I Became the Master of the Villain

“The wine cellar...! He’s in the wine cellar.”

After forcing the confession out of John, I hurried down to the mansion’s basement. The thick wooden door to the wine cellar was tightly locked with a latch. My hands kept fumbling with the latch from how frantic I was. When I finally got the door open, I saw a pale figure curled up in the corner of the cellar.
“Kian!”
Kian, who had been hugging his knees and bowing his head, lifted his face. His deep, watery-blue eyes turned toward me.

“...Master?”
He moved his lips to call out to me. I quickly rushed to Kian’s side.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Kian slowly shook his head. Ah… thank god. I let out a sigh of relief and looked him over. Kian’s lips were bluish, and he was trembling all over. I quickly took off my coat and wrapped it around him. Then I held out my hand to the curled-up Kian.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.”
After hesitating for a moment, Kian nodded and took my hand. We left the basement and returned upstairs. Sir Hans, my escort knight, was waiting for me.

“My lady, I’ve brought John, as you instructed.”
Sir Hans forced John to kneel in front of me. I looked down at John, suppressing my anger. This man probably had no idea what he had done. Nor how serious the situation really was.
Now that I’ve interfered with the original novel, I have no idea what kind of variable might trigger Kian’s blackening. There’s even a chance he might blacken through a completely different route than in the original.

Which means… I should be going out of my way to avoid harming him.
He bullied Kian? Is he out of his mind?
But John, completely unaware of anything, had a wronged expression on his face. If Kian blackens, it’s not just him — we all die.

I mentally etched the word patience three times in my head.
…First, I need to clean this up. Preventing Kian’s blackening is my top priority. All I could do was hope that punishing John would ease Kian’s feelings.
“I’m sure I told you to treat Kian well.”

There was one reason I couldn’t overlook John’s behavior. If I let this slide, it would set a terrible precedent. The other employees in the mansion might start to look down on Kian and mess with him too. That wouldn’t prevent his blackening — it would accelerate it.
“You broke my order, so you must’ve expected punishment, right?”
“I-I….”
John looked regretful, but it was already too late. I spoke to him as he waited for judgment.

“You’ve worked hard for our house until now.”
John’s eyes shook violently when he understood what I meant. He grabbed the hem of my dress and pleaded.
“My lady, I must’ve lost my mind for a moment! I was just jealous, that’s all…”

He begged me to forgive him, but I didn’t change my decision.
Kian may look gentle now, but the moment he awakens his power, he transforms into a blood-soaked slaughterer. He massacres not just his enemies, but innocent people too. A protagonist who turns into a villain in the truest sense.
Wasn’t it my plan to appease him and survive? So all I could do was hope this punishment would relieve his mood.

I gently placed my hand on Kian’s shoulder.
“Let’s go warm you up.”
“Yes…”

“P-please wait just a moment!”
As I tried to leave with Kian, John suddenly rushed in front of me. He turned his head and looked at Kian. And then, it happened all at once.
John’s knees sank to the ground.

“Kian, forgive me. It’s all my fault!”
It seemed he finally realized what he had done, and now he bowed his head and pleaded with Kian. Kian looked slightly startled by the sudden scene.
“Um… there’s no need to do this.”

He tried to help John up, but John wouldn’t budge.
“Please, I’m begging you…!”
I looked at John, who kept apologizing over and over. Even if it was just for appearances, the fact that he apologized might’ve helped ease Kian’s heart a little.

I turned to Kian.
“Kian. What do you want to do with John?”
I was entrusting him with the decision. Kian hesitated and asked:

“Am I… really allowed to do as I wish?”
“If you want him fired, I’ll throw him out immediately.”
Kian looked down at John, who was groveling at his feet. After a moment of silence, he spoke.

“Then…”
***
After finishing John’s punishment, I brought Kian back to his room. I sat him in front of the fireplace so he could warm up. Then I handed him a cup of hot cocoa and said:

“Sorry for letting something like this happen because of me.”
“It’s not your fault, Master.”
“Even so. It’s my fault for not managing the staff properly.”

Kian gave a faint smile and said:
“I’m fine, so please don’t worry too much. I’m used to this kind of thing.”
He says it’s fine because he’s used to it… I was at a loss for words for a moment. Just because someone’s used to suffering doesn’t mean it hurts any less.

I quietly looked at Kian, who was holding the cocoa cup tightly in both hands. Then I slowly spoke.
“John will get three months’ pay docked and be assigned to manage our family’s summer villa.”
Kian hadn’t wanted John to be fired. He said that would’ve been too harsh. So instead, I sent John far away. It would be too uncomfortable for both of them if they kept running into each other here.

I told Kian not to worry too much about John and asked:
“Would you like more cocoa?”
“Ah…”

After thinking for a moment, Kian said:
“Then… may I have just one more cup, please?”
We sat side by side by the fireplace and drank cocoa. Only the sound of burning firewood filled the quiet air.

By the time he finished the full cup, I spoke casually:
“If the weather’s nice tomorrow… should we go on a picnic?”
Maybe it was the warmth from the fire, but Kian, with his eyes half-closed, replied:

“Yes, Master…”
His silver eyelashes drooped softly. His head gently bobbed. I quietly sipped my cocoa without saying a word. The ticking of the clock was the only sound echoing through the room.
Before I realized it, Kian had dozed off.

Without a sound.
Without even breathing heavily.
I quietly gazed at him.
This is the man who might one day blacken and slice me down without hesitation. And yet… why do I feel so sorry for him?

Who am I to worry about someone else when I’m just an extra…
Still, maybe even someone like me can change something. If I take good care of him, maybe Kian won’t blacken after all. So…
I gently draped a blanket over Kian, who had fallen asleep. Hoping he would have a peaceful dream.

I was excited — it had been a long time since I’d gone on a picnic.
“My lady, shall I pack some raspberry scones as well?”
“Yes, those too, and let’s add madeleines. Oh, and financiers and canelés too!”

As I picked out pastries with the maids for the picnic basket, Albert the butler appeared.
“What’s the matter?” I asked. The butler answered with a troubled look.
“Lady Rachel is requesting to see you. I told her today wasn’t possible, but she insisted, so I’ve brought her to the parlor for now…”

Furrowing my brow, I searched Olivia’s memories for the name Rachel. Rachel Lambert. Daughter of a marquis and Olivia’s childhood friend.
Rachel had always been jealous that Olivia was born into a better family. When the Crown Prince began courting me fervently, she was so enraged she fell ill.
Lately, the Crown Prince had been moving on, trying to find a different match. Rachel must have heard and come to rub salt in the wound.

When I entered the parlor, Rachel greeted me with a mask-like smile.
“Olivia, it’s so good to see you again. Why haven’t you contacted me? I was starting to feel neglected.”
Why, she asks. The nerve.

—“How could you try to get close to His Highness instead of me?”
—“Me? I never did that. It was His Highness who—”
—“His Highness showed interest in you? No, it was the other way around! You seduced him!”

When her fantasy of becoming Crown Princess crumbled, she took it out on me. The last time we met, she shouted “I never want to see your face again, you traitor!” And now she asks why I didn’t stay in touch?
There’s a limit to shamelessness.
“Spare me the false pleasantries and get to the point. I’m busy.”

When I treated her like an annoying fly, Rachel’s face twisted. She quickly dropped the mask.
“You. They say you spent a hundred billion gallons on a slave?”
The Crown Prince said the same thing… here we go again. Apparently, gossip tabloids are more powerful than I thought.

I calmly answered while savoring the scent of the finest black tea.
“Yes.”
“Oh my god. Do you even know that the whole social circle is buzzing about how you’ve lost your mind over a slave?”

I had already expected such rumors ever since the tabloids published that article. But compared to being murdered by a blackened Kian, a little gossip was nothing.
“So? What about it?”
My calm reply made Rachel’s eyebrows twitch. She’d expected me to be crushed and depressed from the rumors — and was disappointed to find I wasn’t.

“You really have no shame, do you? You got dumped by His Highness for falling for a slave, your reputation as a lady is in ruins — and yet you act like everything’s fine? If it were me, I’d have died of embarrassment!”
Rachel sneered. I silently sipped my tea.
“Playing with a slave every night… What kind of man would want a woman as indecent as that?”

She kept blabbering.
“Please. You were never fit to be with His Highness anyway. Aside from being born into the Ashford Duchy, you’ve got nothing going for you. Otherwise, you would’ve never even dared to covet the Crown Princess seat.”
Her childish provocation was starting to get on my nerves. I kept quiet, and now she clearly thought I was some pushover.

Maybe it was time to shut her up.
“Thanks for your concern. You really are my dearest ‘friend.’”
At the word friend, Rachel scoffed in disbelief. I ignored her and continued.

“And as your friend, let me express my concern for you too…”
I deliberately took a slow sip of tea and said:
“The trading company your family runs… I hear the losses lately have been astronomical.”

“...!”
A visible crack formed across Rachel’s arrogant face.