Chapter 16

Life inside the Leblanc estate was far more peaceful than the original novel had described.

Perhaps because spring was nearing its end, even the gloomy and eerie mansion was touched by sunlight now.

The terrace connected to Blake’s room.

Lying on top of the blanket Ronald had specially prepared for me, my short legs crossed comfortably, I stared out over the desolate garden.

There were green leaves everywhere, and yet somehow the garden still looked like demons might crawl out of it at any moment.

‘How did they even manage this?’

The place radiated enough sinister energy that even actual demons could probably learn a thing or two from it.

No wonder the rumors in the novel claimed demons lived inside the Leblanc estate.

If it were me, I would’ve planted hydrangeas all over the garden and put pale pink roses near a little tea table.

I was idly wasting time with thoughts like that when—

“Hey, did you hear that rumor?”

“What rumor?”

Voices drifted up from the garden beneath the terrace.

Probably servants.

My ears perked up immediately at the sound of maids chattering while snapping laundry out to dry.

Listening to rumors was always fun.

“You know that social gathering the eldest young master attends? My friend works as a servant at that social club called Billiard where the gatherings are held.”

“Oh, I heard that place pays really well. They hire male servants too, not just maids? How much do they make?”

“Hey, that’s not the important part right now. There’s a reason the pay is so high! Apparently the eldest young master caused complete chaos at Billiard!”

I slowly rolled my eyes and glanced inside the room.

I remembered Blake—natural-born shut-in that he was—having gone out a few days ago.

It had looked like an ordinary outing, so I hadn’t paid much attention at the time.

Could something have happened then?

Without realizing it, I found myself listening closely.

The maids kept chatting enthusiastically, completely unaware Blake had left the window open.

Well, that made sense.

Blake normally never opened his windows, so they probably felt safe gossiping nearby.

“What happened?”

A maid standing proudly at the center of the little circle spoke dramatically.

“The Young Master was just leaning on the sofa reading documents there too, but apparently one maid accidentally kicked his foot while passing by.”

“Oh no!”

Why were they reacting like she’d committed a mortal sin just by bumping into him?

Right as I started feeling confused by their exaggerated gasps—

‘Oh! Wait a second. I know this story!’

A scene from the original novel suddenly flashed through my mind.

From somewhere deep inside my dusty old memories, one particular scene resurfaced.

Blake silently continued reading the report despite the female employee bumping into his foot.

But in that instant, his sharp senses flared.

That employee.

…He had never seen her before.

Since the establishment catered exclusively to noble ladies and gentlemen, even the employees rarely changed.

He recognized most faces.

But that woman was unfamiliar.

And that killing intent…

‘An assassin.’

But whose?

Who was the target?

He didn’t know.

Still, Blake abruptly rose from his seat.

Then he swiftly followed the woman as she hurried out of the room.

Her pace quickened.

When he got close enough to nearly collide with her—

the woman spun around instantly and pulled out a dagger.

“Die— guh!”

But she never finished speaking.

Blake casually caught the dagger that had nearly pierced his chest and sighed while watching the woman collapse forward.

Before he could even identify her, she bit down on poison.

Apparently she had intended to commit suicide the moment she failed the assassination.

Now the poison had already spread through her entire body the instant her attempt failed.

“What is all this commotion—”

“My goodness! Duke Leblanc’s son, what exactly have you done?!”

Everyone stared in horror at the female employee’s corpse, her skin already turning blue.

…This is troublesome.

But Blake calmly walked away without another word.

Even as panicked whispers erupted behind him before the doors closed, he paid them no mind.

“Find out whose assassin she was.”

The shadows following behind him scattered immediately.

A few days later, horrifying rumors spread claiming Blake Leblanc had killed an employee merely for accidentally touching him.

People pitied the victim, saying she had been unlucky enough to offend the infamous Duke Leblanc’s son—

and lamented that nobody could punish him.

Ah.

Damn it.

I’d had a bad feeling this was the incident they were talking about.

And just as expected, the maid telling the story hesitated before continuing.

“But apparently… the Young Master followed the employee and killed her! It all happened so fast nobody even saw what happened.”

“What?! R-Really?”

“Yes, really! And the scariest part is that the Young Master was definitely holding a dagger, but there wasn’t even a single drop of blood on the employee’s body!”

“…After hearing the rumor about him liking teddy bears, I thought he might secretly have a cute side. Guess not at all….”

“Right? We all need to be careful around him.”

After nervously warning each other to stay cautious, the maids soon gathered their laundry and left.

…Uh, no.

That employee was an incredibly dangerous assassin!

What happened afterward again?

Did Blake expose her identity?

Did he clear up the misunderstanding surrounding himself?

I tried desperately to remember the rest of the story, but unfortunately my memory failed me.

Quickly climbing to my feet, I peeked into the room.

“Blake.”

Blake was still sitting beside the fireplace reading a book.

At my call, those violet eyes slowly shifted toward me.

A silent What is it? look.

“Did you recently kill an employee at Billiard?”

“…Yeah.”

He answered briefly, his gaze lingering as if asking how I knew.

His tone sounded utterly casual.

Watching him return his attention to the book, I asked again:

“That employee was an assassin, right?”

“…What are you? How did you know?”

Knew it.

I hurried over and climbed onto the sofa across from him.

It took me a while to get up there, but Blake quietly waited the entire time.

Then he asked again:

“I asked how you knew.”

“You know already. I’m a witch. There’s nothing I don’t know!”

He clearly didn’t believe me.

When he silently pressured me to answer honestly, I eventually shrugged and confessed.

“I actually overheard the servants talking earlier. Apparently one of their friends works at the social club you visit.”

“…I see. Then how did you figure out the employee was an assassin?”

“It’s obvious if you think about it logically. You’re someone who even listened to a total stranger like me. There’s no way you’d hurt an employee just because she accidentally bumped your foot.”

Because I know you’re not a bad person.

I smiled brightly at him.

At some point, his eyes had left the book entirely and were fixed on me instead.

“So I made a guess. I was right, wasn’t I?”

“…Yeah.”

“Who sent the assassin?”

“I don’t know. She killed herself before we could get anything out of her.”

Ah.

Then maybe the original novel never revealed anything afterward either?

While I quietly fell into thought, Blake suddenly said something strange.

“The place mostly consists of interior sections staffed entirely by female employees, so infiltration wasn’t easy.”

“…Huh? Female employees? Didn’t you just say all the employees there are women?”

Blake nodded shortly.

That was strange.

The maid earlier definitely sounded like she said there were male servants too.

While I mulled over that inconsistency, Blake spoke calmly:

“It happens all the time.”

“What does?”

“People misunderstanding me as a murderer.”

“…What does it matter?”

There it was again.

Another defensive answer.

Even while fully aware he was being misunderstood, he acted completely detached about it.

Had he never once wanted to defend himself and explain the truth?

“Well, it matters to me.”

“……”

His face clearly read: Why?

Seriously, he could be ridiculously transparent sometimes.

“If I’m going to have a contract partner, I’d prefer them to be a good person. Luckily, even though you’re prickly and kind of mean, you actually are a good person.”

“Either compliment me or insult me. Pick one.”

“You’re awfully greedy.”

“That’s not greed, it’s—!”

Watching him bristle, I grinned.

“If you didn’t do something, then it’s okay to say you didn’t do it. The person who protects you is yourself. Don’t give up on yourself so easily. I’m sure there are people around you who believe in you.”

And no matter what others say, I’ll believe your words first too.

Maybe if I said this much, he’d react differently next time a situation like this happened.

And honestly, even if he didn’t—

that was okay too.

If these words merely made Blake think about himself a little more in the future, that alone would already be progress.

“……”

No response came from him.

Still, whatever.

I hopped down from the sofa.

Right now, I should do what I could do for Blake.

Padding over, I grabbed onto his sturdy leg.

After struggling my way onto his lap, I saw him staring down at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“Ah. When you’re feeling wronged like this, seeing something cute usually makes you feel a little better.”

There was no reply.

But he didn’t tell me to get down either.

Sitting atop his hard but now strangely comfortable lap, I quietly thought about the misunderstandings surrounding Blake for the first time.

Looking at it now, Blake hadn’t become a villain overnight.

These ridiculous misunderstandings had probably piled up one by one until, before he even realized it, everyone saw him as a villain.

Thinking about the lonely and exhausting life the original novel’s Blake must’ve endured made my chest feel strangely heavy.

‘Still, there’s no need to feel gloomy.’

I just needed to start thinking about what I could do for Blake from now on.

Blake.

Just trust your big sister.

Starting tomorrow, your villain graduation begins.