The Villain Dreams Of World Peace

Episode 64: Ghost Estate, A New Beginning for Three People (4)

 

“Hm….”

 

Muriel woke up stroking white fur.

She thought it was Fen. It always nestled in her arms when she fell asleep, as if it were natural.

 

“Are you… okay?”

 

But a gloomy voice fell overhead.

It was Ondal, looking down at her with his head bent and hair caught by her.

 

“Oh my…!”

 

Muriel was startled, releasing the white hair she had been unconsciously stroking.

 

“Sorry, I thought it was for sure Fen…”

 

“Fen?”

 

“The familiar that Kaiton has. It always digs into my arms when I sleep. It’s soft and comforting… I thought you were Fen. I’m sorry.”

 

“I know who Fen is… I’ve seen Muriel with it. You can…keep holding it. Muriel needs rest right now.”

 

Ondal curled up like an a heartbroken hamster, hugging his knees, but tilted his head so Muriel could continue stroking his hair.

 

“…Is it okay if I touch…?”

 

Even on the day when Anda mustered the courage to hold Muriel’s hand, he stiffened and quickly let go, unable to endure it for long. So she thought it would take a while before he could overcome his aversion to human touch.

 

“Muriel…”

 

“You don’t have to force yourself to endure.”

 

“If I don’t endure, Muriel will be in trouble.”

 

Ondal rolled up like a heartbroken hamster and held his knee, but kept his head tilted so Muriel could continue to stroke his hair.

 

She wondered what he was talking about while burying his face in a melancholy way, and it turned out he was talking about the moment he had to endure watching Kaiton torment Muriel. Pfft. Muriel carefully stroked the back of his white head, thinking that even his distressed back resembled Fen.

 

Despite the confident assurance that it didn’t matter if she touched him, she could clearly see a slight shiver and goosebumps on him. Muriel quickly withdrew her hand from his head and stretched her body, which had become stiff from a long sleep. Ondal and Murie were in the carriage. Seeing that the interior was warm even though there was no campfire, August seemed to have cast a spell for Muriel, who’d fainted.

 

“Kaiton is a good person.”

“He kept pushing Muriel, even though he knew she could turn into a demon. Someone like that… someone like that…”

 

Ondal seemed angry, but he couldn’t bring himself to sweat at Kaiton as bad until the end.

 

“But… he didn’t tear my heart apart and take out the pieces. Isn’t that kind enough…? Oh…!”

 

Ondal’s tears began to flow. She was trying to defend Kaiton, but perhaps she’d made his image worse.

 

“It felt so weird. I wanted to run to Muriel and help you… but I couldn’t go because you told me to pretend I didn’t know anything… I was so upset.”

 

“Still, don’t hate Kaiton. I want the two of you… I hope you can become close.”

Muriel gently wiped away Ondal’s tears with her collar and comforted him.

 

Then, partly to comfort him and partly to fulfill her own desires, she tore a piece of her collar and tied his hair with it. She gently combed his white hair and tried to tie it neatly… It would have been nice if she had the skill, but the result was rather messy. Nevertheless, Ondal seemed to feel better and smiled shyly, and Muriel felt quite proud of herself, so it was a successful attempt.

 

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

 

“I will start now.”

 

Kaiton, who seemed to have been waiting for Ondal and Muriel to wake up, stood up from the campfire as he caught a glimpse of the two people coming out of the carriage. August handed him the brooch that he had been wearing on his chest, as if they’d already discussed it. It was the gift from God that protected against the curse of the demons.

 

“Muriel, are you feeling better? Camping must have taken its toll on you. I’m sorry. I should have been more considerate.”

 

“Um… I’m alright now.”

 

August, unaware of what was going on with Kaiton, seemed to think that Muriel had collapsed from the fatigue of camping. It was fortunate that he had no further suspicions, but Muriel, who had once again been branded with the image of a fragile flower in a glass house, responded hesitantly and avoided eye contact.

 

“But don’t worry anymore. Crawford has decided to clean up all the demons in the vicinity.”

“All of them…?”

 

It was a place which was left neglected by even the kingdom due to the overwhelming amount of demons. For one person to clean up a place like that. It was reckless, it was wicked.. Kaiton’s intention to check if Muriel’s pacio was really infinite was clearly revealed.

 

“I also advised against it, but he said ‘We can’t let the Young lady sleep in a dangerous place anymore’… he’s unexpectedly quite a gentleman, isn’t he?”

 

Wow, and he even shamelessly lied pretending to be concerned about Muriel.

Muriel glared at Kaiton, who jumped up into the air with an even more troubled expression.

 

“But Crawford. Doesn’t he seem different now…?”

 

“W-What…?”

 

“He was already sharp, but should I say he’s even sharper now? He was already painfully harsh, but now he’s even ferocious.”

 

It must be because Kaiton was no longer pretending to be ‘Kai Crawford.’ Muriel touched her forehead, imagining how he would have behaved.

 

“Well, I’m not sure…?”

“Weren’t you two close? That’s why I thought he was here to help you.”

“Well, I don’t know if I would call us close…”

 

Muriel wanted to avoid talking about Kaiton. She felt that even the slightest slip of the tongue would be seen through by the keen August.

 

“Does Crawford also know about Sharan’s eyes?”

 

“No!! Absolutely not, that’s something you know because you’re a guardian. You have to keep it a secret from others. You didn’t mention it, did you?”

“I didn’t. There’s no need to casually talk about it, but Crawford.. It seems like he was keeping an eye on Shara- Ondal.”

 

“Kai… Kai?”

 

Muriel, who almost asked him if Kaiton did for a moment, awkwardly stumbled over words. But August didn’t notice her mistake because he was busy feeling guilty about calling Sharan’s name.

 

“Ever since Ondal got into the carriage with you, he was staring at the carriage menacingly. At first, I misunderstood and thought Crawford was jealous of you and Ondal, hahaha.”

 

“T-that’s… all?”

 

“Why? Is there something else I should know?”

August asked with a friendly smile. However, Muriel didn’t miss the keen glint in his eyes. She would have to be more careful when dealing with Kaiton in front of August…

 

Her head throbbed. She had to hide Ondal’s true identity from Kaiton and Kaiton’s true identity from August… This wasn’t thin ice, this was practically floating on ice bergs.

 

“You’re the best for me, Fen…”

Muriel embraced Fen, whom she could comfortably confide in without the need to deceive or hide anything. As she pressed her face against his cool body temperature, her throbbing amd burning headache quickly subsided. It felt good. As expected, you’re the best, Fen.

 

“Huh? Why is Ondal’s face turning red?”

 

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

 

Kaiton, who had been running wild, returned with a refreshed face. Muriel was gasping for breath. On top of that, it was freezing, as if the coldness had seeped into her due to the since her pacio was being constantly emptied.

 

Ondal grabbed Muriel’s clothes and cried, while August looked bewildered. Although she said it was due to the demon she met last time, his skeptical eyes showed that he did not seem to easily believe it.

 

“Crawford, have you dealt with all the demons? Muriel’s condition isn’t good, so if there’s a room available to use, I’ll take her there and lay her down.”

 

Ignoring August’s words completely, Kaiton strode up to Muriel and stood before her. Not wanting to show her struggling appearance, Muriel kept her face down, looking at the ground.

 

Then Kaiton’s hand came in and lifted her chin. Her body had cooled so much that Kaiton’s body temperature felt like a ball of fire. The area he touched tingled and stung. It wasn’t just because of the extreme temperature difference. Kaiton checked her pacio again, then coldly glared at her, almost mocking.

 

“Don’t touch Muriel!”

 

Ondal pushed Kaiton away and blocked Muriel, as if to protect her.

 

“Ondal…!”

 

Muriel quickly jumped in surprise, but she couldn’t stop Ondal. Muriel couldn’t touch him because she was afraid Ondal would be startled, and Ondal was only glaring at Kaiton.

 

“Why didn’t you stop when you knew Muriel was suffering?!”

 

No, don’t say it so directly when we agreed to pretend not to know!

 

Anxious, Muriel quickly grabbed Ondal’s hand. She held it carefully, so as not to startle him, but firmly enough to turn his excited nerves towards herself.

 

“Ondal, look. I’ll be fine in no time.”

“Your hand…it’s like ice.”

 

Ondal warmed his other hand with his breath, and carefully grabbed the rest of Muriel’s hand. It seemed like he was trying to share his body heat, just like that night.

 

“You look overwhelmed. You can give up now.”

Kaiton said coldly, his eyes sharp as he looked down on Muriel and Ondal.

“I don’t mind.”

 

“I, I’m just not used to it yet. I’ll be fine in a moment, so pay no attention.”

 

“…I haven’t even been able to use proper magic because a certain someone has too little power to pull and use at once.”

 

Neither of them has any intention of keeping it a secret…

Muriel grinded her teeth and spoke to a puzzled August.

 

“August, I have something to discuss with Crawford. Can you take Ondal with you?”

 

“Uh… sure…”

 

“Please.”

 

Ondal tightly held Muriel’s hand, with a sulky face reluctant to go, but Muriel squeezed his hand once more before turning to look at Kaiton. Shortly after, the sound of Ondal and August entering the castle could be heard.

 

“The smaller the mouth, the better to keep a secret.”

He seemed to be pinching about what Ondal knew about the contract between the two.

 

How much effort did he put into keeping secrets himself?

Muriel glared at him and raised her eyebrows crookedly.

 

“Is that a threat to kill Ondal?”

 

“If necessary?”

 

“Don’t touch Ondal.”

 

“Are you worried?”

 

“If necessary.”

“…how fun.”

 

The expression of the person speaking was rather tasteless.

 

“But… is it true that you can’t use magic properly because the amount of power you can draw at once is small?”

 

“…What if it is?”

 

Kaiton looked at Muriel, intrigued by the sudden change in subject. But that was a problem that Muriel had to address.

 

“Are you sure you’ve tried properly? Since Kaiton is a genius, maybe he can do it. I don’t care if you draw more, so…”

 

“Then what if your Ondal cries? Oh, did he cry already?”

 

He was being sarcastic at that despite saying the rest seriously. It irritated her, and she wanted to vent her temper by arguing with him, but she still had questions to ask Kaiton, she held it in.

 

“So… are you going to touch someone else’s pacio? Isn’t there no need for such grand magic right now…?”

 

“Does that matter to you right now…?”

 

She raised her head to look at him irritably because she thought he was being petulant again, but this time he seemed genuinely surprised. He even looked a bit dumbfounded.

 

“Isn’t that only natural? It’s my fault, isn’t it?”

 

“….”

 

“Tell me. So, are you going to touch someone else’s pacio, aside from me?”

 

“…No.”

 

“Really?”

 

“I won’t…! I don’t need to.”

 

Kaiton shouted loudly and then strode into the castle.

 

She’d intended to ask for support since her legs were giving out, but he quickly disappeared without giving her a chance to grab hold of him.

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Lmao love Ondal doing his best to protect Muriel aa I love how he cries so easily, he’s so cute