A Fairy Tales For The Villains Vol. 1 Chapter 4 - I Became Old Boy?!(4)

 

…Ehem, of course, it couldn’t be her beauty alone, but rather due to Estelle’s death at a young age in a foreign land. I was like a foster sister and a faithful friend. To the brothers who had lost their parents and sister, I, always with them as a family, was the last of their kind… or so it was said.

 

Honestly, I didn’t think the justification was quite accurate. Was there an additional side story? Even if there was, I couldn’t recall it, so it was pointless to consider. Anyway, I was close to Lettis and Venya, and so far, they didn’t seem like vicious, cold-blooded villains. Venya was a bit mischievous and tough, but he was still a good guy, and Lettis was always told he had an overly kind personality.

 

Of course, there was a passage stating the two brothers had changed too much in Pzeya. But to change to that extent… there had to be reasons beyond their sister’s death. It would have been nice to know what the hell happened, because I was sure there was more to it. 

 

There must have been a compelling reason. And the existence of that trigger was grating my nerves now.

 

“What, It’s not Karon?”

 

Old man Karon, Duke Serpente’s butler, was very popular among the Duke’s family and employees. He also was nice to my mother and me, so I liked him a lot. However, contrary to Jerome’s statement that the butler would undoubtedly come, it wasn’t Karon who arrived with a three-tiered cart. 

 

Although dressed as a butler, he was a middle-aged man I had never seen before. He replied to Lettis’ question straightforwardly. 

 

“I’m sorry, Young Master. I’m Harris, the new butler.”

 

“You? Where’s Karon?”

 

“Mr. Karon, unfortunately… died this morning due to the plague.”

 

We were all stunned by that blunt announcement.

 

‘Oh my God, even old man Karon? How many lives must be lost in order for this terrible disaster to be satisfied?’

 

“Because it’s such a dangerous situation, the number of servants entering and leaving here is limited to me. Try your best, Young Masters and my Lady. I know it’s uncomfortable, but you can never leave here. Nobody knows when or how they’ll become infected.”

 

Right. While everyone nodded tiredly, Mr. Harris turned to me. 

 

“You, take care of everything. From the top, breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

 

“Will you come just once a day?”

 

My tone might have been harsh. Unlike his predecessor, the man had evidenced no compassion. A thick line spread across his forehead.

 

“Aren’t you old enough to understand that I can’t come and go at every meal? It’s a great threat to the young Masters and Lady if I’m constantly coming and going.”

 

That was a valid point. Hoping to reduce the persistent uneasiness in my mind, I asked him what I should do after eating. Harris said that he would take care of everything while we slept if we placed the cart near the mirror door. After that, the new butler quietly left through the mirror. And as soon as he left, I went straight to the door and tried to open it, but it didn’t budge as if locked from the outside. Lettis came to my side.

 

“What are you doing? You heard how dangerous it is out there.”

 

“…Don’t you think it’s a little peculiar?”

 

“What?”

 

“You know, locking us up like this.”

 

Lettis shuddered slightly as he looked at my face, then shrugged and said.

 

“Isn’t it because they’re afraid we’ll secretly sneak out as soon as we feel stuffy?”

 

It was a reasonable assumption. It was difficult to predict what kind of unexpected action children would take. And yet, why did I keep feeling anxious? No matter how much I knew about our future, I didn’t know the details.

 

We were extra characters, and our story was told by a third-person narrator. Therefore, in this unexpected situation, I needed to stop being puzzled and panicked every time something happened that hadn’t been mentioned or I couldn’t remember. It was likely to happen a million times in the future. If things didn’t go as I expected, my suspicions would run wild, and anxiety would rule endlessly.Yeah, I had to call it a day.

 

“Sasha, I’m hungry.”

 

There were other things that needed to be prevented. First and foremost, Estelle’s death in Pzeya. Apart from her death, I wanted to stop Lettis and Venya’s descent. Naturally.

 

Trying to calm my cluttered mind, I looked at the tray cart. Three meals for four people appeared as I opened the covered silver tray one by one. 

 

The top compartment contained olive pickles, pancakes, omelets, and apple juice, while the middle compartment held brioche and boiled chickpeas. The last compartment displayed smoked ham, biscuits, and turnip salad. Oh no, Estelle hates turnips. 

 

“Damn, I can’t even dream of demanding side dishes.”

 

Venya was growling and muttering. Lettis responded gracefully, trying to sound mature.

 

“It can’t be helped.  It’ll be just a few days, and you’re already whining?“

 

“What do you mean, I only said that because I was worried about you! Who’s the one whining?”

 

“That’s funny!“

 

Anyway, since meals should be served in the dining room, we went straight upstairs to the kitchen. The tray full of cups and plates was so heavy that I was stumped as to how to move it, but the problem was easily solved.

 

“You, hold it.”

 

Lettis ordered Venya while pointing to the tray.

 

“Why should I?”

 

“Then, you want Sasha to lift this alone?”

 

“Why not? Then, Hyung can do it.”

 

“Isn’t this what a younger brother should do?”

 

“Who said that?”

 

Lettis eventually lost this round. As usual. He grumbled and led the way with a tray, so I followed behind with a bottle of juice. The image of the precious Serpente’s heir carrying a tray of food into a shabby kitchen was a sight to behold.

 

Because there were no windows except for the bedroom and it was quite dark, I left the kitchen door wide open. The table, covered with a brightly flowered tablecloth, was only for four people. As if it was done on purpose…

 

Stop! Damn, paranoia, go away! I set the table quietly, trying to shake off the constant rush of unpleasant thoughts. After taking out the plates and cutlery and putting the food on the table, Venya, who was suspected of multiple personalities,* spoke in a low voice. 

 

“Relax, don’t be upset. I’ll carry it when we go down.”

 

Such a simple boy. Even if he was a future cold-blooded villain, he was still a child. Even at times like this, he was a pretty good guy, however…

 

“What, the bottle of juice or the tray?”

 

“The- the tray!”

 

I couldn’t help but tease him. Venya rolled up his sleeves with an expression that said he would be nice from now on and began to fill the glasses with juice. Although of course, it didn’t go so well. Estelle sighed deeply.

 

“Brother, you spilled all the juice.”

 

“I didn’t spill everything. You should be thankful that I poured it for you, why are you nagging me?”

 

It was worth waiting to hear those words come out of that fussy noble Young Master’s mouth. I should call it karma, he brought it onto himself. On the other hand, our Young Duke seemed unable to give up his usual attitude. 

 

“What’s this, pancake syrup is missing? Does this even make sense?”

 

“…Here it is.”

 

“Oh, sorry.”

 

Scratching his head awkwardly, Lettis took the bottle of syrup and began pouring it all over the pancakes, trying to act solemn.

 

…That didn’t go very well either.

 

“Hyung, what are you doing? Give it to me!”

 

“I’m doing it! You just be grateful!”

 

“You want me to say thank you? Are you saying that giving syrup to the table is something I should be grateful for?”

 

“Pffft…”

 

The first meal began after a flurry of disruptions. There were no major complaints because everyone was starving, even without anyone to attend them. 

 

“But what’s this place supposed to be? I’m more curious because our uncle said it hasn’t been used for a long time. I can’t believe there was such a place like this in our manor…”

 

“You don’t know anything, Hyung? If you’re the heir, you should know the details of what’s inside the manor, right?”

 

“It- It’s something no one told me yet?! Father didn’t—”

 

There was a brief moment of silence after Lettis’ final words. He, who had been speaking, frowned slightly and lowered his eyes, while Venya, who had provoked it, had a sudden dark complexion as well. Then Estelle muttered softly.

 

“I miss Daddy, Mom, and Sylvia too.”

 

I, too, missed them all. The Duke and the Duchess, who were the best people, and my mother who gave birth and raised me… After the memories of my previous life returned, all the memories of my mother flooded me more tenderly. 

 

I could feel Estelle hugging me tightly and sniffling on my shoulder. I buried my face in her colorless hair and suppressed the urge to cry along. 

 

The first meal in the shelter ended in such a gloomy atmosphere. I laid Estelle on the bed in the room right outside the kitchen, then went back and started putting the empty plates on the tray.

 

As Lettis sat next to his sister and spoke in a low voice, Venya, who for reasons known only to himself was silently helping me, suddenly spoke.

 

“The room downstairs, the one I don’t know if it’s a study or a storage room. Shall we explore it? Aren’t you curious about what we’ll find?”

 

“What’s the point of an expedition if we’re leaving in a few days?”

 

“That’s why we should do it sooner. If we leave, we won’t be returning here for a while.”

 

‘Wow, you really want to explore that dark, moldy, stinky old place after all!’

 

Yet, I was also curious. I mean, what the hell was this place? Apart from the existence of furniture, it had a bathroom and a kitchen, so the purpose of living was clear. However, it was too narrow for nobles to use it and too grand for servants.

 

A perfect place to use as a hideout… Maybe there was a clue in the storage room?

 

Venya took the lead, holding a tray of tableware, as I followed him with an empty bottle of juice. The cart stood next to the mirror door like a sentinel. Soon after, Lettis, who had been talking to his little sister for a while, ran downstairs.

 

“What are you guys up to?”

 

“We’re going to explore there. You look like you want to tag along.”

 

“Well, that’s true, but… ah, it’s really dark in here.”

 

Unlike the upper floor, which had windows on the ceiling, this floor was completely dark even in the middle of the day. We used some matches and candlesticks to light our path.

 

 

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Gina’s Corner:

*“Multiple personalities” refers to the fact that he changes his attitude very quickly, it would be something like cyclothymia. I decided to leave it like that because I think it’s better understood.