A Villain's Survival Guide

At the Runerth estate on Helena Street, San Paulette, the Duchess Rosemary Runerth was resting on her couch.

She rested quietly against the sofa, one hand wrapped around a porcelain cup as thin streams of steam curled into the air before her. Her dark hair framed her face in soft waves, making the gold in her eyes seem almost luminous beneath the dim light.

The tea she sipped was a rare duskleaf blend, known for its calming warmth and the faint silver mist it released, a trait many believed carried away anxious thoughts with the steam itself.

Its scent lingered through the room with traces of cedar and burnt honey as she took another slow sip, her expression unreadable behind the rising haze.

Behind her was the butler, Sebastian, standing silently beside the door with the same rigid posture he carried every evening, his aged hands calmly dragging a cloth along the edge of a heavy butchering knife streaked with fading blood.

Deep wrinkles lined his weathered face beneath neatly combed grey hair, and although crimson stains marked the sleeves of his otherwise immaculate suit, his expression remained composed, almost gentlemanly, as if cleaning blood from steel was no different from polishing silverware after supper.

Rosemary set her tea down after a few sips, a seductive smile settling on her red lips as she spoke. "How did it go? I believe you got everyone just as suggested."

Sebastian bowed slightly. Rosemary couldn’t see him from where she sat, but he paid his respects regardless. He always did.

"There were eight of them, my lady. Most relied on artifacts, though two were Magicians and one was higher-ranked, a Sorcerer. I assume they sought to avoid detection, so they traveled to the academy by carriage.

"They were not difficult to handle, and I can assure you none survived. No one will interfere with the young master’s work at the academy."

Rosemary flicked her hair back, golden eyes finding their reflection in the tea, her smile holding through all of it, unhurried and luminous.

"I believe Leomaris could have handled them even if they’d made it to the academy." Her body quivered.

She reached for her face without thinking, fingers tracing her own skin gently... the thought of him, just the thought, enough to bring her to the edge of something. "...but no one interferes with my creation."

She gave her words a breath. "No one but me."

When the pleasure had run its course, her eyes drifted over her shoulder, finding Sebastian exactly where he always was, waiting attentively.

"What about Samael? He was meant to serve Leomaris for a year, wasn’t he? Why is he letting the Unholy Priests interfere with his studies?" She frowned.

"Samael’s intentions are not entirely clear, my lady. I have been monitoring him, but he has not acted suspiciously. I believe the young master gave him strict orders before departing for the academy, but it appears he is unaware of the Unholy Priests’ current plan against Leomaris."

Rosemary let out a breath. Her eyes returned to the tea table, already somewhere else entirely.

"Would you like me to threaten the young master, Samael? I can ensure he is made to act appropriately."

Rosemary’s fingers paused around the teacup. For a brief moment, her golden eyes lost focus as the image bloomed vividly within her mind.

Sebastian’s words stirred something in her.

She imagined her Leomaris standing atop a mountain of broken bodies beneath a burning crimson sky, dark clothes soaked black-red with the blood of enemies who had been foolish enough to stand before him.

She pictured that cold look in his eyes, the terrifying calm of a monster born for ruin, and the thought alone sent warmth curling through her chest stronger than the tea ever could.

A faint smile touched her lips as steam drifted across her face, unable to hide the twisted pride glowing in her expression.

"No, Sebastian, don’t. I believe Leomaris will deal with him someday."

Sebastian’s expression darkened, but he held his calm, showing neither emotion nor hesitation.

Rosemary had taken care of everyone who dared stand in Leomaris’s way. Strangely, or perhaps not so strangely, she always knew when a threat arose. Always knew when someone moved against him.

Sebastian knew more of Rosemary’s secrets than most, but this was new. Whenever the image of Leomaris as a villain crossed her mind, something stirred in her that Sebastian had no name for.

Sebastian was well aware of Leomaris’s talent and the change that had come over him. But set against his older siblings, Samael and Rosay, all of it amounted to very little. A bug to be squashed, nothing more.

Rosay was someone even Sebastian feared on occasion, and Samael was elusive and precise with his words, no less dangerous for being harder to read.

Neither was a villain to be dismissed. And yet neither had ever drawn this out of Rosemary. Whatever Leomaris had done, or was becoming, it had reached somewhere in her that they never had.

’She had always admired Leomaris. But to believe, wholeheartedly, that he was a match for Samael and Rosay... that was quite concerning,’ he thought.

He shrugged subtly.

Twenty-five years, and he had never truly understood her. Perhaps he never would. But questioning her had never been an option, and he had long since stopped pretending otherwise.

Five seconds passed before Rosemary eased back into her seat. "The opening ceremony is tomorrow."

A small smile. "Once the academy year begins, you’ll understand what Leomaris is capable of."

Sebastian flinched. "Yes, my lady. I believe he can handle everything at the academy. I will ensure no external force interferes with his plans unless you allow it."

Rosemary met him with silence. Sebastian sweated anyway.

He’d never been able to tell if she could read minds, never known what ability she had. He wasn’t about to pretend otherwise. With Rosemary, not knowing was simply part of the arrangement.

"There is something else you must know, my lady. I heard the Zephyro is currently in San Paulette. Would you wish to do anything about it?"