The Butterfly and the Villainess
I blinked in surprise. “You have a kid? You’re married?”
“Not married. Adopted. I needed someone to lead the family in my place.”
“What family? Didn’t you say you were a butler?”
“Come to think of it, I never explained that part. So here’s what happened…”
I was about to continue when a thought suddenly occurred to me and I stopped. “This conversation’s going to take a while. How about you make up with Dohee first?”
“…Do you think I’m avoiding it because I don’t want to? She’s not coming out of her room all day.”
Apparently Dohee had a bad habit of locking herself in her room until her mood improved whenever she got upset.
“That sulking thing runs in the family.”
“What?”
“You used to do the exact same thing. Remember slamming the door and declaring you’d never come out?”
I also remembered how she couldn’t stand being hungry and would secretly ask me to cook ramen for her in the middle of the night. Looking back now, my sister had been incredibly stubborn. It was a miracle Mom hadn’t killed her.
“Heh.”
I let out a small chuckle at the old memories.
“So don’t be too hard on Dohee. No matter how stubborn she is, she can’t be as bad as you were in your prime.”
“Who asked for your opinion…”
“In that spirit… want to go for a quick walk?”
“A walk? Out of nowhere?”
“If you stay in the house, Dohee won’t come out. I’ll talk to her separately, so give us some space.”
“You alone?”
“These things usually get resolved faster when a third party steps in instead of the people directly involved.”
Just like how Dad used to do it.
“Whenever the two of you fought, Dad would always mediate from the middle.”
“……”
“This time, I’ll be the mediator. Just trust me.”
Besides, most fights like this stemmed from misunderstandings. If you just created an opportunity for reconciliation, they usually resolved easily. It was similar to how elementary school teachers forced students to make up whether they wanted to or not.
“So just go out for a bit. And while you’re at it, pick up some of Dohee’s favorite snacks.”
At my urging, my sister reluctantly nodded.
“If anything happens… contact me immediately.”
“Okay. And get me a Melona on the way back.”
“I’m heading out.”
Creak.
My sister completely ignored my last request and left the house.
What a temper…
I shook my head and turned around, heading toward Dohee’s firmly closed door.
“Dohee?”
I called her name carefully.
“Can I talk with you for a moment?”
“……”
“Your mom just left. And I won’t be staying at your house, so you don’t have to worry.”
“…Really?”
A small voice came from beyond the door.
“Yeah. I promise. But before I go, can we at least say a proper goodbye?”
Creak.
The door slowly opened.
“……”
I blinked blankly.
She looks even more like her than I thought…
Dohee resembled my sister far more than I’d expected. That signature sharp aura was identical. It was like looking at my sister back in high school.
“I’m sorry.”
Dohee suddenly bowed her head.
“Hm? For what?”
“For being rude. I should have greeted you properly right away.”
“Mmm. No, it’s fine.”
I shook my head.
“We were the ones who barged in without discussing it first. And honestly, if I were in your position, I would’ve hated it too.”
Back in the day, one of Mom’s friends had stayed at our house for about four days. It had been so uncomfortable that I’d basically just slept the entire time until she left.
“Living with a stranger isn’t exactly comfortable. Especially when there’s a big age gap.”
“……”
“I just stopped by because I wanted to see my niece’s face. I have zero intention of making you uncomfortable.”
I smiled warmly.
“Still, it’s nice to see your face like this. Actually, this is the first time I even knew my sister had a child.”
My sister, who had become like Mom. And my niece, who had become like my sister. Everyone else was the same, yet only I had changed. Of course, in reality, a very long time had passed.
Gurgle.
A cute sound came from Dohee’s stomach right then.
“Ah…”
Dohee’s face flushed bright red like a tomato.
“Are you hungry? Should I make you something?”
“I-it’s okay…”
“Just wait a little. I’ll whip up something delicious real quick.”
Dohee nodded very slowly.
#
Back in the other world, I’d had so little to do that I’d briefly learned cooking from the family’s chef. Father had scolded me quite a bit, saying it wasn’t something a noble should do… but his nagging couldn’t dampen my passion. If anything, it made me work even harder.
After years of going in and out of the kitchen…
“I have nothing more to teach you.”
I finally received the chef’s approval to graduate. It meant my cooking skills had reached a level that could rival most professional chefs.
“How is it? Any good?”
I served Dohee my special stew. I would’ve liked to make something better, but the ingredients available in the house were too limited. I’d have to go grocery shopping later.
“Wow, it’s so delicious! Way better than what Mom makes!”
Dohee kept praising it, saying it was the most delicious stew she’d ever eaten in her life.
“Ahem. This is just the basics.”
“Were you a chef, Uncle?”
“Not exactly a chef… but while I was over there, I learned a bit…”
Once we started on a relatively light topic and the conversation began to flow, Dohee started chattering away like any other student.
She really is just a kid.
I deliberately created a comfortable atmosphere so Dohee could open up. Dealing with children far more venomous than her in high society had been child’s play for me.
If I couldn’t even manage this, I wouldn’t have deserved to be called a villainess.
In the now-relaxed mood, Dohee gradually began revealing the worries she had kept hidden deep in her heart.
“Mom won’t let me see Dad?”
It didn’t take long before I learned why the relationship between the two had soured. My brother-in-law. Apparently, my sister had been preventing Dohee from seeing him for over a year now.
“She always says he’s on a business trip… but when I ask where he went, she won’t tell me…”
This was why Dohee had reacted so sensitively when I said I’d be living with them. From her perspective, a complete stranger of an uncle was suddenly moving into a house without a father.
It would’ve been impossible not to have strange thoughts.
“What does your father do?”
“He’s a hunter like Mom.”
My brother-in-law was an A-class hunter in South Korea and was apparently overseas on a gate raid. But he hadn’t returned for over a year now.
Something smells fishy.
If he was simply away because of a gate raid, there would’ve been no reason for my sister to make up excuses. However…
I doubt my sister would keep him from seeing Dohee without any reason at all.
There had to be some unavoidable circumstance she couldn’t explain. A reason she had no choice but to hide from Dohee.
But from Dohee’s perspective, not being given a proper explanation must have been incredibly frustrating. It was the result of accumulated consideration and misunderstanding.
“Okay. When your mom gets back, I’ll ask her about it.”
“Really?”
“She wouldn’t lie to me, right? Don’t worry. I’ll find out one way or another.”
“C-can I really trust you?”
“Of course. Obviously. When have you ever seen me lie?”
“Well… we only met today.”
“Oh, that’s true, isn’t it?”
I scratched the back of my head with an awkward expression.
“Pfft.”
Dohee looked at me and finally couldn’t hold back a burst of laughter.
“You’re really funny, Uncle. Did you know that?”
“Thanks.”
“That wasn’t a compliment?”
“That’s too mean… I’m so hurt…”
I clutched my chest and dramatically trembled. Dohee stared at me in disbelief before letting out a small giggle.
Thank goodness.
The stiff atmosphere from earlier had melted away like it had never existed.
“Hm?”
It was then that Dohee, who had been laughing for a while, suddenly widened her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“B-behind you…”
“Behind me?”
I tilted my head and turned around.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
A human-sized butterfly was twitching its antennae curiously.
“What the? Why are you back already?”
[The transformation magic is about to wear off. I thought I should prepare a new shell…]
It was my precious butterfly friend—the only one who had come with me from that other world to Earth.
“Has it already been that long?”
When I casually continued the conversation with the butterfly, a pale-faced Dohee stammered out a question.
“D-do you know that butterfly?”
“She’s my friend. Her name is Nabien.”
“N-Nabien?”
It seemed I’d need to give a more detailed explanation to calm Dohee down.
I was planning to explain everything at once when my sister was here too…
But it looked like I had no choice but to reveal my identity to Dohee first.
Crack.
I peeled off the special shell that had been covering my body.
And then…
“……”
My true form was revealed.
Ebelin Astrid. The child born between a fairy mother and a human father… the greatest villainess on the continent.
“Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I was hiding my appearance because walking around in my real form would cause a lot of trouble… Hm?”
I’d expected her to be even more shocked, but instead Dohee’s eyes sparkled with an almost burdensome intensity as she approached me.
“I-is this your real appearance, Uncle?!”
“Yes…?”
“You’re so… so beautiful!”
“Th-thank you?”
She looked exactly like a fan who had finally met her favorite idol in person.
“Then… the part about being a butler was a lie too…?”
“Yeah… I wasn’t a butler. I was the head of House Astrid.”
“Before becoming the head, you must have been a noble young lady, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then…”
Dohee stammered out several more questions. Even though I was taken aback by her enthusiastic attitude, I answered each one sincerely.
“A villainess…”
After reaching the conclusion that I had been a villainess through my answers, Dohee threw her arms around me with an ecstatic expression.
“D-Dohee?”
“I’m a huge fan!”
It didn’t take long to learn that she was an incredibly hardcore fan of romance fantasy novels… and an even more serious fan of villainess stories.
#
“This should be enough.”
Jinah, carrying an armful of Dohee’s favorite snacks and a Melona, began walking slowly back home.
Yeah. I should apologize first.
Now that she had calmed down and thought about it, she realized she might have been a bit too harsh. Just like her brother said, from Dohee’s perspective, it must have been incredibly shocking. A man in his forties she had never even seen before was suddenly going to live with her in a house without her father.
Instead of just announcing it, she should have at least asked for her opinion first.
Beep. Beep-beep. Beep beep beep.
With a deep sigh, Jinah opened the door and stepped inside.
“Dohee, Mom bought you some tanghulu you like. Come out for a sec…”
Thud.
At the bizarre scene unfolding in the living room, Jinah dropped the plastic bag in her hand.
“Oh come on! We’re off beat again!”
“I think the song sped up just now…”
“Does it make sense for a song to suddenly speed up?”
“S-sorry…”
The sight before Jinah’s eyes was literally unreal.
“Let’s do it again! This time for real, perfectly!”
“Again…?”
“We haven’t gotten it right even once! Hurry up!”
Sway.
Because Dohee was in the middle of the living room filming a dance challenge video with some foreign woman she had never seen before. And she was doing it with a very happy expression on her face.