I Became the guardian of the future villain

Icarus entered the ceremony with a proud smile, greeting the guests who had come to celebrate his wedding. Standing at the altar, he quietly exhaled a small sigh that no one else could hear.

‘I’m more nervous than I expected.’

The priest began his address, but Icarus, tense with nerves, could barely register the words. Although the marriage was arranged, Icarus and Flora had developed deep feelings for each other through their long-standing relationship. Marrying the person he loved made it impossible not to feel anxious.

‘It’s disappointing, but it’s my only wedding. I should enjoy today.’

Icarus tried to suppress his rising sense of unease and disappointment, resolving to focus on his bride, with whom he would spend the rest of his life.

The time for the bride’s entrance had arrived. Icarus took a deep breath and turned around, his eyes landing on his radiant, smiling bride. However, what he saw alongside her made his mouth fall open.

His eyes widened in shock, and Flora giggled softly at his reaction. The flower children, walking in front of her and scattering petals, displayed various reactions.

A beautiful little girl in a pink dress smiled innocently, behaving like a child her age would. Next to her, a shy boy, also wearing a pink rose pinned to his chest, seemed hesitant, glancing nervously around.

Yet, since he was just a boy of about ten, everyone regarded him with warmth.

Icarus’s gaze naturally shifted from Flora to the boy acting as a flower child. They had reached the front of the altar by now.

Though he was supposed to extend his hand to escort Flora, Icarus couldn’t take his eyes off the boy. As murmurs began to spread among the guests, the little girl cleared her throat.

“Duke, the wedding isn’t over yet.”

Tears welled up in Icarus’s eyes. He lifted his gaze to meet Flora’s, and her expression mirrored his own.

With great effort, Icarus suppressed the emotions threatening to overwhelm him, regaining his composure.

“Thank you for coming, Luciard.”

Blushing, Luciard quickly turned his head away. This time, it seemed more like genuine embarrassment than avoidance.

As the ceremony continued, Icarus and Flora held hands and stood at the altar. The flower children naturally moved aside.

As the priest continued his sermon, Hestia whispered to Luciard, just loud enough for him to hear.

“Aren’t you glad you came?”

“…It’s not so bad.”

“You can’t fool me. I can see your lips twitching into a smile.”

Luciard hurriedly brought his hand to his mouth, but after realizing that his expression remained stern, he turned his head away in a flustered manner.

Hestia, pretending not to notice, simply ignored his gaze. Though a soft grumble escaped him, there was a faint sense of excitement hidden within it.

Despite pretending otherwise, Luciard was clearly happy to be there.

‘Now then…’

Behind her smiling face, Hestia’s expression grew serious as she scanned the room. Most of the attendants were focused on the bride and groom, but a few were staring at someone else.

‘One, two, three… five total.’

The five individuals were all fixated on Luciard. They were undoubtedly the ones who had tormented him.

There was no other reason for them to look so shocked, pale-faced, and whispering incessantly among themselves.

If they were just regular guests, they might not have been so obvious. But since they were part of the Duke’s staff, it was easy to recognize them.

‘This is for my future.’

Reassuring herself once again, Hestia began devising various ways to crush these bullies thoroughly.

***

When it was time for the ring exchange, Luciard once again stepped forward to hand over the rings, and the wedding reached its peak. The ceremony concluded successfully without incident.

As soon as it ended, both Icarus and Flora immediately approached Luciard. Although he flinched and tried to step back, Hestia subtly blocked his escape route.

Trapped, Luciard found himself face-to-face with the newlywed couple.

“Luciard…”

Icarus’s voice was full of emotion, and Luciard, embarrassed by the intensity, quickly looked away with a gruff expression.

“I thought you were mad at me.”

“You said you couldn’t come to the wedding, but here you are. Oh! I’m so happy you’re here. I hope you didn’t misunderstand.”

Both Icarus and Flora, unsure how to proceed, continued speaking to Luciard cautiously.

At that moment, Luciard glanced at Hestia.

‘This is just what she said.’

Luciard had assumed the two weren’t happy to see him.

‘You’ve never had a proper conversation with the Duke, have you?’

The lack of communication had left a deep scar.

In hindsight, Icarus had always been kind to him, telling him to ask for whatever he needed. But due to the interference of others, Luciard had misunderstood and grown fearful, distorting Icarus’s kindness.

‘I don’t want to make that mistake again.’

Determined, Luciard looked at Icarus and Flora with newfound resolve.

“Um…”

But just as he was about to speak, he caught sight of someone behind the couple and instantly fell silent.

It was the servant who had tormented him so relentlessly.

‘You know you can’t say anything, right?’

The servant’s gaze was far too insolent to be directed at his master.

For the past six months, Luciard had been subjected to the servant’s incessant bullying. Instinctively, he froze up.

“Luciard?”

Noticing Luciard falter mid-sentence, Icarus tilted his head in confusion.

Pale-faced, Luciard began to tremble, lowering his head.

“I, I…”

“Duke.”

At that moment, Hestia gestured for Icarus to lower his head. He complied, leaning down to listen.

“Luciard has a lot of injuries on his body.”

“…What?”

Icarus’s face twisted in anger.

“I saw him crying in the stairwell earlier. His ceremonial clothes were all torn.”

Only then did Icarus inspect Luciard’s outfit. It wasn’t the one he and Flora had carefully chosen—it was a much shabbier set of clothes.

‘…Did I buy him those?’

Six months ago, when he officially accepted Luciard into the household after inheriting the dukedom, Icarus had personally purchased everything for his room, making sure only the finest items were selected.

But the clothes Luciard was wearing now were clearly of lower quality than what Icarus had provided.

It felt as if he had been struck in the head. Speechless, Icarus could only stand there in shock.

“They said those servants over there have been bullying the young master.”

Hestia hadn’t even finished speaking yet.

Icarus, snapping back to reality, quickly checked on the people Hestia was pointing at.

They were all servants he had personally assigned to Luciard. And this morning, those very same servants had told him that Luciard didn’t want to attend the wedding.

“They didn’t feed him, beat him every day, stole his clothes and belongings, and lied that the Duke hated him.”

Anger surged through him, making him tremble. He wanted to tear those bastards apart right then and there.

But there was something he had to check first.

“Luciard.”

“Hmm?”

“Can we talk for a bit?”

Icarus gently suggested with a kind expression. Luciard, though confused, was soon led away by him.

No doubt Icarus wanted to check Luciard’s condition somewhere away from prying eyes.

“What’s going on?”

Flora, clueless, demanded an explanation from Hestia.

Already knowing that Flora held goodwill toward Luciard, Hestia eagerly shared what she had just told Icarus.

One minute later, with a smiling face that exuded a terrifying aura, Flora stormed off into the distance.

“…She’s walking just fine in that wedding dress, isn’t she?”

It was as if her feet had been enchanted or something.

It only showed how furious both of them were about Luciard’s situation.

“Ugh! I did my part!”

Feeling accomplished, Hestia stretched and headed toward her family.

“Dad! Mom!”

She approached them with an innocent face but stopped short when she saw Derrick looking like he was on the verge of tears.

A bad feeling crept up on her, so she kept her distance from Derrick and looked over at Anna.

‘What’s wrong with Dad?’

‘I have no idea.’

Anna shrugged. Feeling uneasy, Hestia hesitantly stood in front of Derrick.

“…Dad, is something wrong?”

“Sniff! My daughter must never get married!”

“…Huh?”

“Even if the emperor himself asks, my daughter is far too precious! She can never get married!”

Hestia was confused for a moment, but it soon became clear. Walking side by side with Luciard as flower children must have looked like a mini wedding ceremony in Derrick’s eyes.

“Oh, Dad, come on. How old do you think I am?”

“…Eight.”

“Only adults can get married. It’s still more than 10 years away.”

“That’s true, but…”

Derrick, deep in thought, suddenly frowned as if the idea was unbearable.

“Still, no marriage.”

“I never even said I wanted to.”

Why worry about something so far off in the future?

“You’re being ridiculous. Kids grow up, and they’ll have to marry someday.”

“Who could I possibly give such a beautiful daughter to?”

“Then what are your requirements for a son-in-law?”

“All of them are unacceptable…”

“Stop just saying ‘all’ and give some specifics.”

Silenced, Derrick thought hard for a moment before finally speaking.

“Tall, handsome, capable, no woman problems, and completely devoted to my daughter—someone who’d give up everything for her.”

“Ugh, why not just say you hate all men?”

Anna clicked her tongue at his unrealistic demands.

“Is that it?”

“You didn’t meet all those requirements either, so why act so picky?”

“Ahem.”

Derrick awkwardly cleared his throat and avoided Anna’s sharp gaze.

He then cautiously approached Hestia and whispered to her.

“Even if he doesn’t meet all those conditions, as long as he’s willing to lay down his life for you, I’ll approve. There aren’t many men out there who’d go that far.”

“Dad, would you risk your life if Mom were in danger?”

“Of course!”

He smiled foolishly, flashing his teeth, and for a moment, Hestia felt a pang of bitterness.

When her parents had passed away, Derrick had been found holding Anna in his arms.

Though she didn’t know exactly what had happened, she was certain Derrick had tried to protect Anna until the very end.

“Then I’ll find someone like you, Dad!”

Usually, she exaggerated her words to make Derrick feel better or to make up for things she hadn’t done for him.

But this time, she was being sincere.

Derrick must have sensed that because his eyes widened in surprise, and soon they were filled with tears again.

He immediately opened his arms and hugged Hestia as tightly as he could.

“My daughter really shouldn’t marry! I’ll keep you by my side forever!”

“I don’t want that.”

“Honey, people are watching. Get up already.”

Even though Hestia was firm, and Anna was embarrassed, Derrick just kept smiling foolishly, clearly happy.