I Became The Guardian Of The Future Villain

“Ahem, but think about it again. I’m not saying I want to embezzle money; I just want to carry out a good business project, so what’s there to worry about?” 

 

“I’m sorry. You mentioned that there were many people willing to invest, so it would be best to receive funds from them. The Winston’s will not be involved in this matter.”

 

Malrus’s face turned red with anger.

 

‘He must be frustrated that things aren’t going his way.’

 

I understand.

 

It’s only natural for him to be upset when someone younger is obstructing him.

 

But what’s not possible, is not possible.

 

“If you invest now, you could earn money from that ship later.”

 

“If it works out, it would be good for you, Count. I will support you.”

 

“Enough! If you don’t want to, you should have said so earlier…!” 

 

“Ah, just to let you know, the relocation of the naval base is not an option.” 

 

“You have no right to intervene in the business if you’re not investing!” 

 

“I’m talking about the military, not business. You haven’t forgotten that the Winston Duke received full authority over the naval base from the imperial family, have you?” 

 

As She smiled, Malrus could no longer contain his frustration and stood up abruptly.

 

“Are you worried about wasting your investment? Or are you planning to spend money in some foolish way?! There’s no way you could refuse so coldly otherwise!” 

 

“No, that’s not it. Even outside of this business, I’m planning to carefully examine everything and only invest in what seems right.”

 

“If you keep that up, you’ll only maintain the Duke’s current state! What’s wrong with this redevelopment project?!”

 

“Of course, it’s a good business idea. But I think it might be a bit risky.” 

 

“You’re making a huge mistake!” 

 

The mistake isn’t mine; it’s yours.

 

After all, Malrus manages that town, so he can’t stop the redevelopment.

 

However, the Duke won’t be involved in the redevelopment, so I can just watch Malrus fall into the pit, like a fire across the river.

 

‘It’s clear how much he will regret this later.’

 

“I apologize again. My decision remains unchanged.” 

 

Unlike the calm Hestia, Malrus was agitated and turned his head sharply.

 

“Ugh! This is pointless!” 

 

“I’ll see you on your way.” 

 

“Enough! Don’t follow me! I’ll go on my own!” 

 

Thud thud

 

He deliberately stomped his feet to express his anger, but Hestia obediently remained seated as he had instructed.

 

When she really didn’t follow him, Malrus seemed exasperated and slammed the door shut.

 

She could hear him venting his anger at the servants beyond the door.

 

“That old man really….” 

 

She couldn’t help but click her tongue.

 

But the thought that she had managed to get one over on Malrus made her feel a bit better.

 

He must looked like he was about to blow up with frustration.

 

I wonder how upset he is? Poor thing.

 

Hestia swung her legs and hummed a little tune, then slowly rose from her seat.

 

“Let’s see, let’s see….”

 

She approached the window and looked outside.

 

From here, she could see clearly to the entrance gate.

 

By now, He should have reached the gate and had plenty of time to board his carriage, but… 

 

“There’s no one?” 

 

Hestia narrowed her eyes.

 

Was it because he walked slowly and hadn’t arrived yet?

 

No, it was because he had business elsewhere and couldn’t leave this place yet.

 

How predictable.

 

“Shall I wait and see what they’re up to?” 

 

Having already riled him up, he would surely act differently this time. And that would likely be the perfect time to set a trap.

 

Hestia smiled slightly as she stepped away from the window.

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

“Let’s call it a day here.” 

 

“Huh? We’re finishing early today too?” 

 

“Yes, I think we can afford to take things slowly.” 

 

Leonhard was bewildered when the class ended early.

 

At first, he liked having more free time, but as it happened a few times, he began to feel strange about it.

 

‘Mom and Dad always said I should study diligently.’

 

Even though his parents had passed away, he remembered what they had said during their lifetime.

 

Especially about studies; they had mentioned that it was okay not to do advanced learning but that he should progress steadily to avoid lacking knowledge.

 

“I’m still fine. I can study more today.” 

 

In the end, Leonhard made a big decision for himself.

 

It was indeed rare for a child of his age to say they wanted to study first.

 

But now that the family tutor had packed up, he shook his head, ignoring Leonhard’s enthusiasm.

 

“No, there’s no need to cover too much ground. This is sufficient.” 

 

“That’s not true. We’re progressing slower than before.”

 

“Your Excellency, you don’t need to study as hard as before anymore.” 

 

“…Huh?” 

 

“Your Excellency has adults around to help you, so you don’t have to struggle through your studies. At this age, you should play as much as you want. You can study slowly later.” 

 

At first glance, it sounded like a kind statement for Leonhard, but a closer look revealed a subtly different nuance.

 

“But I need some knowledge to handle the Duke’s affairs, as Hestia said…” 

 

“Lady Frost and Count Humphrey are both strong allies of Your Excellency. You can leave all the complicated and difficult matters to the adults. There’s no need for Your Excellency to get involved.” 

 

“Is that so?” 

 

“Yes, that’s how it is. Do you think I would say something strange to Your Excellency?” 

 

He had been Leonhard’s first tutor for two years.

 

As his first teacher, Leonhard began to feel confused about whether he could doubt him.

 

“Anyway, that’s all for today’s class. I’ll see you again tomorrow.” 

 

Before Leonhard could even catch him, he left him alone in the library.

 

He glanced down at his desk for a moment.

 

Then he checked the progress he had made since the classes resumed.

 

“Slow, isn’t it?” 

 

The difference was stark compared to before.

 

Looking back, the classes were no longer as tight and demanding as they used to be, and somehow, the attitude toward him had become more relaxed.

 

It wasn’t rude, but the formality and carefulness that had characterized their interactions were gone.

 

Moreover, certain remarks during the lessons had begun to weigh on his mind.

 

“Your Excellency doesn’t need to know this.”

 

“Let’s skip this. It’s not an important matter.”

 

“Your Excellency doesn’t need to learn this. Everyone around will handle it.” 

 

“It feels like they’re ignoring me.”

 

He can’t quite express it, but it felt like they were intentionally withholding information to exclude him.

 

Leonhard stood up from his seat and headed out into the hallway.

 

He intended to confront him about why things had changed.

 

But perhaps because he was a little late, the hallway was empty.

 

Then, from the far left, he heard Baker’s (Tutor) voice. Leonhard cautiously moved closer.

 

As he reached the bottom of the staircase at the end of the hallway, he overheard the conversation.

 

“…is waiting.” 

 

“I’ve been waiting. How nice it would be if the guardian was someone who communicated well.” 

 

“Did you make a deal with Lady Frost?” 

 

“No, I was watching how things went, but there wasn’t a word. It’s safer for the other party to approach like this than for me to propose something first, right? I don’t want to say anything unnecessary and risk misunderstandings.” 

 

‘If the guardian is Hestia, then…?’ 

 

Had Baker met Hestia before?

 

No, even more so, it didn’t seem like he had ever met her, yet he was mentioning Hestia?

 

Leonhardt peeked out a bit late. He could see the back of Baker as he was going down, along with another person in front of him.

 

As they turned the corner to go down another level, the person in front suddenly stopped and looked up.

 

The baker tilted his head in curiosity.

 

“Is something wrong?”

 

“…It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

 

Leonhard, who had been hiding behind the wall with his hands covering his mouth, cautiously peeked out.

 

Confirming that they had completely disappeared from his view, he took a breath.

 

“Phew, I thought I was going to get caught. But….”

 

Who on earth was that person with the baker?

 

Leonhard rolled his eyes and slipped out of the corridor.

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

“That really happened…!”

 

“Is that so?”

 

After finishing dinner, it was time for Leonhard’s play session, which they held once a day.

 

No matter how busy she was, Hestia felt she shouldn’t neglect taking care of Leonhard, so she managed a bit of time to spend about an hour with him.

 

However, before starting their play, Leonhard told Hestia about what had happened that day.

 

“I heard that too. They say the tutor isn’t like he used to be.”

 

“Right! He used to rush me to progress quickly and told me I needed to work hard from now on to become a wonderful person like my parents. But now his words have changed.”

 

Leonhard chattered away about what the baker had said to him recently.

 

Hestia listened attentively, not letting slip any details she had heard from Hilda.

 

“Isn’t it strange from your perspective, Hestia?”

 

“Yes, there is something suspicious. It started being like this right after classes resumed, correct?”

 

They hadn’t been able to hold classes for almost two to three weeks due to the funeral and other procedures following the news of the Duke and Duchess’s death.

 

To keep up with the original schedule, they would need to proceed with a strict regimen, yet the opposite was happening.

 

‘It’s likely that he is colluding with someone.’

 

Hilda seems to have picked the right suspects.

 

“And do you know who he was with after class?”

 

Leonhard whispered to Hestia as if sharing a secret.

 

Hestia’s eyes widened as she looked back at Leonhard.

 

“Why were they together? And the baker acted like he knew you. Have you met him before?”

 

“No, the last time I met him was with the prince, and it was both the first and last time.”

 

“Right? But the baker was talking about you as if he had something to discuss.”

 

“Do you remember what he said?”

 

Leonhard nodded and recounted what he had heard word for word.

 

“Why on earth would he say that?”

 

“…Have you told anyone else about this?”

 

“Only Daisy.”

 

“You didn’t tell Albert or anyone else, right?”

 

“Yeah. Something about Albert… feels off.”

 

Leonhard seemed a bit hesitant, suggesting something had happened with Albert.

 

“Can I really just study like this?”

 

“That can’t be. The baker is acting strangely. Of course, we can adjust the pace a little so the prince doesn’t struggle, but skipping over what needs to be taught is unacceptable.”

 

“Then you should tell Baker. I don’t like studying a lot, but I also don’t want to just brush over it like this.”

 

“Yes, I will make sure to give him a piece of my mind. I’ll talk to him separately tomorrow, so don’t worry.”

 

“Okay! I trust you, Hestia!”

 

Now that their conversation was over, Leonhard brought over a few storybooks and asked her to read to him.

 

Hestia, showcasing the storytelling skills she had honed while taking care of her younger siblings, captivated Leonhard completely.