Before the Villains’ Ending

‘Damn it.’

Jacob had to muster up a lot of patience to swallow the swear words. He didn’t particularly want to become a correctional officer defined by the job. Nor did he want to become someone who identifies with the crime. Since the day Jacob was appointed as a prison guard in this damn underground prison, he has been struggling with this conflict. And the woman in front of him seemed to understand this very accurately.

She muttered to herself that the knowledge she learned from her sister was useful, and then stared at him as if answering calmly. Jacob had a weakness for the matter. Like most people do. Besides, he had a family to be responsible for.

The prison guards failed to pay attention to the fact that the self-justification that led to the alarming speed was just an excuse.

Because he didn’t want to work on the lowest floor of a dungeon like this. At the very least, being an interrogator torturing prisoners would have been worthwhile. No, should he say fun? The interrogators in charge of interrogating prisoners and the guards supervising the multiple occupancy cells on the surface did not spend their remaining time at work boringly. In this place full of criminals, they mercilessly ridiculed and inflicted violence on prisoners who they considered ‘not worthy of human treatment’. The only entertainment they could find in the harsh and rugged environment was this. At least they could enjoy that degree of pleasure. There was no one to stop them from hitting or cursing, as they were dealing with the weak and vulnerable members of society.

Monitoring the nobility was also a tedious job, but it had its advantages. The reason was that unless they were truly high-ranking nobles or had an innate sense of intimidation, they were just the same as criminals.

The difference in ‘status’ that cannot be overcome through effort was not much help here, so the guards found some satisfaction in mocking and feeling a sense of catharsis towards the high-ranking individuals. However, the position of a solitary confinement guard in Alcatraz had no such merits.

Jacob looked at the coin on the ground and pondered. With that money, he could build a building near the capital and live there. Then he could ditch this tedious job and open a school to teach swordsmanship to commoners. Maybe instead of watching scenes of torture or guarding prisoners here, he could become a brighter person.

Margaret looked away from him as he pondered. She seemed to want to give him some time to think. Jacob bit his lip.

“I have someone to talk to, but did I get too close to the point?”

“Young lady, that’s it.”

“It must have been boring. I’m sorry.”

The coin fell with a clink and rolled out of his pocket. Typically, Jacob’s small bag only contained a few coins, a handkerchief, an ID card, small personal items, or business food or labels for others. Only gold coins came out of the small bag.

Margaret was still smiling. There was no other shape, like the weird color under the torch, which made her silvery-purple hair shimmer and flow. The noblewoman coughed twice and then wrapped her shoulders, asking again in a light tone, “Don’t you want to quit?”

“…”

The guard couldn’t answer. Margaret waited for his response for a short time, then became visibly bored with the continued silence and bit her tongue without hiding it.

“… Sorry. It seems like I underestimated your sense of duty. There should have been someone like you around me to serve justice. If your conscience is like that, then I have every intention of respecting it.”
But it’s not good to reveal too much conflict.

Margaret’s voice became quieter as she went on. She wasn’t showing any expression now. Nevertheless, Jacob felt a deep respect directed towards her from the sparkling, dawn-like irises of Margaret’s eyes. He felt a subtle desire for admiration that might be even closer to reverence, shining like a halo.

Jacob looked down at the gold coins scattered on the floor. The aristocrat in front turned around with a face exactly the same as the pretentious smile drawn on the cheap daily news of society.

“But regardless of what you choose.”

His colleague would soon come running. The sight of him picking up coins replayed vividly in his mind. Jacob lowered his head, and Margaret blinked a few times, reorganizing her expression to offset any emotions she may have had, then took a step forward. And then, she immediately pulled out a silver knife from her sleeve and threw it towards Taylor Knight.

“Young Lady, what the-!”

The guard exclaimed in shock. Margaret, no different from any other noble, spoke her mind gracefully, hiding her emotions.

“Now, if Taylor catches that knife, either you or I will die in this secret chamber.”

“Are you crazy?!”

He shouted. Inside the iron bars, the assassin with blond hair was looking down at the knife that had been thrown at him. Until then, Taylor had no desire to escape.

The conscientious guard, who was faithful to his duty, began to calculate the situation with a little relaxation and confidence during this short break. He wouldn’t die. Yes, even if he was an unstoppable genius, he wouldn’t be able to defeat a knight who could manipulate mana while being addicted to drugs. Moreover, since the prisoner was not ordinary, the protective gear given to him, as a guard, was the best quality throughout the Sinaloa. He had himself. But what about the weak young lady of Marquis in front of him?

The secret room was dark. If the assassin were to assume that he would pick up the sword and throw it in front of him, and even if he threw it with tremendous power as an unstoppable genius, he could protect the helpless woman perfectly by bouncing it off with his protective gear, perceived only as a torch. Jacob looked at me fiercely with his disrespectful eyes for bringing this kind of situation upon him.

His lazy, drowsy pupils seemed to be pleased with the unfocused topic.

“Darn it…!”

It was already hard work to suppress the swear words. Margaret murmured leisurely with a tone that was unmatched for calmness.

“When I die, the money on the floor is empty money without an owner. Of course, it will be difficult to leave it in the bank right away, but there must be one among the prisoners who know where to launder such cash. And look.”

The assassin remained motionless. Margaret’s words flowed like a song, lightly trembling due to a faint smile. When she turned around in her newfound composure and looked back, her words were proven true.

That cunning girl asked in a childish tone, teasingly.

“Were you scared?”

“It’s because it’s unpredictable. What are you going to do if there’s a problem?!”

“Oh my. They don’t promise to protect you. If something happens, you can solve it with the money on the floor. Anyway, I’m surprisingly not insecure, so there’s nothing to worry about. Let’s move on to trivial things.”

“Lady Eilish!!”

“This is the final offer. It could even be considered a test.”

The sound of metal and stone colliding echoed through the chamber. There was something there, so white, that it couldn’t be compared to the gold coins from earlier.

Jacob gritted his teeth. Damn it. Platinum coins.

Ignoring whatever decision Jacob made, she turned her body and fixed her gaze on the assassin behind the gate. Finally turning around, Jacob discovered a white-haired man reaching out with a crazed look in his eyes.

“I don’t like your suggestion.”

The resentful pronunciation rolled around in his mouth. Jacob knew himself very well, so it wasn’t difficult for him to be convinced that he would not pass her test, which was not a test at all.

“… Fine. Do as you wish.”

In the end, he decided to give up. Margaret smiled gracefully and, looking down at the hand reaching towards the knife, slowly picked it up. Her nonchalant gesture was so fascinating. She closed her eyes leisurely

“Hi.”

And with that, she casually greeted the frozen assassin while reaching out her hand. Taylor remained silent for a few minutes before standing in front of the breathless warden and responding in an unbelievably shy tone.

“…huh”

The knife was now out of range. Margaret held the knife she had thrown and shook it slowly before remembering her giggling laughter as she reassured them to be at ease.

The warden quietly picked up a coin behind his back as Taylor hugged his bedding, staring fixedly at the ground with his bright red eyes, speechless. Alcatraz was quiet, as if peace had returned.

***

“Is Mel like us?”

Taylor asked, standing right in front of the guard who had just finished his flashback.

Jacob quietly bowed his head in front of the question. Yes, with that, Margaret acted as if everything was over. Such a naïve kid. I was stupid to believe her just because she showed it.

His guilt-ridden eyes sank into despair. Taylor abandoned his reserved attitude in front of her and bitterly complained.

“No way. She never killed anyone. Mel isn’t trash like me. It’s stupid to just control someone… What do you know about our situations, you morons?”

“…”

The warden froze. A cold iron rod was touching his neck. But when? Amid his frightened eyes rolling, he saw the hilt of a dagger.

“… This is crazy.”

All that came out were curses. The sword he was looking down at was the one with the intricate pattern and a red gem embedded in it. It was undoubtedly the same one that Margaret had brought with her when she first came to this place.

Taylor laughed.

“She just lost her mind, that’s all.”

Yeah. Margaret Eilish was definitely the villain’s sister.