Since When Were You The Villain?

Chapter 96   

  

“But I think the Knights of Ruchtainer are impressive. By the way, Sophia, wasn’t Sir Ian your brother?”   

“Oh, um, we’re not close…”   

“You really have an amazing little brother!”   

“Amazing… Yes, he is.”    

Sophia chuckled while lightly scratching her cheek with her finger.   

“He’s so young, yet there’s hardly anyone who can match Sir Ian’s skills! It’s awe-inspiring. Imagine the amount of blood and sweat he must have shed to reach that level.”   

Estelle seemed to genuinely admire Ian, but it was more of a knight’s interest than a romantic one—a look of reverence for someone who had excelled in their field.   

“…Yeah, he must have worked hard to get there. Being the best isn’t easy.”   

Sophia shrugged her shoulders and added, “But, you know, he’s a bit too focused on that. He lacks social skills.”   

Estelle nodded in agreement about Ian’s rough personality.   

“Yeah, that’s true…”   

It seemed like they both shared a similar perspective on Ian’s somewhat quirky nature.   

“Actually, I greeted Sir Ian at the imperial ball the day before yesterday.”  

“I saw it too… the way you talked to Ian.”    

Sophia nodded, silently listening to Estelle.   

“I was a little surprised even back then.”   

“Because of Ian’s social skills drought?”   

“Yeah, exactly.”   

She met Ian, whom she admired, at the ball, spoke to him to say hello, and also talked about Ruchtainer.    

‘Sir Ian Fraus, I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Estelle of the Niore family.’  

With a slightly nervous heart, Estelle initiated the conversation. Ian’s response was somewhat rude.   

‘It seems like everyone enjoys talking about me behind my back.’   

His first words were surprisingly impolite.   

However, the social events during the ball were meant for people to get to know each other and build connections. So Estelle hadn’t done anything wrong by trying to strike up a conversation. She was undeterred and continued to talk.   

‘Well, you’re quite famous. I wield a sword too! I’ve wanted to join Ruchtainer since I was young.’  

‘What do you want from me?’  

Ian’s response was blunt and unimpressed.   

It was an impressive talent to render people speechless. That day, Estelle realized that there was someone even more intimidating than her own father.   

Ian was sending a clear message without saying a word—a message that said, “Don’t touch me, from head to toe.”  

The air around him was freezing, and Estelle couldn’t help but wonder if it wouldn’t have been better for him to avoid the ball altogether.   

She stood there, dumbfounded and unsure of what to say.   

As Estelle stood there, stunned and unsure of what to say, Ian once again cast a cold gaze in her direction. His message was clear: ‘If you want to join Ruchtainer, follow the proper procedures and pass the evaluation. Why bother talking to me?’   

Sophia was shocked when she heard Ian’s response through Estelle.  

‘What kind of attitude is he displaying? Ian Fraus..’. She had thought that maybe only she had a difficult time with him, but it turned out he was universally insufferable.     

Even if he wasn’t the warmest person, she had expected him to at least show basic courtesy.   

Sophia had thought that, despite his lack of social skills, she had expected some level of common courtesy from a renowned knight, but it seemed that Ian was an exception.   

“Perhaps he doesn’t enjoy socializing with people. Maybe he was in a bad mood that day,” Estelle said, trying to soften her words. “He might have had a tough time dealing with someone like me…”    

She could have openly criticized him as an uncaring person, but Estelle seemed to be taking his relationship with Sophia into consideration.   

Sophia wanted to express her frustration and disappointment openly, but refrained from doing so.   

“But, Estelle, I heard that you’re also quite talented,” Sophia changed the subject since she couldn’t talk about Ian’s behavior for too long.   

“Really? Who said that?”   

“Just some rumors. They especially praised your archery skills.”   

“My reputation has reached you?”    

Estelle looked surprised but pleased. She seemed to be delighted that her skills were being acknowledged.   

“I haven’t seen your archery skills myself, but some say that Ian and Killian can’t compare to you.”    

“Wow… It’s more embarrassing to receive compliments than I thought.”   

Estelle felt self-conscious and fiddled with her teaspoon. Her cheeks had turned slightly pink.   

Compliments like this weren’t common in the North, and Estelle appeared unaccustomed to them. Sophia found Estelle’s discomfort endearing.   

“I hope I can see your archery skills someday.”   

“Sure. Right now, it’s a bit challenging, but I’ll show you once the lockdown is lifted.”   

Inside the city, there wasn’t a suitable place to freely practice archery. Normally, people would go to the outskirts, like the forests or open fields, to ride horses and shoot arrows.   

However, due to the lockdown, venturing to the outskirts wasn’t possible.     

It would be worth practicing a little if there was a large garden like the Fraus family’s or the Grand Duke’s residence, but Niore’s small villa didn’t even have a garden.   

“Sure. Let’s go together once the Black Moon is caught.”   

Sophia nodded her head, and their eyes met.   

“Estelle, until then, please be careful too.”   

“Huh? What for?”   

“Seeing what happened to Sir Nicholas, even exceptional people like you might not be safe.”   

“Haha, you don’t think the Black Moon would target me, do you?”   

Yes, they are targeting you the most!   

Sophia wanted to shout it out loud.   

Estelle, whether aware of her worries or not, laughed and said that she was worried for no reason.   

“Our family has a small territory and hasn’t made a big name for itself.”   

“The late Viscount Percel did the same. He wasn’t a prominent figure in the empire. He managed a small piece of land within the Grand Duchy.”   

Sophia had always advised Estelle to stick together with someone, fearing for her safety.   

Estelle seemed to regard Sophia as a caring friend.   

“The Black Moon has only targeted men so far, so it should be fine.”   

“Even so, there’s no guarantee they won’t harm women.”   

“Yeah, being cautious won’t hurt. I’ll be careful too, Sophia, so you should be careful as well.”   

While Estelle said that, it seemed she still didn’t think she would become the target of the Black Moon.    

Among the numerous nobles in the capital, she was undoubtedly correct in thinking that the likelihood of her becoming a target was extremely low.    

‘That’s the downside of a bold female lead!’.  

Sophia mumbled to herself, thinking that if she were a more anxious and thoughtful protagonist, she might have been worried about the Black Moon’s presence from the moment rumors began to circulate.   

“But that Black Moon is indeed frightening. How can they operate so stealthily?”    

Estelle carved her fork into the cake while muttering.   

“No one ever thought they’d carry out operations in the palace. Her highness the Empress’s safety was almost compromised.”   

“That’s why the military police are so busy.”   

“They searched our house earlier today too. It was a bit unsettling having strangers ransack our home… but there’s nothing we can do in times like these.”   

At that moment, the nanny, who had prepared the refreshments and left earlier, returned in a hurry, knocking on the door.   

“Miss Estelle, you should step outside for a moment! Someone from the palace…!”   

Estelle and Sophia made eye contact at the nanny’s words.   

Estelle got up from her seat and ran outside, wondering if it was bad news.  

However, Sophia knew exactly why someone had come from the palace.   

‘It must be an invitation from the empress.’  

Sophia recalled the original story as she followed Estelle downstairs.  

No matter what the Empress had in mind, she had to protect Estelle. She couldn’t just stand by and watch Estelle and the Empress go head-to-head.    

“Sophia, Her Majesty the Empress has invited me to the palace!”   

Just as Sophia had expected, the Empress’s invitation had arrived.   

Sophia obtained Estelle’s permission and read the letter from the Empress herself.   

[About the last time with Lady Barbara, it seemed a bit too intense. I felt somewhat uneasy about it.]  

The contents of the letter were simple. It mentioned that since all the scheduled parties had been canceled, the Empress wanted to spend some time together, perhaps over tea.   

After reading the letter, Estelle asked one of the palace maids, “But I wasn’t the only one invited, was I?”    

“As far as I know, Her Majesty specially invited Lady Estelle.”   

“Just me?”   

Estelle pointed to herself in surprise, but Sophia felt relieved.    

‘It seems like the storyline from the original work hasn’t deviated too much.’   

In the original story, Estelle was indeed invited to the palace by the Empress. They had a perfectly peaceful time together. However, the problem lay in a major incident that occurred during their visit.   

 The demon being transported escapes.’    

Originally, a demonic beast duel competition was scheduled to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the founding of the nation.  

The Demonic Beast Dueling Tournament was a rather cruel and barbaric game in which hunters tied up magical beasts in the arena and hunted them.    

However, the duel tournament was cancelled due to the Black Moon incident, and while the demon beasts were being transported back to their original location from the arena, one of them escaped.  

The demonic beast creature managed to break into the palace and even intruded into the Internus Palace, where the Empress was.   

Coincidentally, Estelle was present at that location, and she used her skills to capture the beast.   

As she was originally from a territory where demonic beasts and creatures roamed, she was much more skilled at capturing them than the knights from the capital.    

‘Through this incident, she received an offer to join a knight order.’  

Recognized for her contribution to protecting the Empress and defeating the demonic creature, Estelle was offered a position in a knight order. However, this knight order was not the Ruchtainer, but the Orhel.   

The Orhel was a large knightly order responsible for guarding the royal family. While they didn’t engage in combat as frequently as the Ruchtainer, they were highly respected for their service within the royal palace.   

As Estelle entered the Orhel order, she became more acquainted with Mikhail, and their relationship deepened.   

In order for the male and female protagonists to develop their relationship, they needed to meet frequently.   

Joining the Orhel order was a convenient plot device for Estelle and Mikhail to interact more often.   

‘However, after that, Estelle’s situation became dangerous…’