My Niece Is Not A Villainess

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After finishing his words, Ian unleashed the power of Fragarach.

 

The seemingly ordinary sword, Fragarach, began to transform.

 

“Oh?”

 

Ignoring Edelmar’s admiration from behind, Ian swung Fragarach horizontally.

 

“What?!”

 

The dark mage quickly teleported to avoid the attack, but the spot where he had been standing was silently carved out.

 

Though one might expect Ian to be surprised by the dark mage’s sudden disappearance, he simply turned and moved Fragarach again.

 

– Swish!

 

The sound of air being sliced could be heard.

 

Then, red blood began to drip from the empty air.

 

“Argh!”

 

A scream followed belatedly.

 

“You bastard!”

 

The dark mage reappeared, blood dripping from one of his arms, and shouted.

 

“Hellburst!”

 

A mass of black mana quickly flew towards Ian.

 

Without hesitation, Ian charged at the dark mage, slashing through the Hellburst with Fragarach.

 

“Impossible!”

 

The incoming Hellburst was split in two.

 

– Boom!

 

The ground shook, and dust rose.

 

However, Ian’s speed did not slow down.

 

As Ian pierced through the dust cloud, aiming to stab Fragarach into the dark mage’s chest, Edelmar, who had approached unnoticed, grabbed Ian by the waist and pulled him toward himself.

 

“What the…!”

 

Simultaneously, black mana surged up where Ian had been standing.

 

“Master!”

 

The dark mage, still dripping blood, cried out while looking up at the sky.

 

In the sky stood a figure clad in a black robe.

 

“Didn’t I tell you to be careful?”

 

“M…Master. It hurts.”

 

“Tsk.”

 

Clicking his tongue, the black-robed figure waved his hand, causing black mana to instantly envelop the dark mage’s wound.

 

“Master, that guy is holding a strange sword.”

 

“A strange sword?”

 

The black-robed figure turned his head towards Ian.

 

His gaze lingered on the sword for a while before returning to the dark mage.

 

“Hmm?”

 

There was a hint of doubt in the black-robed figure’s voice.

 

Understanding the source of the doubt, Ian smirked.

 

“Being stabbed through the heart would have been better than dying from excessive blood loss.”

 

Despite the dark mage’s wounds supposedly being healed, they remained unclosed.

 

Noticing this, the black-robed figure turned his head back to Ian.

 

Ian smiled coldly and said,

 

“Wounds inflicted by this sword never heal.”

 

It was a sword that was said to have killed a god.

 

Taking a human life was child’s play.

 

“I see.”

 

The black-robed figure nodded silently before extending his hand.

 

In an instant, black lightning-like magic shot towards Ian and Edelmar.

 

Ian and Edelmar swiftly moved in opposite directions.

 

– Boom!

 

The spot where the two had stood exploded.

 

“Which side?”

 

Edelmar, now standing far away, asked.

 

“They both belong to me, don’t they?”

 

“Do you want me to report this to our superior?”

 

“…You pick first.”

 

Edelmar charged towards the figure in the black robe.

 

Ian, frowning, followed and rushed at the dark mage.

 

“Shield!”

 

A black shield surrounded the dark mage, but Ian swung Fragarach.

 

– Clang

 

With a sound like shattering glass, the black shield broke.

 

“Shield! Shield! Shield!”

 

The shield reappeared instantly, but as soon as it came into contact with Fragarach, it shattered again.

 

“Lightning!”

 

Black lightning descended from the sky.

 

“Shield!”

 

Ian blocked the descending lightning and swung Fragarach.

 

“Aaagh!”

 

The dark mage, unable to even cast another spell, screamed as he was relentlessly attacked.

 

– Thud.

 

An arm fell to the ground.

 

“How! How!”

 

The dark mage clutched his now-empty shoulder, screaming in agony.

 

“Master!!”

 

The dark mage cried out desperately.

 

But before reinforcements could arrive, Ian’s next attack was faster.

 

“Wind Flare.”

 

A drill-like wind pierced the dark mage’s heart.

 

“Gaaaah!”

 

With a short cry, the dark mage collapsed backward.

 

Ian then decapitated him with Fragarach.

 

“Not even your soul will be saved.”

 

***

 

Despite the piercing wind that could stab through the heart, Edelmar’s hand continued to wield his sword without pause.

 

‘This is boring.’

 

For all the killing intent, the battle was ordinary.

 

He had expected something different from dark magic, but it was less impressive than the imperial court magicians.

 

Edelmar, unable to endure the boredom as he fended off the incoming spells one by one, asked,

 

“Is this all?”

 

“Hellfire!”

 

Black, feather-like energy sprouted from behind the dark mage.

 

“That’s not very impressive.”

 

The aura-infused sword easily sliced through the incoming black feathers.

 

“Is there nothing else? Something new?”

 

A sound of teeth grinding could be heard from within the black robe.

 

“So boring.”

 

Realizing there was nothing new, Edelmar thrust his sword at the figure in the black robe.

 

“Shield!”

 

Just like the dark mage before, a black shield appeared.

 

But the sword pierced through the shield and stabbed the heart of the black-robed figure.

 

– Drip, drip.

 

Black blood dripped onto Edelmar’s hand.

 

“H-How…”

 

Without a word, he withdrew his sword, and the black-robed figure, who had been floating in midair, fell to the ground.

 

“Not interesting.”

 

With a voice full of boredom, Ian appeared behind Edelmar and offered him a handkerchief.

 

“No need.”

 

Edelmar declined the handkerchief and began to walk away.

 

Ian watched the dark mage’s body as it turned to ashes and disappeared.

 

“Are you feeling guilty?”

 

“No.”

 

It wasn’t as if he had killed an innocent passerby; he had killed someone who deserved it.

 

He wasn’t a person kind enough to feel guilt over such things.

 

“So, what are you thinking about?”

 

Ian rolled his eyes.

 

‘He’s quite perceptive, isn’t he?’

 

“It’s nothing. Let’s head to the duke’s castle.”

 

Ian deactivated the summoning of Fragarach and started running towards the duke’s castle.

 

The appearance of the dark mage.

 

The duke hiding something.

 

‘Interesting.’

 

Edelmar’s lips curled into a smile.

 

The person he already found interesting became even more intriguing.

 

“This makes it hard to leave.”

 

Muttering to himself, Edelmar followed Ian.

 

***

 

“Rose!”

 

Upon arriving at the duke’s castle, Ian ran towards Rose, who was surrounded by knights.

 

He knew that nothing had happened since the shield hadn’t been broken, but he still carefully checked the child’s condition.

 

After confirming that not a single strand of her hair was harmed, Ian sighed in relief and kissed her forehead.

 

“Were you very scared?”

 

Rose shook her head.

 

“Scared of what?”

 

Thankfully, it seemed the child didn’t even know what had happened.

 

Ian had been worried that Rose would be shocked by the intense battle, but it appeared the guards had taken good care of that aspect.

 

“My Rose. You’re amazing.”

 

Rose giggled at Ian’s praise.

 

“Duke.”

 

“Were there any other attacks?”

 

“No. Nothing happened.”

 

“So they were targeting me after all.”

 

No matter how much Ian and Edelmar had unleashed their attacks, if Rose had been the target, they would have found a way to pursue her.

 

But neither of them had even glanced at the fleeing Rose.

 

It meant that from the beginning, their target was Ian, not Rose.

 

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

 

Edelmar, who arrived late, asked Rose.

 

“No. What about you, Uncle?”

 

“There’s no way I’d get hurt.”

 

Ian hugged Rose.

 

Even though he realized that the recent attack was aimed at him, he didn’t want to let Rose out of his sight.

 

“Uncle, I want to go to Uncle Fred.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Uncle Fred said he would teach me numbers.”

 

‘…It’s a relief that you’re not scared… But Rose, aren’t you a bit too fearless?’

 

It seemed like Ian was the only one who had been startled.

 

Rose appeared as if the recent attack had been no more than a game of tag.

 

Ian sighed and set Rose down.

 

“Rose. Don’t stray away from Claude.”

 

“Okay!”

 

After watching Rose run off holding Fenrex’s hand, Ian turned to Edelmar and asked,

 

“Are you coming along?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Ian led Logan and Edelmar to his study.

 

“I’ll prepare some tea.”

 

Ian waved off Sebastian and turned to Logan.

 

“Report.”

 

“Count Kale is dead.”

 

Ian stopped in the middle of sitting down on the sofa and looked at Logan with shocked eyes.

 

“Did you kill him?”

 

“No. When the knights went to arrest Count Kale, he was already dead.”

 

“They cut off the tail,”

 

Edelmar said with a smirk.

 

“Yes, it appears that way. Not only Count Kale but his entire family was found dead.”

 

Ian clicked his tongue.

 

He could roughly imagine what had happened.

 

There was a faction that had sent the dark mage after them.

 

However, because he had dealt with the dark mage, their plans were ruined.

 

To eliminate any evidence, they likely decided to dispose of Count Kale, who was associated with them.

 

“Capture anyone related to him, even the collateral branches.”

 

“Yes.”

 

After Logan responded and left the study, Sebastian entered with tea.

 

A fragrant tea and snacks were placed on the table.

 

Ian stared at the steam rising from the teacup.

 

‘Was the dark mage also connected to Count Kale in the original story?’

 

In the original story, the dark mage first appeared when Rose became an adult.

 

Although Ian had seen a dark mage in the capital after possessing this body, he thought it was just a coincidence.

 

Because of this, he hadn’t been particularly wary, but he hadn’t expected that there would be a connection between Count Kale and the dark mage.

 

“What are you thinking about?”

 

“Nothing much.”

 

Since he couldn’t explain the original story, Ian just gave a vague answer, but Edelmar stared at him intently.

 

Ian sighed and said,

 

“I was thinking about what the dark mage was after, going so far as to pretend to back Count Kale.”

 

“Count Kale?”

 

Ian briefly explained the situation involving Count Kale.

 

“So you don’t think the dark mage wanted just a title?”

 

“No.”

 

If it was about wanting a title, the dark mage would have acted directly.

 

But instead, he used Count Kale.

 

Ian spoke to Edelmar, who was smiling brightly.

 

“Would you be up for a spar this evening?”

 

“Are you trying to get rid of me quickly?”

 

“I can’t deny it.”

 

Ian answered honestly.

 

Although he had received unwanted help from Edelmar, his presence in the castle was causing too many problems.

 

“Sorry, but I’ll have to retract my statement.”

 

Ian frowned.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Even if we spar, I won’t be leaving this place.”

 

“Grand Duke.”

 

Edelmar leaned back on the sofa and crossed his arms.

 

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t be here?”

 

“This is the duke’s territory. It’s not fit to accommodate someone of your stature…”

 

“You’re doing something quite interesting.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“You’re seizing control of the wealth.”

 

Ian froze momentarily.

 

“What if I inform my brother that you’re preparing to make the duchy independent?”

 

For a moment, a deadly aura emanated from Ian.

 

But Edelmar just smiled and said,

 

“If you wanted to hide it, you should have been more careful. You moved too openly, didn’t you?”