I Became The Guardian Of The Future Villain

“Head butler, please take care of dinner for my family tonight.”

“Are you planning to stay the night?”

“It seems like we’ll have to. We won’t be staying at the manor, but we’ll have dinner here and then return to the hotel.”

“I’ll inform the head chef right away.”
After Marlus left, Hestia immediately went to find Albert.
At that moment, he was leaving the butler’s office and walking in her direction.
“Just to confirm something…”

Albert began, and Hestia looked at him.

“Is there anything that would disqualify you from becoming the guardian? For example, issues with your status.”

Hestia’s eyebrow twitched. His words were no different than saying, “Isn’t your commoner background going to be a problem?”

‘As expected, he doesn’t seem to like me.’

Although Albert had never been rude to her before, but he had never shown any particular kindness either. In fact, he had been one of the people who opposed her being selected as the guardian. She could understand how he felt.
Honestly, aside from Derrick and Leonhardt, everyone at the meeting had shown clear signs of disapproval.
There were probably others, besides Albert, who were wary of or distrusted her.
If she was to establish herself here and solidify her position as guardian, she needed to earn the trust of Albert and the other loyal servants of the duchy.
‘But I’m not too pleased with his attitude.’
Even if he didn’t like her, she didn’t expect him to be so indirect in his criticism.

“You have nothing to worry about, butler. Although I am of common birth, when my father adopted me, he used the cardinal’s seal. As far as I know, an adoption certificate with the cardinal’s seal carries the strongest legal authority.”

“Hmm. In that case, there’s no issue.”

“But it’s strange. I’ve heard that it was the Duke himself who helped secure the cardinal’s seal. How is it that you didn’t know?”

“My apologies if I’ve offended you.”

“I wasn’t asking for an apology. I was simply surprised you didn’t know.”

“When was the adoption certificate submitted?”

“About 10 years ago.”

“At that time, I wasn’t the head butler. I only took over this position 5 years ago after the previous head butler stepped down. I assume it was the former head butler who handled it for the Duke.”

“Hmm…”

If that were the case, it would make sense that he wasn’t aware.

“In any case, there’s no issue, so you can stop worrying. Now that the guardian has been chosen, we’ll also need to send a letter to the royal family.”

“Yes, I’ll take care of it.”

Perhaps he was reflecting on his mistake, as Albert’s previously cautious demeanor had somewhat softened.

As he walked away, Hestia called after him.

“Butler.”

“Yes, is there something else you’d like to say?”

“What did you do with the contract that the young lord and I wrote?”

“I placed it in the safe and instructed a servant to take it to the study.”

“So, only you and the servant have had access to it?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“One more question. Have you encountered Count Humphrey?”

“I ran into him about an hour ago, but we didn’t exchange many words.”

“Understood. Let me know later which servant handled the contract. I think I need to take a look at it again.”

“Of course, I will.”

Albert left once more, but Hestia couldn’t take her eyes off his retreating figure. If Albert was telling the truth, the only people who could have accessed the contract were him and the servant who handled the safe. This meant that one of them must have leaked its contents to Marlus…

‘Or, he could have planted a spy to steal a look.’

She would need to meet the servant and assess the situation for herself.

“How long has the butler worked here?”

She vaguely recalled seeing his face during her previous visit.

Since there wasn’t enough information to go on yet, Hestia decided to return to her family.

***

The next morning.

Before leaving for Byron, Hestia and her family stopped by the manor once more to say goodbye to Leonhard. He was visibly sad about parting with the Frost siblings, whom he had grown close to in just one day.

“You have to come visit again, okay?”

“I’ll come with my sister!”

“Next time, I’ll bring some delicious desserts.”

“Since I’ll probably come to visit my sister often, don’t feel too lonely.”

In addition to Eric, who was the same age, both Annie and Elvin had played well with him. For the first time since losing his parents, Leonhard had experienced real joy, which made the parting even more sorrowful for him.

Seeing Leonhard’s sad expression, Hestia took his hand.

“Young lord, I promise to return within a week. Until then, please take care of yourself… And don’t forget what I told you yesterday, right?”

With a glance toward Albert and the other servants behind them, Hestia whispered softly, so only Leonhard could hear.

“Trust no one. Be wary if adults try to get close.”

“Yes. If you remember that, no one will be able to look down on you.”

Hestia smiled and stood up. Then she turned to Albert and spoke.

“I’m counting on you to take care of him.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him. If anything urgent comes up, I’ll contact you immediately.”

Leonhard had mentioned that Albert had been loyal to the Winston family for 12 years. Considering he was in his early to mid-30s, that was quite a rapid promotion. Still, having served three generations of the family, she trusted that he would manage things well in her absence.

After a bittersweet farewell with Leonhard, Hestia climbed into the carriage.

When she first arrived, she had been overwhelmed with guilt and sadness over Icarus and Flora’s deaths, but now she was leaving with the responsibility of their son.

‘Perhaps this is for the best.’

The first thing she wanted to change after coming back to life was the misfortune that would befall her family.
The collapse of their house, the deaths of her parents, and her own expulsion from the family.
But after fighting so hard for the past 10 years, none of those things would happen now—or ever.

Her influence had grown too much for everything to collapse so easily.

In other words, she could now focus.on other matters.

‘Duke, I will now begin paying for my sins.’

While she hadn’t been able to prevent Icarus and Flora’s deaths, she would ensure that Leonhard didn’t suffer. Even if she had to walk a thorny path herself, she would make sure that boy found happiness.

That was how she would honor the memory of Icarus and Flora.

With this determination, Hestia clenched her fists as she looked toward the future.

***

Byron was in an uproar when they heard that Hestia had been chosen as the guardian.

“See? I knew the young lady was different from the other noblewomen! The young lord must have seen her potential when he chose her as guardian.”

“It’s an honor for the young lady to be the guardian, but what’s going to happen to us now?”

“Sigh, I’ll miss her so much if she leaves…”

“Come on, now. Instead of cheering her on, what are you doing?”

“But you’ll miss her too, won’t you?”

Hestia had played a significant role in Byron’s development, particularly in turning it into a flourishing city of the arts. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she personally brought in most of Byron’s top artists.

In the end, they all headed early to the foundation’s office to bid farewell to Hestia, as though it was their last chance.

“Young lady, please take this. It’s my latest masterpiece.”

“We all came together at the workshop to craft something just for you!”

“Make sure to show the people at the Duke’s estate why Byron is known as the city of art!”

Jewelry designers, glassblowers, artisans, leatherworkers—all the master craftsmen she had scouted gathered and presented her with precious gifts.

Hestia looked bewildered at the sight of the expensive-looking items.

“Why are you giving me all this? I heard all your schedules were fully booked for the next six months. Did you really have time to make these?”

“We made time! You’re leaving, after all!”
“How about getting all your dresses custom-made as well? We may not finish them by this week, but we’ll send them to the ducal estate later.”
“This bag— it’s for you before even the royal family. See, it’s serial number ‘1’.”
It seemed like they were worried she might feel out of place at the Duke’s estate.

“Anyway, if anyone dares to look down on you, just—bam!”

“If they treat you poorly for being young, crush them with your words!”

“Assert yourself from the start—it’ll save you trouble later.”

Somehow, their concerns felt familiar.

“Weren’t these the same things I heard when I first came to visit you all?”

Everyone’s shoulders flinched.

As master craftsmen, they had a certain sternness and old-fashioned ways about them.

“When I was a little kid, you all slammed the door in my face, said the items weren’t for children, and asked if I came alone without an adult, didn’t you?”

As Hestia wistfully stared into the distance, the lively room fell silent.

“You all said the same thing, like you rehearsed it.”

At the sight of Hestia’s narrowing eyes, their lips began to quiver.

“Well, back then… uh, we’re sorry.”

“We had no idea the young lady was such a capable person.”

“But look, we’re all here now, aren’t we? Our young lady is so sharp.”

“That’s right! Honestly, if the young lady hadn’t come to find us, we might have given up our work and started doing something else.”

“You’re a savior to all of us.”

“Just thinking about what life would be like if we hadn’t met you… ugh, it gives me chills.”

And so they began praising her, calling her their benefactor.

Watching them suddenly start venerating her, Hestia couldn’t help but chuckle.

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