-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: A Devoted Reader's Reformation Life
-----------------------------------------------------------------
<―>
"Ugh..."
An immense pain throbbed in his head.
Trey let out a groan of agony as he slowly pushed himself upright.
He sat there for a moment, dazed, trying to piece together why he was in this state.
A beauty screaming in front of him that she hated it, himself stripping that woman's clothes.
And then... someone watching it all with an expressionless gaze...
"Hey."
"Young Lord?"
Startled by Sion crouching down and looking at him, Trey jumped to his feet.
But when he realized Sion was still sitting there, he must have thought his young master couldn't possibly be looking up at him like that, because he dropped to his knees and bowed his head.
"From now on, answer my questions. Begin."
"W-what do you mean..."
"Answers are yes or no only.
Speak up if you have any complaints."
As those cold-looking eyes flashed sharply, Trey nodded frantically.
It was strangely different from the Sion he knew—sharp, yet carrying a chilling composure at its edge. Trey just couldn't get used to it.
"How many times have I done this kind of thing?"
"Pardon?"
"How many times have I dragged women here and done vile things to them?"
"Y-Young Lord.
I have no idea what you're talking about..."
"Stop questioning me back.
Do it again, pretend you don't understand, and I'll smash your face in."
The lines were similar to usual, but the atmosphere was completely different.
Trey wondered if this wasn't Sion at all, but someone else wearing his skin.
Of course, it was a ridiculous, irreverent thought he shouldn't even entertain, and he scolded himself for it.
Unaware that it wasn't just imagination, but reality.
"Excluding today, I remember it being two—no, three times."
Fuck, three times?
Sion cursed inwardly at Trey's confession.
Even one such incident getting out could be fatal in noble society, but three times?
'You fucking shit bastard!'
No wonder Lichten Klauzen, the Margrave, hesitated to entrust the Klauzen name to Sion despite the big age gap with his younger brother.
Only after Sion's threats forced the brother to abandon the succession and flee the territory like a coward did he officially become the heir.
"Of course, there were no issues."
"No issues?"
"Yes.
I showed them to you myself, and after inspecting them a few times, you said they weren't to your taste and told them to get lost..."
Trey trailed off, glancing nervously.
Sion was about to berate him for what that even meant when he suddenly recalled the perverted tastes of the novel's Sion—his own now.
The mad bastard Sion had very specific preferences for women: they had to be shorter or about his height, with pale, flawless skin, slender legs, small hands and feet, and more. He was so exacting that he'd only embrace a woman after checking every single criterion.
In other words, Trey had secretly brought a few women, Sion had judged them lacking, and sent them away after a quick look.
'At least he didn't mess around recklessly down there?
Well, his truly perverse fetishes only exploded after Kim Yu-hyun entered the capital and drew all the nobles' and court's attention.'
A small mercy among misfortunes, but now Sion wasn't just the novel's villain—he was himself.
One tiny slip could snowball disastrously, and he might even cross paths with Death God Kim Yu-hyun again, losing his head to that blade.
Sion Klauzen wasn't someone who'd lived a clean life, so he likely had plenty of enemies lurking. Any weakness could fatally undermine his goal of survival.
"Let's head back to the castle first."
"Yes, Young Lord."
It was late.
Even for Sion Klauzen, unbound by restrictions, returning to the castle this late without word would surely prompt the Margrave to send soldiers searching for his son.
As Sion stepped out of the half— no, fully—destroyed basement, he let out an "Ah" and turned back with a smile, suddenly speaking to Trey in an unusually polite tone.
"Sir Trey.
You know, right?"
"Pardon?"
"Today's events stay secret, just like always.
If you let it slip... well, it'll be very entertaining."
As far as he remembered, the only one who truly knew this era's bratty Sion was Trey, who served right by his side.
Though that Trey exited early in the novel courtesy of Kim Yu-hyun, now he was alive—and Sion had at least one subordinate he could trust and command freely.
"Of course... I'll keep it absolutely silent."
He didn't know the exact reason, but Trey knew Sion had something on him.
Leveraging that well would prove very useful going forward.
―――――――――――
The Klauzen Margrave Territory bore the duty of guarding the Hispanya Kingdom's border.
Thus, it held all military authority in the region, with the privilege to organize and deploy forces independently, without orders from the royal castle.
This was the power granted for shouldering the grave responsibility of the kingdom's first line of defense against invasions from the neighboring Kingdom of Nudia.
Though only a count in title, its fame and might rivaled that of a marquis.
"Wow."
Upon reaching the Klauzen Margrave's castle, Sion was so overwhelmed by its grandeur that he forgot it was now his home, letting out exclamations nonstop.
A massive, majestic fortress straight out of a game belonged to his father—and someday, could be his.
That thought added a new, humble goal to mere survival: if he lived, he'd eat well and live well in the Margrave Territory.
"Young Lord!
Why are you so late!"
After crossing the drawbridge and passing through the gates into the main keep, then through the grand doors into the castle proper, the first to greet him anxiously was a white-haired elder.
Impeccably neat uniform without a single wrinkle, beard trimmed sharp as if measured with a ruler.
It was Sebastian, the butler of House Klauzen.
'...Wait a minute.
The butler of the Klauzen Count family, Sebastian...'
Now just the family butler, but his true identity was one of the house's two swords.
A terrifying figure who'd fought Kim Yu-hyun—the mighty Sword Saint—on equal footing with battle experience, split-second judgment, and superhuman senses. Hardly deserving the label "old man."
Of course, he'd never shown that prowess to Sion Klauzen, so the novel's Sion died believing his butler Sebastian was merely a spry elderly servant.
"Young Lord.
Where on earth have you been until this late hour?
Do you really want to give this old man a heart attack?
You have no idea how worried the Margrave must be!"
Sebastian rushed over, eyes glistening with tears as he seized Sion's hands.
But knowing the man's true nature, Sion stifled a hilarious laugh inside.
'Old man my ass!
What knight order was that grandfather originally from?
...Right.
The Royal Secret Guardian Knights.
Definitely.'
A master who'd left even Sword Saint Kim Yu-hyun in awe.
Yet here he was, cosplaying as a frail, powerless butler before Sion.
Truly, as Sion's inner voice put it, squatting there shamelessly.
A monster who'd given even Kim Yu-hyun trouble—no foolish words or actions to earn his ire.
Thus, as the family's young lord, Sion resolved to show basic courtesy to the butler.
"There was a little incident, Sebastian.
Nothing serious, so no need for such worry."
Flashing a salesman's smile as if greeting a guest, Sion patted the elder's wrinkled hand still holding his.
Sebastian said that was a relief and urged him to go up since the Margrave was looking for him.
Nodding, Sion led Trey toward the castle's third floor, where the Margrave's office was.
Sebastian watched their retreating figures with a kindly smile.
But the moment they vanished from sight, it wiped away.
In its place: icy eyes, pursed lips, and a fiercely glinting gaze.
"Sebastian, huh."
The current Sion wouldn't know, but the original never called him Sebastian.
Just "butler"—or "old geezer" when in a foul mood.
The honorific felt less like respect and more like deliberate mockery, emphasizing his age.
This detail never appeared in the novel, only the author's setting notes, so even avid reader Ji-hoon couldn't know it.
"Strange. Suspicious."
A faint smile tugged at Sebastian's lips.
He glanced once at the footsteps leading upstairs, then clicked his tongue and walked off.
Meanwhile, reaching the Margrave's office, Sion nodded at Trey.
Enough for now—withdraw.
Trey bowed stiffly, face tense, and retraced his steps.
'Whew.'
Just beyond this door waited Sion Klauzen's—no, his own father, Lichten Klauzen, the Margrave.
Torn between fatherhood and his duty as a lord of the realm, he'd chosen the latter, even recommending his son's arm-severing foe to the capital, letting him hog all glory and attention.
Thus earning his vengeful son's brutal end—a pitiful father and margrave.
He awaited beyond this door.
Knock knock knock.
"Enter."
He could've asked who it was, but as if knowing from the start who waited outside, a middle-aged man's voice came from within.
Sion drew a deep breath and turned the knob.
The Margrave's office was humbly simple for the absolute ruler of a vast territory.
And within sat not a lofty "Margrave," but an utterly ordinary father worried for his son and eager to guide him.
"Sit."
Sion obediently took the sofa.
He waited cautiously for Lichten Margrave's words, observing him carefully.
As described in the novel: a man resembling Sion, yet with subtle differences.
Handsome enough in youth to break hearts, that charm lingered as middle-aged allure.
Deep furrows on his brow etched years of anguish; a scar on his cheek told of harsh battlefields.
"..."
Sion sat, but Lichten Margrave said nothing else.
He merely reviewed the papers before him.
Three minutes passed, then five, then over ten. Father and son sat in silence.
"Sion Klauzen."
Some minutes more trickled by before Lichten Margrave finally spoke.
Sion straightened, ready to listen intently.
But the next words froze him solid.
"Tell me truthfully, without lies or omissions.
Sion Klauzen.
What have you been doing to return to the castle this late?"
"..."
"I want to believe you haven't done something idiotic to tarnish the family name."
That tarnishing? Your son did it royally, nearly lost his arm too—but I saved his limbs intact and his honor along with them on the way back.
He wanted to say it, but that'd earn him "madman" at best.
'Fucking Sion, you bastard.'
Not time for pleasant self-reflection—what bullshit was this?
Head spinning from nonstop heavy events, he wanted to clutch his skull and scream.
The author said "survive as the villain," but was that ever easy?
Possessing the living landmine Sion Klauzen—how the hell to survive?
The worst conundrum of his life.
[Author's Note]
Hope you're having a great weekend!