The Villain Wants to Change Genres

Chapter 11

It seemed like Dedric had something to say earlier, and this was it. Dedric knows better than anyone that I dislike Irene.

“Well, I’ve reconciled with my sister, and Luwen is special to me.”

“It seemed that way, but…”

“Teach him well. Don’t let him develop any strange habits. I don’t want Luwen to get hurt.”

“What will you do if that kid goes to the young lady later? What if things between you and the young lady go sour again? The kid’s sword tip might be pointed at you.”

It seemed like an unnecessary worry, but it was a concern he could have given his lack of knowledge about the situation. But I didn’t want to explain in detail. I muttered lightly, in a way that anyone could tell was a joke.

“It’s simple. I’ll just die.”

“Fei!”

When Dedric raised his voice, Luwen’s posture faltered. The child almost rolled on the floor, so I kicked Dedric’s shin.

“Be quiet and look at Luwen properly. He almost fell.”

“Is your foot okay, young master? It must hurt quite a bit?”

The person I hit is worried about me instead. Moreover, I kicked him first, so I couldn’t show that it hurt… Why did he come to the Duke’s mansion wearing perfect leather guards?

“If you’re worried about my foot, next time come without wearing guards.”

“What nonsense… No, more importantly. What do you mean by that? How can you talk about dying so easily?”

“It was a joke, why are you making such a fuss? Why would I die?”

I’ll survive no matter what happens. Even if I have to roll on the ground and struggle in the mud, I’ll live. I’m originally a person with a strong attachment to life.

Yet Dedric stared at me with suspicious eyes.

But this guy. Look at Luwen. Are you going to take responsibility if he gets hurt? Huh? I grabbed Dedric’s chin and forcibly turned his head. The moment his brown eyes, which were fixed on me as if glaring, turned towards Luwen, I let go.

“Trim your beard neatly. It’s prickly.”

“Young master.”

“Why are you looking at me again?”

“I find you quite pitiful, young master.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice you pitying me?”

When I snapped back in irritation, Dedric burst into laughter for some reason and messed up my hair thoroughly. Just like he did with Luwen.

“It’s been 7 years since I met you, young master. You weren’t like a child from the very beginning. Your expression, your eyes, your thoughts. At such a young age, you were already full of scars, extremely cautious, cursing, and shouting. To me, it looked like you were crying out for attention.”

“I’ve never cried.”

At least not in front of others. I was a person with nothing left but pride.

“That’s right. It just seemed that way to me. Did I tell you I have a nephew the same age as you?”

“You’ve mentioned it several times. You also said you’d introduce us. I must have said I wasn’t interested, but are you bringing it up again to introduce us?”

“It doesn’t seem necessary now.”

Dedric slowly moved and took out a wooden sword from the weapons rack, throwing it towards me. Thunk! The wooden sword stuck into the ground near my foot, quivering before coming to a stop.

What am I supposed to do with that?

“Young master, want to loosen up your body after a long time?”

I was about to flatly refuse, saying I wasn’t interested in this either, but I pulled out the wooden sword stuck in the ground. Because of my memories from my past life, the time when I used to hold a sword felt very distant. Although I have no interest or talent in swordsmanship, it could momentarily serve as a shield to protect myself.

Above all, it’s cold. Standing still and just talking made me want to move my body a bit because it was too cold.

“Really?”

Was he just throwing it out there? Why is Dedric’s surprised face so satisfying?

“I can’t do it for long.”

“I know that better than you do, young master.”

Dedric took out another wooden sword and beckoned with a smiling face.

Wow, that gesture hasn’t changed.

The emotions from the past days when I wanted to scratch that arrogant face welled up. But now, my core is an adult. I’m not the little kid who would get excited and charge in. But that doesn’t mean I’ll show any openings.

Of course, it’s not that there are none at all. Dedric exposed his left shoulder, inviting me.

I thrust my sword mercilessly, pretending to aim for his left shoulder as he wanted. And the moment I sensed Dedric taking half a step back, I twisted my arm to change the direction of the sword tip. I felt the resistance of the air, and my arm muscles ached.

Trash body. Still, I was satisfied that I could accurately thrust at the targeted spot.

Whoosh-!

Dedric’s wooden sword fell from above, aiming for my wooden sword.

Just before the forces collided, I tilted the blade diagonally to deflect it and then advanced. The friction of wood against wood transmitted through my wrist. Even though I deflected most of the force, it was strong enough to make me grit my teeth. And he was already going easy on me.

Dedric taught me flowing swordsmanship. A method to deflect forces I couldn’t parry. And techniques to counterattack using that. It was a swordsmanship that could achieve great effects with little strength.

I hated this because it was about ten thousand steps away from the orthodox style my father pursued. And also because it meant acknowledging that this was the only path for me if I were to learn swordsmanship. Moreover, the fact that I couldn’t maintain it for long due to lack of endurance made me despair.

Yes, swordsmanship was proof that my life had failed.

Pak!

With a dull sound, the wooden sword in my hand flew up into the sky. I was already out of breath after just a few exchanges. The arm that had lost the sword was trembling slightly from the impact. My wrist was tingling.

In contrast, Dedric, unlike me, didn’t lose his composure at all. Clap, clap, clap, he applauded with a nonchalant face without even breaking a sweat.

It’s not like he’s making fun of someone.

“As expected. Young master, you’re flexible and graceful, so beautiful. Although I taught you, this is the realm of art, wow.”

“…I sincerely want to hit you just once.”

“I’m serious. The kid was watching in awe, you know?”

Dedric, who had arrogantly draped his arm over my shoulder, nodded towards Luwen.

Luwen watching me? Curious about what expression he might have, I quickly looked at Luwen, but Dedric is a liar of the century. The kid was just diligently doing his own training!

“Dedric, is teasing me that fun?”

“No, I’m telling you, that kid was really watching you until just now!”

Looking at Dedric’s indignant face, I felt a little bit of hope, but soon shook my head. There’s no reason for him to be entranced by my clumsy swordsmanship. If he was watching, the protagonist would have been Dedric. Rather than… To be honest, even I would have stolen glances at Dedric rather than looking at myself.

It would only lead to disappointment. I wanted to kick his shin once more, but knowing it would only hurt my foot, I refrained.

Perhaps reading the dissatisfaction in my eyes, Dedric suddenly said something out of the blue.

“Young master, you need to think about how you appear in others’ eyes. In the past, you were always on the defensive-“

Seeing signs that it was about to turn into nagging, I cut him off.

“I know. I know it well, that’s why I’m trying to change.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m talking about the external aspects.”

“Ah. That. I know that well too.”

With a face that seems to radiate coldness, I’ve been trying so hard to smile in front of Luwen. Grinning also requires quite a bit of physical and mental effort. It takes effort until the facial muscles get used to it, you know.

“Are you sure you know?”

I glanced at Dedric, who was doubting me, and replied indifferently.

“Of course.”

I asked him to teach Luwen, why does he keep trying to teach me?

“Then that’s fine. When the new year comes, you’ll be an adult too, young master. Always be careful.”

“More importantly, keep an eye on Luwen. How can you neglect him like this? He almost got hurt earlier, are you going to be this careless?”

I was worried about Luwen, who was staggering, probably having reached his physical limit. Only then did Dedric examine Luwen closely and nod.

“Hmm. I thought he could do more, but we should stop here for today. Take this.”

The paper Dedric handed over had a training plan written for Luwen. So that’s what he was writing when he briefly left earlier. The back of the paper was rough, showing how strong his grip was.

“This is the routine to follow every day while I’m not here. Basic strength and endurance training, of course. The most important thing is posture. You need to watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t waver, young master.”

“I know.”

“Endure it for a bit. Once I find someone suitable to handle monster subjugation in the outer regions, I’ll stay at the mansion as much as possible to oversee.”

This… doesn’t sound good.

Dedric is a variable that doesn’t appear in the original work. It means that if Luwen follows him too much, we don’t know how the future might change. He’s already a human living on the frontlines teeming with monsters, it would be troublesome if Luwen later decides to live like Dedric.

Of course, he did start studying medicine later to follow someone anywhere… but it’s better to avoid avoidable risks.

“No. There’s no need for that. I don’t want to do anything that might catch my father’s eye. Dedric, just come once a week as usual.”

“I don’t want to neglect my disciple.”

It was a firm voice. It seemed that special measures were needed to shake that resolve.