Chapter 8. What About Him is a Villain?

"...Another world. A fictional novel... and you learned about Duchess Rubius' death from that novel, huh." Lucilline had an amused appearance. He seemed to have taken a liking to what Augustine had explained.

Augustine had relaxed. He'd proven his worth.

There was no way the great villain would kill him now-

All of a sudden, the knife pressed even closer to his neck. Two more beads of blood had drawn out of his wound. Lucilline smiled provocatively, "Since you've said that I'm a character of that novel, then would you mind telling me what role I play?"

Hearing that, Augustine's relaxed composure had once again stiffened.

If he told the great villain his role... would he outright kill him? If the great villain knows his role, then would he completely go out and destroy Lydia Kingdom?

"Don't be shy..." Lucilline pressed more weight on the knife. "Just go ahead and tell me."

The more nervous Augustine was, the colder his face was. At that point, he appeared like he was looking at Lucilline as if he was looking at an indecent piece of trash. His jawbone was stiff and firm, making him look like he was scowling. Especially since he was born with a handsome face, at that moment, Augustine should be able to capture the hearts of several young women.

Lucilline remained immune to the cold yet handsome face. "I wonder if I'm the protagonist... nah, if I was the protagonist, you wouldn't say that I will destroy Lydia Kingdom."

Then, he smiled, "Am I the villain?"

Augustine flinched.

Seeing that, Lucilline immediately knew the answer. "Aww, you should've just told me! So what if I'm the villain? At least I won't go trespassing on other people's property and threatening to kill them."

Augustine, "..." Why does it sound like he's purposely lashing out on me?

"So you came over here trying to kill me because you know I'll be destroying Lydia Kingdom in the future?" Lucilline expressionlessly pointed out the truth. "Good to know. Now that I am aware of my fate, I know to not destroy Lydia Kingdom, even though it's not like I'll actually do that."

Hearing that, Augustine's eyes thinned. "How am I supposed to trust you?"

Lucilline whipped his head at him.

A pair of golden eyes clashed at silver.

"You're a villain. In the future, you will bring harm to the entirety of Lydia Kingdom. Here I am asking you, how are you going to promise that you won't endanger this Kingdom?" Augustine spat.

They fell at a standstill. It was then Lucilline broke out into a cheery smile, "You don't have a choice. You have to remember that I'm the one who's in control right now."

For some reason, Augustine felt at unease. He quietly backed away, but the body of Willow blocked him.

"And besides," Lucilline deadpanned. "My future doesn't determine what kind of character I am."

Upon hearing that, Augustine fell silent. For some reason, his heart felt like it was greatly seized. It was then, he understood. Looking upwards at the great villain's two beads of golden eyes, Augustine felt that he was moved.

A familiar voice rung in his ears, Augustine... don't be afraid. Just because your future is horrible... doesn't mean you're a horrible person...

"Don't go and try to escape." Lucilline grinned. "Willow, you know what to do."

Willow understood and knocked the man unconscious. Augustine was caught off guard, and fainted.

He collapsed on the cobblestone path.

*****

When Augustine awoke, he found himself laying upon a grand bed. The bed was large enough to accommodate two adults, and perhaps might even manage to squeeze in a third person. Upon the grand bed, there were soft bedsheets, which felt as gentle as a bird's feather.

For a moment there, Augustine was shocked in stupor.

He'd never slept in such a grand bed before. Looking around, the walls of the bedroom was painted in coagulated daisy white. There were several decorations, such as a wooden closet full of clothes, a desk for working, a set of table and lamp, then many mirrors.

Augustine's neck had a bunch of bandages wrapped around. His wound from Lucilline had been treated, surprisingly.

Looking out the window, the sky was still dark. Only a small ray of sunshine had shone, signifying the beginning of dawn.

"This is..."

All of a sudden, the doors to the bedroom was opened. In came a familiar maidservant. Willow entered, with a paper and ink pen in her arms.

"You've awaken." Willow blatantly spat.

Augustine's eyes thinned at her.

Willow saw that, then scoffed. "My Young Master have decided to spare your life, which you should be utterly grateful for."

"Oh really?" Augustine sneered. "Then where is your Young Master right now?"

"I'm right here." Once again, the doors to the bedroom opened. The sounds of heels clicked and clacked against the ground, resounding an echo to all the people inside the room. Lucilline walked inside the bedroom with an unmoved expression. "Looking for me?"

Augustine paused.

Before him was the great villain whom he aimed to kill, in order to save Lydia Kingdom. However, as they interacted, Augustine couldn't really wrap his mind around it. How in the world did Lucilline even gain the motive to destroy Lydia Kingdom?

It didn't seem right. After all, Lucilline didn't take on the attributes of a villain at all!

What about him was a villain? Sure, he was mischievous and got the beauty to captivate many people. However, his morals didn't resonate to his fate. Why would he destroy Lydia Kingdom? In fact, it was only after Duke Rubius' manor had burnt down did he decide to become a villain.

Perhaps, the great villain only became a villain later on? Doesn't that mean... Lucilline Rubius wasn't a villain right now? Yes, he was Lucilline Rubius, not the great villain.

Augustine came back to his senses. Perhaps, killing the great villain wasn't the only answer.

Maybe, he could help Lucilline and make sure to bring him on the right path. This way, he would still save Lydia Kingdom.

"What are you thinking about?" Lucilline noticed that Augustine wasn't reacting, so he tilted his head in confusion. Due to the movements of his neck, a few locks of his silky black hair fell across his forehead. As expected, his every move was graceful and as elegant as a swan.

Augustine perked up. "I was thinking about how you don't match what you'll be doing in the future."

Lucilline was puzzled. "What will I be doing in the future?"

"You will stalk the heroine. You will beat up all the male leads until they end up in the hospital. You will kill and massacre an entire organization, then lead an army of demons to attack Lydia Kingdom." Augustine didn't sugar-coat his words at all.

Instead, he stared ahead blatantly.

Lucilline, "..." He doesn't believe that he will be doing all these villainous schemes...

The one who reacted the strongest was Willow. She bared her fangs at Augustine like a ferocious beast, "You're spouting nonsense! Young Master will not be attacking Lydia Kingdom!"

"Yes, not anymore." Augustine didn't want to argue with the maidservant.

He turned to look directly at Lucilline in the eyes. "With me here, I will make sure that you won't turn to the dark side. This will be beneficial for both of us and the entirety of Lydia Kingdom. Does this sound alright to you?"

Lucilline's eyes thinned. "What are you trying to say?"

Augustine straightened his back. "I am negotiating with you. Let's work together. You must report to me your every actions. I will make sure you'll stay righteous."

Lucilline asked, "You get to invade my privacy. What do I get instead?"

"You won't become humanity's enemy, and additionally, I won't kill you." Augustine declared. I won't kill you... besides, you're not that bad of a person. You're also kind of... cute.

Hearing that, Lucilline's pair of golden eyes shone with interest. He leaned forwards, which greatly alarmed Augustine. The latter bent backwards, with his back hitting the bed's headboard by accident.

Lucilline's face was merely a few inches away from Augustine's. As the distance closed exponentially, Augustine was hit with a tranquil scent of vanilla, which emitted from Lucilline's body. The fragrance was sweet like nectar, and was as thin as the light clouds floating within cerulean blue skies.

Just catching a single whiff had almost softened Augustine's cold exterior. Now that he thought about it, Lucilline had long eyelashes... it made him mesmerized and yearn to pet it...

"I want to add more conditions to our negotiation." Lucilline piped up.

Augustine's eyebrows furrowed. He shook himself back out from the sweet fragrance, "What are you unsatisfied with?"

In response, Lucilline directly took the paper and ink pen out of Willow's hands. He shoved the paper in Augustine's face, forcing him to look at the contents on the paper. "Here is our contract."

Augustine scanned the contents. As he continued to look, he found himself on the verge of irritation.

The conditions were listed as below:

1) The servant must always protect his/her Master at all costs

2) The servant must never endanger his/her Master

3) The servant must never disobey his/her Master

Augustine, "..." He expressionlessly looked away from the conditions. Feeling a bit confused, he pursed his lips and asked, "What are these conditions for?"

"You still didn't figure it out?" Lucilline smiled. "You said that you'll change my fate and turn me away from the dark side. In order to achieve this, you must invade my privacy. Well, since you'll be monitoring me, why not directly become my servant?"

He stopped leaning forwards, then straightened his back. Lucilline wore a cheerful expression, "How do you feel about becoming my butler, Augustine?"

Augustine, "..." Huh?

"No, Young Master!" Willow couldn't understand why someone like Augustine would suddenly become her equal. "We should chain him and instead, have him become a slave!"

Augustine, "..." Between the options of being a butler or slave... the choice was obvious.

"Be calm, Willow." Lucilline shook his head. He turned to Augustine, "Don't worry, Butler Augustine. Being a butler is much suitable for you than a slave. Actually, being a butler is much easier than you think. As long as you can clean well, cook well, and look well, it's really not that bad."

Augustine, "..." Why did he also need to look well?

"Later on, I'll be attending school. During my absence, Willow will give you an introduction of the house rules. She will make sure to guide you well and turn you into a good butler." Lucilline was pleased at his own decision. "Won't you, Willow?"

"Of course, Young Master." For once, Willow was quite troubled by her Young Master's decision.

She couldn't help but feel frustrated. Her spot as the only servant in the Rubius household was about to be snatched by some random trespasser! This was absolutely... unforgivable!

Willow shot a look at Augustine. Just wait until I beat you...

If Augustine knew what thoughts were on her mind, he would've immediately threw his hands up in defeat and yell, "I have no intention of competing such a useless thing with you!"

When Lucilline finally left the manor, the two "servants" turned to look at one another.

Augustine frowned.

Willow frowned back.

"I forgot to ask you this, but," Willow asked, "How did you even manage to trespass into Duke Rubius' territory? There are over 500,000 traps on the mountain..."

"You guys didn't know?" Augustine was slightly surprised. "I followed you and your Young Master after school. I watched you carry him across all the traps. I merely just memorized which place to step."

Willow was greatly alarmed. This meant... this man had a great memory!

"Don't you think it's weird that I'm from another world? Or that your Young Master had believed me so easily?" Augustine asked.

Willow shrugged. "I do not know what Young Master is thinking. However, as long as I serve him, I will believe in his every action. I believe that whatever Young Master does is right."

Augustine arched an eyebrow at that. "Then, you know that I'm from another world. You know that I came here to kill your Young Master. And you also know that your Young Master is the villain who will destroy Lydia Kingdom. What is your reaction?" Augustine asked.

In response to that, Willow felt angry. "I am merely Young Master's servant. I am his right hand, and will continue to serve him for the rest of my life. If he dies, then I will die along with him, regardless of whether or not he's a villain." She huffed, "Besides, how could my Young Master possibly be a villain? Look at him, he's the sweetest boy out there!"

Having read the entire book, Augustine fell silent, "..." Yeah, he had no idea how Lucilline became the person he is in the novel.

"Then," Augustine added. "Aren't you curious about your role in the novel?"

Willow hesitated. She fumbled over some thoughts before retorting, "I doubt that it's anything much of importance." Then, she looked up, "But I do would like to know my ending. I wish that it's heroic. Even if I die, it should be for the betterment of Young Master."

Hearing that, Augustine couldn't help but look away.

He could tell that every single word Willow said was from the depths of her heart. However, in the end, he could not tell her how her ending was in the novel.

After all, if telling such a loyal maidservant that she died not for the betterment of her Young Master, but died for suicide... how would she react?