Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

—You think you can understand?

‘Look at this mansion. Isn’t it suspiciously empty of people?’

John was the only living, moving person in this huge mansion. There were traces of servants coming and going, but no resident staff.

John must have always been alone in this huge mansion.

He had told me something like that before too.

That he was always lonely to the bone in here.

‘I know how much such loneliness eats away at a person.’

I too suffered from terrible loneliness when I was under Seol Rok-jin. Everyone I cared for died, and people who knew Seol Rok-jin ran away trembling as soon as my gaze touched them.

After that birthday party, even employees who used to talk to me disappeared. They were probably scared of making a slip of the tongue to me, but for me it was hell.

‘That’s when I realized. That I’m terribly prone to loneliness.’

Originally, I wasn’t a very popular person. In the orphanage and the hunter academy, I was always the odd one out and people were always busy pointing fingers at me.

Still, it was the first time no one responded to me like that.

In that situation, only Seol Rok-jin spoke to me. He was the only one who cared for me as a person.

‘It felt like finding an oasis in a desert. Even if it was an oasis full of muddy water.’

—So you want to say that guy cared for you?

Seol Rok-jin was quite generous to me. The proof is that he kept me alive even though I often disobeyed his orders and went astray. Even apart from that, he did show quite a bit that he cared for me. To the point of being ridiculed as Seol Rok-jin’s cherished pet.

‘Though I got scolded harshly whenever I made mistakes, he never directly harmed me.’

If you just listened to what he said, Seol Rok-jin was quite a generous master.

—So you want to say Seol Rok-jin was a good master or what?

At Ray’s words, I stopped thinking. Did it sound like that? No, wait. Was I really thinking that?

—In the first place, can you say he ‘cared for you’ when he abused others in front of you and told you to behave properly if you didn’t want to end up like them?

I couldn’t give any answer to Ray’s words.

—That’s not caring. It’s just another form of abuse.

‘That’s certainly true, but…’

Ray added to me who couldn’t easily continue speaking:

—He was a terrible person. He treated you well? Don’t delude yourself. If he really cared for you, he wouldn’t have done such things to you. The fact that you think he was quite generous to you is probably because you feared him that much.

‘You’re saying I’m defending Seol Rok-jin because I feared him?’

—That’s right.

It was shocking. I had never thought about it that way at all.

‘Let’s talk about this again later. Right now, the conversation with John is more important.’

Ray grumbled at my words.

—You always run away when it comes to this kind of talk.

I deliberately ignored Ray’s grumbling and turned my gaze to John. Pushing the complicated thoughts to a corner, I asked John:

[What are you planning to do from now on?]

[Oh, well…]

John couldn’t easily answer my question.

[I don’t know. Honestly, for years I’ve just been living as Diana wanted…]

Is he saying he doesn’t know what to do from now on? Certainly, for someone who lived like a doll in this huge mansion, suddenly becoming free would just be bewildering if told to live as he pleases.

John was certainly like a greenhouse flower.

But it’s not right for me to advise John on how to live either… Just as I was pondering the answer,

[Ah, right.]

John handed me the cash ticket he had put in his pocket.

[I’ll return this to you.]

It was an amount that could make even those without greed greedy, but there was no regret or hesitation on John’s face as he handed me the ticket.

Well, he was this kind of person. I immediately shook my head.

[Just keep it.]

[Pardon?]

John looked at me with a surprised face at my words.

[Y-you’re giving me this much money?]

[Yes. You should go exchange it quickly. That casino will go bankrupt soon.]

[Why would the casino go bankr- no, that’s not important. Why are you giving me this huge amount of money?]

My answer is that it’s compensation for our past relationship… But to John who doesn’t remember the past, such words would just seem out of the blue.

[Just, I feel like you would use that money very well.]

[What do you mean…]

I looked at John’s face and said:

[Think of it as compensation for the hardships you’ve endured until now.]

[Compensation…]

[You’ve wasted years here. Think of it as payment for that. I took care of what I needed to while taking down your boss, so you take care of yourself too.]

This is true. Diana’s secret vault was full of cash and precious metals. If I convert everything found there to cash, it would be at least several billion won.

So giving this much money to John wasn’t a problem at all. However, even with my explanation, John still held out the ticket to me.

[Even so, there’s no reason for me to keep this money. There must be people who need this money much more than me…]

[Then make that your goal.]

[What?]

[You just said you don’t know what to do from now on. Give it to people who seem to need the money more. Make that your goal.]

[What do you mean…]

I said firmly to John who still looked bewildered:

[Anyway, that money has already left my hands. So if you don’t want to keep it, do whatever you want with it.]

John, realizing that I had no intention of taking the money back, soon made some decision and said to me with a serious face:

[I’ll use it well. This money.]

[Use it for yourself too. You know you need to take care of yourself first, right?]

Helping others is a very difficult thing. It’s not something you can do just because you have a lot of money. Just living well for myself without helping others is a hundred times easier path.

But John was too good a person to just grab onto fortune that came to him.

Still, if it’s John, he won’t waste that money carelessly. He’s too weak to emotions, but he’s not the type to waste money foolishly.

[Well then, shall we leave this place first?]

* * *

John decided to go to the hotel with us. We decided to stay there for now and figure out what to do next.

Han Seo-hyeon narrowed his eyes seeing me bringing John along, but soon sighed as if giving up and summoned the eagle.

[Wow.]

John carefully climbed on top of it. It was a shame he was trembling, but I was worried about just leaving him alone.

—You should have asked that Nikki woman to take John along too earlier.

‘Those people might see John as a bystander or accomplice. I can’t send him alone to mix with them.’

Han Seo-hyeon controlling the bird still didn’t look very happy. It seems he was really quite upset this time.

—He’ll think you’re ignoring him.

‘It’s not like that…’

How much do I rely on Han Seo-hyeon. Ignore him? That’s absurd. It’s just that I don’t want to allow murder yet…

—You’ll have to tell him clearly.

‘Yes.’

My heart grew heavy at Ray’s words. I had no idea what to say. Ugh, I’d like to avoid it if I could, but this isn’t a situation I can avoid just because I want to.

I should talk to him properly when we get to the hotel.

The bird Han Seo-hyeon controlled soon reached the hotel. John stepped down staggering. Seeing John’s even paler expression, I quickly spoke:

[Let’s go rest at that hotel for now.]

[U-um, yes…]

This isn’t the situation to do anything.

[When you feel better, go cash that ticket first.]

It may look fine now, but since Diana who was running the casino behind the scenes has disappeared, the casino will soon go bankrupt. At my warning, John nodded and said:

[Thank you.]

I frowned watching John’s back as he entered the hotel.

Now that I’ve sent him off like this, I feel quite uneasy.

‘Hmm, will he be okay?’

—If he’s not okay? Surely you’re not thinking of bringing that person along too?

‘Of course not.’

I can’t bring along an ordinary person with no means of self-protection. But somehow I’m worried…

“You seem quite concerned?”

I turned my head back at Han Seo-hyeon’s sarcastic words. Han Seo-hyeon standing with his arms crossed and one leg cocked came into view. He looked exactly like a delinquent teenager to anyone.

“No, I’m not concerned at all.”

Han Seo-hyeon’s expression only grew fiercer at my words. Han Seo-hyeon who glared at me for a while, thinking something, opened his mouth still with a crooked attitude:

“Just hurry up and come in. We have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”

“R-right.”

Urgh, I can’t avoid it anymore. Just as I was about to enter the hotel with Han Seo-hyeon and Kim Jae-ho like that. A concerning silhouette caught my eye.

“Um, you two go in first.”

“Why again?”

“I’ll buy some food from that food truck in front and come in.”

Kim Jae-ho’s eyes lit up at my words:

“I want to go too.”

“No, Jae-ho go in with Seo-hyeon too.”

Han Seo-hyeon who glared at me lightly hit Kim Jae-ho’s arm.

“Let’s go in.”

“Why? I want to go together too.”

“He has something he wants to do alone.”

That’s clearly a sarcastic tone. But being a sinner with many things to feel guilty about, I could only keep my mouth shut.

Kim Jae-ho who didn’t understand Han Seo-hyeon’s warning pouted.

“That’s why I want to go together too.”

“Are you going to upset me too?”

Ahem, I turned my gaze elsewhere pretending not to hear Han Seo-hyeon’s words. Kim Jae-ho was eventually dragged into the hotel led by Han Seo-hyeon’s hand.

“Buy a lot!”

I nodded at Kim Jae-ho’s words.

“Got it.”

After sending the two off like that, I immediately headed to the food truck. I ordered one hot dog.

—You’re only buying one?

‘Yes, I’ll buy what I’m giving the kids later. This is for someone else.’

I mean that kid I encountered here last time.

After buying the hot dog, I approached the bench where I had found the kid last time. Sure enough, what I saw earlier wasn’t an illusion. Behind the bench was a familiar small body.

[Hello.]

I greeted the kid who had turned his back as if avoiding passersby. The small shoulders trembled slightly at my greeting.

[Won’t you show me your face? I bought a hot dog too?]

At my words, the kid slowly turned his head. The moment I saw that kid’s face, the smile that had been lingering on my face instantly disappeared.

[What happened to your face?]

At my question, the kid hurriedly hid his face between his knees, but it was already too late. I had already seen the kid’s face covered in dark bruises.

[Who did this?]

[It’s nothing.]

[How is this nothing, your already unattractive face has become a complete mess.]

[Who are you calling ugly?]

Seeing the kid yelling at me, I finally smiled.

[Now you’ve got some energy back.]

I handed the hot dog to the kid who was at a loss for words. The kid hesitated but took the hot dog from me.

[Eat first.]

I didn’t want to start by yelling at the kid who had probably been starving all day. I need to fill his stomach before we talk.

—And then?

‘I need to hear who made this kid who has nowhere to be hit look like this.’

—The answer seems obvious though…

That’s the problem. I have the same thought as Ray.

‘Still, I have to hope it’s not just that.’

If the culprit who made this kid like this is really who I think it is, well. It seems it would be difficult to pretend to be a good person anymore.