If The Villain Catches Me Alive

Truth be told, Theodore had expected Dante’s antics to be nothing more than a whim.

 

But after their uneventful breakfast together, he’d become strange.

 

He asks Theodore every day if he’s eaten or if he wants a snack… These are things that can only be done when there’s affection.

 

Dante’s 180-degree change in demeanor just made Theodore tired. If he was trying to make things annoying, difficult, and confusing for his student, he unconditionally succeeded. The numerous misspellings on Theodore’s paper proved it.

 

‘I thought it would be a one-day thing….’

 

Dante kept that attitude for quite a while. Theodore, who had never seen him stick with something for more than a month, was a little suspicious. Was he really… Was he really trying to change? Well, it’s got nothing to do with him anymore….

 

He felt physically comfortable but mentally uncomfortable.

 

***

 

When Theodore went to get some materials he needed for an experiment, he heard voices.

 

‘Hey, isn’t Dante okay these days?’

 

‘Oh! I was thinking that too!’

 

‘Ah, yes. I think the kids in JD* department like him.’

 

‘No, listen! He helped me with my book at the library the other day!’

 

‘What happened to your magic that you need help with that?’

 

‘I didn’t think about that, but there’s something kind of sweet about him.’

 

‘Right?! I used to think of him as a social misfit… but now I realize he just lacks some social skills.’

 

‘That’s enough, we should go eat.’

 

They giggled and walked away from the storage room. Theodore, who had somehow heard it all, let out a surprised gasp.

 

‘……Sweet…?’

 

That guy?

 

He couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. He barely held back the urge to grab the three women who had left and say, ‘You’re being deceived. There is no one here who would believe that.’ Maybe it was the force of his grip, but the stem of the farinaceous plant in his hand broke.

 

The truth is, he already knew that Dante was trying to change. Theodore, the one closest to him, knew it better than anyone else.

 

It was funny at first. He doesn’t know what made Dante want to change, but… The way he was trying so hard to change… it was funny. ‘Just… Just live as you are,’ he swallowed back those words that had risen to his throat.

 

‘People don’t change.’

 

Theodore had always lived by that idea, and for the most part, it was true. So Dante must be no different, he wouldn’t change, just like everyone around him.

 

But…

 

‘Hey, isn’t Dante okay these days?’

 

What a joke.

 

Dante’s changing reputation disgusted him more than anything else.

 

‘No? Don’t try to change his reputation.’

 

Theodore couldn’t stand it. No matter how much Dante might try to forget the past and become a new person… He was still carrying the scars of Dante’s many atrocities in his body and mind. They would never go away.

 

And yet, it seemed to never end…

 

“Introduce yourself. This is Jeffrey. He’ll be living with us starting today.”

 

…One day, he brought someone with him.

 

***

 

Who is this guy?

 

Theodore stood there with his arms crossed, looking at the strange man who had just come out of nowhere. Dante looked a little troubled by his behavior, but Theodore hadn’t the slightest intention of being nice to him today.

 

Then, after a moment, Dante excused himself to go to the bathroom.

 

“What are you?”

 

Theodore asked bluntly, standing in front of Jeffrey’s desk, not sure where or how he ended up here, but… He thought about giving him some advice.

 

“What are you doing in this place?”

 

With so many people in the tower, he wondered how in the world he managed to become one of Dante’s apprentices… It was as if neither he nor Jeffrey were lucky enough to be here.

 

From Theodore’s point of view, it was just an act of consideration. It was consideration for someone like him who didn’t know anything and thought of coming here.

 

“Get out while you still can. You don’t want to be in here for too long.”

 

” ……I heard about you.”

 

The words that came out of Jeffrey’s mouth were not what Theodore expected.

 

“Master said he has a ferocious cat in his office, so I might find it hard to get along with it… but it’s a good cat once I get to know it.”

 

“What?”

 

“I realize now that you’re not a ferocious cat, you’re just an immature asshole.”

 

By the time Theodore realized, he’d already thrown his fist.

 

The fine-looking new apprentice couldn’t put up a fight. …The effects of that damn morning workout seemed to be working in the strangest places… He felt weird.

 

“Why the f**k are you getting on my nerves…”

 

“Pathetic…… I’m afraid I can’t fulfill Master’s request. …to befriend such a thing.”

 

“Puhat, what has Master had to do with…”

 

Creak-

 

Theodore, still on top of Jeffrey, was still breathing heavily with laughter. Just then, the door opened.

 

Both Theodore and Jeffrey’s movements stopped instantly.

 

As he met Dante’s startled eyes, he felt an overwhelming urge to… He felt the overwhelming urge to explain.

 

‘……Why?’

 

Why bother now, why? Why not just let him think he’s an asshole, why?

 

Dante stood dumbfounded for a moment, but then quickly regained control of the situation. Theodore was pleased to see Jeffrey escorted out of the office.

 

When Dante returned, he said to Theodore,

 

“Shall we leave early today?”

 

His mood sank at this seemingly cheerful invitation. Staring blankly at the door through which he had disappeared, he slowly made his way to his dorm room in the tower.

 

He lay on his bed for a long time, staring at the ceiling. His thoughts raced back and forth, showing no sign of stopping, until the darkness settled in.

 

Toktok-

 

Just then. The sound of someone knocking on the door brought him back to reality. Theodore lifted his upper body. It must be his nameless roommate, the one he shared a room with….

 

“Were you asleep?”

 

It was a very unexpected figure at the door. …How did he know to come here?

 

Dante smiled sheepishly, shaking the bottle in his hand a couple of times.

 

“If you’re not sleeping… would you like to join me for a drink?”

 

***

 

It was the first time he had ever come to these woods at night instead of in the morning.

 

The small forest path behind the tower was where he and Dante would work out every morning. Theodore followed Dante’s footsteps as he headed inward. Soon, a small cabin came into view. He had never come this way before when they were working out… He had no idea it existed.

 

Soon, the small cabin came into view, and Dante flopped down on its balcony as if he were accustomed to it. Theodore, on the other hand, just stood there. Dante beckoned to him, and he hesitantly took a seat beside him.

 

Dante casually handed him the bottle of alcohol, but then his face turned into a look of realization.

 

“Can you…… drink alcohol?”

 

“……”

 

“You’re not of age yet, are you? I’m…… sorry.”

 

Theodore frowned at his rambling, then snatched the bottle from his hand.

 

“……I’ll be an adult in half a year.”

 

He said. In the silence of the forest, the sound of the cork popping was eerily loud. Dante took a sip of the liquor, watched Theodore’s face, and asked very carefully.

 

“Why… were you fighting?”

 

“……”

 

Theodore didn’t answer the question. He could say ‘I don’t know,’… It sounded sincere, with a hint of bluntness. Unaware of it, Dante said something almost like a whisper to himself.

 

“……I hope you get along well….”

 

“…….”

 

“Is it greedy of me?”

 

With that, he told him a few facts about Jeffrey.

 

How he’d first met him at their morning workout, how he’d taken him on as his apprentice, how he’d been involved in an imperial dispute.

 

It was a strange moment for Theodore since Dante never even talked about himself.

 

“I know it’s rude to talk about it without the other party, but… You… I thought you should know.”

 

“I’m sorry, I should have brought him in after I discussed it with you. I got the order of things wrong.”

 

Something inside Theodore snapped.

 

“……Since when?”

 

Did you care about me that much?

 

Dante can just do whatever he wants because that’s the way it is in this place. It’s so, so easy. Theodore’s even keeping his mouth shut.

 

“……Since when did you think of me as a human being?”

 

The words spilled out of him without filter, the truth he’d always carried in his heart.

 

Dante’s eyes widened, surprised as if he hadn’t expected to hear such words. It struck him. Either let that happen or go back to his old ways and raise his hand.

 

He simply dropped his gaze, wearing a sad expression. There was something familiar about that look that contained so much.

 

“……I see. So that’s how you felt.”

 

“……”

 

“…I’m sorry, I didn’t think of that.”

 

Dante looks uncomfortable with this, Theodore knows.

 

“But if I don’t act, nothing will change.”

 

“No matter how much you hate me, no matter how sorry I am for you. If I don’t take action, it’s all just going to be for nothing….”

 

So, I reached out to you.

 

“I’m not going to ask you to forgive me.”

 

“……”

 

“I just want you to look at me as I am, for once, even though I know you don’t want to….”

 

He managed to say those words while looking like he was on the verge of tears, and there it was again, that look. That look… that he thought was just a ridiculous whim…

 

For the first time…Theodore thought it was dazzling

 JD* as in 'Junior Development' Department.