Failed To Abandon the Villain - Chapter 1

Valetta Delight first met Reinhardt about ten years ago.

At nine years old, she was the only daughter of the Delight Count family and was considered the apple of her father’s eye—or at least, that’s what society believed.

One day, her father, who had briefly joined a skirmish against a barbarian tribe, threw a dirty, ragged boy at Valetta’s feet.

“…Father?”

“I picked him up rolling around on the battlefield. His face is decent enough, so I figured he’d make a perfect slave for you,” Count Delight said nonchalantly, removing his armor.

Valetta glanced down, a troubled expression crossing her face as she heard her father’s dry tone, his purple eyes cold beneath his gray hair.

The boy, whose shoulder appeared to have been slashed with a blade, was in a terrible state. His wound was deep, and his body was drenched in blood. He was feverish and barely conscious, his condition clearly critical.

“I don’t need a slave…”

“You do. I can’t let the future empress have just any slave, can I? He’ll do. If nothing else, think of him as a shield willing to sacrifice his life to protect yours.”

It wasn’t a suggestion—it was a command. Valetta felt her brow furrow instinctively as she tried to protest again.

“But…”

She truly hated the idea of owning a slave. While she had grown up in this world, her previous life’s memories bound her to a different moral compass, one that clashed with the values here.

More than that, she found the silver-haired boy unsettling. There was something vaguely familiar about him, a strange sense of déjà vu she couldn’t shake.

“Valetta Delight, are you talking back to me right now?”

Count Delight’s gaze sharpened, and Valetta fell silent.

Her father’s obsession with her was suffocating. The reason was simple—she had extraordinary talent as an alchemist.

In the empire, alchemists were exceedingly rare. Few were born with the gift, and yet they were indispensable for crafting potions and elixirs. Even a commoner born with alchemical talent could swiftly rise to prominence.

For Valetta, born not only a noble but also with the potential to become a high-ranking alchemist, her abilities were an invaluable asset.

It was a lucrative blessing that presented the family with opportunities to establish ties with the imperial family—possibly even to secure a place in the royal lineage. The whispers of such arrangements had already begun to circulate.

‘Father’s talk of empresses confirms that much.’

Count Delight, a merchant to his core, spared no effort in nurturing Valetta’s talents once he realized her worth.

“More importantly, you should use the banquet next week to establish a rapport with the Crown Prince. It’ll be better than being complete strangers.”

“…”

“And get to know the imperial princes as well. You never know what might happen or who will end up becoming the emperor.”

“…”

“Valetta, are you not going to answer your father?”

“…No, I understand.”

She lowered her head in reluctant agreement.

Valetta nodded absentmindedly, already accustomed to her father’s cold, calculating words. Count Delight had long planned to marry her into the imperial family. Naturally, her own wishes were never considered.

‘…If only I were older, I’d just run away.’

Despite her verbal agreement, her thoughts were entirely different. She detested being used like this.

But what could she do? She was just a powerless, penniless nine-year-old girl. Wherever she went, no matter where she hid, she couldn’t escape his grasp—at least, not for now.

“I’ve bound it with the proper shackles, so it won’t disobey you,” her father remarked.

“…Yes,” Valetta replied, her tone flat and reluctant.

On the floor, the boy—on the brink of death moments ago—finally stirred. His beautiful ruby-red eyes, still unfocused, scanned his surroundings before settling on her.

Even as his labored breaths betrayed how much he struggled to stay conscious, Count Delight spared him only a glance before continuing, his voice emotionless, like someone explaining how to operate a new toy.

“If it doesn’t listen, just squeeze this tightly.”

He placed a necklace with a crimson bead around Valetta’s neck. The bead was blood-red, almost unnervingly so, as though solidified from dried blood. Valetta stared down at it, dumbfounded.

“I’ve engraved a seal on its heart. It won’t dare defy your orders. Try commanding it.”

“Pardon? Perhaps… later…”

Caught off guard by the sudden demand, Valetta shook her head, but Count Delight’s cold gaze fixed on her.

What on earth was she supposed to order a child so gravely injured to do? He could barely breathe, let alone carry out a command.

“You’ve become quite talkative lately,” her father said sharply.

Under his piercing stare, Valetta reluctantly parted her lips. She didn’t want to provoke his temper.

While Count Delight rarely resorted to physical violence against her, his punishments were often cruel in other ways—ways she found nearly impossible to endure.

He might demand that she kill a beloved pet, lock her in a dark room for days without food or water, or, on one occasion, suspend her upside down for hours.

He avoided leaving visible marks that might diminish her value, but there was little he wouldn’t do to crush her spirit until she obeyed.

Count Delight was a lunatic. A lunatic who had married a deranged woman and produced a child—Valetta. And Valetta knew her father all too well.

He played the benevolent noble on the surface, providing aid and supplies to commoners and refugees, all while secretly trafficking slaves behind closed doors.

To outsiders, Valetta was the cherished daughter of Count Delight. Inside the mansion, however, it was a different story.

‘That’s why he dies.’

She recalled a line from the novel: the future master of the Mage’s Tower was enslaved by the Delight family, and they met their ruin as a result.

‘…Hmm, I think it described him as an incredibly beautiful boy?’

Truthfully, she had only skimmed through those parts, so her memory was hazy.

“Hurry up,” Count Delight urged.

“A-ah… Sit.”

Panicking under his pressing tone, Valetta blurted out the first command that came to mind. As soon as she spoke, she froze. For some reason, the only image in her mind was a scene from an anime where someone had shouted, “Sit!” at a dog.

The silver-haired boy’s gaze darkened, growing sharp at her command.

‘Was that too much like treating him as a dog?’

As Valetta debated whether to change her command, Count Delight reached for the red bead in her hand.

The moment his calloused hand overlapped with hers, the boy seemed to understand something. Groaning softly, he dropped to his knees at her feet with great effort.

“Master.”

Even as blood dripped steadily from his wounded shoulder and his breathing came in ragged gasps, the boy gave her a bright smile.

Like an obedient puppy, he grinned bashfully up at her. Yet, his crimson eyes gleamed with an unsettling light. His mouth smiled, but his eyes did not.

[The boy was breathtakingly beautiful. With eyes like flawless rubies, skin as pale as snow, and silvery hair that shimmered like sunlight, Valetta couldn’t help but fall for him at first sight.]

The description from the novel flashed through Valetta’s mind, freezing her in place.

‘…No way. Is he… that kid?’

The one who would one day surpass even this world’s protagonist, crushing him with a single hand.

“Uh, yeah… hi… hello,” Valetta stammered, barely managing a reply.

“…By the way, what’s your name?”

“Rein… Reinhardt, Master.”

The future Archmage. The future ruler of the Mage’s Tower. The character who tormented the novel’s protagonists with incomprehensible trials, toying with them until he grew bored and finally discarded them. The ultimate villain behind the scenes.

“…”

His name was definitely Reinhardt.

“Consider this your birthday gift. Use it well,” Count Delight said.

“…Yes.”

Dear teachers, what should one do when their father gives them a ticking time bomb as a birthday present?

Though she knew there was no advanced technology like the internet in this world, Valetta sincerely wished she could post this question on a Q&A site.