4 Take Responsibility

[Ruin Lv. 35]

[Occupation: Academy Student]

[Favorability: -70]

[Preferred Conversation Topics: Yuria]

[Disliked Conversation Topics: Inequality about Magic]

I gently press down on Ruin's head in hopes of him becoming more humble. A cute sound is made.

"Aaack…ugh… ack shitttttt! Let go!"

A sound as noisy as children's squeaky sneakers. It's oddly addictive.

Ruin squirms. It seems that he does not appreciate my disciplinary actions.

"Don't move. You're dirtying the floor."

It's hard to clean up, you know.

A small crack has appeared on the marble floor. I hit harder than I intended, trying to seal his mouth. But what can I do when I'm so angry?

I decided to blame Ruin.

The green-haired brat is at fault here.

I couldn't stand him pretending to be friendly with that nauseating face.

"Ruin."

"You bastard."

Grind. The sound of Ruin grinding his teeth could be heard. I firmly pressed his head in response.

"When people call you, answer with humility. Got it?"

I added one more thing.

"Ah right. And no cursing in our house."

Only Olivia is allowed to curse in this house.

Neither I nor outsiders were allowed to.

This was a rule set since the mistress was three years old. She said she was the only one who could.

She insisted, 'It is my house, and I'll do as I please.' and as a butler, I had no choice but to obey.

Annoyed as I was with a guest who didn't even know basic manners, it was a butler's virtue to be gracious to such guests. With this, I forced myself to explain.

Cursing is bad, after all.

"Did I not tell you at the academy? You have to know when and where to say certain things."

"Don't try to teach me anything. Calf!"

"Don't yell. You'll wake the Mistress."

I once again gently pressed down on the furiously squirming Ruin's head.

Ruin twisted his body violently and once again, created a red ball in his hand.

Swiftly standing up, Ruin was about to unleash a fireball towards my face. This fellow, with a green head, why is he using fire magic? He has no sense of romance.

While I judged Ruin who had lost his sense of romance, the hot sphere that Ruin had created nearly burned my face.

I didn't try to avoid it.

It was created hastily and wasn't very powerful. It didn't feel particularly threatening.

-Bang!

['Flame Resistance' negates 'Ruin's' The magic.]

With a small alert sound, Ruin's fireball fizzled out instantly. Upon the disappearance of the dazzling light, I saw Ruin look utterly baffled.

I grabbed Ruin's wrist and slammed it to the floor.

Thunk.

"Aaack!!"

"Shh."

I once again humbly face Ruin down.

"Do you think you'll be safe after doing this?"

"Do you think you would have been safe after this?"

Ruin thrashing about like a third-rate villain certainly did not strike me as a secondary male protagonist.

It seems he's still in love with 'Yuria,' the protagonist's name displayed on the affinity window. What can we do, his fate in the original story was to be harshly rejected.

While his sunflower-like figure was endearing, knowing Ruin's future – a future where he would hear a rejection of being just good friends in the original story – made him appear pitiful.

"Wake up. Instead of complaining to Yuria about getting defeated every day, you should try to get some points by being a bread shuttle."

"Don't belittle me!"

"I wouldn't belittle you if you didn't appear so pitiful."

Ruin is undoubtedly powerful.

In the novel, he begins to awaken fully while saving the female protagonist from harm, but even before awakening, Ruin is considerably powerful.

However, he had no talent in selecting his opponent.

It was Michail.

Or entities like the third princess.

There was even a record of him recklessly approaching Olivia and being utterly defeated.

"You should feel embarrassed at being defeated every day. Try to pick on someone you can handle."

I deliberately scratched at Ruin's pride because it is only fair that he experiences what he made others undergo.

I could be seen as mean.

However, when considering the treatment these guys subjected me to at the academy, my actions are no different from those of a fairy.

And, I am a butler to an evil lady.

If you were to ask me to choose between good and evil, I'd undoubtedly fall into the category of evil. Of course, I am a kind person, but as a butler to an evil lady, I cannot go about getting beaten up like a pushover. Retaliation is something like an occupational hazard for me.

Current Ruin, who was probably cursing at me and grinding his teeth. He seemed desperate to escape from my grip, wriggling his body.

With the sound of sparking flames bursting from his hands and the heated sensation on my back, it seemed he was continuously firing magic.

It's not as if he is a fish, would've been nice if he stayed still for a moment, unfortunately, I only have two hands.

"Have you not changed at all in a year?"

While ignoring his magic weaker than a mosquito bite, I muttered the status window in my mind.

[Ricardo Lv. 59]

[Occupation]

Swordsman – (Sword Expert)

Butler – (Pro)

[Status]

Strength: 59

Stamina: 119

Agility: 58

Magic Power: 31

[Traits]

◈Offensive

[Swordsmanship Lv.5], [Martial Arts Lv.5], [Dagger Skill Lv.5], [Great Sword Skill Lv.5], [Spear Skill Lv.5]

▣Defensive

[Poison Resistance Lv.5], [Fire Resistance Lv.3], [Magic Resistance Lv.3], [Lightning Resistance Lv.1], [Cold Resistance Lv.3], [Dark Magic Resistance Lv.3], [Curse Resistance Lv.3], [Mental Resistance Lv.5]

◉Skills

[Aura(A)]

[Genius of Weapon Skill(S)]

[Regeneration(A)]

[Limit Break(L)]

Anyone can see that it's a solid status.

Contained within it were the concentrated efforts of the past 13 years.

I believe the main character of a novel with resurrection as a primary theme should at least have immunity to all poisons as a basic virtue.

Not a choice, but a necessity.

Assassination inevitably follows the protagonist.

There will undoubtedly be villains who will resent the protagonist for faring better than them, and inevitably, there will be someone who will attempt to assassinate them.

I was afraid of that.

As someone who knows the future

No matter how quietly you try to live, you're bound to stand out. Pretending not to know when you know is the fate of those who have taken possession of a new body.

The priority of those who have incarnated should be to keep healthy, shouldn't it?

Therefore, I had happily eaten poison with the Lady Villain. The reason was simple to build up resistance in my body.

-Ricardo, my stomach hurts.

-It's okay. It's good for your body.

-I think it's because of the mushroom soup you made earlier.

-How was the mushroom?

-It was fabulous.

-That's a good thing.

Prepared individuals are also the strongest. Therefore, I accumulated many abilities related to resistance.

I used the original story to build up my resistance and polished the incidents that didn't interfere with the story to make my body stronger.

And I sucked honey through the affection quests.

13 years have passed since I incarnated, it would be appropriate to take away the incarnator's badge if I got trampled by the secondary male protagonist.

While looking at the status window with a satisfying smile.

"Gulp!"

I could hear the sound of hiccupping.

It was Hanna, the companion of the green-headed. She was staring at me and hiccupping.

"Hiccup.."

"Ah…"

"Hiccup… hiccup!"

"I apologize for displaying such a state. It seems I got too excited after meeting a friend after a long time."

"A friend…?"

"Yes, a friend."

Hanna wanted to go home.

Ignoring her sentiment, I delved into a deep conversation with the guest.

"Ruin."

"This monster."

There's no sign of his arrogance dwindling.

'Should I knock him out?'

A red aura flowed out of my hand.

***

Hanna was flabbergasted.

'Why is he manifesting an aura?'

Aura is a symbol of talent. Among adept knights, their time of ascertaining aura determined their ranking of talent. The earliest anyone in the empire managed to awaken their aura was at the age of 25. Why is that man using an aura as though it is a part of his body?

Even Michail, touted as a prodigy at the academy, hasn't yet manifested an aura.

-Crack.

The sight of the butler playing with Ruin's head as if it were a toy sent chills down Hanna's spine.

'Who is that man?'

Hanna could do nothing but quietly observe the scene unfold.

***

"Aaaaaack!! I am going to kill you, you bastard!"

"Your voice is too loud."

Crack.

A violent breaking sound echoed throughout the room.

"I clearly told you that the lady will wake up."

"So what! Whether that woman is awake or not is none of my business!"

"It is your business."

I told him bluntly.

"If not, you will never be able to speak again within your life."

I hold no ill feelings towards Ruin. On the contrary, I was glad to see a friend after such a long time. It's just that we carry intense emotions, courtesy of a history filled with numerous events between us. However, I firmly believed that if we resolved our past issues and engaged in a friendly discussion, we could rekindle our friendship.

"There is still no magic that can restore one's voice, right? If you want to invent one, you should keep yelling."

Only then did Ruin fall silent. I decided it was time to establish some concepts for Ruin, who now seemed willing to have a conversation.

"You can curse me in the academy, even our young lady."

There, everyone is equal. The academy is where one can even talk down to the princess. Since there are rules, they must be followed. Of course, the ensuing retaliation is one's burden to bear—but, no matter what, the freedom of speech is guaranteed in the academy.

"But our house is not the same."

Force went into the grip. It didn't seem like I was angry. Nonetheless, it looked like a switch had been flipped on.

'This could be dangerous.'

I had a hunch. If Ruin continued to provoke me, his charade as the secondary male lead might just end.

I spoke gently, aiming not to provoke Ruin any further.

"I'm just worried that you might make a mistake outside. You aren't going to live in the academy forever."

I meant it. A tragedy could take place where one happily living in a greenhouse like the academy might, one day, enter society and casually call an aristocrat 'Yo, long time no see!', losing their head as a result.

"So listen carefully."

These are words from someone who has experienced society.

"Don't you dare act up. You might just end up dead."

***

I knocked out Ruin and then walked towards Hanna.

Flinching and shrugging her shoulders…

Extending my hand towards her, I apologized.

"I'm sorry."

"Ah… It's okay."

I bowed my head, filled with regret.

"I'm sorry. I'm at a loss for words for showing you such an unpleasant sight."

"It's okay. But, I have another appointment."

Hanna packed her bags in a hurry. It seemed like she wanted to leave the house as soon as possible. I cautiously blocked her way.

"No, your companion will take some time to wake up. Please take a break."

"I'm okay!"

I said firmly.

"Please go up to the second floor and rest."

"What??"

I lifted my head and looked towards the second floor.

"It's too noisy─────Damn it!!!"

A familiar voice echoed. I glared at Ruin, who had conveniently fallen comfortably unconscious. I truly wanted to kill him.

"It seems like our lady has woken up. I need you to keep her company."

If awakened, one needs to take responsibility.

I had no intention of letting her leave until she put our lady back to sleep.

"Who is she?"

With half-awake eyes fresh from sleep, Olivia looked at the woman in front of her. The young woman had a modest appearance with light brown hair. A question mark formed in Olivia's mind.

I spoke while helping a half-asleep Olivia sit up in bed.

"She's from the Academy."

"The Academy?"

A moment of buffering time. Olivia smacked her cheek to wake her brain up completely.

"Ah… Academy?"

"Yes. She came from the Royal Academy."

"Why did she come from there to our house?"

"She said she came because she was bored."

Hanna saw me with a 'huh?' expression. I coldly turned my head.

The student council's secretary, out of boredom, came to the house of a dropped-out student. It somehow felt apologetic, but what can I do? If she knew she had no business with the landlord but only with the butler, it could upset her.

'I'm less famous than the butler? What sort of landlord is this?' I foresaw how she would complain all day long.

Hanna, who was now awake, should deal with the aftermath, so I transferred the responsibility to Hanna.

In the midst of wandering glances, Olivia's voice came through.

"Are you here to reinstate me?"

"No. Do you want to go back to the academy?"

"Oh… huh? No?"

Her true feelings surfaced. I offered an awkward smile.

She then looked up at me again and asked,

"So, did you come for revenge on me?"

"No… Probably not?"

Oops. I had not taken into consideration the other party's opinion. So, I looked at Hanna and asked,

"Did you come here for revenge?"

"No… No?"

"That's right."

The mistress nodded. She seemed to be waking up a bit now.

"Ah…!"

Realizing that there was no harm to her, Olivia had a belated yet intense reaction.

Her eyes widened.

"Academy! Woah!!"

Seeing Olivia's passionate response, I smiled satisfyingly. I had expected Olivia to have a proactive reaction.

The algorithm of Michail – the Academy being formed in Olivia's mind, was the precise reflection of my choice.

How is it, Olivia? To have a butler of such caliber that he deserves a thank you letter. Remember to repay me once you succeed.

Even as I thought it to myself, I was a professional butler.

Olivia who was seated on the bed, looked up at me. She impatiently urged me to introduce Hanna, as if she had received an entertaining toy. She was adorable.

"Ahem. This person here is from the student council of the very Academy!"

"The student council!"

"And also a secretary!"

"Secretary! History manipulation! Wow!"

-Clap!

Olivia clapped her hands.

I also wanted such enthusiastic reactions from her, I was willing to make a steak twice a week for her, but Olivia only showed indifference to me. However, it was nice seeing her lively smiling face after such a while.

In Olivia's eyes, the drowsiness had already faded.

It seemed that her fever too had gone down, and now her beady eyes were fixated on a flustered Hanna. In response to her hurry to be talked to, I prepared a time for them to know each other.

"This is Lady Olivia Desmond, the youngest daughter of the Desmond family, whom I serve as a butler."

"Ah… Hello."

Hanna looked at Olivia nervously. The girl sitting on the bed was none other than the wicked woman expelled from the Academy.

The white-haired girl in her nightgown did not look too well.

She heard numerous rumors, all of which were unpleasant.

A woman who poured wine on dresses.

A woman who initiated ostracization.

A woman who used black magic.

She was neither pleased to meet her nor did she wish to get closer. In fact, she had a lot to say, but she just couldn't say a word because of the intimidating red-haired butler beside her.

'So terrifying..'

Yet, she didn't have the slightest intention of being kind to Olivia.

No matter how scary the butler may be, this woman tormented my senior, Michail. Her pride didn't allow it.

'I absolutely can't forgive her!'

"Hanna."

"Hiek!?"

I called out to Hanna, who had a stern look on her face. She seemed to have made some sort of strong resolution, but her expression distorted comically when I called her.

"It may be a little awkward, but I have a request. The lady here is meeting someone for the first time in a long time… Can I ask you to keep her company?"

"Yes… of course."

Hanna must not have liked this situation.

The incident with Ruin earlier, and now having to confront the notoriously infamous villainess.

Even I would have felt the same way.

The villainess is well-known in town, and it's likely even worse at school. Moreover, her biggest common ground was with Michail.

We must seem unpleasant in her eyes.

Despite this, the reason I called out to Hanna was because I hoped the villainess could have a conversation with someone new after a long time.

Every day, she only talks to the maids and the butler.

It must be tiring to only see the same people and the same ceiling every day. I called Hanna to this room hoping to help alleviate her feelings of monotony a little.

I wondered if Olivia, who has been attending the Academy, would feel better if Hanna could share some new stories with her. This was a unilateral hope that provoked such an action.

I was lost in my thoughts.

I sincerely asked Hanna a favor.

Conveying my earnest request, Hanna spoke with a calmer voice than before.

"I'm the youngest of the Count Histania family. My name is Hanna Histania. Please feel free to call me Hanna."

I was relieved that she didn't utter any harsh words.

I was worried about what I would do if she even cursed at me, but fortunately, no harsh words came out of her mouth.

Upon hearing Hanna's introduction, the villainess furrowed her brows. It must be a name that is listed in the aristocratic dictionary in her mind.

"Histania?"

It seems to be a prestigious noble family in its own right.

'This must be an accident.'

When Olivia remembers other noble families, she categorizes them in her mind with keywords such as:

-The family where the head is a womanizer.

-The family that has three mothers.

-The family that fell from grace due to gambling.

That's just how she remembers them.

It's a relief if she only stores this information, but she also speaks her mind without filtering anything.

I worriedly focused on Olivia's words, and a disastrous phrase emerged from her mouth as if to answer my concern.

"Ah, the family with nothing but swords in their minds?"

I wanted to applaud Olivia's speech. Her eloquence as the villainess was as steadfast as ever today.

There's nothing she won't say to a stranger.

Olivia is not a bad person. She's just more honest than most. Occasionally, her hands speak before her mouth does, but there are people whose magic speaks before their hands. I consider her a good person in that regard.

Or not.

Ignorant of my worries, Olivia continued to mumble to herself.

"So, the youngest one is the daughter of the Knight Commander, huh? Is there nothing but swords in your head too?"

At Olivia's villainous remark, Hanna's face turned red.

"Lady, that's rude."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I got too excited seeing a person for the first time in a while."

She's a woman who can acknowledge her own mistakes. I wanted to dispel the misunderstanding for Hanna, who might think Olivia is an awful woman. I was about to say that surely things would be better once you talked with her more, but…

Hanna was already broken.

"Ah… well, that's true."

I think it was wrong to try to clear Hanna's misunderstanding.

***

Hanna was flustered.

From seeing the butler beat up Ruin to being in a bedroom with a villainess. Hanna was having a whole range of new experiences today.

Especially…

"Ah, the family with nothing but swords in their minds?"

At the blunt comment, Hanna found it hard to hide her confusion.

The Histania family.

They had honed their sword-fighting skills passed down from their ancestors, established their fame in battles, and rose to the rank of count. They were a family that had built their entire fortune and status solely based on their swordsmanship, and it was also precisely this that defined them.

The villainess was right.

Their family was all about the 'sword'.

They inherit the family headship with the sword.

They inherit their wealth with the sword.

No talent for swordplay? That was considered even worse than a disgrace to the family.

Her father is the commander of the Royal Knights.

Her brother is the youngest knight of the Royal Knights.

Her sister has been the valedictorian of the Swordsmanship Department for four years now.

They were shining figures more than anyone else.

She was also a valedictorian in the first year of the Swordsmanship Department, but unlike her talented brother and sister who had earned their places, she had made it there through relentless hard work.

She stayed up all night swinging her sword, disregarding marriage, toughening her hands, and honing her swordsmanship to rank first in the grade.

At first, she was proud of her effort.

Because her father said that hard work is also a talent. But she recently realized that effort cannot beat talent.

Before entering the Academy, she happened to see her father and senior Michail in a duel.

– You've improved a lot.

– You flatter me!

– Ho ho ho…

It was dazzling.

It was cool that someone who could make her father smile just with swordsmanship had emerged, and the two exchanging a conversation with their swords were truly awesome.

But at the same time, she felt the wall.

Because she had never done such a thing herself.

She was not confident enough to make her father smile, and frankly, it was difficult to maintain the top of the class.

From that day, Hanna lost interest in the sword. And a new hobby called Michail arose.

Hanna liked swordsmanship, but at the same time, she hated it.

It seems like a backlash.

Because her talent was lousy, she liked the talented Michail and her father also liked Michail…

She was annoyed with herself for having such thoughts.

The voice that disturbed Hanna's mind was heard once again.

"How's the Academy?"

It was an extremely naive question.

How's the Academy? Hanna answered sullenly.

She wanted to say it out loud, filled with the arrogance of asking an expelled girl what she knew. But she couldn't say it because the butler was next to her.

"It's just that."

It's better without you.

She kept the hidden meaning to herself.

"Hmm. I see."

Olivia nodded.

She was curious about the rumors that her leg was bad. Really? But she hid her sensitive questions on one side.

Olivia asked Hanna another question.

"How's Yuria? Is she doing well?"

Yuria. She's the woman she tormented the most. She started her torment blinded by jealousy, but dignifiedly conquered it, and now she is a remarkable senior who rose to the top of medical treatment.

She was one of the people Hanna respected.

Hanna continued to speak sourly to Olivia.

"Yes, she's doing very well."

"I see."

At that moment, she heard Olivia's cold voice.

"But why do you speak in such an unpleasant way?"

The villainous lady's tone had changed from before, becoming frigid. For a moment, Hanna's heart shrank.

"I'm speaking kindly, aren't I?"

"Excuse me?"

"Talk kindly as well."

The warmth returned to the villainess' voice.

"If you don't, I'll have no choice but to speak harshly."

Hanna was upset. Who was she to dictate to her? She wanted to give her a piece of her mind, the thoughts reaching the tip of her tongue. But due to the strange sounds that she had been hearing, she couldn't say anything.

-Uh… Uh-huh. Thuk!

It was the sound coming from the butler standing behind.

The butler, with his fist in his mouth and nodding, was like a father looking at his child who had successfully done his first errand.

The butler quietly raised his thumb from the back.

"Did I do well?"

At that sight, the villainess grinned brightly.

'What on earth…'

Hanna couldn't keep up with those two.