TMKCBL 01

Chapter 01

I’m screwed.

That was the conclusion I reached after careful consideration…

Careful consideration, my foot. I didn’t even need that much thought to know.

I’m completely screwed.

“I never imagined a rat like you would sneak into my mansion.”

A handsome face observed me with a mix of curiosity and mild disbelief. He looked like an angel painted in a sacred mural—but I knew that if things went wrong, he could kill me at any moment.

In contrast, the hand holding my gun trembled violently. It was a mana bullet, powered by magic—meant to exploit Eden Croyden’s weakness. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst.

Recognizing the mana bullet, Eden Croyden’s expression twisted into something like a smile. I met his gaze as I staggered backward.

“Don’t come any closer. If you do, I’ll shoot!”

“Go ahead. If you can shoot, that is…”

Bang!!

“…Huh?”

“……”

“Um… M-Master?”

Exactly one year since I possessed this world.

I… ended up killing the hidden villain of the novel.

The story of how I ended up possessing this novel’s world is, frankly, cliché and overdone.

“A college student gets hit by a mysterious otherworldly truck and wakes up inside the novel they were reading the night before.”

That kind of story.

The problem is this:

The person I possessed was a maid working in the mansion of the novel’s hidden villain.

And that villain? A textbook psychopath whose goal was the destruction of the world, operating under the mindset of:

“If it’s not me, then everyone else can just die.”

The first thought I had when I woke up in this massive, silent, tomb-like mansion where even the sound of a mouse was absent was:

‘This is so screwed…’

And the next thought?

‘No, seriously, I’m completely screwed…’

There was no way I could keep staying in the villain’s mansion. The owner didn’t even have the slightest sense of responsibility—he probably wished even his own servants would vanish from the world.

On top of that, in a few years, the protagonist of the original story would come to defeat the villain. There was no reason to stay in a place that would soon become a battlefield.

So after a few days of careful consideration of my situation—

I came up with a rather grand plan:

‘Loot the villain’s safe and make a big score before getting the hell out of here!’

To do that, I needed access to the master’s bedroom, where the safe was located. And the maids assigned to that room were strictly handpicked by the head maid.

So first, I had to earn her trust.

One year later.

I worked harder than I ever had in my life to gain the head maid’s trust. I took initiative before being asked, and volunteered for tasks everyone else avoided.

My coworkers looked at me like, “Luana, you’ve gone feral,” but I didn’t care. Once I emptied the villain’s treasure vault, I planned to cut all ties with this world and disappear somewhere far away.

My efforts paid off exactly one year later. The head maid acknowledged me and awarded me the title of “Maid of the Month.”

Amazing me! Well done, me!

And not long after, I achieved the ultimate goal:

I was selected to clean the bedroom of the mansion’s master—Eden Croyden.

Finally, today.

“Today, you’ll be in charge of cleaning the Marquis’s bedroom.”

“Yes! I won’t disappoint you!”

‘Heh. The day of reckoning has come.’

Once tonight is over, I’ll clean out that villain’s safe and head to a warm southern beach to live out the rest of my life in comfort.

‘Honestly, he pays well and even offers better benefits than most employers, but his personality is trash…’

And that’s not all—he also harbors a grand, obsessive desire to destroy the world.

Carrying an armful of cleaning tools, I walked down the corridor leading to Eden Croyden’s bedroom.

In my head, I was busy justifying my plan to rob my employer’s safe.

Eden Croyden, the hidden villain of the novel, was a marquis of the Julthan Empire, as well as a count, and held countless honorary titles and positions. His wealth was beyond imagination.

So why would someone like him want to destroy the world?

‘Hmm… deep-rooted misanthropy from birth?’

This world basically runs on mana. While the degree varies, everyone is born with it.

Because of that, noble families—those in power—are composed of people with strong magical abilities passed down through generations. The Croyden Marquis family, where I worked, was one such lineage.

But for some reason, the eldest son, Eden Croyden, was born without a single drop of mana.

He was what people called a “mana reject.”

And among mana rejects, his case was particularly severe. His body couldn’t even tolerate the ambient mana that people naturally absorb from birth. Whenever exposed to high concentrations, his body would malfunction.

‘So would anyone have treated him like a human being?’

Despite being the rightful heir, Eden Croyden lived without ever being properly acknowledged as a noble.

Then suddenly, the previous marquis died, and he inherited the title—but that was it. He remained completely isolated within noble society.

Because of his condition, the mansion was a mana-free zone. All the servants working there were also mana rejects to varying degrees.

‘Though the original owner of this body, Luana Polly, must have been one too during the hiring process…’

But after I possessed her body, things changed. Somehow, I became more sensitive to mana—and could even use it.

Maybe it was because my soul changed. That was my vague guess.

Either way, all that mattered was robbing Eden Croyden’s safe tonight and living comfortably afterward.

The heroes would deal with stopping the villain’s world destruction plan.

‘God, please forgive me for becoming a righteous thief today!’

And so—

Taking advantage of the master’s absence, I snuck into the villain’s bedroom under the pretense of cleaning.

With surprisingly sharp instincts, I unlocked the safe just as I had previously observed.

Inside, piled high, should have been—

“Huh? Where did all the money go?”

There should have been mountains of gold here.

But instead—

All I saw were old, worn sheets of paper.

Confused and disappointed, I reached out.

“What’s with all these documents—”

“Since when did a rat like you start hiding in my bedroom?”

At that moment, a chilling voice came from behind me. My whole body froze as if struck by lightning.

‘My plan was supposed to be perfect…!’

Up until just now.

“What are you?”

The cold voice echoed through the room, making my entire body flinch.

Without thinking, I pulled out the gun I had hidden beneath my skirt.

As I turned and aimed, our eyes met.

A face so beautiful it seemed almost divine—like it had stepped out of a sacred painting. A faint smile as he looked at me with interest.

The hidden villain of this novel.

The master of this mansion.

Eden Croyden.