I Became the guardian of the future villain

Flap— Flap—

 

The sound of pages turning filled the air as warm sunlight streamed through the window. It was an ordinary day, peaceful and pleasantly warm.

 

The girl, who had been flipping through the newspaper, suddenly hesitated at a certain point.

 

The sound of pages turning ceased for a moment, followed by a quiet sigh that spread softly through the room.

 

The girl placed the newspaper on the side table. Then, she stood up and approached the open window.

 

Outside, the garden was decorated carefully came into view, along with the land of Byron, which had now taken on the distinct shape of a city.

 

As the saying goes, “In ten years, even mountains and rivers change,” a decade was more than enough time for the town to develop into a city.

 

Watching the changing landscape year by year had become one of the girl’s small pleasures.

 

But today, it felt just a little different.

 

Suppressing the overwhelming emotions rising within her, she took a deep breath with all her might and…

 

“Waaah! Finally!”

 

She shouted at the top of her lungs, loud enough for the entire city to hear.

 

Soon, her hearty laughter echoed through the mansion, and the servants working around the estate chuckled in confusion.

“What’s she up to today?”

“Seems like something good happened to the young lady.”

“Looks like the mansion will be lively all day.”

The person at the center of the servants’ chatter?

 

Hestia Frost.

 

The eldest daughter of the Frost family, who had just turned 18 this year.

 

She was also a key figure who managed much of Derrick’s work and was leading the development of Byron.

 

Many in Byron were now aware of Hestia’s foresight.

 

Every project or thing Hestia got involved in created a scarcity effect, which directly helped Byron to grow.

 

Nobody in Byron could think poorly of her for her good intentions to uplift both the Frost family and Byron itself.

 

On top of that, her beauty, which was a lot like Anna’s, often prompted other noble families to suggest engagements.

 

As she leaned out the window, her radiant smile brought happiness to those who saw it.

 

“Ah, today is the best day ever.”

 

As she was enjoying the refreshing air and a peaceful morning, the door opened with a click.

 

“What are you doing, making all this noise so early in the morning? I had no choice but to wake up.”

 

At the gruff voice, Hestia tucked her golden-brown hair behind her ear and turned around.

 

Her younger brother was leaning against the doorframe, looking all disheveled with his hair messy and his eyes half-closed.

 

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand. And what’s with that tone towards your older sister?”

 

“You’ve been gloomy these past few days, and now you’re suddenly cheering in the morning. Anyone would find that suspicious. Honestly, sis… you look perfectly normal, but you’re weird.”

 

Recently, Hestia had been feeling restless and was showing signs of anxiety, behaving as if she had lost her mind.

 

Elvin, her younger brother, was genuinely concerned about her.

 

Seeing her change her attitude so suddenly, he could only think of her as the same old Hestia.

 

“Ugh, with this kind of behavior, do you think you’ll ever get engaged? Your fiancé will definitely run away when they see you acting like a lunatic.”

 

Hestia smiled at Elvin’s usual teasing.

 

“My dear Elvin.”

 

Elvin flinched at the sudden change in her tone.

 

“W-what? Don’t come any closer.”

 

“Now that you’re 13, I guess puberty has hit, huh? You’re picking fights with your older sister, who’s five years older than you, hmm?”

 

Despite her brightly smiling face, there was a dark aura around her. Feeling a sense of crisis, Elvin hurriedly turned and ran for his life.

 

“Waaah! Sister is bullying me!”

 

“Who’s bullying who? Who started the fight first? You’ve been coddled so much that you don’t even respect me anymore…!”

 

Thud! Crash! Bang!

 

The mansion’s second floor rattled with noise.

 

Awoken by the ruckus, the third and fourth siblings opened their doors and stared at the older pair racing around the hallway.

 

“Are they playing hide-and-seek?”

 

“Does that look like hide-and-seek to you?”

 

As the youngest, Eric, giggled with sparkling eyes, the third sibling, Annie, clicked her tongue.

 

But Eric, who still loved playing, laughed merrily and began chasing after his older siblings down the hallway.

 

Seeing this, Annie let out a deep sigh and closed her door.

 

“One, two, three…”

 

“Hey! Why are you guys causing chaos first thing in the morning? Can’t you be quiet?!”

 

Anna’s scolding voice echoed through the hallway. The corridor, which had been noisy as if a bomb had gone off, instantly fell silent, and Anna’s nagging of her children rang out like a familiar song.

 

Annie half-listened to it as she slipped back into bed.

 

“Ugh, why is it noisy every single morning?”

 

Annie, who had just turned 10 this year, was feeling fed up with having so many siblings.

 

* * *

 

“So, in the end, you got scolded, huh?”

 

“Tsk, it was Elvin who started it.”

 

“Well, he must feel close to you to tease you like that. And you know, Elvin has been the one who was most worried about you these days.”

 

After the morning commotion and getting hit on the head by Anna, Hestia was now rubbing the lump on her head as she spent time with Derrick.

 

“Still, there’s no reason to hit her precious daughter, right? Should Dad secretly scold Mom for you?”

 

“Ugh, don’t. If you do that, you’ll just end up getting nagged yourself.”

 

“True, your mother has been pretty scary lately. Don’t you think?”

 

It had been 10 years since Hestia returned to the past.

 

By now, she had fully accepted Derrick as her father, and the two had become inseparable.

 

Seeing her father’s unchanged “daughter-obsessed” behavior, Hestia burst out laughing.

 

“So, have you resolved what’s been troubling you lately?”

 

At Derrick’s question, Hestia stopped laughing.

 

The recent issues with Elvin and Derrick’s unspoken worries all came from their concern for Hestia.

 

Up until yesterday, anyone who looked at her could see that she was carrying a heavy burden of worries because she was almost constantly in a foul mood.

 

She had spent the past two weeks restless, as if something troubling was about to happen.

 

“I’m fine now. The thing I was worried about has been taken care of.”

 

“That’s a relief. Oh, by the way, I heard Duke Winston postponed his schedule in the capital. So, he won’t be arriving in Byron for a few more days.”

 

“Yes, I saw that in the newspaper.”

 

‘And that’s exactly why I cheered.’

 

It had been 10 years since Hestia had returned, and it was now the spring of her 18th year.

 

This was the time when Duke Winston and his wife would die in an accident.

 

And their deaths were a major trigger that would create a future villain.

 

For the past 10 years, Hestia had been trying in every way possible to prevent the darkness looming in the future.

 

First, she had expanded and solidified the Frost family’s influence so that no one, especially the Harbor, would dare target them.

 

She also laid a financial foundation strong enough to withstand multiple crises without faltering.

 

As about five years passed, Hestia found herself achieving results beyond what she had dreamed of. With peace of mind, she was finally able to face the future events she had long avoided.

 

“Strengthening the Frost family was a good move, but as a result, our bond with the Winston family has grown even stronger.”

 

Early in her return, she shouldn’t have accepted the investment for the scented soap from the Winstons. After that, the Winstons continuously invested in Frost and Byron, and the two families became even closer. 

Originally, Hestia had planned to completely erase the Frost family from Winston’s family tree.

However, they had become almost like brothers, which derailed that plan.

In the end, Hestia had no choice but to find another method, aiming to eliminate the triggers that would turn Winston into a future villain.

 

“Figuring out the sequence of events right after the regression was a brilliant move.”

 

She had meticulously noted down every detail while her memories were still clear, including the circumstances surrounding the death of Duke and Duchess Winston.

 

The reason Hestia had been anxious for days but finally felt calm today was because.

 

Today was the day the Duke and Duchess of Winston were supposed to die.

 

They were scheduled to die in an accidental incident while traveling to the capital. However, Hestia had written to the Duke days earlier, persuading him to delay the trip. She was worried, thinking something might still go wrong without a reply, but that morning’s newspaper confirmed that their schedule had changed.

 

“It’s done. Now that terrible event will never happen.”

 

The weight that had been pressing down on her for the past 10 years felt like it had lifted in an instant. No matter how much money she made, how hard she trampled on the Harbor family, or how much she increased the prestige of the Frost family, she had always felt a lingering unease. 

 

But now, finally, she could sleep peacefully.

 

“Oh, by the way, Duke Winston sent a letter the other day, asking if you could let him know if you see Lord Luciard anywhere.”

 

“Luciard?”

 

“Don’t you remember? There was talk about you being engaged to him when you were younger.”

 

Of course, she remembered. 

 

Wasn’t he the illegitimate child who had been abused by the servants? After she had helped him, he reconciled with Icarus and had been living well in the duke’s household, and she had heard that. He had even been able to attend the academy.

 

“I remember. But what about him?”

 

“He’s been missing for two years.”

 

“Cough! What?!”

 

Hestia choked in shock and looked up at Derrick, who patted her back. 

 

“Missing? Does he have issues with the duke?”

 

“Well, I wouldn’t say issues… The duke claims their relationship is good, but Luciard hasn’t returned home since graduating and seems to have disappeared.”

 

Hestia’s mouth fell open at the unbelievable news.

 

“They’ve kept it a secret so far, fearing it might cause rumors in society. But despite searching the entire country, they haven’t found him. So, if you hear anything about him, let me know. Oh, here’s a sketch of him.”

 

Hestia stared, dumbfounded, at the wanted-poster-like drawing.

 

The face of the man drawn on the paper was quite handsome, enough to vividly revive her memories of Luciard.

 

“He still looks sharp.”

 

But he was as handsome as Icarus, so it seemed likely that many women were drawn to him.

 

“With a face like this, you’d think he’d be found easily.”

 

“They’ve had a few leads, but he’s always slipped away. It seems like he might be trying to cut ties with the family entirely. Yet, strangely enough, he still sends a gift to Lord Leonhard every year for his birthday.”

 

“I have no idea what he’s thinking.”

 

“Imagine how the duke feels. Anyway, remember this face, and if you ever run into him, let me know, okay?”

 

“Yes.”

 

What on earth is Luciard thinking?

 

She had helped him reconnect with Icarus to prepare for the future. When she heard he was going to the academy, she thought he was doing well and lost interest.

 

But now, she was stunned by this unexpected turn of events.

 

If she had known this sooner, she might have been suffering from stress ulcers.

 

She decided to stop thinking about that.

 

“It doesn’t matter if Luciard is around anymore, does it?”

 

Feeling good again, Hestia savored the fragrant tea.

 

“Dad, isn’t the weather nice today?”

 

Rumble.

 

As she hummed a tune while looking out at the cloudy, overcast sky, Derrick hesitated for a moment but, true to his doting father nature, agreed with her.