I Became The Guardian Of The Future Villain

“By ‘coming back’… do you mean working for the Winstons again?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“It’s an incredibly generous offer, but I quit this place five years ago. I couldn’t even make it to the Duke’s funeral…”

 

“Everyone had their reasons, didn’t they? It takes nearly half a day to get here from your hometown, and with a sick father, it must’ve been hard to leave him behind.”

 

Gallian felt his nose sting with emotion.

 

“Your father will recover with proper treatment this time, so you don’t have to be by his side all day. And I’ve heard from Daisy and others that you were one of the strongest candidates for the head butler position. Quite the talented man, they say.”

 

“They’ve just been praising me too much.”

 

“But it’s true you were a candidate for the head butler, right?”

 

“Well… yes, that’s true.”

 

Though Gallian sometimes wondered if it was just his father, Leitner’s, legacy that made him a candidate, he knew he was skilled in his own right.

 

“You’ve probably heard that Albert died in the fire?”

 

“Yes, I was told a little while ago.”

 

Gallian, Daisy, and Nova’s faces tightened.

 

“Even if he hadn’t died in the fire, I was planning to fire Albert anyway. We’ve caught two spies, and both were butlers. Seems like Albert’s sweet talk got to them, but once you’ve betrayed the duchy, you can’t work here again.”

 

The duchy had four butlers in total: the head butler and three others under him.

 

With three gone now, it was a huge loss of manpower.

 

“The one left is still young and doesn’t have much experience.”

 

In his early twenties, he’d only been working as a butler for three years.

“This offer is not just for your benefit, but also because we need your help right now.”

Not only had they lost three butlers, but over ten knights and more than twenty servants had been arrested, leaving them short-staffed for the day’s work.

There’s so much to handle that we could use all the help we can get, even from a child.

 

“So, I’ll ask again. Don’t you want to come back? I’d like you to become head butler and bring order back to the Duke’s household.”

 

Gallian stared at the hand Hestia held out, feeling his chest tighten with emotion.

 

Just a few days ago, his father’s health had worsened, and without finding a trustworthy nurse, he had to leave.

 

Gallian had spent his childhood at the duchy with Leitner, and the place meant a lot to him.

 

Watching his father serve and protect the duke with such pride made him want to follow in his footsteps and one day take over the head butler role when his father retired.

 

He thought he’d abandoned that dream when he left…

 

‘My heart is still racing.’

 

Ever since Hestia mentioned coming back, his heart hadn’t calmed down.

 

“I still love this job.”

 

She had not only saved his father but also reignited his dream. How could he refuse her?

 

Gallian firmly grasped Hestia’s hand.

 

“Please take good care of me.”

 

“I should be the one saying that. I’m sorry, but we’ll need you to start right away. We’ve got a mountain of work to do. And later, I’ll be heading down to Chest. You can come with me then. I’d like to check on your father, too.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Gallian, Nova, and Daisy straightened their backs and looked at Hestia with eyes full of trust, not doubt or suspicion anymore.

 

               ━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

That evening, Hestia handled the most urgent tasks first and then headed to Chest with Lloyd and Gallian.

 

The first place she visited was the Chest branch of Tears.

 

“Welcome, miss. It’s been a while.”

 

“Long time no see, Jerome. How have you been?”

 

Hestia greeted Jerome warmly with a hug.

 

They had kept in touch through Hilde, but both had been so busy that it had been a long time since they’d seen each other in person.

 

“You’ve come to see Mr. Leitner, right? This way, please.”

 

Jerome led them to a mansion.

 

Jerome led them to a large house in one of the wealthier neighborhoods of Chest. The house was quite big, even for the area.

 

It was Hestia’s first time there, and she looked around in surprise.

 

“Wait, is this your house?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You must be doing well for yourself. From a small workshop to a place like this…”

 

“Haha, why are you talking like it’s none of your business? If it weren’t for you, my family, Tiers, and even Byron wouldn’t have grown as much as they have. And I figured if your family ever visits here, it’d be more comfortable than a hotel, so I picked a bigger place on purpose.”

 

“My family? Wait, do my parents and the kids write to you?”

 

Jerome flinched. He avoided her gaze and changed the subject.

 

“Uhh… maybe? sometimes?”

 

“You’re not telling them everything I do, are you?”

“Of course not! I’ve barely seen you myself lately. How could I?”

“Hilde could’ve told you everything.”

“Anyway, Mr. Lightner’s in the guest room.”

“Look at you, Changing the subject, huh.”

Hestia stared at Jerome for a while before sighing.

 

“I have been neglecting my family.”

 

She’d been so busy, of course. Even though she got letters regularly, she hadn’t been able to reply properly.

 

“And it seems like they’re learning all about me through you.”

 

It wasn’t just her parents; her siblings were probably asking him all sorts of questions too.

 

“Mr. Leitner, how are you feeling?”

 

“Oh, my savior! I’m feeling much better. The numbness in my hands and feet is gone.”

 

Leitner, who greeted Jerome as his savior, was surprised to see the others who’d come with him.

 

“Gallian’s here, too? Oh, and isn’t that Lloyd?”

 

“It’s been a while, Mr. Leitner.”

 

“Yes, yes. You’ve gotten bigger since I last saw you. And who is this young lady…?”

 

Leitner trailed off as he looked at Hestia.

 

“Father, the thing is…”

 

Gallian looked uncomfortable, hesitating.

 

‘He doesn’t know yet that the Duke has passed away.’

 

They hadn’t told him about the Duke’s death or the new guardian, fearing it would worsen his condition.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, sir. My name is Hestia Frost.”

 

“Hmm? Frost, you say…”

 

“I think we’ve met before. Do you remember?”

 

As Hestia smiled and gently clasped Leitner’s hand, a light returned to his eyes.

 

“Oh! Of course! You’re the little lady who helped young master Luciard! Wow, you’ve grown so much. Time really flies.”

 

‘Ah, right. Lady Frost…’

 

She had attended the Duke’s wedding.

 

Back then, Leitner had been actively working as a butler.

 

“Jerome is one of my people. I asked him to help you when I heard you were unwell. They said you were poisoned. You must have been through a lot.”

 

“No wonder my condition kept worsening despite the medicine. I trusted Albert too much. But to think you’d go to such lengths, providing treatment and even a place for me… I don’t know how to thank you.”

 

“No need to thank me. It was the right thing to do.”

 

“But, Lady Frost, what brings you to Chest…?”

 

Leitner seemed puzzled, as she was supposed to be in Byron.

 

Hestia exchanged glances with Gallian.

 

They had just discussed how Leitner still didn’t know the truth.

 

“It’s a long story. It might be a bit of a shock. Do you think you can handle it?”

 

Though Leitner looked confused, seeing his son’s sad expression, he braced himself.

 

But no matter how prepared he thought he was, the shocking news hit him hard.

 

“Currently, I’m staying at the duke’s estate as the young master’s guardian.”

 

Leitner clenched his frail fists, then wiped his eyes. Tears rolled down his sunken cheeks.

 

“This old man couldn’t even say goodbye to the duke on his last journey… It’s truly heartbreaking.”

 

“The duke would understand.”

 

“You’ve only just come of age yourself, miss. It must’ve been tough, but you’ve done well… You’ve really endured a lot.”

 

Hestia gave a faint smile, touched by Leitner’s kindness, even though it must’ve been hard for him to handle his own emotions.

 

“Albert’s dead?”

 

“Yes. I’m planning to head to the scene soon to investigate.”

 

“He never really showed his true feelings. His background was a bit unusual, so when he first came to the estate, I kept an eye on him for a while. But since he did his job diligently, I soon stopped worrying.”

 

“What do you mean by ‘unusual background’?”

 

“He was an orphan, but I remember he had quite a good education. He even earned a knighthood at some point.”

 

This was the first time Hestia had heard that.

 

“That’s why I figured he must’ve had a good sponsor. You see, butlers need to be able to protect their masters in emergencies, so we tend to prefer someone with combat skills over just a good education.”

 

“Do you know which orphanage he came from?”

 

“Hmm, I’m not sure about that. But if we check the storage, there should be a record. We keep employment applications since people come and go each year.”

 

“Thank you, sir. That’ll be helpful.”

 

“I’m glad to help, though it’s sad it’s in such circumstances… Cough, cough.”

 

Leitner’s face turned pale as he coughed. Gallian quickly moved to support him.

 

“You should get some rest, Father.”

 

“Yes, I’m feeling a bit worn out today. Miss, I’ll visit you again once I’ve recovered.”

 

“Of course, I hope you feel better soon. Please take it easy today.”

 

After everyone left, Leitner collapsed onto his bed, exhausted.

 

The death of the duke and duchess must’ve been such a shock that it left him feeling drained. But he didn’t feel completely hopeless.

 

“…A benefactor has come to Winston.”

 

A faint smile crept onto Leitner’s lips.

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

“It’s all burned down.”

 

“Didn’t I tell you? Everything’s completely gone.”

 

Right after leaving Jerome’s mansion, Hestia and her group headed straight to the tenement that had been consumed by fire.

They hadn’t been at the site for long, but the hem of her dress had already turned black from the ash. It was clear how intense the fire had been.

 

“We’re investigating, but don’t get your hopes up too much,” Lloyd added.

 

Hestia clicked her tongue and walked over to the fireplace where the fire had supposedly started.

She reached into the fireplace, which was full of blackened ash.

Her hand grasped something.

“What’s this…?”

In her hand was a half-melted, blackened fountain pen.

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

Huff, huff, huff…!

 

A man ran down the street, gasping for breath.

 

He burst through the inn door like he was gonna take it off its hinges. The people inside, who were chatting away, fell quiet for a moment but quickly got back to their conversations.

 

The man headed straight for his companions sitting in a corner of the inn.

 

“Emergency! It’s an emergency! Do you guys know what I just saw?!”

 

“Neville, shut up. Close that mouth of yours.”

 

“You’re always making a fuss. It’s nothing new.”

 

“The food’s here. Let’s eat first.”

 

“Ugh, come on, guys! Can’t you show a little interest?!”

 

“Crying wolf again, Neville. How many times have we fallen for your tricks? It’d be weird if we *did* pay attention.”

 

“Whatever! I wasn’t even talking to you guys anyway! Captain!”

 

Ignoring his companions, Neville turned to their leader.

 

The one called “captain” was silently drinking beer, his head wrapped in a hood.

 

Neville, exasperated, handed him a newspaper.

 

“Captain, isn’t this the place you sometimes send letters and gifts to?!”

 

The captain’s eyebrow twitched. His eyes grew wider as he read the paper.

 

The usually stoic captain said nothing, but the second-in-command leaned over to check the paper as well.

 

“Let’s see, let’s see… The Guardian of the South, Duke Winston of the Fastine Empire, has passed away suddenly in a carriage accident along with Duchess Flora Winston… Looks like some noble died.”

 

“Wow, a duke? That’s like the highest rank after royalty, right?”

 

“The publication date’s this week, so the accident must’ve happened at least a month ago.”

 

“Yeah, with the Fastine Empire being so far, it’d take about that long for the news to reach here.”

 

“A carriage accident, huh? You never know what’ll happen in this world… Wait, where’s the captain going?”

 

Just as the others were chiming in, the captain stood up abruptly and started packing his things.

 

“We’re heading to the Fastine Empire. Right now.”

 

“What the hell?!”

 

“Wait, hold on, Captain! What’s going on? You’ve gotta explain!”

 

The group hurriedly followed after their captain, barely able to finish their meal. Walking far ahead of them, the captain clenched his fist.

“Brother… Sister-in-law…!”

Beneath the hood, his bright red hair and piercing blue eyes shone intensely.