The Villain Wants to Change Genres

Chapter 14

I carefully held his hand while biting my lower lip to avoid grinning stupidly. I wanted to show Luwen only a refined smile if possible. Though I think I’ve already failed at that.

“Let’s go straight to my room. I have something to ask you after dinner.”

“Like this?”

Luwen asked, rubbing his wet clothes.

Of course, we should go right away. A growing child shouldn’t be left in such stuffy air.

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“I’d like to change my clothes.”

“We can ask Merin to bring them.”

“My room is right there, why bother?”

It was a valid question, even I thought so. He’s unnecessarily smart! Telling Luwen that the air is bad and I want to get him out quickly wouldn’t work at all. If he were the kind of child who’d listen to such things, he wouldn’t have been living in the basement.

“Then let’s go change your clothes.”

“You’re coming to my room?”

Luwen looked at me with wide, surprised eyes. I sensed a faint rejection in the child’s voice. Does he dislike me coming to his room?

“Uh… no? I should go upstairs.”

Not wanting to be rejected, I pretended not to know. Luwen then tried to return my outer garment that I had draped over his shoulders. But the clothes were already damp. Seeing his lips move, it seemed he was about to apologize.

Feeling that hearing it would make me feel worse, I quickly spoke up.

“Keep the clothes. They need to be washed anyway, so give them to Merin later, okay?”

“Yes, I will.”

Then I turned my back on Luwen. Standing on the first floor after climbing the damp basement stairs, I looked back. Despite the ample light from the closely spaced wall candles, it somehow looked gloomy.

* * *

Returning to my room, I delayed my bath time and deliberately entered the bathroom just when Luwen was expected to arrive. I had ordered Merin to bring Luwen straight in when he came.

As my body was beginning to relax, Luwen arrived. I asked him to help with the bath, sending him on errands to bring this and that, and then seized the opportunity to grab his arm and pull him into the water.

Splash!

“Ah! Young master!”

I laughed, splashing warm water at Luwen as he wiped his face and whined.

“Now that you’re in, warm yourself up a bit.”

“But I’ll have to change clothes again…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Luwen, do you know how to swim?”

“That’s basic. When I was younger, I even caught fish in the river.”

Why does it feel so incongruous when a child says “when I was younger”?

“You’re still young now.”

“Twelve is grown up.”

“You’re tiny and you’re grown up?”

“Tch…”

Ah, did I tease him too much? But it’s so fun. I found myself giggling without realizing it, then belatedly tried to manage my expression when I realized I looked too silly. Regaining a calm smile, I splashed water on Luwen’s shoulders and said,

“I can’t swim, so that’s impressive.”

“What were you doing instead of learning to swim?”

“I was focused solely on swordsmanship.”

I struggled quite a bit due to physical limitations.

“No wonder…”

“No wonder what?”

When I reacted to his muttered voice, Luwen blinked rapidly. Look at this kid getting flustered. He must have seen my clumsy swordsmanship. Sigh… Okay, I’m not good at it.

“Uh, no wonder you fell into that shallow lake.”

“…Could you forget about that?”

Even if I try to explain, why bring up such an embarrassing past? Annoyed, I made a water gun with my hands and shot at the impudent Luwen.

Hit by the spurting water streams, Luwen approached closer, showing curiosity.

“What’s this? How do you do that?”

“Want me to teach you?”

“Yes! Show me quickly!”

Wow, I must have really become comfortable. Luwen’s eagerness is so precious.

To meet Luwen’s expectations, I explained in detail how to make a water gun with hands. But then this kid, who had been shooting into the air, suddenly started shooting at me. Naturally, I also returned to my childhood and engaged in the water play, responding in kind.

After playing like that for a while…

“Ah, wait. It got in my eye!”

I kept blinking my stinging eye and rubbed it with the back of my hand. When the pain subsided and I opened my eyes, I was startled to find Luwen’s face right in front of me.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay. These things happen when you’re playing. Is it my turn for revenge now?”

I smiled wickedly, like a villain for the first time in a long while, and continued shooting the water gun at Luwen. When Luwen, who had been quietly taking the water, glanced at me, I wiggled my index finger to provoke him.

“Come at me.”

“Young master, are you sure I can really attack?”

Seeing him checking my reaction, I shot a few more times, and he timidly sprayed back in retaliation.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

Reassured by my playful provocation, Luwen smiled brightly and started to counterattack properly. This time, he even showed off a mysterious technique of adjusting the angle this way and that, as if trying not to hit my face.

Our Luwen is a natural talent. There’s really nothing he can’t do!

I wanted to play more, but I was reaching my physical limit. I had a strong feeling that if I stayed longer, I’d get dizzy.

“I surrender, I surrender! I lost. Luwen wins!”

“Hehe.”

Are you that happy? The child’s bright smile was like sunshine. Moreover, thinking that he was smiling like that solely because of me made him more dazzling than the sun.

“Shall we get out now?”

“Yes!”

Luwen, following me out of the bathtub, brought a towel larger than himself and fidgeted, saying he’d dry me off. I took the towel and instead carefully wiped off Luwen’s moisture, then had him change into the clothes I had Merin prepare.

“Oh, the clothes smell like you, young master.”

“Do you like it?”

He grabs the hem of the shirt tightly and buries his nose in it. Then he nods and grins.

It’s satisfying that he likes it. Even if I were to bring him a fortune in gold, it would be worthless compared to Luwen right now.

After exercising and bathing, it’s time to eat. Expecting him to be very hungry, I had requested a meat-focused menu.

Luwen, who had eaten twice as much as usual, started dozing off with a fork and knife in each hand. His blinking eyelids slowed down, and his head swayed back and forth. His body tilted to one side, then quickly returned to its original position like a roly-poly doll, and he chewed the food in his mouth.

Seeing him eat diligently even while dozing, I wondered whether I should let him eat more or clear the table.

“Ack!”

At that moment, Luwen fell forward. I barely caught him before his face hit the plate. I got up so quickly that the chair I pushed back tumbled onto the floor.

Merin, who rushed in after hearing the loud noise, opened her eyes wide, then quickly softened them into a smile.

“Merin…”

When I sent her a pleading look, she gracefully walked over and held Luwen’s shoulders. Then, carefully leaning him against the chair’s backrest, she covered her mouth and laughed softly.

“Why do you keep laughing?”

“Because your expression is so cute, young master.”

“Doesn’t the word ‘cute’ seem unsuitable for someone like me?”

“Why do you think so?”

“I look cold, don’t I? It’s the type of face I hate the most.”

I answered while leaning back and watching Merin clear the table.

“Certainly, the young master of the past was fierce enough to make everyone tremble.”

Isn’t that too honest? Merin, who was sharply poking at me with a smile, seemed to have already figured out how much I had changed.

Well, this is Merin’s fifth year serving me. Before Merin, no one lasted more than three months without getting fired. She was the only one clever and skilled enough not to irritate my terrible eyes. Though I didn’t show it, Merin was the only person in this mansion I could trust.

“But lately, you’ve changed. Many things have changed.”

Merin’s brightly smiling expression and voice seemed very natural. So this is how you originally smiled and spoke. It was a bit surprising, as she had always maintained an expressionless and stiff attitude.

Come to think of it, I think she used to smile quite a bit when we first met. My mood was always at rock bottom, so I hated seeing that.

It’s been about four years since Merin stopped nursing me. For the first year or so, she tried hard to do things for me. Every time, I would curse at her harshly. Once, when I threw everything within reach, a glass hit her…

Suddenly, Merin’s forehead caught my eye. There was a faint scar from where the glass I threw had hit her back then.