The Villain Wants to Change Genres

Chapter 8

As I arrived at the training grounds, the family’s knights who noticed me all stopped their training at once and greeted me. They looked tense, like new recruits on high alert.

It made sense, as in the past, I was the embodiment of jealousy. I envied the strength and stamina I lacked. Whenever I saw them proudly wielding swords, training freely, and looking satisfied, I wanted to trample them. No matter how much strength and stamina they had, they were all insignificant beings who should grovel at my feet… or so I thought.

What an embarrassing history. Let’s just move past it quickly.

As I tried to pass through the training grounds, murmurs spread among the knights. Were they surprised that I was leaving quietly without causing trouble?

If that’s what they expect, I could give them what they want… but Luwen is watching, so I’ll let it slide. I need to show him how I’ve changed, and I can’t make a scene because of the knights. I tried my best to ignore it and keep walking.

“Is it true that she became gentle after nearly dying?”

“I bet my entire fortune on that being a false rumor…”

They even made bets? Feeling upset, I turned around, and they all immediately stood at attention with their mouths shut. I could hear someone audibly gulp in the silence that followed.

“…”

I wanted to demand to know who had made the bet. Wouldn’t it be understandable if I got angry this time?

But being aware of those black eyes like jewels, I couldn’t act on my temper. A good guardian doesn’t get angry in front of children. Before speaking, I rolled my eyes to check on Luwen first. He was staring at the knights with sparkling eyes.

I spoke in a voice soft enough not to disturb Luwen’s ears.

“Perhaps losing your entire fortune has clouded your judgment.”

Instead, I wiped the expression from my face and swept my gaze over the tense knights. None of them could meet my eyes and they all lowered their gazes. Things you can’t say to someone’s face shouldn’t be said behind their back either.

“We apologize, Young Miss.”

The vice-captain of the knights stepped forward to take responsibility. I stared at him intently.

I can see your Adam’s apple bobbing. You’ll find the culprit on your own, I’m sure.

“Luwen.”

I turned my gaze to look at Luwen. He had been staring blankly at the knights but now looked up at me. Carefully controlling the angle of my smile, I spoke to him kindly.

“Let’s go. We have business elsewhere.”

“Yes.”

Luwen followed me but kept glancing back repeatedly.

He seems quite interested. I was planning to ask him after meeting Dedric, but now might be better?

“Luwen, do you want to learn swordsmanship too?”

When I asked casually, Luwen’s head whipped towards me so fast I worried he might get whiplash.

He’s going to say no, right?

“…No.”

As expected. Luwen fidgeted with his fingers while glancing at the knights who were still standing at attention. He thinks that being greedy would tarnish Irene’s reputation.

No matter how I look at it, Luwen needs to act more like a child. Begging for things he wants, throwing tantrums, being greedy. The giant carrot I prepared was not only a gift Luwen would love most but also a means to teach him that it’s okay to ask for things.

“Really? You can learn if you want to.”

I casually dropped the comment and leisurely walked towards the captain’s office. The footsteps that had been following me closely now lagged a bit behind. I could easily imagine Luwen continuously glancing back at the training grounds without having to turn around.

Eventually, as the captain’s office building came into view, the door suddenly burst open and Dedric came out.

His loose, carefree gait hasn’t changed. That distinctive walk with toes pointing outward. I could tell it was Dedric even from a distance.

“Young Miss, it’s been a while since you came here. I almost forgot your face.”

I let out an awkward laugh at his sarcastic tone. The intensity of his gaze was somewhat uncomfortable.

Dedric was a commoner-born senior knight who had worked under my father for a long time, and he was also my swordsmanship teacher. It was unusual for a commoner talented in swordsmanship to rise above the rank of an ordinary knight.

It was because his swordsmanship skills were exceptional, but I disliked this man. Three years ago, I thought he was the one who told my father that I had no talent for swordsmanship, causing him to lose interest in me.

How much I hated him for doing such a thing and then treating me casually. He would freely pat my head, put his arm around my shoulders, and even poke my cheeks without hesitation. He treated me like his own nephew.

I hated it and showed my displeasure, but Dedric’s attitude never changed. My father was on his side too, so there was nothing I could do. Since I couldn’t win with strength either, I eventually gave up.

But now that I’ve matured a bit, I realize he was the only one who treated me like a normal child. He even gave me some pretty kind advice. Above all, even though he had realized my limitations early on, he went so far as to create a swordsmanship style for me who couldn’t give up on the sword. Although it wasn’t to my taste.

And now that my past resentment has faded, Dedric is objectively someone who could be a good teacher for Luwen, which is why I came here with the child.

“Dedric, it’s been-“

Before I could finish my greeting, Dedric suddenly started feeling my arms. Then he carefully touched my waist and legs, shook his head with a sigh.

“Your muscles are still terrible, and you haven’t been doing any stamina training? It seems like you’ve lost even more muscle than when I last saw you.”

He still thinks he’s my teacher even though I didn’t come to the training grounds because I didn’t want to learn swordsmanship from him. Ah, come to think of it, did I not inform him? I thought he would have understood since I stayed in the mansion instead of going out.

Well, it’s a good thing if he still cares about me when I came here to ask for a favor. I calmly responded to his words. Shamelessly, as if nothing had happened.

“I was sick for a few days. I lost quite a bit of weight, enough that my clothes became loose.”

“Again? I told you to control that temper of yours. It’s all stress-related illness. Because you have so much anger, you can’t sleep well. When you can’t sleep, your stamina drops. It’s a vicious cycle, as I’ve said many times.”

Stress-related illness… Well, it’s not entirely wrong, but what can I do about my weak body? Insomnia has been a chronic problem since my past life.

There’s no point in arguing, he’ll just insist, so I should just let it slide.

“That’s why I’m trying to let go of my ambitions now. I’ve given up on gaining Father’s approval. It’s an area I can’t do anything about. I have no talent for swordsmanship after all.”

Dedric looked at me with pitying eyes as I spoke matter-of-factly. It’s usually hard to refuse requests from people who seem pitiful.

“As I’ve said before, everyone has different areas they excel in. Just because you don’t have talent in swordsmanship doesn’t mean you’re useless, Young Miss.”

Dedric spoke in a rather kind tone while patting my head.

“I wonder. Is that really true?”

I pushed away Dedric’s wrist with a bitter smile. The knight who felt sorry for me withdrew his hand obediently with a shallow sigh.

In fact, I knew Dedric’s intention when he told my father that I had no talent for swordsmanship. He advised that rather than persisting with swordsmanship skills that were worse than the family’s ordinary knights no matter how hard I tried, it would be better to find and develop my own talents. That’s the kind of person Dedric thought the Duke was.

However, what he didn’t know was that my father hated me. The news of my lack of talent in swordsmanship became an excuse for him to ignore the son of a woman he despised terribly without any guilt. That’s why he feels indebted to me.

Now, Dedric. I’ll give you a chance to clear that debt.

“By the way, are you going to keep me standing out here in the cold?”

My body was getting cold in the winter chill. If I’m this cold, how much colder must Luwen be? When I blatantly hinted, Dedric hurried.

“Oh my. Let’s go inside quickly.”

Dedric immediately took me to the captain’s office. As soon as we sat down, he handed me a rough cup with steam rising from it.

While I warmed my frozen hands on the heated cup, Dedric asked Luwen,

“Are you cold too, little one? Would you like some warm tea?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

Luwen’s eyes sparkled as he stood next to me, looking around eagerly. Seeing his shoulders twitch, he seemed desperate to explore.

See that? He’s so excited. I’m going to make sure you say you want to learn swordsmanship.

In the original story, there was a description of Luwen as a sword prodigy who couldn’t fully bloom his talent. He suffered a major injury while recklessly training with a sword alone, resulting in a disability that prevented him from properly using his left arm.

Despite that, he reached a level where he could handle sword energy with just his right arm. If he starts learning properly from now on, it’s hard to imagine how strong he could become.

If he’s going to push himself to learn the sword alone anyway, I’d rather find him a good teacher with my own hands and have him learn proper swordsmanship. If he can develop his talent, Luwen’s chances of survival will increase.

Of course, I won’t let anything similar to the scene I saw in the original story happen, but you never know. A plan is just a plan after all. Variables can occur at any time, so it’s right to prepare for everything possible. Therefore, winning over Dedric must succeed no matter what, and I was confident.