-Brann’s POV-

I focused my mind as I cleaned my throat. Miss Mary was sitting at the Chief’s desk, her attention aimed at the village’s financial records. There was a time when I thought that doing such a bureaucratic work as tax protocol was boring as hell - actually, I still kinda of do - but I’m not stupid enough to slack it off when she is around.

Her eyes left the book and focused on me. I unconsciously straightened my back. Maybe it was disgraceful from a 27-years-old man to act this way towards a twelve-years-old girl, but to be true, the blame can’t be placed on me.

It’s obvious that Miss Mary is the peculiar one here.

I wanted so badly to sigh or even whine a bit, but I can’t change what have already passed. Our village’s healer pushed this hot potato on me, and before I could notice the burn, it has already fused on my skin. 

The child who everybody thought was my ‘pupil’, took control of the village’s prefecture as soon as she arrived. The system that all the previous generations’ chiefs worked with was easily discarded with a simple, cold word.

Useless.

Miss Mary doesn’t talk much, but when she does, it’s direct and concise.

I was helpless and didn’t want to scold Alma’s granddaughter. So, I decided to let her play around for a bit, and when she got tired, I would give her back to her grandmother. 

It’s always beneficial to get in a healer’s good side, and Alma loved that child immensely. Besides, Miss Mary was just a little girl and Doveshire, just a small village.

What could go wrong? It was just the two of us since our village doesn’t require more personal than the chief himself and maybe an assistant. I would watch from the sidelines and before something bad could happen, I would intervene. 

At the beginning, I actually thought it was kinda cute, that tiny human being with such a serious face, as if she was really ‘working’. However, soon enough, I realized it wasn’t just a childish play. 

And then... it got scary. Because that young girl wasn’t just a genius. She was... well, I don’t even know.

I was so shocked by her actions that I didn’t react at first. For a time, I just passively did what she told me to, almost automatically following my earlier plan of ‘letting her play’. It continued for a couple of weeks until it finally hit me and I thought I should do something.

First, I went to Alma. She was the girl’s grandmother and I thought it was important to talk to her regarding this matter. But the gray haired lady just smiled and affectionately said, Isn’t she really smart? I told you she was special. Such a cute, intelligent little girl. 

In a sense, the old woman was another unusual character. That level of doting was astonishing.

Anyways, even after explaining that ‘oh, my granddaughter can count until one hundred!’  wasn’t the same as ‘oh, my granddaughter improved the village’s tax system, created a census model to record our village’s population information, introduced a long-term plan aiming at our village’s public security and it’s also working at our village’s main product and the relations with the Adventure Guild’, Alma easily brushed if off with an as expected from that child.

I realized it wouldn’t lead me anywhere, so I gave up on this doting grandmother.

And then, just when I was planning on speaking to someone else, I was hit by another shocking event. Bowie came to talk to me. He’s the manager of our village’s Adventure Guild Branch and also the father of the girl I love.

Bowie used to be a pretty muscular guy, but now all those muscles are slowly turning into fat meat. Not that I will ever mention this fact. But, one way or another, he is big. And I don’t know why, but he really doesn’t like me that much. So, when I saw him calling my name, and with a good smile on his pudgy face on top of that, it was strange, at any rate.

‘Oh, if it isn’t our chief.’ He said when he approached me, friendly patting my shoulder. The abnormality of the situation couple with his rough laugh made me freeze, but I quickly let out an awkward smile. Probably not noticing my stiffness, Bowie continued. ‘I just finished reading the report your little assistant gave me. And I have to say, I’m impressed.’

My not-so-sure future father-in-law would never say something like that to me. After a brief conversation -where he would mainly do the talking- I realized that all of that girl’s ideas were written down in this ‘report’. Those innovative and incredible ideas, they were the ones responsible for such a response from Bowie.

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But the thing is, the credit of those ideas... were given to me.

I mean, how couldn’t they? Miss Mary was just a child, who would seriously think she was the brain behind all this? As soon as Bowie left, I hurriedly made my way to where I knew Miss Mary would be, the village’s prefecture. To be honest, it was just an adapted study at my family’s house, but the name makes it fancier, so my ancestors decided to leave it like that.

The younger version of Miss Mary was sitting -as usual- at the chief’s chair. I looked at the fair skinned child with complicated eyes before asking why she had given the record to the Adventure Guild’s manager under my name. To be true, I didn’t think she would answer me. Miss Mary has always been a girl of few words. Sometimes, when I talked to her, she would flat out ignore me, so I was surprised when I heard her voice. It had a slightly childish tone, but her voice was lyrical and pleasant to hear, although a bit emotionless.

Because this village needs a good chief, was her answer. I was pretty confused and maybe a little offended.

 Are you saying I am not a good chief? 

You’re not. 

My younger self was stupidly hot-blooded sometimes, so I actually argued with a child more than half of my age. 

You think you’re better as a chief then?  

I am. But that’s not the point. You are the chief. Look how it’s done.

I knew she was. Everything in these past weeks proved me that she was way better for this role than me, but I couldn’t let a little girl trump over my pride. (Funniest thing, now, I don’t even think I have a pride anymore.)

Intense eyes were looking at me, full of seriousness. Those green orbs were like shining blades on my ego, and I suddenly didn’t want to talk anymore. I was seriously worse than a five years old child, and in her eyes, I was close to nothing. 

I didn’t matter that we were talking about Miss Mary here, who is completely out of a normal standard. I was feeling like shit. The only time that the father-in-law of my dreams came talk to me, wasn’t because of my numerous efforts, but because of a little girl, who bluntly said I wasn’t good enough.

Ahhh, a youth’s ego is so easy to crush.

What should I do then? I was so immersed in my misery, that I didn’t notice I had actually said it out loud. Surprisingly, Miss Mary heard my words, and answered me. Now that I think about it, it was one of our longest conversations.

If you’re not a good chief, just act like one. 

I thought about what she said to me for days after. I reflected for long hours until I came to a conclusion. It was true. I wasn’t fitting to be the village’s chief. I already knew it long ago, but I never had the courage to speak my mind to my father. 

Perhaps I could just keep pushing the situation and pray for it to work, but I couldn’t risk the village that my family cherished so much because of my selfishness and insecurity. I had to acknowledge my lack of talent in this aspect. So... I would do as the girl had said. I would let the talented one between us to be the true chief while I would just ‘act like one’.

Because that, I believe, was the real meaning behind her words. 

Anyway, I thought so hard and deep that my brain hurt, and I had an all-day-long hellish headache. However, after it got better, it felt like a huge weight was taken from my shoulders. I was completely relaxed, for the first time since my father’s death. 

Since the decision was made, why keep worrying over it? Let’s just see how things go. 

After that faithful day, I became Doveshire Village’s False Chief. Miss Mary was the brain, while I was the face, since we obviously couldn’t just tell others that a child was the one managing everything. Trying to prove my worth, I slowly learned some acting techniques (it was self-taught but anyway) and it turned out I was pretty good at it. Maybe, if it was another situation, I could have gone to the capital and become a famous actor. 

But, well, we cannot have everything in life. 

As times pass by, the village was clearly improving under Miss Mary’s command. Even with some guilty, I couldn’t help but love the praises the others would give me as ‘the best chief they ever had’. Specially when the other person was Luci, my childhood sweetheart. And yeah, even though we know each other for a lot of time, the progress is still a bit slow. 

Okay, there is no progress at all, but I’m currently thinking of some tactics.

In the end, after seven years, I don’t regret my decisions of that time at all. Just look at it: the village is good, so I get the credits while I don’t have to work for it.

However, it’s true that saying ‘don’t have to work’ is a little incorrect. After all, all those minor, annoying and boring works usually made by the assistant are given to me. But I still think the gains outweigh the losses. I don’t have to bear the responsibility of leading all those people while in their eyes, I’m a great man. 

So I just keep doing what Miss Mary tells me to. It’s because it is beneficial for me, but also... to be completely honest, I don’t have the guts to disobey her. Especially not after the imp episode.

I still vividly remember those green eyes, shining in a dangerously beautiful way. And that girl’s fair, slender fingers, entirely soaked in deep red blood...