Chapter 4

"Phew... Good morning, Grandma."

"Oh, good morning, Rize."

The day after I went to the capital, I overslept a bit due to travel fatigue. I yawned widely, got up, and passed through the tattered curtain that served as a door.

As I did, Grandma was just having breakfast. She’s a kind and wonderful person who has been living with me ever since I came to this village.

Actually, she’s a wealthy noble, but for some reason, she’s been living in this village all along. It seems she likes it here.

"I slept in because I was so tired, sorry."

"It’s fine. Thank you always."

"No, I’ll get ready and start work right away."

I hurriedly ate breakfast, got dressed, tied my hair up high, and left the hut that served as our home.

I thought that after the extraordinary experience in the capital, my usual mundane daily life would resume today. But that was not to be.

"Good morning, Miss Rizette."

The beautiful man I met at the party yesterday was, for some reason, plowing our field. I was completely baffled.

The moment he saw me, he broke into a smile brighter than the sun.

"Um, what are you...?"

"Moving my body like this feels great."

"But, what are you doing...?"

"I can do anything for Miss Rizette."

"Ah..."

He seemed very happy, but our conversation wasn’t making any sense. Was he okay?

To begin with, why was a nobleman who was in the capital yesterday plowing a field in this rural area? It was so confusing that it was scary.

"Your outfit yesterday was lovely, but today’s look is also very healthy and good. Noblewomen really suit anything."

And he said this while looking at me in my tattered farming clothes.

I thought he might be teasing me, but he seemed to be genuinely saying it. Was there something wrong with his eyes or head?

"Is this how the field should look?"

"Ah, yes. Thank you very much..."

And he had somehow finished the work that would take me and Grandma several days to complete.

For a nobleman, he was far too efficient. His work was so skilled that it didn’t seem like he was a novice at all.

"Miss Rizette, is there anything else I can do?"

"Um, wait a moment."

He seemed intent on continuing to work. I was on the verge of panic due to the numerous things I needed to address, but I thought I needed to talk to him. After taking a small deep breath, I opened my mouth.

"Um, I believe it was Lord Ralph... right?"

"Yes, you remembered my name."

"Well, I just heard it yesterday."

"It’s like a dream... I’m so happy I could cry."

Just confirming his name made him look incredibly happy, as if flowers were blooming around him.

Struggling to keep my dizziness at bay due to the lack of understanding, I suggested he sit down, pointing to a nearby log.

He then took out a handkerchief from his chest and laid it out for me before sitting down a little distance away. He was unnecessarily gentlemanly.

"Um, Lord Ralph—"

"Please call me Ralph, Miss Rizette."

"No, I don’t think that’s—"

"Please, I want to be called that by you."

"Ah..."

Since it was too troublesome, I decided to call him Ralph. This wasn’t high society; it was just a rural area, and no one would scold us.

When I called him Ralph as he asked, he said "Yes" and smiled like a child, which left me bewildered.

"Why are you living here, Miss Rizette?"

"I like this village."

I’ve been asked this question by many people, dozens, maybe hundreds of times. It’s strange for a young woman to choose to live in such a place.

However, I couldn’t tell them the truth—that I’ve been killed by monsters repeatedly in my previous life. So, I always answered the same way.

"I don’t like nobles, and I plan to spend my whole life here."

When I said this clearly, he murmured, "I see," and then added, "I need to get used to living here too." Why?