The Legendary Villainess Who Vanished on the Guillotine, in Her Second Life She Wishes for Peace as

Chapter 15: Let’s Do Some Garbage Collection! — Part 1

Alania Academy is located in a scenic rural town dozens of kilometers away from the capital. It’s surrounded by mountains, and Mt. Mores, a famous tourist spot, is a 15-minute walk away.

The weekend came in no time. At the entrance of Mt. Mores, members of our Volunteer Club had gathered.

Everyone looked ready for hiking, with backpacks on their backs and dressed in light shirts and pants.

“It’s nice that the weather is good!”

“Yeah, it feels cool for June too.”

Luna and Crustia-san were also well-prepared. Of course, I was too.

As a lady, I wouldn’t wear pants except when riding horses, but I couldn’t pick up trash in a skirt, so I made an exception today.

“Hmm, Telencio-kun is late as expected.”

The club president said with a wry smile, but I felt responsible and frowned.

One person was late. Even though it’s something that always happens, I still think it’s not good to keep a senior waiting.

“I’m sorry. I did tell him as a classmate, but…”

“Telencio-kun?”

Camilo tilted his head, and I finally realized that they had not met yet.

“Marquis Castillo’s son, Telencio. He’s a member of the Volunteer Club, the same grade as us.”

There’s a rumored fifth member in the Volunteer Club.

Marquis Castillo is said to be a distinguished man who serves as the commander of the Royal Guard.

Telencio, who is supposed to be his eldest son, is not a bad person, but he is generally lethargic and a habitual latecomer and absentee.

The other day, when I talked to him after he didn’t show up for the meeting, he said, “I slept through the entire sixth period, and no one woke me up even after class was over.”

He’s probably oversleeping today too. As I was about to suggest that we should wait a little longer, I saw someone walking towards us from afar.

Despite making eye contact with us, Telencio seemed in no hurry at all. He arrived leisurely and bowed in a relaxed manner.

“Good morning, everyone. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

Transparent hazel eyes and a slightly short stature with a slender build befitting of someone in the cultural club.

Despite his well-proportioned features, his ash-gray hair partially obscures his face, and his expression is somewhat dazed, as if he had just woken up.

“Good morning, Telencio.”

It’s not really that early, but Telencio responded to the  greeting with a yawn, followed by a somewhat sarcastic comment in return.

“Sorry…could you not use such a grating voice, Leticia? I stayed up late studying Kaizen last night.”

“You’re going mountain climbing today, though. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

Telencio seems to be really into the board game Kaizen. One would think he should join the Kaizen study group, but he says the group’s level is too low to be worth joining, so he joined the Volunteer Club, which has relatively shorter activity hours.

Since Alania Academy doesn’t have a club for students who go home after school, students tend to choose clubs based on the number of activity hours available. Even so, it’s rare for someone to choose the Volunteer Club.

By the way, I’ve heard rumors that Telencio won first place in the Kaizen tournament. I don’t know the details, but apparently, he’s pretty well-known in the community.

“I’ll do my best…huh?”

Telencio stifled a yawn and finally noticed Camilo’s presence, stopping his gaze.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Camilo Cervantes, a second-year who just joined the club. I’m looking forward to learning more about you.”

Camilo smiled and extended his hand as usual. Looking at them like this, there was a difference in height of about two fists.

“I’m Telencio Castillo, also a second-year. Nice to meet you.”

Telencio returned the smile without showing any sign of being shaken. He might not know who Camilo is since he only cares about Kaizen and has no interest in other popular people in the Academy.

But just as the two shook hands, Telencio suddenly froze with a smile still on his face.

His brow furrowed rapidly, but what could have caused this?

“Um… your name is Camilo, right? You’re really strong…”

“Hm? Oh, sorry about that, Telencio. It’s just my grip strength from my sports club training.”

At Telencio’s plea with a twisted face, Camilo immediately let go of the handshake and released his pale hand. Then, Telencio, who made an unusually quick move, came around behind me.

“Hey, Leticia, who is this person? He seems a bit different.”

“Well, yeah, he might be a little different…”

Telencio is also quite different, so I think they’re even.

It’s enviable that boys can joke around even when meeting for the first time. As I smiled to myself, Camilo narrowed his eyes suddenly.

I wonder what it is, I’ve never seen that expression on his face before. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but he seems a little angry about something even though nothing special happened.

“You young people are so energetic. Alright, now that everyone’s here, let’s get started with the activity!”

The club president gathered us with a crisp smile, and we started walking towards the mountain. Therefore, I couldn’t ask about Camilo’s odd attitude.

First, we need to go to the reception desk at the mountain entrance to apply for entry and cleaning activities.

Thanks to the department head’s contact, we smoothly completed the reception process and decided to disperse in various directions on the spot.

Having studied the map beforehand, we made plans to thoroughly clean each assigned area, including several side roads and junctions.

Mt. Mores is a low-altitude mountain that even children can climb. It is also one of the top tourist attractions in this area, so it’s bustling with tourists on weekends like today.

Greeting people is a basic rule for volunteers. When you greet someone you pass by, they smile back at you, and friendly people notice that you’re holding a garbage bag and say things like, “You’re doing great, keep it up.”

The fun of these interactions is also one of the joys of volunteering. It’s a feeling that I could never experience when I was the Crown Princess.

I threw a candy wrapper that was lying on the side of the road into a garbage bag made of hemp. Since I brought tongs, I can efficiently pick up everything that catches my eye.

The clear air is delicious, and the green color is easy on the eyes.

I felt good, but as I looked up at the red-haired person walking next to me, I couldn’t help but feel a little concerned.

Yes, even though we had all gone our separate ways, I somehow ended up joining Camilo again.

I wonder if he thinks that I’m going to mess something up. But If Camilo is by my side, the chances of our engagement being exposed are higher.

Maybe it’s better if we separate. I was about to suggest that when Camilo suddenly turned towards me.

“…Hey, Leticia. Are you close with Telencio?”

And with this unrelated question, I wonder what Camilo is thinking.

I nodded uncertainty while finding some trash on the ground and tossing it into the garbage bag.

“Well, we’re club members, so we get along well. He’s kind and easy to talk to.”

“If that’s the case, then I’m kind too, right?”

Huh? What kind of competition is this person trying to start?

More importantly, I want him to pick up the trash…wait, Camilo’s garbage bag is already full. When did that happen!

I met Camilo’s gaze once again. His light green eyes seemed to be pleading for something, and I involuntarily stopped in my tracks.

“Joining the club was the right choice after all. Leticia is caring and meddlesome, and her strong heart makes her attractive no matter how much she tries to blend in.”

“Eh? Really…?”

I tilted my head in confusion, unsure if I was being praised or scolded.

Camilo narrowed his eyes slightly. Yes, it was the same expression he showed me after playing around with Telencio earlier.

“Hey, you’re not going to say you like Telencio or anything, are you?”

“What?!”

I couldn’t help but shout in a silly voice this time.

What is he suddenly talking about? Telencio is nothing more than a friend to me, and Kaizen is like Telencio’s lover.

“There’s no way, right?! Why would you think that?”

“Leticia has been worried about his health and has been making sarcastic comments since the first time they met… She never did anything like that (for me) before.”

“Huh? Well, that’s because Camilo has always been healthy and never even gotten injured. Being a dragon knight is a dangerous job, so of course I was always worried. I was sarcastic because he didn’t have to be…”

I returned the words without much thought and finally realized something, closing my mouth.

“Leticia, who is your fiancé?”

Staring at me with dark and intense eyes, I clumsily dropped the garbage bag.

I heard a dull thud from under my feet, but I couldn’t even pay attention to it.

If I wasn’t picking up garbage right now, he might have held me close. Without any evidence, a strangely confident imagination passed through my mind.

Could it be…

It might just be my conceit.

Is he jealous?

“Answer me, Leticia. I need to hear it from your mouth right now, or else I…”

But I never even imagined something like that.

I’ve never been loved, and all I’ve ever known is chasing after people who don’t love me back.

That’s why I don’t know how to face someone who is looking straight at me like this.

“T-That’s…of course, Camilo.yes.”

I could feel the heat gathering on my cheeks, and I knew that they must have turned as red as ripe apples. Not wanting him to see my embarrassing face, I quickly looked down.

“…Hmm. Thank you, Leticia.”

Camilo took a step forward and kissed my forehead.

The soft touch lasted for just a moment, and I was too surprised to even react. I reflexively checked that there was no one around and looked up at Camilo to protest.

But his smile, so close to me, looked so happy that I couldn’t say anything.

That’s when it happened.

Something caught Camilo’s attention, and he widened his eyes.

I followed his gaze and turned around to see two people coming up the mountain trail.

As soon as I recognized the two figures, Prince Agustin and Yserra-sama, who looked like they were on a secret date, they both looked surprised and stared at us from such a close distance.

“Agustin…”

Camilo called out his name in a barely audible voice.

They were both looking at us with surprise, as if caught in the act.