The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 16.2
“Indeed. They are like thorns in my side.”
Those who stand in the path to the already determined throne, raising their swords in obstruction.
“Should I just kill them all?”
A chilling murderous intent flickered in Kailos’s eyes. It would be the easiest way, if only he could act on it as it was…
“Do you wish to be remembered as the Emperor of Blood?”
Robin dissuaded him. Kailos sank back against the chair, as though the energy had drained from him.
“To carry along those who vex me… Truly, what a cruel aide you are.”
“Not only I, but Leslun would say the same.”
Kailos, whose interest in Count Maven had already waned, brightened his eyes as he pondered whether there might be some new amusement.
***
The newly assigned quarters were quiet and spacious.
Unfamiliar wallpaper and patterns, the not-yet-familiar scent of the bed. Leslun sat on a chair in the corner, blankly staring at the room, then slowly lowered his gaze.
Not long ago, Kailos had gone with Robin to decide the Dean of the Academy.
Whether he had followed his recommendation to choose Baron Kelly was still unknown. Accepting his opinion as it was came with very obvious drawbacks.
Left alone, his thoughts grew heavier. It became a moment to reflect on whom he was now serving.
“…The villain.”
Leslun muttered as he thought of the Crown Prince.
In stories, there was always a protagonist who embodied justice, and on the opposite side, a villain ensnared by desire and greed.
The Crown Prince’s tone, his posture, the arrogant and cold gaze, even his cruel nature—he fit perfectly, as though he had been crafted to be the villain from the start.
“But is he truly cruel?”
The novel he had read in his previous life began at a point further ahead than now. The protagonists’ pasts had only ever appeared in brief explanations or in someone’s recollections.
Leslun did not yet know everything about the present Kailos.
He did not make easy declarations about things he had not directly experienced or did not know. That was a long-standing habit of Leslun’s, carried over from his past life into this one.
Being ill-tempered is different from being cruel, and actively killing someone is different from being forced to kill…
“…He can’t be entirely inhuman, can he?”
In Leslun’s mind, a human was someone who had emotions, hesitated, and could break. Yet the Crown Prince was always perfectly calculated.
Even the fact that he had spared Leslun seemed less like a whim and more like a deliberate choice.
It was then—
A massive shadow fell over Leslun’s head. At the sudden chill in the air, his instincts reacted first.
The arm resting across his knee slowly slipped down. Before he could even straighten his posture, a voice spoke.
“Not even human, you say… Who, exactly, do you mean?”
The voice that had been above his head now rang directly at his ear.
Leslun, who thought himself alone, hurried to rise, but a hand that had come to rest upon his shoulder stopped him.
The touch was gentle, yet firm, pressing his shoulder down. Half-risen, Leslun froze in place.
“Your Highness…”
No one had let him in, nor had there been the sound of a knock. Only moments ago, Leslun had been the sole occupant of this space. In front of this unannounced intruder, his unsettled emotions threatened to spill out.
Kailos glanced down at Leslun’s reaction and said, as if nothing were out of the ordinary:
“I hardly make a habit of sneaking into my aide’s chambers. I merely came because I had something to say, and found you lost in thought.”
Leslun cast a glance toward the door. He could not clearly recall whether he had shut it fully before. No—there was something more important.
“It was just something I muttered to myself.”
As he spoke in half excuse and raised his head, the man’s face was startlingly close.
Too close to properly rise, too close to keep a comfortable distance.
Leslun’s lips parted slightly, his gaze darting nervously. Had he just… smelled the scent of his neck? Was it an illusion?
But the fine hairs at his nape, stirred by his breath, were standing on end. Unable to endure it, Leslun turned his face aside.
“May I… stand up?”
Why did he always insist on being so close? Leslun was at a loss.
Kailos did not remove his hand. Rather, he lifted the corner of his lips and said:
“Even if one isn’t human, one can still know that sitting is more comfortable.”
Leslun swallowed a short sigh inwardly. So he had indeed realized those words had been meant for him.
“As you can see, I too am made of blood and flesh. I am no monster.”
“That’s not what I meant by those words.”
The muttering he had made while recalling the original story had birthed a strange misunderstanding.
“Ah. Of course, once one makes a pact with a guardian beast, its influence does leave its mark…”
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