I Became the Master of the Villain

James Ashford, on his way to the palace reception room, walked with an uncharacteristically tense gait.
He firmly reminded Josephine, who was walking beside him.

“You must leave a good impression on His Highness the Crown Prince. Do you understand?”
Josephine forced a smile on her pale face, tense from nerves, and answered,
“Yes, Father.”

Soon, they stood before the doors of the reception room where the Crown Prince awaited.
Once the royal guard announced their arrival, permission to enter was immediately granted.
The doors to the lavish, gold-gilded reception room swung open. A handsome blond youth welcomed them with a smile.

“Thank you for coming, Lord James. And Lady Josephine.”
As she had rehearsed hundreds of times, Josephine offered a flawless bow in perfect accordance with royal etiquette.
“I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

The Crown Prince smiled and said,
“You’re still young, yet so elegant and poised. A model for all young noblewomen.”
Josephine did her best not to blush and replied calmly,

“You flatter me, Your Highness.”
James, barely restraining a twitch at the corner of his mouth, added modestly,
“She’s still lacking in many ways. It’s an immeasurable honor that Your Highness sees her favorably.”

The Crown Prince responded with a smile and gestured for them to sit.
“Come, have a seat.”
They sat facing each other on velvet sofas. Tea and refreshments were served, and light conversation followed.

The Crown Prince showed great interest in Josephine, showering her with compliments on her appearance and dignified manners.
His words were more than enough to fan the flames of James’s ambition to form a marital alliance with the royal family.
‘What does my daughter lack compared to Olivia? She’s much prettier and younger, too.’
The Crown Prince had no spouse yet.

Which meant the position of future empress was still vacant.
And it seemed the Crown Prince had no intention of leaving it vacant for long.
He had recently been inviting daughters of noble families to the palace one by one.

It was obvious he was selecting a bride.
So when the invitation with the imperial seal had arrived, James had thought, at last, it was their turn.
He considered Josephine’s greatest asset to be her charming appearance, even if she wasn’t particularly bright.

He believed the Crown Prince would be drawn to her looks.
And it seemed his expectations were right.
Afterward, the Crown Prince met with Josephine several more times in private.

Unlike the daughters of other families, he continued seeing Josephine—what could that possibly mean?
‘His Highness has taken a liking to Josephine.’
Just as James grew certain of his assumption, the Crown Prince invited him to the royal hunting grounds.

The royal hunting grounds were vast, rivaling a small provincial estate in size.
Galloping beside the Crown Prince through the hunting fields, James felt as if he were flying.
“Your Highness, look at the size of this boar! It must weigh at least 300 kilos. To have taken down such a beast—what a feat!”

The Crown Prince replied with a smiling face.
“It’s thanks to your help, Lord James.”
The hunt that day was a success.

Servants pulled carts loaded with game.
On their way back to the lodge, the Crown Prince spoke.
“I’m concerned about the Duke of Ashford’s declining health.”

James replied in a deliberately somber voice.
“I worry as well, Your Highness. If my elder brother were to suddenly pass, who would lead House Ashford...?”
It was well known that the Duke had named his daughter as his successor.

Even so, James’s implication that there was no suitable heir was transparently self-serving.
The Crown Prince replied with a half-smile.
“No suitable heir, you say... That’s not quite how I see it.”

“Pardon? What do you mean by that...?”
Rather than answering, the Crown Prince spurred his horse forward.
To catch up, James hurriedly kicked at his horse’s flank.

As James drew up beside him, the Crown Prince said,
“Josephine is a rare gem. Gentle and considerate. I find myself fond of her.”
“Y-Your Highness...!”

James stammered, startled. He cautiously added,
“Are you saying... you wish to take Josephine as your wife?”
“Josephine is more than worthy to be my wife. However...”

James’s palms grew clammy from tension. The Crown Prince continued in a relaxed tone.
“If she were to bear the title of Lady Ashford, there’d be nothing left to ask for.”
“...!”

Only then did James realize what the Crown Prince was implying.
If he wanted Josephine to become the Crown Princess, he’d have to surpass Olivia and become the next Duke of Ashford.
“You’re a wise man. I trust you understand what I’m saying.”

The Crown Prince’s voice was gentle—but carried an undeniable pressure.
“Do not disappoint me.”
If it meant making Josephine Crown Princess, he would do anything.

No, he had to.
Just imagining the immense power that would come with his daughter ascending to the throne made James’s heart pound.
With a resolute expression, James declared,

“I will surely meet Your Highness’s expectations.”
***
With the chocolate factory incident resolved, peace returned to daily life.

I sat on a bench in the garden and opened the newspaper.
There were still occasional articles speculating about the true culprit behind the bug-in-chocolate scandal, but most were completely baseless.
Nothing else in the paper particularly caught my attention.

“Hm?”
Just as I was about to fold the paper, a headline caught my eye.
[Special Report] The People Who Still Haven’t Awakened... Sleep Disease Patients

Sleep disease.
It was an illness that had spread about ten years ago. Those afflicted never woke up.
Like patients in a coma.

It had once swept across the Empire, destroying entire villages and towns.
But I knew the truth.
That sleep disease wasn’t really a disease.

That was when I heard footsteps.
Looking up, I saw Becky approaching quickly.
“My Lady, the item you requested is here.”

“Ah, thank you.”
She handed me a large plate.
It was piled high with beautifully grilled fish.

I set the plate down along the path where the cats usually wandered.
After sitting back down on the bench and waiting a bit, the bushes rustled.
Drawn by the smell, the alley cats appeared.

Cheese, Mackerel, and the calico one. Familiar faces, arriving one by one.
They eagerly bit into the grilled fish, competing for bites.
“That good, huh?”

Meow.
The gentle mackerel one even answered me despite being busy eating.
I smiled warmly ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) at the feasting cats.

‘Ah... this is healing.’
After the kidnapping and the chocolate insect incident—
Was there anything more soothing to the soul than cats?

Well, being with Kian was the biggest source of healing.
But did I really have to pick just one?
Cats and a boyfriend—seeing them both would double the joy, double the happiness.

“You’re feeding the cats again today, I see.”
“Welcome, Kian.”
I greeted the man who had appeared before me like magic (well, it actually was magic).

Kian had arrived earlier than the scheduled time and approached me.
The cats glanced at him cautiously, but soon returned to their feast.
Kian chuckled softly.

“Seems they’re not afraid of me anymore.”
“Yeah. Guess they’ve seen you enough times to let their guard down.”
He sat beside me. That was when I suddenly remembered “that one.”

“I don’t see one of them.”
Kian tilted his head slightly.
“Which one?”

“The white cat. I’ve only seen it once myself.”
I looked again at the cats gathered and eating.
Sure enough, it was missing.

“Still not here. That cat looked so much like you, I wanted to show it to you.”
Kian flinched slightly. I could tell since he was sitting shoulder to shoulder with me.
When I looked at him curiously, he smiled as if nothing had happened.

“I’m curious now... A cat that looks like me?”
“Yeah, its fur was white, and its eyes were the exact same color as yours.”
I told him I’d really wanted to show it to him, and Kian replied,

“Perhaps we’ll see it next time.”
“Maybe we will.”
Meanwhile, the cats continued to eat with gusto.

Watching their little food party was making me hungry.
Just then, Kian gently took my hand and said,
“Shall we go have dinner?”

I smiled and nodded.
“Sure. We’ll see the cats again next time.”
But strangely enough, Kian didn’t get many chances to meet that cat.

The white cat showed up once or twice more, but never when Kian was at the mansion.
Truly, an odd coincidence.
***

It had been ten years since sleep disease first emerged.
Most of the poor had long since given up on caring for the afflicted.
It was a harsh reality, but they could barely feed themselves.

The wealthy fared slightly better.
They could hire caregivers or healers to keep the patients alive.
Count Johnston was one of them.

For ten years, he had cared for his daughter who had fallen into sleep disease.
He owned a small gold mine and used its profits to cover treatment costs.
But ten years is a long time.

As time passed, the gold veins dried up, and the coffers of the Johnston estate emptied.
—"Forgive me for saying this, but if you cannot pay for this month’s treatment, we will have no choice but to stop caring for Lady Angela."
The healer said they could no longer extend leniency if the overdue payments remained unpaid.

At breakfast, which consisted only of thin soup and hard bread, Count Johnston spoke in a weary, gaunt voice to his wife.
“We have to sell the house.”
The Countess dropped her spoon in shock.

“If we sell this house, we’ll have nothing left. Please, think it over just once more.”
“Then what about Angela? Are you saying we should give up on her?”
“I...”

The Countess trailed off with a pained expression. She loved her daughter—but she loved her husband too.
He looked worn and frail, utterly drained.
With great anguish, she spoke.

“Maybe... maybe it’s time to let go...”
No one had ever woken from sleep disease.
She and her husband had done everything they could.

She had come to believe that their daughter would never wake again.
But her husband couldn’t accept reality.
In shock, he shouted.

“I could never! How can a parent abandon their child?!”
“Please, try to see reason. Angela... Angela will never...”
“Enough!”

Just as the Count roared in refusal—
“Count Johnston.”
A completely unexpected visitor appeared before them.

The Count’s eyes widened in surprise. The couple hastily stood and bowed.
“Prince Alexis...!”