Reforming the Villain Family (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 6

That night, I kept my eyes wide open, fighting off the heavy sleep that pressed down on me.

‘I absolutely won’t sleep.’

I had no intention of sleeping tonight. I squatted on the bare floor, determined to stay awake until dawn.

Yesterday, I had resolved to leave the Duke’s household, so I chose to slip away at dawn, avoiding everyone’s notice.

Since my young body found it hard to wake up at dawn, I compromised by staying up all night instead.

But something felt odd. Tilting my head in confusion, I fiddled with the floor beneath me.

‘Come to think of it, why is the floor so soft and squishy?’

[Augh, stop touching me already!]

A sharp voice echoed in my ears. At the same moment, the floor I’d been standing on shuddered violently.

Huh! Startled, I froze instantly.

[How dare you treat me like this! You’re just a human!]

It was an angry voice. I looked around, bewildered and full of question marks.

‘Huh? Where’s that coming from?’

[Right here, I said right here!]

The floor wriggled again. Simultaneously, a sharp, cold pain struck my forehead with a soft *thud*.

“Ow…”

I’d lightly bumped my head against the floor and now rubbed it. Lifting my gaze, I saw the pre-dawn moon hanging outside the window. The wriggling floor had vanished, replaced by the solid, ordinary room floor.

‘What a weird dream.’

A dream where the floor was soft and squirming? Lost in thought for a moment, I hastily looked around to check the time.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too late yet. I still had plenty of time before Sophia and Delma arrived.

I rubbed my eyes briskly, trying to chase away drowsiness.

‘If I’d slept in bed, I definitely wouldn’t have woken up.’

Yesterday, I’d witnessed the Duke kill someone. Because of that, my decision was clear: I had to escape this villainous noble house.

But of course, no one else would simply let me go. I even had to avoid Sophia and Delma, who cared for me.

Thus, I chose this hour—dawn, when the sky just began to brighten—as my time to leave.

‘But what was that dream just now?’

In the dream, the floor squirmed and felt soft. As I narrowed my eyes, lost in recollection again, my eyelids grew heavy.

Before I knew it, my eyes slowly blinked shut. My head dipped to one side, and I jolted awake, jumping to my feet in alarm.

‘I can’t fall asleep again!’

I slapped my cheeks sharply to snap myself awake and hastily stood up.

‘Time to go.’

I added one last cookie to my pre-packed bag and stepped out of the room.

Normally, I woke up late in the morning—around the time when nearly everyone had already started their day and was moving about the mansion.

Compared to that, the corridors now, in the deep pre-dawn, were dark. As soon as I opened the door, a chilling aura seemed to wash over my whole body.

As I walked slowly, my eyes automatically turned toward the portraits hanging on the corridor walls.

I recalled Sophia’s explanation—that these portraits depicted everyone from the previous Duke and Duchess all the way back to the first Duke.

Paintings that seemed merely splendid in daylight now appeared eerie in the dark night.

‘Kind of scary.’

I gulped down a dry swallow.

But if I were frightened by things like this, I wouldn’t have planned an escape in the first place.

Forcing my gaze away from the portraits, I resumed walking.

Truthfully, if I’d just been an ordinary four-year-old child, I probably wouldn’t have even thought of leaving this house.

I might not have wanted to leave at all—maybe I’d have just been happily relieved to be away from my mother.

I might have lived here contentedly, blissfully enjoying the food and toys Sophia gave me.

‘Maybe I’d have even believed the Duke was my real father.’

Among the alleyway children, rumors like this often circulated.

Stories like, “So-and-so’s kid is actually the long-lost daughter of some Count,” or “So-and-so’s parents are secretly incredibly wealthy,” and other baseless whispers.

Most of these rumors had no foundation, yet hearing them always sparked a flicker of hope.

After all, I didn’t have a father.

Maybe I, too, had a hidden father somewhere, desperately searching for me.

I used to think that way when I was little.

Back then, on lucky nights when my mother fell asleep early, I’d imagine my father coming to find me.

‘But that’s impossible.’

All those thoughts belonged to a time before I remembered my past life.

Now, I knew well enough that there was nothing—and no one—for me to hope for.

‘No one’s coming to take me away.’

As an extra, my best course was simply to avoid getting tangled in the main characters’ fates.

Luckily, I crossed the entire second-floor corridor without incident. I briefly glanced back at the hallway I’d just left, then carefully opened the door leading to the servants’ back staircase.

Perhaps because it was used by the staff, the area was even darker—and slightly damp.

The back stairs I descended led straight toward the kitchen and storage rooms, which were situated near the rear gate.

After opening the storage room door and stepping out of the mansion, I paused to glance back at the building. My steps grew heavier.

‘Sorry, Sophia and Delma, for leaving without a word.’

I offered them a silent apology I couldn’t voice aloud. They’d surely be shocked when they discovered I was gone in the morning.

Moreover, I hadn’t seen Yan even once since that first day. I should’ve at least thanked him. I forcefully shook off the belated regret.

Yan would face a crisis midway through but ultimately side with the protagonist and survive safely.

In other words, he wasn’t someone I needed to worry about.

‘I probably won’t ever see them again.’

Once I left like this, I—a mere extra with no connection to the main characters—would be forgotten by them forever. That thought stung a little.

Still, if fate allowed, I hoped I might see them again someday. Clinging to that unlikely hope, I walked toward the rear gate.

But something was strange. At this hour, no one should be around—yet the rear gate area was bustling with commotion.

“Yes! I’ll do my best, my lord!”

Hearing a voice so loud it seemed to shake the earth, I jumped in fright and froze completely.

“My lady?”

An unexpected scene caught my attention.

[This is the timeline separator]

It was just before the child secretly left the mansion at dawn.

Though the sun hadn’t yet risen, this particular morning at the Duke’s household began unusually early—unlike other days.

Several burly men had gathered near the rear gate, where only silence should have reigned.

They all wore dark-colored clothing, but their outfits lacked uniformity. Though gathered in one place, each man simply focused on his own task—tightening his shoes or stretching his limbs.

To an outsider, it might have looked like a gang had assembled inside the mansion.

Then, a man emerged from the mansion. The loosely gathered men instantly rose in unison and formed neat lines.

“My lord, you’ve arrived.”

One of the men stepped forward and bowed his head. The others behind him followed suit, bowing in sync.

Philen followed behind Kyleius. The men who’d arrived earlier greeted him with familiar, slight nods.

Philen returned their greeting with a nod of his own and spoke.

“It still seems strange, even upon reconsideration. Monsters descending again? It hasn’t even been long since the last extermination.”

The burly men gathered earlier were knights of the Leviche Knight Order, assembled to accompany Kyleius to the borders of Keduak.

Keduak bordered Hesera, the Crustel Duke’s territory, and was known as the Land of Death.

It was uninhabitable—not only due to its steep terrain but also because monstrous creatures densely populated the area, drawn by its unique aura.

Hesera, located close to Keduak, suffered similarly. Monsters frequently descended into villages, causing chaos and harm to the people.

But that had all changed after Kyleius took root here. Upon receiving Hesera as a royal grant from the Emperor, Kyleius immediately launched a monster extermination campaign.

It took him a full year to completely drive the monsters out of Hesera.

Then ten months, then six—each time, he shortened the extermination period while simultaneously rebuilding Hesera into livable land.

Kyleius had aimed to claim even Keduak as his territory, but the ceaseless emergence of monsters prevented him from fully occupying it.

The monsters, unable to descend into Hesera anymore, now remained confined within Keduak.

Their numbers grew yearly, so to minimize civilian casualties, Kyleius continued conducting regular extermination missions to this day.

Monster extermination wasn’t complete until every creature near the border was eliminated and their entire habitat burned to the ground.

Merely a hundred days had passed since the last seasonal extermination concluded. Thus, monsters descending again already was understandably suspicious.

“We’ll know once we go.”

Kyleius replied dismissively regarding the anomaly—he’d understand once they checked in person.

The largest knight among them raised a hand and spoke.

His reddish-brown hair stood out, and his attire was notably lighter than the others’.

“What if we go and find their numbers have increased, my lord?”

“Then reduce them.”

“And if they come down again?”

“Send them back up.”

“And if the ones that escaped bring their friends along?”

At this final question, Kyleius fell silent. He had plenty to say, but given the circumstances, he chose not to speak further.

He simply thought, *This guy’s clearly upset I called him out so early in the morning.*

“How about I cut two days from your training next week? Satisfied?”

“Yes! I’ll do my best! My lord!”

The large man, Bart, shouted enthusiastically. At Bart’s booming reply, Kyleius’s lips twitched into a wry smirk.

Relieved by the lighter mood, Bart laughed heartily and thumped the shoulder of the slender man beside him.

“Crissy, you didn’t forget our bet, right?”

“What bet?”

“I told you—if the guy who takes the most heads gets a hundred gold coins. Did you forget?”

“Well, I don’t talk to guys who faint at junior-level reports.”

“What did you say, you rascal?”

As the grown men began bantering one by one, the previously quiet area quickly turned noisy.

Yan, standing at the front of the group, handed Kyleius the note he’d just received from a messenger bird.

“The advance team’s messenger bird returned. They’ve started setting traps.”

“Understood. Then we should depart now.”

Kyleius grasped his horse’s reins.

*Tap-tap.* A light footstep sounded then.

It was an incongruous noise in this scene.

Though guessing who it was wasn’t difficult, no one could understand why those footsteps were here.

Kyleius frowned and turned his head. Yan, it seemed, had noticed the same thing.

“My lady?”

The child, whose eyes met theirs, stood rooted to the spot.