The Villain Wants to Change Genres

Chapter 46

“Are these people okay?”

I explained everything to Luwen, except for the fact that it was a staged kidnapping planned with the Kans and that the First Prince was behind it. There was no benefit in Luwen knowing about the mastermind, and the current “me” only had suspicions.

After listening to the end, Luwen asked me a question similar to his first one.

“Can I trust the Kans?”

“For now, I’m trusting them.”

“Then I’ll trust them too.”

Only then did Luwen relax his tense body. You could visibly see the tension leaving his shoulders. So until just now, he had been fully prepared to fight.

“But why did you come alone, Luwen? Did sister just let you go? What about Dedric? The knights?”

“I told the young lady. She also interpreted the meaning of the duckling. I heard she was going to the imperial palace to negotiate, but I couldn’t wait and left first.”

Suddenly, the sword hanging at Luwen’s waist caught my eye. Sister’s sword. It was familiar to me.

‘That’s the gift from father that she never parted with… Sister lent him her sword.’

Even so, how could they send a child alone?

I felt resentful towards my sister for allowing Luwen to do something so dangerous, but if she went as far as lending her sword, she must have been unable to change his mind.

‘Well, it’s better than coming with just a wooden sword.’

Still.

“Judging by the time you arrived, you must have left immediately after the horse returned to the mansion. You’ve been riding non-stop without eating or sleeping. What if you had encountered a monster you couldn’t handle?”

It was clearly an unreasonable schedule, no matter how young and healthy he was. It was a miracle that Luwen had arrived here safely.

At a glance, he didn’t seem injured, but as I was checking him carefully just in case, I noticed traces of blood that had turned brown on his collar.

“Are you hurt? Are you injured? Come here. Let me see.”

Luwen followed my gaze, looking down, and then smiled sheepishly. Why are you smiling when I’m so upset?

“Young master, this isn’t my blood.”

“Then whose is it?”

“Actually, I encountered a pack of Nols on the way.”

Needless to say, my face crumpled.

“You told me that with Nols, I just need to deal with the advance party, right? I handled the advance party as I was taught, and used the potion to throw off the pursuit party.”

That’s true, but… seeing Luwen’s eyes sparkling like a boy seeking praise made me feel bitter.

I had instilled in Luwen all the strategies for dealing with monsters near the Empire. Sometimes monsters would form groups and attack villages, so you never knew when or where you might encounter them, and he might become interested in monster subjugation in the outskirts with Dedric.

So I had diligently provided early education. Thanks to this advance learning, my own knowledge had also been enriched. But I wonder if it had instilled unnecessary confidence in him. Had I unknowingly pushed Luwen into danger?

‘It’s troubling.’

I was worried, wondering if he really wasn’t hurt, and also proud that it wasn’t a miracle but Luwen’s own strength that brought him here. My feelings were complicated, but for now, I had to scold him for his reckless behavior.

“Don’t do this kind of thing again. I hate it most when Luwen gets hurt.”

“If you’re by my side, young master, I’ll move very cautiously.”

Surprised by the unexpected answer, I looked at Luwen. I thought he would naturally say he’d do that, that he was sorry, but instead he was chiding me.

“If you don’t like me acting recklessly, please keep your promise.”

“Promise…?”

“Did you forget? You said you’d always be by my side.”

“Ah.”

There was a small reproach in Luwen’s eyes. As if to say, how could you forget the promise? I hurriedly opened my mouth, afraid Luwen might misunderstand.

“I didn’t forget. I just couldn’t make the connection because it seemed out of the blue.”

“Out of the blue?”

“We were just talking about your recklessness.”

Hmm. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that look. Eyes that treat me quite trivially. How should I put it, like he’s looking at me as if I’m pathetic? I think it’s the first time since he was young?

“Why can’t you think about how this relates to your safety, young master?”

“…Huh?”

“Do you really not know why I rushed out of the mansion recklessly? Why I said I’d be cautious if you’re by my side, and why I said you just need to keep your promise?”

This kid has really grown up. If he was younger, he would have just sighed and let it go. Seeing him pointing out each thing one by one made me feel overwhelmed with emotion.

I wanted to raise him to be a child who could express his opinions straight without being mindful of others, whether it was something he wanted to say, do, eat, or have. It seemed I had succeeded.

I smiled slightly, feeling secretly proud, and Luwen’s cheeks puffed up. Just when I thought he had grown up, at times like this he was exactly like when he was young.

“I understand. You’re saying that if I’m by your side, you’ll be cautious because of me.”

“That’s right. So you can’t go anywhere. You have to stay right by my side.”

What is this? This ticklish feeling? Feeling my face might relax unnecessarily, I cleared my throat and patted Luwen’s shoulder.

“Alright. I’ll stick right by Luwen’s side. Anyway, you must be tired. Let’s get you cleaned up and eat first.”

“You promised.”

“Yes.”

“You can’t break it this time. Really, truly.”

“I got it.”

Unless Luwen became independent first, there was no reason for us to be apart barring a war, so I responded confidently.

More than that, I wanted to push Luwen into the water quickly. I needed to check if he was hiding any injuries.

And I need to feed him lots of meat. He must have been so hungry. It seems like he’s lost some weight in the few days I haven’t seen him. Maybe that’s why his jawline seems a bit sharper than before.

“Did you eat properly on the way? I’m thinking of grilling some meat, or should I prepare soup?”

“Meat!”

Worried it might be too much for an empty stomach, I asked, but Luwen shouted immediately. Then, as if embarrassed by his excitement, he mumbled like an excuse, his cheeks turning pink.

“Even though I’ve been chewing on dried jerky, I’m still hungry…”

“Then I’ll grill some meat for you. We’re short on seasonings, so other dishes are difficult.”

“Okay!”

I smiled contentedly at his spirited response, then turned around when I felt a sharp gaze on the back of my head. Taran had woken up at some point and was staring intently at me and Luwen.

Hmm. It seems I’ll have to postpone our plan to gather herbs. I’m sorry to Taran, but feeding Luwen is more important.

“Taran. I’m going to take Luwen to the cave, could you bring some clothes for him to change into? Mine would be too small… Ah! That’s right. We had clothes that were bought in the wrong size, right? The ones that were too big and given to the boss. Bring those and some clean cloth too.”

I just pretended not to notice and gave orders as usual. Taran, who had been staring at me blankly, answered grumpily.

“Okay.”

As he left the tent, his back seemed more dejected than usual, which worried me a bit. However, I couldn’t prioritize Taran over Luwen. We’ll need to make a hammock for Luwen to use anyway, so we can gather herbs then.

“Luwen, let’s go get you cleaned up first. I’ll show you where.”

I expected an immediate response, but it was quiet, so I looked over to see the boy standing still with a somewhat wronged expression.

“Luwen?”

When I called out again, he finally approached and asked.

“Was that guy just now Taran?”

He seemed to know more than just the name. He must have heard something on the way here. Well, that makes introductions easier.

“He’s the boy who’s been attending to me here. It seems you’ve heard-“

“Then he’s not needed anymore, right?”

Luwen cutting off my words? Not only was his sudden interruption surprising, but his voice was also stiff.

“I’m here now. I’ll attend to you, young master.”

But as if nothing had happened, he quickly gave me a smile and continued.

When he was young, I only had him run errands because I needed a pretext, but I don’t usually have Luwen attend to me. All Luwen does is fill the flower vase in my room and tie my hair. In fact, since I didn’t ask him to pick the flowers, Luwen’s only real task was arranging my hair in the morning.

I’ve only asked for this one easiest task because I didn’t want to trouble him, and that wouldn’t change here.

“It’s fine. Why should you when Taran is here?”

“Is that guy more reliable than me?”

Huh? What’s this, why does he look hurt? Luwen’s sudden dejected reaction was a bit unfamiliar to me.