I Became The Guardian Of The Future Villain

Ahem…Ahem

 

Clears throat…

 

Luciard stood in front of the office door, holding a stack of documents in one hand, getting ready to knock.

 

The reason he was there was because Gallian had set up a chance for the two of them to talk just a while ago.

 

‘Why not take this chance to see how Lady Hestia works? I was going to pass these documents on way anyway, so why don’t you do it for me? You can talk to her and observe her work at the same time, its a win win situation right?’

 

He was already curious about how she worked.

 

‘Let’s see what’s got her so busy that she’s been ignoring me.’

 

Luciard cleared his throat again and knocked.

 

*Knock knock*

 

“Come in!”

 

The slightly impatient voice made Luciard pause for a second before he opened the door.

 

“I’m here because Gallian asked me to pass this along…”

 

He was trying to find a good excuse when he stopped mid-sentence.

 

What he saw made him speechless for a moment.

 

“Oh! Sir, it’s been a while! I heard you were back, but I’ve been so busy I couldn’t greet you properly.”

 

“What… is this…?”

 

The one welcoming him wasn’t Hestia, but a servant.

 

It was Basil, who used to serve Icarus in the past.

He got sent here because of his quick thinking, and now he was working with Hestia, but it seemed like it was really wearing him down. His once strong and healthy face looked gaunt, and his limbs were shaking from exhaustion.

 

Despite the smile on his face, Basil looked like he could pass out at any moment, and Luciard couldn’t bring himself to speak further.

 

But that wasn’t the only thing that surprised him.

 

‘Is all this paperwork really what she has to handle?’

 

The entire office was buried in an overwhelming mountain of documents, covering not just the desk but also the floor, the coffee table, and even the sofa. There were so many papers that Hestia was barely visible behind them.

 

“Do you need something?”

 

Still staring in a daze at the office, Luciard snapped back to reality at the sound of Hestia’s voice.

 

Hestia was sitting up straight, glasses on, looking at him.

 

Her attitude was completely different from the childish fight they’d had that morning. Without even noticing, Luciard nervously swallowed.

 

“Gallian asked me to give you this,” he said, handing over the documents.

 

Hestia took the papers and glanced through them, her frown deepening.

 

Sigh

 

“As if I’m not busy enough already… Basil, we need to head into town for a bit.”

 

“Huh? Me?”

 

The exhausted Basil let out a groan.

 

“There was some trouble with the fire incident last time. You’ll need to go deal with it. Some people are causing a disturbance, so take some knights with you.”

 

“But I already have a mountain of work to get through…”

 

“I have even more to deal with than you do.”

 

“That’s true…”

 

Basil hung his head with a resigned look, tears welling up in his eyes.

 

What choice did he have? When the boss says go, you go.

 

With a resigned look, Basil muttered, “How long am I going to survive doing this?”

Basil prepared to leave while Hestia went right back to her work. Watching both of them, Luciard hesitated before speaking.

“If it’s not something that requires you specifically, I could go.”

Hestia paused and looked up at him. Luciard scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“You both seem really busy, and I don’t have anything particular to do right now, so I could handle it. If strength is needed, I can take the mercenaries with me.”

Hestia thought about the Blaze Mercenary Group for a moment.

“If you could, that would be a huge help! It’ll take at least three hours to get there and back, and I was already going to have to work late tonight! I’d really appreciate it!”

Before Hestia could object, Basil grabbed Luciard’s hand in desperation.

 

“Basil.”

 

Hestia frowned and called his name, but Basil just laughed it off.

 

“It’ll be fine, right, Lady Hestia? It’s not like we absolutely need to go ourselves. I’m sure Gallian can handle most of it with him.”

 

*Haa…*

 

Hestia sighed, took off her glasses, and pulled out a piece of paper. After writing something on it, she handed it to Luciard.

 

“A few days ago, there was a fire in one of the tenements. About a dozen families lost their homes and are currently living in temporary shelters. We quickly arranged new housing, but it seems there’s been a problem. Gallian can fill you in on the details.”

 

The paper had the address written on it.

 

“Is there anything specific I need to do?”

 

“Not really. Those people just want reassurance that something’s being done to solve the issue. You just need to show them that we’re working on it.”

 

The request likely came from people hoping someone in authority would come and check on things to give them peace of mind.

 

“Got it. I’ll head out now.”

Hestia had already put her glasses back on and was absorbed in her work again.

Without a second glance, she focused on the paperwork, and Luciard left the office.

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

“I know it’s uncomfortable, but if you can hang in there a little longer, we’ll have things fixed soon. Is there anything else you need?”

 

“There aren’t enough bathrooms. There are over 50 of us here, and only two bathrooms are available!”

 

“Ah, I see. I’ll make a note of that as well.”

 

Luciard, along with Blaze’s mercenary group, Gallian, and a few knights, including Lloyd, had come down to Chest and were taking care of the situation.

 

Gallian, being well-informed, handled most of the details, but Luciard and the others helped where they could.

 

“Sir! Is that really you, Sir!”

 

An elderly man suddenly grabbed Luciard’s hand, and started calling him “Sir.”

 

“Now that you’re here, we can all rest easy.”

 

Luciard, a bit uncomfortable, looked down at the wrinkled hand gripping his own.

 

“Oh, Father! This isn’t the Duke, it’s his younger brother, Sir Luciard! I’m sorry, Sir. My father’s been a bit confused lately…”

 

The man’s child quickly rushed over and led the old man away. Even though no one else approached, Luciard could feel the eyes on him, the quiet murmurs started from the background.

 

“It seems the Duke’s passing still weighs on them.”

 

“Lloyd.”

 

Lloyd had come up beside him, speaking in a low voice.

 

“The Duke was a good lord. And since his death was so sudden, some of the people here are still anxious.”

 

Seeing Luciard, who bore a strong resemblance to Icarus, seemed to bring some comfort to those who were uneasy.

 

“But thanks to Lady Hestia’s efforts, things didn’t get worse. If anyone else had been the guardian, it would’ve caused more chaos.”

 

Because she acted quickly and made sure the absence of the Duke wasn’t too strongly felt, the people of the estate were able to carry on with their lives.

 

“Lloyd, do you really think that kid is doing a good job as a guardian?”

 

“Kid…? Oh, you mean Lady Hestia. Yes, absolutely. Honestly, we’re lucky to have her. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Lady Hestia knew in advance that Count Humphrey was planning to rebel.”

 

Because she had planned in secret, they were able to catch all the spies hidden within the estate.

 

“No one expected there to be so many traitors. Even I had no idea Captain Hubert of the Knights would be involved.”

 

Who would’ve thought that a long-time companion would turn out to be a traitor?

 

Being an outsider, Hestia had been able to view the entire situation objectively and uncover the truth.

“Now, most people follow Lady Hestia, but back when she first became a guardian, more people were suspicious of her than supportive. I’m ashamed to say I was one of them.”

 

But now?

 

Now, the entire household trusted her without question.

 

“It’s not like she went out of her way to win us over. Lady Hestia just quietly did her job and showed through her actions that she genuinely cares about the Ducal family.”

 

If you didn’t look at her with preconceived notions, you couldn’t help but recognize her sincerity.

 

Luciard listened quietly, deep in thought.

 

‘Even Lloyd is on her side now, huh? She really is something.’

 

Lloyd was one of the few people Luciard considered close in the Ducal family.

 

He was the one who had first taught him swordsmanship and had shown him the way into the swordsmanship academy.

 

Luciard knew better than anyone how reserved and tight-lipped Lloyd was when it came to compliments. For Lloyd to not just be nice, but also trust someone was a big deal.

 

“Well, I think we can leave the rest of the work to the local authorities. Thanks again for your help,” Gallian said, walking over to express his gratitude.

 

“Aww, we didn’t do much,” one of the Blaze Mercenaries chimed in.

 

“Yeah, you’ve been feeding us great meals and giving us good beds. Helping out a bit was the least we could do! If you ever need us again, just let us know!” the rest of the mercenaries responded energetically.

 

As the group chatted, Luciard glanced around. Although things were still a bit chaotic, the faces of the people were bright. Even though there were some complaints, there wasn’t a hint of fear or anxiety left.

 

‘Did she really make all this happen?’ Luciard couldn’t help but think of Hestia, Who was surrounded by piles of paperwork.

 

“We’ve got a bit of time before heading back to the estate. Would you like to stop by and visit my father?” Gallian asked.

 

“Your father… you mean the former chief butler, Leitner?” Luciard recalled hearing that Hestia had helped Leitner, and he nodded in agreement.

 

━━━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━━━

 

Gallian led the group to Jerome’s mansion, where Leitner was still recovering, thanks to Jerome’s hospitality.

 

“Please let me know if you need anything,” Jerome said as he guided them to Leitner’s room.

 

“Thank you, Mr. Jerome,” Gallian replied.

 

When Brina realized who Jerome was, she couldn’t hide her excitement. “No way! Jerome? The owner of ‘Tears’?!”

 

“You’re kidding! I’ve been using ‘Tears’ products forever!”

 

Even the usually stoic Yelluna smiled with excitement, while the other members looked puzzled.

 

“What’s ‘Tears’?” one asked.

 

“It’s a famous soap brand! You’ve stolen mine before, remember?” Brina retorted.

 

“Oh, that flower-scented one?”

 

“Yeah! I was planning to stock up while we were in the Pastine Empire, but I never expected to meet the ‘Father of Soap’ himself!”

 

“I swear, *Tears* made my skin so much better,” Yelluna added.

 

As Brina and Yelluna joked about getting Jerome’s autograph, Neville clicked his tongue.

 

“Pfft, what’s so great about soap that you’re all losing your minds over it?”

 

“They just care about their skin, Neville.”

 

“You’re just jealous,” someone teased.

 

“Jealous men are unattractive,” another added.

 

“Shut up!” Neville snapped.

 

“Shut up, you all,” Luciard tried to stop them, but the noisy chatter continued.

 

“Hahaha, it’s been a while since I’ve heard this much commotion. I must say, I missed this kind of lively noise. Let them be, young master,” Leitner chuckled, putting Luciard at ease, though he still sat down with a slightly annoyed expression.

 

“How are you feeling?” Luciard asked.

 

“Getting better, slowly but surely. The doctor said I might start walking in about a week,” Leitner replied.

 

Leitner, whose hands and feet had stiffened from the poison, could now feel strength returning to them bit by bit.

 

“And I owe it all to the benefactor who came to the duke’s household,” he continued, causing Luciard’s face to tighten slightly.