This Villain Is Mine Now

Chapter 115

A loud voice rang out behind Lyle as he left the corridor.

“Lyle Grant!”

Standing there was the Marquis, glaring at Lyle with bloodshot eyes. The Marquis didn’t even bother with formal speech and simply shouted. Lyle stared back at him silently.

Thud, thud. The Marquis approached with heavy footsteps, almost running.

“If this weren’t the Noble Council, you’d be a dead man.”

The Noble Council was a place where weapons were forbidden for the safety of its members. If only he could have carried even a dagger, he would have gladly driven it into that bastard’s neck.

“What a shame. You stole the words right out of my mouth. If this were the battlefield, I would have torn you limb from limb,” Lyle replied coldly.

If he could kill him, he would have done so immediately. Just thinking of Elaina made him feel that even grinding the Marquis to paste wouldn’t be enough.

Elaina, who had experienced Propheta’s dream, had resisted the Marquis’s manipulation. But that was merely a matter of willpower. The pain she felt in the dream could not be helped.

Every dawn, Elaina would wake from her nightmares. Her body drenched in cold sweat each time.

All Lyle could do for his wife was wipe her down after she fell back asleep and hold her tightly so she could feel safe.

“That ring was quite unique. The way it shimmered in iridescent light was rather fascinating.”

At Lyle’s remark, the Marquis’s face hardened.

“You’re wondering how I knew, but you shouldn’t have hidden something that important in your study.”

Lyle continued, staring at the Marquis with a blank expression.

“You asked if I had proof. Of course I do. I’m just waiting for the right moment. The perfect time to completely destroy you, Marquis.”

“Do you really think a brat like you can defeat me?”

“Who knows. We’ll see whose life gets ruined in the end.”

As if he didn’t want to waste any more words, Lyle turned without a farewell. The Marquis ground his teeth as he glared at Lyle’s back.

“Damn it.”

A coarse curse slipped out. A vulgar word unbefitting of the elegant Noble Council building.

Because of Lyle’s exposure, the Marquis could no longer use the ring’s power. A worthless prize with a brilliant shine.

If he used this power on nobles now, it would only intensify efforts to find the culprit. The Marquis knew better than anyone how ruthless the Emperor could be—ten years ago, the Emperor had cut down even his own friend without hesitation. If the Emperor sensed someone had used such power, he wouldn’t bother with investigation. He would simply execute anyone under suspicion.

“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.”

Unable to contain his fury, the Marquis kicked the white marble wall.

Until yesterday, the ring had still gleamed and pleased him. The fact that he now had to sit on such invincible power without being able to use it tormented him even more.

***

“Welcome back, sir—aaagh!”

The butler, greeting the Marquis, was immediately slapped across the face. Struck by the Marquis’s large hand, he rolled across the floor. Not understanding why, the butler was beaten mercilessly. Curled into a ball and clutching his head, he screamed.

“You idiot, you worthless bastard. I told you to keep the study in order, and you pull something like that?”

“Kyaah! What are you doing, dear?!”

“Move!”

The Marquis shoved the Marchioness aside as she tried to shield the butler. She collapsed to the floor, crying out, but the Marquis didn’t even flinch.

“Damn bastard. How dare you lie to me.”

Breathing heavily, the Marquis poured out his rage on the butler and eventually kicked him out without a single coin of severance.

The fact that Lyle knew about the ring hidden in his study could mean only one thing.

While he had failed to plant a spy in House Grant, Lyle Grant had succeeded.

‘It must have been that wench who ran away.’

Strapped for cash, he had let go of experienced maids and hired new young ones. One of them had run off with an ornament. He had dismissed it as trivial, filed a report, and forgotten—but now he knew that wasn’t the case, and it infuriated him to his core.

And that wasn’t all. Every servant in his house now seemed suspicious. He had no way of knowing who might have been planted by Lyle Grant.

In the end, the Marquis fired almost every servant in his mansion, including the butler. Startled by the sudden action, the Marchioness couldn’t say a word in protest, frightened by a side of her husband she had never seen before in her life.

The Marquis, with only a few servants left, summoned the guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild. Most adventurers made their living by taking on commissions.

“I want you to find some people. Young women.”

The guildmaster received the papers the Marquis handed over and checked their contents. One contained information about Anna, and the other was the application Rapina had submitted when she applied to be a maid.

“Find them. I don’t care if you have to kill them—just bring me the bodies.”

“…Understood.”

The guildmaster scratched his head and nodded.

“How long do you think it’ll take?”

“Well… it’s hard to predict with this kind of work. But I’ll do my best.”

At the guildmaster’s words, the Marquis exhaled deeply. His mind, clouded with anger, seemed to clear just a little.

“Make it as quick as possible.”

“Yes, understood.”

The guildmaster carefully folded the two papers and tucked them into his coat.

***

“It was exactly as Your Grace said.”

The guildmaster handed Elaina the papers. They were the same ones he had received directly from the Marquis a few hours earlier, containing the personal details of Anna and Rapina. He also informed Elaina and Lyle of what he had heard from the Marquis’s estate.

“I mean, really. What is the Marquis thinking? He didn’t even seem to consider that Rapina might be a member of our guild.”

The guildmaster scratched his head. Of course, they did anything for money, but betraying a guild member was against their code. Relationships were everything in the guild. Once branded a traitor, no one could work in this line of business again.

He shared not only the information but also the chaotic state of the Marquis’s household. Hearing that a large number of servants had been dismissed, Elaina smiled.

“Lyle.”

“Yeah. I know. I’ll talk to the butler in advance.”

If they could bribe servants well-acquainted with the Marquis’s estate, it could be a great advantage later. At Lyle’s reliable response, Elaina nodded and turned to the guildmaster.

“Thank you for your help.”

“Not at all. Considering Rapina and that Anna serves you, it’s only natural I help. So, what should I tell the Marquis?”

“Be honest. Tell him Rapina disappeared and can’t be found, and that Anna is under Shawd’s protection at the Northern Archducal Castle.”

“Understood.”

The guildmaster bowed to Elaina more respectfully than he had to the Marquis.

***

After the guildmaster left, Elaina and Lyle stepped out for a bit. Now that the lie about being too badly burned to move had ended, they could go out freely.

Walking through a quiet part of the city, Elaina was thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere. She had been cooped up in her room for so long, unable to even open a window. It was only natural that she felt elated.

But Lyle didn’t look happy. Elaina linked her arm with his and studied his expression.

“Is something bothering you? What’s with that face?”

“…I don’t know if what I did was right.”

“What do you mean?”

“Revealing everything at the Noble Council.”

Lyle’s gaze turned to Elaina. He played with a strand of her hair as he murmured.

“The Marquis will try something against you again.”

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing his dark expression, Elaina deliberately spoke in a cheerful voice.

“Are you saying you can’t protect me?”

“If I could take your place a hundred, a thousand times, I would. Anything would be better than doing nothing while you suffer.”

Elaina leaned into Lyle’s embrace. Public displays of affection in the city, even in quiet areas, were considered unrefined. But Elaina didn’t care that passersby were glancing at them.

Because they felt the same.

Rather than watching Lyle suffer through the same terrifying nightmares as his grandfather, she’d rather take the pain herself.

“That’s enough for me.”

Elaina was certain. No matter what happened, he would protect her.

And so, truly, that was enough for her.