Became the Villainess’s Guardian

Londinium, a city where only the strong can survive.
Welfare provisions like orphanages and soup kitchens for the unemployed starving masses are relegated to the private sector.

And it was due to this laissez-faire approach towards society’s final safety net that the implicit consensus of the patronage system could take root.

After shipping out the first air conditioner units and doing various interviews,
A week later, when I went to examine the current education system before visiting again, I told Freugne:

“As I mentioned before, I will be sponsoring you under my personal name, Edan.”

“Yes.”

Patronage – support given to those lacking financial means but possessing passion and talent.
But it did not come without conditions.

Rather than simply receiving money and reacting with gratitude like in modern times, the sponsored were required to regularly report their progress and situation.
And upon graduating school or achieving mastery in a particular field with the support received, they would have to pay the price of trading their present for the future.

If they became magicians after graduating magic university, they would serve at the sponsor’s palace. If they acquired technical skills, at their factory.
Those with good social graces and sharp minds deemed suitable as courtesans would repay the debt by serving as butlers.

So it wasn’t entirely wrong to describe it as mortgaging a portion of one’s life.
Unlike orphanage sponsorships that only committed partial support, direct monetary provision made it easier to exert control over the beneficiary.

Barring exceptional circumstances, there was no intention to intrude on their privacy, but if they suddenly started muttering things like ‘Humanity is corrupt, the rotten parts must be excised,’ intervention through counseling or other means would be considered.

“Tuition fees, meal expenses, and a modest allowance will be duly covered by me.”

“However, before proceeding with the sponsorship, I can offer you two choices.”

But corresponding support had to come first.
There was no greater impropriety than offering mere pocket change while making such overtures.

While the details were subject to mutual agreement, proper education, accommodation, food, and other living expenses would be provided.
If I were to publicly declare someone as receiving my patronage, resolving their housing, food, and clothing needs – that relationship would inevitably resemble a guardian and ward.

I never expected to witness such a scene in my lifetime.
To assume the guardian’s position for a potential dark queen.

“One is enrolling in a boarding school. You can focus on your studies, but I’ve heard the lifestyle is rather strict.”

“And the other?”

“Commuting to a public school near my residence. Of course, I’ll often be away at the palace for work, but I can readily provide for any deficiencies that arise.”

“Hmm…..”

The boarding school option would naturally incur higher costs. But the tuition and living expenses for a single student weren’t a significant burden.
While not the highest echelon, there would be opportunities to mingle with the scions of reasonably affluent families and cultivate useful connections.

The advantages of public school were simple.
No restrictions on going out, and a slightly more relaxed curriculum allowing more free time.

“Changing schools midway is difficult, so this is an irrevocable choice. You must decide now.”

“…If it’s a boarding school, which one did you have in mind?”

“There aren’t any suitable ones within the city, but a few exist in Londinium’s satellite towns. If you choose this, you won’t need to report the details of your past, only occasional status updates will suffice.”

After a brief contemplation, Freugne spoke up.
Upon hearing her answer, I instructed her to prepare any necessary belongings by next week.

It felt a bit awkward to show her my disheveled residence, so I should tidy it up properly.

For a breadwinner to leave their work was unheard of in the East End.

No, not just the East End – it was a luxury few could afford across all of Londinium.
Most lived frugal lives with meager wages that could barely look beyond the next day, let alone a year or decade ahead.

Without any relatives, Freugne could be considered her own family and breadwinner.
The orphanage wouldn’t support her forever. She couldn’t rest from work without relying on someone.

So when instructed to quit her job, it either meant:
One, starve to death.
Or two, someone would temporarily shoulder that burden for her.

She had ventured out to find work at other factories due to accidents or terminations before, but this was the first time she had completely withdrawn from job-seeking altogether.

Ordinarily, relying solely on someone’s word like this would be inadvisable.

“I’m here.”

“Ah mister, you’ve arrived?”

But he was someone who understood the importance of keeping promises.
Edan, who had come to meet Freugne again after the weekend, settled into a shady spot and began listing off several points of advice.

Edan had once tread the path of learning himself.
Thus, he knew it would not be as simple as merely listening. The very first step of embarking on that journey was the challenge.

All children had the right to receive an education.
Regardless of age, in the progressive Londinium that respected the ‘freedom to labor’, there was no obligation.

Primary education was encouraged for minors over the age of five.
Of course, it was merely a recommendation, not compulsory.

The council had recently proposed legislation to make primary education mandatory, but even amidst that, the financial burden for education would still fall on the individuals, so it remained to be seen how it would unfold.

And yet, even in Londinium, public education existed.
While fee-paying, there was at least a structured educational curriculum in place.

However, Edan himself had never received primary education, having spent his childhood in a print shop under Professor Magni’s tutelage.
But he didn’t dwell much on that fact. He had likely received basic education in his previous life, so he had coolly skipped public schooling, absorbed any lacking magic knowledge from Professor Magni, and entered university without a second thought.

And it was there that Edan tasted the malice of humanity.

“A parentless brat, you say?”

“How did one like you even make it to university?”

While objectively factual statements, they were hardly words that felt good to hear.

In this romantic modern era.
Since the professors dismissed it as ‘just how everyone grows up in their childhood’, there was only one solution.

Although the current principles of electromagnetism describe the law of electromagnetic induction where an electric current is generated when a magnet passes through a metal,
In Edan’s previous life in the country of France, it was discovered that when charges rapidly passed through a metal, resistance disappeared. And by swiftly passing their king through the guillotine, they experimentally proved that resistance indeed vanished.

Edan had no choice but to recall the primal violence nestled in a corner of his memories from his previous life and accept modernity.

“Hmm, it’s vexing but true.”

“Hah! Now you’re openly admitting it. Well, that’s a bit more to my lik-”

“But it’s vexing!”

-Zzzzzzzap!

And so.

“It’s Edan.”

“That madman?”

“They say he defeated seventeen single-handedly. And while eating bread, no less!”

“Was he not one of the seventeen?”

“Yes. He was so nonchalant that he downed ten whole loaves right there. And before leaving, he simply warned not to bother him again.”

The nonchalance was utter nonsense – the truth was that after being struck repeatedly in his bread-stuffed belly, he had fled because he felt he might vomit, though it wasn’t painful. It would remain a lifelong secret.

For the then unknown, foundationless upstart Edan, going through such an ordeal was perhaps inevitable.

But Freugne’s case was slightly different.
Ignore the guardian’s other words – that guardian currently held considerable social standing.

Edan was well aware of this fact and harbored a slight unease.
While he could leave behind legends of adorably squealing and zapping his classmates with not-so-adorable electricity, he couldn’t expect Freugne to do the same.

Of course, primary school would be a tamer environment compared to university, simply gathering children around ten years old. But there was a unique cruelty that stemmed from that very innocence.
Just imagining being asked with pure, guileless faces, “Why don’t you have a dad?” was heartbreakingly complex.

So Edan had repeatedly cautioned her.

“If anything happens, be sure to invoke my name.”

“Would I really be able to do that?”

“What’s wrong with citing your patron’s name? It’s a name with little use beyond such situations.”

Of course, if she wished to avoid even that risk, he could always send her back to the factory or control her outings by raising her like a daughter with the resolve to do so.
But Freugne herself was averse to such a lifestyle.

“You don’t need to study excessively. Instead, make lots of friends too.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“You got along well at the orphanage, so I believe you’ll manage the same here. Understand?”

Coincidentally, their goals aligned perfectly.
If she truly pursued nothing but academics, wouldn’t her abilities simply go to waste?

At school, she would encounter many students. And among them, some who might seem unremarkable now could potentially achieve great success later.
In other words, cost averaging was possible – something only she, with the ability to glimpse the future, could leverage.

“So what will you choose?”

“I want to go to the public school.”

“If it’s about the costs, you needn’t worry too much.”

“No. It’s because I want to go.”

The reason she chose to commute was simple.
It was so she could continue observing Edan. Just another part of her grand master plan, nothing more.

Surely.