The Villain’s Ending

Chapter 51

Escape (9)

The weekend arrived.

The only difference from usual was perhaps the sound of a carriage that arrived a little past noon.

We had finished lunch and were on our way back to the annex with Lineta.

The carriage rolled along and was seen stopping in front of the annex.

"The Young Mistress is here."

Lineta whispered quietly beside me.

As always, a slight fear of Levina was present in her voice.

The carriage door opened, and Levina disembarked first.

Following her, a young man appeared.He seemed somewhat hesitant.

It was Kyle.

"Kyle Oppa!"

Lineta's voice rose slightly with welcome.

But she soon glanced at me, then closed her mouth.

Levina, seeing Lineta and me barefoot again, furrowed her brows for a very brief moment.

But she soon let out a short sigh as if it were nothing.

"I have a lot of work, so I can't talk with you now.

I'll be in the study, so come find me if you have something to say.

Oh, and I'll be staying for dinner, so keep that in mind."

Levina then took a stack of documents from the butler and went inside.

The sound of her footsteps faded beyond the corridor.

Now, only the three of us remained in the backyard: me, Lineta, and Kyle.

Awkward silence mingled with the sound of the wind.

"I'm going to the parlor. Follow."

I spoke first.

Kyle nodded silently.

His expression was stiff.

In the short corridor leading to the parlor, I asked casually.

As if bringing up the weather.

"I heard you and Lineta know each other."

"Ah, yeah. There's a bit of an age gap, but there aren't many people in the village, so.

We've been close since we were kids."

Kyle's reply was brief.

His gaze was fixed not on my back, but on the worn wooden patterns of the corridor floor.

"By the way, were we ever on familiar terms?"

I said.

There was no particular meaning to it.

It just suddenly occurred to me.

"Aren't we commoners now anyway?"

Kyle retorted lightly.

His voice was thorny.

I sighed and didn't retort.

I wasn't in the mood for an argument.

As we entered the parlor, Lineta moved familiarly.

She took out three teacups from the cupboard, hesitated for a moment, then put one back.

She filled the kettle with water and took out black tea leaves from a compartment on the shelf.

Lineta placed the tea and simple refreshments on the table, then stood quietly behind me.

Her presence felt like a small warmth at my back.

I picked up a teacup and took a sip.

Kyle seemed somehow unaccustomed to such a setting.

Which was strange, considering he must have attended everything from high society gatherings to small tea parties.

"So, you wanted to see me?"

I asked quietly.

Kyle stared directly at me.

A slight wariness was visible in his eyes.

"To hear what your scheme is, directly."

"What?"

It was too vague.

"About Lineta."

Kyle's voice began to sharpen.

"Oppa, what kind of manners are those towards the Young Master?"

Lineta whispered softly from behind me.

Her voice trembled faintly.

She probably hadn't expected Kyle to act this way.

Come to think of it, I hadn't told her that our relationship wasn't that good.

Though it wasn't so much that I ruined the relationship as it was that one side unilaterally disliked me.

At Lineta's words, Kyle stared blankly at her for a moment.

Then he let out a hollow laugh.

"Manners?"

"Do you realize how strangely you're acting, right after arriving?

You haven't even properly said you're glad to see me after such a long time, but you're just being sarcastic to the Young Master."

Lineta's voice gradually grew louder.

I listened quietly for a while, then gently patted Lineta's shoulder.

"It's alright, Lineta. Just let him be."

Lineta flinched slightly at my touch but soon calmed down.

Kyle glared at the two of us with an icy gaze.

"It's not strange for someone who would hold a grudge against me to be cast out of the family, and coincidentally, that annex is near the village I lived in. And coincidentally, he hired the girl closest to me as a maid?

Quite a coincidence, wouldn't you say?"

"What can I do? Levina assigned her. That's just overthinking, honestly."

I shrugged and replied.

"Then you should have asked for someone else."

"Why would I? She does her job well."

Kyle's expression stiffened further.

He paused to choose his words, then changed the subject.

"Besides that, Sera has completely shut herself in her room..."

I put down my teacup.

The affectionate nickname, Sera, grated on my ears.

"Don't call her Sera. Clearly, last time... no, wait."

I stopped speaking.

Memories from previous iterations mingled with reality.

My mind was momentarily confused.

"It's been since she met you. Seraphina hasn't come out of her room."

Kyle pressed me, as if interrogating.

"Instead of trusting her fiancé's words, she's swayed this way and that by those around her, busy running around with a commoner like you. How would I know what goes on in such a frivolous person's mind?"

He said, his anger making him look as if he would leap to his feet.

"As if Sera is your possession..."

"Kyle. I know very well you didn't grow up with a proper education, but if you're going to keep acting like that, get out of my house."

I replied quietly.

I picked up my teacup and took another sip.

It wasn't particularly delicious, but it was better than the flower petal tea.

And I set the teacup down.

The clinking sound of the teacup against its saucer seemed unusually loud.

"...My house?"

"Being cast out of the family is just a pretense.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be living so comfortably, would I?"

I calmly lied.

Kyle's expression subtly wavered.

"No matter what I do, you'll probably find it displeasing."

I gently took hold of Lineta's wrist, who was standing behind me.

And lightly pulled her to my side.

"Still, this is where I live, and where I grew up.

You might say the same, but this isn't your land, is it?"

Lineta seemed surprised, but she didn't pull away.

Instead, she blushed slightly and leaned on me.

Her small body touched my arm.

"It might be hard for you, who seems to have learned nothing but how to fight, to understand, but I'm telling you to show at least a modicum of respect.

No matter how great you think you are, how outstanding you are at the academy, or how many people you have around you, this is Edelgard land."

Kyle's face stiffened.

His gaze was fixed on my arm, which was touching Lineta's.

His eyes held blatant contempt.

I had Lineta sit on the sofa beside me.

Lineta, unsure what to do, nevertheless sat obediently beside me.

She naturally moved her body closer to mine.

It was a familiar habit, born from always sitting next to each other somewhere.

There was no other meaning to that action. At least not for me.

I lightly ran my fingers through her hair.

"It seems you came because you're worried about Lineta, but the things you're imagining aren't happening."

"How can I believe your words?"

I gently caressed Lineta's cheek and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Well atleast not yet."

My voice was calm.

At my words, Kyle's eyes turned menacing.

As if he would charge at me immediately.

Fearing he might pull out the knife at his waist and lunge at me, I touched the gem on the ring Levina had given me.

"I can't leave Lineta next to trash like you. Take your hand off her, now."

"Are you going to take her away?"

"If necessary, I'll have to."

"Your ability... well, I suppose you could now.

First, ask Lineta.

If she says she'll quit everything and follow you, I'll have to give her a generous severance package."

I looked at Lineta, who was sitting beside me.

She clasped her hands tightly together on her lap and bit her lip.

Kyle's gaze also turned to Lineta.

His voice became noticeably softer than before.

"Lineta, come here. Don't be next to a guy like that.

You always said you wanted to visit the capital, didn't you?

A room... if I speak to my master, I can get one easily."

Lineta didn't move.

She kept her head down and said nothing.

Silence descended.

Only the faint sound of the wind rattling the window could be heard.

A look of anxiety flickered across Kyle's face.

He seemed to expect Lineta to come over to his side immediately.

"Lineta."

Kyle called out again.

Then, Lineta raised her head.

Her eyes were red, but no tears flowed.

She looked Kyle straight in the eye.

And in a trembling voice, yet clearly, she said.

"Oppa, do people all change like that when they go to the capital?"

"Lineta, what are you... did that guy do something to you?"

"He didn't do anything.

The Young Master isn't that kind of person."

Lineta's voice rose slightly.

She sprang to her feet.

The warmth beside me disappeared.

"Oppa, why are you like this? Why are you being so mean to the Young Master?"

"I'm not being mean, I'm just stating facts!

If you're working here, you must have heard what kind of person that guy is!"

Kyle also raised his voice.

The calm conversation had vanished somewhere.

"What I've heard and what I've seen with my own eyes are different."

Lineta said quietly, as if admonishing a naive child.

"Oppa, you probably don't know because you don't even have time to visit the village, but everyone in the village likes the Young Master.

He's calm, handsome, and even though he's a high-ranking noble, he's not arrogant and eats even simple food deliciously."

Kyle was about to say something in response, but bit his lip and fell silent.

"And so do I. Even though he sometimes wakes up screaming, drenched in cold sweat every night, or just stares blankly out the window and doesn't answer when I speak to him, I've never seen anyone as calm and gentle as the Young Master."

Lineta continued to speak.

"And Oppa, you used to be that kind of person too.

The Kyle Oppa I knew, no matter what, wasn't someone who would criticize others so recklessly."

"......"

"Do people just change like that when they go to the capital, when they go to the academy?

If that's the case, I'll just stay here with the Young Master."

Kyle couldn't say anything.

He merely stared at Lineta with a shocked expression.