The Villain Wants to Change Genres – Chapter 116

Chapter 116

“…Are you punishing me?”

What a disheartening thing to say.

“How is calling my name a punishment?”

“I am a servant destined to become your lordship’s knight. I cannot casually call my master’s name.”

“If you called it once, can’t you do it twice?”

Luwen smiled as he wiped away the tears still flowing down my cheeks.

“Earlier was an emergency, so it was an exception.”

Since Luwen usually granted my requests, I thought if I begged a few more times, he would call my name. But he absolutely refused. I considered pretending I couldn’t wake up and groaning a bit, but I didn’t want to worry Luwen just to satisfy my curiosity.

* * *

I expected to struggle for quite a while with the strange lingering emotions from a dream I couldn’t remember, but surprisingly, I felt better after just a few days.

The problem was that I only felt better about the dream. The symptom of my face flushing whenever I saw Luwen got worse. This time, I didn’t even know why.

‘Even though I’m fine recalling that morning now, why am I still like this?’

Unfortunately, this happened just as we started living together, so I couldn’t find a solution and time passed stupidly.

“You have a fever again today,” Luwen muttered in a serious tone after feeling my forehead.

“This much is fine.”

“But you’ve been like this ever since we returned from the extermination team. You shouldn’t take it lightly.”

Luwen brought me a fever-reducing pill. Sensing he would watch until I took it, I swallowed it in one gulp. It’s okay to take the medicine since it doesn’t have harmful ingredients even if taken frequently.

‘But if the root cause isn’t addressed, this will keep happening…’

I know Luwen is the cause since I’m fine when he’s not around. I just don’t understand why it suddenly started.

“I’ll be late for class at this rate.”

“I wish you would rest.”

As I got up to pack my bag, Luwen tried to stop me in a concerned tone. This was our daily morning argument.

My face flushed again under his steady gaze. My cheeks must be bright red.

“See? It’s happening again.”

Luwen placed his hand on my cheek. The cool temperature felt nice, but it made my face even hotter. It was a maddening situation.

“Still, I need to attend lectures to graduate.”

How could I graduate early without attending classes? Hearing my stubborn reply, Luwen sighed. Then finally, he asked the question I had been expecting.

“I still don’t understand why you need a graduation certificate when our social status is so different.”

I had already prepared an answer, so I could remain calm.

“I’ve found a dream.”

“A dream?”

“Yes. Originally, I enrolled to secretly support you. Then I got caught.”

Since Luwen doesn’t take things about me lightly, I reminded him of what I had mentioned before.

“That’s right.”

“Actually, I wanted to travel around the empire later doing medical volunteer work. But I didn’t want to go around being treated arrogantly as a noble. That would be me receiving the service instead.”

Luwen frowned. I’m not sure which part of my explanation he dislikes. I wanted to press my index finger on his furrowed brow to smooth it out, but I had to be careful about touching him now, so I just fidgeted with my fingers as I spoke.

“Since I created the Norman identity, I want to get a graduation certificate along with it. So I can do medical volunteer work as Norman later.”

“It would be dangerous.”

“I’ll hire mercenaries.”

It seems he doesn’t like my answer this time either. His frown wouldn’t go away.

Since there’s nothing particularly objectionable about what I said, it’s probably not because of my dream. He’s probably like this because he thinks I’m being stubborn about attending lectures while having a fever?

“I’ll rest well during the week-long break starting tomorrow anyway.”

“I’m worried you might collapse.”

“I absolutely won’t collapse.”

I spoke confidently because there’s no reason for me to collapse when it’s a mental issue, not a physical illness. However, Luwen didn’t seem to believe me at all.

‘I feel terrible for making him worry constantly.’

But it felt awkward to speak honestly. Some strange feeling made it impossible for me to open my mouth.

This situation was problematic. I’ve never consulted anyone about my issues before, but…

‘I need to get help this time.’

However, I immediately encountered a new problem. There was no one around me I could confide in about this. I needed someone I wouldn’t be embarrassed to speak honestly with, and who would keep it secret from Luwen.

‘Who could it be?’

I pondered deeply as I walked along the path leading to the main building, but no one came to mind. If I told Nadian, it would likely be immediately relayed to Luwen. Little Norman would probably connect everything to romance. Cadin would be no different from me.

‘Adrian is…’

Ambiguous. Though he’s slick, he’s smart and might give me an unexpected answer, but I didn’t trust him.

Of course, since it’s a mental issue, I don’t need to find the real answer. It just needs to be resolved in a way that I can accept.

‘Right, Adrian is out.’

No matter how plausibly he might package it, it seemed difficult to feel any sincerity from that feather-light guy.

‘If it were Adrian from when we met in the alley maybe, but not now that he’s returned to being so frivolous.’

As I eliminated people one by one, there was no one left. Consulting a professor was obviously out of the question. I even considered writing a letter to my master, but quickly dismissed the idea as it felt like I would be certifying myself as a foolish disciple.

‘My sister would focus only on the fever and worry. That Second Prince bastard would just find it amusing.’

I even considered the head butler and Linder as candidates, but they were ruled out since I had no plans to return to the mansion anytime soon.

I thought I had interacted with quite a few people in this life, but my relationships were still limited. Yet until now, I had never felt it lacking.

“By the way, young master.”

“Yes?”

Luwen spoke as we approached the main road. Our pace naturally slowed as we would go in different directions once we reached it.

“You’ll use me as your guard when you go for medical volunteer work, right?”

“I’d be happy if Luwen comes along.”

“Of course. Don’t think about going alone without me. It’s a promise.”

I nodded with a smile. Anyway, I would need to observe for at least 5 years before I could leave with peace of mind.

‘By then, he’ll probably have found someone he likes and forget the promise he made to me.’

So I should forget it too. A casual verbal promise. I should treat it like a Korean’s greeting of “Let’s have a meal together next time” and move on.

But my chest stung as if pierced by a sharp thorn, and I quickened my previously slowed pace.

Luwen matched my speed. The steps that always followed half a step behind were now in line with mine. It had become our new familiar distance.

“I hope we can walk side by side like this even after graduating from the academy.”

Like this, even after I return to being Fei instead of Norman. I felt greedy, wanting the time I spend with him to be longer than I expected, if possible.

* * *

The classroom had been in a festive uproar since the official announcement of the First Prince’s visit. Considering it would last a whole week, it could be seen as a festival, but I wasn’t pleased about it.

Today was especially noisy. Some professors even gave up on lecturing since most students couldn’t concentrate properly. Particularly the last lecture, which gave us some free time.

I left the classroom, leaving behind the chattering crowd. I heard voices calling me, but I pretended not to hear them amidst the noise and walked quickly.

With the extra time, I wanted to quickly resolve the problem facing me. Well, it’s not like a non-existent person would suddenly appear, so I was considering asking Adrian after all. As I was walking and pondering this, I heard hurried footsteps behind me, and then a hand grabbed my shoulder.

“Chairman?”

As I turned around, Alteo, who had removed his hand from my shoulder, was fiddling with his jacket buttons. The overly timid gesture looked so out of place that it gave me goosebumps.

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you come to the chairman’s office with me? I have something to discuss.”

Wait. Could I ask this bastard?

He’s extremely afraid of Luwen, so it’s a pass on the point that it won’t reach his ears. Of course, the question of whether I trust Alteo remains, but since Adrian is at a similar level anyway, it doesn’t seem bad.

‘In terms of not saying things just to please me, I actually trust this side a bit more.’

Author: Hyacinthus B

Hyacinthus