I Became A Framed Villain – Chapter 17

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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– *Sizzle…*

“Trauma?”

Great Order, who had been slightly wary of Trauma’s sudden action, opened her mouth with a dumbfounded expression.

“What are you doing?”

The A-rank villain who neutralized the Rank 2 hero in less than a week since his debut. The uncontrollable individual who just killed two-thirds of her sidekicks.

– *Chop, chop, chop…!*

This terrifying being was chopping green onions with practiced ease in the kitchen.

“I’m cooking.”

“No, I mean, why?”

Great Order, barely holding onto her sanity amidst the cheerful chopping and boiling sounds, clutched her head and asked.

“We’ll be working together for a long time, so I should at least treat you to a meal.”

“What are you…”

“Just think of it as a celebratory meal. It’s almost lunchtime anyway.”

Finishing his words, Trauma focused on cooking again.

He was right, it was almost lunchtime. And the smell coming from the kitchen was quite good.

Considering Trauma’s unpredictable nature, his motive for cooking wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.

‘A meal… in this situation?’

However, the office floor was currently littered with her sidekicks’ cooling corpses.

And in that situation, Trauma was busy cooking, his clothes stained with blood.

“…”

It seemed he was more out of his mind than she thought.

“It’s done. Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

“Before that, I have a question.”

So, after much deliberation, Great Order asked Trauma, who brought her a steaming bowl of kimchi jjigae.

“The stew’s getting cold…”

“Why do you want to infiltrate the academy and the Hero Association?”

Initially, she thought she had to cooperate with Trauma unconditionally for the sake of her goal, Kang Haneul.

However, seeing Trauma’s various eccentric actions in the few minutes he’d been in her office, she felt she needed to know his reasons.

“If you really consider me a partner, you can tell me that much.”

“I told you already.”

Trauma answered Great Order’s sharp question with a gentle smile.

“There’s a student at the academy I have to protect.”

“Is that really all?”

However, Great Order pressed him.

“Then there’s no need to infiltrate the Hero Association.”

“Ah, there’s another reason for that.”

“What is it?”

“I’m planning to turn the world upside down.”

Trauma’s eyes gleamed as he began to explain.

“I’m going to prove the existence of Grotesqueries to the world soon.”

“…!”

“The preparations are almost complete. No matter how much the higher-ups try to cover it up, it won’t be easy this time.”

“Because of Pandora?”

“You’re well-informed.”

Great Order knew. That information related to ‘Grotesqueries’ had been strangely suppressed for the past few years. However, with Pandora, the executive who recently joined the Villain League, it would be difficult to completely conceal the information anymore. As Lumia, who had informed her of the Grotesqueries’ existence a few days ago, said, their existence would likely be revealed to the world soon.

“Well, Pandora isn’t the whole plan.”

“Do you have another weapon to prove the existence of Grotesqueries?”

“Well, you’ll see for yourself later.”

Saying so, Trauma continued with a smirk.

“Anyway, the important thing is what happens after the existence of Grotesqueries is revealed to the world.”

“After…”

“Heroes can’t kill villains without a special reason, right?”

“…That’s right.”

Heroes subdue. Karma detains and executes. That was the rule of this era.

“But what if you kill someone, and they turn out to be a Grotesquery?”

However, Trauma was directly challenging that rule.

“For example, the current head of the Supervisory Bureau, notorious for taking bribes. Secret Service agents who are secretly assassinating heroes, but there’s no evidence. Monsters disguised as top-ranking heroes.”

“…”

“If you kill such people based on suspicion alone, and they turn out to be Grotesqueries, it’s not a crime.”

In a rather novel way.

“No matter what position or title they hold, no matter how much wealth or social prestige they’ve accumulated, it will be useless.”

“…”

“Because Grotesqueries aren’t human.”

Trauma whispered to the speechless Great Order.

“And what if a hero who can accurately identify Grotesqueries debuts in such a new era?”

“Ah…”

“That hero would become a game changer.”

Trauma was right.

If such a hero appeared. And if that hero possessed overwhelming power.

…they would become an unstoppable being, someone no one, no matter how powerful, could challenge.

No, the whole world would be sending them love calls.

“That’s why I’m planning to debut as a hero.”

And a person who met all those conditions, someone who would become such a being in the near future, stood before her.

“Do you understand now?”

And that person was serving her a steaming bowl of kimchi jjigae, wearing an apron.

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“So, you’re doing all this… to become such a being?”

Great Order, speechless for a while, finally collected her thoughts and spoke.

“Not ultimately.”

“Then…”

“I’m laying the groundwork so that I can smoothly hand over the position to someone who deserves it.”

Hearing that, Great Order tilted her head and asked.

“Is that person… the student you said you have to protect at the academy?”

“Let’s eat now. The stew’s getting cold.”

However, Trauma, resting his chin on his hand, simply smiled gently.

“Well…”

Great Order, her wariness slightly eased after hearing Trauma’s detailed plan, pondered for a moment, then lifted her spoon.

‘I’ll just pretend to eat.’

Of course, she had no appetite in the presence of her dead sidekicks, so she planned to just pretend.

“…Huh?”

But that thought was fleeting. Great Order’s eyes widened as she put a spoonful of stew in her mouth.

“How is it? Delicious, right?”

“…”

As Trauma said, the stew was delicious. If it weren’t for the situation, she would have devoured it without any regard for her image.

‘What is this…’

However, the important thing was that the kimchi jjigae tasted strangely familiar.

‘Is it my imagination?’

She tilted her head for a moment, but then dismissed the thought as her imagination. She had only tasted kimchi jjigae a few times, made by her younger sister a long time ago, so she lacked a clear point of comparison.

“Say, this stew…”

After a few more spoonfuls, about to say she couldn’t eat anymore for the sake of appearances, Great Order shifted her gaze forward.

“…!”

And flinched.

“What’s wrong?”

Trauma had taken off his fedora.

Whether it was a cruel twist of fate or not, his face was quite similar to Kang Haneul’s.

“…”

Of course, his detailed features were different. His eye color was different, his right eye didn’t seem weak, and he looked older than Kang Haneul.

If Kang Haneul had a mysterious aura, and if he were ten years older, would he perhaps look like this?

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Great Order smiled wryly and shook her head.

“Nothing at all.”

According to the genetic test results between Trauma and herself, he wasn’t related to her.

In other words, there was no chance he was Kang Haneul.

Besides, it was insulting to even compare the slightly unhinged but goal-oriented Trauma to Kang Haneul, the murderer of Justitia.

“…Hmm.”

Organizing her thoughts, Great Order unconsciously took another spoonful, then looked up at the sound of laughter.

“…?”

Trauma was looking at her and smiling.

“Why are you making that face?”

Great Order asked with a puzzled look, and Trauma, after staring at her for a moment, lowered his head.

“Seeing you enjoying the meal makes me happy.”

“Your expression seems quite complicated for just that.”

Hearing her suspicious voice, Trauma sighed quietly.

“It just… brings back old memories.”

“…?”

“Ah, by the way, I haven’t told you about my request.”

Then, he suddenly crossed his legs and said so.

“…A request now?”

“Come to think of it, aren’t you on the side of the one who will become a game changer in the hero society?”

“That’s true, but…”

“No matter how I look at it, it’s not a fair trade. So, you have to grant me one request.”

Great Order, who had been looking displeased, closed her eyes and sighed quietly.

“Tell me. I’ll listen.”

She was in a subordinate position.

Trauma had enough drive to proceed even without her. She was just a booster, adding to his momentum.

Since she was the one who proposed the deal in the first place, she had no choice but to accept his request, no matter how unreasonable it was.

“I gave it a lot of thought.”

“…”

“What kind of request I should make, what kind of conditions I should attach to make things more difficult for you.”

Great Order, who had her eyes closed, winced at Trauma’s mischievous voice.

“…Just kidding.”

Then, she opened her eyes at his words.

“Have a meal with me every time we meet.”

“…That’s all?”

“Yes, that’s all.”

Trauma whispered, looking into Great Order’s puzzled eyes.

“That’s the only thing I want from you.”

As Great Order started looking at Trauma with a strange expression, dozens of missed calls from Lee Se-ah were displayed on her smartphone.

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Meanwhile, at that time. At the residence of the chairman of Shinwa Group, a leading global corporation.

“What are you talking about, Senior Se-ah?”

Himari, who had come to visit the chairman, awakened from life support after a few months, received a call at the door and made a puzzled expression.

“Lumia is a woman? What are you…”

“Miss, the chairman is waiting.”

Just then, she heard the voice of the secretary waiting at the door and nodded, moving forward.

“…I’ll talk to you later.”

Leaving those words behind, she hung up Se-ah’s incomprehensible call, took a deep breath, and entered the room.

“Hello, Chairman.”

Then, a welcoming voice filled the room.

“Ah, Himari.”

The person who made Shinwa Group a leading global corporation. The cold-blooded man who wouldn’t bleed even if pricked with a needle.

And the shrewd man who had been maintaining his life for ten years despite being terminally ill, and hadn’t lost his power within the group.

The chairman of Shinwa Group, possessing an overwhelming aura that made most powerful people tremble before him.

“By the way, didn’t I tell you to call me Grandpa?”

“…Grandpa.”

“Hahaha! Yes, that’s better.”

However, even he was just an ordinary grandfather to his granddaughter.

“Are you smiling more often these days?”

“…Yes.”

“That’s good to hear. Hahaha…”

Actually, he wasn’t an ordinary grandfather.

The chairman’s favoritism towards his granddaughter was quite well-known within the group.

The reason she rose to become a leading candidate for successor, and the reason she could use the group’s name outside, was all thanks to the chairman’s fervent support.

“Then, I’ll give you the overdue reports.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Knowing that, Himari started rummaging through the documents, even putting on a rare smile.

Reporting the events that had transpired while the chairman was in hibernation to maintain his dwindling lifespan was essential.
And this report would be a new turning point for Himari.
The series of incidents following Justitia’s death. Kang Haneul’s downfall and Lumia’s efforts as a result.
By reporting these, the moment to completely turn her grandfather’s heart around had arrived.
Despite her leaving Kang Haneul, her grandfather had continued to support him for some reason. Even if he was her benefactor, Himari disliked it.
She had Lumia now, not Kang Haneul.
Of course, she couldn’t say it openly, but reporting the Justitia incident would change things.
Her grandfather would completely turn his back on Kang Haneul and acknowledge Lumia.

“…That concludes the brief report on the Justitia death incident.”

With that thought, she quickly finished her report.

“And what I want to add about this incident is…”

Just as Himari was about to express her thoughts, looking at her grandfather,

“…Himari.”

“Yes?”

…she froze, unable to finish her sentence.

“What did you do?”

Her grandfather, who always looked at her with a warm and kind expression,

“Just what did you do?”

…was glaring at her with cold eyes for the first time.

“…Grandpa?”

Sensing that something was wrong, Himari called her grandfather in a trembling voice, breaking out in a cold sweat.

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