This Villain Is Mine Now

Chapter 55

Even though they had been living in the same room every day, it had been a long time since they spent time together like this.

“It feels nice.”

“What does?”

“The eye mask. It feels like it’s helping me relax.”

“It’s probably because you’re lying on a soft bed instead of falling asleep on the sofa every night.”

“Maybe.”

Lyle’s tone was as indifferent as ever, but today, for some reason, he seemed different. Was it because of the pink eye mask he was wearing, or perhaps it was the fact that he was lying on the bed that Elaina always used?

“I hired new staff today. I brought in about twenty people for now, including Colin’s cousin.”

“Did you?”

“Colin’s younger brother is sick. Did you know?”

“…Really? I think I heard that he was always frail. Apparently, the reason Colin volunteered for the war was to pay for his brother’s medicine. Is his condition serious?”

Elaina sighed softly. “It doesn’t seem that bad. The amount they needed for his medicine wasn’t too much when I asked. I asked if it could be resolved once he joined a knight order, but apparently, no knight order is willing to take Colin in.”

“It’s not just Colin’s problem. No commoner knight has been able to join a knight order. They’ve all known this issue for some time,” Lyle said in a calm tone, adding that perhaps, instead of a grand title, a cash reward might have been more beneficial for them.

However, unlike Lyle’s composed response, Elaina’s voice was slightly agitated. “That’s so unfair. Just because they’re commoners, they’re not allowed to join knight orders?”

“The official reason they’d give is lack of skill, of course. But no matter how unfair it seems, it won’t change. If they have to pay the same wage, naturally they’d prefer to hire noblemen over commoners.”

“Why should that be natural? If they didn’t have the necessary skills, they wouldn’t have survived so long on the battlefield.” Elaina’s frustration, which had temporarily eased during her outing, returned.

“It’s the same reason no one’s applying to join the Grant Knight Order. No one wants to risk their life for the title of a traitor’s knight, especially not for a place as dangerous as the Mabel Mountain region.” A self-deprecating smile tugged at Lyle’s lips.

Elaina, feeling a pang of sadness at his words, gently lifted his eye mask, and their eyes met. “What do you mean by that?”

Several weeks had passed since they had received permission to establish a knight order, but since they hadn’t discussed the details in depth, Elaina had assumed things were progressing smoothly.

“You mean no one has applied to join? No one at all?”

“They think it’s disgraceful to be part of a traitor’s household. And they don’t want to go somewhere as dangerous as the Mabel Mountains.”

“……”

Lyle pulled the pink eye mask back over his eyes. “That’s why I just met with Colin.”

“Colin?”

“And a few others who might be useful.”

Lyle had just come from meeting some of his former subordinates at a tavern. Ten of them had served under him as squad leaders, and he had also recruited ten others he had noticed on the battlefield.

It wasn’t enough to form a proper knight order, but they met the minimum requirement of fifteen knights to officially start one.

“I contacted my old subordinates to help spread the word. We’ll need more people.”

Those who hadn’t been granted knighthood would be hired as apprentice knights.

Recalling how his former comrades had been drinking and chatting loudly at the tavern, Lyle couldn’t help but smile. They had joked about how they thought the knighthood medals they received were just useless trinkets, never expecting they might actually become knights.

“You should have told me about that sooner.”

Elaina’s voice rang in his ears, as though embarrassed by her earlier outburst. Perhaps she felt ashamed of having gotten so worked up.

“It’s better to have people you can trust to watch your back in a place like the Mabel Mountain region. These guys just came back from the war, so their instincts are still sharp.”

Although they weren’t refined knights by any means, they were soldiers loyal to Lyle.

Lyle closed his eyes again. In truth, he hadn’t only met with his old comrades today. Before returning to the mansion, he had met Leo at a tavern, who had urgently requested a conversation.

Being a noble to the core, Leo was horrified by the shabby alleyway leading to the tavern.

“The Marquis of Redwood seems to be pulling strings behind the scenes.”

Lyle had suspected as much, but hearing Leo confirm it stirred a quiet anger deep within him.

He had known something was off.

The conditions Lyle had offered to recruit knights weren’t bad. There should have been several knights, especially those with lesser titles or lower pay, eager to join. Yet no one had stepped forward, which meant someone was sabotaging his efforts.

Leo had discovered this while casually asking around his unit if anyone knew of knights looking for work.

“For some reason, the Marquis of Redwood seems very uncomfortable with the idea of the Archduke creating a knight order.”

Lyle recalled Leo’s words as he turned to Elaina.

“You mentioned that the Redwood family tried to plant spies among our servants, right?”

“Yes. After Diane mentioned it, I checked and found that several maids who had worked for the family for a long time had applied to work here.”

It seemed more persistent than just petty revenge over the failed marriage with Diane.

It made little sense for a powerful family like the Redwoods to be so intent on hindering the Grant household, which was now little more than a name. Could it be that the Marquis had other motives?

Perhaps the knight order was just a convenient target for venting his frustration. Maybe the maids from the Redwood household had applied for practical reasons like pay and benefits.

But Lyle’s sharpened instincts warned him to remain cautious of the Marquis of Redwood.

“In a way, this might work out for the best. I don’t know much about knight orders, but Leo once told me that for a knight order to function properly, its members need to work together as one.”

The operation to subdue the Mabel Mountain region was already a dangerous mission. It wasn’t a task for just any skilled knight; it required people Lyle could trust with his life.

“Yeah, I agree.”

As they spoke, the bed shifted slightly, and Lyle felt movement beside him. He peeked out from under the eye mask and saw that Elaina Elaina lying next to him.

“Hah, if I had known all of this earlier, I wouldn’t have bothered going out. I went to the market with the butler because I was so anxious about it,” Elaina mumbled, feeling both relieved and slightly embarrassed.

Colin and the other commoner knights joining the Grant Knight Order would lead to a positive outcome for everyone involved. Elaina, feeling drained from the day, lay beside him, her tired voice growing quieter.

“You’re not uncomfortable, are you?”

“…Not at all.”

It wasn’t discomfort that Lyle felt—just surprise. Though they had been sharing the same room for a while, the room was so spacious that their paths rarely crossed, and this was the closest he had ever been to Elaina.

“Mmm.”

Elaina shifted, turning towards Lyle. Startled for a moment, Lyle remained still, but Elaina’s eyes were closed, so she hadn’t noticed him looking at her.

Up close, he noticed how long her eyelashes were. Her thick lashes curled softly, brushing her skin like gentle waves. Her pink hair flowed down her cheek as she lay curled up on her side. It seemed she really had been tired, as her breathing soon became steady and rhythmic.

Lyle found it hard to look away. Holding the pink eye mask in his hand, he stared at Elaina’s peaceful face for a long time.

He didn’t usually have much interaction with women, but he had always known that Elaina was quite beautiful.

What a strange woman. A pretty face, from a good family, and it seems like fate has handed her everything. Yet, she made the irrational decision to marry him.

A single eyelash had fallen onto her nose, and Lyle gently brushed it away. Elaina scrunched her nose slightly, as though the touch tickled her.

***

She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but when Elaina opened her eyes, Lyle was gone. Glancing around, she noticed a long leg sticking out from the sofa.

“What on earth… Why is he sleeping there again?”

She had made such an effort to tell him to sleep in the bed, yet he had somehow moved back to the sofa without her noticing.

For someone who usually woke easily, she hadn’t heard him get up at all.

“Pfft.”

Elaina stifled a laugh as she tiptoed over to the sofa, her gaze drawn to Lyle, who was still wearing the pink eye mask. He looked so content with the mask that Elaina couldn’t help but chuckle.

Careful not to wake him, she covered her mouth and quietly left the room. She needed to have a word with the butler about finally finishing the renovations on her room.

As the door softly clicked shut behind her, Lyle, who hadn’t moved at all, lifted the eye mask from his eyes.

“…Looks like I’ll have to tell the butler to speed up the renovations.”

Something told him that continuing to share a room might become a bit more uncomfortable from now on.