The Villainess Enjoys Her Seventh Life as a Free-Spirited Bride (hostage) in a Former Enemy Country

* This is a story from Raul’s point of view in Rishe’s life as a hunter.

* Scene related to Chapters 143-144 of the main story will appear.

　He’d been thinking about it when he realized it. It must have been what they called ‘love at first sight’.

　Raul had fallen in love at first sight with a girl. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize it until two years later, but looking back, it was obvious.

　The girl, Rishe, who saved his life in the forest that day, stimulated feelings unknown to Raul.

＊＊＊

　That day, Raul was on a mission, and due to a little distraction, he injured his left arm.

　He managed to escape to the forest of their territory in the pouring rain, but he failed to stop the bleeding. Even though it was his arm, it was so close to the heart, which made it the worst.

　He managed to administer first aid with only one arm, but it was obvious that he couldn’t make it in time.

　The pouring rain interfered with stopping the bleeding and mercilessly took away his body heat. However, he didn’t have the strength to call his friends or go to a place where he could shelter from the rain.

Hahaha…Oh, man, I’m gonna die.

　After taking a deep breath, Raul became aware of a gut-wrenching pain.

　Everything was almost funny that he burst out laughing. He searched with his fingers for the spot that was pulsing wildly, but his fingers slipped slipperily before he could get to it.

　The rain had washed away the wound, but it seemed to be bleeding more and more. This was, no matter which angle he thought, was his end.

Too shitty a place to dump my life.

　Doubtlessly, his predecessor was right in teaching him to abandon all feelings for the sake of his mission.

　He couldn’t find a way to save Harriet, and in his haste, he slacked. That was what led to such a shambolic ending.

　But there was nothing he could do about it.

　He shut his eyes and prepared himself, his consciousness fading. A distant rumble of thunder intermittently awakened Raul.

…Rain, that helps.

　He had a dog at the place where he hid. If they were tracking him, he was sure the downpour would wash it away.

This should at least keep those guys away…

　Relieved, he let go of his consciousness.

　―― The next time he opened his eyes.

“――You’re awake.”

“…!!”

　Those emerald eyes were peering at Raul.

…A girl?

　He felt almost dizzy as his gaze met her eyes.

　There she was, a girl with fluffy coral-colored hair.

　She had soft, cherry-red lips and a fine nose. She had long eyelashes and large, round eyes. She had a cute face, but her eyes, which looked surprisingly strong-willed, shot through Raul.

　The sun shone through the trees and twinkled in the girl’s eyes like a shooting star.

　The sheer beauty of the picture made him think that he was dreaming.

　Raul instantly registered that this beautiful girl had saved his life.

Has the rain stopped?

　At the same time as he thought of something completely unrelated, the girl breathed a sigh of relief.

“It looks like your bleeding has stopped.”

“…You stopped the bleeding?”

“I really wanted to take you someplace without rain, but it was too taxing for me, I’m sorry.”

“That’s alright. Thank you very much.”

　As he replied, he looked up and saw that a simple rain shelter had been built out of wood.

　His arms were bandaged, and he smelled of herbs or medicine. Raul took a breath, looked at the girl again, and opened his mouth.

“You’re covered in blood.”

“What’s more serious is that I’m very hungry.”

“Hahaha!”

　Raul laughed, that was certainly a big deal.

　At the same time, he realized that he was starving too. His life was doubtlessly no longer in danger, and his body was alive and kicking.

“I’m sorry, young lady, but can you fetch my friends? As a token of gratitude to your help, I’ll serve you a freshly prepared meal.”

“Oh, really?!”

“I’d do anything for the person who saved my life. ―― My name is Rau, which means ‘A wolf leading to help’ in my country’s language.”

　After introducing himself as usual, he suddenly felt an urge to add something.

“Well, this name and ostensible country of origin are all lies.”

“…It’s odd that you would give me an alias and then reveal it as an alias.”

“But you’re the first person to tell me it’s an alias.”

　Raul didn’t know why he thought of saying that himself. Regardless of the fact that she saved him, he was dealing with a girl he had met for the first time.

　As he was thinking about this, the girl laughed.

“Hahaha, that’s weird!”

“…!”

　Her smile was also breathtakingly beautiful.

“My name is Rishe. I’m just a traveler, but I do know a little bit about medicine… I want to wash your wound with clean water and then re-treat it.”

　The girl who called herself Rishe stood up and told Raul.

“So let me stay with you a little longer.”

“…Sure.”

　Raul vowed to do whatever he could to help Rishe, who had gone to fetch his friends to continue Raul’s treatment.

　Rishe’s answer to that was that she wanted to learn archery.

　That alone was a surprise, but Rishe improved steadily.

　He taught her how to live ‘outwardly’ as a hunter, and even told her about their work behind the scenes, and then she said she would stay.

　Two years had passed since then, and one day, when his daily life with Rishe had become the norm, Raul finally realized…

　―― He realized that he was in love with Rishe.

＊＊＊

“I’m back, Rishe. You look lovely today.”

“…Welcome back.”

　When Raul returned to the hut where the hunters lived, Rishe, who was sitting on a chair cleaning her bow, replied with a frown.

　Raul thought he really must be at the end of his rope because that face looked cute, too.

　Raul smiled, and on the surface, treated Rishe as usual. Rishe also didn’t notice anything and still responded as usual.

“Raul, your hair looks kind of wet. Has it been raining?”

“No. I recently said goodbye to a girl I used to dally with, and she sprayed me with water from the well.”

“…Raul, what’s going on?”

　Rishe stopped her cleaning, looking worried.

“You’ve been saying goodbye to a lot of women lately, haven’t you? Don’t tell me there’s a big battle coming up and you’re planning to go there alone…”

“No, no, I’m not getting ready to die.”

　Most of the time, he wouldn’t cut ties with a woman just because he was headed to a battle where he might die.

“Don’t you dislike men who play with women?”

“I think it’s wrong for a man or a woman to be unfaithful to someone…”

“Nnn. I don’t want you to hate me, so I thought I’d clean up my act for now.”

“Raul…”

　Rishe narrowed her eyes briefly, placed her cleaning tools on the table, and faced him.

“That’s no good. Didn’t I tell you before? You’d better stop lying too much when something’s not work related.”

“Eh? I meant it.”

“Look here…”

“That aside, what makes you think it’s a lie?”

　Raul placed his hands on the table and looked into Rishe’s face. He was too close, they would have kissed.

“Hey.”

“…”

　But Rishe didn’t bat an eyelid.

　Raul’s face was objectively well-defined, and he used his appearance as a weapon to gather all kinds of information.

　And yet, there wasn’t a hint of blush on Rishe’s cheeks. On the contrary, she said without conscious thought whatsoever.

“You once told me a story about the princess you served as a child.”

“…Yeah, I told you that.”

　Come to think of it, Raul had even told Rishe about such things.

　For some reason, he was unusually indiscriminate towards her. If this uncontrollable desire to ‘tell you about myself’ was the result of romantic feelings, then love was truly frightening.

Well, I didn’t tell her everything.

“You said she was married off to a faraway country in a marriage of convenience…I realized when I heard that.”

　Then Rishe said very seriously.

“Raul, you must have really liked that Princess!”

“……………”

　He immediately tried to say something, but no words came to his mind.

　His reaction seemed to have convinced Rishe more.

　She pushed Raul’s shoulders back and continued.

“But you gave up on her because she’s much older for you, and your status are too different, right? I feel like you’re dating a lot of women to cover up your love.”

“I see…”

“Raul, you sometimes seem to be unsure of your own feelings anymore. You seem to be sorting through those feelings by lying about liking the women in your life.”

“….Hmm…”

　Raul’s smile turned cramped. After that, he instinctively smacked his forehead.

Oh no, what should I do? Should I say she’s remarkably sharp or dull?

　Then he told her, just to be sure.

“That Princess is a past I’d rather forget. Because I’ll never see her again.”

　Although Raul hadn’t told Rishe about it, that Princess was already dead.

　But Rishe refuted without hesitation.

“You’re lying about wanting to forget her.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I think your separation from the Princess is definitely a painful memory for you. I could feel that very much in the air when I listen to you. But…”

　Staring intently into Raul’s eyes, Rishe’s soft lips wove.

“Raul, whenever you talk about the time you spent with the Princess, you sound so happy.”

“…!”

　On that note, Raul recalled something.

　How that Princess had tried so hard to ask about what makes him happy.

　She had shown him sweets, soft blankets, and a field of fragrant flowers. The memory of those moments flashed back briefly.

“Be happy, Raul.”

“…”

　Raul felt that there was some resemblance between Rishe and that Princess.

　After thinking about it, he also felt that they were nothing alike at all. The feelings she gave to Raul and everything else.

“If one event of the many things that happened is an abomination, you don’t have to hate everything that comes with it…Wouldn’t that be more pleasant for everyone?

“…”

　Raul felt loads of emotions surging in and out of his chest.

　For Raul, who had lived his life killing his own emotions and didn’t even know what made him happy anymore, this was a rarity.

　Or it could even be called a miracle.

“You’re right.”

　Raul chuckled and told her again.

“I like that about you, Rishe.”

“……Thank you”

　Rishe was a little surprised, but returned a sincere thanks. He could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t mean it as a romantic gesture, but rather a human favor.

“I’m flattered, but you should go and dry your head first.”

“Okay-okay…Tsk, it’s just as well you didn’t take me seriously.”

　With that thought in his mind, Raul started walking. The drops dripping from his hair reminded him of the rain on the day he met Rishe.

　Once again, he confirmed that he had fallen in love at first sight.

　With this thought in mind, a smile appeared on his lips.

T/N: Poor Raul, but I’m shipping him with Harriet. (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ Anyone with me?