Although a Villain, My Wish is World Peace

“It seems a troublesome pest has latched onto our daughter.”

Sama Heon, the master of the Anti-Society known as Sima Xuan, frowned upon hearing his subordinate’s report.

While Xie Haozhu’s heightened senses prevented having close bodyguards near her, watchful eyes had always monitored her unpredictable movements. This subordinate’s account today was enough to unsettle Sima Xuan.

Apparently, some man had persistently clung to Xie Haozhu’s side throughout the previous day, pestering her.

The photographs showed a man with an unsettlingly sly, fox-like face that Sima Xuan found utterly displeasing. With a grinning countenance that reeked of mischief, he seemed like a complete womanizer.

Xie Haozhu was the finely honed blade he had cultivated.

His weapon, his future. He couldn’t tolerate anyone tampering with that future.

“Find him and kill him by any means necessary.”

At Sima Xuan’s command, the subordinate nodded before departing. It was nearly time for Xie Haozhu’s return. Just as Sima Xuan placed the morning meal on the table, Xie Haozhu emerged from outside.

“Our princess has arrived?”

“Yes, Papa. Good morning.”

As they shared their morning meal, Sima Xuan inquired:

“Was there anything out of the ordinary yesterday?”

Posing that question, Sima Xuan scrutinized Xie Haozhu’s expression intently. Did she detect the razor-sharp gaze concealed behind his smiling eyes sweeping over her? Unaware or not, Xie Haozhu answered in a languid tone:

“I don’t recall anything from yesterday.”

“Ah, of course. Our princess has been clearing her mind daily as of late. This father had momentarily forgotten.”

Seating Xie Haozhu on his lap, Sima Xuan whispered affectionately:

“I did promise this Papa would remember all the important matters for you. I mentioned how troubling unnecessary memories would only burden your thoughts, did I not?”

At those words, Xie Haozhu parted her lips slightly.

“Papa, do you know what I did yesterday? It felt different from usual, but I can’t recall any details.”

“Yesterday, you ask?”

“Yes.”

Sima Xuan’s eyes narrowed at her query. Surely she couldn’t be recalling yesterday’s events? No, if it was Xie Haozhu, she would have discarded those memories entirely. Perhaps a residual afterimage still lingered – an occasional occurrence.

“No, nothing of note happened.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Sima Xuan had no intentions of allowing Xie Haozhu to encounter that man again. Which meant yesterday’s incident held no significance.

Caressing Xie Haozhu’s cheek, Sima Xuan murmured:

“You trust your Papa, don’t you?”

“I do.”

Though visibly hesitating, Xie Haozhu ultimately nodded in affirmation.

“Good, and your Papa trusts you as well.”

Lightly embracing her, Sima Xuan curved his lips into a profound smile as he whispered:

“So obey your Papa’s commands, just as you always have. Live for this Papa’s sake.”

Sima Xuan fervently hoped Xie Haozhu would continue doing so, without any doubts.

* * *

Baek Do-san mentioned he would be returning to Korea.

“There’s an urgent domestic matter that requires my attention. In any case, there’s nothing more I can contribute here.”

Indeed, his purpose for accompanying us had been to facilitate the connection with Zhang Liuweian. With that task complete, he had no further reason to remain.

“Please continue looking after our kids.”

At my request, Baek Do-san nodded solemnly.

“Even if you happen to lose your mortality in this world, I’ll still ensure their well-being.”

“Hmm.”

Such service etiquette was rather unwelcome. As if realizing his remark had been ill-received, Baek Do-san smiled and added:

“Zhang Liuweian might cooperate, but Qian Chilian doesn’t seem too fond of you all.”

“Qian Chilian?”

“The woman who stood behind Zhang Liuweian.”

Ah, I recalled her – the woman who had regarded me with evident disdain.

“I heard she had even opposed inviting you here in the first place. While Zhang Liuweian will maintain outward cooperation, that woman won’t.”

It was a clear warning.

Well, we hadn’t exactly appeared productive thus far. Although I had provided the attack forewarning, at least.

“I understand.”

After bidding Baek Do-san farewell on those words, Han Seo-hyeon questioned me upon my return to the hotel:

“Where are you planning to go today?”

“I promised to meet her again today.”

“You’re really going to seek out that woman?”

Perhaps due to witnessing the scene through his rat summons yesterday, Han Seo-hyeon expressed unprecedented wariness towards Xie Haozhu. In such situations, the best approach was to divert his focus.

“How is the search for that ‘Papa’ progressing?”

“Still ongoing. Annoyingly, I lost one of my rat summons yesterday.”

“Ah.”

It must have been caught in Xie Haozhu’s strike. Now I understood his aversion towards her.

“Please find that person as soon as possible.”

Despite pursing his lips, Han Seo-hyeon eventually nodded in resignation.

“Alright.”

Kim Jae-ho’s whereabouts were unknown. I headed towards the gelato parlor where I had previously encountered Xie Haozhu, intending to await her arrival there since we hadn’t specified a meeting location.

However, even after waiting for hours, Xie Haozhu never appeared at the gelato shop.

—See, you were rather naive to expect her to actually show based on those words.

“Well, it was worth a try.”

If I couldn’t even secure a face-to-face encounter, how could I attempt any persuasion? Her complete absence was problematic.

I circled around to various other locations just in case, but to no avail.

‘Did she discard those memories again?’

That scenario seemed highly probable.

For some reason, a part of me felt unexpectedly dejected.

While I had anticipated such a possibility, perhaps Xie Haozhu’s demeanor yesterday had felt unusually amiable.

—To call that amiable is an insult to the very word itself.

“Perspectives can differ from person to person.”

By Xie Haozhu’s standards, her conduct could be considered equivalent to swearing eternal friendship vows.

But whether sworn companions or not, it ultimately held no meaning.

For I had failed to encounter Xie Haozhu again.

As the saying goes, ‘One needs to see the stars to pluck them, the beloved to pluck the mulberries.’ Dejected, I returned to the hotel.

Only Han Seo-hyeon was present in our room upon my arrival.

“Where’s Jae-ho?”

“No idea. He suddenly stormed off somewhere earlier, seeming quite agitated.”

“Just what is he up to?”

Han Seo-hyeon nodded at my muttered remark, appearing equally concerned by Kim Jae-ho’s habit of abruptly disappearing.

“How did the search for that Papa go?”

“He seems to be extremely elusive. At the very least, he’s not in this vicinity. So today, I contracted with some local birds instead.”

The rat summons were well-suited for stealthy infiltration but struggled to cover wider areas effectively. Nodding at Han Seo-hyeon’s explanation, I inquired:

“What will you do once you locate that Papa?”

“At least attempt a conversation first, I suppose.”

“A conversation, or…”

“Or what?”

“You know exactly what I’m implying.”

Han Seo-hyeon’s reddened face as he spoke those words drew an involuntary chuckle from me. Perhaps I had teased the child a bit too much. Settling onto the bed, I slowly stated:

“That man’s continued existence serves no beneficial purpose. So he will have to die.”

“Is eliminating that one person truly enough to resolve everything?”

In response to Han Seo-hyeon’s question, I replied:

“Don’t worry, we’ll find a way to save the Silver Moon Society regardless.”

* * *

“…we’ll find a way to save the Silver Moon Society regardless.”

Concealed in the shadows, overhearing that conversation, Qian Chilian scowled in disgust. Such arrogance from these utterly incapable fools – who were they to ‘save’ anyone? They hadn’t even been able to prevent yesterday’s raid.

Qian Chilian caressed the dagger tucked against her bosom. She was confident in her ability to slit that man’s throat at any moment.

While Zhang Liuweian had remarked their involvement posed no real drawbacks, Qian Chilian had opposed inviting these outsiders from the very start.

Perhaps it would be better to meet an honorable end rather than be jerked around by such insolent scum.

At that moment, the very brat appeared before her again.

The same one she had encountered yesterday.

Among that ragtag bunch, he at least seemed somewhat competent. But still woefully insufficient to deal with the Anti-Society’s monster.

“I told you to leave, didn’t I?”

“I came to protect you. Your leader had a tail today – did you know?”

At those words, Kim Jae-ho furrowed his brows before nodding in acknowledgment. His roaming the area today had indeed been due to sensing hostile presences lurking nearby with ill intent.

“Your so-called leader mentioned something about ‘finding a way to save us.’ I have my doubts whether you’re even capable of that.”

Narrowing her eyes, Qian Chilian stated.

“If you fail to uphold those words, you will die by my hand, no matter what methods I must employ.”

After Qian Chilian departed, Kim Jae-ho glared at her retreating figure with narrowed eyes.

“Unpleasant woman.”

He briefly contemplated whether killing her preemptively might be preferable when a familiar voice called out from behind:

“Jae-ho, where have you been? Come on, it’s dinner time!”

At those words, Kim Jae-ho swiftly headed down.

He couldn’t afford to miss dinner.

* * *

Daily, I reported for ‘duty’ at the gelato parlor’s entrance. The past two days had been futile efforts.

But today was different.

“Oh, you came?”

Just as I raised my hand to greet Xie Haozhu, who had appeared at the gelato shop, she charged directly towards me.

“Huh?”

Was she attacking me? Should I channel my mana defenses? But in that split second of hesitation, her hand gripped my wrist instead.

“Uhh?”

An immense force yanked me forward. Xie Haozhu had seized my wrist and was now sprinting while dragging me along.

“Uwaaah!”

By the time the sensation of my bones shattering registered, Xie Haozhu had already halted. My wrist was inflamed a vivid crimson hue, the swelling severe enough to suspect fractures. Gritting my teeth against the surging agony, I managed to speak:

“What is the meaning of this?”

“We’re not supposed to meet.”

“What?”

“Papa doesn’t like it, you see. He tried to have you killed – did you know?”

At those words, I blinked in surprise.

“He did?”

I had been completely unaware, as no assassination attempts had occurred over the past two days. Xie Haozhu’s subsequent remarks provided the explanation.

“Yes, because I killed them, so it’s fine.”

…So you dispatched them all yourself.

“You’re weak, you see. I didn’t want you to die.”

While not exactly feeble, her assessment still stung my pride slightly. But setting that aside, I should at least express gratitude.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

Dismissing my gratitude with a casual wave, Xie Haozhu seemed slightly flustered.

—Quite the shy demeanor for someone who slaughtered her own father’s subordinates.

‘Yes, let’s overlook such trivial matters.’

Smiling at Xie Haozhu, I inquired:

“So what shall we do to have fun today?”

For now, the priority was to appease her.

“You promised to teach me alkkagi, didn’t you?”

“Very well. Let’s go play alkkagi, then.”

I accompanied her to a nearby park.

“Aren’t we going to a baduk salon?”

“An isolated place with no one around would be better for alkkagi.”

Especially with Xie Haozhu as the participant. Upon reaching a deserted area, I retrieved a thin baduk board and stones I had prepared in advance.

I provided her a brief explanation of the rules.

“So it’s simple – just knock down my stones with yours, right?”

“Yes, the player who manages to keep their stones on the board until the very end wins.”

After my explanation, we commenced an actual match. My black stones successfully struck and dislodged several of Xie Haozhu’s pieces.

Xie Haozhu’s eyes glinted in anticipation.

Now it was her turn.

Swhoosh!

The baduk stone Xie Haozhu flicked soared through the air. Simultaneously, I swiftly ducked my head.

The stone she had hurled pulverized a nearby boulder instead.

“…Let’s make sure to only play alkkagi in secluded areas from now on.”

Xie Haozhu nodded solemnly at my remark.