I Became the Master of the Villain

The carriage stopped in front of a department store in a busy shopping district.
“We’ve arrived, my lady.”
Sir Hans, the escort knight, opened the carriage door. I stepped down with his assistance. The department store building, worthy of its title as the Empire’s first, was grand and dazzling. As soon as I stepped through the entrance, my eyes were drawn to the various luxury items displayed under the soft lighting—women’s shoes, bags, hats, perfumes, cosmetics, and more. Normally, I would’ve browsed through them, but today was different.

I stopped in front of the men’s clothing section. The manager greeted me with a pleasant smile, as if painted on his face.
“Welcome, my lady. Is there anything you’re looking for?”
“I’m just planning to look around slowly for now.”

“Understood. Please feel free to call if you need anything.”
With a slight bow, the manager stepped back. I looked over the clothes hanging on the racks. Maybe because I didn’t have much experience picking out men’s clothing, it was harder than I thought. I glanced toward Sir Hans, the escort knight. Since he was a man, I figured he might know better than me and asked for his input.
“Sir, could you try picking something that would suit Kian?”

“Leave it to me!”
A moment later, Sir Hans returned and showed me what he had picked.
“How about this?”

“That one’s a bit…”
“Then what about this one?”
“That’s also a bit…”

I respected his taste, but everything he picked was strange.
“Did you actually try to choose properly?”
“Of course! I’m more serious than ever.”

…Which only made me question his sense of style even more. Come to think of it, we were spending more time picking clothes than expected. And there was still a lot more to buy today. As I wandered back and forth between displays, struggling to make a decision, Sir Hans offered some advice.
“My lady, don’t overthink it. Kian would look good in anything.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Even as a man, I can say Kian is extremely handsome. With that face, he could pull off anything.”

Now that he said it, it did make sense. Maybe I was overcomplicating things from the start. With that realization, I immediately called the manager. He approached once again with his ever-polite smile.
“Have you decided, my lady?”
I nodded.

“Please wrap up everything on this rack.”
***
After finishing with the men’s clothing section, I moved through the shoe, bag, and accessories departments in turn. Without the stress of decision-making, spending money became easy. Two hours had passed since I started shopping. I had gone at it like a battlefield, but now I had almost everything I needed.

I think that’s everything…
Just in case I’d missed something, I decided to check the very top floor of the department store.
***

At the topmost level was the jewelry section. Inside transparent display cases, jewels gleamed in all colors. Jewelry didn’t seem strictly necessary for my plan to stop Kian’s blackening, but since I was here, I figured I might as well look around.
I strolled casually through the showroom and soon spotted a gem that caught my eye. The ring sat inside a heavily enchanted security case. A large blue diamond at its center reflected the light in a breathtaking sparkle.
I found myself staring at the diamond, almost hypnotized, when—

“Lady Olivia, what a coincidence to meet you here.”
I turned toward the voice. A noblewoman with an elegant appearance greeted me cheerfully. She was one of the ladies I had recently become acquainted with in high society.
What was her name… Countess Pittsburgh, I think?

“Hello, Countess Pittsburgh.”
I gave her a small nod, and she returned the gesture. Thankfully, it seemed I hadn’t gotten her name wrong. The Countess approached in quick steps. She pointed at the ring I was looking at.
“Isn’t that gem the Blue Moon?”

“You’re absolutely right,”
answered the clerk from the jewelry store, his voice brimming with pride.
“It’s a famous gem known for setting the highest price per carat at last year’s auction.”

Countess Pittsburgh nodded.
“I heard Count Foster purchased the Blue Moon for 100 billion gallons. I didn’t expect it to be crafted into such a beautiful ring.”
One hundred billion gallons. An outrageous price for an ordinary person, but considering the rarity of a blue diamond, it wasn’t unreasonable. The Countess’s voice was lively as she asked,

“How much is this ring? It must be extremely expensive, right?”
“Hmm, I’m curious about the price too.”
I did like the ring. I asked the clerk about the price. His answer was brief.

“Three hundred billion gallons.”
“Th-three hundred billion gallons?!”
The Countess cried out in a surprised soprano. She was clearly shocked by the price. The clerk, with the look of someone ready to explain the glory of this gem, elaborated,

“The Blue Moon is the largest blue diamond in the world. And it was cut over the course of a year by the Empire’s finest artisan.”
“Even so… 300 billion gallons is just too much, isn’t it?”
The clerk nodded in understanding at her reaction. He glanced around and then lowered his voice.

“In truth, no one’s stepped up to buy it yet… Count Foster is quite troubled over it.”
So that was the situation. It made sense that such a ring hadn’t found an owner for so long. Even for most nobles, 300 billion gallons was a heavy burden.
Countess Pittsburgh looked at me with a concerned expression.

“Oh dear… You liked the ring, didn’t you?”
She must have assumed that I gave up on it after hearing the price. But I had to get that ring. Not because of some grand reason. That gem—it resembled Kian’s eyes. I couldn’t stop thinking how perfectly it would suit him.
I smiled brightly at the clerk.

“It seems the ring has finally found its owner.”
“...!”
Both the clerk and Countess Pittsburgh looked at me in shock.

“D-Do you mean…?”
The clerk asked again, as if he couldn’t believe it. I kindly repeated myself.
“I’ll take the ring.”

***
After a satisfying shopping trip, I returned to the mansion. I handed the shopping bags over to the staff and made my way to Kian’s room. I knocked lightly on his door. I heard hurried footsteps, and soon, the door opened.
“Welcome back, my lady.”

Kian greeted me with his usual politeness and calm gaze. So this was how mild he was before he blackened. Having only seen the cold-blooded slaughterer from the original story, it was still hard to get used to.
Still, I prefer him like this.
I took a small box out from inside my coat. I had bought it because it looked like it was made for Kian, but now that I was about to give it to him, I felt oddly shy. I hesitated, wondering how to give it to him, then just gave up and handed the box over.

Kian tilted his head as he took the ring box. I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
“Well… I, uh, picked it up on the way.”
Kian opened the box. His eyes widened. Inside was the Blue Moon ring.

“This is…”
“It looked like it would suit you,” I said, giving a sheepish smile.
Kian didn’t take the ring out of the box. Instead, he shook his head.

“My lady, I can’t accept such an expensive gift.”
“It wasn’t that expensive.”
“A slave like me has no need for such a thing.”

“Come on, just take it. I can’t return it anyway.”
I gently took his hand and slid the ring onto one of his long, white fingers.
“My lady…”

Kian lowered his gaze slightly and remained still. With his silver hair and strikingly pale skin, for a moment it felt like I was looking at a pure white bride standing before me.
But then, an unexpected issue arose. The ring didn’t fit any of Kian’s fingers. It was either too tight or too loose.
“None of them fit…”

After multiple failed attempts, Kian fidgeted his hands and murmured,
“It really is too much for someone like me.”
“Let’s try one more time.”

I slid the ring onto his last remaining finger—and just like magic, it slid on smoothly.
Kian and I both gasped at the same time.
The diamond ring I had given him fit perfectly on the ring finger of his left hand.

***
A few days later, an unexpected visitor arrived at the mansion. The butler informed me of the guest’s arrival, and I hurried to the entrance hall. A grand golden carriage pulled by two white horses stopped before me.
As the royal guards opened the carriage door, a young man with neatly combed golden-blond hair stepped down.

“Olivia, it’s been a while.”
It was Harrison, Crown Prince of the Rasione Empire.
As I held my dress and curtsied, he smiled sweetly and said,

“Did I surprise you, dropping by unannounced?”
Returning his smile, I led him to /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ the drawing room.
“Not at all. I only feel sorry that Your Highness had to go out of your way to visit me.”

“What are you saying? How could a trip to see you be troublesome?”
His gentle gaze and tone… At a glance, he looked like a man deeply in love.
For the past few months, the Crown Prince had been actively courting me. He acted so sweet and devoted that, at first, I’d thought he was genuinely a man of passionate love.

If I hadn’t read the original story, I might’ve been fooled too.
In the original, Olivia was the Crown Prince’s wife. But on the night of the Emperor’s birthday banquet, when Kian blackened and began slaughtering nobles, the Crown Prince threw Olivia in front of him to shield himself.
If he had truly loved her, he wouldn’t have sacrificed her just to save his own life.

He hadn’t married Olivia out of love, but for her family.
The Ashford Duchy was the richest noble house in the Empire.
Although Harrison was all but confirmed as the next emperor, there was still another prince—his younger brother, the second prince, who had been exiled to the north ten years ago.

Rumor had it that the second prince had awakened as a Sword Master.
To prepare for any possible unrest, Harrison was trying to secure our family’s allegiance.
But I had no intention of marrying him.

If Kian blackened, the royals would be the first to be executed.
Soon after, the Crown Prince and I sat facing each other across a tea table in the drawing room. With elegant movements, he raised the teacup to his lips.
“Olivia, I read the strangest article recently…”

He deliberately dragged out the sentence before continuing.
“They say you bought a slave at an auction for 100 billion gallons. Is that true?”