I Became The Guardian Of The Future Villain

Two days after returning from the mines, Hestia was spending her afternoon as usual.

She caught up on unfinished work that piled up while she was away, had lunch with Leonhard, and then locked herself in her office to deal with more tasks.

It was a peaceful time, or at least it seemed so.

Knock, knock—

That peace was soon interrupted.

“Come in.”

Hestia, buried in her work, only raised her head when she sensed someone standing right in front of her.

She raised an eyebrow.

“Care to explain what’s going on, Count?”

Standing before her was Count Humphrey, flanked by knights in full armor.

“Marching in with soldiers to the Duke’s estate is a serious offense. Are you declaring war on Winston?”

“No, my lady. I’m just here to catch the parasite that’s been feeding off Winston,” Malrus said with a smug grin.

Hestia scowled at his arrogance.

“So, you’re just like the rest? Pretending to be noble and fair, but it’s impossible to hide a person’s true nature for long.”

“Stop beating around the bush and get to the point.”

“I’ve received reports that you’ve been embezzling Winston’s funds.”

“…Embezzling?”

“That’s right. And here’s the proof.”

Malrus pulled out several documents from his coat.

They were records of the few projects Hestia had approved, bearing her seal.

“Impressive. You’ve only been the guardian for two months, yet you’re already this bold. If it was just minor theft, I might’ve let it slide, but this—this crosses the line.”

He waved the auction document for the abandoned mine in her face.

“That…!” Hestia shot up from her chair, reaching for the papers.

“Argh! Let go!” she cried as one of the knights behind Malrus roughly grabbed her hand.

The commotion drew the attention of the estate’s servants, who gathered near the office. Though the knights at the door blocked the entrance, they couldn’t stop the noise from spilling out.

“This document is crucial evidence. You weren’t bidding on that mine for Winston—you were just trying to funnel money into your own pocket. We even know about your cozy relationship with the seller.”

“This is a misunderstanding! I haven’t stolen a single penny. There must be a mistake! Let me see the documents, and I’ll prove it!”

“I can’t hand over important evidence to the accused. You’re going to lose your position as guardian and face justice for your crimes—through a royal trial.”

A royal trial.

Usually, local fights were sorted out by the lord or a local noble, but if nobles were involved, the imperial court would get involved.

And a royal trial is one of the things nobles fear most.

Even if you’re innocent, it’s fine. But if you’ve committed a serious crime, not only will your reputation be ruined, but you’ll also face severe punishment.

“Take her away. Everything in this office might be evidence, so we need to investigate.”

“Let go of me! You’re knights of the Duke’s estate! You should follow my orders, not some Count’s!”

“We serve Winston, not a little girl pretending to be in charge.”

As Hestia was dragged away by the knights, the servants turned pale.

“What the hell is going on?”

“They say the guardian’s been embezzling.”

“No way, I didn’t think she was that kind of person…”

“But is it really true? She was always working day and night. How could she have time to steal?”

“Shh, watch what you say. Can’t you see what’s happening?”

The servants whispered among themselves as they cautiously peeked into the office.

Malrus had already seated himself in the chair Hestia had just been sitting in.

“Finally…!” he grinned greedily, stroking the desk.

Some of the servants gulped.

They didn’t know for sure if Hestia had really embezzled or not, but if she was removed as guardian, Malrus would likely take her place.

“Is Winston… really going to be okay?” one of the servants muttered, but no one dared to answer.

One thing was clear: no one felt safe with Malrus as guardian.

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

“Ugh!”

Hestia was shoved forward, stumbling as she hit the ground.

Her palms and knees scraped against the floor, and she let out a groan.

She had been dragged to the underground prison by the knights.

“Even if I’m accused of embezzlement, this treatment is unacceptable! I don’t know what so-called evidence you have, but at least give me a chance to defend myself!”

“Seems like you still don’t understand the situation.”

A mocking voice made Hestia snap her head up.

“Hubert…!”

“Address me properly as Captain, you little noble.”

“Don’t tell me… you’re siding with Count Humphrey and betraying me?”

Hestia’s face twisted in betrayal. She had always looked down on people with a cold, aloof demeanor, but now that attitude had vanished entirely.

Hubert found satisfaction in this moment.

He crouched down in front of her and grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her to look at him.

“You’ve got a pretty face, but you sure are rude. Though, I guess that makes breaking you in all the more satisfying.”

“Get your hands off me and answer my question!”

Hestia slapped his hand away so hard that her palm stung, making Hubert’s eyes flash dangerously for a moment.

His hand reflexively shot up, but Hestia just glared at him without flinching.

Hubert smirked, giving on her cheek a couple of light slaps.

“I serve Winston.”

“So, you really did betray me…”

“Eliminating the pests that tarnish Winston is part of my duty.”

The same words Malrus had used earlier.

Realizing they were referring to her as the pest, Hestia felt a surge of humiliation.

“Hah…”

She let out a shaky breath, her gaze steady as she looked up at Hubert again.

“I’ve told you over and over, I didn’t embezzle a thing.”

“We’ll see about that once the investigation’s over. With so much suspicious evidence, you’re bound to be guilty of something.”

“Wait…Are you telling me you went through all this even though you know I’m innocent?”

“From the beginning, I couldn’t stand you. Who do you think you are, acting like a boss when you’re still some little girl? Honestly, the Duke should’ve picked Count Humphrey over you.”

“The Duke… You wouldn’t dare harm him, would you?”

“Why would I? Unlike you, he’s the rightful heir of Winston. Though, who knows what the future holds…”

Her eyes went wide at what he was saying, and she lunged at him. 

But Hubert was quicker. He pushed her back and swiftly stepped out of the cell, slamming the door behind him.

“Lay a hand on the Duke, and I’ll never forgive you!”

“What are you going to do from in there? Shout all you want. Maybe a prince on a white horse will come to your rescue.”

“Hubert!”

Creak—Bang!

Hestia screamed his name, but the door to the underground prison slammed shut, plunging the room into darkness.

She pounded on the door repeatedly, but there was no response.

Eventually, she collapsed onto the floor, weakly banging her fists against the door.

But soon, her eyes gleamed in the dark, her expression twisting into a sly smile.

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

Bang!

“Hilde, we’re here to—”

“Uh?”

The knight who had barged into the room without knocking stopped in his tracks.

They had come to arrest Hilde, the maid who had entered Winston with Hestia.

They’d heard she’d be here at this hour.

“What’s with you? Why didn’t you knock?”

“Uh, my lord…”

Inside the room were Leonhard and several maids attending to him.

The knights, realizing their rudeness, hesitated awkwardly, while Leonhard frowned.

“What are you waiting for?”

“…Pardon?”

“If you’ve made a mistake, apologize. Just because you’re knights doesn’t mean you can barge in without knocking.”

“Apologies, my lord. We were out of line.”

“Hmph, whatever. Lately, the knights have been acting strange.”

As Leonhard grumbled, the knights began to sweat nervously, and one of the maids attending him stood up.

“What’s the matter?”

“…Is Hilde here?”

“Hilde went out about an hour ago. Did you need something from her?”

“That’s…”

“Speaking of…”

The knights were still fumbling for words when Leonhard spoke up.

“There’s been some noise around the estate for a while now. What’s going on?” 

 

The knights hesitated and exchanged glances.

 

‘What do we do?’

 

‘If we tell the truth…’

 

‘Are you stupid? The young lord likes that girl. If we suddenly tell him she’s been locked up, he’s going to freak out.’

 

‘The Count also said not to tell the young lord just yet.’

 

After their silent discussion, they smiled politely and explained.

 

“It’s nothing, sir. Just some minor trouble among the servants.”

 

“Hmm, really?”

 

“Yes, sir. If Hilde isn’t here, we’ll take our leave now. Apologies for disturbing your time, my lord.”

 

After the knights quietly closed the door and left, Leonhard turned to the maid.

 

“Hilde, weren’t you supposed to meet Daisy?”

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

“Then why did you lie?”

 

“I didn’t lie. I really did leave about an hour ago, didn’t I?”

 

“Well, that’s true.”

 

“Lady Daisy told me, you know. If anything happens, just make up something plausible.”

 

“Something happened? So, something *did* happen?”

 

“I’ll explain it to you later. For now, why don’t we finish the drawing?”

 

“You said you wanted to give it to Lady Frost as a present.”

 

“Oh, right! I’m going to finish it soon and show it to Hestia!”

 

Leonhard hurriedly buried his nose in the paper and started drawing again. 

 

The reason he’d been quietly sneaking around was because he wanted to surprise Hestia with a gift.

 

While he enthusiastically drew, kicking his feet in excitement, the maids exchanged looks. One of them quietly got up and snuck out of the room without Leonhard noticing.

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

“Hahaha! Who knew it would be this easy!”

 

Malrus raised a glass in victory, laughing heartily.

 

“It’s all thanks to you, Albert.”

 

Malrus handed Albert a glass of whiskey, which he accepted with both hands.

 

“You’re too kind, Count.”

 

“Who would’ve thought we’d catch her embezzling?”

 

“Well, technically it’s just the appearance of embezzlement.”

 

“Same difference. Thanks to you forging those documents, we got her easily.”

 

The evidence Malrus had shown was all fake, forged by Albert. In reality, Hestia had never embezzled a single penny.

 

“She’s so meticulous with her work, it was hard to find any gaps.”

 

“Figured as much. I took a quick look around her desk, and it’s immaculate—neat enough to make your jaw drop.”

 

Not only was everything perfectly organized, but her documents were also so well-done that there was barely any need to alter them.

 

“Tsk, it’s a shame she’s on the wrong side. She’s got talent.”

 

“She’s come too far down a different path. You’re not getting soft now, are you?”

 

“Of course not.”

 

Malrus grinned so wide that his gums showed.

 

“Putting her in jail was just the first step. This won’t be enough. Before we take her to trial, we need to create some airtight evidence, so there’s no escape.”

 

“Don’t worry. We don’t even need to go that far. Once we’ve perfectly forged the documents and submit them to the royal court, it’s over.”

 

“I’m not expecting failure, but… you know, just in case.”

 

“Haha! For someone who set this whole thing in motion, you’re pretty nervous.” 

 

“Me? I’m not worried at all!”

 

While Malrus laughed as if the world was already his, Albert forced a smile. But something didn’t feel right.

 

‘Even though we cornered her before she had time to react, why do I feel so uneasy?’

 

Maybe it was because he’d spent so much time around Hestia, but something told him she wasn’t the type to just give up here. A gnawing sense of dread crept over him.

 

As the anxiety climbed up his legs, Albert gulped down his whiskey in one go and stood up.

 

“I’m stepping out for a bit.”

 

“Sure, go ahead.”

 

Albert quickly walked out into the hallway, his footsteps echoing as he hurried along.