear that.” Alice responded. “Well then, let's keep this quick before Alicia wakes up. I presume this has something to do with her.”

“Yes, Miss Alicia mentioned that you're close friends. After losing to her in the match, I requested to serve as her knight, but no matter how much I asked, she refused.” Izek held a serious expression on his face.

“I’m sure everyone understands the honor of having you as their knight. She is not even part of any royalty here nor is she a high-ranking noble. So why would you be interested.” Alice asked.

“But I have my own reasons for this. In fact, I believe I have information about my brother, the Knight Hero, and the Empire that might interest you —specifically how I can protect Miss Alicia from coming into contact with the Empire.” Izek proposed.

“Alright, I am hearing.” Alice agreed to hear further what Izek had to say.

…

“I see. The Nova Empire is no different from what it was in the past. I'm also sorry to hear about your brother, and I think I know why you want to get close to Alicia.”

“Yes, I want to learn aural arts from her. And I would also like to serve as her knight.” Izek said eagerly.

"Still, my stance remains the same. If you're expecting me to convince my friend to change her mind, I'm afraid you're mistaken."

"So, there is nothing…"

"But I did not say I'm asking you to stop trying. It's totally up to you whether you can convince Alicia to make you her knight. And it’s up to her whether she will accept you as her knight or not. All I will say is that my friend enjoys cooking, and while having those blueberries, she really wished she could get some for herself."

***

UNKNOWN SHIP

“Lucia wake up. Lucia.”

“Wake up, dear.”

A small girl opened her eyes, lying on a straw mat if it could be barely called one, as the few straws made no difference from the cold, hard floor.

A hand slowly caressed her head, though it lacked any real strength.

Another hand gently offered her water from a clay pitcher, chipped around the edges, which had been collecting rainwater dripping from above.

They were not alone. Behind the prison bars, forming cramped cells with barely enough space for anyone to move or even stand, others shared their fate.

In hundreds of these cells, there were thousands more like them—forced from their homes and kidnapped to a foreign place against their will.

Those who resisted were killed on the spot, without a trace of mercy.

“Grandmother, Grandfather, I am alright.” the girl said, trying to appear cheerful, but her dry, cracked lips betrayed her. She had barely eaten anything in the past few days since they were forced onto the ships.

“Those damn humans. What do they want from us?” A man, their cellmate, clenched his fist in anger, but he was too drained to do anything more.

“They’ll probably sell us as slaves once we reach the human continent. Why else would they put us on ships? That's how it’s always been.” another explained.

“Just look at us. We were so happy in our homes until those soldiers came and burned down our villages and forests, capturing us as prisoners. They even killed those who resisted, sparing neither women nor children. They are the real devils.”

“If only big sister Alicia was here. She could have easily defeated them all.” Lucia said.

“Is it that human friend of yours again, girl? You keep talking about them. Why would they even help you? All humans are the same.” One of the prisoners asked Lucia, sounding as if he were already bored.

“No Alicia is different.” Lucia protested.

“You don’t seem to understand. Do you even want to hear what those humans did in my village? They committed all kinds of atrocity burning us alive, or throwing us into pits and burying them just for fun as punishment. They burnt our granaries and poisoned our ponds. They even forced themselves on women against their will.”

“That’s enough. She is too little to hear all this.” The grandmother protested.

“But how did they know about our villages when they’re all hidden? How did they even find out?” One asked confused and dejected.

“From what I’ve heard, their leader wields a twisted power —one that bends the will of anyone, forcing them to obey without question. They even said he might be a prince of some human kingdom because of what the soldiers called him.”

“That does not give him any right of what he did to us. Just look around yourself… Nothing will change if we just stay quiet and remain docile.” Another prisoner who had been hearing them all this time shouted.

Once they focused their ears beyond the crashing waves of water. They could hear the painful wails of other prisoners. Some suffering from fever, and dehydration. Some were at their death doorsteps while others cried who had already lost their loved ones.

“But what can we even do…” Another prisoner raised his hands, bound by two large metallic rings. It was a magical artifact that drained all of their magical and soul energy, rendering their abilities useless.

“I know if she knew where I was she would do anything to help us.” Lucia slowly muttered to herself.

“Lucia, are you scared?” Her grandfather whispered as others quietly put themselves to rest to save their energy.

“Yes. What’s going to happen to us now?”

“Lucia do you want to see miss Alicia again.”

“Yes, if it’s possible. I would ask her to help all of us and do anything in return.” Lucia looked downhearted because she knew she was asking for the impossible and did not want to burden her grandmother and grandfather.

“Don’t worry. I am sure you will.”

***

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