I Became the Master of the Villain

At Karen’s firm questioning, Mia clutched the hem of her skirt and pleaded.
“I’ll never do it again, please, just this once… I’m begging you…!”
“I can’t do that. I have to tell the Lady.”

“No, please, anything but that…! If you do, I’ll be kicked out of the mansion!”
“Then why did you do it, knowing exactly what would happen?”
Karen had always been someone who valued principles. She firmly shook Mia off.

When she failed to convince Karen, Mia grabbed onto Becky’s sleeve instead. She begged through tears.
“Becky, please… Say something. Are you really okay with me getting thrown out like this?”
Becky’s expression twisted in pain.

Mia was Becky’s closest friend.
Becky bit her lip hard. Her eyes, staring at Mia, were full of hurt.
“How could you do this? Did you forget how kind the Lady’s been to us all this time?”

“I know, I do, but…”
“Then how could you betray her like this!”
Becky shouted through a trembling voice, and Mia couldn’t raise her head.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t want to do this either…”
Tears streamed down Mia’s face. Her expression was heavy with guilt as she spoke.
I couldn’t just keep eavesdropping any longer.

I climbed the rest of the stairs and stepped into view before the maids.
“L-Lady!”
The maids gasped and quickly bowed their heads.
I turned to Mia, who had scrambled to her feet and was wiping her tears with her sleeve.

“Is it true you tried to steal my earrings?”
“T-That’s…”
As Mia hesitated to answer, Karen spoke instead.

Mia had been acting strangely the past few days.
Then today, she insisted on cleaning my room alone, which had made the other maids suspicious enough to follow her in secret.
What they found was Mia rummaging through my jewelry box.

Karen concluded the story with a heavy voice.
I glanced at Becky.
Her face, having just witnessed her closest friend’s betrayal, was the darkest of all.

I addressed Mia, who still couldn’t lift her head.
“Mia. I can’t just overlook an attempt to steal my belongings.”
Mia didn’t make any excuses. She only continued to cry silently.

The atmosphere among the maids was subdued.
Naturally, none of them felt good about seeing a fellow maid get expelled over something like this.
I sighed lightly and spoke to Mia.

“But I can consider your circumstances. So tell me why you tried to steal the earrings.”
Mia raised her head at the suggestion that her punishment might be lessened.
Tearfully, she confessed.

“My mother… she has sleep disease. I needed a lot of money to try and cure her…”
I hadn’t known someone in Mia’s family was afflicted with sleep {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} disease.
If I’d known, I would’ve offered some kind of help…

The thought that I’d overlooked this weighed heavily on me.
But at the same time, something felt off.
“You said cure her… How?”

Mia hesitated. She looked like she was debating whether or not to tell the truth.
After her lips moved wordlessly several times, she finally spoke.
“Sir Obelice promised he could cure her. He’s already healed some sleep disease patients.”

Obelice?
That was a name I’d never once heard in connection to sleep disease.
“This Obelice—he’s a doctor or a healer?”

“I think he’s more of a healer. He said he uses mysterious powers to cure people.”
“Did you see him heal someone with your own eyes?”
“Yes. I saw him wake up a sleep disease patient. And… I just thought… If I could get thirty million gallons, I could cure my mother too…”

The maids gasped audibly.
They began murmuring among themselves.
“Thirty million gallons…”

“You couldn’t even save that much if you didn’t spend a single coin for a year.”
As they said, thirty million gallons was no small sum for a commoner.
Mia lifted her tear-streaked eyes. Her expression was desperate.

“I have to meet Sir Obelice no matter what. He’s my last hope now.”
When someone you love is suffering, you'll grasp at anything—even a straw—if there's a chance of saving them.
So I didn’t blame Mia for how she felt.

But I was deeply suspicious of this so-called Obelice and his claims of curing sleep disease.
I figured it was time to wrap up this situation and opened my mouth.
“I’ll announce the decision about Mia’s punishment soon. For now, you may all return to your duties.”

The maids looked at Mia with pity before bowing to me.
“Yes, my Lady.”
After they dispersed, I brought Mia into my room.

Of course, I wasn’t planning to sit down and have a casual tea time with her.
‘No matter how I think about it, this smells fishy.’
As someone who knew the truth about sleep disease, I couldn’t easily believe Mia’s words.

Whether Obelice had actually cured sleep disease, or whether it was just a trick…
I needed more information.
I could order Albert to investigate, but talking directly to Mia—who’d already met Obelice—would be faster.

I gestured to a seat.
“Sit down.”
“Yes, my Lady…”

Mia hesitantly sat on the sofa across from me.
Given what had just happened, she looked visibly uncomfortable.
Or rather—she probably felt too ashamed to look me in the eye.

Still, she answered my questions properly.
“Mia, where can I find this Obelice?”
“Well… I met him last time at No. 13 Anatole Street. But I don’t know if he’s still there.”

“Does he change locations often?”
“I’m not sure. He did say he couldn’t stay in the capital for long, though.”
I was very curious what kind of “circumstances” those were.

Something about all this was raising every red flag in my mind.
‘Before he leaves the capital… I need to see this for myself.’
Whether this Obelice is a fraud—or not.

***
I headed to Anatole Street with Sir Hans, my escort knight.
The neighborhood was quiet, far from the busy shopping districts.

But there was one house that buzzed with life.
A large crowd had gathered in front of the mansion at No. 13 Anatole Street.
It was a rather grand house with a spacious garden, and carriages lined the front gate.

‘So that’s Obelice’s base of operations.’
Two burly men were standing guard at the entrance.
When a nobleman tried to enter with his escort knight, the guards blocked him.

“No one carrying weapons is permitted entry.”
Just as I was about to enter, I glanced at Sir Hans beside me.
“You heard them?”

Sir Hans handed the sword from his hip to the guards and spoke.
“Then I’ll have to protect you with my bare hands.”
“Oh, reassuring.”

But I added that he shouldn’t overdo it. He grinned.
“Don’t worry. These fists pack quite a punch.”
I suddenly remembered the time he’d given Jackson a “joyful tour” of pain.

Jackson had cried his eyes out after tasting Hans’s fists.
If anything happened, I’d have to rely on Sir Hans’s atomic punch again.
With that thought, I stepped forward.

“This way, please, attendees. We’ll guide you inside.”
We followed the attendant to a massive room that could only be described as a grand hall.
It was already packed wall to wall with people who’d arrived earlier.

I was surprised by how many attendees there were.
Just then, someone grabbed my shoulder.
A blond man I didn’t recognize. But the moment I saw his face, something about it felt familiar.

Sir Hans rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward.
“Who the hell are you? Get your hands off the Lady!”
“Wait, Sir. I know him.”

I stopped him just in time, and only then did Sir Hans step back.
I turned to the blond man—who’d nearly been introduced to Hans’s atomic punch (though he probably would’ve dodged it)—and asked:
“What are you doing in a place like this?”

Alexis let go of my shoulder and replied.
“That’s my line, Lady Olivia.”
***

“My deepest apologies! Please forgive my rudeness!”
Sir Hans bowed his head, having nearly thrown a punch at His Highness the Prince.
Alexis spoke in a calm tone.

“It’s fine. Raise your head. I’d rather not attract attention.”
“Y-Yes, of course.”
Sir Hans scratched his head awkwardly, and I took a good look at the man before me.

Alexis had dyed his black hair blond. His golden eyes were unchanged.
Blond Alexis… It was honestly hard to get used to.
Then Alexis spoke.

“By the way, Lady Olivia. What brings you here?”
“Ah, I heard there’s someone here who can cure sleep disease.”
“As far as I know, no one in your family suffers from sleep disease.”

“Well, isn’t that the same for the Imperial Family?”
Alexis chuckled softly.
“So you’re not really here to cure anyone either.”

“Looks like neither are you, Your Highness.”
Suddenly, I was curious why Alexis had come here.
“Does the Imperial Family have a vested interest in this?”

“No, this is just a personal curiosity.”
So Alexis was acting alone, independent of the Imperial Family.
Then he glanced at Sir Hans and looked back at me.

“Bringing a guard was a good idea. But still, it’s best not to indulge dangerous curiosity.”
“Dangerous? What danger? Everyone here came to heal someone.”
“…Still, you never know.”

Hmm. I had the feeling he was hiding something.
Just as I thought about pressing further, a wave of murmuring swept through the crowd.
The red curtain was pulled back, and someone appeared on the stage.

“Ah! Sir Obelice!”
“He’s finally here!”
At the cries, I turned my eyes to the man now standing on the platform.

A middle-aged man with such an unremarkable face, you wouldn’t remember him if you passed him on the street.
That was Obelice—the man who supposedly worked miracles.
“He’ll heal you. Just hang in there a little longer, honey.”

“It’s okay now, Mom. I’ll make sure you get better.”
Everyone stared at him with absolute belief, as if he were a god.
Bathed in their reverence, Obelice slowly began to speak.

“My beloved guests.”
The murmuring faded like a receding tide. Obelice looked around the hall and said:
“Today, your beloved ones will awaken from their long slumber.”

With that, he walked to the bed set up at the center of the stage.
Lying there was a woman who looked utterly lifeless.
He reached out his hand toward her.

A dazzling light radiated from his fingertips.
I held my breath as I watched.
But it was no use.

That woman would not wake up.
All sleep disease patients lived with empty bodies—their souls were already devoured by the Emperor ten years ago, never to be found again.
And yet…

The woman’s limbs twitched. She slowly sat up.
The next moment, her eyes snapped open.