Chapter 11
Colin was from a wandering village where orphans gathered and lived together.
“He was famous even back then. You know, that one pretty-looking beggar.”
“When we heard Count Edmon had taken him in, my mother wasn’t even surprised.”
When it was said he had become one of the children the Count of Edmon adopted, everyone accepted it naturally.
‘Of course, no one expected him to receive a title.’
“He’s got girls squealing all around him—what do they even see in that guy? He’s just flashy on the outside.”
…Well, he wasn’t just flashy.
Even the most embarrassingly flowery praise would not be enough to describe his looks.
Though the man grumbling in denial seemed pitiful, Jeren responded half-heartedly.
“Yeah, I wonder why they like him so much.”
“Exactly! Do they think acting like that will make him a real noble?”
“Right, right.”
To some extent, Jeren agreed.
‘What on earth is he thinking…?’
Colin was the type who drew attention simply by existing.
Had Edmon offered him something extraordinary—enough to risk becoming the talk of the town?
Jeren couldn’t understand why Colin would deliberately choose such a conspicuous card as Edmon.
‘I should talk to him soon.’
With that resolve, Jeren quietly closed the drawer containing Edmon’s documents.
“A young lady, refreshments are prepared.”
Luxurious-looking dishes and teacups were brought in, one after another.
Ara lay sprawled on the sofa, watching indifferently as the servants skillfully handled items that looked as if they might shatter at the slightest mistake.
“Young lady, you must sit up.”
The butler whispered softly.
It was an unladylike posture.
But although he corrected her, the butler inwardly pitied Arachné.
He knew that this was her only chance to breathe freely—while Colin was away.
‘It must have been hard for her.’
The servants, having witnessed the Spartan-style lessons, showed no sign of complaint.
At the butler’s urging, Ara adjusted her posture and glared at today’s dessert.
“…The cake is green.”
“I prepared kiwi mousse since it’s your favorite. Shall I bring something else?”
“No, that’s not necessary…”
She stabbed the cake and took a large bite.
“It does taste good,” she muttered.
Butler Alberto smiled warmly.
‘Normally she would have made us change it five times… The young lady has matured.’
“Does it suit your taste?”
“Yes, it tastes fine, but…”
As if unwilling to admit it, Ara pouted.
“Why is it green? I’m sick of the sight of green.”
It used to feel like the peaceful color of nature. Now it looked like poison.
She took another bite.
‘At least he doesn’t seem to treat people recklessly like Uncle did…’
Was it because he’d had a hard childhood himself?
Improving working conditions was progressing smoothly.
For now, it only applied to the mansion’s servants, but if things continued like this, Arachné likely wouldn’t be beaten to death by angry workers.
‘But…’
A character whose personality differed from the original work.
That was a significant source of anxiety.
‘Everything is pointing to Colin being the hidden villain.’
-
He worked at the Edmon merchant guild.
-
He likely resents nobles.
-
He had been hiding his sarcastic personality.
Grumbling, Ara cleaned off the entire plate of cake.
The experienced butler, adept at reading moods, signaled for the servants to clear it away.
‘Something still feels off…’
This was why one should thoroughly examine a contract before stamping—no, signing—it.
With a magic clause that could cause death, she couldn’t back out.
“Ha…”
Ara sank into the sofa.
‘It’s not like he’s done anything wrong to me.’
Colin was fulfilling his role as guardian too faithfully to nitpick.
‘How can my luck be this bad? What if he really is the hidden villain…? What if he suddenly just chops Arachné’s head off?’
Her anxious eyes landed on the elderly butler, one of the few people around her who felt reliable.
“Alberto.”
“Yes, young lady.”
“Listen to something for me.”
She beckoned him.
Though she was much younger, he showed no sign of displeasure.
The butler—who must have broken many hearts in his youth—approached with a fond expression and bowed.
“Please speak, young lady.”
“This is about a friend.”
“Yes.”
Alberto smiled subtly.
“She met someone who seemed very kind.”
“Yes.”
“So she signed a contract. He’s smart and good at his job. On the surface, there’s nothing to criticize. But…”
“But?”
“He’s not actually kind. He was pretending. Like he has two personalities. I think he’s hiding something.”
“….”
“Is there any legal way to get rid of him?”
The butler stroked his neatly trimmed beard.
After pondering briefly, he asked in return,
“Do you dislike Baron Oliver?”
“…It’s about a friend.”
“As far as I know, you haven’t had any friends since your debut.”
“….”
Ara’s face flushed. Alberto, however, remained unfazed.
“Sometimes someone turns out different from what you thought. You may not be satisfied with him now, but I don’t believe he would do anything improper to you.”
“How do you know that?”
“I was the one who first educated him as a child. His fundamental character is sound.”
“What?”
Ara’s eyes widened.
“You mean… when Father brought him in to be educated?”
“Yes. Until he was ten.”
“Then why didn’t I know?”
“You had no reason to cross paths.”
“….”
“After that, Lord Carl Edmon took him to assist with the merchant guild.”
Only then did Ara understand why, in the original story, Colin and Lumière had been childhood friends.
‘So Uncle brought him, and that’s how they met.’
The original hadn’t gone into that detail.
Seeing her fall silent, Alberto asked carefully,
“Did something happen?”
“…No.”
“Or is there a reason you think this way?”
“A reason?”
How do I say this—he was supposed to be a gentle, obedient, personality-less keychain boyfriend, and now he suddenly claims this is his real personality… suspicious!
Unable to say that, Ara slowly reviewed the original story in her mind.
‘Is there another way to confirm whether he’s the hidden villain?’
“…Ah!”
Something she had forgotten came back to her.
“Did you remember something?”
“Thank you, Alberto!”
She grabbed both his hands and shook them vigorously. The seasoned butler simply let himself be swayed.
“I need to go to the shopping district right now.”
“Now?”
Shopping? Very well.
Alberto nodded.
‘It’s been a month since the Count’s funeral. No one would fault her for a change of mood.’
He hurried out to prepare the carriage.
Thump. Ara dropped back onto the sofa.
‘A magic detector!’
In That Dark Lord, people with magical power were rare.
Like Nathan Capernik—Lumière’s fiancé.
‘And the hidden villain had magic!’
Nobles typically carried magic detectors for self-defense, in case of assassins using magic.
‘If Colin is hiding magic, the detector will catch it!’
After all, only she—who knew the original—had that information.
Ara needed certainty.
Certainty that he wasn’t the hidden villain!
‘Then I can relax and focus on building my dream workplace.’
Since she planned to hand over the merchant guild anyway, if Colin wasn’t the hidden villain, she could simply match his sarcastic attitude in return.
A smile spread across her face as she prepared to go out.
At the same time, a carriage rolled through the western shopping district.
Inside the black carriage marked with a golden melting-wax wing insignia, silence filled the space.
On one side sat Herawin, wearing a purple velvet dress that reached up to her neck despite the midsummer heat.
‘Such a taciturn child.’
She smiled inwardly at the black-haired boy sitting opposite her.
Though she herself wasn’t usually talkative, she became quite chatty around those within her circle.
Perhaps that was why she felt an unusual urge to break the silence today.
“My grandson.”
“…Yes.”
Her grandson looked unusually serious.
He might be reserved, but she didn’t think he was cold-hearted.
Then again, perhaps she couldn’t be objective about her beloved grandson.
‘He’s only eighteen—what could trouble him so deeply?’
The only things he cared about were swordsmanship, swordsmanship, swordsmanship… and perhaps the one friend he had.
And yet his face was filled with what seemed like a trivial worry.
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
At her teasing question, Nathan slowly closed and opened his eyes.
Pulled from his inner world, he answered evenly,
“…It’s nothing.”
“You’re keeping secrets from your grandmother now?”
“….”
His eyes wavered, though his posture remained perfectly upright.
Unable to remain silent before his teasing grandmother, he finally spoke.
“I heard Baron Oliver has become Edmon’s guardian.”
