The Villain's Reincarnation – Tired of Working Hard, I'm Slacking Off! The Peacefully Oblivious Slacker Avoids Ruin! - Chapter 13

(This is bad, this is really bad! What do I do?! What the hell am I supposed to do?!)

Thanks to my past self’s laziness, I was now in a full-blown crisis.

(Something more important than the royal family? What could that possibly be?! There’s no such thing!!!)

Wait…

Did I ever give instructions to make an excuse that would provoke the royal family like that?

I might be lazy, but I have some common sense. I knew that never meeting the First Princess even once might not be the best look.

That’s why I put in so much effort crafting excuses, ensuring they were just reasonable enough to be accepted.

Would I—of all people—have given instructions to antagonize the royal family?

No way. Absolutely not.

I must have phrased it as I have important matters to attend to—something neutral, something non-provocative.

(Did someone ignore my instructions and phrase it in a way that taunted the royal family?)

No… that couldn’t be.

If someone had deliberately added that phrase, I would personally hunt them down and have them executed.

One unnecessary word, and they’d put their master in mortal danger.

Even I—normally the most tolerant person alive—would not let that slide.

(No, that’s impossible. My subordinates aren’t reckless idiots.)

This wasn’t some crazy world out of a manga where people pulled stunts like that for no reason.

If I had been openly hostile to the royal family, maybe one of my subordinates might have said something reckless.

But my approach had been the exact opposite.

I had gone out of my way to ensure my words were polite and considerate.

Which meant… there was only one possible reason why she had said that.

(…She’s absolutely furious, isn’t she?)

For her to say something more important than the royal family like that—almost as if it were a veiled insult—meant she was beyond livid.

(Oh no, oh no, oh no! Having a reputation as a lazy slacker is fine, but being labeled as someone who disrespects the royal family is a death sentence!!)

I needed the First Princess alive. If she died, my own ruin would be all the more certain.

But now, there was a very real possibility that, instead of being an ally, she would say something like:

“That man, Kaito, is a danger to the kingdom. He openly disregards the royal family. We should eliminate him before he becomes a threat. Let’s join forces with Lord Satsuki and Lord Yuki to purge him from existence.”

(Nooo!!! I don’t wanna be purged!!!)

I had to do something.

“Um… is there a reason for that?”

“Ah, well… that is…”

(She’s pressing me?! Crap! I need to answer fast! But I don’t have anything more important than the royal family!!!)

I felt like crying.

There was no way I could come up with something convincing on the spot.

Panic was setting in fast.

If I didn’t do something, not only would all my efforts be wasted—I’d end up dead.

(Damn it! There’s only one option left!!)

“It’s fine. The plan is already in motion. Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.”

“…!?”

I declared it in a deep, confident voice, exuding an air of absolute certainty.

(Please, PLEASE misunderstand! Think I’m dealing with something so important that it takes priority over the royal family!! I beg you!!!)

This was my final, desperate gamble.

My strategy?

Say something vague yet ominous, pretend I know exactly what’s going on, and hope she jumps to her own conclusions.

Give off an aura of deep, mysterious intelligence, and let her fill in the blanks.

If all went well, she’d decide that eliminating me wasn’t the best course of action.

And if she did ask what exactly I was doing?

I had my escape plan ready: “With your current abilities, you wouldn’t be able to see it yet.”

Of course, I wasn’t actually doing anything.

Which meant that statement was technically true.

(Alright, the setup is done. Now let’s see how she reacts…)

I stole a glance at the maid.

She looked deeply shaken.

(Wait… is this actually working?!)

Honestly, I had prepared for this to be a complete disaster.

But judging by her troubled expression, she was seriously overthinking things.

(What could she possibly be thinking? Eh, doesn’t matter! As long as I get her out of here and never see her again, I win!!)

Now that I had successfully confused her, I decided to push forward and escort her out immediately.

But just as I took a step forward—

“…You figured it out?”

(Huh?)

Thanks to my sharp hearing, I caught her whisper. It was so quiet that a normal person wouldn’t have noticed.

But her tone—her disbelief—made it perfectly clear.

(That sounded… really ominous.)

You figured it out.

At this moment, there was only one thing those words could possibly mean.

(Oh no. No, no, no, NO!!!)

I needed to get her out of here immediately.

If I let this drag on, Schrödinger’s cat would collapse into reality.

(Right now, I might still be safe! But if I stay any longer, she’ll confirm it for sure!!!)

The rational part of my brain knew it was already too late.

But my sheer determination not to let my efforts go to waste had completely blinded me to reality.

And ironically, in this one moment, my instincts were sharper than ever.

I had to get her out of here. Now.

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, a sudden thought struck me.

Was this really the right move?

I had only spent a short time interacting with her, but because of how insane this situation was, I had already learned a lot about her personality.

She was bold.

She was unpredictable.

Even though she should have just accepted my help and left quietly, she kept probing, kept trying to dig for information.

She wasn’t the type to go down easily.

Would she really remain confused until I escorted her back?

No.

Absolutely not.

She would undoubtedly analyze the current situation and take action.

And in doing so, she would assume that I had already figured it out. Keeping it a secret at this point wouldn’t make sense.

Given her personality, the most likely course of action was to reveal the truth herself and launch a full-scale offensive.

If I left her unchecked, she would undoubtedly start moving on her own. And if another unfortunate accident like this happened, it would be a huge problem.

No matter what, I couldn’t allow her to take the first move. That would definitely lead to trouble.

For the sake of all my hard work, I couldn’t let her be confirmed as the First Princess.

She was a maid. That’s right. A maid.

So, what should I do?

I needed to strike first.

If I took the initiative and flooded her with irrelevant information, I could muddle the situation and avoid a direct confrontation.

To be honest, my defenses were weak once pressed—so my only choice was to stay on the offensive.

Plan decided.

Now, how should I execute it?

“Lord Kaito, look! This is my masterpiece!! The First Princess will remember this for the rest of her life!”

(…Yeah. I should have just done nothing instead.)

“May I ask you a question as well?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, of course.”

As I addressed her, she momentarily halted her train of thought and turned to face me.

“You were supposed to be out inspecting the town at this hour, weren’t you? Why are you here?”

“Ah, well… we had to cancel that in order to unpack and settle in.”

“I see. In that case, once you’re finished, I can show you the locations I was originally supposed to visit today.”

“Huh? But—”

She looked bewildered.

But I immediately followed up.

“You can refuse, of course. But if you’re the First Princess’s maid, then it would be beneficial for you to participate, wouldn’t it?”

“…”

She couldn’t reject the offer.

It was an opportunity to get close to me, and considering the First Princess’s possible motives, she likely wanted some kind of connection to me.

“Are you certain about this, Lord Kaito?”

“Of course. I was planning to go anyway.”

I had just decided that a moment ago, but since I was now committed, it technically wasn’t a lie.

At this moment, I was planning to go.

“And what about security?”

“I don’t need any. I’m strong enough on my own.”

I stated it plainly.

I had no particular intention of flaunting my abilities, but I also wasn’t going to hide them entirely.

After all, I was considered a prodigy.

Simply using a fraction of my strength was enough to crush most opponents.

That was my normal.

And to those who knew me, it was expected.

Of course, in the original story, my raw talent had its limits—when faced with an opponent who could actually counter it, I was utterly useless.

The original me relied entirely on talent, and the moment he faced someone who could match him, he was doomed.

That said, as long as I was dealing with average threats, I had no reason to hold back.

If I pretended I was weaker than I really was, it would only raise suspicion among those who knew what I was capable of.

The only thing I truly had to keep hidden… was the fact that I could actually fight properly.

“That may be true, Lord Kaito. However, given your status, I can’t simply take your word for it.”

I could understand her reasoning.

Given our positions, any incident involving me would be a major issue.

It wasn’t something that could be decided on a whim.

(Of course, that’s just her official stance. The truth is, she wants to gauge my abilities herself.)

“Then, what would convince you?”

I already knew the answer.

But I had zero intention of fighting.

That’s why I threw the question back at her.

“I would like you to prove your strength to me in a duel.”

(Yeah. Saw that coming.)

She never backed down without getting something in return.

“Fine. I accept.”

I agreed to her challenge without hesitation.

Now, let’s see just how much she can discern about my true capabilities.