The Villainesses in the Romance Fantasy Novel Became Obsessed with me

The evening. 

 The sky wore a black veil.

We walked the streets relying on the streetlights for direction, seeking a place to spend the night.

“My Madam, would an inn be acceptable?”

“What’s an inn?”

“It’s a place where people rent rooms to sleep and sells food. There’s one nearby.”

“Okay, let’s go there then.”

“I’ll guide you.”

Trot-trot-

I held Nadia’s hand as we headed to the inn.

Nadia seemed disinterested in the street scenery, but her slightly raised corners of the mouth indicated she was somewhat content.

For someone who rarely showed emotions, she seemed quite uplifted.

“We’re here, Madam.”

“Let’s go in.”

Upon hearing Nadia’s response, I opened the door.

Creak!

Inside the inn, ordinary citizens and rugged adventurers were drinking alcohol and eating food. 

It was quite a contrast to see them mingling together.

‘Hmm…’

Surely they wouldn’t pick a fight with kids like us?

I kept my guard up just in case and walked towards the innkeeper.

She was a busty woman in her fifties.

“Excuse me, do you have a room for us to stay?”

“Oh my, two young children!”

“… Please give me the best room possible.”

Glance.

The woman looked at Nadia once and then glanced at me as if to say, ‘Am I thinking correctly?’ 

She probably ventured a guess based on Nadia’s attire and demeanor.

I responded with a nod.

“Well, then, I’ll give you the best room available. The key is here. Just go up to the top floor.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Fortunately, there was still a room available.

I approached Nadia with a sigh of relief.

Though her expression remained unchanged, I could detect a subtle difference.

She appeared somewhat uncomfortable.

“Is there any problem, Madam?”

“A bit. Those men laughing make me feel uneasy.”

What kind of jerks provoke a potential villainess candidate like this? Do they all want to get slaughtered?

I immediately turned to glance at them.

Four rugged male adventurers were heavily drunk, and they were laughing and sneering at us.

Their conversation was quite vulgar.

“These kids these days are so shameless!! They are already renting a room?!”

“Don’t we have to stop this?! Who knows what those kids might do at such a young age?!!”

“We are supposed to protect the future generation, aren’t we?!”

The drunk adventurers bantered with each other about something they found amusing.

Crazy bastards.

I ignored them and took Nadia’s hand, leading her away.

“Just ignoring them is the answer, Madam. There’s no need to pay attention to those lowlifes.”

“Darmian, I want to make them pay.”

“Please, try to restrain yourself after looking at my face. Shall we go up?”

“Fine.”

Thankfully.

Having successfully persuaded her, we went up the stairs without any commotion.

But suddenly.

Nadia stopped on the stairs and looked at my face.

The inn’s unique light illuminated half of her face.

One side was bright, the other too dark to see properly.

She stared at me intently and said, “Next time, ask for my permission before talking to someone else.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean don’t talk to anyone else without my permission.”

That rubbed me the wrong way.

After hearing that, I froze and went up the stairs absentmindedly.

‘It’s getting worse.’

Nadia was increasingly suffocating me.

No matter how I tried to spin it positively, it was not good at all.

***

The room at the inn was surprisingly spacious and clean.

It had everything one might need: a bed, a dining table, a bathroom.

Though smaller than the mansion, it appeared comfortable enough to spend the day here.

As long as it wasn’t those adventurer jerks who were bothering us.

“I have a feeling they’ll definitely come back. It feels intense…”

“Who?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. Please wait in the room for a moment. I’ll bring the food.”

“Sure, hurry back.”

Having informed the innkeeper beforehand, the food should be ready by now.

I opened the door and went downstairs.

As I headed towards the dining area where the innkeeper was, I saw the same low-class adventurers I had seen before.

“Adventuring pays crap!! Maybe we should just fuck it all and quit!!!”

“That’s not a bad idea—it’s not a bad idea either to start something else!!”

“… Then, should we pull off a big one?”

Swoosh!

The collective gaze of the adventurers turned towards me.

Feeling their stares, I deliberately ignored them and walked towards the plates of food on the table.

As I did, the drunk guys got up from their seats and walked towards me.

“If I ignore these brats and go upstairs, they’ll surely come looking for me to Nadia’s room.”

And Nadia… someone who had dismantled Murphy while he was trying to hit me, she would definitely kill those guys.

“It’s better to quickly eliminate the threat.”

I finished organizing my thoughts and stared at the guys.

Four drunk adult male adventurers.

Instead of wondering if I could win, I thought about how to defeat them.

It was easy without needing much thought.

“Hey, kid. What’s your master’s status?”

“A duke.”

“A duke!!”

At that word, the male adventurers began to get excited as if they had discovered a gem.

They were already pleased, thinking they had kidnapped us.

Since they were excited in a drunken state, they easily lost their composure.

I lowered my stance and hit the man’s lower body, knocking him down.

Thud-!!

Luckily, he fell in an unfavorable position.

One man lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

‘The title of a genius of the century seems fitting.’

A healthy mind in a healthy body.

I hadn’t neglected training since birth.

I didn’t just train my mind, but my body too.

Especially being from the wealthy and affluent Sinclair family.

Whether it was teachers, weapons, training equipment, or supplements.

It was natural that a third-rate adventurer like him couldn’t handle someone who had learned martial arts from various teachers.

“Come on. I have to serve the soup dishes before it gets cold.”

“This, this little brat—!!”

A thick fist flew towards my face.

But it was okay.

Because I was small, he had to extend his arm and naturally bend his waist.

I took advantage of his lowered waist to slip inside.

There was naturally some space left, and within that space, I clenched my fist tightly.

“Swoosh-“

With all my strength, I drove it into his solar plexus.

Now there were only two guys left.

I wondered what Nadia was doing alone right now.

‘I’m worried for no reason.’

Having knocked down two guys and seeing the others starting to be cautious of me, I shouted with a stern expression to quickly return.

This time, I decided to use my head instead of my body.

“You dare touch me, the Duke’s retainer?! You mocked our family while drunk and uttered abuses?! If you want to go to jail or bring shame to your family, come forward!!”

The adventurer who suddenly came to his senses raised his hands and shouted, “Oh, no! We… We were just intoxicated and not in our right minds!!”

“We’re sorry!!”

They bowed and left, taking the fallen men with them.

In the first place, in this romance fantasy world, an adventure is…

‘Why are there adventurers in the first place in a world without demons?’

They were just punks who didn’t want to get a regular job.

They were nothing more than Reckas driven by curiosity to accidents reported in the newspapers. They were just using adventure label as an excuse.

In this world, the only frightening things were those born with supernatural abilities and wild animals.

“Sigh… I need to go back quickly.”

It was fortunate that I could return to the room alive.

It was also fortunate that I had been exercising in preparation for such incidents.

With a sigh of relief, I entered the room where Nadia was waiting.

Click-

At that moment, as soon as I entered the room, I felt eyes right in front of my nose, just five cm away.

“You’re late.”

Nadia was right there, waiting.

“Wow, what a s-surprise!”

I almost dropped the plate in shock.

Was she waiting at the door or was she nearby?

Nadia started reproaching me expressionlessly.

“You’re late.”

“I came as quickly as I could, didn’t I?”

“Don’t answer back. Explain why you’re late.”

What’s Nadia’s standard for being late, anyway?

I asked to satisfy my curiosity and divert the conversation to hide the truth.

“How late do you think I am?”

“1 minute and 36 seconds. It takes about 1 minute to open the door, go downstairs, and come back up with the plates. But, Darmian, you are late by 1 minute and 36 seconds.”

Thud!

Nadia pushed me against the wall.

“What happened? Did you talk to someone without my permission? That woman?”

“N-No. I came straight back up with the plates.”

“Then why were you late?”

“I-I’m not sure…”

It was a lie.

If I say I dealt with those guys, it would be suspicious so I had to hide it.

To divert Nadia’s attention, I showed her the soup.

“Let’s just eat first. Doesn’t it look delicious?”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“But aren’t you hungry? You only had breakfast and haven’t eaten anything since.”

“It’s okay, I’m not hungry, so let’s t-“

Gurgle!

The stomach’s cry interrupted her.

With her face turning red, Nadia sat silently in the dining chair.

“… Let’s eat quickly. I’ll listen to the truth.”

“Yes, let’s fill our stomachs first.”

Clatter!

I placed the plates of food on the table.

Soup and bread.

The typical fare sold at the inn.

Before Nadia could eat, I took a sip of her soup.

“It’s a bit cold.”

It was to show loyalty to increase the credibility of my words.

That way, Nadia would trust me and maybe change her mind.

However, my intentional action raised doubts in Nadia.

“Darmian, why did you eat my soup?”

“To check if there’s poison in it, miMadam.”

“… If there is poison, you’ll die.”

That’s why I usually use a magic tool to avoid dying, but…

‘Well, it’s unlikely there’s poison outside the mansion, isn’t it?’

The mansion wqs more dangerous than outside.

I reassured Nadia that it was nothing serious.

“If we’re lucky, we’ll live; if not, we’ll die.”

My words left Nadia wide-eyed in shock.

“You’re willing to sacrifice your life for me, Darmian.”

“Yes… Well, if you put it that way, yes.”

The probability of dying from Nadia’s hand was higher than from drinking poison.

So, even if I suffer from drinking poison, it was worth it to save Nadia.

Nadia seemed to deeply contemplate my words before responding as if relieved.

“But you mustn’t. Don’t die without my permission. Even if you die, you must have my consent. You can’t die as you please.”

No matter how you think about it, it was an impossible request.

Nadia was imposing unreasonable demands on me.

Her green eyes showed sincerity.

“… I’ll try.”

“Trying is good, but show me the results. I trust you, Darmian.”

Nadia gave a faint smile.

Taking a sip of soup, she remarked, “It’s much tastier than what comes out of the mansion. Not too salty or sweet.”

… The cook must have been heavy-handed with salt only in Nadia’s food.

That was why her expression was always sour when eating.

It wasn’t because she ate alone.

It was a revelation.

“It’s nice to see you enjoying your food now.”

Enjoying the ordinary soup and bread, Nadia looked satisfied.

Looking at her face, I pushed the bowl forward. 

“Madam.”

“Yes?”

“Please have some of my soup. I’m full.”

“No, you eat too, Darmian.”

“… Okay.”

If only I could control the innate nature of the family.

She could live happily and contentedly like this.

Why does Medeus obsess over Nadia and not leave her alone?

“Madam.”

“What now? I told you, I’m not eating.”

“No, it’s just… MiMadam, you’ll soon have everything you lost back in your hands.”

Since everything was taken away from the mansion and caused deprivation.

Soon, she would regain everything from the mansion and eliminate the deprivation.

Nadia blinked as if she didn’t understand my words.

“What are you talking about? Taken away?”

“… Just consider it as idle talk.”

It was strange that she wanted to possess me.

And decisively, I couldn’t give myself to Nadia.

So, I would return everything to her except for myself and quickly flee to the next villainess.

That was the best course of action I could take now.

“I hope it works out. She’s subtly kind.”

Seeing Nadia quietly eating her soup,

I could be sure that my plan to redeem the villainess was right.

——

The next day.

The moment I returned to the mansion.

“Oh.”

Trapped.

The crime was treason.

I was immediately thrown into prison.

“My, my servant! Release Darmian! Listen to me!”

Along with Nadia’s cries from afar.

“Close the door.”

Clang!

Everything went dark.