The Dark Fantasy Hero
Looking through the iron bars at the affectionate scene between the two of them, I opened my mouth.
“Wait. Liv. What are you doing right now?”
“Hmm? Why?”
Olivia turned her head to look at me, tilting it curiously as if wondering what the matter was.
I asked her something I already knew.
“Is that butler a noble?”
“No, Albert is a commoner. He’s my trustworthy and capable butler!”
Olivia showed him off as if proud of her own man.
I kept my expression flat.
“Since when has a commoner been allowed to call a noble by a nickname?”
“………”
Albert’s face stiffened in an instant.
I knew he carried a deep complex about his station. I also knew that if you prodded him like this, he was the sort who always pushed back.
“Come on! What’s wrong with you, Siu! Albert’s fine. He’s someone I can trust.”
Olivia fretted and tried to rein me in. I had no intention of stopping there.
“Trust isn’t the issue. The problem is a commoner treating a noble like a friend.”
“What’s wrong with being friends?”
“It’s a very big problem.”
I stepped closer to the bars. Olivia stared at me as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. I offered her a piece of advice.
“Olivia. You already know this, but a noble mingling with commoners is an act that lowers your standing. The other nobles won’t look kindly on you. It will hurt your business as well.”
It was strange, even to me, how naturally those words left my mouth. Personally I believed there was no high or low among people. Whether you wore silk or rags, one stroke of a blade ended you the same. That was a truth hard-earned on the battlefield.
The only reason I was saying any of this was purpose.
That should be enough of a push.
I looked straight at Albert. He was doing his best to hide his expression, but he couldn’t hide from my eyes.
Looks like he’s properly pissed.
Our gazes met. I read the ambition and cruelty he kept locked deep inside. The original story hadn’t been wrong. He would betray Olivia without fail. That meant the sprout had to be cut before it grew.
“Liv. If you’re a noble, draw a clear line with commoners. Especially if you want to make money through business.”
“B-but—”
“An uneducated commoner is little better than a beast. Show them affection and they forget their place and start climbing all over you.”
I caught the tiny sound of teeth grinding. Albert had just clenched his jaw. He glared at me in secret; I read pure rage and hostility in that look.
“Look at him even now. You treat him well, and all you get in return is contempt.”
“C-contempt?”
“Trying to call his own mistress by a nickname—if that isn’t contempt, what is it?”
That was when Albert finally spoke.
“I never intended any disrespect toward my lady.”
“See?! Siu, listen! He didn’t mean it like that!”
“Never trust a commoner’s word. They’ll lie the moment it benefits them. There’s no such thing as credibility in anything they say or do.”
My words dripped with pure elitism. Olivia looked flustered. Coming from a modern world without class, of course she found the idea repulsive. Even so, she wasn’t the type to hate me for waving the banner of aristocratic supremacy.
“Th-that’s not right! Siu! Listen to me!”
That was who she was—someone who, rather than despising others, only ever thought about fixing their flaws. And someone very easy to use.
I could see exactly what she was thinking right now.
She’s probably wondering how to guide me onto the righteous path.
“O-of course status matters, but I think ability is more important. If you judge people only by birth, no talent will ever work for you.”
“You’re not wrong, but that’s a different conversation. Liv, you’re misunderstanding me.”
“I-is that so?”
She had gathered her courage to lecture me, only to retreat with a puzzled face at my next words. Albert stepped forward instead.
“May I speak for a moment?”
“Yes! Albert, say whatever you want!”
He moved in front of Olivia and faced me.
“Lord Sirius, first I would like to offer an apology.”
Olivia couldn’t see his face. I could see it perfectly. He was openly wearing a look of pure disgust, brows furrowed. Everything was unfolding exactly as I had steered it.
“As the butler who has served Lady Liv for a long time—”
I cut him off.
“I can’t stand to watch this with my eyes open.”
With a metallic crash I shattered the iron bars and stepped out.
“W-what?! You were this strong?!”
Leaving the startled Olivia behind me, I stood before Albert.
“Did you think you could wear that face in front of me and walk away unscathed?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
He smiled faintly. Only then did I understand what he was after.
He wants me to use violence in front of Olivia.
Olivia hated violence. She could forgive plenty of wicked or unpleasant acts, but she loathed anyone who used unjust force. It was tied to her previous life. Albert couldn’t possibly know about that life, yet as the butler who had stayed at her side for years, he would have long since figured out that she detested violence.
He wants her to be disappointed in me.
I laughed at him inwardly. The Sirius he knew no longer existed. The one standing here was me, wearing Sirius’s body. The original Sirius had been weak. All he had was pride in a bloodline that flickered like a candle in the wind. That Sirius would have taken the bait and swung. He might even have drawn his sword, since the opponent was a commoner. But a Sirius weaker than Albert could never have killed him. Albert knew that, which was why he was acting this way now.
What he didn’t know was why I had been locked in this underground cell, or how I could snap steel bars like dry twigs. His sharp mind never bothered to ask. The hatred he felt for a Sirius who strutted on bloodline alone despite having no ability had simply blocked deeper thought.
The words he would one day spit in front of an Olivia who had lost everything floated up in my mind.
“From this moment on I am a noble. And you are nothing but a lowly commoner.”
“A joke? Does this situation still feel like a joke to you?”
Albert hated nobles. He couldn’t stand watching people inferior to him sit above him. That was why he had betrayed the one person who had believed in him more than anyone.
“Hic… waaah!!”
“Heh. What a ridiculous woman.”
He had laughed while she cried, refusing to accept the truth.
…
My mood plummeted to the floor. My hand moved on its own.
I seized his forearm in a crushing grip.
“Is someone as highborn as yourself about to use violence on me?”
My grip tightened. The smile at the corner of his mouth only grew wider. Because Olivia couldn’t see it, he was laughing freely.
Go on, hit me even once. I’ll show you a hell worse than that.
It felt as if I could hear his thoughts. It wasn’t imagination. His eyes, curved into crescents, were saying exactly that. The moment I punched him he would play the victim, plead with his mistress Olivia to stop the enraged me, and then mock me from behind once I had earned her hatred. His petty, transparent scheme was so obvious I couldn’t help but despise him.
“Pathetic.”
“Pardon?”
Albert tilted his head as if wondering what I was suddenly talking about. Ignoring his insolent stare, I looked at the left arm I held.
“It’s laughable that you thought I wouldn’t notice your lowly little plan.”
I squeezed harder.
“And the arrogance of believing I lack the strength to hurt you—that arrogance reeks of your base birth and disgusts me.”
“What are you suddenly—”
Before he could finish, I tore his arm off.
A wet, ripping crack filled the air.
“AAAAAARGH!!”
His scream burst out at the same moment. I flung the dangling arm behind me and looked down at the man who had collapsed to his knees.
“Now that I can live with.”
The elitism etched into Sirius’s body was thoroughly satisfied by the sight of this insolent creature kneeling and looking up at me. Thanks to that, the next words left my mouth naturally.
“Don’t try to meet my eyes. It’s arrogant.”
The hand I had ripped off was the same one that had casually stroked Olivia’s shoulder a moment earlier. Nothing serious—just the kind of affectionate touch close friends might share. Albert and Olivia had spent a long time together, after all.
“Albert!!”
It was only natural that Olivia rushed forward now.
“Stop the bleeding… stop the bleeding!”
Her face was shocked, yet her hands moved with calm precision. She was a resolute protagonist. Even with blood flying everywhere she didn’t flounder; she knew exactly what needed doing. While both hands pressed against the spurting blood, she looked up at me.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
There was no hostility in her eyes—only pure confusion. She never could have imagined the atmosphere turning this ugly and ending with an arm being torn off.
“What’s the matter?”
My casual demeanor made her raise her voice.
“Why did you use violence on Albert?!”
I answered with an indifferent face.
“Violence? Are you saying I used violence on a commoner? Why would that be a problem?”
The elitism carved into this body raised its head.
“Liv, I am an Everhart. Something as vulgar as laying hands on a commoner will never happen in my life. This is nothing more than a light reprimand.”
“A reprimand? You call this a reprimand?!”
Watching her seethe at my words, I continued.
“Liv, why are you reacting like this? As the young lady of House Lowell you ought to understand.”
“Th-that’s…”
She turned her head, avoiding my gaze. I understood the gesture perfectly. What I had just said was orthodoxy—noble orthodoxy. No true noble could refute it. Anyone who did would have their status questioned. As a transmigrator she had to protect herself.
“You’re taking this too seriously.”
“…It is serious. Look how much blood there is.”
Olivia looked at Albert with worried eyes.
“Stand up, Liv. There’s no need for you to help him.”
I sneered at the man clutching his shoulder and swallowing groans. Olivia hadn’t noticed, but I could see he was exaggerating the pain.
“This isn’t something to worry over. If anything, I want you to understand that I went easy on him.”
“Went easy?”
“Yes, Olivia. He’s your servant, isn’t he? As your fiancé, holding back is only natural.”
Hearing that, Albert ground his teeth and glared at me.
“Is this a joke? You call this holding back?!”
I looked down at him with cold eyes.
“Insolent.”
“Albert!”
Olivia scolded him not to provoke me further, and he lowered his eyes. For some reason the sight was deeply satisfying.
“If you had been one of my brothers, your head would already be gone. You’re quite lucky.”
“Kh…!”
I wouldn’t kill him here. There was no need to earn unnecessary hatred by executing him in front of Olivia.
“I’ll go up first.”
There was no reason to hurry. Albert was nothing more than a single butler of a count’s house. The preparations he could make were limited.
I paused mid-step and glanced back. My eyes met Olivia’s, who had been watching me.
“One hundred thousand gold. It’ll be ready soon.”
“That’s not important right now. We can talk about it later—”
“No.”
I slowly shook my head.
“I want to repay your trust.”
She trusted people far too easily. Not because that trust had ever been returned. It was simply her nature. Scum used that nature to fatten themselves. I would not. I would repay that beautiful trust many times over.
“So prepare it in advance.”
Whether dark fantasy or reality, humans were the one thing they had in common. Human nature was so filthy it made you want to vomit. But she was different. She was the protagonist—so good and upright that her very existence made this world feel like a true fantasy.
Every time I looked at her, an indescribable emotion welled up from deep in my chest. When I let that feeling reach my lips, a smile spread across my face. Seeing it, she rounded her eyes in surprise.
Leaving the momentarily dumbfounded Olivia behind, I climbed the stairs.
“…….”
Olivia stood frozen for a long time. Her mind was completely filled with the face Sirius had shown her just now—not the vile face of the villain she despised, but the smile of a kind person. It hadn’t been false.
What was that?
She hadn’t spent that much time with Sirius. At most she had only seen him when her father brought her along on business to the ducal house, the way she had today.
…Is he a bad person?
From their few previous meetings she had judged Sirius to be an extremely difficult man—blunt and cold. Today had been a little different. Adults dismissed a mere young lady like her and never listened to her talk of business, but Sirius had been different. He had spoken with her seriously and downed without hesitation the cola everyone else was reluctant to drink. That had made her so happy, so eager to grow closer, that they had started calling each other by nicknames. They had even promised to start a business together.
Yet he had inflicted a terrible wound on Albert.
“Ghh…!”
“Stay still. I’ll call for help!”
The eyes Sirius had used to glare coldly at Albert—those eyes had been thoroughly aristocratic.
…!
A sudden realization flashed through her mind. The Siu who had spoken with her was a good person. Yet toward the commoner Albert he had shown an entirely different attitude. The reason was the elitism he carried. In the modern world that was wrong, but in this world it was the natural mindset every noble was expected to hold. Sirius had simply acted as he had been taught. She couldn’t simply label him a villain for that.
And then she hit upon a brilliant idea.
What if I guide him in the right direction?
She couldn’t just declare outright that elitism was bad. If anyone caught her saying something like that she would certainly be cast out of the family and sent to a convent. But what if she stayed by his side and slowly colored his thoughts with her own?
There’s a chance!
She clenched her fist, face flushed with excitement, and let out a determined huff of breath.
I can do it! If it’s me!
Olivia resolved then and there that she would reform Sirius and turn him into a good person no matter what.
“Aaargh!”
“A-Albert! Let’s go to the church first! They can reattach the arm there!”
“…I’m a commoner. I don’t have the money for treatment.”
“Don’t worry! I have the allowance I’ve been saving!”
She quickly summoned people and headed for the church with Albert.