Becoming The Villain Is My Dream-Chapter 42: Lisa and Layla

Lisa and the other inn workers returned early the next morning, only to freeze at the sight before them.

One of the boys was slumped drunk on the floor, while the other two were sleeping beside a heap of dried-up monster corpses.

"We should wake them up. It’s already morning," Lisa said to her girls.

"There’s no need for that," Alex’s calm voice answered as he opened his eyes. Raphael stirred beside him, sitting up with a yawn. The only one still fast asleep was Derek — and considering how drunk he was, that wasn’t going to change soon.

"Can you get a room ready for him? I doubt he’ll be waking up anytime soon," Alex said to Lisa.

"Oh, alright," she replied quickly, signaling one of the girls to go prepare a room. Once the girl left, Lisa turned back to Alex. "Has he been asleep all night?" she asked curiously.

"Doesn’t it seem like it?" Alex replied dryly.

"If that’s so, then... was it just the two of you who dealt with all these monsters?" she asked, eyes widening.

"Yes," Alex answered flatly.

Lisa gasped softly, her gaze flicking toward the pile of dried corpses.

"If you’re done asking questions, you’ve got work to do," Alex added, glancing at the shriveled remains of the monsters.

"H-how did they end up like this?" she asked again, horrified by the sight. Even at a glance, it was clear that their life force had been drained completely.

"You ask too many questions. I’m not in the mood to answer them," Alex said coldly. "I’m not like him over there." He nodded at the still-snoring Derek and walked off to sit on one of the chairs.

"Hey! Don’t talk to my sister like that!" one of the girls snapped suddenly. She had clearly been holding her anger for a while. "Just because you killed some monsters doesn’t make you anyone special!"

Alex turned his head slowly, gave her a brief glance, then looked away without a word.

"Hey, I’m talking to you!" she yelled again, clenching her fists.

"Layla, what’s your problem?" Lisa asked sharply.

"Sister, I just don’t like him!" Layla shot back.

"You don’t have the right to ’like’ or ’dislike’ him. He saved us. You owe him respect, whether you like it or not," Lisa said firmly.

"Are you seriously worshiping him like some god? I hate this! Just looking at his arrogant face pisses me off!" Layla shouted.

Lisa sighed deeply and turned toward Alex. "My sister’s always been stubborn and hot-tempered. Please, don’t mind her."

"Don’t worry. I have nothing against her," Alex replied simply.

Just then, the girl who had gone to prepare Derek’s room returned. "Madam, the room is ready," she said.

"I’ll take it from here," Alex said and rose to his feet. He walked over to Derek, lifted him up, and slung the drunk man’s arm around his shoulder. With the girl’s help, he carried Derek to the prepared room.

After Alex left, Layla turned to her sister. "Sister, aren’t you taking this too far? Can’t we just pay them off and send them away?"

"Layla," Lisa said patiently, "sometimes you should stop being so stubborn and look at things properly."

"But, sister—"

"Enough." Lisa’s glare silenced her. "Those boys might be strangers, but they risked their lives to protect us. You should be thankful, not resentful. I won’t say this again."

Lisa turned and walked away. Layla stood there, fuming, but when her sister was out of sight, she stomped toward Derek’s room.

When she reached the door, she stopped — and instead of barging in, she leaned against it, listening.

Inside, Raphael was watching Alex place Derek gently on the bed.

"Why do you frown?" Raphael asked.

"It’s nothing," Alex mumbled, but Raphael could tell otherwise.

"Is it about that girl? Did her words bother you?"

"Hell no," Alex replied, sitting down beside Derek. "Lisa’s a good woman, but her sister... she’s trouble waiting to happen. I just hope Derek wakes up soon so we can leave. Her presence alone annoys me."

"You hate her, don’t you?" Raphael teased lightly.

"She’s not my problem, so whether I hate her or not doesn’t matter," Alex said. "I just don’t want to deal with her kind."

Raphael sighed softly. "You know... I once had a sister like her. Even more stubborn. One day, after she pushed me too far, I told her to go die... and she did."

Alex turned sharply, surprised by the sadness in his friend’s voice.

"You can’t blame yourself," Alex said quietly. "Blame the person who cursed you."

"That’s not all," Raphael said bitterly. "I had a brother too. I killed him. My whole family, actually. I slaughtered them all without hesitation. The curse made me a monster... so my clan called me one and drove me away."

As he spoke, a tear rolled down his cheek — one he quickly wiped away.

"I know how that feels," Alex said after a moment. "But you can’t keep blaming yourself. The curse is gone now. You’re free. There’s no reason to live in the past." He paused, his voice softening. "That’s how I felt after Klein died. For a long time, I blamed myself. But in the end, I realized if I kept dwelling on the past, I’d never move forward. I had to let go."

Raphael suddenly laughed, breaking the heavy silence.

"Hey, what’s funny?" Alex asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I’ve never heard anything meaningful come out of your mouth before," Raphael said between laughs. "This must be a sign the world’s ending."

"Tsk! You don’t know how hard that was," Alex grunted. "Being a motivational speaker is a pain in the ass."

Raphael laughed even harder, his sadness momentarily forgotten. He hadn’t realized Alex even had a lighter side.

Meanwhile, outside the door, Layla had heard every word. She stood frozen, her heart heavy with guilt. She had planned to storm in and yell at him — but now, she turned quietly and walked away, shoulders low.

Lisa spotted her coming down the hall and quickly put down the tray in her hands. "Layla, what’s wrong?" she asked.

"Sister... have I always been trouble for you?" Layla asked in a small voice.

Lisa didn’t answer right away — and her silence said everything. Layla’s face fell, and she suddenly hugged her tightly.

"I’m sorry, sister. For being stupid all this time," she whispered.

Lisa smiled softly and hugged her back. "It’s okay. You don’t have to cry about it."

When they finally pulled apart, Lisa studied her sister’s face and smirked. "Tell me, what brought this sudden change of heart?"

"You wouldn’t understand, sister," Layla said, avoiding eye contact.

Lisa chuckled knowingly. "Or... did that boy perhaps talk some sense into you?"

"N-no! Sister, I’m leaving!" Layla stammered and hurried away, cheeks flushed.

Lisa smiled as she watched her go. For the first time in years, she felt at peace. Maybe her sister had finally come to her senses.

As orphans, they had learned to survive on their own — relying on each other for everything. But as they grew older, Layla had changed, becoming wild and reckless, constantly causing trouble that Lisa had to clean up. Despite all the frustration, Lisa never stopped hoping that one day Layla would change.

And now, it seemed that day had finally come.