I Became the Master of the Villain

If he were to take Olivia home now, the Duke of Ashford might just clutch the back of his neck and collapse.
In the end, she would be scolded by the Duke.
And then, she might come to resent him.

Even for Kian—who, ever since awakening, no longer feared anything in this world—there was one thing that frightened him.
It was the thought of falling out of favor with ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) someone he liked.
Not even for a single minute or second did he ever want Olivia to hate him.

"I begged you, didn’t I? Not to take me home. Because of you, Father completely lost faith in me. He said he couldn't possibly hand over the duchy to a drunkard. So now what?"
The mere thought of Olivia resenting him froze Kian's expression stiff.
‘If she’s going to hate me, I’d rather be misunderstood as a shameless bastard.’

Kian gently soothed Olivia, who was nestled in his arms.
“I will escort you to my estate.”
At those words—not going home—Olivia finally smiled with visible relief. Her green eyes sparkled like a docile lamb’s.

“You really aren’t taking me to the mansion, right?”
When Kian nodded, Olivia giggled and wrapped her arms around his waist.
His heart thudded at the contact. The heat he had barely managed to suppress flared up again, and Kian quickly turned to address Philip, the escort knight.

“I will personally take responsibility for Lady Olivia. You may return to the mansion.”
“Pardon? But…”
Philip blinked wide-eyed and trailed off awkwardly, clearly unsettled.

Kian let out a small sigh, understanding what the unsaid words meant.
“Surely… you don’t think I’d lay a hand on Lady Olivia, do you?”
Philip flailed his hands in panic.

“O-of course not! How could I ever doubt you like that!”
“Then please return to the duchy and inform Butler Albert. Tell him that something unavoidable happened, and I have taken Lady Olivia with me.”
Philip looked at Kian with slight distress, then shifted his gaze to Olivia, who clung tightly to Kian and showed no intention of letting go.
It was easy to picture just how furious the Duke would be if she were brought home like this.
And the next day, the young lady would probably look at him with resentful eyes.

He was Olivia’s escort knight—not the Duke’s.
Which meant that Olivia was the one paying him.
When your employer says jump, you jump. What choice did he have?

Besides, Kian had risked his life to save the young lady.
There was no way a man like that would harm a drunken girl.
In the end, Philip decided to go along with Kian’s judgment.

“I’ll leave her in your care.”
“Please don’t worry and make sure the message is delivered.”
Thankfully, Philip was flexible.

After sending him off to the duchy, Kian teleported with Olivia to his estate.
***
Kian brought Olivia to the most spacious and luxurious room in the mansion.

With a simple flick of his hand, the fireplace roared to life.
Once the room was warm and cozy, he carefully attempted to lay Olivia down on the bed.
But just then, Olivia grabbed onto the hem of Kian’s shirt.

Shaking her head, she mumbled,
“This is more comfortable…”
Kian gave her a flustered smile and tried to reason with her.

“You might find it uncomfortable. It would be better if you moved to the bed…”
“Nooo, this is warm and nice.”
She snuggled deeper into his chest. His heart, which had only just calmed, began to race again.

Kian desperately wanted to give in to her wishes.
But since Olivia was clearly drunk, he had no choice but to speak contrary to his true feelings.
“I’ll move you to the bed.”

“Mmm… don’t wanna…”
She whined like a child and clung tightly to his shirt.
Kian swallowed his desire to keep holding her and tried once more to lay her down.

But she seemed determined not to let go and gripped his shirt even harder.
“……!”
With a sharp tug, several of his shirt buttons popped off.

His bare torso was exposed through the opened fabric.
Olivia’s eyes widened.
Unlike his breathtakingly beautiful face, his torso was sculpted with defined muscles.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but she instinctively reached out her hand.
She began to stroke the firm, well-toned abs and giggled softly.
“Amazing…”

She caressed his abs with delight, marveling as if enchanted.
Kian found her touch both ticklish and arousing. The sensation was excruciating.
Eventually, he let out a strained groan and grabbed her wrist.

“Thank you for the compliment. But…”
As he gently laid her onto the bed, he whispered,
“If you provoke me any further… I might not be able to hold back.”

Looking a bit disappointed, Olivia murmured,
“Okay…”
Kian chuckled at how adorable that sounded.

He drew the curtains and dimmed the lights to let her rest in comfort.
As he moved to light a small lamp on the table, Olivia stared at him blankly.
“You’re so pretty… Your body too…”

It was something she had always thought whenever she looked at Kian.
She had never said it aloud, thinking he’d see her as some shameless woman if she did.
But now, drunk as she was, she didn’t hesitate to speak her mind.

“I really like you…”
Those honest words made Kian’s heart stumble.
‘She likes me…’

He knew she was drunk, and yet… his heart reacted.
He wished she’d say “I like you” when she was sober.
With a hint of regret, he turned to look at her.

She was fast asleep now, eyes completely closed.
Just moments ago, she had been babbling adorable things with a silly smile.
Now, she was sleeping soundly, utterly unaware of the world.
While he stood watching her peaceful sleep, Olivia stirred slightly and her dress shifted.

The motion caused her petticoat to ride up, exposing her bare leg.
“……!”
Kian’s eyes shook as if rocked by an earthquake.

Desperately trying not to stare, he reached out and pulled the hem of her dress back down.
Even with just a glimpse, her skin was smooth and soft.
He shook his head quickly to banish the image.

‘This is torture…’
He was already holding back. This… this might break him.
He wanted to wrap his arms around her. To kiss her.

Fighting every instinct, he pulled the summoning cord.
Moments later, a maid appeared. Kian asked her to change Olivia’s clothes.
“She’ll be uncomfortable sleeping like this. Please help her change into something more suitable.”

“Yes, Count.”
Even while being changed into a nightgown, Olivia didn’t stir once.
After the maid finished and left, Kian finally turned back to her.

She was in deep sleep, her chest rising and falling in steady rhythm.
Aside from her breathing, the room was silent.
And in that silence, stray thoughts returned.
The words she had spoken earlier came back to him.

“You’re so pretty… Your body too…”
Even if she was drunk, surely she hadn’t said something so completely untrue.
‘At the very least, she doesn’t dislike how I look.’

Kian felt a quiet relief at that thought and rose from his chair.
His gaze happened to drop downward.
He thought he had calmed down, but… that part of him was still burning hot.

With a sigh, Kian ran a hand over his face and let out a long breath.
That night, Kian ended up taking a cold shower before going to bed.
***

Birdsong. The noise of diligent people beginning their day.
Those sounds slowly pulled my consciousness up from sleep.
I awoke to a splitting headache.

What I saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.
I clutched my throbbing head and sat up.
“Where am I…”

Slowly, I retraced my memories.
I remembered getting completely drunk last night, slumped over at the bar.
But after that… it was all blank, like someone had erased everything with a rubber.

I think Kian said he’d take me home…
But no matter how I looked around, this wasn’t the Ashford mansion.
Please don’t let this be a hotel room… I was thinking nervously when a knock came.

When I told them to come in, the door opened.
“Are you awake?”
It was Kian. Wearing a crisp shirt and slacks.
Even though he had drunk with me last night, he showed no signs of a hangover.

The sight of him made one thing clear.
‘So I was the only one who completely lost it last night…’
Even in my original world, I always turned into a mess when I drank—my friends suffered a lot because of it.

There was no way Kian had been spared from that.
‘But seriously, what the hell did I do?!’
With no memory whatsoever, I silently screamed inside.

Then Kian stepped toward me.
“You were quite intoxicated last night, so I brought you to my home.”
Ah. So this was Kian’s mansion.

At least it wasn’t a hotel room.
Not that someone as upright as Kian would’ve taken me somewhere like that anyway.
Still, praying nothing too embarrassing had happened, I asked him carefully,
“Did I… do anything stupid last night?”

At that, Kian flinched ever so slightly.
But he quickly composed himself and smiled kindly.
“You didn’t. So don’t worry.”

…That didn’t sound convincing. I definitely did something.
But no matter how hard I tried, my brain refused to recall anything about last night.
In the end, I tried to rationalize.

‘If Kian says so, then I guess it’s fine.’
There are some truths in this world that are better left unknown.
Just as I nodded to myself, trying to accept that—

Something on the floor caught my eye.
It was a small button, the kind sewn onto a shirt.
Wondering what it was doing there, I stared at it.

“……!”
And just like being struck by lightning, a memory flashed before my eyes.