I Became the Master of the Villain

Alexis was already sick to death of anything related to heresy.
It was obvious that getting entangled with Obelice, a man falsely claiming to be a divine agent, would lead to no end of trouble.
But the Imperial Mages, who knew nothing of our circumstances, were too busy carrying out the Emperor’s orders to care.

“Show your identification tags. Only those with verified identities will be allowed through.”
“What kind of absurdity is this?”
The voices of protest did not die down.

But none of them had the power to change the situation.
The Emperor’s command was absolute.
In the end, once people realized that complaining wouldn’t help, they reluctantly complied with the mages’ demands.

“Show your identification tags.”
People lined up to have their IDs inspected.
Some were allowed to pass. Others were not permitted to leave the mansion.

And so, the line steadily moved forward. Our turn was drawing near.
…At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Alexis’s identity was exposed.
Perhaps having already resolved to face the consequences, Alexis hardened his expression and said,

“…There’s no helping it.”
At that moment, an idea struck me.
I hastily grabbed the hem of Alexis’s clothes.

He turned to me, silently asking what was wrong.
“Lend me your ear for a second.”
Alexis obediently tilted his head toward me. I cupped my hand around my mouth and whispered into his ear.
His face contorted.

“…Are you serious?”
“If you want to avoid Imperial eyes, we have no other choice.”
“Even so, this is still too much.”

“Isn’t it better than getting your identity exposed?”
Alexis fell into silent thought, his expression grim.
His brow furrowed deeper and deeper. He muttered,

“…Is there really no other way?”
“There’s always the option of brute force, Your Highness.”
“That would draw too much attention. And tearing through Sir Kian’s mana barrier wouldn’t be easy—not with just a few sword strikes.”

True. To pierce through Kian’s mana barrier, Alexis would have to go all out.
Which would be the same as shouting, ‘I’m the Second Prince and a Sword Master!’
With no better plan, our turn finally came.

I whispered to Alexis in a low voice.
“You have to do exactly as I told you.”
“…Understood.”

Exchanging glances, Sir Hans and I handed over our identification tags to the mage.
“Lady Olivia Ashford, and her escort, Sir Hans.”
The Imperial Mage carefully examined our faces, comparing them to the IDs.

“Verification complete. You two may proceed, but…”
His eyes turned to Alexis.
“Is this man with you?”

“He’s my slave.”
Slaves were the only class in the Empire that didn’t have identification tags.
Which meant, to get Alexis past inspection without revealing his identity, I had no choice but to claim he was a slave.

The mage looked at me suspiciously.
“Why would you bring a slave to a place like this?”
“His younger sister is a sleep disease patient. After hearing about Obelice, he absolutely insisted on meeting him… He even refused to eat and staged a protest. I had no choice but to bring him along.”

The Imperial Mage hummed and stroked his chin.
“Is that true?”
Alexis replied bluntly.

“It is.”
‘That’s not what I told you to say!’ I screamed internally.
The mage clicked his tongue.

“Such insolence for a slave. What kind of tone is that?”
“He only recently became a slave. He’s been terribly difficult to train.”
The mage then pointed out Alexis’s sharp eyes.

“From the look in his eyes alone, I can tell he’s trouble. You must be having a hard time.”
“You’re telling me. That’s what you get when you pick the wrong slave.”
I echoed his words and scolded Alexis.

“You—how many times do I have to tell you not to look at me like that?”
“I will correct it. No—I mean, I will correct it, Mistress.”
Worried we’d be exposed, I jabbed Alexis in the side.

He squeezed out a line through gritted teeth.
“M-Mistress…”
The mage shook his head with a sigh.

“Truly an untrained slave… But…”
He tilted his head.
“He looks familiar, somehow…”

A cold sweat broke out on my back. Even with the blond dye, Alexis’s features were still intact.
I held my breath, anxious we might be discovered.
Then Sir Hans smoothly stepped in with a cheerful grin.

“Whoever you’re thinking of, it must just be someone who looks similar.”
As he spoke, he pulled something from his coat.
He discreetly handed a bundle to the mage.

“My lady is quite exhausted. We’d really appreciate being let through quickly… Is that possible?”
The mage opened the bundle in secret and his eyes widened.
He gave a fake cough, then quickly stuffed the bundle into his robes.

“You may proceed.”
The power of a bribe was incredible!
‘Damn it. Should’ve just used a bribe from the start.’

But back then, I hadn’t known Alexis would be this bad at acting.
I should’ve realized when he said it was impossible.
Anyway, we needed to get out of here quickly.

I picked up my pace and told Alexis,
“Don’t dawdle. Hurry up.”
“Yes, Master—no, Mistress.”

Even at the very end, Alexis delivered a spectacularly bad performance.
Yet he looked just a little pleased with himself.
Surely he didn’t think we made it through thanks to his acting, did he…?

I gave a resigned smile.
‘Never again. I’m never doing something this reckless again!’
***

Alexis was already sick to death of anything related to heresy.
It was obvious that getting entangled with Obelice, a man falsely claiming to be a divine agent, would lead to no end of trouble.
But the Imperial Mages, who knew nothing of our circumstances, were too busy carrying out the Emperor’s orders to care.

“Show your identification tags. Only those with verified identities will be allowed through.”
“What kind of absurdity is this?”
The voices of protest did not die down.

But none of them had the power to change the situation.
The Emperor’s command was absolute.
In the end, once people realized that complaining wouldn’t help, they reluctantly complied with the mages’ demands.

“Show your identification tags.”
People lined up to have their IDs inspected.
Some were allowed to pass. Others were not permitted to leave the mansion.

And so, the line steadily moved forward. Our turn was drawing near.
…At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Alexis’s identity was exposed.
Perhaps having already resolved to face the consequences, Alexis hardened his expression and said,

“…There’s no helping it.”
At that moment, an idea struck me.
I hastily grabbed the hem of Alexis’s clothes.

He turned to me, silently asking what was wrong.
“Lend me your ear for a second.”
Alexis obediently tilted his head toward me. I cupped my hand around my mouth and whispered into his ear.

His face contorted.
“…Are you serious?”
“If you want to avoid Imperial eyes, we have no other choice.”

“Even so, this is still too much.”
“Isn’t it better than getting your identity exposed?”
Alexis fell into silent thought, his expression grim.

His brow furrowed deeper and deeper. He muttered,
“…Is there really no other way?”
“There’s always the option of brute force, Your Highness.”

“That would draw too much attention. And tearing through Sir Kian’s mana barrier wouldn’t be easy—not with just a few sword strikes.”
True. To pierce through Kian’s mana barrier, Alexis would have to go all out.
Which would be the same as shouting, ‘I’m the Second Prince and a Sword Master!’

With no better plan, our turn finally came.
I whispered to Alexis in a low voice.
“You have to do exactly as I told you.”

“…Understood.”
Exchanging glances, Sir Hans and I handed over our identification tags to the mage.
“Lady Olivia Ashford, and her escort, Sir Hans.”

The Imperial Mage carefully examined our faces, comparing them to the IDs.
“Verification complete. You two may proceed, but…”
His eyes turned to Alexis.

“Is this man with you?”
“He’s my slave.”
Slaves were the only class in the Empire that didn’t have identification tags.

Which meant, to get Alexis past inspection without revealing his identity, I had no choice but to claim he was a slave.
The mage looked at me suspiciously.
“Why would you bring a slave to a place like this?”

“His younger sister is a sleep disease patient. After hearing about Obelice, he absolutely insisted on meeting him… He even refused to eat and staged a protest. I had no choice but to bring him along.”
The Imperial Mage hummed and stroked his chin.
“Is that true?”

Alexis replied bluntly.
“It is.”
‘That’s not what I told you to say!’ I screamed ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) internally.

The mage clicked his tongue.
“Such insolence for a slave. What kind of tone is that?”
“He only recently became a slave. He’s been terribly difficult to train.”

The mage then pointed out Alexis’s sharp eyes.
“From the look in his eyes alone, I can tell he’s trouble. You must be having a hard time.”
“You’re telling me. That’s what you get when you pick the wrong slave.”

I echoed his words and scolded Alexis.
“You—how many times do I have to tell you not to look at me like that?”
“I will correct it. No—I mean, I will correct it, Mistress.”

Worried we’d be exposed, I jabbed Alexis in the side.
He squeezed out a line through gritted teeth.
“M-Mistress…”

The mage shook his head with a sigh.
“Truly an untrained slave… But…”
He tilted his head.

“He looks familiar, somehow…”
A cold sweat broke out on my back. Even with the blond dye, Alexis’s features were still intact.
I held my breath, anxious we might be discovered.

Then Sir Hans smoothly stepped in with a cheerful grin.
“Whoever you’re thinking of, it must just be someone who looks similar.”
As he spoke, he pulled something from his coat.

He discreetly handed a bundle to the mage.
“My lady is quite exhausted. We’d really appreciate being let through quickly… Is that possible?”
The mage opened the bundle in secret and his eyes widened.

He gave a fake cough, then quickly stuffed the bundle into his robes.
“You may proceed.”
The power of a bribe was incredible!

‘Damn it. Should’ve just used a bribe from the start.’
But back then, I hadn’t known Alexis would be this bad at acting.
I should’ve realized when he said it was impossible.

Anyway, we needed to get out of here quickly.
I picked up my pace and told Alexis,
“Don’t dawdle. Hurry up.”

“Yes, Master—no, Mistress.”
Even at the very end, Alexis delivered a spectacularly bad performance.
Yet he looked just a little pleased with himself.

Surely he didn’t think we made it through thanks to his acting, did he…?
I gave a resigned smile.
‘Never again. I’m never doing something this reckless again!’

***
Kian deflected Obelice’s spells and scanned his surroundings.
Following the Imperial Mage Division’s orders, all the civilians had been evacuated.

Now, the only ones left in the hall were him and Obelice.
Until now, Kian had refrained from using destructive magic for fear of harming bystanders—but now there was nothing holding him back.
Explosive mana surged in both of his hands.

Obelice’s face twisted with dread when he saw it.
“So… you still had mana left?”
Obelice scraped together his depleted mana to form a mana shield.

Kian unleashed a barrage of magic at the man making one last, desperate stand.
A blinding explosion erupted with intense light and searing heat.
A moment later—

One side of the hall was completely obliterated, the wall reduced to rubble.
Kian walked across the wreckage.
Obelice lay unconscious, his body battered and torn.

Kian bound him in mana chains.
The troublesome task was finally over.
He restored the mansion, wrecked by the battle, to its original state.

Then he moved to the main hall and declared the operation complete.
“Obelice has been secured. Good work, everyone.”
Upon hearing their efforts recognized, the mages broke into smiles and saluted him.

Kian responded with a slight nod.
Now, all that remained was to send Obelice to the underground prison of the Imperial Palace.
There was no need for Kian to handle that part himself.

Several subordinate mages were nearby.
As Kian approached, he overheard them talking.
“I saw it earlier—Lady Ashford brought a new slave.”

“Oh, I saw too. He was ridiculously handsome.”
For a moment, Kian couldn’t believe his ears.
“Lady Olivia was here?”

He cut into their conversation, startling the mages.
They saluted and quickly answered his question.
“Yes, Commander. We saw her earlier during the identity inspection.”

“It’s true she had a new slave with her?”
“Yes. We heard the Lady say so herself.”
Kian’s pupils trembled as if shaken by an earthquake.

A new slave? Lady Olivia?
'Why…?'
'Was I not enough for her anymore?'

A shadow of distress fell over Kian’s beautiful face.
“…I’ll leave the cleanup to you.”
With that curt order, Kian’s figure vanished in an instant.

***
“Not doing that again.”
It was the first thing Alexis said after we finally made it out of 13 Anatole Street.

And I agreed wholeheartedly.
“Same here.”
If anyone ever tried to make Alexis act again, I’d chase them to the ends of the earth to stop them.

I let out a long sigh and glanced back at the mansion.
Just moments ago, the sounds of battle had echoed from within, but now all was quiet.
Most likely, Kian had succeeded in subduing Obelice.

Even without seeing it for myself, I could guess the outcome.
‘I want to see his face to make sure he’s okay… but I have to wait a bit longer.’
We’d barely gotten out of the mansion—there was no going back now.

Besides, the area was still under the Imperial Mage Division’s control.
Alexis pulled up his hood to cover his face.
We distanced ourselves from the mansion at 13 Anatole Street.

Once we’d put some distance behind us, Alexis said,
“We part ways here.”
Now that we were no longer under surveillance, there was no reason to stay with Alexis.

But as he turned to go, I grabbed his sleeve.
There was something I’d been meaning to ask.
What had he been trying to learn from Obelice?

He froze in place as I held onto him.
“Your Highness. There’s something I want to ask you.”
“What is it?”

“What were you investigating Obelice for?”
Alexis looked at me wordlessly.
A brief silence passed between us.

Then he slowly opened his mouth.
“I can’t answer that.”
…As expected, he wouldn’t tell me.

I had been trying to probe whether Alexis also knew the Emperor’s true nature.
‘Not easy.’
I’d only known Alexis for a few months.

Even if he did know the truth about the Emperor, there was no reason he would confide in me.
As if wanting to end the conversation, Alexis said,
“In any case, don’t concern yourself with this matter any further.”

“Because dangerous curiosity should be avoided?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow, I didn’t think Your Highness would be so concerned about me.”

I’d meant it as a joke, just like always—but Alexis didn’t respond immediately.
His lips parted, hesitating.
Then he finally said,

“Of course I’m concerned. I… care about you, Lady Olivia—”
But Alexis never finished his sentence.
Suddenly, a man appeared behind him and gripped his shoulder roughly.

A cold, murderous voice followed.
“Are you the new slave belonging to Lady Olivia?”