I Became The Guardian Of The Future Villain

 

Albert furrowed his brow as he received the documents, then his eyes widened in surprise.

“What the…!”

“There’s going to be an auction, and I’m thinking of buying that mine.”

 

Albert looked over the contents again.

 

The mine was put up for sale by a fallen noble who needed cash fast.

 

“I heard the ore (mine) is pretty much dried up, though.”

 

In the past, there had been some gems, but that was years ago.

 

Now it was just an empty mine that didn’t produce even common ore.

 

And she wanted to buy this?

 

“It’s cheaper than a regular mine, but… why would you want to buy this? With that money, you could invest in Count Humphrey’s redevelopment project, which would be way better.”

 

“Redevelopment costs even more.”

 

“That’s true, but isn’t it kind of similar?”

 

“I have my reasons. You think I’d just jump into this without a plan?”

 

“Still… I’d rather not support this.”

 

He couldn’t figure out what she was thinking, but it felt like throwing money into a dumpster.

 

‘Unless she’s plotting to embezzle… wait, embezzle?’

 

“Are you really that worried about the mine investment? It won’t hit the duchy’s budget that hard.”

 

Albert swallowed instead of responding.

 

Her unsettling expression seemed to confirm his suspicion.

 

“Well, if it comes to that, I’ll invest some from my personal funds. When we do make a profit, I’ll settle it based on the percentage, so keep that in mind.”

 

“…Ultimately, the decision is yours, so do as you please.”

 

“Right. Oh, and I’m going to check out the abandoned mine later this afternoon. I’ll be bringing some guards, so please inform Deputy Lloyd.”

 

“Understood.”

 

“Alright, I’ll be off then.”

 

With a casual wave of her hand, Albert left the room.

 

Once the door closed, Hestia, who had been moving her quill for about five minutes, suddenly turned her gaze toward the door and sighed.

 

“I’ve thrown out the bait… now I just have to wait?”

 

She had learned from Baker yesterday that Malrus was behind this.

 

Actually, she knew from the start that it was something Malrus would do, so finding out who was behind it didn’t matter.

 

What she originally wanted to uncover was the identities of the spies working with Malrus.

 

Luckily, the foolish Baker, blinded by greed, spilled everything.

 

‘Guess I owe Master Melvin a favor now.’

 

If they figured out Baker’s betrayal and tried to dig up information again, it would be a problem, so she sent him to Byron under the guise of a vacation.

 

Sending him to Byron was to remove him from Chest.

 

She had given Baker an introduction letter with her personal signature, telling him to meet Melvin and get a recommendation directly.

 

Of course, she had written about Baker’s misdeeds and asked for his arrest in the letter.

 

With all the details written down, Melvin would likely handle it well if he was as sharp as she thought.

 

Baker would be blissfully heading to Byron, completely unaware of what was coming his way.

 

“What? Something about brainwashing?”

 

What kind of nonsense he was taking about an eight-year-old kid?

 

The fact that Malrus even thought of this sent shivers down her spine.

 

“Once everything is wrapped up, I should help the young master develop his judgment.”

 

Since he had grown up being loved without a care for others’ opinions, he had a tendency to miss any hostility directed at him.

 

Or maybe it was just because he was still young.

 

When she thought about it, Eric was like that too.

 

“For now, I’ll put this aside and prepare for the next step.”

 

Hestia pulled the bell rope to call Hilde.

 

“Bring Daisy here.”

 

It was time to get started on the hunt.

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

“Albert, I thought you were coming along.”

 

Hestia was getting ready to head to the abandoned mine with Leonhard and the escort knights.

 

She found it strange that Albert wasn’t following them.

 

“I still have some work to do. You’re not going far, right? Aren’t you planning to check out the mine you’re bidding on?”

 

“Exactly. Since the young master has no classes today, we’ll be going together to check it out.”

 

“I’ve only heard about the mine; it’ll be my first time seeing it in person!”

 

Leonhard was fidgeting beside Hestia, a bit too excited.

 

It felt more like a day trip than just checking out a potential bid.

 

“Travel safely. I’ll be guarding the duchy.”

 

“Got it. Just know it’ll take a while to return since it’s quite far, so we’ll be back after dinner.”

 

“Understood. I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

After Hestia closed the window, the carriage set off.

 

Albert wiped the smile off his face and headed back to the duchy. He went straight to Hestia’s office.

 

Checking that the hallway was empty, he locked the door and began searching her office.

 

‘If it’s embezzlement, there must be something left behind.’

 

He had figured out what kind of person she was by now.

 

A perfectionist.

 

She never did things halfway or passed them off to someone else. She always completed tasks meticulously.

 

The proof was the mountain of work that had been neatly organized.

 

Hestia’s keen eye would likely catch on quickly if someone had been through her office.

 

“Restoring everything to normal shouldn’t be hard for me.”

 

After years of serving someone, getting things back to their original state was a piece of cake for Albert.

 

Sure, Hestia could have hidden or destroyed evidence of embezzlement, but being a perfectionist, it was very likely she had kept her past work perfectly organized.

 

“Just as I thought.”

 

Fifteen minutes into his search of the office, he finally found the evidence.

 

“It really is true what they say—sometimes the best hiding spots are right under your nose.”

 

No matter how much he rummaged through the drawers and bookshelves, the evidence had literally been hidden right under the lantern.

 

Since late nights were common for her, she had left a lantern here to use every night.

 

What he discovered was a single sheet of paper.

 

On that paper were detailed plans about how to acquire the abandoned mine.

 

It seemed she intended to invest not only the duchy’s money but also her own personal funds, just as she mentioned before.

 

After a quick glance, the amount she wanted to spend on buying the abandoned mine was ridiculously high.

 

There was no need to invest that much money just to buy that one mine.

 

Which meant…

 

‘So it is embezzlement!’

 

But this wasn’t solid proof. Someone could just say she didn’t know the market value and overpaid.

 

He needed to verify if there were double books or if Hestia was colluding with someone else to embezzle.

 

“For now… if this disappears, it could raise suspicion.”

 

Albert pulled out a new piece of paper and copied the original document in Hestia’s handwriting.

 

He carefully folded the copy and hid it under the lantern where he found the original, which he kept for himself.

 

To make sure it was confirmed that Hestia had written it, he pressed her seal onto the original document.

 

With a satisfied smile, Albert restored the office to its original state and stepped outside.

 

‘First, I’ll let him know about this, and then…’

 

“Head Butler.”

At the sound of someone calling him, Albert stopped.

Turning his head, he saw Daisy standing there.

“What’s up?”

“Um… I have a question for you.”

“Um… I’d like to ask you something.”

 

Daisy, Leonhard’s nanny.

 

She held significant power among the female staff, second only to the head maid.

 

Since she was the young master’s loyal servant, so she was flawless but if he could bring her to his side…

 

“Didn’t the young master just go out with his guardian for a bit? I think he mentioned going to check out the abandoned mine.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Daisy didn’t look too pleased.

 

Seeing her frown and appear troubled, Albert instinctively sensed something was off.

 

“What’s wrong? If you can tell me, please do.”

 

“Actually, the young master said something strange yesterday. It seems like it was something the guardian said…”

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

‘Hestia mentioned that someone was putting the abandoned mine up for auction and that she wanted to buy it.’

 

‘She wants to buy the abandoned mine?’

 

‘Yeah! Even if there are no gems, she said it could still be useful for various things. So I’m going along to check it out tomorrow!’

 

‘…What could possibly be useful about a mine that produces nothing?’

 

‘No idea! But she said her friend is in a tough spot and she’s buying it at a higher price than the market value?’

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

Daisy relayed the conversation she had with Leonhard the day before.

 

“Doesn’t that sound suspicious? Of all things, buying a mine just because of a friendship?”

 

“…It does seem strange. I couldn’t understand why she’d want to buy that mine.”

 

Although he wore a stiff expression, a chill ran down Albert’s spine.

 

If that’s true, it means Hestia and the owner of the abandoned mine are pretty close.

 

Sounds like a perfect setup for embezzlement.

 

“After the mine auction, there’s going to be another auction in a few months for part of that noble’s territory. She said she’s thinking of buying that too.”

 

“Do you know which territory it is?”

 

“It’s definitely… the Lakrin territory.”

 

Lakrin is a barren land that records poor harvests every year, making it hard to believe it’s in the fertile southern region.

 

So she plans to buy not just the abandoned mine but also a useless territory? 

 

‘Pretending to be pure and innocent, but now she’s showing her true colors!’

 

Of course! She’s in a position where she can manipulate the dukedom, so it’s no surprise she’s greedy.

 

I thought it was strange that she wrote some odd contract on the first day she was appointed as guardian, but turns out she’s just human after all.

 

A greedy human.

 

They say power changes people, and it’s true; the higher you rise, the more your ugly side tends to come out.

 

‘Did she think she wouldn’t get caught?’

 

If she had known how to compromise and coexist with others, I wouldn’t have dug this deep.

 

Maybe we could have developed a good relationship.

 

‘Of course, it’s not like she has the personality to stay under someone for long, so that relationship wouldn’t last anyway.’

 

But still, she wouldn’t have made an enemy out of me.

 

“I know the guardian is working hard for the dukedom, but… I can’t shake off what the prince said. Is everything going to be okay like this?”

 

As Daisy struggled to hide her anxious expression, Albert tried to suppress the twitching of his lips.

 

“I want to say it’s fine, but… as someone who’s close to the guardian, I can’t give you a definitive answer.”

 

“So there really is something going on…!”

 

“Shh, you’re speaking too loudly.”

 

He raised a finger to his lips, and Daisy promptly closed her mouth.

 

“Have you talked about this with anyone else?”

 

“…No, I only mentioned it to you, head butler.”

 

“Let’s keep this between us for now since we’re not sure yet. I’ll take a closer look at the situation.”

 

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

 

“And if anything weird happens, let me know anytime.”

 

“I will! I never thought she’d have such weird schemes going on behind that nice face of hers.”

 

“…Daisy, do you dislike the guardian?”

 

“I thought it was fine since the prince follows her well, and she seems to care for him. But now, I’m not so sure.”

 

Her furrowed brow explained everything.

 

“Anyway, I don’t want anyone harmful to the prince around. He’s the only hope for Winston.”

 

“…Right. He is the only hope.”

 

Albert gave a meaningful smile and tried to reassure Daisy’s anxious heart.