I Became The Guardian Of The Future Villain

Luciard was left bewildered after unexpectedly receiving praise and recognition from Hestia.

Gallian glanced at the two of them with a meaningful look. Hestia, sensing his gaze, cleared her throat.

“Ahem! Anyway, thanks for the good idea. I still have work to do, so you can go now.”

 

“Oh, uh, sure. Good luck with your work.”

 

After Luciard left, Hestia tried to focus back on her work.

 

Or at least, she tried to.

 

“…Do you have something to say?”

 

Gallian had been grinning annoyingly for a while now.

 

She shot him a disapproving look, which only made his smile widen.

 

“No, I just didn’t expect you to accept the young master’s suggestion so easily.”

 

It seemed like that wasn’t the only thing on his mind. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be making that sly expression.

 

But if she pushed further, she had a feeling she’d get a weird answer, so Hestia just sighed deeply.

“Why wouldn’t I accept it? A good idea should be used.”

“Weren’t you not on good terms with the young master?”

Leonhard had been running around telling everyone they’d gotten closer, but Gallian knew the two had been fighting since last night.

 

He didn’t know all the details, but from what he saw, they weren’t exactly on the best terms…

 

“Well… he’s irritating, but that’s a separate issue. You can’t mix personal feelings with business.”

 

After thinking about it one more time, Hestia wondered if she had been too tough on Luciard the night before. 

 

It wasn’t like he had outright demanded that she give up her role as guardian, and he seemed to be considerate in his own way… 

 

‘Still, I’m really annoyed that he acted like he was doing me a favor by saying I could stop being a guardian.’

 

If she set her personal feelings aside, she couldn’t really say he was a bad guy.

 

“For now, I’ll wait and see. It’s only been a day, after all.”

 

There were still problems like the emperor’s order and the handover process. Plus, every part of the duchy had gone through her hands, so it wasn’t like she could just switch guardians overnight.

 

Compared to how furious she was yesterday, she seemed much calmer today.

 

Gallian nodded with a gentle smile.

 

“I hope you two get along well.”

 

“Me? With Luciard?”

 

Hestia asked, dumbfounded.

 

“You’re only two years apart in age, and you almost got engaged once, didn’t you?”

 

Hestia’s face soured instantly.

 

Gallian thought Luciard would probably make the same grimace if he heard this, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“Don’t rush things. Take your time and get to know each other better. There’s still plenty of time.”

 

Hestia made a displeased face but eventually nodded, realizing he had a point.

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

“Hestia… it’s already 6 p.m….”

 

Basil called out weakly, his voice barely hanging on.

 

Hestia finally lifted her head from her desk and moved her stiff neck, checking the clock.

 

“…Time sure flies. Did you finish today’s workload?”

 

“Just barely…”

 

A mountain of documents still loomed in front of Basil, who looked like he could crumble at any second.

 

There was still more to do, but…

 

‘I hope he doesn’t end up quitting while crying.’

 

Hiring someone new would be a hassle, training them even more so, and finding someone as competent as Basil wasn’t easy.

 

Basil was a precious slave—no, an invaluable employee.

 

“You can go home for today.”

 

“Huh?… Really?!”

 

Basil, who had been trembling like a dried-up leaf, instantly perked up.

 

“You’ve worked hard. Go home early today and get some rest. And don’t worry, I’ll make sure to give you a nice bonus later. But keep it a secret from everyone else, alright?”

 

When Hestia pressed her finger to her lips, Basil, deeply moved, nodded eagerly.

 

“I’ll be loyal to you for life! I’ll head out now! Please don’t overwork yourself either, Hestia!”

 

Basil gathered his things in a flash and disappeared out the door. Hestia let out a small sigh as she watched him leave.

 

“…Sometimes, a little carrot is necessary.”

 

Does Basil even realize he’s slowly being tamed by Hestia, whether he knows it or not? It doesn’t matter.

 

“Ugh, my neck hurts.”

 

She had been hunched over papers for so long that her neck was stiff. She stretched and loosened up her sore joints before standing up.

 

“Time for dinner, I guess.”

 

With guests at home, and even though she had a lot on her plate, she had promised to always have dinner with Leonhard. So, putting her work aside, she headed out of the office.

 

“Miss, I was just about to come and get you.”

 

She ran into Hilde, who was heading toward the office.

 

“Good timing. I finished early today, thanks to Basil.”

 

“I just saw him bouncing out of here, what happened?”

 

“I let him leave on time for once. He’s too valuable of an employee; I have to give him a break sometimes. Is everyone already in the dining room?”

 

“Ah, actually, no one’s there yet.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Hestia, ready to move on, paused and turned to Hilde.

 

“Then what are they all doing?”

 

Hilde gave her a mysterious smile and led her somewhere.

 

‘Isn’t this the garden?’ she wondered as they approached.

 

Suddenly, the bright laughter of a child rang through the air.

 

“Hahaha! Our nephew is amazing!”

 

“Join our side this time, young lord!”

 

Along with the child’s laughter, the hearty laughs of adults echoed in the air.

 

Curiously Hestia followed the sound.

 

Soon, she spotted the Blaze Mercenaries and Leonhard playing tag in the garden.

 

Leonhard, wearing a big smile, was running around as the mercenaries chased after him.

 

At that moment, he didn’t seem like the rightful heir of the Winston Duchy, burdened with its future, but just a normal, lively boy of his age.

 

“Got you, Leon!”

 

“Ahhh! Uncle caught me!”

 

Luciard lifted the struggling Leonhard onto his shoulders and ran in a circle.

 

At first, Leonhard pretended to cry, but soon he was smiling brightly, laughing again.

 

It was the scene of something out of a peaceful fairy tale.

 

‘…I’ve missed something really important, haven’t I?’

 

Eliminating threats to Leonhard, clearing any thorns from his future path, and raising him to be a great duke—all of that was important.

 

But had she been neglecting Leonhard’s current happiness and being too focused on the distant future?

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

‘Hestia, are you busy today?’

 

‘Wanna play knights with me?’

 

‘Just a little longer… Oh, you’re busy? Okay, I’ll ask Daisy and the maids to play with me.’

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

Leonhard had often come to her, shyly asking to play, but she’d never been able to indulge him.

 

There was always too much work to do.

 

I was busy, or I kept telling myself I’d hang out with him once the duchy was more stable, once I’d dealt with the dangerous elements—

 

But weren’t those just excuses?

 

What was so urgent that she couldn’t grant a small request from him?

 

In the end, what people remember most are those little moments of happiness.

 

‘Like how my siblings surprised me with a cake before I returned in time.’

 

Before her regression, life had been hard, but if she were to choose her most cherished memory, it would be the surprise her siblings gave her.

 

After a long, grueling day, her younger siblings had somehow managed to get bread and cream to make her a clumsy cake.

 

‘Happy birthday, sis!’

 

‘You said you wanted cake before, remember?’

 

‘We couldn’t buy one, so we made one ourselves.’

 

They had remembered her birthday, which she had completely forgotten, and celebrated it with her. That day, Hestia ate a cake soaked with tears.

 

It was just a simple combination of whipped cream and sponge, so it wasn’t particularly delicious, but it was the best cake she’d ever had in both her past and present lives.

 

Why was that?

 

“Because it was a priceless memory that money can’t buy.”

 

And now, Leonhard was creating memories with Luciard.

 

He probably wouldn’t forget this moment, even when he became an adult.

 

“Oh! It’s Hestia!”

 

Leonhard spotted her while she silently watched them.

 

Hestia quickly wiped the corners of her eyes and smiled like she usually did.

 

Leonhard, who had just hopped down from Luciard’s shoulders, rushed over to Hestia and nearly ran into her as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

 

Hestia staggered but barely managed to catch him.

“You’ll fall like that, my lord.”

“Hehe, but Hestia will always catch me.”

To him, it might just be part of their game, but seeing his blind faith in her made Hestia’s heart swell.

 

“Hey, guess what! Lavio and Neville are super strong! And Ivan and Yovan look so alike, I couldn’t tell them apart! I kept mixing up their names! And Brina and Yelluna are so good with their hands! One second the coin was in their hand, and then it disappeared!”

 

Leonhard excitedly babbled without pausing for breath.

 

It seemed like he’d had a fantastic time with the Blaze Mercenaries.

 

“And guess what? My uncle is the strongest! He even gave me a piggyback ride! My dad stopped giving me piggyback rides when I was seven!”

 

“Did you have fun?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

His grin was as bright as the sun.

 

“Um…”

 

At that moment, some of the mercenaries awkwardly approached.

 

“We’re really sorry. We got so caught up playing that the young master’s clothes…”

 

Hestia took another look at Leonhard.

 

He was drenched in sweat, his clothes were smudged with dirt, and there was even a small scratch on his cheek.

 

“He fell while running, but he didn’t cry! He was super brave!” Luciard quickly explained as Hestia touched Leonhardt’s cheek.

He must’ve thought she would get mad. Hestia chuckled and straightened up.

“Kids grow up by running around and playing.”

 

Luciard’s eyes widened.

 

“…I thought you wouldn’t like this kind of thing.”

 

“No way. I used to play like this when I was little, too.”

 

“You did?”

 

“What’s with that meaningful look?”

 

When Hestia glared at him, Luciard scratched his cheek sheepishly.

 

“You just seemed more mature at that age… or was I wrong?”

 

Come to think of it, she’d first met Luciard when she was eight, hadn’t she?

 

Even though she tried to act like a kid back then, she couldn’t quite hide her naturally mature aura.

 

“I had three younger siblings. There’s a bit of an age gap, but who do you think played with those little troublemakers?”

 

“That’s right, uncle! Hestia has three younger siblings! One of them is my friend, too!”

 

When Leonhard took a side of Hestia, Luciard closed his mouth.

 

“It looks like everyone had fun. Since it’s come to this, why don’t we have dinner in the garden today?”

 

“Huh? Really?”

 

“Yes. If we go to the dining hall like this, it’ll be a mess. And if we clean up first, the food will get cold. Besides, it’s such a beautiful day.”

 

“I love it!”

 

Leonhard jumped for joy, and the others, though a bit surprised, exchanged glances.

 

“We’re fine with anything.”

 

“Running around made me hungry.”

 

“Let’s play hide and seek again before dinner!”

 

“Shall I be the seeker this time?”

 

“Hestia, really?”

 

Leonhard was stunned since Hestia usually only played with him briefly or declined altogether.

 

“I have over ten years of hide-and-seek experience. You shouldn’t underestimate the eldest sibling of three.”

 

“Hahaha! I love it!”

 

“Alright then, here we go. One, two…”

 

As Hestia started counting, Leonhard and the Blaze Mercenaries scattered to find hiding spots.

 

Luciard, leaning against a tree, watched Hestia counting and smiled faintly before heading off to find a good hiding spot.