A Villain's Survival Guide

Hazel POV:

"The young master has been gone for nearly a week now, and I can’t help but worry about him. I know he’s strong enough to survive, but not being by his side and being unable to do anything for him makes me feel utterly useless."

"Not long ago, this was not something that concerned me. I spent my days wandering around his casino, hoping he would achieve a breakthrough and recover his losses. Instead, everyone won, and some even resorted to cheating. I was practically useless. I could not intervene because I had no justification to do so; the young master had never explicitly tasked me with protecting the casino."

"But now, things are different. He made me a mage and gave me his trust, his care, and every resource I needed to stand beside him. Without him, I feel like dry wood... lifeless and without purpose."

Exhale.

"He did give me two orders, though. The first was to stay around the mansion and protect Lady Rosay’s unconscious body, making sure to adjust her position from time to time so she would not lie in the same position for too long. The young master believes that it would not be good for Lady Rosay when she wakes up. The second order was all about time."

Smile.

"It’s strange how he seems to know everything. I don’t know whether he’s extraordinarily intelligent or if he can somehow see the future. Even so, I know I must trust him and carry out every instruction he gave me, even if I can’t stand by his side and help him directly yet. And that begins with dealing with our current problem."

"I am supposed to be wary of anyone who enters the mansion, even Lancet. Despite being a member of the Laughing End and having protected the mansion and Lady Rosay for some time now, he is not exempt from suspicion."

"But there is one person I do not know how to handle: Cadet Cloud. He is a third-year cadet who trained the young master in the sword arts and is also a member of Lady Rosay’s faction, the Circle of Chains."

"I don’t know what his intentions are, but he keeps coming around to report on a mission Lady Rosay assigned him before her hibernation. The problem is that he doesn’t know she’s hibernating. That alone makes him a threat. If he turns out to be an enemy, I won’t be able to face him alone."

"He’s strong. One of the strongest third-year cadets, and it’s said that only Lady Rosay and one other cadet were stronger than him. That’s why I asked for help. At least with her by my side, we stand a chance of hurting him."

—

A knock had brought Hazel to the door moments ago. She opened it to find Ren in shorts and a shirt held together with black braces, a small suitcase at her side, and her innocent eyes taking everything in.

"Your hair’s looking a little wild today. Was your mission really that exhausting?"

Ren’s eyes found Hazel’s, and without hesitation, she wrapped her in a tight hug.

"It’s been so long... since I saw a familiar face."

Hazel let out a long sigh and pulled herself out of the hug before waving her inside.

They shared the same master: Sebastian, sole butler to Duchess Rosemary Runerth. It was that shared history that gave Hazel reason enough to trust her with the mansion.

Ren hurried to the couch and set her suitcase on the table, and opening it up straight away.

Inside: a dagger with a blue blade, curved yet long enough to be mistaken for a short sword. Beside it, a silver double-action revolver forged purely from artifacts.

The sight of it made Hazel frown. "What have you done? Why did Master give them to you anyway? Aren’t you a little bit afraid?"

Ren smiled and reached for the revolver. The moment her hand closed round it, her body shook with one massive force, as though something had gone off inside her.

Her other hand found the dagger, and it danced across her fingertips with the precision of a master.

"Why are you surprised? I’ve always wanted to wield them, but Master believed I was ready for it, so he gave them to me. Well, I couldn’t hold them with Raine around, so this is the perfect time to hold them and pay my price."

Mid-sentence, she set the weapons down and made a grab for a tissue, but she didn’t make it in time. She coughed up blood, more of it streaming from her nose and mouth.

Ren wiped it away quickly and turned to find Hazel wearing an expression of pure disgust.

"You put your life on the line for the young master all the time. Let me have this one, Hazel. I just started Lady Raine’s clan, and I can only stand by her side with strength."

Hazel gritted her teeth.

"How strong are you going to be after sacrificing your kidney just to use that revolver?"

Ren shrugged.

"Don’t act like you wouldn’t have done the same if you were in my shoes. I don’t want to be a mage, so this is a small price to pay."

Hazel sighed and rubbed her temples, then moved to take her seat, but Ren spoke before she could.

"What are you doing? Don’t tell me you can’t sense them. There are intruders... they are closing in."

Hazel frowned. The revolver used one of her kidneys to conjure endless bullets, its toll paid once and done with. The dagger was the more dangerous of the two, though no less powerful for it. It lent her the full strength and cunning of a highly skilled assassin, but unlike the revolver, its price wasn’t a one-off. It was conditional.

That explained how she could sense intruders, though Hazel wasn’t pleased. She wondered if it was the members of the Laughing End, given she’d already set them to guard the mansion as well.

’Did they see Ren as an enemy? That would be bad. They cannot be seen.’

Hazel snatched her revolver, and they were moving with the door in sight, Ren beside her. The moment it creaked open, she caught the tail end of it: a blade tearing through the air, three heads severed in an instant.

Her chest tightened at the thought of the Laughing End, but they wore no masks, and relief rushed through her. It didn’t last. One look at the person holding the sword and her uneasiness resurfaced.

"Good. You’re home, Hazel. There are about seven intruders. They’re all third-year cadets and skilled. We have to be careful."

She frowned. Cloud stood before her, hands resting on the hilt of his sword, every inch the confident and intimidating swordmaster.