I Became a Dark Fantasy Villain

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“An annuity?”

Ian asked.

Miguel shrugged and replied.

“Well, the thing is, matters didn’t resolve as smoothly as I had hoped.”

“Tell me more.”

“…Well, since we’re going to see Sir soon anyway, it might be a good idea for you to know as well.”

Miguel moved closer to Ian.

Ignoring Ian’s frown, he continued.

“After parting ways with you, Sir and I came straight to Agellan. We had some minor fights along the way, but those weren’t important. Anyway, as soon as Sir arrived at Agellan, she headed for the castle, not the main residence.”

The tone was a mix of amazement, but Ian was puzzled.

Well, it’s Maeve after all, so some surprises are expected.

“We nearly made an immediate entrance. I was flabbergasted. We met the king within an hour of arriving at Agellan. As you can imagine, His Majesty didn’t bother with our whereabouts.”

Miguel shrugged.

“He welcomed Sir’s return and acknowledged her efforts. Then he finally noticed me. He praised Sir for her loyalty… I mean, her talk of the fallen. She brought up the issue of the corrupted ones. She said I was a witness.”

“It sounds like things went fairly smoothly up to this point.”

Phillip chimed in.

Miguel nodded.

“I thought the same. Then the soldiers came with the heads of the werewolf and dark mage, and they even brought the crown of the former lord. The former lord’s body hadn’t decayed. His Majesty was surprised, then he thanked Sir and comforted her. He even consoled her. After that, he appointed her as the new lord. He asked her to take charge of the knights in place of the former lord. And then…”

Miguel turned to Phillip.

“He told her to go back to her family, detoxify fully, and then things would get busy.”

“Huh… What about identifying the corrupted ones?”

Phillip raised an eyebrow.

Miguel smirked.

“Of course, Sir brought that up too. But His Majesty’s response was something like, We’ve already dealt with the fallen one’s death, so what’s the problem? He didn’t seem concerned about the possibility of the fallen ones lurking in Agellan… His expression darkened. And then he ordered a meeting and told me to step aside.”

“Weren’t they conducting it in secrecy?”

“I thought something was off too. But then, there wasn’t much time to think. Chaos broke out the moment I returned to Sir’s family. The missing lord had returned, even though he was dead. And he returned as a fallen one.”

Miguel stopped talking as they reached the next gate.

There were guards again, but they saw Miguel’s face and stepped aside without a word.

The atmosphere shifted once more.

A wide, clean road. The houses, designed to be impenetrable from the outside, had whiter bricks and redder roofs.

And the covert glances directed at them were felt by many.

Especially glances filled with caution and enmity.

As Ian walked on without showing any reaction.

“Sir revealed everything. …Even though she killed the former lord herself.”

Miguel’s solemn voice continued.

“Though not everyone held it against her. The atmosphere grew indescribably dark. The bloodline was severed. The former lord didn’t even perform the rites. The current residents of Liurel are those who might leave tomorrow.”

“So, what happened at the meeting after that?”

Ian interrupted, uninterested in personal matters.

Miguel cleared his throat.

“The meeting took place a few days later. Sir publicly declared the existence of the fallen ones in front of nearly all her subjects. I stood as a witness, and all the evidence was presented. No one could deny the facts.”

Miguel’s steps slowed down.

The mansion of Liurel was soon in sight.

“Someone spoke up at that moment. However, evidence of the darkness shrouding Agellan wasn’t considered valid. They demanded concrete proof. Otherwise, it would only lead to mutual distrust among the subjects, they said.”

“That person must be certain that a fallen one exists. Do you remember the name or face?”

“Not at all. Honestly, I was quite nervous. …If you had seen the way the family looked at me, you’d understand.”

Miguel added, slightly uneasy.

“Anyway, the lord didn’t respond to that statement.”

“I guess you kept my presence a secret.”

Ian stated.

Miguel nodded.

“Both of us, from start to finish, didn’t mention you at all. I did as Sir instructed.”

“Perhaps you were concerned about the implications for this side as well. A wise decision. So?”

“The King also agreed with the statement. He instructed Sir to stay confined at home for a while. That’s when Sirs’ espionage started. Until now.”

“Is Sir… alright?”

“Outwardly, she’s perfectly managing her duties. The knights are restless. Personally… Honestly, I’m not sure.”

Worry appeared in Miguel’s eyes.

“We talk occasionally, and she handles the tasks she’s assigned. But she never reveals her emotions. Even less so than before.”

“…I see.”

Phillip’s pupils showed a mixture of concern and restlessness.

“I can only trust you, Sir. Honestly, I have no idea how to handle this.”

Miguel said, stopping as he walked.

A mansion shielded by one side of the wall.

“Let’s go in.”

Miguel pushed the door on the wall’s surface.

The garden behind the door came into view.

It was meticulously maintained, but silence pervaded, making it eerie.

‘So, this is the atmosphere of a noble family in decline.’

Ian walked into the house nonchalantly.

A servant hurried over from a corner of the garden and whispered something to Phillip.

Looking at the two-story mansion enveloped by the garden, Ian spoke.

“Where’s the lord?”

“Her office is upstairs. Please follow me.”

Miguel stepped forward energetically.

As Phillip had grown accustomed to the life of a mercenary, he seemed to have also adapted completely to his role as Maeve’s deputy. He even genuinely felt anger and concern for her situation.

‘Quite a lot of mercenaries. It’s a surprise that he survived.’

Ian’s gaze shifted abruptly as he stood in the corridor. He had halted because a girl in a dress was staring intently at them.

As much as Maeve, she had pale skin and red hair. Green eyes. And a face close to expressionless.

“Miss, this is the guest of the lord.”

Miguel spoke firmly upon seeing her.

After her gaze moved between Ian and Phillip, it settled on Ian again.

She nodded politely.

Ian also nodded quickly, but she turned and went into a room.

“Miss Lucy. Her name is Lucia, but everyone calls her that. She’s the lord’s cousin.”

Miguel whispered.

“She’s someone you’ll find difficult to describe when you get to know her. …It’s not the right time to talk about it now, though.”

He quickly added upon seeing Ian’s gaze.

Ian clicked his tongue in annoyance.

He didn’t like being informed about irrelevant stories, but he disliked it even more when it was about a child. It was because this world was too primitive and cruel for children like her to live in.

So, Ian had avoided getting involved with children as much as possible.

There were a few times when he had turned thugs and mercenaries, who thought hitting children was a game, into idiots.

“We’re here.”

Miguel stopped and opened the door.

Inside was a room with a long table and chairs in the center.

Maeve was standing by the window.

When Ian’s gaze met her somewhat cold face, he sensed that her inner self had changed completely from before.

Her green eyes felt inorganic, lacking even a hint of warmth.

“It’s been a while, Ian.”

Her voice was also cold, contrary to the content.

She must have lived like a machine.

As Ian stepped into the room, he nodded slightly.

“It’s been a while, Sir.”

Phillip had reached her almost simultaneously.

“Sir, are you alright? Your face looks quite haggard. It seems Miguel hasn’t been taking care of your meals properly.”

In response to the words that flowed without pause, a faint smile finally graced Maeve’s lips.

It was an awkward smile that seemed to be trying out such an expression for the first time in a very long while.

“It seems you’ve become more refined in my absence, Phillip. It looks like you’ve gained scars similar to mine.”

Phillip turned his gaze away awkwardly.

“My scars have increased.”

“So… have you learned a lot?”

In the midst of the following question, Phillip looked directly at her.

“Yes. I’ve learned a lot.”

“Good.”

“Well, at least it’s barely reached a level where he can manage things somehow.”

Ian pulled out a chair and sat down, injecting a bit of sarcasm.

Maeve’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Thank you for safely bringing Phillip back, Ian.”

“He’s quite persistent.”

He glanced at her with a slight shrug.

“I heard the story briefly. You’ve been through a lot.”

“It’s a given. Seeing Phillip, it seems like you both were the one who had a hard time.”

Both Ian and Phillip didn’t deny her words.

Maeve took a seat at the head of the table.

“Did the request I entrusted to you get resolved?”

“Yes. The culprits were Marquis Burchard and his son.”

After concluding his account of events, Ian retrieved a sigh of relief. The story, sometimes supplemented by Phillip’s comments, came to an end, and Miguel let out a long sigh.

“You’ve been through some tremendous events… So, did you gather the evidence and the witnesses?”

Maeve asked calmly.

Ian raised his head and pulled out a sealed space.

“What?! How did you do that?”

“Efficiently.”

He gave Miguel’s question a short answer, then turned to Maeve.

“Inside here are the pieces of evidence. And…”

Ian pulled out a sealed scroll.

“What’s this? A letter personally written by the current lord, Marquis Declan Burchard.”

“You’ve done your best.”

“The most important part is still left.”

Ian added and calmly took out a book with engraved patterns on it.

“The list of the fallen ones. It’s not exhaustive, but… it mostly includes key figures.”

“…!”

Maeve, who had maintained her composure throughout, finally widened her eyes.

While Ian was smiling, barely-contained emotions erupted within her, and she stood up.

“Looks like the story will take a while. Let’s prepare dinner first.”

Perhaps due to her determination for revenge, life was returning to her eyes.

…I guess you could call this fortunate.

While sighing inwardly, Ian shrugged his shoulders.

“But before that, I need to take a bath.”

***

Ippotranslation

***

As Ian entered the room, he collapsed onto the bed.

“Ahh…”

A rare content sigh escaped him.

He felt like he knew why Miguel’s face had been lighting up.

It was because he had tasted spiced and salted food after a long time.

From clean new clothes to a soft bed.

Ian enjoyed every luxury he had missed.

There was no reason not to.

After all, it wouldn’t be long before a foul smell returned to the situation.

During the meal, Maeve briefly explained her plan.

It was quite bold, but Ian decided to follow her plan.

If he had to do it anyway, a simple plan was better, even if it was aggressive.

‘…Compared to when it was a game, it’s at a cute level.’

Suddenly, he felt a slight narrowing between his brows.

Someone was knocking on the door.

At this late hour, who could it be?

As Ian opened the door with a casual gesture, his expression changed strangely.

It was because an unexpected individual was standing there.

Lucia. The girl, probably around twelve years old at most, stared at him intently.

“What is it?”

He blurted out, and Lucia blinked her eyes as if coming to her senses.

“Goodnight. Or tell me what it is.”

Ian added curtly.

He had no intention of having a long conversation.

He didn’t want to ruin her good mood either.

Lucia opened her mouth without showing any sign of being intimidated by that voice.

“I’ve come to ask you something, so I’ve come even though it’s quite late.”

“What is it?”

“Are you the same mercenary?”

Ian’s brow narrowed.

“The… mercenary?”

“Miguel told me. You’re the legendary mercenary who killed the swamp dragon, beheaded the rider, and cursed ancient beast, the dark mage who controls the undead. You’re helping my sister, no, the lady.”

“…”

That brat, Miguel, really.

Ian’s narrowing between his brows deepened.

He probably had to pull out that brat’s tongue tomorrow, without a doubt.

“Is that legendary mercenary… you?”

“…Yeah. It wasn’t a dragon, but a Drake.”

Lucia’s eyes widened slightly.

There was still no change in her expression, but her eyes sparkled momentarily, almost as if she was momentarily flustered.

Of course, it only lasted a moment.

“Thank you for answering.”

She bowed politely.

She’s just a little uncomfortable.

This is an adult child.

Scratching his cheek, Ian looked at her, but her gaze on him remained, so he clicked his tongue.

“Do you still have something to say?”

“If you’re the mercenary I’ve heard about… I wanted to convey my gratitude to you for helping milady. Perhaps you might be stronger than my curse.”

“Curse…?”

“Yes. Those I love all die.”

“…”

What’s with this talk?

While Ian furrowed his brows in confusion.

Lucia, who had greeted him nonchalantly with please rest well, turned around as if she didn’t mind at all.

As he absentmindedly watched her small retreating figure, he eventually raised his head and turned back.

“Is there anyone in this damn family who’s just an ordinary human…?”

His muttering voice suddenly grew quieter.

Then, all of a sudden, someone’s voice echoed in his ears.

Those I love all die.

A strange sense of foreboding came over him.

Since becoming this entity, this feeling hadn’t been wrong once.

In the end, Ian let out a wry laugh.

‘…Well, whatever. It’s not like she’s a bad person. I should probably prepare for the worst, just in case.

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Translator; ippo

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