Living As the Villainess Queen

Such a revelation defied conventional wisdom, prompting disbelief unless witnessed firsthand. Pered couldn’t help but chuckle at the astonished expressions of the royal couple. Reflecting on his past actions, he realized how foolish he must have appeared.

“My pursuit of the Hwansu was merely a pretext. Corin adamantly refused to let the monkey be captured, leading me on countless excursions up the mountain to negotiate and satisfy my curiosity about her ability to tame the creature.”

Looking back, Pered understood that the Hwansu was merely a means to engage in mental sparring with Corin rather than a genuine hunting target. Each outing filled him with an inexplicable excitement, relishing the company of someone who treated him as an equal. Pered reminisced, recognizing that those moments were the most vibrant in his life.

“As a result, I found myself acquainted with Corin’s parents and familiarized myself with their family dynamics. These three families resided deep within the mountains, isolated from external interaction. While they had once been nomadic, never settling in one location for more than a year, they had now called this mountain home for over five years.”

“Thanks to the Hwansu’s territorial domain…” Eugene interjected, prompting a nod from Pered.

“That’s when it dawned on me,” Pered continued. “The Hwansu’s territory could provide protection not only from predators but also from the dangers posed by larks.”

While it was common knowledge that Hwansus laid claim to territories, it was typically viewed in terms of the creature’s strength, with people venturing into these domains solely for hunting purposes.

“As long as the threat of larks was absent, the mountain offered a viable habitat for human habitation.”

Lost in reminiscence, Pered lapsed into a momentary silence, his eyes reflecting a mixture of joy and sorrow, noticed keenly by Eugene.

“Taon, Corin’s father, was the first wanderer I encountered,” Pered resumed. “While rumors of knights hunting wanderers circulated, I didn’t consider myself directly impacted. I harbored vague preconceptions, yet I held no animosity towards wanderers. This mindset afforded me the opportunity to forge a friendship with Taon. He defied stereotypes; neither did he succumb to age nor did his status diminish his humility. Taon embodied wisdom, insight, and emotional depth. At times, he resembled a scholar, at others, an adventurer or an artist. Since then, I’ve seldom encountered anyone as captivatingly human as Taon.”

Pered paused, a bitter smile playing on his lips.

“Yet, the crux of this narrative veers away,” he confessed. “I recounted this tale in light of the king’s remarks regarding Anika. Sang-je… that cunning rascal meticulously orchestrated events to ensure Anika’s birth exclusively within the sanctuary.”

Kasser nodded solemnly as their gazes locked.

“When I first encountered Corin, her hair had turned completely white. A severe fever during her childhood was the culprit,” Pered explained, abruptly shifting the conversation’s focus. Eugene and Kasser leaned in, captivated by the unexpected turn.

Glancing at Eugene, Pered continued in a hushed tone. “Yet, despite her white hair, Corin’s irises remained black.”

Eugene’s expression quivered with realization. “Corin… was Anika,” she whispered, disbelief coloring her tone.

“At the time, devoid of any memory of my birth mother, I had never laid eyes on Anika. Corin’s unconventional appearance masked her true identity. And she herself was unaware of her past, unfamiliar even with the name ‘Anika.\'”

“…So Anika was born beyond the confines of the sanctuary,” Eugene pieced together.

Pered affirmed with a nod. “I initially believed their family’s seclusion in the mountains was linked to the wanderer, Taon. However, it was Corin’s mother, Celis, who was on the run. Celis’s parents, Corin’s grandparents, had resided in the sanctuary before their departure. Tragically, they perished in an accident en route, witnessed by a young Celis who discovered the accident’s instigator, disguised as a knight.”

The narrative unfolded further: a couple discovering an exhausted girl in the woods, saving her, and raising her as their own. Celis’s memory loss due to shock allowed for a relatively peaceful upbringing until the cruel hand of fate intervened, triggering a relentless pursuit by the knights once she regained her memory.

Fleeing, Celis found a crucial ally in Taon, marking the beginning of their intertwined fate.

Pered recounted the tale of how two souls, compelled by circumstance to shroud themselves from the world, found solace and understanding in each other’s presence, eventually blossoming into a couple. Amidst their clandestine existence, a girl with raven hair and dark eyes entered the world, bridging the gap between their secretive families. Together, they roamed, eschewing contact with the outside world.