Chapter 278: Desired Outcome

Chapter 278

Desired Outcome

A hush fell over the entire village. Initially, they were shocked by Ellie’s sudden outburst, reminiscent of a vengeful woman. But within moments, she changed her expression again. However, it was the content of Ellie’s words that stunned them more. Her sad life before becoming the "duchess" she was today, and her pointed remarks about the villagers opened their eyes.

There wasn’t a single word Ellie said that was untrue. The meat she talked about belonged to the students who hunted it, not Nara, who volunteered to ask for it. And calling the villagers cowardly stung them deeply.

"Hmph! W-We didn’t need that meat anyway. Come back, Miss Nara."

"Yeah, do you think we want it that badly? Do you think you can just look down on us because of that? We’re not shameless like you said."

"Right, who wants it? Hah! Even if we become beggars, we won’t ask from you." Some villagers said to defend themselves after a while. However, from the direction of this situation, it seemed few agreed with these villagers ready to leave.

Despite their words, no one walked away. They still hid and peeked at the meat hungrily. If it were just for themselves, it might be different, but there were others in greater need—children, elderly parents. Good food would help them live better.

The food problem had existed long before the men went to serve the kingdom. They had to survive by hunting animals and foraging in the forest for part of their food, while also selling some to earn money. The mountainous area had limited space, so there were not many farmlands.

Some families couldn’t claim farming land, making life even harder. Even those with farmland weren’t always better off, as falling rocks often destroyed their crops. Additionally, the sunlight and water were limited because they were in chasm. The rocky and mountainous soil of the surrounding lands made cultivation difficult. In the end, it was like an ongoing problem.

They couldn’t hunt large beasts or big wild animals in the deep forest like these students could. They were like ordinary villagers who could only handle small animals or use traps.

The rocky terrain made travel difficult, and hunting wasn’t easy. The local animals were unique as they were fast and adept at navigating the area. Many men who went hunting often faced life-threatening dangers. So, talking about meat...it was scarce and precious for them.

Their main food sources were grains, mainly beans and plants that didn’t need much land. It wasn’t surprising they lacked other nutrients, leading to shorter lifespans than villagers from other towns. Thus, their hesitation to leave, despite the shame, was understandable.

As everyone was hesitating, a man with a bandaged leg, someone quite familiar, suddenly hobbled out from the crowd. He limped forward under the gaze of everyone, both villagers and students.

Nara didn’t understand what the man was trying to do, but she recognized him. This was the man injured in the recent accident. She remembered that Ellie had used her rake to pull him out of a life-threatening situation, resulting in only his leg being injured instead of his life being lost. Nara had helped check on him a few times, but he was not very talkative, and she got bored of pretending to care. So, after the first day of tending to him all day, she ignored his injuries for the rest.

"Ah, you were injured by Ellie and can barely walk. Why don’t you rest until you’re fully healed?" Nara blurted out, thinking she found a way out for herself. This made it easy for everyone to misunderstand that his injury was because of who. However, the man ignored her and walked toward Ellie instead.

"My lady...I apologize for not thanking you since the first day. My leg pain has just eased. I overheard the commotion, so I came here. Seeing you, I took this opportunity to thank you."

The man was sincere; though not very eloquent, his honesty was clear. Nara was slightly taken aback, not expecting him to ignore her and embarrass her by thanking Ellie instead!

The surrounding villagers were confused. Many of them hadn’t witnessed the event because only the strong men had gone to help dig out the rocks. When Nara told her version of the story, and since the men were in a life-threatening situation, some hadn’t noticed what had really happened. They focused only on their survival. While some had biases, thought they felt that Nara’s story didn’t quite add up, they didn’t correct her, letting her say what she perceived. As a result, the rest of the villagers hated Ellie.

Nara had claimed there were many ways to help without causing further injury, but Ellie chose a method that made the man’s injury worse. Everyone had seen him groaning in pain all day, making Nara’s story very believable.

They didn’t expect that once he recovered, he would walk over to Ellie and thank her himself!

And yes! The man wasn’t foolish. He believed that anyone in his situation would do the same. When life and death were a mere reach apart, the only person who helped him, albeit in a rough manner, was the woman everyone considered selfish and wicked. He glanced at Nara, who was considered kind-hearted but had fled alone, leaving them under that giant rock.

Because he was at the center of all the danger, he saw how hard the students, whom everyone was condemning as selfish, actually tried to save them.

Professor Medik used all his power to support the weight of the large boulder, and the other students used their magic power to break the rock into smaller pieces to prevent the villagers from dying. He himself understood that the young lady in front of him couldn’t reach in time to help. At that moment, no one could have saved him. However, the young lady didn’t give up and sent a strange tool resembling a rake to help.

In the end, he survived not because of Miss Nara, as everyone believed, but because of the small young lady whom everyone disliked. When he recovered, he tried to explain this to everyone, but they pretended not to hear.

Today, hearing the commotion, he decided to come out and see what was happening. He saw that everyone was looking at Lady Ellie with hatred after she spoke the truth. But upon closer consideration, he found nothing wrong with what she said.

The young lady was right! She was right about everything! But it was they who didn’t want to admit how foolish they had been all this time. This foolishness made him feel pathetic! If he hadn’t almost died and known who his benefactor was, he might have acted just as foolishly as the others.

"Because of your help before, I was able to keep this worthless life. I am the only man in my household. I have a wife, two sons, one daughter, and an elderly mother who is sick on the bed. I know you came here to help us, so I am asking for your mercy once again."

"If you could be kind to me, could you please share some of that food with my family? After my leg heals, I will go to the forest to find food myself again." He spoke, bowing his head. His expression was like that of a village rebel. The villagers were very displeased, but the students showed approval and sadness.

Ellie looked at everyone and nodded. It seemed that all the students wanted was this: to be understood that they came with good intentions, not being put on airs and cursed at them like before. Who wouldn’t want to help?

"Your leg can be easily treated with our potion. As for your family, bring them here so we can help. Like you said...we came here to help," Aria waved her hand. Although she still looked angry, her words were full of sincerity.

The large man nodded and limped away, ignoring the angry stares from the other villagers as he passed by. Soon, his wife, keeping her head low, walked out with their children, while he supported his ailing mother.

In truth, his wife disagreed with this action. Listening to the other villagers had increased her hatred toward the student group. However, as a wife, she had to obey her husband. Once the head of the family decided, she had no other choice but to follow his orders.

In a short time, with much awkwardness, all 6 of them were sitting in the central area of the students’ camp. Ellie didn’t even have to step in to help. Aria managed everything, starting with giving the man a low-level potion. Since he didn’t need to fight soon, a low-level potion to gradually heal his body was sufficient.

Of course, potion of this quality was something that ordinary villagers could never afford. It was called a miraculous potion. When people saw the students using such high-grade potion, they were astounded. The young man’s wife was also stunned. She didn’t understand why these supposedly wicked students would give such a miraculous item. However, it was an immense boon for her family, causing the middle-aged woman to cry tears of gratitude uncontrollably.

"Thank you, sob, thank you, God!!" She prayed silently to herself and whatever she held sacred. Seeing this, the students looked at each other. As children of nobles or wealthy families, low-level potion like this didn’t hold much value for them. However, witnessing such a scene filled them with an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

Wint clenched his fists, the poignant scene reminding him of his own past. It was no wonder that he did everything for the Femon family as repayment. It was because of the "opportunity" and the "new life" they gave him. Just like this woman felt, he understood how she would view everyone from now on.

Wint looked at Ellie, who had chosen to become the villain, heartless enough not to help a child—all for this outcome, it seemed. To him, Young Lord Aman had always appeared to be an exceptionally wicked man, cunning and a master strategist. However, it seemed that the woman destined to become the lady of the Setter family knew even better how to play with people’s hearts.

The injured man gradually felt better and even smiled happily. His gaze towards Aria, Ellie, and all the students changed significantly. His two sons and daughter were also overjoyed to see their father moving his leg again. However, the help didn’t stop there. The elderly woman also received a restorative potion, which greatly improved her frail condition. The food in front of them was shared joyfully among the 6 of them.

The sight of this happy family made some villagers displeased, but it also caused many to hesitate.

"I think...I’m going to get my children to..."

"What? Are you going to be like them too? Do you think those kids will help all of us? They’re just luring us in. After this, if more people go, they’ll laugh at us and then...Ah!" Without letting her finish, a middle-aged woman grabbed her son’s hand and rushed forward.

She was another who had lost the men in her family. To ensure her family’s survival, she had no choice but to take this gamble.

"I-I am the mother of this child. Please...Please give him some food." She grabbed her son’s hand and pushed him forward. Even if she didn’t get food, it didn’t matter as long as her son did.

The students exchanged glances, feeling that the situation was finally unfolding as planned. After all, this was a relief mission. Although there had been obstacles initially, these villagers would now understand that the students weren’t there for leisure.

"Come, you too can sit over there. There is enough food for you and your son."

"R-Really? Thank you, thank you so much!!"

"Y-You, you still have food..."

“Of course, we have more than enough.” The students didn’t wait for the villagers to beg. As soon as the villagers arrived, food was prepared immediately.

Medik watched this scene and sighed. Earlier, he had asked his only student for the reason behind her actions. Initially, he felt somewhat disappointed. However, seeing this now and comparing it to his own previous efforts, it seemed he had been an ineffective professor.

Looking back, Medik had experienced similar situations in his past relief camps. Villagers had resisted their help, but he and his friends had not given up. They tried placing food at everyone’s doorsteps every day, only to find the food thrown away in front of them the next day. It was disheartening and exhausting. Sometimes, they were even met with insults and food thrown back at their faces. It took over 10 days for the villagers to start trusting them.

Originally, Medik had wanted Ellie and the others to persevere as he had, believing that taking the time to prove their sincerity was important. However, his students had chosen a different approach.

Instead of offering everything, yielding and humbling themselves under the villagers’ feet, Ellie made the villagers to be the ones that back down, showing respect and humility...

Perhaps because of this, he could envision the Setter family rising to new heights!!