The villain of the romance fantasy novel has finally appeared!
‘Although I swore that I wouldn’t get involved with the original storyline, the only thing that I seemed to do was steal the original plot from the female lead after the possession…’
But I swear, I have lived a life far away from the original.
I was determined to have a position where I wouldn’t be entangled with the original female or male leads, let alone the villain.
If I were to classify my position, I was none other than ‘Passerby A of the Empire’.
I had been detached from the original to the extent that I would be proud to have lived an exemplary life.
Therefore, this accident that just happened was none other than the play of my ill fortune.
…At the very least, that was what I thought.
“Sir Clara, you have been waiting for an opportunity, haven’t you? Quite the intelligent move.”
Unfortunately, the greatest villain of the original novel, who was standing in front of me, didn’t seem to think so.
The mask, which had been hiding his face up till now, had already flown into the distance.
The man who completely revealed his identity in front of me, Duke Ludger Kassen.
The villain, the Young Duke and the Phantom Thief, whose side business was to play with the little secrets of the nobles for which he was infamous for…
Although he usually had a cold expression as if he was dissatisfied with everything around him, his face was so handsome that one can’t help but be mesmerized.
However, now was not the time to be mesmerized by his face. Quickly, I answered instantly to stop the misunderstanding.
“No! It was a coincidence, Young Duke.”
“Such a meeting can’t be described as coincidental.”
“…”
Well, even if you were to ask me, the excuse was quite lame. However, it truly was a coincidence, but there was no way the other person would take that literally.
The opponent was the next Duke in line, and I was the captain of one of the factions of the Royal Knights, who was commanded to catch the Duke in action.
Wasn’t this a position where you can’t help but be misunderstood because you deliberately approached the opponent?
‘But it’s not really….’
I didn’t have any intention of getting involved with the villain. I had planned to faithfully fulfil the role of the leader of the incompetent knights who were unable to catch the Young Duke until the end of the original work.
‘So, taking off his mask was really an accident….’
I couldn’t stop it. Now that it turned out to be like this, there was only one card I could use.
“I will never reveal the identity of the Young Duke.”
“…what?”
“It is exactly as you heard. Therefore, please rest assured, retrieve your mask and return.”
“….”
Ludger’s handsome eyebrows furrowed.
“Are you insulting me now that my identity is exposed?”
“No!”
I raised my voice as I pleaded with an earnest voice filled with sincerity.
“I really don’t have any reason to reveal the identity of the Young Duke, do I? I swear to the God of Heaven!”
“Haa….”
Ludger responded with a sigh, putting shame to my 100% sincere pledge.
“Should I believe what I witnessed or should I believe a meaningless oath?”
Well, it would have been the same even if I were in the opposite position. Because oaths were just that; words in vain.
Finding no other way, I came up with a reasonable answer.
“There is no conclusive evidence.”
“….”
“If I have evidence, the only thing I can do is to report to the higher-ups with my testimony as the eyewitnesses. As long as I catch the Young Duke, it could be done.”
“….”
“However, I won’t arrest you.”
As if to prove my point, I raised both my arms up and showed that I had no intention of attacking him.
Ludger glared at me and picked up the mask that had fallen on the floor. Of course, I didn’t stop his action.
“Yes, if you snitched on me without evidence, they would brush it off as absurdity. Rather, there is a high possibility that the Captain will be in a tenacious position.”
“Yes.”
“However, the suspicion of ‘what if?’ will spread. Some people might think it’s a useless rumour but have doubts about my alibi.”
“I’m promising to Young Duke again, I have no intention of doing that, as I swore in the name of the God of Heaven. I won’t even tell my subordinates about this.”
“….”
Ludger’s gaze was sharp, entrapping me in its depth. Even though he didn’t do anything, I felt like I was being cornered.
As if to break the tense silence, Ludger took a step toward me before opening his mouth.
“Really?”
His silver hair, bathed in moonlight, was as beautiful as an angel in soar. It was as if I could picture the scene moving before my eyes.
“Like this.”
When I came to my senses, I suddenly found myself being pushed against the wall and his enlarged face in front of my eyes, almost pressing on my face.
He asked in a whisper, barely touching my ear.
“Are you going to just let me go?”
“Really… no, this is.”
I swallowed dry saliva and shook my head, barely answering him.
I had to express my opinion clearly to him.
“I had more than ten chances that I could use if I had tried to subdue the Young Duke. What was the reason for letting all those opportunities go by?”
“…Haa.”
Letting out a sigh, Ludger frowned. Even his seemingly unpleasant expression was so captivating that I couldn’t easily take my eyes off him.
He slowly retreated back and put on the mask he was holding. As soon as he put on the magic infused mask, his silhouette became unclear.
“Let’s see how much faith Sir has.”
The voice modulated by the mask echoed throughout the space, and before long, his appearance disappeared in an instant.
If it weren’t for today’s ‘accident’, he was as smooth as a thief who would be difficult to catch.
“Haa…”
I sat down on the ground, wiping my face in exhaustion.
I wasn’t the kind of person who had any intention of using the oath to God to slip off dangerous situations. However, I was going to keep this oath.
Because I didn’t want to become entangled with the villain and disrupt my peaceful life as a civil servant until retirement…
‘… for a moment, I had an ominous premonition. Isn’t this the prologue of that romance fantasy novel where the female protagonist gets terribly entangled with the villain?’
24 years have passed since I reincarnated into this world.
It was not long ago that the dawn of misfortune struck my life, which had been faithful to ‘Passerby A of the Empire.’
Thinking back to that time, I let out a long sigh again.
***
The omen of that unlucky day began with a conversation with a subordinate knight.
While I was eating a late breakfast after taking care of my morning work, an unwelcoming bell rang.
[Captain, we are near the 27th Street of Surell. We are at a disadvantage…. Please provide manpower support…]
The sound of a subordinate knight crying through the communication box broke up the peaceful breakfast hour.
Putting down my fork, I began to scold him.
“Oh, let me eat some food peacefully!”
[No, I also want to give the Captain time to eat, ouch, ouch! Mister, please stop it! Stop hitting me and let me talk to the Captain!]
“….”
Was it necessary for me to deal with the complainants of a knight being hit hard by a citizen? The devastation of the situation was evident just from the sound.
Pressing my forehead slowly, I barely swallowed the groan that was about to come out.
“Okay, I got it! I’m coming!”
[Captain Clara! I love you!]
“Only confess to your girlfriend.”
In the end, I put away the half-eaten food on my lunch box and got up.
At that time, a handsome blonde man sitting at the desk across from me suddenly asked a question with an amused expression.
“Do you think you’ll be able to return by lunchtime?”
He was Lionel, the Administrator of the knights.
He was the type of perverts who take pleasure by bullying others. End of explanation.
“Do you want to bet? If I can return by the end of lunchtime, you will buy me dinner.”
“Oh, showing off your strength? Okay then. However, if you can’t return, you’ll buy me the new gloves of Roussanne Boutique, okay?”
“…Hey, if you’re going to bet, keep the price range similar!”
After shouting loudly, I put on the cloak that was hanging up haphazardly.
It was a uniform that was compulsory to be worn when going out on a knightly mission.
“Then I’ll be back!”
“Yeah. May the God of Heaven protect you, and may you return safely.”
After receiving an exaggerated send-off greeting from Lionel, I left the knight’s office and climbed onto the horse.
‘I’ve never been given a mission so grand as to pray for a safe return.’
Grievance and Complaint Unit, a.k.a the Ruby Knights.
It was a peaceful sinecure job whose most spectacular task was to stop drunken people from going on a rampage.
***
“I am telling the truth! In the old days! Hicc, really, I could have made all the bastards here kneel!”
“Yes. Yes, sir. I understand everything. You certainly can do that.”
The only thing I learned while doing this job was the knack of heartlessly replying to drunken citizens’ long speeches.
“Ah, there, your son is coming. How about you go home now and get a good night’s sleep?”
“Hicc, there’s no use raising your child… Even my wife and children, don’t even think about marriage!”
“Yes, sir. I also have no intention of getting married….”
As I glanced at Billy, my subordinate and also the knight whose voice of being beaten before was heard through the communication box, the drunkard’s son rushed over, dragging the man with him.
“Oh, my. I’m sorry about my father, Sir.”
“It’s okay. First, please sign here for confirmation.”
After handing over the drunk citizen and receiving a confirmation certificate for the report.
I turned around, and hit Billy on the head.
“Ahh, ouch!”
“Hey, he was the most well-behaved drunkard among the other drunkards. You couldn’t even handle it on your own?”
“That’s not it….”
“But that’s what it is, nevermind. Go back and write the report.”
“Yes….”
Billy, a knight who had been transferred to the Ruby Knights about three months ago, was, to put it in one word, an advisor.
For some reason, he complained to the higher-ups to add more manpower, but I never would have guessed that he was the kind of troublemaker who could double other people’s work by 1.5 times.
When I looked into it later, I found out that he had been transferred out of the Emerald Knights with both hands raised.
‘Well, there is no way the Ruby Knights can get proper personnel.’
As I walked away with a resigned sigh, my feet suddenly stopped.
“Hey.”
“Yes, what’s the matter, Captain?”
“What time is it?”
“It’s a little after 12:50.”
“…Run!”
“Yes?”
“Tonight’s dinner depends on it!”
I heard Billy behind me saying, ‘But, I ran earlier to bring that old man’s son!’. However, I ignored the protests and ran towards my horse.
When you have a profession that is neither rewarding nor fun, the only joy in life is letting your friends pay for your dinner.
