The Villainess’s Guide to Winning the Male Lead

Kabir just stared at me without a word. Finley, sensing the situation, grabbed my arm to lead me away.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I will take her back immediately…”

“Go ahead.”

“Really?”

Finley was visibly flustered.

“Is that really okay?” he asked.

Kabir responded with a slight smile.

“Yes, it should be amusing.”

Kabir’s playful demeanor was unexpected. He seemed much more lighthearted than his character in the original story.

I waved at Finley as Kabir had waved at me earlier.

“Don’t worry, I’ll write to you, Finley.”

Finley appeared resigned to the situation.

* * *

My room was located in the same place as before, by my request.

“So, what will you do now?” Kabir, who had come to see me, asked. Eric was also standing there, looking puzzled.

“What should I do?”

“I was just wondering what you’re planning.”

Kabir seemed genuinely interested in my actions.

“I always act without thinking,” I declared confidently.

“That sounds about right.”

Eric seemed lost in our conversation. It was as if he couldn’t quite follow the flow.

“And why did you allow me to stay without any precautions? What if I had bad intentions?”

Kabir chuckled, a clear sign of amusement.

“Do you think you could harm me?”

His look was slightly condescending.

Despite feeling a bit irked, it was true I posed no real threat to him.

“Even so, we’ll assign a guard to watch over you. Officially, he’ll be your escort knight.”

“Isn’t that something you usually don’t tell the person directly?”

“It won’t be uncomfortable since you’ve already spent time with him. Right, Eric?”

Eric, caught off guard, looked surprised.

It seemed Eric was to continue his role as my watcher.

“Hey, Eric.”

I raised my hand for a high-five, but Eric just stood there, not reacting. I awkwardly lowered my hand.

“Feel free to ask if you need anything.”

“I have a request.”

Kabir quickly seized the opportunity to respond to a courtesy offer.

“Would it be alright to have dinner together from now on?”

Kabir had been so busy that I had to create an excuse like this to meet. After all, the viewers would be happy to see the male lead often on the broadcast.

“Why?”

“Just because.”

“If you say so.”

Realizing that I was someone without much thought, Kabir didn’t pry further and agreed. It seemed like he was also observing how far I would cross the line.

[Gold2: At this rate, you’re going to die without anyone knowing.]

[asdf: No worries, I have a resurrection ticket.]

[Poppopo: What’s fine? Are you joking?]

[Manager: Oh, these crazies.]

While conversing with the characters, I hadn’t paid attention to the chat for a while. Thankfully, it was still heartwarming.

“Then, see you again this evening.”

“Please prepare something delicious.”

“You should tell that to the chef.”

Kabir casually said goodbye and left. Knowing that I was virtually a member of the Erpeso ducal family, he showed no respect for a noble lady. To me, his attitude was rather comfortable and nice.

After Kabir left, Eric finally spoke.

“…What did I just hear?”

“What? That I’m staying here? Or that you’ve become my knight?”

“Both of those are absurd, but… His Grace having dinner with someone!”

“What’s so strange about that?”

“It’s a huge deal! It’s the first time since I joined this household. My goodness.”

Well, Kabir had inherited the head of the family position early and had been living alone, so there was rarely an occasion for him to dine with someone.

Eric murmured with a shocked expression.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen His Grace lower his guard and converse so comfortably with someone. What exactly did you do?”

“I just… did the same thing I do in front of him.”

“Oh.”

Eric seemed to understand right away.

“It must have been fun for you.”

“He said it was fun.”

I nodded.

It was entertaining for a change in my otherwise boring daily life. Kabir must have welcomed it in his own way. Considering his usually cold personality, this was quite a special treatment. Entertainment is that important to people, after all.

[asdf: It was indeed fun.]

Like these angels.

* * *

Kabir really did have dinner with me.

The food was fantastic. The most important thing was that the meal tasted good.

Focused on the eating broadcast, I looked at Kabir following the angels’ suggestion to strike up a conversation. Kabir was also focused solely on his meal.

What should I say? While pondering with my fork in my mouth, I initiated a conversation.

“Shall we play a game?”

“…?”

Kabir sent me a look as if asking, “What now?”

I twirled my fork gently and said,

“We ask each other questions we’ve been curious about. It’s okay to skip if you don’t want to answer.”

“I don’t particularly have anything I’m curious about you.”

I pouted at his response.

Indeed, what would Kabir be curious about me?

“Then, you can just ask me questions.”

Kabir suggested. I immediately asked a question.

“Why haven’t you corrected the rumors about being a monster duke?”

This was something I was personally curious about.

He could have stopped such baseless rumors with just one appearance in the social world. Despite having the power to do so, Kabir didn’t.

“I don’t really care about it. It’s bothersome.”

Was he always this indifferent?

I didn’t know what Kabir was like before meeting Selena.

It was hard to believe that this disinterested, unenthusiastic person would later become the male lead in the novel.

I threw the next question.

“Why did you request marriage? You don’t seem interested.”

“Because an heir is needed.”

He seemed to view marriage purely as a means to an end.

‘But then he fell hard for Selena.’

Kabir didn’t know the future that awaited him.

I covered my mouth and chuckled lightly. Knowing everything in advance just made it amusing.

What should I ask next?

I already ran out of questions to ask.

I sneakily glanced at the chat window.

[Isaac: Isn’t the first love always the classic question in truth games?]

[asdf: His first love is Selena, you know.]

[PleaseShakeACarrot: Still, let’s askㅋㅋ]

“Your first love?”

“I don’t have one.”

“It’s about to happen.”

“Think what you will.”

Kabir responded nonchalantly.

Next question.

[Poppopo: Ask him about his ideal type.]

[asdf: That’s also Selena, you know.]

[Gold2: Ah, but you never knowㅋㅋ]

Typical of romance novel fans, always interested in matters of love.

“What’s your ideal type?”

“I hope at least not as strange as you.”

“That’s too broad.”

“It’s also strange that you don’t object to being called strange.”

“…….”

That’s irritating. My image in Kabir’s eyes seemed to have solidified.

“Any more questions?”

“What are they?”

“Oh, sorry. I was speaking to thin air.”

“Right…….”

Kabir passed it off as if it were usual.

[LLoading: What are some settings not revealed in the original work?]

[OnlyFinley: There’s a lot to ask Finley.]

asdf’s chat caught my eye.

[asdf: You know, about the demonic lineage.]

It was said that the Heyward Duchy had been carrying a demonic lineage for generations. That’s why they managed demons.

In the original work, this was just a brief description of the male lead. I hadn’t paid much attention to it, but it seemed others were interested in this key detail.

Looking into Kabir’s eyes, I asked,

“What exactly does the demonic lineage entail?”

“Just as it sounds. My ancestors were demons.”

“So, are you a demon or a human?”

“As you can see, I am human.”

“But there must be some differences from ordinary humans.”

“…….”

Kabir’s fork paused.

“…Let’s skip this question.”

Ah, there’s something there. This piqued my interest.

The original author was really strange. Such details should have been explained in the work.

This was the problem with this author. By leaving too much to the readers’ imagination, many settings were glossed over. Still, it was an enjoyable read.

“I apologize if I asked something sensitive.”

“No, it’s fine. I agreed to this in the first place.”

Kabir wasn’t as prickly or guarded as I thought. Surprisingly, he was quite generous and easygoing.

“Your Grace, you’d probably be very popular in the social circles.”

“I dislike the noise and fuss.”

“I can see that.”

I didn’t like social circles either. Just thinking about court intrigues and such was exhausting.

“We have quite a bit in common.”

“…….”

Kabir looked at me, his expression one of surprise.

“Why?”

“…Never mind.”

Kabir answered blandly.

* * *

After finishing the meal, I returned to my room. Eric said he would guard my door until midnight and then switch with another knight.

‘Tough job.’

Just standing by the door until midnight seemed like a hard task. Being a guard wasn’t easy.

“It’s not midnight yet, but I’m going to end the broadcast now.”

[asdf: Rest well.]

[PleaseShakeACarrot: You worked hard today!ㅎㅎ]

[LLoading has donated 100 points!]

– Please turn it on tomorrow too! It’s the highlight of my day!

I pressed the end broadcast button amidst the warm atmosphere.

As usual, even after everyone left, the Manager remained in the viewers’ list. I stared silently at the chat window.

Then a message popped up.

[Manager: What?]