The Villain Wants to Change Genres

Chapter 5

When I explained as we had agreed beforehand in a monotone voice, Father nodded and dismissed me.

The next day, Luwen came to my room.

This is the first time we’re meeting privately… Well, he’s like a wild wolf. Luwen, with his hair standing on end and on high alert, looked like a beast ready to bite my neck. Though he’s just a wolf cub, so he’s not really threatening.

“Three years, right?”

If others saw us, they’d think you were the master and I was the servant. The way he glared at me with his head held high was quite fierce for his age. This… it seems he dislikes me more than I expected.

But what can I do? It’s the seed I sowed.

“Yes. Three years.”

“I don’t know why you want to keep me by your side by blackmailing the young lady, but I don’t like you. I came under you for the young lady’s sake. I’m the young lady’s person until I die.”

Our Luwen. He’s smart too. He’s only twelve, but he speaks so articulately and expresses himself clearly. Sister really taught him well.

But he wasn’t childlike. Deliberately provoking me like this. Showing loyalty to sister, speaking informally to me, treating me with contempt. It was completely planned.

If I were my old self, I would have definitely kicked him right now. It might not have ended with just an injury; he might have died. Because I would have trampled him to death.

Still, I wouldn’t be punished. That’s how it is in a class-based society when a lower-class person defies their superior. However, in that case, I would be proving that I hadn’t changed, as Luwen hoped. If he survived, he could return to sister’s side.

This is already the second time. That Luwen has thrown himself away for Irene’s sake.

It was sad. He needs to change his mindset of sacrificing himself for others. But it’s too early to show concern now. I hid my bitter feelings and said:

“It’s okay to be loyal to sister.”

It can’t be helped now. But don’t fall in love while being loyal. And don’t die for sister’s sake. Got it?

“And you’re misunderstanding about me blackmailing sister. I just asked her to give you to me, that’s all.”

At my calm explanation, Luwen looked at me as if he had eaten something bad. He quickly tried to manage his expression, but couldn’t erase the suspicious look in his eyes. This is where his youth showed.

Your emotions are so obvious, you cheeky little brat.

“Why me?”

“There’s something I want to learn from you.”

“…From me? What?”

“Heart.”

I smiled, placing my hand on my left chest.

“I want to learn how to have an upright and strong heart like yours by watching you. That’s why I asked sister.”

Everyone is weak to smiling faces and compliments. If they’re young, it works even better. Luwen was still wary of me, but his fierce eyes softened a little.

“And it’s okay if you hate me, but you should be careful with your words. Others would see it as insubordination. If you were to be punished, sister would be sad.”

Luwen, who had been pondering as I used Irene as leverage, nodded.

“Okay. I’ll be careful with my words. But…”

Then he suddenly looked at me cautiously and pressed his lips shut, so I bent down to match his eye level. When our eyes met, strength entered the puppy’s eyes.

I tried to appeal my harmlessness by giving a gentle eye-smile to the highly cautious Luwen.

“If you have something to say, feel free to say it.”

A dubious look that seemed to ask if it was really okay pierced through me.

“If I had intended to do something to you, I wouldn’t have defended you in front of Father. You know that.”

Judging by his expression, he seemed to understand but couldn’t easily believe it. Luwen still kept his mouth shut and just gave me an unreadable look.

At this point, I’m more curious about what he wants to say that’s making him hesitate so much. How can I draw out his question? Trying to coax him gently probably won’t work since there’s no trust. Since he’s still a child, maybe provocation will work better?

“Aren’t you usually fearless? What do you want to say that’s making you whimper like a sick puppy?”

“Who are you calling a sick son of a bitch!”

I didn’t say ‘son of a bitch’… I felt a bit wronged, but seeing him fuming, it seemed like he was about to burst out speaking. I shrugged my shoulders and raised the corners of my mouth.

The fact that such a small provocation worked well showed that he was indeed a child immature in controlling his emotions. If he were grown up, he would have just glared at me with an expressionless face and ignored me. No, perhaps Luwen’s sword might have been at my neck. It’s natural to get angrier when someone you dislike barks at you.

“I was just curious if you really almost died. You fell in for a moment, but we pulled you out right away, didn’t we?”

There seems to be some difference between Luwen’s memory and mine. I feel like I swallowed quite a lot of water, but he says I was pulled out right away.

The lake was as cold and dark as if I had been thrown into space. I sank alone in there. I think I might have struggled, or maybe not. It’s hazy.

But who saved me? Luwen fell in with me and he’s small, so he couldn’t have pulled me out. Is Irene the only one left?

“What? Why are you suddenly quiet?”

When I saw Luwen hesitating and backing away, I realized he was anxious because I had fallen silent while thinking. He was afraid of me.

That’s why.

“Ah, who saved me-“

I reflexively started to answer but then closed my mouth. It’s not good to bring up Irene now.

I realized my mistake and was about to change the subject, but…

“Who saved you? It was shallow at the edge of the lake. Even so, the young lady pulled you out when you were just lying there with your face in the water.”

…Strange? I’m sure I fell into very deep water. Was it just my imagination? So I just thought I was sinking while lying face down in shallow water by myself? This is a bit embarrassing…

“Is that so? More importantly, were you really that curious about whether I almost died?”

I quickly changed the direction of the conversation. Please go along with it.

“It wasn’t that I was that curious!”

That’s right! A sharp reply came back immediately, as if he was yelling. Seeing his reddened face, it seems like he might be feeling embarrassed about something?

I lost my words for a moment, staring at the adorably reddening Luwen, and his lower lip started to protrude more and more. He touches his hair with his hand and taps the floor with his toes. While doing so, he glances at me, and when our eyes meet, he frantically turns his gaze away as if running away.

Wow, this is crazy. How can he be this cute! Is it okay for the young version of that gruff sub-male lead Luwen to be this cute? This is totally a cheat character. I’ll definitely make you happy.

Feeling disarmed, I covered my lower face with my palm to hide the smile that was about to break out. But I couldn’t control my eyes from curving. Luwen’s gaze sharpened, and a sharp voice came out.

“As I thought, it was a lie that you almost died! To begin with, it doesn’t make sense for a person to die just from a little fever. I’m right, aren’t I?”

Somehow, it sounds like he was worried. Though I think it can’t be, a small hope rises that our relationship might improve faster.

“Why are you curious about that? Are you disappointed that I’m fine?”

“What? No matter how bad a person you are, I didn’t wish for you to die!”

“I see.”

So he was worried after all. Feeling unnecessarily pleased, I grinned, which only made Luwen’s eyes sharper.

“Seeing you smile, it was definitely a lie. You did it to harass the young lady, didn’t you?”

“The fever was real. Unlike you, I was raised delicately. Getting drenched in cold water in winter is enough to make me feel like I’m dying. As you can see, I didn’t die though.”

“I wash with cold water even in the middle of winter, and I’m fine.”

“Cold water? Do you still shower with cold water now?”

Father, who values appearances, lets a servant wash with cold water? It’s not like heating water for them to use would put a dent in their countless wealth.

I should check on this.

“That’s not what’s important here!”

Ah, you startled me. Why are you suddenly shouting?

“Why isn’t it important?”

“Whether I wash with cold water or not has nothing to do with you, young master. What’s important now is not that-“

“No, it is important to me. What if you catch a cold?”

I detected a strangely contemptuous look in Luwen’s eyes as he frowned up at me.

What’s this? How am I being treated right now? Slightly perplexed, I lost my words and just blinked. Then Luwen sighed deeply and moved his lips to speak to me. And then sighed again.

But as Luwen repeated the same action a couple of times, I noticed that not only his face but also his ears had turned bright red.