Reforming the Villain Family (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 7
I briefly doubted my own eyes.
But no matter how many times I blinked, the man standing there with that menacing aura was indeed the Duke.
Why was the Duke here—and with all his subordinates in tow?
“Milady, what brings you here?”
At least Yan was here, which was somewhat reassuring.
Of course, I’d just been thinking about Yan a moment ago, but not in this way.
“Well, um…”
Just then, the Duke—who had seemed ready to leave immediately—stepped straight toward me.
It wasn’t just him. Several other men also began walking slowly toward me.
I gripped my bag tightly. Suddenly, a wave of worry swept over me.
‘To anyone watching, this looks exactly like someone stealing something and trying to run away!’
This was bad. I quickly tried to recall what was inside my bag.
‘The silver button I picked up in the hallway, my building blocks, and some cookies…’
Just then, a red-haired man suddenly thrust his face right in front of mine. Startled, I immediately stumbled backward.
“So this is the young lady?”
“Bart, for heaven’s sake, think about your face.”
The slender man standing behind Bart—who had just been called by that name—pulled him back. Ignoring him, Bart stretched his neck forward and asked Yan,
“The one you brought back last time?”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
“Hmm.”
Bart crossed his arms and fixed his gaze on me, clearly suspicious.
‘Should I run? Could I even get away?’
They were, after all, the knights of the villainous Duke—skilled in pursuit and interrogation. Once they caught the scent of prey, they never let go. No wonder the original story called them the Duke’s hounds.
Even Yan, who had sided with the protagonist and worked as a spy, had repeatedly warned to be especially cautious around the Leviche Knight Order.
‘I’m done for…’
Just then, the largest man among them boomed loudly,
“Oh my goodness!”
His voice was even higher-pitched and more excited than before.
“How can you possibly be this tiny! Yan! You brought back such a little lady?”
“I told you, she’s very small. And adorable.”
“No, how can she be dressed like this! Good heavens, she’s even carrying a bag!”
“Hey, hey! Bart, lower your voice. You’re scaring the young lady.”
“She seems even smaller than the young masters were when they first arrived!”
Once the big man started fussing, others began chiming in one by one. My head spun in confusion.
‘Huh…’
This was utterly unlike the image of the Knight Order I’d seen on my first day. Nothing matched what the original story had described.
‘They’re just… normal people.’
The thought suddenly popped into my head. Regardless, their attention made me uncomfortable, so I quietly sidled behind Yan.
As if on cue, the surrounding chatter instantly fell silent.
“…Damn it, I should’ve gone out that day.”
“Did you stuff your conscience into a bread roll? Who was it that refused to go because it was raining?”
“I wouldn’t have refused if you’d told me the mission details properly!”
“Everyone else heard them that day except you, idiot!”
Once again, Bart and the slender man started shouting at each other—this time seemingly ready to come to blows.
To avoid getting crushed in their quarrel like a tiny shrimp, I pressed even closer to Yan’s leg.
Then, the Duke spoke indifferently.
“She seems quite attached to you.”
“Ahaha…”
His flat tone made it impossible to tell whether it was praise or criticism. Yan, equally unsure, just laughed awkwardly without replying.
At that moment, the Duke approached me. I felt utterly exposed, defenseless before him.
‘It’s okay, it’s okay.’
He couldn’t possibly do anything to me right here and now—not with Yan present, at least.
‘…Right? Really okay?’
The Duke knelt down to meet my eyes.
“How did you end up here?”
I swallowed hard. He stared at me intently, waiting for my answer.
“Well, um…”
“Where were you planning to go at this hour?”
His sharp question made my body stiffen.
“Even carrying a bag… coming downstairs alone without a nanny.”
“…”
“Don’t tell me—you were trying to run away from home?”
“!”
I gasped involuntarily.
‘He found out.’
I hadn’t expected to be caught so quickly. My hands and feet turned cold.
It was all over now.
There must have been a reason the Duke brought me here. If I tried to leave without a word, he’d surely take offense. He might even lock me up somewhere in this vast mansion.
‘The original story mentioned an underground prison in the estate…’
Horrible images began flashing through my mind.
“Ah, could it be that the little one…”
At that moment, a blue-haired man behind the Duke leaned forward.
“Maybe she just came out after playing alone? Or perhaps she got lost?”
“At this hour of the morning?”
“My lord, you may not know, but children this age often don’t sleep in—they wake up early.”
The blue-haired man replied casually. I quickly nodded as if to confirm he was absolutely right. Yet the Duke’s sharp gaze didn’t waver.
Just then, my bag was lightly lifted from my back—the Duke had tried to take it with one hand.
“What’s inside this that—”
“No, don’t!”
Startled, I clutched the bag tightly to my chest. The Duke, who had just lost hold of it, raised an eyebrow.
“Why can’t I see what’s inside?”
“Well…”
“Everything about this is suspicious.”
The Duke shook his head and spoke seriously.
“Why did you come this far? Tell me yourself.”
At his suspicious tone, everyone else fell silent. Clearly, their attitude toward me differed sharply from the Duke’s.
As Philen had said—‘She’s just a child’—everyone else seemed to share that sentiment.
But the Duke didn’t dismiss my actions as mere childish whims. True to his nature in the original story, he remained wary and skeptical—no matter that I was just a child.
‘I absolutely mustn’t get caught.’
If I admitted I wanted to run away, I’d have to explain why. And that would mean revealing that I’d seen the Duke kill a servant.
“What were you doing here at this hour?”
The Duke pressed me.
“This—this!”
I immediately pulled it out of my bag and thrust it toward him.
“I brought it for you, Duke!”
I’d carefully saved it, placing it lovingly in my bag—but I never imagined I’d have to use it like this.
It pained me to offer it up. Oblivious to my feelings, the Duke frowned as he looked at it.
“What is this?”
“It’s… a cookie, I believe?”
The blue-haired man answered. The Duke, too, just stared blankly at the cookie in my hand, seemingly surprised.
I tried my best to speak calmly.
“I brought it for you, Duke!”
[This is the timeline separator]The child didn’t know, but Kyleius had observed her several times during her stay at the ducal estate.
Often, he’d seen her walking with Sophia in the front garden—clearly visible from his own window.
Moreover, Sophia reported everything that happened each day after finishing her duties, so learning the child’s daily routine wasn’t difficult.
‘Her favorite food is cookies.’
He remembered Sophia mentioning the child loved cookies so much that she deliberately gave her only one per day.
So this cookie was probably yesterday’s snack, saved instead of eaten.
‘What is she hiding?’
Kyleius couldn’t let go of his suspicions.
Regardless of the reason, he’d brought the child here out of necessity.
Whether she liked it or not, she had to stay within the play he’d set in motion—at least for now.
The problem was, she seemed far cleverer than he’d expected.
He’d brought her because he liked the look in her eyes that first day—but now he wondered if she wouldn’t follow his plans, making things quite troublesome.
Especially if she kept acting on her own whim, like right now.
“I brought it for you, Duke!”
And the excuse she finally came up with was this flimsy.
‘It’s a lie.’
Her real intention lay elsewhere—she was using her wits to hide it.
As Kyleius pondered how to deal with her, Philen beside him grinned and said,
“Oh my, is that so? You brought it for His Grace?”
“Yes!”
“How remarkably thoughtful of you! Isn’t that right, my lord?”
Kyleius twitched an eyebrow.
‘You actually believe that?’
Philen was utterly convinced. Hoping others might be more skeptical, Kyleius glanced around—but…
“Milady, next time, please remember me too! I absolutely adore cookies!”
“Milady! Just ignore Bart over there! That guy refused to come the first day, saying he didn’t want to go—urk!”
“Milady, I’m Crissy. Remember that! If you ever need anything, just come find this Crissy!”
…If anything, they were even more gullible than Philen.
The realization that he’d gathered such simple-minded people made his mood strangely complicated.
“Well, then… I’ll be off…”
The child took a step back, as if her task was complete. She glanced at him repeatedly, as though silently asking for permission to leave.
Kyleius glanced lightly around.
“My lord, I’ll safely escort her back!”
“No, for something like this, it should clearly be me…”
“Ah, I wasn’t part of this patrol, so I’ll take her…”
“Yan, take her back to her room.”
“Yes, I’ll escort her and return.”
The moment Yan answered, the others couldn’t hide their disappointment. Kyleius ignored them and watched silently until the child disappeared into the mansion.
‘A reckless little thing.’
Maybe because her intentions were so obvious, he wasn’t even angry—though he still couldn’t tell what she was hiding. Kyleius looked down at the cookie in his hand.
Though now he was stuck with something he didn’t even like.
[This is the timeline separator]I sighed deeply as I checked my bag.
“Hmm? Why such a heavy sigh today of all days?”
“It’s nothing.”
Sophia tilted her head in confusion, but I just shook my head.
‘It’s okay—there’ll be another chance.’
From this morning’s fiasco, I’d learned one important lesson: when the Duke leaves for work, he uses the back gate.
‘Tomorrow, I’ll go through the front gate.’
That way, I won’t run into the Duke. Still, just to be safe, I decided to leave a bit later than this morning—when it was lighter outside.
‘This morning, I saw the Duke leave for work awfully early.’
So all I needed to do was leave a little later than him. For tomorrow’s plan, I once again saved the cookie I’d received as a snack and didn’t eat it.
“You’re not eating your cookie today either?”
“No, I’ll have it later.”
Delma looked puzzled, but I didn’t explain why.
‘Tomorrow, I’ll definitely get out.’
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
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MANGA DISCUSSION
1 Comment
Chapter Comments (112)
Why does the Duke always appear before her? Our little girl is no ordinary girl; she’s very intelligent, kind, and truly beautiful.
- Poor thing, her luck has truly run out; she can’t escape. But it’s good that the killer didn’t discover her.
How childish the Duke is! Why is he doing this to our little one?
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Miioo
Oh, how pitiful our little one is! She was easily exposed, but where is her name? Why isn’t her name mentioned?