I Became the Master of the Villain

Kian opened his eyes on a hard wooden floor.
His vision was blurry, and his head throbbed. His whole body felt heavy, like soaked cotton.

Where am I? I remember going into the alley to pick up the cufflink… and then someone attacked me from behind…
Kian slowly blinked. His blurred vision gradually cleared. He lifted only his head to look around.
A skull flag with a red bandana hung on the wall. Ropes as thick as arms were strewn carelessly across the floor, and wooden crates were piled up in the corner.

The floor beneath his cheek rose and fell rhythmically, causing everything around him to shake up and down.
He listened carefully to the sounds outside. The crashing of waves could be heard.
This had to be inside a ship. And not just any merchant ship—it was a pirate ship.

Kian tried to move. His hands and feet were tightly bound with rope.
He twisted his wrists and struggled to loosen them, when noisy voices echoed from outside. A moment later, the door burst open and men wearing red bandanas entered.
“Awake now?”

They swaggered toward him, snickering. Rough, brutish men surrounded Kian. One of them squatted down, tilted Kian’s face side to side, and said,
“Captain, how much do you think we can get for this one?”
A sharp-eyed man wearing a tricorn hat answered,

“Rare silver hair and that face… This one’s a premium. We’ll get at least a hundred million gallons.”
“Whoa, one top-quality slave is better than ten regular ones.”
Hearing the pirates appraising him like livestock, Kian finally understood why he had been taken.

“Haha, look at him. So scared he’s crying?”
The pirate captain laughed when he saw the slight wetness at the corner of Kian’s eyes. The other pirates burst into loud laughter.
Being sold as a slave was one of the worst things that could happen in life, but to Kian, it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.

What really hurt was the realization that he would be separated from his master.
He wanted to stay by her side—kind, gentle, and warm. He didn’t want to be torn away like this.
The thought of never seeing her again made his eyes flush red.
Unaware of his feelings, the pirates continued to laugh like it was all a joke. With a gag forced into his mouth, Kian had no choice but to silently endure their taunts and ridicule.

What’s going to happen to me now? How worried must Master be right now?
If I had known this would happen, I never would’ve left her side. I was such a fool…
His thoughts spiraled with regret and fear. In that moment, Kian noticed something gleaming on the pirate captain’s finger.

“…!”
It was the ring Olivia had given him—now worn on the captain’s hand.
“What’s this? You want it back?”

As Kian desperately gestured toward the ring, the pirate captain smirked wickedly.
With a nod, his men rushed forward and pulled Kian back. The captain tapped Kian’s cheek with a rough hand and warned,
“Don’t waste your strength. Stay quiet unless you want something bad to happen.”

Then he jerked his head toward a muscular pirate standing beside him.
“This guy here doesn’t care if it’s men or women.”
The muscular pirate grinned, revealing yellow teeth. His eyes gleamed with lust as he stared at Kian and exhaled heavily through his nose.

“Captain! I don’t even need my share of the gold. Just let me have him once!”
At that declaration, the other pirates all whistled at once. The captain raised an eyebrow and said,
“Are you serious?”

“Of course!”
“If you go back on your word, I’ll cut you to pieces and feed you to the sharks. Remember that.”
The muscular pirate flinched at the captain’s deadly warning, but quickly nodded enthusiastically. The captain finally grinned and said,

“Just don’t damage the merchandise too much.”
“Hehe, understood.”
As the pirates cackled and left, Kian was left alone in the cabin with the muscular pirate. The only sound was the click of the door locking.

The pirate swallowed like he was about to feast.
“You’re really beautiful… I wouldn’t mind paying anything for a night with someone like you.”
Kian instinctively shrank back. The pirate pressed down on his shoulders without hesitation. Kian trembled like someone thrown naked into the middle of winter. The pirate’s rough hand groped him somewhere.

“…!”
The sensation made Kian’s skin crawl. He writhed with all his might.
But the muscular pirate easily pinned down his struggling body. Kian wanted to scream, but only a muffled groan came out through the gag.

A wave of terror swept over him. It felt like standing on the edge of a cliff, about to fall.
Kian squeezed his eyes shut in despair.
Just as the pirate’s large, calloused hand reached to unbutton Kian’s shirt—

The entire ship suddenly shook violently, as if it ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) had been struck by something.
The pirate lost his balance and tumbled to the floor.
Thunderous footsteps echoed from above. The clash of swords and screams mixed chaotically.

The pirate got up with a snarl. Drawing a blade from his belt, he growled,
“Who the hell is interfering…?”
He roared that he would kill whoever it was and rushed toward the door.

With a loud crash, the door was blasted apart.
“…!”
Kian’s eyes widened as he saw who entered.

***
The duchy’s warship cut through the waves, wind filling its sails.
“Young lady, the night wind is cold. Please, come inside.”

The captain addressed me as I glared into the dark sea.
I pulled my coat tighter and shook my head. Kian might be in danger even now—how could I sit still and wait?
According to the captain, the pirates were likely headed to their base on an island to the northeast. So we set our course accordingly, sailing without pause.

As I gripped my bursting heart, the lookout in the crow’s nest shouted,
“Ship spotted!”
At the far edge of the direction he pointed, a single ship floated.

It flew the flag of an Imperial merchant vessel. But as our warship approached, it suddenly veered off course and tried to escape.
Fortunately, the wind blew against their direction, making it difficult. When they failed to shake us, they revealed their true colors.
They lowered the merchant flag, raised a pirate one, and began firing their cannons.

If Kian was on that ship, we couldn’t return fire recklessly. Dodging the bombardment, the captain shouted,
“Return fire! Target their gunners!”
Bullets sprayed wildly from our ship like a machine gun. Every time a muzzle flashed, pirates screamed and collapsed on the deck.

As their cannon fire weakened, the captain shouted,
“Prepare for boarding! Grapple them in!”
The crew moved quickly. They hooked the pirate ship and dragged it toward us with all their might. Smaller than our vessel, it was helpless.

Our forces surged onto the pirate ship. I followed, flanked by guards.
The deck was chaos—a full-blown melee. Blades clashed, and the smell of blood filled the air.
With my knight escorts protecting me, we descended below deck. They struck down pirates as they searched every cabin.

Maybe it was my growing anxiety, but dark thoughts clung to my mind like tar.
What if Kian had already been sold? What if he wasn’t on this ship…?
I shook off the dread and prayed he was safe.

“Please stand back!”
With a shout, Sir Hans kicked open the locked cabin door.
A burly pirate lunged with a blade. As my knights fought him off, I peered inside.

A silver-haired man, bound hand and foot and gagged, sat on the floor.
There was no mistaking it. It was him.
“Kian!”

Our eyes met. His widened in shock.
I rushed to his side and knelt. Removing his gag, he spoke with a hoarse voice.
“Master… How did you get here…?”

He sounded like he never imagined I’d come all this way to find him. I didn’t have time to explain everything, so I kept it brief.
“I chased the pirates.”
I drew a dagger from my belt and carefully cut the ropes binding him. His wrists were raw and swollen. Seeing the clear signs of his suffering made my eyes sting.

“Sorry I was late.”
Kian shook his head at once, looking as though he might cry. Without another word, he buried his face into my arms.
“I thought I’d never see you again…”

He sobbed. I gently stroked his trembling back and checked him for injuries.
“Can you stand?”
“Yes.”

He answered confidently, but his knees buckled. Being tied up for so long had weakened him.
I called for a knight to support him and we hurried toward the deck.
As we reached the surface, the stench of blood hung thick in the air. Pirates collapsed everywhere, screaming.

Ahead, I saw a plank connecting our warship and the pirate ship. We were about to cross when Kian suddenly froze.
His gaze landed on a pirate wearing a tricorn hat.
I asked,

“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
But it was obvious he was hiding something—from the way he avoided my eyes to how flustered his response was.

“Nothing, huh? Tell me.”
Pressed, Kian confessed. It was simple. That pirate had taken the ring I gave him.
I looked over the knights and pointed at Sir Hans.

“You. Go get it.”
“…Excuse me?”
He blinked like he’d been struck by lightning. I glared at him sharply.

“Why the sour face? If you’d done your job properly, none of this would’ve happened.”
Sir Hans shut his mouth like a scolded child. He had been the one who let Kian slip away during the festival.
“So what’ll it be—suspension, demotion, or dismissal? Pick one.”

At my cold demand, his face turned pale.
Thankfully, he wasn’t completely clueless. With a terrified nod, he dashed off like a bullet.
Shortly after returning to the duchy’s ship, Sir Hans came back, panting hard. He pulled something from his coat pocket.

“Here it is, milady.”
As I looked at what he held out, my expression darkened.
Was he out of his mind, showing me something so grotesque?

Realizing too late what he had handed over, Sir Hans went pale and stammered,
“S-sorry! I was in such a rush, I just brought the whole thing…!”
It was a severed pirate’s hand. I plucked the blue diamond ring from its index finger and flung the hideous thing into the sea.

“I appreciate the effort. You may go.”
I waved him off as he begged for forgiveness and called the captain.
It was time to end this.

Time to strike down the pirates who dared kidnap Kian.
The captain shouted at the top of his lungs,
“Fire!”

The signal flags rose, and our other ships began simultaneous bombardment.
Shells flew from both sides, with the pirate ship trapped in the center.
Its mast cracked, and the railing splintered apart. Deafening blasts rang out as smoke billowed.

Unable to withstand the concentrated fire, the pirate ship soon crumbled and sank into the sea.
A fitting end for those who touched our precious Kian.