The Villainesses in the Romance Fantasy Novel Became Obsessed with me

First of all.

Medeus left the mansion with her family the next day to cut to the chase.

Although this temporarily paralyzed the mansion’s operations, it wasn’t a significant issue.

“All the documents. Bring them to me.”

Nadia swiftly filled the empty position, so nothing significant happened.

‘I nearly killed myself pretending to be a genius in the family.’

Is that real talent?

Life is truly unfair.

However, I had no intention of being jealous of Nadia.

After all, her talent manifested due to deficiencies in other areas.

‘Compassion suits me better than jealousy.’

If I hadn’t felt sorry for them, I would have killed all the villainesses scattered across the world.

Because only then a better world could be created with less casualties.

But, being human myself, I didn’t want to kill the villainesses for no reason.

‘Killing the villainesses is the last resort… And killing someone isn’t an easy task.’

I hoped I never had to do such a thing.

Standing next to Nadia in silence, I was lost in such thoughts.

Nadia placed the stack of neatly organized documents on the desk.

It seemed like she had already finished her work.

“Darmian.”

“Yes.”

“We’re done organizing the documents for today. Let’s take a break.”

“Yes, understood.”

Nadia stood up from the desk in the study and sat on the sofa.

Like a proper butler, I poured tea for her.

She quietly sipped the tea, enjoying its flavor.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had tea. We weren’t allowed to have it.”

“That’s right, mansion supplies were off-limits to us.”

“This used to be the norm…”

Nadia carefully placed the tea back on the table.

“But why did Aunt Medeus leave the mansion? I didn’t mention my thoughts to anyone.”

“Maybe she noticed a change in behavior? I heard that Lady’s behavior changed a lot during the 5 days I was in prison.”

“She felt threatened?”

“Yes.”

“That could be it.”

Nadia nodded slowly in agreement with my words.

‘She must have felt the change in behavior too strongly even without my input.’

Nadia’s behavior change was recounted by Medeus.

Even though Nadia was used to being confined in her room on the first day, she reportedly became aggressive for the first time.

‘That evil bitch wanted to come out of her room, as if she wanted to rush to you…? But the guards fiercely prevented that. They were under my orders… But do you know what happened to those guards? She tore them apart with her bare hands. That bitch is not human…’

Medeus trembled as she recalled that time.

And apparently, Nadia approached her and begged her to release me.

Of course, Medeus refused.

Nadia obediently returned to the drawing room, but according to the butler who saw her, her expression was fiercer than usual.

So it went on the second, third, and fourth days.

Nadia reportedly protested every day without fail, demanding my release.

As time passed, Nadia’s behavior and expression reportedly became increasingly malicious, and she became the object of fear among the servants.

‘All the servants who defied Nadia left the mansion…’

It was simply because they didn’t release me from prison.

The reason for her awakening compared to the novel was truly absurd.

‘I never dreamed that forming affection towards me would lead to this.’

I observed Nadia as she regained control of the study.

She sat calmly on the sofa, devoid of any emotion.

However, Nadia expressed regret while gazing at the ceiling.

“I regret it. I wanted to make Baron Medeus pay with my own hands.”

“… Do you plan to go after her even though she already left?”

“No, I have no intention of doing that. If she doesn’t come back, I won’t kill her. Because…”

With a smirk, Nadia raised her hand to my cheek.

“Darmian, you’re my butler. You’re my family now. One person is enough for family.”

“I haven’t made a decision yet-”

“… So, answer me quickly.”

The sudden change in Nadia’s demeanor sent shivers down my spine.

Nadia instantly changed the atmosphere and stared into my eyes.

“I abandoned my only relative, Medeus, to become family with you, Darmian. But you would abandon me? Isn’t that what the always thoughtful Darmian would do?”

Darmian could sacrifice his life for me.

But he wouldn’t become family with me?

“That’s betrayal towards me, Darmian. You’re my butler, after all.”

“… I’ll give you an answer quickly.”

My affirmative response quickly diffused the tense atmosphere exerted by Nadia.

It seemed as easy as flipping a hand.

“Alright then. Let’s have lunch, Darmian.”

“Yes, let’s.”

“Give me your hand.”

Tap-

I offered my hand to Nadia.

And Nadia slowly walked towards the dining room while holding my hand.

Perhaps she wanted to savor this moment deeply.

Her back view was that of an innocent child.

‘She has too many mental issues though.’

Let’s assume she has congenital traits.

However, Nadia had problems with her acquired personality development.

‘Forming relationships through fear, being self-centered, disregarding the value of others, issues with value formation, excessive behavior…’

I was confident in transforming the villainesses through memories from past lives.

I had quite a bit of knowledge related to them.

However, the difference between the novel and reality was greater than expected.

‘The portrayal in the novel was extremely limited. Only highlighted issues were written down.’

The real-life villainess I met had more problems.

Fixing her was even more challenging.

However.

It wasn’t in the realm of impossibility.

It was certain that both of us would face difficulties.

***

Clatter! Clatter!

The sound of busy tableware.

Empty chairs around the dining table.

It felt like we’d rented out an entire restaurant.

‘Is it okay for me to be like this?’

Nadia questioned. She was suspicious of my appearance.

“Why are you so quiet, Darmian? Don’t you like the food?”

“No, it’s just…”

“Just? Did the chef mess up the food?”

Flinch!

The chefs, politely standing with their hands clasped, started to tense up at Nadia’s words.

‘May the soul of the lamb ascend to heaven today…’

‘Sorry, Mom… I’ll be going first…’

Among them, there were those shedding tears of terror.

“Oh, no! It’s not that! I was just amazed that I could eat at a table like this as a butler! The food is delicious!”

“Really? Okay then. You’ll get used to it. When you’re engaged to me, we can eat like this every day.”

Nadia said it as if my engagement to her was a given.

Her trust in me showed that she probably knew it in the first place.

How wealthy the Verdium Family was, and how vast their territory spanned.

And how advantageous her marriage conditions are.

It was safe to say no man could refuse marriage with the Verdium Family, one of the four great noble families of the Fritz Empire.

Except for me, who had a decent family background.

‘… Do I really have to go through with this plan in the end?’

*Sigh*

I placed the cutlery on the table with a sigh.

Clatter!

The sound echoed through the silent dining hall.

With all the chefs and servants holding their breath.

Carefully, as if after much deliberation, I spoke.

“About the engagement, Milady…”

Nadia turned her head at my voice.

Her expression was cold, yet there seemed to be a glimmer of expectation in her eyes.

“… So, you’ve finally made a decision.”

“Yes, I’ve given it a lot of thought. But… I don’t think this is right.”

I stood up from my chair and bowed my head at a 90-degree angle.

“I’m sorry, Milady!! I cannot marry you!!”

“…”

A public marriage proposal rejection.

The mansion’s servants must all know.

What happened to those who refused Nadia’s proposal?

Is that why?

From the corner of my eye, I saw that all the servants had closed their eyes. They appeared to be expecting my end.

Nadia set down the cutlery on the table and spoke.

“Darmian.”

Here it comes.

“… Yes?”

“Look at me.”

I slowly raised my head to meet Nadia’s gaze.

And for a moment, I doubted my eyes.

I had only seen that face once in the novel.

‘I’ve never been loved in this world since I was born… It’s only natural that I can’t love anyone else… I… hate people more than anything in this world… So, I needed a family to love me for no reason…’

When Nadia meets her demise by being stabbed through the heart with a sword in war.

The emotions she showed as she regretted her past.

Tears.

“Why don’t you want to be my family…? Do you hate me too, Darmian…?”

Nadia began to shed tears as I rejected her marriage proposal.

She looked nothing like her usual mature self but rather like a 12-year-old child.

I hastily raised my head and shouted to the servants.

“This is a private conversation between Lady Nadia and me! Everyone, leave the dining hall!”

To uphold the lady’s authority.

The servants hurriedly fled the dining hall as if a catastrophe had struck.

‘I didn’t expect this kind of reaction… Goodness.’

I approached Nadia slowly and knelt in front of her.

Then, I gently took her hand in mine and spoke softly.

“I don’t hate you, Milady.”

“Th-then why…? If you don’t hate me, we can just get married, right…? As my butler, you should listen to me, shouldn’t you…?”

“Marriage is a different issue.”

“What issue…!! Why won’t you become my family…!! Do you hate me too…?”

Nadia began to throw a tantrum like a child.

It was an unreasonable demand, but she tried to push her opinion to get what she wanted by any means necessary.

However, as her emotions heated up, I spoke even more coldly.

“In the current state, it wouldn’t work. Please listen calmly to what I have to say. There’s a reason I can’t marry you.”

“What reason…? Who made it…?”

“The reason is that it doesn’t meet the ‘conditions.’ Lady Nadia, last time, in return for marrying you, I made a condition for you not to enter the basement, right?”

“Yeah…”

“That condition doesn’t suit me. If I were to add one more.”

I mentioned the idea of getting engaged with the Lady.

I spoke as if I were in a higher position than Nadia.

At this, Nadia shed tears and glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.

“I’m thinking of getting engaged…? Daring to bring up such arrogant words…? It’s just something I don’t like… That’s all…? Even if you hate me, I’ll marry you by force…”

“Try it. Even if Lady Nadia were to remove my arm, my decision would remain the same.”

However!

“If you add one more condition, I am ready to devote everything to Lady Nadia.”

Nadia hastily wiped away her tears at the mention of granting her desired item.

She appeared like a child whose tears stopped upon the promise of something she desired.

“What’s the condition?”

“It’s simple. Add ‘I won’t kill anyone’ on top of ‘I won’t go to the basement.'”

“… You’re rejecting my proposal just because of that condition? You should have said so from the beginning.”

“It’s an important issue to me. Lady Nadia could kill me.”

“The only time I’d kill you is when you leave me.”

That statement sent chills down my spine.

As I maintained silence, Nadia responded as if it was inevitable.

“… Fine, the condition. I’ll accept.”

Nadia stopped glaring at me and returned to her usual expressionless demeanor.

They say a wounded child becomes an adult quickly.

But she was still an emotionally immature young villainess.

However, it was too early to feel relieved.

I still had something to say.

I blinked and firmly met Nadia’s green gaze.

“And, I request that this condition be not just a verbal promise but a ‘Solemn Soul Pledge.'”

A Solemn Soul Pledge, which could never be broken.

Nadia knew the weight of it, having experienced it before.

She avoided my gaze and appeared reluctant.

“By the way, if it’s not this condition, I won’t consider marrying Lady Nadia.”

However.

For Nadia, who wanted to obtain whatever she desired and had no one else left, rejecting this condition would be difficult.

She met my gaze again.

As I had planned.

“… Fine. On the day of the engagement ceremony, let’s make the pledge.”

Nadia smiled brightly, a smile I hadn’t seen before, and it stirred something in my heart.

‘… Shit. Even though it’s for Nadia’s sake.’

Although the plan unfolded as intended, I felt bad about it.

No matter how much it was for the world’s sake, I felt disgusted with myself.

Still.

Some things are unavoidably necessary.

By doing this, Nadia wouldn’t become the villainess who hated the world.

***

Time passed quickly.

One month later.

The day of the engagement ceremony had finally arrived.

“You’re late than I expected.”

Today marks the last time I’d see this mansion.

Feeling both discomfort and relief, I walked over to greet Nadia.