The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl-Chapter 10

The room I was led into was a small space that looked like a mix between a reception area and an office.

The wallpaper was faded, and every piece of furniture looked old and worn.

I sat down on the sofa. Rene sat across from me.

We stared at each other across the table.

Rene clasped her hands together and lowered her head with an incredibly apologetic expression.

"I’m really sorry. One of our kids was kidnapped by some bad people before. We managed to rescue her safely, but there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again. I just wanted to make sure that never happens... Were you scared?"

Her presence was definitely overwhelming.

A normal child would have burst into tears on the spot, and even the most arrogant street thugs would have been scared stiff and run away.

But I was fine. There was no need for her to apologize.

To be fair, my outfit was suspicious. If someone saw a shady-looking person lurking around, they would naturally be on guard. Safety first, after all.

Being the considerate person I am, I nodded in understanding.

"Really? You’re really brave. Most people would’ve run away in a panic."

Rene praised me, saying I was impressive.

But something about her tone felt... off.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. Was I just imagining it?

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"You must be uncomfortable wearing that all the time. Why don’t you take it off?"

Rene gestured to my hood and mask.

I shook my head.

"I see. Come to think of it, Red mentioned that you have your reasons for covering your face. Is that right?"

I nodded.

"If that’s the case, then it can’t be helped. If you’re hiding your face because you’re embarrassed about how you look, don’t worry. No one here will laugh at you for that. Well... unless your face is really funny, then maybe someone might laugh. But it wouldn’t be out of malice, so don’t take it the wrong way."

She chuckled playfully.

It wasn’t like I had some grand reason for keeping my face covered.

No one knew that the Reaper was actually a girl, so showing my face wouldn’t necessarily be a problem.

It was just that... my face was simply too lovely.

They say beautiful flowers attract insects.

And there are always people who want to pluck the flower for themselves.

I was just preventing unnecessary trouble before it even started.

"Red also said you can’t talk. Is that true?"

I nodded again.

Rene looked at me with pity in her eyes.

‘So she’s making that face too, huh.’

Red did the same. So did the dessert shop owner.

I vaguely remembered them looking at me with the same expression when they found out I couldn’t speak.

Most people just reacted indifferently when I told them.

"It must be inconvenient having to use gestures all the time... Hold on a second."

Rene stood up from the sofa and walked over to a desk, rummaging through the shelves and drawers.

A moment later, she returned, carrying something in her hands.

She placed the items on the table.

A piece of paper and a pencil.

I immediately understood what she meant.

"Can you write?"

I nodded.

Gripping the pencil, I tested it by writing a sentence on the paper.

[Why. Orphanage. No security system?]

It wasn’t a proper sentence.

Considering how confidently I had nodded earlier, this was downright pathetic.

Yeah. I knew it. But there wasn’t much I could do about it.

This wasn’t the world I originally lived in.

Naturally, the writing system here was completely different, and even though I had lived here for years, I never received proper education.

There was no way my skills would be good.

Maybe it was some reincarnation perk, but I had no problem understanding spoken and written words.

But writing? That was a whole different story.

Annoyingly, writing depended entirely on my own effort.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Even this much was the result of countless hours of struggling and hard work.

‘Damn it. If I can listen and read perfectly, they should’ve at least made writing easier too. What kind of half-baked ability is this?’

I grumbled internally as I stole a glance at Rene.

She was staring at the paper with a sad expression.

But the moment she noticed my gaze, she quickly changed her expression.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she answered my question.

"Because I’m here!"

I was still bothered by the change in her expression, but I decided not to press the issue.

Instead, I focused on what she had said.

I didn’t understand, so I drew a question mark on the paper.

Rene crossed her arms and puffed out her chest proudly.

"You see, I’m really good at fighting. Since I can protect the kids myself, there’s no need for security systems."

That was some incredible confidence.

If a normal person had said that, I would’ve thought they were just being arrogant.

But Rene’s confidence wasn’t empty bravado.

She wasn’t at Red’s level, but she was definitely skilled.

I could tell at a glance.

But still—

Didn’t she just say a kid had been kidnapped?

Didn’t that mean she failed to protect them?

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, Rene’s demeanor completely changed.

The overflowing confidence vanished in an instant, and her proud smile flipped into a look of defeat.

Her shoulders slumped, and she lowered her head.

Then, with an incredibly dejected voice—

"...I used to think that way. Ahaha..."

I didn’t know how to comfort her, so I just flailed my arms awkwardly.

Fortunately, Rene recovered on her own.

"To be honest, I’d love to install a security system, but we barely have enough money to cover living expenses as it is."

So it was a financial issue.

That was a much more realistic reason.

Was it really that expensive?

I tapped the question mark on the paper with my pencil, silently asking for an explanation.

Rene gave me a faint, wistful smile.

Even as I stared at her expectantly, she didn’t say anything.

Normally, I wouldn’t pry.

But when someone deliberately avoids a topic, it only makes you more curious.

I think they call it reverse psychology.

Anyway, her behavior just made me more stubborn.

I kept staring at her.

About three minutes passed.

Finally, Rene sighed in defeat.

"Alright, alright. You win. It’s not really a secret or anything... I just didn’t think a kid needed to hear about it. But if you’re that curious, I’ll tell you a little."

She gave a brief explanation.

Basically, the orphanage’s budget was barely enough to cover living costs, taxes, and other expenses.

Even with Red’s sponsorship, they couldn’t afford extra security measures.

"Even running an orphanage in the outer city is a financial struggle."

Rene let out a deep sigh.

Her face looked exhausted.

But she quickly erased the fatigue from her expression.

"Come to think of it, I never asked why you came here. Did you just come to see Red?"

Her voice and expression were gentle.

But why did it feel like she was testing me? Was I just imagining things?

She was smiling on the outside, but was she actually wary of me?

I couldn’t see any signs of suspicion in her demeanor. So what was it?

Well, no need to overthink it. I should just tell her why I came.

With that thought, I did my best to write something Rene could understand.

[Red. Proposal. Refused. One-time. Visit. Possible?]

‘Even I have to admit, this looks ridiculous. What kind of explanation is this? It’d probably be easier to just act it out.’

The moment I saw my own writing, I wanted to rip it up and start over.

I was about to scratch it out and rewrite it when—

"Ah, so you refused Red’s proposal but got curious about the orphanage and came to check it out."

...She understood that?!

Rene waved her hand as if it was no big deal.

"Red mentioned that a certain kid might visit, so she told me not to be too wary."

So that’s why she let her guard down so easily after I showed the device.

Everything had a reason.

"If Red were here, she’d be really happy. Now that I think about it, I never properly introduced myself. Let’s fix that. I’m Rene, the director of the Sunny Orphanage."

She reached out for a handshake.

...Wait, she’s the director?

I calmed my slight surprise and shook her hand.

‘What’s this? She’s putting strength into her grip.’

As I wondered about it, Rene spoke again.

"I’d love to give you a tour right away, but it’s snack time for the kids. Do you want to wait here and go with me later? Or would you rather look around on your own for a bit?"

I was curious about what kind of snacks she was making, but I chose to explore on my own.

*

Meanwhile, While the Reaper Visited the Orphanage...

Red was in the middle of a mission.

The request was a high-level one, something that would make even experienced fixers tense.

But Red handled it with ease.

It was only natural. For someone at Red’s level, this mission was nothing.

If she was thinking about proper payment, it would’ve been better to take on a job that matched her skills.

Normally, that’s what she would’ve done.

But this time, there was a special reason she was doing things differently.

‘Another dead end. Still, there might be some useful clues, so I should look around a bit more.’

Red slowly searched the now-settled crime scene.

Her sharp eyes scanned the scattered corpses, flipping through the documents left behind by the criminals.

‘Hm? What’s this...?’

Her hands, which had been moving busily, suddenly stopped.

A strange glint flickered in her eyes.

It wasn’t the information she had been looking for, but it was something she couldn’t just ignore.

She started reading through it.

Just as she picked up the third document, her coat pocket vibrated with a ringing sound.

She stopped reading and answered the call. It was Stal.

"Yeah, everything’s cleaned up here. ...Got it. I’ll head out now."

Red gathered the documents under her arm and walked out.

As she left the scene, she saw that ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the area was bustling with fixers who had participated in the mission.

She looked around and spotted an orc sitting on a distant bench.

Even from far away, he looked utterly exhausted.

She walked toward him, and sure enough, up close, Stal’s body was covered in scratches.

"What happened to you? Sitting in an office for too long made you go soft?"

Red smirked as she teased him.

Stal frowned at her antics.

"Not everyone’s like you. Anyway, did you find what you were looking for?"

"No. But I found something else."

Red tapped the stack of papers under her arm.

"What is it?"

"A list of people being monitored by the Cult of the Reaper."

"Was Rena on it?"

"No. But I saw a name I recognized..."

Red motioned for Stal to move aside.

As he shifted, she plopped down in the empty space.

Then Stal asked—

"But are we sure the Cult of the Reaper is really involved in Rena’s kidnapping?"

"A skull mask and a staff. Rena said the people who took her were dressed like that. Who else wears such ridiculous outfits besides the cult?"

"I don’t get it. Why would they kidnap Rena? And are we even sure it was really the cult? It’s not hard to get a costume like that. What if someone disguised themselves to frame them?"

"That’s possible. If you were trying to stay hidden, it wouldn’t make sense to kidnap someone in such an obvious getup. It’s too blatant."

"But there’s something even stranger. How did they get past Rene’s watch?"

Red fell silent, deep in thought.

Rene.

The director of the Sunny Orphanage.

The one who single-handedly protected the children.

Rene had a special ability.

And with that ability, she was always watching over the kids, making sure nothing happened to them.

Slipping past Rene’s surveillance to kidnap a child wouldn’t be easy.

Unless the kidnappers knew Rene very well.

And the only person who knew the full extent of Rene’s ability was Red herself.

"Yeah... Honestly, even I find it strange that they managed to get past Rene. Unless they knew exactly what she was capable of, it should’ve been impossible."

Red tilted her head back, gazing up at the sky.

The murky sky felt like a perfect reflection of their current situation.