I Failed to Oust the Villain!

Chapter 5

“I thought I told you never to use alchemy without my permission,” roared Count Delight as he shook her. “How dare you disobey me? The ability that you have, the clothes that you wear, the food that you eat, and even your body—it all belongs to me.”

If everything belongs to you just because you’re my father, then does that mean your body belongs to the previous count too? Valeta looked up at Count Delight, swallowing the words that were caught in her throat. Clearly, he was not pleased that she had used alchemy to heal the slave without his permission.

“I’m sorry, Father. I thought the slave was going to die,” she said.

“So you used alchemy on it?”

“It was your birthday gift to me. I couldn’t let him die on the first day,” Valeta replied. She was choosing her words carefully now.

Count Delight narrowed his eyes and frowned, but he was silent for a moment as if satisfied with her lie. Finally, he said, “Even so, it’s a sin to use your abilities without my permission.”

Then everything in the world would be a sin, Valeta grumbled to herself, all the while keeping her head bowed, pretending to look apologetic.

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

She hated the idea of a child being their parent’s property just because they had given birth to them. It made her uncomfortable.

“You’re forbidden to leave your room today. You will have no meals either. Use this time to reflect on yourself and what you did wrong.”

Valeta nodded obediently. “Yes, Father.”

Count Delight turned away, looking much more relaxed than before. The curtains were drawn and the door was closed. The room plunged into darkness. Valeta could hear the click of a key, the sound of a door being locked.

“Only a day, huh? I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or not,” she said into the dark.

I can’t even use the powers I was born with, Valeta thought as she swallowed a sigh.

The boy must be completely healed by now. Tomorrow, she’d feed him and then tell him to run away the day after that. If she gave him the marble and helped him escape, he would be able to take care of himself after that.

Valeta slowly sank back into her bed, recalling the words that had shaken her awake. Let’s just go back to bed.

She could plan all she wanted, but there was nothing she could do today. Valeta lay there in the gloom of her room. She couldn’t even open the curtains without her father’s permission. She quietly turned over and hugged her pillow.

* * *

“Good morning, master.”

“Mmm... Five more minutes...”

“Your ‘five minutes’ is the same as an hour, master. Please think about your poor slave. He’s heard ‘five more minutes’ about twenty times now.”

“Ugh.” Valeta’s face scrunched at the nagging voice in her ear. She slowly opened her eyes to find Reinhart right in front of her face. His own had only grown more handsome over the years. “You’re still here...”

“And it still hurts when you say that right to my face, master,” Reinhart replied. He hovered only a few inches above her.

Valeta pushed him away. His voice was sweet and gentle, but he didn’t seem to realize his eyes weren’t smiling at all. What’s more, he would often sneak up close to her as if trying to seduce her. Take, for example, when he had tried to wake her up. Does he keep trying because I keep pushing him away?

Don’t fall for him, Valeta. He’ll be your end. She repeated those words like a mantra before steeling herself to face him. It had already been five years since the slave had first stepped foot in the mansion. Valeta was now fourteen years old. Despite all the times she had tried to give Reinhart the marble and set him free, he simply refused to leave.

He must already consider this his nest, Valeta thought with her face still buried in her pillow. I guess he plans on staying here until he’s an adult. He must think it’s better than having to wander from place to place until his awakening.

“I said I’d give you everything, so why won’t you leave this place?”

“Where would a slave go without his master?” Reinhart said in a sweet voice.

Then do something about those cold eyes! Speaking in a sweet and caring voice isn’t everything. Then again, Valeta thought, he could live just fine just off his face alone.

The day Valeta met Reinhart, the very same day she had poured the potion on him, Count Delight had taken Reinhart’s room away from him in a fit of anger. To this day, Reinhart had no place to sleep. He would drift from room to room, catching a wink of sleep in the stables, the basement, and sometimes even the kitchen. Valeta requested that Reinhart stay in her room instead, but Count Delight had berated her for that.

In the end, Reinhart was forced to work odd jobs while being despised by all the attendants and some of the maids. Valeta begged them not to, but the abuse continued behind closed doors.

If this were a game, their relationship meter would be in the pits of hell. There was no hope for this household. Valeta let out a deep sigh. She thought it would be a good idea to talk to her father today. Why can’t he see that I’m trying to save him?

He was a dangerous child—a dangerous child who was most likely meeting his followers from the Magicians’ Tower in secret. He’s going to raze this mansion the day I come of age!

Valeta rolled around on her bed, resisting the urge to tear her hair out.

Reinhart tilted his head to the side, still watching her. “I don’t know why you keep wanting me to leave, master.”

“I don’t need a slave.”

“Am I a nuisance?”

“I just don’t like the idea of having a slave.”

She couldn’t tell him that he was going to kill everyone in this mansion. Valeta slowly crawled out of bed. It was dangerous seeing such a beautiful first thing in the morning every day.

My head hurts. She was most decidedly not a morning person. She stumbled slightly, and in a flash, Reinhart was at her side, grabbing her waist to support her.

“Be careful, master.”

“I know.” Valeta frowned at the arm that was wrapped tightly around her waist.

Reinhart reached up to feel his master’s forehead with his free hand. “Are you all right? Could it be your anemia again?”

“No, I was just a little dizzy, that’s all. I’m fine now.” Valeta stepped out of his embrace. She could understand why the original Valeta was so enamored with this boy. She had probably felt like she was the most loved person in the world with the charming way Reinhart treated her. “Let me know if you ever want to leave.”

“I like you, master. That’s why I want to stay by your side.” Reinhart was kneeling now, looking up at Valeta from the floor, his silver tongue making it sound as though he were giving her all the authority.

As far as Valeta knew, Reinhart was still being abused by the servants, but he seemed to have won over the hearts of the maids and a few of the attendants. Still, she knew that there were plenty of other servants who didn’t like him.

“I’m not falling for your lies. Get out. I need to wash up, so go call a maid for me.”

“Yes, master.” Reinhart glanced at her with narrowed eyes, but she had already turned away. He bowed and left the room.

As soon as Reinhart left the room, Valeta released the tension in her body and slumped on her bed. “Ugh, there’s not much time left,” she groaned, rubbing her temples. She couldn’t believe that it had already been five, no, six years since Reinhart first arrived.

She didn’t think that he’d stay for this long. He’d stubbornly refused Valeta’s pleas for him to leave. Instead, he woke her up every morning. He knelt, looking up at her with doleful, half-lidded eyes as if to tempt her.

“Why...?”

Why won’t he leave?

Of course, Reinhart hadn’t left in the novel either, but the situation was different. In the novel, the original Valeta was obsessed with Reinhart, but maybe he hadn’t left because Count Delight was in possession of the marble. But in this timeline, Valeta wasn’t obsessed with him, and she was the one who was in possession of the marble now. In fact, she had tried to give it to Reinhart several times before. But every time she did, the boy would just smile and place the marble back in her hand.

“Don’t let go of your lifeline, master,” he whispered.

To Valeta, it sounded like he was saying that this was her only lifeline. But logically, Valeta knew that Reinhart’s decision was the right one. It was safer for him to live as a slave doing odd jobs for a nobleman than to wander out in the world as a child.

Above all, given his looks, the chances of him being sold into slavery again were high. In fact, it appeared that Count Delight had plans to do just that when Reinhart was older.

Reinhart was growing more beautiful by the day. He’d be less likely to die as an adult and would have far more uses too.

Isn’t it fine for him to leave now, though? Valeta was fourteen, which meant that her future murderer was now sixteen. Thoughts raced through her mind. Isn’t he old enough to live on his own now? What on earth is he still doing here? And I know he can use magic too.

Reinhart hadn’t awakened to his full powers yet, but Valeta knew that he could use practical magic. That was something she had discovered by chance when she witnessed him using magic to clean a particularly stubborn stain.

“I don’t know what to do...” she lamented.

Six years. She had six years left before she became an adult. Reinhart would awaken on the day she would come of age, two years after he became an adult. There would be nothing she could do once that happened. She buried her head in the pillow and groaned.