The Main Character is the Villain

The Peta Lucius she knew was like a saint descended from the heavens. He had no interest in worldly pursuits and only spent his time praying, conducting mass, and managing the estate.

This was a fact Aira knew better than anyone, having worked closely with Lucius for the past two months. He was almost too pure to be human. That\'s why he was an easy target to exploit.

However, Lucius\' recent behavior was a bit strange. The man who had never shown a disheveled appearance was wearing his clothes a little askew or had messy hair while working.

Additionally, he even asked about her well-being, something he had never done before, which made Aira wonder if the lord had finally gone mad. Or perhaps he had finally come to his senses.

“Is the work hard?”

“No! I’m fine, My Lord. I should be trying harder to be of more help to My Lord, but I’m not good enough…...”

Something was off. No matter how much she thought about it, something felt wrong. Aira\'s intuition, honed over 20 years of deception, were warning her that Lucius was very dangerous right now. His pointed ears, red and clear eyes, and his pale skin that\'s whiter than white were all the same, yet there was something different about Lucius. The way his gaze swept over her was strange, and his moments of zoning out while working were suspicious.

“What could be strange? Maybe he\'s fallen for you?”

The guard Karl reassured Aira, who had told this story. He confidently stated that Lucius was biggest pushover he had ever seen, and would remain so. Karl shamelessly showed no gratitude for the lord who had taken him in.

“No, I really feel something is off. Did he notice something?”

“Eh, notice what? Did you ever ask Lucius to give you the accounting work?”

“Only to the head maid. I didn\'t directly ask to do the accounting, I just said I was confident.”

“Look. If he thought you were suspicious, he’d just give you some other task. Why would he keep you around?”

“Is that so?”

Aira nodded, agreeing with Karl’s optimism. Soldier Karl. A corrupt soldier who sold his lord for 2 gold for gambling debt. Karl had proposed running away together with Aira, while Aira planned to escape alone with the lord’s money. A gambler was even less trustworthy than a swindler. Especially one who earns 10 silver but had 2 gold in gambling debt.

“Where should we build our newlywed home? Should we go all the way to the capital?”

“That sounds good.”

Aira fell into Karl’s embrace and once again mocked the guard’s stupidity. Proposing to rob the territory of a former hero and live in the capital. With that kind of judgment, it was no wonder he was still just a guard. Aira was planning to take the money and run as far away as possible.

Karl’s role was essentially over once he wrote the recommendation for Aira to work as a maid in the estate. The only reason why Aira hadn’t ditched him yet was if snitched, they’d both be finished.

Aira was busy with maid duties every day. Getting up at 6 AM and doing 30-minute patrols at night was taking a toll on her, but the thought of stealing the lord\'s fortune kept her motivated. Peta Lucius had a lot of money, so he wouldn’t mind sharing a bit, would he? Imagining Lucius laughing off the theft made Aira smile.

The maid work was tough. But this was the biggest job she had ever done. If she succeeded this time, she could live a life of luxury, doing whatever she wanted.

And for Aira, that opportunity came quickly.

One day, while Robin was contemplating something in front of the warehouse, he specifically called out to Aira. Robin opened the warehouse door without any caution and pointed to a piece of furniture inside.

“I need some help moving this.”

“Yes, understood.”

Aira didn’t know why he asked her instead of a male servant, but she went in and started pushing the furniture. As she looked around, she noticed several expensive-looking antiques in the warehouse. �

In the center was a large jar adorned with jewels, surrounded by various ornaments. Aira thought she could stuff all the ornaments into the jar and make a clean getaway.

After sweeping it all up, she planned to tell Karl she was going to sell the stolen goods. Then, disappear after disposing everything herself. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of getting her hands on a lot of money. She gritted her teeth to hide her smile from Robin as she lifted the desk.

The desk was very light for its size, so even Aira could move it with ease.

After taking the desk out of the warehouse, Robin explained apologetically.

“Good work. We need to replace the desk in the captain’s office, and I didn’t want it damaged by the warehouse’s threshold.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Robin locked the warehouse again. Aira didn’t miss the clearly visible combination on the lock. This meant she didn’t have to wait to get the accounting duties. Looting the warehouse in one go would definitely be more profitable than looking for an opportunity to steal from the accounts. Coincidentally, her night patrol was scheduled for early the next morning, and Karl had the day off.

Aira was growing tired of the tedious maid work. Karl was also fretting over his gambling debts, so he definitely wouldn’t object to this plan.

But contrary to Aira’s expectations, Karl was very reluctant when she suggested robbing the warehouse. It was the most hesitant and timid she had ever seen him.

“What’s wrong?”

“The things in there. They\'re probably the keepsake of the lord’s father.”

“So?”

“Don’t you know how sensitive Lord Lucius is about that? He keeps saying the estate has no money, but he never touches those items. They’re more important to him than the territory itself.”

“What’s the use of saving them? Wouldn’t his father be happier if we used them well?”

“Hey hey. Think carefully. If we get caught, we’re dead.”

“Listen, Karl. There won’t be another chance like this. I have the third-floor night patrol at 3 AM tomorrow, and you’re off that day. I’ll unlock the warehouse and hand the goods to you. After passing the shift to the next patrol, no one will know.”

“But......”

“Today was the first time I saw that warehouse open while working here. I haven’t seen the lord open it. The warehouse was covered in dust, and those poor babies were buried in it. Don’t you think the lord doesn’t know about the warehouse? Huh?”

“Okay, I got it.”

Karl eventually succumbed to Aira’s persuasion. Aira was convinced her plan was perfect. Luckily, Karl’s shift had been adjusted to coincide with her early patrol. Who would have believed such luck was on her side? It was as if someone was watching her every move, encouraging her to steal.

At the appointed time, Aira confirmed the lord was asleep and opened the door to let Karl in. There were others patrolling the first and second floors, but bringing a lover into the dormitory at dawn wasn\'t uncommon, so the patrol maid didn’t say anything. She just put a finger to her lips and made a shushing gesture to Aira.

Aira smiled and went upstairs with Karl. The patrol maid made a quick round of the corridor and then went into her room. Everyone knew that no one would rob this small estate anyway.

Aira held Karl’s hand as they went up to the third floor. There were no security devices in the third-floor warehouse. Larger estates supposedly had magical security devices in their warehouses, but Aira had never found any trace of magic in this estate, let alone a mage.

Aira moved carefully, lowering her footsteps. The warehouse had a clean, new-looking lock. Using the moonlight, Aira entered the combination, and the lock opened with a loud click.

Startled, their hearts almost stopped. The two looked at each other, then finally at the lord’s room. The lord seemed to be deeply asleep as there was no reaction. Aira sighed in relief and slowly removed the lock.

She then slowly began to open the warehouse door. Through the crack, she saw the luxurious jar and the beautiful ornaments around it. Aira and Karl’s eyes glittered with greed as they cautiously opened the door. Even before it was fully open, Karl had already stepped into the warehouse. And—

Kkang-!

A heavy mace flew at Karl’s face. Before he could react, a cool note sent Karl crashing into the opposite wall. The lord who had blasted Karl in a batting form emerged from the warehouse, smiling with satisfaction.

Without time to understand the situation, Aira ran to Karl to check his condition. He was twitching and his tongue was out, it couldn\'t go any more wrong. Thinking quickly, Aira spoke up.

“T-this guy threatened me...”

“Don’t be silly, Aira.”

Lucius swung the mace, but then kicked Aira\'s head instead. With a heavy thud, Aira collapsed on the floor and passed out. Only then did Lucius wake up Robin, who had been sleeping in the corner of the warehouse.

“Robin. Wake up.”

“Ah, ah? My Lord! The thief? What happened to the thief?”

“There.”

Lucius pointed to the convulsing Karl and the unconscious Aira on the floor. Karl’s eyes were rolled back, and he was foaming at the mouth as he giggled. Aira lay with her head on the floor, with her plump rear sticking up.

“My Lord, this guy is smiling?”

“Leave him. He must be having a good dream.”

Lucius took a deep breath. Everything was going according to plan.

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