An Important Villain

Fool's Wish

On their way back, Corner suggested that they take the riverside road.

Since it was already afternoon, the sun was starting to set. The clear blue water in the river was shining so brightly that one would think the riverbed was full of gems. Both sides of the river was covered in green grass and tall trees. It looked like a perfect spot to take an afternoon nap.

Remembering his old world, Ian felt grateful that he could witness something like this one more time. The last scene he saw before he jumped into the river flashed before his eyes and he unconsciously mumbled. 

"It's way prettier than where I died."

Although it was said unconsciously, he really wanted to jump into the river at that moment, not to die of course. He only wanted to swim in it. It just looked that alluring. 

On the other hand, both Corner and Arthur's expression hardened drastically. Although Ian spoke in a whisper, for master swordsman like them, they could hear it loud and clear.

Although Ian knew about the novel and a bit of this world's future, he couldn't understand the impact of his own small actions. After looking into various data he had finally figured out that there was still three year left before the story of the novel began. 

This was right when the novels Ian started to change. The root of all misunderstandings. The incident his parents tried their best not to bring up was of the original Ian's suicide. 

If Noah had to put it in simple terms, in the novel, after waking up, the original Ian turned from a school bully to a nasty manipulative scum, meaning he went down a few levels in the moral scale.

Noah wondered if he even originally committed suicide or if it was all a part of the original Adrian's ploy. He was, in his roots, a villain after all.

Coming back to the present, Ian was still walking and looking at the river and admiring it's beauty. The wind blowing above the grass made it look like a huge soft bed.  The duchy's back gate was near the river. After walking for 40 minutes or so, they could finally see the gate.

The knights noticed them approaching and opened the gate. 

After returning to his room, Ian flopped down on his bed and fell asleep immediately. He was full and happy. 

On the other hand, Corner went directly to the duke's office to make his report.

After hearing everything that Ian did or said Miller was feeling happy at the thought that his son was finally maturing. 

After reporting everything else, Corner was hesitating on whether he should tell him what he heard in the end. Seeing Corner hesitate, Miller stopped smiling and asked him if there was anything else.

Even at Miller's strict tone, Corner couldn't bring himself to say it immediately. After a while of hesitation, he finally closed his eyes and said what he heard.

"The young master looked at the river and mumbled 'It's way prettier than where I died'. I'm not sure what exactly he meant by that. I apologize." 

The pen Miller was holding cracked and broke into two parts as he tried to calm himself. It wasn't easy, seeing their son go down the wrong way. But the hardest part was seeing his son lose all hope in life. He thought it'd be different this time since Ian lost his memory. But the fear of losing his son again was still there.

He wanted his son to be happy, to give him everything precious in life. He wanted to fulfill his son's every wish but what was he to do if all his son wanted was to leave them all forever? 

Seeing Miller look so desperate, Corner couldn't help but blame himself. He wanted to share his lords’ burden but there was nothing he could do. He felt really helpless at the moment.

"Pretend you heard nothing and tend to his every need. Also, make sure Olivia doesn't hear anything."

Corner bowed his head and left the room after receiving his order.

At night, a servant woke Ian up for dinner. After eating all those junks in town, Ian had no more space left in his stomach.

"Did mother and father finish their dinner?"

"They have not. They're waiting for you in the dining room."

Ian rubbed his eyes as he sat down.

"Mm okay, I'll be there in a minute."

The servants looked a bit more relaxed compared to yesterday. Ian thought maybe the story of his memory loss was the cause. But in reality, the stories of his town visit was spreading all around the mansion.

Ian, still in his pajamas, came down to the dinner table after freshening up.

Seeing him look all groggy, Olivia couldn't help but smile. Although Miller was worried about him, his expression didn't show anything.

"How was your outing today? Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yes, it was fun. The Kebabs were the best. The cotton candy was also delicious. I wanted to bring some for you, mother. But they said it wouldn't last that long. "

Ian looked a bit sad as he said the last part. 

On the other hand, Miller and Olivia was shocked to receive such a detailed and happy reply from their son.

"Then how about we accompany you next time you go on your outing?" 

Miller had a gentle smile on his face.

"That'd be great but aren't you busy with the duchy?" 

"I'm not busy! The two of us can go, your father will handle all the work here, hehe. "

Olivia looked really childish as she smiled. She was teasing Miller since she knew he wanted to spend time with Ian and her.

As she had expected, Miller looked quite gloomy at her suggestion but couldn't disagree either. He did have a lot of work to finish.

And that's how Ian's next outing with his mother was decided on the dinner table. 

After coming back from the dinner, he couldn't fall asleep since he slept all evening. So he decided to read some books and get some more knowledge about this world. After all, it wasn't a novel anymore. 

He also wanted to know more about his power and how to use or upgrade them. He concurred that the more he gets stronger, the easier it'll be for Arthur later.

The first book he read was about the continents history. How the kingdoms were born, the wars and the victors, the victims and the fallen as well.

As he previously read on the novel, this planet had four continents. They were located on each corner of the globe. If he compared this world with his previous world, right now he's be in the Asian continent, in a seaside country. 

Technically, this world was way behind his timeline. But magic existed here, something he only read about in fantasy books previously. There were also races other than humans. Although they had powers incomparable to humans, they were way less in number. Thus, humans became the dominant race of the continents. After all, nothing beats numbers.

"I want to see them."

The next book was about those other races. Most of those races had the power to change their appearance to look similar to humans. They could be considered half human in that sense. But their original form had no similarities to humans. 

There were also races that were considered evil because the source of their power was different. For example, the dark elves. While the source of power for other elves were the nature, for dark elves, that source was the deceased or death in short. Every living being fears death, as such, they hate anything related to it.

To Adrian, it looked absurd. It's not like he couldn't understand, it's just that he couldn't accept their thought process. Understanding and accepting are two different things. It's true some races get their power from the dead, but the power they use are just like the others. The power of wind, fire, earth etc. 

Only a few beings, in the history of the continent could actually use the power of darkness. And they were condemned "Evil" by any and all beings on earth.

'I guess I also fall under that 'evil' category now.'

Knock knock

While Ian was immersed in his thoughts, a knock came from outside the door.

"Come in."

Ian peeked through the corner of his eyes to see who it was. Wearing a long tailcoat, the butler came inside.

"Hey Rob, you need something?"

"The duchess wanted to know if you're free two days after today. She'll adjust her schedule if so."

"I'm free. I don't have any plans for a while. Also... Ask mother if there's anything I can help with. Freeing her schedule will definitely increase her workload."

The butler's eyebrow twitched slightly as he heard Ian speak. He has been watching over him since the day he was born. Seeing Ian acting considerate made him feel uneasy.  

Rob has been working for the duke ever since he retired from the battlefield. He was a sniper, among the best at his time. He retired after he injured one of his eyes during a mission and has been working here since then. Ian also knew that. The novel mentioned his past when he was in the middle of a fight with Arthur. That was the only time Rob had actively appeared in the novel. Arthur tried to bring him to his side but he refused to leave the duchy and betray it's people, thus, losing his life.

'After all, he is no match for Arthur as he is right now.'

"Then I'll be taking my leave, young master. Please enjoy yourself."

Rob bowed and was about to leave the room when Ian called out to him. 

"Can you ask the servants to bring me some snacks and tea?"

"As you wish." 

After Rob left, Ian stared at the door for a long time. No one could guess what was going through his head at that moment. Then after a while, he started reading again. A servant arrived with the snacks and tea moments later. That night, he ate and read till he fell asleep.