This is Not How You Use a Villainess Sir

Chapter 16: Sir, That’s Not How You Use a Bad Woman

She had perfectly avoided any chance of leaving herself a way out.

Jeannette, already an exile in this place, had no worries of being held accountable, but the children from the slums…

A few children, sensing unease and fear of a friend’s death from Janet’s expression, asked in a mournful tone:

“Big sister Janet, what should we do now…”

“…”

What could Janet say?

She had no assurance of protecting these children.

People outside naturally harbored vigilance and rejection towards those from the exile lands, especially when the other party was an executioner of high status.

And now, to have an assassination attempt right before her!

At that moment, Chu Yan knocked on the wooden fence as if it were a door.

He walked over and sat down in front of Janet, asking:

“Janet, it looks like you’ve encountered some trouble?”

“Don’t play dumb at a time like this. Besides, why are you here? Dula said you were assassinated by Vormek.”

Chu Yan thought to himself, “As expected,” the person was known to Janet.

Previously, Chu Yan had noticed her care for the children in the slums but never inquired.

With their relationship still shallow, he had no reason to delve into someone else’s past.

Though mainly because he couldn’t be bothered, he was more concerned about the negative effects it might bring.

For someone with affection to take the initiative to understand the other, that’s called “Warm-hearted and considerate.”

For someone without affection to intrude on the other, that’s called “Disgusting and repulsive.”

Chu Yan’s fingertips tapped lightly on the marble table, saying:

“As for Vormek’s attempt on my life, I can be lenient and plead with the executioner to spare his life.”

That’s what he said, but no matter the reason, Chu Yan was still displeased inside. However, Vormek’s actions could provide him with an opportunity to get closer to Janet.

If he ordered a strict punishment now, it would likely severe ties with Janet.

He consoled himself that it was better to start with courtesy before resorting to force.

To start with severe punishment, even if it was within the lord’s rights, would make it difficult for him to carry out his work later, with everyone fearing him.

But to show “benevolence” this time, if such an incident occurred again, even if he resorted to the death penalty, others would only blame the other party, thinking they had angered such a generous and kind lord, without faulting him.

This approach would be advantageous, whether dealing with fools in the slums or potential conflicts with the nobles of the Dead Sea.

From then on, he needn’t worry anymore.

The children’s eyes lit up, as if they were the ones receiving mercy, excitedly and surprisingly saying:

“Are you serious, Lord Brother?”

Janet, usually frivolous and joyful, confident and composed in facing everything, now looked stern and unfamiliar.

“Little Lord, what do you intend to do?”

Chu Yan replied with a serious and sincere attitude:

“It’s not about what I want to do, but if we only focus on executing Vomek, thinking that will solve everything, it’s rather foolish.

A knife can harm people, but it’s the person wielding the knife who should be pursued. Vomek is just that not-so-smart knife.”

He wasn’t particularly angry about Vomek’s assassination attempt, perhaps because it was too… trivial?

But such a malicious incident targeting a lord cannot be overlooked.

He could somewhat guess that the instigators were the nobles; the Dead Sea borderlands’ circle was too small to keep secrets.

“Do you plan to use this to strike back at the nobles?”

Janet looked at him with new respect, not expecting that Chu Yan, having just been assassinated, would not seek revenge in anger but instead calmly consider the implications.

“Yes, but I want to know something about the tainted weapons. Why would you hand those dangerous arms to the children?”

“Because… I want to give the children of the slums another way out.”

Janet looked up at the sky, her thoughts drifting back to a distant past.

“Young lord, do you know where I come from?”

“How could I know that, but I am eager to hear the details.”

“I grew up in another exile land, which also had a prison for the tabooed. As a child, I watched those tabooed, and later became one of them… even though it was in a foreign land of exile.”

*

*

Several exiled lands exist on this continent, imprisoning the tabooed—Dead Sea borderlands, Thundering Desert, Valley of the Dead.

Janet was born in a town in the Thundering Desert. During her growing years, she witnessed the gloom hovering over her homeland, the gloom over the future.

Although the situation there was different, the problems were similar to those in the slums of Elysium City.

“Birth,” a word symbolizing the nurturing of life, here receives two starkly different interpretations.

If you are born into a Dead Sea noble’s family, a life of luxury and carefree existence will accompany you for the rest of your days, every additional day lived is a gain.

If you are born a kilometer away in the slums, you might as well try to crawl back into the womb and restart, leaving a day early is a blessing.

Alas, beings descend into the world as the living, always harboring a sliver of hope for their lives—perhaps they could experience, encounter, or go through something good?

It’s not about pursuing a lavish life, but in the slums, even a stable and peaceful day is a luxury.

Branded with the mark of the Dead Sea people, integrating into a stable region is exceedingly difficult.

And what can change one’s fate are various talents, be it magic or mastery of weapons, but sadly, such talent is itself bestowed by fate.

—It seems only fate can change fate.

Even the children of noble families could be a bunch of useless pork buns; how much harder is it for ordinary people?

And the tainted weapons are the way out Janet found for the children of the slums.

It’s the cheapest way to gain power, allowing even the most ordinary children to have the ability to fight against demons!

With this skill, they no longer had to spend their lives doing the dirty work for the Dead Sea nobility. At the very least, hunting a few demons to exchange for a decent meal was no problem.

Life should be enjoyed, yet it’s hard to find joy.

The occasional indulgence in a gourmet meal, looking forward to the next, is also a delight.

*

*

The future of the slums…

Chu Yan had thought about the irrational layout of Elysium City before, but he hadn’t realized that Janet had thought so deeply about it.

Her outings during her free time were actually spent on this matter. It seems that the contraband she smuggled was mostly these tainted weapons.

Chu Yan felt an inexplicable heaviness, as if the weight of fate was pressing down on his heart. Yet Janet’s words seemed to hint at a glimmer of sunshine peeking through the dark clouds.

He asked, “Won’t these tainted weapons harm the user?”

Janet countered, “When you’re starving, do you consider the taste of the food?”

Without the harm brought by the tainted weapons, the people of the slums couldn’t secure their lives anyway.

These weapons, though harmful, could also bring about some change.

Besides, the threat of these tainted weapons was definitely lower than that of demon attacks.

Chu Yan nodded, stretched lazily, and prepared to leave, saying:

“Alright, I’ve got a good grasp of the situation. I’ll go and calm the executioner’s intent to kill. Janet, can you use your intelligence network to find out who’s behind this?”

The seductive lady in the crop-top jacket stood up, a slight smile returning to her lips. She shook hands with Chu Yan and said:

“Leave it to me, Dura. Take me to the places Womek frequents.”

Chu Yan also hurried back to where the executioners were, thinking wearily:

“The midterm inspection isn’t over yet, and I have to start the next phase of work so soon. Can’t they let me rest for a few more days?”

The cooperation between superiors and subordinates, the lord’s own reserve of forces.

These were one of the “scoring points” in this family trial. If Janet’s matter was handled smoothly, he could score big in one fell swoop!

“Set a small goal first, to take down Baron Pigo, that pig! Isn’t every nobleman inherently wicked?”

Chapter 15: Improving the Obedience of Superiors and Subordinates

In the open space in front of the slums, people in tattered clothes gathered.

In the center of the open space was Womek, restrained and controlled, his limbs bound by magical chains. The executioner and the accompanying maid stood by, their demeanor extremely cold.

There’s no such thing as a designated execution ground in the Dead Sea borderlands; where can’t people die, where isn’t an execution ground?

The current scene had a bit of the flavor of the church’s trials of heretics, a warning to the commoners.

Sadness and anger turned into helplesss on the faces of the slum dwellers, unable to sigh bear the sight of their companion’s impending death.

“To obtain a forged resident certificate, you dared to assassinate the dragonkin lord, what audacity! Name the instigator who commissioned the assassination!”

The maid now wore a stern expression, her whip cracking incessantly against Womek’s body, leaving him covered in wounds.

Though he appeared battered and bloody, the injuries were not severe; Maid Yu had held back.