Failed To Abandon the Villain - Chapter 0

“Gyaaahh!!!”

“P-Please save me, please… please!”

“Y-young master…!”

People were dying before her eyes.

Just yesterday, those who had been walking around on two intact legs now had their severed limbs strewn across the floor, and some were seen crawling on all fours, trying to escape.

Her father, once a proud man, now sat at the dining table like a grotesque decoration, a sword embedded in his heart, his pained eyes frozen wide open. Naturally, his body was in tatters. One of his eyes was a hollow void, blood streaming from it as if tears of blood were falling.

Valetta tried to muster strength in her immobile legs once more. She desperately wanted to escape this place.

But she couldn’t move, bound as she was by an ominous, shadow-like force that wrapped tightly around her legs.

It wasn’t fear. Her body wasn’t frozen by terror. She bore no ill will toward anyone in this household; after all, they were simply receiving the punishment they deserved for their deeds.

The problem was that she simply couldn’t flee.

No matter how much she struggled, her body remained like a statue, staring straight ahead. She couldn’t even turn her head or lift her feet from the floor to move.

The only thing that obeyed her will was her gaze. Her eyes, and only her eyes, could move.

“Young master, huh? That’s the first time I’ve heard that title since being here.”

A light voice, laced with amusement, reached her ears.

Uncommon silver-white hair cascaded over the speaker’s shoulders, swaying slightly above his waist.

His eyes, which she had once thought of as “ruby-like,” now looked more like pools of blood. The emotions swirling within them gleamed with a hint of madness.

Bang!

The heavy doors of the dining room, which had been firmly shut, burst open with a loud crash.

“Gyaaahh!!!”

Through the half-open doorway, two maids and a servant were thrown in, screaming. They had been crawling away like frightened animals but were kicked back into the room by two men clad in robes.

“S-save us!!”

“A monster! A monsterrrr! Nooo!”

“So noisy.”

The playful tone vanished in an instant. His eyes, glinting with madness, shifted to the three newcomers, and his icy voice silenced their screams immediately.

From her limited view, Valetta could just barely make out their trembling forms. She pitied them.

But pity was a luxury she couldn’t afford—her own predicament was no better.

“These are the last survivors of this mansion,” one of the robed men said. His voice was detached, devoid of any semblance of regret or compassion.

“Quite the infestation for such a grand estate,” the silver-haired man said casually, walking toward Valetta with an easy stride. Seeing her frozen in place, he smiled cheerfully and tapped her cheek with a bloodied fingertip before turning his attention to one of the maids cowering in a corner.

As he walked past, Valetta’s eyes involuntarily followed him, catching sight of his polished leather shoes.

Her gaze moved slowly, taking in the bloodstains on the tips of his shoes. The sight made her skin crawl, and she wished she could wipe her cheek clean.

“Getting a bit bored of this now. Thankfully, the main course is still left…”

The man spoke as if savoring his own twisted anticipation. As he turned to glance at Valetta, his voice took on an unsettling tone.

She couldn’t see what was happening behind her, no matter how much she strained her eyes. But she didn’t need to. His ominous words made it clear who was being saved for the “main course.”

“P-please… Young master… I-I’ll do anything…”

“Hic, sob, hic!”

“Well, I think I’ve heard ‘young master’ more today than I ever have in my life. Weren’t you the ones calling me a worm not too long ago?”

The man’s crimson eyes curved into crescent moons, glinting with amusement.

He slowly extended his bloodstained hand, letting it rest on the maid’s cheek. With deliberate motions, he wiped his bloodied fingers back and forth across her face as if cleaning them on her skin.

“Since it’s troublesome, I’ll kill you all at once.”

He spoke in a sweet, almost tender voice, as if granting mercy.

The moment he crooked his index finger, a spear of ice materialized in midair. It was less like a spear and more like a giant icicle, sharp enough at its tip to kill.

Swoosh.

The sound of the wind being sliced was followed by a series of dull, piercing noises. The three servants and maids were impaled in an instant, unable to even scream before collapsing lifelessly.

The man smiled brightly at the now-silent surroundings, spinning on one foot as if performing a dance.

Footsteps echoed from behind, like the approach of an invisible grim reaper.

Valetta felt a chill run down her spine, her back stiffening involuntarily.

‘See, this is why I said you should’ve gotten rid of him back then!’

If only they had listened to her, this disaster wouldn’t have happened. She should’ve just dug a hole and fled back then instead of staying in this house!

Valetta’s mind reeled, thrashing internally in a futile attempt to escape, though her body remained immobile.

Then, in an instant, the unseen force binding her body vanished. The abrupt release left her off balance, and she pitched forward.

‘Wha…?’

Caught off guard, she instinctively reached out her leg to stabilize herself, but it was too late. She braced herself for the inevitable pain, squeezing her eyes shut—

Only to feel a steady hand grip her shoulder, an arm firmly wrapping around her waist. Her head landed against someone’s chest, enveloped entirely in an embrace.

‘Ah…’

She sighed inwardly, immediately realizing who it was. She didn’t even dare to open her eyes.

“The coldhearted master who begged her foolish father every day to throw me away is now throwing herself into my arms?”

His breath brushed against her ear as he whispered, and she quickly pushed him away, standing on her own feet. He didn’t resist, stepping back without protest.

Up close, his beauty was even more striking, almost otherworldly, as if he belonged in a fairytale. His chilling yet sweet voice seemed to weave a spell over anyone who heard it.

But Valetta knew the truth. That smile, that voice—they were all lies. He could smile like that while conversing, only to kill his conversation partner in the next breath.

Because he was the Lord of Darkness, the ruler of the Mage’s Tower, a man who had ascended to become its king.

And until recently, he had also been her slave. At least, if one could call their relationship a master-slave dynamic.

“Well, now it’s just you, Master.”

His words dripped with sweetness as he stepped closer. Valetta wanted nothing more than to run, but the dining hall’s only exit was blocked by the two robed mages.

“Do you want to live?”

His voice sounded like the devil himself, offering salvation. Valetta stepped back, only for him to step forward, closing the distance with his much longer strides.

His crimson eyes, previously curved in amusement, now opened wide, revealing a gaze devoid of any humor.

“Then kneel, Master.”

He crooked his finger, signaling her to kneel, echoing the very words she had once spoken to him.

Valetta froze, then instinctively took another step back. She had to get away. Holding her breath, she moved backward cautiously—until her foot snagged on something.

“Ugh!”

She tripped over one of the corpses strewn across the floor, landing unceremoniously on her backside.

The man’s lips curved into a grin as he crouched down, his long silver hair cascading softly, nearly brushing the blood-soaked ground.

“Well done, Master.”

Reaching out, he patted her brown hair with a bloodstained hand, as if offering praise.

‘I knew he was insane, but this… this is beyond anything I imagined.’

Anyone could tell she hadn’t knelt willingly but had fallen. Yet he praised her as if she had done exactly as he commanded.

I should’ve known better than to underestimate this lunatic in the first place.

Valetta had always known he wasn’t just any ordinary madman—he was in a league of his own. That’s why she had begged repeatedly to get rid of him!

But her father had stubbornly insisted that the man would be “useful” once he came of age. He was so sure he had complete control over him, never suspecting the man was plotting against him all along.

And now, this was the result.

In the novel, this household was doomed to destruction. Valetta knew this. She had been the only one who foresaw the inevitable outcome.

She had even tried to avoid this by treating him kindly, but that lunatic’s gaze toward her had never softened.

Eventually, she gave up and switched strategies, begging her father to cast him out or let her abandon him entirely.

What good did that do? No one in the estate had feared the madman, treating him poorly despite his dangerous nature.

Of course, they had! With his breathtaking looks and his lowly status as a slave, he must have made everyone feel superior.

Not only that, but he had a silver tongue and an uncanny knack for hiding his anger, biding his time while plotting his revenge.

I should’ve just run away!

Even if the household was doomed to be annihilated, she should’ve prioritized saving herself. What had guilt ever done for her, anyway? Valetta held back a silent scream, swallowing her frustration.

As she remained frozen in place, the man’s gaze fell on her. He reached out and yanked the necklace hanging around her neck.

The chain snapped with a light tug, and the broken necklace felt like an ominous metaphor for her future. The pendant was a small, transparent red glass bead, no bigger than a coin.

It was a shackle, a magical seal tied to the lunatic’s heart. By gripping the pendant tightly, she could invoke the Seal of Submission embedded in his heart, forcing him to obey any command. If he resisted, it would cause him unimaginable pain, as though his heart were being crushed.

A cruel and wicked spell, certainly, but it hadn’t been her choice to use it.

Now, however, there was only one way to survive this nightmare.

“I really didn’t want to use my powers in front of this lunatic…”

But being exposed was far better than dying. Valetta decided that escape was her top priority.

“Jin!”

Her shout summoned a violent gust of wind that swirled around her. The madman’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, his expression betraying that he hadn’t foreseen this development.

“A high-ranking spirit of wind?”

“A Spirit Mage…?”

The two robed figures standing by the door muttered in astonishment.

—What is it? Summoning me into a place reeking of blood?

“Help me! Take me somewhere—anywhere! Just as far away from here as possible!”

—And the price?

“My blood!”

A faintly visible, transparent hawk spread its massive wings in agreement. The wind enveloped Valetta, lifting her gently off the ground. She reached out to grab the hawk’s wings, ready to flee—

Thud!

A sharp, excruciating pain suddenly shot through her heart.

“Aaaaargh!”

The unexpected agony shattered her focus. The summoned hawk vanished, and Valetta crumpled to the floor, writhing in pain.

“Oh dear. I’m sorry, Master. I was so startled that I—well, you know…”

What… is this?

As the pain subsided, Valetta clutched her chest, drenched in a cold sweat. Trembling on the floor, her body instinctively recoiled from the lingering echoes of the torment.

“My dear Master is full of surprises. I always wondered why you seemed to be talking to yourself—turns out you were a Spirit Mage all along.”

The madman crouched in front of her, his voice dripping with false kindness as he patted her head.

“I may have gone a bit too far this time. My apologies.”

Valetta managed to lift her head, glaring at him through her lingering pain.

“What on earth…?”

“Oh, your father—or rather, that wretched fool—had embedded the seal into my heart. I just transferred it to you earlier. I was worried you might abandon me again and disappear, you see.”

As he finished speaking, the man reached out, grabbed the tips of Valetta’s hair, and pressed a kiss to them.

“Master, say my name. Then you may sleep,” he whispered, kneeling on one knee, his gaze as gentle as it had been during his days as a slave.

In his hand, the crimson bead—the symbol of her control over him—rolled lazily.

‘Damn it.’

Why hadn’t she run when she had the chance? The regret gnawed at her as she heaved an internal sigh, over and over.

“Hurry,” his kind voice coaxed her, brushing against her ears. Her eyelids felt heavy, the weight of exhaustion pressing down on her. As her eyes began to close, her lips parted slowly.

“…Reinhardt…”

“Good girl. You may sleep now, Master.”

He stroked her hair softly.

Where could she even begin to explain how fundamentally broken this lunatic was?

That thought lingered briefly in her mind before the remnants of pain and exhaustion claimed her. She slipped into unconsciousness.