The Villain's Reincarnation – Tired of Working Hard, I'm Slacking Off! The Peacefully Oblivious Slacker Avoids Ruin! - Chapter 15

“I’m a failure… a worthless human being. I don’t even deserve to live anymore.”

Liona muttered weakly, sitting curled up in the corner of the new room Kaito had prepared for her, looking as if all hope had drained from her body.

“No, no, that’s not true at all! You’ve worked so hard, and I think you’re an incredible person. Of course, your life has value!”

Kaito, who had not only prepared this new room but also ended up doing most of the unpacking alone with Liona’s reluctant help, desperately tried to console her.

“Ahaha… Lord Kaito, you are truly kind. Or perhaps… should I call you ‘Master’ instead?”

“Uh… let’s just stick with ‘Lord Kaito,’ okay? Something about ‘Master’ feels like it would lead to all sorts of very serious problems.”

Under normal circumstances, he might have entertained the idea—after all, it would add to the maid aesthetic.

But given the current situation, he felt nothing good would come from it.

“I see… Understood. Then, my dear Master, do you happen to have a chair and some rope? I’d like to end my life as soon as possible.”

“Nope! Absolutely not! And stop jumping to death as a solution! Your life isn’t over yet!!!”

“Ugh… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry… I’m such a useless, pathetic failure…”

Although Kaito had no intention of scolding her, his words had apparently dealt her an even deeper emotional blow.

She curled up even further, shrinking into herself as she whispered apologies.

“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant at all! I wasn’t trying to criticize you. I’m sorry—I should have been more considerate. You can call me ‘Master’ if you really want, just… just don’t give up on living. Life is so much more than just a few failures.”

“That… may be true. But I have duties—responsibilities I must fulfill. And yet… here I am, disgracing myself like this, becoming a burden to others… I’m nothing but worthless trash.”

(Yeah. She’s completely broken.)

The composed, intelligent young noblewoman he had met earlier had all but vanished, replaced by a hollow shell of insecurity and self-loathing.

How had things spiraled this far? Kaito had no idea.

Of course, he knew he was partially responsible.

During their duel, he had assumed she had a strong mentality and had fought her almost seriously, not wanting to risk being seen as weak.

From the way she moved, he could tell she had put tremendous effort into honing her skills. He had felt a bit bad about crushing her so thoroughly—

But he had also believed that facing reality was an important lesson.

If one truly aimed for greatness, they couldn’t afford to turn away from harsh truths.

(Not that I have any right to talk about facing reality, considering how much I run from it myself.)

Still, he hadn’t expected her to be this devastated.

He could understand someone who had dedicated everything to combat feeling completely shattered after such a loss—

But Liona didn’t seem like that type.

From her words and actions, she was more of a strategist, someone who thought before she acted.

For someone like her, losing in combat shouldn’t have been an existential crisis.

(If she’s breaking down this much over a defeat… then maybe she’s not suited for this kind of life after all.)

Those who truly thrived in politics and war had to accept their losses, turning them into lessons rather than burdens.

If this entire breakdown was just an act—Kaito would have to admit defeat.

(But from her reaction, this is definitely real.)

He had seen this kind of emotional collapse before, back in his previous life.

And judging by how she had reacted when she broke down crying—

This wasn’t just a single moment of despair.

This had been building up for a long time.

From his experiences in his past life, Kaito could guess what had happened.

Liona seemed like the type to suppress her emotions for the sake of duty.

People like that were stubborn—they could endure far more than most, forcing themselves to push forward even when they were mentally exhausted.

But then, when they finally reached their limit—

They completely shut down.

And when she had finally broken, it had happened quietly, almost without her realizing it.

Even when she had collapsed crying, she hadn’t fully processed what was happening to her.

(If her emotional reserves were that low, she should have reached her breaking point long before this.)

Which meant…

Something else had been draining her.

Something had been slowly chipping away at her mental strength for a long time.

Kaito didn’t know what it was.

But trying to figure it out now was pointless.

Right now, his focus needed to be on fixing her.

(Seriously, what happened to my perfectly crafted slacker plan?)

Ever since Liona had broken down in tears, he had been forced to keep moving.

He had ended up unpacking her belongings almost entirely by himself.

He had also arranged for a new, private room where she could calm down.

And, of course, he had to deal with the absolute mess her maid uniform had become from all the crying.

(I couldn’t just let her keep wearing tear-stained clothes. That would only make her feel worse.)

When someone was emotionally fragile, the best thing to do was surround them with positive stimuli.

Give them space to breathe.

Provide a clean, peaceful environment.

Soft, warm towels.

Comfortable, fresh clothes.

If he could have, he would have suggested she take a bath as well—but that was too much for now.

Still, his efforts had worked.

She had finally stopped crying.

(Man, I’m glad our estate’s maid uniforms are high-quality…)

Since the only immediately available change of clothes was one of his maid uniforms, she had ended up wearing that.

(Not that it really matters.)

But now—

Now that she had regained some of her composure—

She had fully processed what had happened.

And the realization had completely crushed her.

Losing the duel.

Crying uncontrollably.

Being comforted and taken care of—by him.

Each of those things alone would have been humiliating.

But together?

It was too much.

“Wh-what have I done…? What shameful behavior…”

Seeing the look on her face—the exact moment she fully grasped the situation—

Kaito had felt something deep inside him break.

It was then that he knew.

He had definitely made things worse.

It was the kind of despair you feel when you finally finish a massive project—only to discover a fundamental flaw that forces you to start over from scratch.

There was no way I could just leave her in this state.

In other words, this situation was completely inescapable.

And so—this was where we were now.

(This reminds me of when I first met Satsuki and Yuki…)

Nowadays, they greet me with an enthusiastic “Brother, you came for me!!” and only tear up a little when they make a mistake.

But back then—things were much worse.

When I had first reincarnated into this world and realized I had to avoid my destruction at all costs, I went out of my way to win Satsuki and Yuki over.

But in those early days…

Well.

It was a disaster.

I still remember the first time Satsuki made a mistake.

“I-I’m so sorry!! I’m nothing but a useless, incompetent fool! I don’t deserve to live!! I’ll work harder, I promise!! I’ll endure any pain, any punishment! So please, please, at least spare my life!!”

“Uh… wait, what? No, hold on—”

“P-please, I beg of you as well!! Compared to Lord Kaito, I know I’m a small, pathetic existence with no worth!! But still, I want to be useful!! I want to die in your service! So please, give Satsuki another chance!! We’ll take any punishment!! If she has to suffer, I’ll suffer with her!! Please, have mercy!!”

(Yeah… that was rough.)

I still had no idea what kind of upbringing could lead to that.

The environment surrounding Satsuki and Yuki had been horrendous, and it had taken a lot of effort just to bring them into a somewhat normal state.

At the time, I had my reputation as the Tyrant of the Garden, but aside from that, I had nothing.

(The difficulty this time is about the same as back then, I guess.)

Technically speaking, Satsuki and Yuki’s situation had been far worse.

But I had time to fix it.

This time, I didn’t.

Liona had to recover within seven days—before the inspection was over.

If one of the key inspection members returned in this state…

(Yeah, that’s definitely gonna make some enemies… and become another one of my destruction flags…)

I could already picture the fallout.

And it made me want to cry.

(I just wanted to slack off… how the hell did it come to this?!?)

But no matter how much I screamed in my heart—

There was only one thing I could do.

And so, with a heavy sigh, I officially launched.

Operation “Fix the Broken Maid.”