I Became The Guardian Of The Future Villain

“…So that’s how it happened.”

“My condolences.”

The mercenaries couldn’t hide their sorrow after hearing the story. Luciard quietly fidgeted with his fingers before leaning back in his chair.

“…If I’d known it would come to this, I would’ve kept in touch more often.”

Why did he avoid contact? Why didn’t he let them know where he was? And why, of all places, did he leave the country?

‘Why do you think? You were avoiding your brother, that’s why.’

Luciard had ignored his brother’s desperate attempts to reach him, thinking it was the only way to protect Icarus and Leonhard.

He thought that distancing himself would make everything fall back into place.

‘Brother…’

Luciard gazed at the room with a sorrowful expression. It had once been where he and Icarus would spend quiet moments together.

“Luciard! Once again, your older brother wins!”

The image of Icarus triumphantly celebrating his latest victory in chess flashed in Luciard’s mind. But he would never see that sight again.

Facing that reality crushed him.

“Boss, so your nephew’s all alone now. But, who was that woman from earlier?”

“Yeah, she acted like she owned the place.”

Luciard, who had been rubbing his tired eyes, hardened his expression.

“She’s Leon’s guardian.”

“A guardian? You mean like a caretaker?”

“But she looked really young. She can’t be much older than Brina, right?”

“She’s 18.”

“…My bad. She’s way younger than Brina.”

Their playful teasing was interrupted when one of them got smacked by Brina.

“We’re all from the streets, so we don’t really know much about nobles… but from the look on your face, boss, it seems like you don’t trust this guardian much, huh?”

“…Leon’s only eight. And with both my brother and sister-in-law gone so suddenly, he’s left to manage this massive ducal estate all alone. The guardian is there to protect Leon and manage the estate in his stead.”

“Which means… if things go wrong, she could run the whole place by herself?”

“But she didn’t seem like a bad person.”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to judge people by their appearance?”

“And nobles are especially tricky; they can be two-faced. You know that.”

Those who had defended Hestia earlier fell silent as the others voiced their concerns.

“The guardian could’ve been chosen later. But as soon as my brother died, they picked her. And they did it knowing full well that I was still around.”

“…So that means someone’s got their eye on the duchy.”

“Yeah, it’s strange. Usually, someone older would be chosen for such an important role. Why would they pick a young girl to be the guardian?”

Luciard nodded.

“I’ve been thinking the same thing. There’s something fishy going on.”

Up until now, he’d stayed away from Winston to protect his brother and Leon. But now, he had no choice but to protect Leon himself.

And to do that, he had to take over the guardian role.

‘Of course, based on what I remember, she wasn’t a bad kid…’

Luciard recalled the young girl who had once reached out a hand to him.

Thanks to that moment, he’d been able to reconcile with Icarus and live well up until now, for which he’d always been grateful to her. But that was it.

‘That was ten years ago. Neither of us is the clueless kid we were back then.’

Just because someone was kind and innocent as a child didn’t mean they stayed that way as an adult.

He remembered how, even though she was nice to Leon, she had looked at him with wary eyes.

He owed her a debt, and the Frost family had always been close to his, so he wouldn’t treat her harshly.

‘But if she refuses to step down from the guardian role, I won’t have a choice.’

He wasn’t going to let anyone harm Leon.

“So, what’s the plan now, boss?”

“First, we have to finish this mission. Sorry, but—”

Knock knock—

Before he could finish, a knock interrupted the conversation.

The door opened, and Hestia appeared.

Behind her, several maids entered the room and began setting up tea and desserts on the coffee table.

“Did you have a good talk? I’m sorry for the delay in bringing refreshments.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine…”

“We just showed up unannounced, after all…”

The group was momentarily speechless. The table was filled with desserts and drinks they’d never seen before.

“Lord Leonhard is busy right now, so he couldn’t join us. But he personally selected the tea and desserts for you, so please enjoy.”

“Such generous hospitality… we’re overwhelmed.”

“We’ll enjoy it, thank you.”

“Um… would you like to join us, miss?” Brina asked awkwardly, noticing that Hestia was still standing.

“Shall I? Then I will.”

Hestia looked around for a place to sit.

While the rest of the group had gathered closely together, Luciad was sitting alone on a large sofa.

“Pardon me.”

She ended up sitting next to Luciard.

Everyone’s eyes went wide as they stared at her.

“Is there something on my face?”

Even Luciard was taken aback.

Hestia, noticing the attention, touched her face, and Luciard sighed.

“It’s nothing.”

Most people would avoid sitting near Luciard because of his cold demeanor, but Hestia didn’t seem fazed at all.

Sensing the strange atmosphere, the large man who seemed to be second-in-command finally spoke up.

“Now that I think about it, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. I’m Lavio, vice-captain of the Blaze Mercenary Corps.”

‘Mercenary group?’

Hestia had suspected they were mercenaries, but hearing it confirmed was still surprising.

Before she could process it, the man sitting next to Lavio raised his hand enthusiastically.

“I’m Neville! I handle long-range attacks in the team. My arrows never miss!”

True to his role as an archer, a bow and quiver of arrows hung on his back. For some reason, he winked at Hestia.

She made a slightly awkward face, and the woman next to him shoved his head aside.

“Sorry about that. He can’t help himself around pretty women. I’m Brina.”

“…Yelluna.”

A soft voice came from the woman next to Brina, her face mostly hidden by her hair.

“I’m Ivan!”

“And I’m Yovan! Don’t forget it!”

The two identical twins sitting together introduced themselves loudly. They were so alike in both appearance and clothing that it seemed impossible to tell them apart.

“Nice to meet all of you. I didn’t realize you were mercenaries. I noticed you keep calling Sir Luciard ‘boss’—does that mean…?”

“Yes, Luciard is the captain of the Blaze Mercenary Group. We’re a relatively new group, only about a year and a half old.”

Thanks to Lavio’s explanation, Hestia could piece together what had happened.

‘Blaze Mercenary Corps… Isn’t that a pretty well-known group?’

In her past life, she remembered occasionally hearing the name Blaze Mercenary Corps. Mercenaries typically take on jobs like hunting monsters or guarding nobles and sometimes even participate in wars.

She recalled hearing rumors of Blaze Mercenary Corps earning a fierce reputation in various large and small battlefields.

‘Who would’ve thought Luciard was the founder of *that* Blaze Mercenary Corps?’

Hestia glanced at Luciard, who clicked his tongue and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I never disgraced the Winston family.”

He seemed to think she viewed the mercenary group negatively and misunderstood her expression.

“Ah, it’s true. We only found out today that the captain is from the Winston family,” Lavio added.

“None of us knew he was a noble from the start.”

“He never hesitated to camp out with us, and his butchering skills are the best among us.”

“Exactly! Even I, who despises nobles, never noticed he was one!”

Brina joked but quickly realized where they were and nervously glanced at Hestia for her reaction.

Listening to their conversation, Hestia started to understand what had happened.

“You left the country right after graduation, didn’t you?” she asked.

After a brief hesitation, Luciard responded, “I didn’t go abroad right away. I wandered around, and things just ended up this way.”

“If you’d stayed in touch with the Duke, he probably would have supported your travels,” Hestia pointed out.

“I thought it was the best decision at the time. Of course, looking back now, I realize how foolish I was…”

Sensing his regret, Hestia refrained from pushing further.

“Where were you before coming here?” she asked.

“We were in the Kingdom of Serendia,” Lavio answered for him, causing Hestia’s eyes to widen in surprise.

“When did you hear the news? It must’ve taken quite some time to get here from Serendia.”

“It took us about two weeks. Back then, the captain didn’t explain anything, just told us we were heading to the Pastin Empire, so we followed along blindly…”

Lavio trailed off, and the rest of the mercenaries chuckled softly.

“It was crazy,” one of them said.

“Not only did we have a few horses pass out, but we barely got any sleep during the trip.”

“I’d rather face a gang of bandits for three days than make that trip again.”

“It was intense.”

The mercenaries all shook their heads and shot accusatory glares at Luciard.

“Now that we understand the situation, it makes sense why he rushed,” Lavio added.

Knowing that it usually took about three weeks to cover that distance, it was clear how urgent the matter had been.

In just a brief conversation, Hestia had already gotten a sense of their friendship.

‘They’re close.’

Of course, they had to be close to work together as mercenaries, but the bond between them seemed deeper than mere professional ties.

Luciard, a bit embarrassed by their comments, propped his chin on his hand and looked away. Hestia, having glanced at him, shifted her gaze forward.

“Up until now, you’ve been working on various jobs, right?” she asked.

“Yes, we’re mercenaries after all,” Lavio replied.

“And what are your plans now?”

Luciard would be staying here in the Winston household. But judging from the fact that the others hadn’t known about his true identity, his return to the Winston family must have come as a surprise to them.

Luciard, being from the Winston family, had every right to remain in the estate. But the rest of them didn’t. And they didn’t seem like citizens of the Pastin Empire, either.

Sensing that they were unsure of their next steps, the mercenaries exchanged glances, none willing to speak first.