I Became The Guardian Of The Future Villain

**Thud— thud thud—!**

“What’s all this racket about?”

Malrus, with his cheeks slightly flushed, stood up from his seat. He had been comfortably settled in the main office, drinking whiskey, when he began to hear the commotion below.

“Hey! What’s going on out there?”

Malrus shouted toward the door, expecting to hear from his men. But there was only silence. Puzzled, he made his way to the door.

“Can you not hear me? What’s happening outside…?”

“Ah, there you are.”

As Malrus flung the door open, he froze. Lloyd was blocking the entrance with his imposing figure.

Lloyd was another key figure in the Winston Knights—a stubborn man who couldn’t be bribed or swayed. Marlus had intentionally left him out of this plan, knowing that Hubert considered him a thorn in his side. They had agreed to get rid of Lloyd once this mess was sorted out.

Malrus felt momentarily flustered to find Lloyd right before him, but he quickly composed himself.

“Ahem, it’s been a while, Deputy Commander Lloyd. You’ve heard from Hubert, right? Ah, I guess Lady Frost has been using her guardian status to…”

“You don’t need to explain. I already know everything.”

“Oh, really? Then this conversation should be easy. I’m just here as a senior member of the Winston branch to correct some wrongs. We need to get rid of the pests that are causing trouble for Winston.”

“Exactly. The quicker we exterminate the pests, the better.”

“Haha, right? But it’s been noisy for a while now; what’s happening…?”

“Count Humphrey, I hereby arrest you for treason.”

“Wha— what?!”

As Malrus staggered back in shock, Lloyd’s knights swiftly restrained him.

“Deputy! What is the meaning of this?!”

“Didn’t you just say so yourself? Pests should be eliminated quickly. We’re currently exterminating the pests.”

“Surely, you can’t be referring to me…?”

Lloyd shot him a chilling glance, making it clear there was no one else he could be talking about. In that moment, Malrus noticed something out of the corner of his eye. His own knights, who were supposed to be guarding the place, had been captured and were now pinned to the floor by Lloyd’s men.

In terms of sheer strength, no one in the duchy could rival Lloyd. Not even Hubert, the commander of the knights, could defeat him.

“Wait, I think you’re misunderstanding something. The pest isn’t me, but Lady Frost…”

“You’ll understand better when you hear it all directly. Take him to the first floor.”

“Yes, Deputy Commander!”

As he was dragged away, Malrus thought, ‘Who could be behind all this?’

Treason, indeed.

While it was true he planned to reclaim the guardian position and gradually expand his influence in the duchy, he hadn’t yet done anything that could be deemed treasonous.

Not yet!

‘I had Frost locked up a long time ago.’

Since he had handed her over to Hubert directly, she wouldn’t have had the chance to escape or ask for help.

Yet, everything was unfolding as if it had been meticulously planned. Moreover, they were all convinced he was guilty of treason.
‘I don’t know what evidence they think they have, but I’m sure there’s nothing concrete. I wouldn’t have left anything behind…’
“Ah, finally!”
Malrus’s thoughts froze at the sound of a high-pitched female voice.
Looking up, he was shocked to see Hestia standing there, waving at him.
“W-what are you doing here?!”
“I never expected you to make a move first, Count. Thanks to that, I had to act before I was fully prepared, but given the circumstances, it’s best to wrap things up quickly, don’t you think?”
Malrus was at a loss for words.

How was Hestia, who should be in prison, here? Why were all the underlings he had planted in the duchy kneeling? And why did Hubert’s eyes look so bloodshot?

Putting together the pieces of the situation, Malrus’s expression twisted in realization.

‘So this was all your doing…!’

“Mind your language, Count. I am the young master’s guardian.”

“Guardian my foot! we have tons of evidence pointing to your embezzlement of the duchy’s funds! How dare a fraud like you call yourself a guardian?!”

“Do you have any evidence that I embezzled funds?”

“Of course I do!”

“Is that evidence this?”

Hestia pulled out a document that had slightly peeked out from Malrus’s pocket, narrowing her eyes.

“To the untrained eye, it looks like a well-crafted forgery.”

“A forgery? I received this information directly from Albert! The amount you’ve embezzled up to now and the funds you plan to embezzle in the future would equal the annual budget of a small territory! And you still deny it…!”

“Do you see this seal?”

Hestia thrust the document toward Malrus.

“Isn’t that your seal? The one you stamp on every approved document?”

“Yes, that’s right. But this is just the first-level inspection seal.”

“First-level?”

“When I work, I filter documents at my level with a first inspection, and only some of the approved documents go on to be reviewed again for a second inspection. For this to be solid evidence of my embezzlement, it would need a second inspection seal, not just a first.”

“No way! Albert never mentioned that…!”

“He wouldn’t. That’s a method of mine that I’ve never shared with anyone.”

“Ah, of course, there’s one other person who knows my process.”

With a smirk, Hestia turned her head. Malrus followed her gaze and paled at what he saw.

“Hestia…? What is all this?”

Leonhard stood there, confusion etched on his face as he clutched the paper in both hands, glancing nervously at those kneeling around him.

Hestia approached him with a gentle smile.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. You might be a little scared, but can you answer my question?”

“Uh… what is it?”

“Do you know what this document is?”

Hestia handed him the forged document. Leonhard examined it, nodding slowly.

“Is it time to stamp it again?”

Malrus’s jaw dropped.

‘No way! The person who does the second inspection stamp is…!’

“But didn’t I see this before? I feel like I’ve seen it once.”

“Yes, that’s correct. But if you look closely, the measured amount is different here.”

“Huh? Is that so? I don’t really remember.”

“That’s understandable. I’m sorry, but could we check the documents we’ve stamped so far?”

“Right now?”

“Yes, I need them immediately.”

“Just a moment.”

As Leonhard went to fetch the documents, Hestia turned back to Malrus.

“Do you remember the content of the contract?”

The contract they had written together on the first day of Hestia becoming guardian, which Malrus had secretly looked at.

Hestia had written that all decisions would be delegated to Leonhard. That included the direction of any business project.
“The seal of the Winston family is not with me; it’s kept by the young master. After that, he reviews the documents I’ve handled and puts on the final approval stamp.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

Marlus let out a groan.

“The young master is only 8 years old! How can an 8-year-old kid check the business details and approve them…?”

“I understand there are certain parts that are hard to grasp, but I’ll explain them in a way that makes it easier.”

“Isn’t that just giving a stamp to a clueless kid? You can’t really believe that the young master understands all of that, right?”

“The Guardian!”

Hestia’s voice echoed throughout the castle.

“I’m here to protect both the duke’s family and the young lord until he becomes an adult!”

With a fierce gaze, she glared at Malrus with contempt.

“He is someone who will eventually lead the duke’s family. It’s absurd to think that only he wouldn’t know about the duke’s matters! And you keep calling him a kid—watch your words. If you knew how hard he was working, you wouldn’t say that.”

“Hestia! I brought it!”

The heavy silence that had fallen under Hestia’s shout was shattered in an instant.

With a gentle smile, Hestia accepted a box that Leonhard brought over.

“Inside are the documents we’ve been reviewing, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right!”

“Young lord, have I ever ordered you to stamp a document?”

“Order?”

“For example, did I ever say you should just stamp it without explaining the contents?”

“No? Hestia never did that!”

“Right?”

“Yeah! She always explains everything nicely! Sometimes, she even removes things I don’t like!”

This confirmed that the theory of Hestia manipulating Leonhard from behind was useless. In fact, it proved that she treated Leonhard as an equal.

“Let’s check it out directly. Malrus, why don’t you confirm whether the evidence you provided is a fake document or not?”

Hestia handed the document she was about to give to Malrus to the kneeling servant behind her.

When Malrus glared at him, the servant trembled as he took the document to inspect it.

Indeed, there were differences between the two documents.

One had a specified amount, and the other had the shape of a stamped seal.

The document that Hestia presented as the real one had the seal of the World Tree held by the turtle, the symbol of Winston.

“Th-there’s definitely a difference…”

Under Malrus’s silent threat, the servant was scared and eventually revealed what he had seen.

The people who had been holding their breath and observing the situation began to murmur.

Malrus pressed his lips together, then managed to force a smile.

“Well, it seems there was a misunderstanding. Are you angry because I suddenly sent you to prison? If that’s the case, I apologize in advance; I’m sorry.”

Hestia silently looked down at him.

“I only acted because I received a tip from Albert. He was the one who gave me that document. As the elder of the branch family, I thought the guardian shouldn’t disrupt Winston…”

“Yes, I understand. You must be feeling quite wronged, my lord.”

“Do you understand…!”

“But that doesn’t mean that others are without guilt.”

Hestia’s gaze shifted from Malrus to those behind him.

“The fact that you were used by Albert? That could certainly happen. But I will not forgive the traitors who prepared fake documents and tried to imprison me.”

As she continued speaking, the kneeling people began to tremble like aspen trees.

“They need to realize the serious crimes they’ve committed. It’s not just about trying to put me in prison; they dared to conspire against the duke’s family!”

“N-no! It wasn’t treason; we were just following orders…”

One maid, unable to withstand her fear, attempted to protest.

“You not only framed the guardian but also dared to bring outsiders in, and your knights acted on their own without reporting to the young lord about imprisoning the guardian.”

Hestia rebutted with blazing eyes.

“Not to mention that the maids and servants of the castle leaked information about the duke’s family to outsiders. If this isn’t treason, then what is it?”

Her points left no room for rebuttal.

Finally, everyone present realized one crucial fact.

They thought they had set a trap, but it was actually them who had fallen into it.

[Translator Note: Hi, guys. So, I’m changing Schedule of this novel; I will upload 4 chapters every Wednesday and Thank you so much for your support💕]