The Villain Wants to Live a Quiet Life

The long-awaited coming-of-age ceremony has finally arrived.

I was waiting in my room with my maid Paula, dressed in my newly tailored attire.

“I wonder if I should go out to greet people early.”

“You are the protagonist today, Young Master. You may relax and wait comfortably.”

Even so, it was hard to hide my nervousness.

The coming-of-age ceremony itself didn’t bother me much, but the fact that today marked my debut into high society was the issue.

Entering high society for noble families isn’t merely having conversations.

It’s a process of making one’s existence known to others and building future connections. And any mistakes I make in high society from now on will lead to a loss of family honor.

“Carrying the family name on one’s back is heavy.”

“The master will be proud just knowing that you understand this fact.”

Paula smiled gently at my words as she poured red tea into my empty cup.

They say it has a calming effect… Honestly, I’m not sure about the effect, but as I drank the warm tea, I felt my tense body relax a little.

“There will be many debutantes too.”

Debutantes refer to young women from noble families who have recently entered high society.

In this world, people often don’t enter high society until after their coming-of-age ceremony, so most of the girls my age attending today would be considered debutantes.

“Are you already thinking about looking for other potential brides, setting aside the young lady of the Bayemühren family?”

“First Matilda, now you. I don’t understand why everyone’s so eager to marry me off.”

Even though it’s my coming-of-age ceremony today, I wonder why everyone’s so interested in my marriage prospects. It felt like déjà vu, overlapping with what Matilda said two weeks ago.

At my muttering, Paula apologized and didn’t mention the matter further. In stark contrast to Matilda, I suppose.

“What about Father and Mother?”

“They’re probably greeting the guests who have arrived. Your grand entrance is scheduled for a little later.”

Grand entrance, that’s not wrong.

Among the families attending today’s ceremony is the Rahethofen family of Georg, the villain from the original story.

This means I might finally meet Georg, who has also come of age.

From my perspective, this could be considered an important event as it’s a branching point that could lead to my dead end.

“Paula, have you heard anything about the Rahethofen family?”

“The Rahethofen family… Yes. They’re a count family mainly active in the central region, including the royal palace.”

“Anything else?”

“Well… I haven’t heard any special rumors…”

As I thought.

In the original story, the Rahethofen family was just a well-off count family with no particular issues, except for Georg being a nuisance.

They have two sons, and even the eldest, despite his promiscuous relationships, was quite capable, as was Georg, the second son.

But when the family head, Ulrich Rahethofen, suddenly died, Georg, who was only 19 at the time, maneuvered to inherit the position of the family head at an early age, drastically changing the situation.

‘The problem is that even that might turn out differently. There are too many variables.’

In the original story, Georg meets Ludwig today and becomes friends, and later when Georg meets Emilia for the first time, the two start working together in earnest.

But according to the original story, Georg and Emilia’s meeting should happen a bit later. Even Ludwig and Emilia’s meeting wasn’t supposed to happen for another 3 years.

In other words, the cause and effect have become too entangled.

Emilia, who shouldn’t have attended Ludwig’s coming-of-age ceremony, is attending, and in the process, Georg and Emilia might also meet earlier than they should.

‘This is irritating. I can’t predict how things will progress from here…’

Since meeting Emilia, I’ve planned two main strategies.

First, to deliberately arrange a meeting with Georg and either deal with him preemptively or prevent him from laying hands on Emilia.

Second, to avoid meeting Georg altogether, continue meeting with Emilia, and find a certain man.

That man is Christian Vistenbach, the male protagonist of the original story and the one who would become Emilia’s lover if the story progresses as it should.

Even if I can’t stop Georg, Christian would have the power to protect Emilia and lead the story. Above all, he’s the character who’s supposed to end up with Emilia.

“It’s complicated.”

“Please don’t worry too much, young master.”

“No, it’s not about the ceremony. It’s more…”

I swallowed the words “about later” and shook my head.

Right, there’s no need to be anxious yet. Even if I rack my small brain, I can’t predict all the numerous outcomes.

Rather, at times like this, it’s better to keep a calm mind and deal with things as they come.

– Knock knock.

Just as I was about to lift my teacup again to cool my throbbing head, someone knocked on the door.

I nodded, and Paula invited them in. With a creaking sound, a man appeared. It was Hans, the butler.

“Excuse me, Young Master. The preparations for the ceremony are complete, so I’m here to assist with your entrance.”

Is it finally time to go?

I stood up with Paula’s help and started walking. My attire seemed a bit disheveled, but I could fix that before reaching the hall.

Let’s go. For now, the best strategy is to face it head-on.

 *          *          *          *          *          *          *

I’m finally attending his coming-of-age ceremony. The hall was already crowded, bustling with family members from various houses chatting with their acquaintances, making the atmosphere quite lively.

When I visited recently, there were only servants besides the Young Master, so there was a different air to the mansion since then.

“It seems the young master hasn’t come out yet.”

“That appears to be the case, my lady.”

Greta, the only servant accompanying us, nodded in response to Mother’s observation after looking around and noticing that Ludwig hadn’t appeared yet.

“I heard he’s a man with an unusual hair color… is that right, Emilia?”

“Yes, Father. If I had to describe it, I’d say he has hair the color of night.”

“The color of night… hmm.”

Ludwig had self-deprecatingly said it was an awkward color, neither black nor blue, but to my eyes, it was beautiful nonetheless.

I had no doubt that if you both saw him directly, you would exclaim in admiration at that hair that seemed to mimic the night sky.

While we were sampling the prepared feast, some of the lights illuminating the hall suddenly went out, bringing darkness.

“It seems the main character has arrived.”

“The ceremony is apace, dear.”

Although we hadn’t even had a chance to talk with any members of the Aiphretz family yet, it seemed the coming-of-age ceremony had already begun.

Soon, one light came on, and under it appeared a man. His attire, a tailcoat with a long waistcoat over it, was uniformly dark in color overall.

‘Ludwig…’

Despite this, he was shining. Softly yet clearly, like the moon on that day when he first called my name.

The head of the Aiphretz family continued with his introduction.

All the nobles in attendance congratulated him with applause.

I was part of that audience. Although I didn’t feel much excitement on the day of my own coming-of-age ceremony, I wanted to congratulate him on his special day.

“You’re congratulating him quite enthusiastically.”

“What? Oh, this is…”

Had she been listening to the sound of my applause? Mother spoke while half-turning her head, watching me with a pleased smile.

I failed to hide it again. I, who prided myself on hiding my emotions so well, strangely seem to become a fool when it comes to him.

Ludwig, this is all because of you. Although I can’t blame you for it and can only move my lips silently, I want to hold you responsible for this someday. In whatever sense that may be.

“The young master of the Aiphretz family… what a weakling.”

“With the family head like that, what can you expect? The son can’t be any different.”

While I was continuing my conversation with Mother, noise came from a group nearby.

When I turned my head towards the source of the voices, three men were gathered, sneering.

Such foolish men. They should know that he is of a different class from them who judge only by appearances.

No, perhaps it’s because their level is only that much that they can’t recognize his worth.

Foolishness is not a sin. At least, that’s what I thought. However, I should hold accountable those who rush in without knowing their own ignorance.

If their voices had reached Ludwig’s ears, I would have blamed them without hesitation.

But today is a day to celebrate his coming of age. Knowing he wouldn’t want unnecessary commotion, I decided to stay quiet.

“Let’s go and greet him too. It seems the family head is there as well.”

“Yes, Emilia. Isn’t this the moment you’ve been waiting for?”

“That, that’s not…”

Father led Mother and me by the hand, approaching Ludwig. Beside him, Lord Carl of the Aiphretz family was also standing, listening to the congratulations from those around.

“Hmm? Oh, if it isn’t Lord Stefan. You must have had quite the journey coming so far.”

“It’s been a while, Lord Carl. This is the first time we’ve met since that gathering three years ago.”

It seemed the two of them had met before. However, their memories seem hazy. Perhaps because it was just a passing encounter rather than an officially arranged meeting.

As Lady Aiphretz was temporarily absent, Lord Carl expressed gratitude to our family on her behalf.

Of course, during all this, my gaze was fixed on only one place.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Lord Bayemühren. I am Ludwig Aiphretz, currently serving as the young master of the Aiphretz family, though I am lacking.”

Ludwig politely greeted Father, who stood in front of us representing our family.

As I had felt before, his greetings, though polite, had an inexplicable sense of comfort.

While excessive politeness can sometimes feel like over-courtesy, he had a strange charm that put others at ease.

“Oh, so it’s you. I’ve heard a lot about you from my daughter. I hear you treated her well even when she visited your mansion suddenly not long ago?”

“I only did what needed to be done.”

“She’s usually a calm child but sometimes tends to act rashly. I hope you’ll take good care of her.”

Ludwig nodded calmly at Father’s words.

In contrast to his serene appearance, my heart was in utter turmoil.

Take good care of her? Even if Father didn’t mean to imply such a meaning, I couldn’t keep my face from flushing.

“It’s been a while, Emilia. I hope you’ve been well.”

“Ah, yes. It’s been some time, Ludwig. Congratulations on becoming of age.”

“Thank you.”

The moment I saw his lips curve into a faint smile, I felt my heart beating fiercely in my chest.

It’s still difficult, isn’t it? I tried to maintain composure and inwardly enjoy the joy of reuniting with you, but the muscles in my face relaxed and my lips curled up involuntarily.

Father quietly watched us two smiling at each other, as if observing something. With the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

translator’s corner

allo! sorry for the delays, website was a slow these days ;w;