Episode 1
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Only people leaving, and no new residents coming in. In the rural village of Leclere, where privacy was never guaranteed. In this backwater where young people could be counted on one hand, a young woman had just moved in.
Ranie stared blankly at the beautiful woman who looked to be around her own age. It was the first time in her life seeing someone so pretty, and a foolish expression spread across her face.
“This is Miss Grewell. Please welcome her warmly, everyone.”
The village chief of Leclere, Hobard, introduced Celine Grewell to the villagers standing by his side.
Her hair, sleek and black as ebony, and her golden eyes. Her pale skin, as if she had hardly ever stood under sunlight, and her delicately arranged features were enough to captivate all eyes.
“Hello. My name is Celine Grewell. Please take good care of me.”
Her voice, clear like the gentle sound of water flowing by the brook, struck Ranie’s ears. Celine spoke her greeting calmly and bowed deeply.
Ranie, who had been busy harvesting apples up on a ladder, belatedly gave a nod in return. At the same time, Celine gave a faint smile.
Even after her coming-of-age ceremony this year, Ranie had paid little attention to her own appearance. Working on the farm every day, there was no time to tend to herself.
But standing in front of someone this beautiful, her shabby looks weighed heavily on her mind. Her straw-like, rough hair was surely damp with sweat.
“Now then, this way please, Miss Grewell. I’ll introduce you to the other villagers as well.”
Hobard gave a polite nod to the workers in the apple orchard and then led Celine away. As they grew distant, the villagers, who had momentarily stopped moving, muttered among themselves.
“What kind of woman are we letting in here without knowing a thing? What on earth is the chief thinking?”
“She’s so skinny. With that body she won’t be able to work the fields at all.”
The villagers were not pleased with the arrival of a stranger. Given how remote and closed-off this village was, their aversion to outsiders was only natural.
And then, as if on cue, everyone turned their eyes to Ranie. She, who had been watching Celine’s back as she walked away, gave an awkward smile when she felt all the gazes on her.
“…Well, the chief will take care of things. Let’s just get back to work.”
The villagers dispersed and returned to their tasks. Ranie blinked and scratched her head awkwardly. She knew well enough why they had looked at her that way.
Outsider. There had been a time when that word was attached to her own name as well. But that was already a distant memory.
Just as she was about to resume her work in the awkward atmosphere, Mrs. Lawson, who had been carrying apple crates nearby, clicked her tongue.
“What is it, ma’am?”
When Ranie looked down, Mrs. Lawson let out a sigh as she spoke.
“That poor woman’s circumstances must be pitiful indeed.”
“Do you happen to know her?”
“I don’t have to know her to get the gist. Ranie, it seems you didn’t notice.”
Notice what? How could she know the circumstances of someone who had only spoken her name and left?
Ranie gave her a questioning look.
“Just by looking, she seemed pregnant.”
“Pregnant?”
“When she bowed just now, she held her stomach.”
Did she? Ranie had been too distracted by her beauty to notice such a small detail.
“She might have just had a stomachache.”
“You wouldn’t know, never having carried a child. But someone who has is bound to show it.”
“……”
“She looks about your age. Do you have any thoughts of marriage, Ranie?”
“Why is the conversation going there all of a sudden?”
“You silly thing. As if it’s anything new.”
Mrs. Lawson chuckled softly. Ever since Ranie had gone through her coming-of-age ceremony earlier this year, the woman would bring up marriage at every turn. She made no secret of her intent to match Ranie with her son who lived in another town.
“Or maybe there’s someone you already like in this village?”
Ranie turned her head sharply in distaste.
Everywhere she looked, it was mostly elders—who could she possibly like?
“There’s no such person.”
“Then are you thinking of leaving the village?”
Most people her age had left the village as soon as they reached adulthood. Nobody wanted to live out their life in such a remote place.
Of course, Ranie wasn’t entirely without the same desire to leave. But unlike others, there were two reasons she couldn’t so easily depart.
First, she worried about leaving her grandmother Hilde to live alone.
Second, she had been designated as the next owner of the apple orchard after her grandmother.
“…No, I have no such thoughts. Where would I even go?”
Ranie answered as if it were nothing and moved her hands again. Her demeanor clearly showed she didn’t want to continue the conversation, and Mrs. Lawson gave a bitter expression before walking away.
With her thoughts now tangled from the short exchange, Ranie slowly picked one ripe apple.
‘Why would such a beautiful woman, and not even alone, come to a backwater like this?’
That question lingered in her mind long past quitting time.
As the sun began to set, Ranie returned home and had dinner with Hilde. The steaming bean soup and sweet apple pie whetted her appetite.
“A fine young lady moved in next door, didn’t she?”
“Ah, so it’s the house next door?”
“Yes? You already know who moved in?”
“Yes, I saw her briefly during the day.”
The house next door had stood empty ever since a young couple had left ten years ago. Ranie’s eyes widened in surprise, as she had nearly forgotten its existence.
With so many empty houses in the village, why did she pick the one beside ours?
“She came by earlier to introduce herself. Miss Grina… was it?”
“Not Grina, it was Celine Grewell.”
“Ah, yes. Miss Grewell. It’s fortunate to have someone your age in this village now. And since she’s right next door, wouldn’t it be good to become close with her?”
“Well… yes. If there’s a chance.”
Ranie answered flatly as she popped a piece of apple pie into her mouth.
Ranie was busy. And she would be even busier. It was the height of the apple harvest season, and as the orchard’s heir, being occupied was only natural.
So she had no leisure to concern herself with the woman next door.
‘Even if I don’t, she’ll manage to live just fine.’
Ranie truly believed that.
The next day, while working, Ranie was struck on the head by a falling apple and fainted. And, suddenly, because of that, she recovered memories of her past life.
“Ranie! Are you coming to?”
“Are you okay? Do you recognize who we are?”
Mrs. Lawson and other villagers sighed in relief as Ranie slowly blinked her eyes open.
“…Ma’am, what was the name of the woman who moved in next door yesterday?”
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“Please, just answer me. What was her name?”
“It was… Miss Celine Grewell, wasn’t it? But is your head really okay?”
Ah. It would have been better if it weren’t. Ranie groaned and buried her face in her hands.
Celine Grewell.
She was the heroine of a novel Ranie had read in her past life. The title of the novel was even .
The story began when Celine, having married into a count’s family for the sake of her collapsing household, fled while pregnant.
Her husband was the heir of the Rochester Count family. With his cold-hearted nature, he wounded her deeply, but only after she ran away did he come to bitterly regret it—the male lead.
He would not find her until their child was seven years old. Since the child had yet to be born, that meant it would happen eight years from now.
“Why do you ask, Ranie? Is your head hurting badly? Should I call the physician?”
“…No. I just feel a bit dizzy. Could I rest alone for a while?”
“Yes, that might be best. Call us if you need anything.”
The villagers left Ranie alone in the old breakroom patched with planks. Once it was quiet, she finally sat up and let out a deep sigh.
Eight years later, when the Rochester heir found Celine and his child, he would mercilessly burn down Leclere village.
The reason being that the villagers had hidden her and also tormented her.
In the novel, the villagers had never welcomed Celine. In such a conservative place, prejudice against an unwed mother was strong, and on top of that, she was too frail to contribute to farm work.
After spending all her savings and with no income, she shamelessly went to her neighbors for help.
She asked, if nothing else, to at least feed her child well.
But no villager reached out a helping hand to the pitiful mother and child.
‘I may not have deliberately hidden her, but as for the latter… I have no excuse.’
Eight years later, in an instant, “Villager 1” who lost the orchard became penniless, wandering from place to place with her grandmother until she died.
A mere extra with no name even once mentioned: “Villager 1.” That person was me.
Ranie Fillet.
‘Should I send word to the Rochester family right away? Tell them their wife is here and have them take her back. In exchange for giving them the information, I could ask them to spare the village.’
It wasn’t a bad idea. If things went well, she might be able to save the orchard.
As soon as the thought came, Ranie stood up to act. At that moment, voices of a troubling conversation drifted in from outside the breakroom.
“W-what are you doing…?”
“You kept looking at me earlier. You kept staring because you wanted to talk to me, didn’t you?”
“That’s not it. L-let go of me…!”
Ranie’s eyes flashed. She grabbed a nearby apple crate and dashed out of the breakroom. Then, she seized Celine’s wrist and brought the crate down on the head of the man who was harassing her.
“You crazy bastard!”
“If my orchard burns, you’ll be the one to pay for it!”
