I Became The Villain's Master

37

After the tea break ended, Mary finished her work and left for home. She persistently asked me how I had encountered the mages, making me sweat as I avoided giving a direct answer. Anyway, I quickly satisfied my hunger with a simple toast dinner and went upstairs.

With every step up the stairs, forgotten memories emerged.

“It’s clean,” I remarked.

Mary always showed curiosity about why I cleaned the unused second floor, but I couldn’t provide a specific reason. I just cleaned it whenever I felt like it. Even when I was alone, I often cleaned the second floor.

‘I guess I pay a little more attention to it.”’

Just now, hearing the news of the Tower Lord’s return of the Magic Tower and the increased sightings of mages in the capital, I felt somewhat uneasy. I used to think I was living a life detached from the original story, but upon hearing about the Tower, I could once again feel my position as a minor supporting character.

‘I’m just a minor supporting character among the supporting characters.’

So, my goal is not to interfere with the original story! Reminding myself of this goal, I quickly glanced around Sion’s room and went back to my own room. As I entered my room, I noticed a pile of unopened letters neatly stacked on the table. At first, I thought they were letters from the mages, so I immediately opened them.

‘Sent by the Cernia House.’

The sender’s address was the Cernia House. Mistreated before by the mages and vowing never to return, Lionel sent a threatening letter. I tore open the letter and read its contents.

[Rosette, you must be insane right now. Not sending a single reply for a year. Father assured me that if you don’t return, he will disown you. How much have I sacrificed for you? Are you really not coming back? If you keep this up, I’ll have to forcibly bring you back… (omitted)]

It was something along those lines.

Ripp.

So, I immediately tore the letter in half and threw it into the trash bin. By not replying and consistently ignoring him, not only did Lionel send me a letter, but also my indifferent father. Of course, the contents were the same as Lionel’s letter.

“Seriously, how pathetic. Does he think I’ll go back because of this?”
No matter how I looked at it, Lionel seemed unable to regain his composure. The letter gave the impression that he would come visit at any moment, but he hadn’t shown up yet. Apparently, the threat of having his family erased from the empire worked.

“To think that he’s my family…”

I couldn’t understand or feel proud of Lionel, who was strong against weaker individuals. I sighed heavily and stretched.

“Should I get some work done?”

Since I hired Mary and found myself in need of more money, I have been working overtime lately. So, I headed to the living room to finish the remaining tasks I had started earlier.

Squeak.

At that moment, as I stood still outside, I heard a strange sound.

“What’s that?” I wondered.

As I stood there, straining my ears, the squeaking sound came again.

Squeak! Squeak!

“Could it be an animal?”

I heard intermittent cries coming from the garden. It could be dangerous if it was a wild animal, so I needed a weapon. I felt my hand holding the broom becoming sweaty for no reason.

Swoosh!

In that tense moment, something swiftly approached me with the sound of grass brushing against it. My blood ran cold, and my body froze. But with great effort, I managed to muster some strength and successfully swung the broom. However, it gracefully evaded the broom, coming closer.

“Ack!”

I screamed and closed my eyes tightly, and then I felt a soft touch on my leg.

“Kiing!”

“…?”

When I heard a familiar whimpering sound, a sense of familiarity washed over me. My eyes widened slowly as the sight of a fox poking me with its long snout took me by surprise.

“A fox?”

It was the fox that had gone missing during the festival. I couldn’t believe my eyes, and I blinked repeatedly.

“Really, you’re that fox?”

As I spoke, the fox responded with a cute whimper, snuggling up to me.

“Kiing!”

The fox looked well-groomed, as if someone had been taking care of it, unlike when it had run away. It had run away before, so how did it end up here?

Thankfully, it seemed healthy and unharmed.

“…You’re not injured; that’s a relief. But how did you get here?”

I gently stroked its soft fur and asked cautiously. The fox responded by sticking out its adorable tongue and licking my hand.

“Well, should we go inside the house for now?”

It could be dangerous at night, so it would be best to take it home. I concluded that and the fox showed a gesture as if to say, ‘Let’s go quickly.’

Before I knew it, the fox had dashed to the front door and was waiting for me.

‘So this is it? I become a pet owner!’

I had a feeling as if I had been chosen, but I pretended not to react and entered the house. The fox naturally climbed onto the sofa and curled up.

‘What should I do…’

I pondered the fox’s living situation while looking at it with pride.

‘Taking it back to the temple is something the fox wouldn’t like.’

During the festival, I had tried to take the fox back to the priests, but it showed signs of reluctance. It had run away and ended up somewhere else.

“Fox…”

As I approached the sofa, the fox playfully rubbed against my leg. I mustered the courage to speak.