I Became The Villain's Master

I was scared stiff.

Was that really Count Hauser shouting?

He was usually be sweet to me—I’d say infinitely sweet, but now he seemed like a different person altogether.

“Merchen almost got hurt too! The whole mansion’s ruined by your petty jealousy and mischief! If you want to make things up, you have to do it quietly. I’ve said it over and over again! How long will you act like a child…!”

What?

The point was firmly off the mark.

He shouldn’t scold him like that! However, when I left the fifth floor, I couldn’t hear them anymore.

* * *

Knowing that no bugs had broken into my room, I was able to confidently lie down and relax a bit.

But I couldn’t unwind completely.

My heart beating uneasily, I asked Sir Peanut to escort Rory.

Except for the time they were with us, they always kept a close eye on us.

The knight, who was away during office hours as it turned out, was away at Suga’s command.

If true, was there something that could be done?

Firing him seemed like too much, so we reached an agreement to relegate him to a guard and lower his salary.

Afterward, on the recommendation of Sir Peanut, he brought seven more knights as escorts.

Rory’s room was cleaned up and checked again for any bugs.

At around evening, Count Hauser came down to my room.

“Merchen. You must have been very surprised.”

The count kneeled before me as he spoke in a soft, friendly voice and stroked my hair.

He never looked at Rory even once.

“I’m sorry, Sweety, for being bad back there. I had to scold your brother like that, but you don’t need to worry now.”

I was angry at his misdirected hospitality. Rory is the one who needs to hear this, not me.

But to Count Hauser, Rory was just a slave.

“That’s right. My father is bad.”

“Huh?”

“Even my brothers, who resemble my father, are bad. That’s why they pwayed such a vicious prank.”

“I- I’m sorry.”

“You should be sorry for Rory, not me. That’s the wight thing to do.”

“Rory? You mean that slave?”

Count Hauser’s eyebrows were scrunched when he glanced at Rory.

What should have been common sense, was beyond his comprehension.

Still, I decided firmly on persuading him because he’s an adult.

It was with the slightest hope that he would at least understand what I meant.

“Do you think I’m pwecious? Do you?”

“Of course you’re precious. You’re my darling daughter who doesn’t irk me. You come first before anything else in the world.”

“Rory is also pwecious to his father.”

“No. Merchen. If he were so precious, his father wouldn’t have allowed him to be sold as a slave.”

“…!”

I could see Rory’s shocked expression.

I wanted to tell him that wasn’t the case, but I couldn’t right now.

I wanted to make the point that other people’s children are as precious as your biological children.

I just didn’t know it would turn out this way.

While other slaves were sold by their parents, Rory was different, he was kidnapped.

I glared at the count, hiding my bewilderment.

“What if I became a slave because my father was not a count but a powerless swave?”

“Your father’s a count. Sweety, he’s the richest man in the whole empire. That’s something you don’t have to worry about.

Why was he like this?

A sigh came out of my mouth. There was no turning back now.

“Then what if I was kidnapped?”

“What?”

“What if I was kidnapped by a swave twader and was sold into a far, far away place? How would you feel if I was hawassed there?”

“I’d kill them all.”

The count’s face heated up.

Just imagining it made him livid, his veins were visible and his fists were clenched tightly.

“I’ll pull out their hair and butcher their limbs.”

Why is he saying those sorts of things in front of a child…

Sir Peanut was seen covering Rory’s ears.

“That’s why—father, think of Rory as you would me.”

I continued, patting the back of the count’s hand roughly and calming him down.

“What Rory experienced before is what I might expewience later. Pwease.”

“……”

“Pwease?”

At this point, he seemed to understand. I looked up at the count with a desperate look. His black eyes contained a firm will.

“Don’t worry. Merchen.”

Was that enough?

I thought my persuasion was nearly over–

That was until the count held my hand tightly and continued talking.

“You will never be kidnapped. I will protect you with my life.”

“….”

My expression and heart grew cold.

While shaking off Count Hauser’s hand, I said, “Get out.”

***

The count walked out, and our timid prince was looking downcast.

“Rory. Come here.”

The count had left, and Rory, who was standing by Sir Peanut’s side, ran straight to me.

When I stretched out my arms, he came to me as if he understood perfectly.

But I was the one who hugged him first.

“Don’t worry about what my father says.”

“I don’t care.”

“Don’t lie.”

“How did you know?”

“I know everything. This is a secret…”

Smiling, I spoke in a hushed tone with my mouth close to Rory’s ear, “I sometimes see what others don’t see.”

“What others don’t see?”

“Yes.”

Rory tilted his head and blinked. I said once again, “Rory’s parents are desperately looking for Rory. I saw it.”

When I whispered and smiled like that, Rory’s eyes grew so large they looked like they’d popped out.

The way his long eyelashes fluttered was reminiscent of a butterfly’s.

“Are you sure?”

“Hey. I don’t tell lies.”

I lied without batting an eyelid, not a trace of shame was apparent on my face.

Well, I’ve never seen them, but I’m sure they’re looking for Rory. Half of it was true.

“Sniffle…”

Rory pouted as if he were holding back tears, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

Then, he smiled gallantly.

I thought this innocent little boy would believe me even if I lied outrageously.

I later ate in my room again after the commotion that disrupted the mansion’s atmosphere.

I had Anne and Sir Peanut bring their meals, so we ate together.

Having smoothly finished dinner, Rory headed to his room with Sir Peanut for a shower.

An anxious me and Anne followed behind, where we had tea time on sofas in Rory’s room.

“Ugh!”

“Cough! Cough!”

I heard Sir Peanut screaming in the bathroom and Rory coughing.

Anne knocked on the door, only to be astonished when Sir Peanut opened it.

“Cough! What is this…”

Lo and behold, the bathroom was covered from top to bottom with white powder.

Rory was wrapped in a large towel, and Sir Peanut’s attire was smeared with flour.

Water and flour stuck to his head, and his fair skin was caked with flour, leaving him pale as a ghost.

“The…the shower…”

Flour fell every time the child spoke. I gazed at the scene with my mouth agape.

“I turned on the shower, and the flour came out of the shower head.”

“Ahh…”

Sir Peanut laid Rory down on the bed for now.

Rory crawled under the blanket as if he were ashamed to come out wrapped in a towel without wearing clothes.

“Ouch!” Rory yelped.

“Why! What’s the matter, Rory!”

Anne got up, approached him, looked around, and lifted the blanket.

There was a long cactus under the blanket.

Rory was sitting at the end of the bed, so he wasn’t seriously harmed, but he had some short thorns stuck in his hand.

I’m sure the servants cleaned up a while ago.

Why didn’t they find it…?

“Anne, get the dwoctor. Sir Peanut, let’s have Rory moved to my room.”

Before I died, I was someone very tolerant.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that I’m a person who willingly gets pushed around or taken advantage of.

I don’t know exactly how hot-tempered the original Merchen Hauser was, but I’m not going to lag behind her either.

There will be no mercy on those who do me any ill-will.

I mean, I only used my superhuman patience for things that benefited me. But today, I could almost hear my patience snapping several times.

***

After removing the thorns and washing up, Rory stretched out his body— he was exhausted to the bone.

Rory and I were lying side by side in my big bed, not having dinner.

We couldn’t sleep separately because I decided to stay with him in my room.

“Anne. Bring a tent and rope.”

I ordered Anne to set up a white tent on the bed and put a blanket in it. Then I tied the rope around Rory’s waist.

“Lady, what’s with the rope?”

Rory and Anne looked at me in bewilderment. I smiled and tied a rope around my waist too.

Rory and I were fastened together, and if one moved, the other would tag along.

“Tie it tighter!”

Anne tied the rope as firmly as she could while ensuring it wouldn’t hurt us.

The sun went down late today, so I was able to stay in human form until after nine o’clock.

It was such a relief. Had I turned into a fox earlier, I wouldn’t have been able to casually give orders because of the communication barrier.

“Anne. Did you find out about the cactus?”

“It’s…the first young master–he called in a maid before the cleaning and threatened her. She replaced the covers and kept quiet about the cactus. I suppose she hid it in the covers before checking the room for bugs. The same goes for the flour incident.”

“Wow. I’ll have to talk to my brothers tomorrow morning.”

I gritted my teeth and grabbed the rope.