A Fairy Tales For The Villains

 

Of course, a perfectly good atmosphere can be ruined

with a certain

someone around… 

 

“Hyung, is that why she seems like she’s made of lead? Oh, no wonder it felt like my ribs

broke

when you fell

on me,

Sasha

!

“

 

I had to

suppress the urge to stab Venya’s cheeky face with the fork I was holding.

 

‘As I thought, I should have fallen off that crappy ladder more heavily!’

 

Lettis’ expression also turned sour. 

 

“Don’t be such a jerk.”

 

“What did I do this time for you to pick a fight with me?”

 

“You’re the one who started it! The mood was just fine before you

opened your

big mouth!”

 

“I wasn’t even speaking to you? I think Hyung is a bit sensitive today

!

“

 

“What did you say?”

 

‘Hey, wait, why are you guys fighting with each other? And why are you standing up?!’

 

After

spending days

in such a small space, it

appeared

that everyone

had

become extremely sensitive. Lettis, who had always

given way

when it came to his younger brother, had a solemn and sour

expression,

and Venya, too, seemed to have lost his sense of humor.

 

“Take it easy. There’s a limit to how much I can let pass by.”

 

“What if I don’t let you off the hook? You’re gonna act like my father?”

 

I could see flames. Two pairs of sky-blue eyes burned as they were about to devour one another. Lettis and Venya are only a year apart but have comparable physiques, so I’m not sure who would

win a true fight.

But,

honestly,

I

had

never seen

these two fight

seriously before.

 

‘Are you guys going to do it, here? For the first time? In a place like this?’

 

Eventually, I also got up from my seat.

 

“Both of you, stop! You’re scaring Estelle!”

 

Luckily, they weren’t crazy enough to keep

the

fight going. Lettis looked at Estelle, who

stood

behind me with her eyes wide open, and sat down again without saying anything. As for Venya, he chose to walk around instead of sitting.

He clicked

his tongue annoyingly before he ran out of the kitchen.

 

“That freaking kid!”

 

I grabbed Lettis’ arm when he was about to run after his brother. At this rate, things could get really ugly.

 

‘What’s with Venya? Why is he acting like this? You’re truly a budding villain!’

 

“Just hang in there,

Brother

. There’s no point in fighting amongst ourselves in

this situation

.”

 

Hearing Estelle’s counsel, Lettis relaxed.

He couldn’t stay angry if it was his little sister who asked him to stop. He

was

such a sweet boy.

 * * * * 

The

day that started w

ith an uncharacteristic clash between the two brothers passed by slowly and gloomily.

 

At noon, the bell rang without fail. The chime of the

bell was

quite tolerable, except for

the vibration of the ceiling

and walls. 

 

The

first day, Estelle cried so hard to

escape.

But she

gradually

accepted the fact that there was nothing she could do, so whenever the bell rang, she responded by covering her head with a blanket.

 

“What if the tower suddenly collapses? Sasha, have you ever seen a tower collapse?”

 

“No. Even if it did happen, it won’t happen here. So don’t worry, we’re not as high up as you think.”

 

“Then how high up are we?”

 

“Um, about the fifth floor?”

 

It was a lie.

We were

on the top floor of the tower, with a clear view of the bell over our heads. However, there was no need to say it

aloud

and

terrify the already anxious Estelle.

 

Until that day,

after waking up and

washing ourselves,

we assembled

for breakfast. When the bell rang at noon, it was time for lunch. Dinner was provided a considerable time later, at six o’clock in the afternoon, when the bell went off for prayer time. There was no mid-day snack, of course.

 

Venya didn’t show up for lunch or dinner. According to Lettis, he locked

himself in

the library and refused to speak. It was an incomprehensible phenomenon indeed.

 

‘Did this morning’s incident hurt him? He never held a grudge this long.’

 

Eventually, night came and Venya was still nowhere to be seen. 

 

‘Fine, if you’re going to act like this, I’m going to be upset too. Who told you to ruin the mood? What the hell are you thinking?’

 * * * * 

The next morning, I woke up especially early. The

sky through the ceiling window was

still blue. It seemed like it was still dawn. When I turned my head to the side, I saw Estelle sleeping deeply with her face buried

in her

pillow.

 

‘Why did I wake up so early? Is it because I’m finally getting out of here so I’m a little excited?’ 

 

I tried to fall asleep again, but my mind wandered. In the

end, moving slowly

to avoid waking

Estelle, I silently made

my way to the bathroom, but an idea arose, and I changed my

direction.

 

 

It felt like a

spell had made me move. I didn’t know why

,

but I went downstairs straight away.

 

I lit a candle I found in the table drawer and carefully walked down the dark, narrow stairs.

The lower level

was as dark as night. The candle in my hand flickered faintly, illuminating

my surroundings.

 

 

As soon as I came down the stairs, the first thing I saw was a tray cart standing like a sentry by the mirror door. Did we

replace

the tray lid yesterday? I couldn’t

remember.

I approached the cart and opened the top round silver lid. There was that

same damn breakfast.

Lunch and dinner were also available in the lower compartment as usual.

 

‘We must be leaving this place today, so why did

he

bring our meals as usual? Is it because we are leaving at night? Also, when did h

e

come in and out?’

 

I was about to turn around when I felt a cold hand touch my

shoulder, sending a chill down

my spine. 

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Hiiiik…!”

 

My eyes widened in the darkness,

and I confronted a startled silver-gray-haired boy dripping water all over the floor.

 

 

“Why are you so surprised? Do you feel guilty about something?” 

 

I thought so too. I mean, it seems like I reincarnated into this body after committing a terrible sin without realizing it? I

coughed, vainly

trying to calm my fluttering chest. 

 

“Ahaha… You woke up early. Have you already washed?”

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“Just… I was looking for an opportunity, wondering if I might run into Mr. Harris at this time.”

 

It was too late to say that I came down without realizing it, so I just said whatever came to mind. 

 

Venya stared at me with sky-blue eyes that seemed particularly cold today. After a moment, I averted my eyes and he asked me, dumbfounded.

 

“We’ll be out today so why…”

 

He looked at the cart tray and

had the same thought.

If we’re

leaving,

why bring a new cart? I helplessly pointed at the sentry next to the mirror door.

 

“There’s even a day’s worth of food in it. But I’m sure we’re getting out today.”

 

There was a moment of silence.

Venya stared at the cart silently and finally

shrugged. 

 

“I guess it’s because they’re afraid we’ll get hungry while we wait.”

 

“If that’s the case, they should’ve explained everything to us. I mean, to you guys.”

 

“…So what are you implying?”

 

I was startled for a moment at the rare tone that sounded

icy and

distant. Although he

was

usually a bit mischievous, he never

acted

serious, arrogant, or sarcastic, but

it felt like he had been on edge since the day before.

 

 

‘How can I explain

this feeling of reluctance and doubt

? I can’t be sure yet, but how would Venya react if I said that his relatives might have done something bad to all of us?’ 

 

Anyone, not just Venya, would be

insulted

. Because no one would welcome the allegations raised against those they trust in. Moreover, I’m talking about people who share the same blood as these guys. 

 

I

couldn’t be sure how we become

closer in the future, but as stated in the original story, I

was

not that significant to Lettis and Venya just yet. Plus, I

was

no longer Sasha from the original, despite the fact that the exterior shell

might

appear the same. In other words, if I

deviated

from something, there

was

a good chance that our relationship

would

break. I had to make sure that didn’t happen.

 

It’s not that I didn’t think about running away by myself when I first

recovered

the memories of my previous life. But I couldn’t do that anymore. With or without those memories, my mother was my mother, and they were close to me, too. They weren’t just fictional characters from some book

anymore. 

 

Even thinking about the Duke and Duchess who were so kind to my mother and me, I felt

a duty

to protect the siblings somehow. 

 

In order to avoid a future catastrophe, to save Estelle, and prevent the corruption of Lettis and Venya, I

must

maintain a close bond with them… I

must increase

my influence even if I

was

not as good as the real Sasha. 

 

While I was thinking about that, Venya, who was staring at my puzzled eyes, smirked. It was his characteristic playful smile: a mischievous smile with a dimple on one cheek. 

 

“I know

!

You don’t like the new butler very much either, do you? I’ll kick his ass for you

when we get out of here

!

“

 

That wasn’t necessarily the reason, but now I

wanted

to see Venya

hit

Mr. Harris. Was it that hard to change the menu at least once? 

 

Anyways I was a little relieved to see him back to normal, so I changed the subject with a smile.

 

“Aren’t you hungry? You… haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

 

“I’m starving. Oh shit, I really think I’m going to die.”

 

‘Pfft. You little rascal. Then why did you go on a hunger strike

that

didn’t suit you?’

 

“What have you been doing in the library all day?”

 

“Just this and that… Oh, Sasha, let me show you something

!

“

 

It was

obvious he

was trying to change the subject because he was embarrassed, but I decided to let it slide. Venya quickly grabbed my hand and led me to the library, and I let myself be dragged away without a word. 

 

Geez, are you a noble

Young M

aster? You just

washed and

now you’re heading into a dust den for no particular reason. 

 

On the long desks, candlesticks that

appeared

to have been placed by Venya were scattered here and there. I lit them with the candle I was holding.

 

Meanwhile, Venya was holding a ladder beneath the window from which the wooden panels had fallen off.  

 

‘Where did you find that?’

 

“What are you planning on doing? It’ll break, plus, it’s too dangerous…”

 

“It won’t break. I checked everything yesterday.”

 

“You checked?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Did you check all the ladders here?”

 

“Of course. This is the most stable one.”

 

“How did you check?”

 

“How can I check? I’ve been moving back and forth one by one.”

 

I dropped my chin helplessly at his cheeky, triumphant expression. It was only then

that I noticed fragments of ladders scattered all over the place.

 

‘I thought he was locked up here all

day rummaging t

hrough old books, but this is what he was doing? What would have happened if you were seriously injured?!’

 

Aside from my startled look, which he nonchalantly ignored, Venya was

already vigorously climbing the long ladder.

Seeing him like that, I no longer could see a noble young master but instead, a playful, young boy. 

 

Besides, I had already checked out the window the other day, so I knew there was nothing more to do but look−  

 

“What are you doing?! Venya!!”