BJ Villainess

* * *

Damian leaned against the window, gazing at the departing carriage with eyes clearly in love. Inside, it was the beautiful woman he had desired to meet at any cost, even if it meant sacrificing innocent others. Just thinking of her made his cheeks flush and his breath quicken. His heart pounded more fiercely than after a sprint. It was a sensation both painful and agonizing, yet simultaneously ecstatic and sweet. Had he been on that carriage, he would undoubtedly have acted disgracefully. That would have been problematic. He would have been hated.

“Madam…” Damian murmured in a whining tone, lowering his head. Thinking of her made him anxious.

As the carriage grew distant, his longing intensified to the point of uncontrollable anger.

“How did I end up here?” he muttered in a small, chilling voice. He never wanted to be apart from Theresa for even a moment.

Raul Squire, huh? The man who resembled the madam but seemed so different, was he her father?

“Strange.”

To him, the man seemed just like any other.

Damian slowly blinked his eyelids and jumped out the window. He then locked eyes with a magic bird that had been watching him like a guardian for days. The bird seemed to be judging whether he was a threat.

Magical animal, huh? Such beings didn’t exist in the dungeon world he lived in. This place, indeed, felt like a different universe.

Damian smiled slyly at the bird, an inscrutable expression like that of this body’s original owner.

White magic had the power to immediately react and heal wounds. So, he had deliberately left a bruise, knowing the madam had a soft spot for the injured. Since the time he had broken his arm on purpose to make her visit him at the orphanage, he knew this fact well.

Damian leisurely moved away from the orchard to a distant location where the magical animal didn’t interfere.

A man in a black robe, who had been hiding nearby, appeared before Damian. The man was a member of Stigmata.

“What will you do, Lord?”

It was Damian, whom the man called Lord.

Damian answered nonchalantly as if the title was to be expected. “We return to the capital.”

“The capital’s security has been tightened; it will be difficult to move.”

Currently, Valhalla was on break, and as a commoner, Damian had limited freedom of action. Before coming to meet Theresa, he had been busy preparing certain measures.

Recalling the repulsive face of Duke Kapento, who resembled yet was so different from him, Damian spoke coldly. “There’s a way to deal with that.”

The real problem was the ‘Emperor’ himself.

“It would be nice to gouge out his eyes.”

If seen through the eyes of Rodrigo’s direct imperial lineage, what essence might be revealed? That’s why he couldn’t meet Theresa while the emperor stayed in the orchard. The thought of his time with Theresa being interrupted filled him with unremitting anger. He genuinely wanted to kill him.

“Since we’ve touched the emperor, the nobles will be on high alert for a while. Spread plenty of mind dolls around.”

“As you command.”

The Stigmata member left to carry out the order. Damian watched him leave, then tightly shut his eyes with an expression of headache.

“

. How does the madam know so much about Stigmata?”

He was surprised by her words the day before, warning against Stigmata. It seemed she even knew that Damian was a member of Stigmata.

Damian leaned back his head, opening his eyes slowly. The color of his eyes reflecting the blue sky wasn’t the sunny gold but a sinister red.

“No matter how much I think about it, it seems like there’s something more she’s hiding.”

Just like the fact she didn’t tell him that the world he existed in was a dungeon created by a demon. It was strange to feel the same sensation even though he was clearly in her world now.

Lost in thought, Damian walked to where he had tied his horse. Then, he encountered the watching magical bird again. The bird wasn’t hostile; it was still persistently trying to discern his true nature.

“Interesting. Why does it look at me like that? Is it going to tell the madam?”

The bird didn’t respond.

Climbing smoothly onto the saddle, Damian paused, holding the reins. His gaze quickly met the magic bird’s watching him.  “…Didn’t they say that magical animals are natural enemies to demons?”

They were known to be sensitive to magic, yet this bird seemed completely unaware of his true nature. At first, he thought it was because of the white magic, but now it seemed doubtful.

Before January 31st in the dungeon, during a time the madam wouldn’t remember, Damian had made a contract with a demon. That’s how he could come here.

Damian rubbed the corners of his red eyes. The magical animal did not regard him as an enemy. It continued to observe him as if unsure of his identity. That meant…

“Was the being I made a contract with not a demon?”

* * *

It didn’t take long for Marquis Vallensia from the south to become the most sought-after man in the social circles. Ozworld, the blond and handsome man who appeared at one of the capital’s most popular parties, Madame Shati’s salon, instantly captivated everyone there. He was young, handsome, and a wealthy magnate. That alone was attractive, but his equal kindness to everyone and his always relaxed demeanor upheld a truly noble image.

Nobles brought up similar sentiments about Marquis Vallensia whenever the occasion arose.

“Marquis Vallensia treats everyone the same. That’s why his servants seem to follow him particularly well.”

“His attitude is very gentle. It’s not easy for a young man to do that.”

“But isn’t he strangely difficult?”

Everyone paused at the last remark, then, as if they had been waiting to discuss it, spilled their secretly held thoughts.

“Wasn’t I the only one who felt that way?”

“He’s definitely a gentleman, but somehow, in his presence, I feel infinitely small. I thought I was intimidated because he’s too handsome.”

“Well, Marquis Vallensia is terrifyingly handsome.”

The ladies quickly laughed it off as a joke, yet distinctly recognized the peculiar feeling they had towards Ozworld wasn’t just their imagination. As the laughter died down, a lady spoke up.

“Certainly, Marquis Vallensia seems to possess a more noble bearing. Should I say, a natural dignity?”

Smiles of agreement followed. Then, as cheers erupted for a polo game, the ladies’ gazes turned to where Marquis Vallensia had just scored. The ladies weren’t interested in how hard their husbands were playing polo. They turned their attention solely to admire Ozworld, dripping with sweat in his revealing outfit.

“How can someone be so handsome?”

A lady’s honest admiration made the others laugh again. Despite the hot day, the delightful view made it bearable.

“Is it true that Marquis Vallensia is close to the Squire family?”

No lady there could give a definite answer to that question.

“I heard Lady Theresa was invited to his mansion by Marquis Vallensia himself. Perhaps she’s considered as a marriage candidate?”

The ladies marveled at how Theresa’s status had changed, having only heard rumors and not yet witnessed it themselves.

“It doesn’t seem like Marquis Vallensia’s character to take a princess as a wife.”

“It’s not like there are no beautiful women available.”

Then, a lady who had been quiet chimed in. “I’ve heard Madame Shati is quite fond of the princess.”

Madame Shati was tacitly considered the emperor’s godmother among the nobility because the notoriously temperamental Euges unusually heeded the meticulous Madame Shati’s words.

“Professor Bernstein also holds the princess in high regard, doesn’t he? It doesn’t seem like he sees her merely as a student,” another added.

This elicited laughter from the group.

“At this rate, there might be a competition over the princess.”

“It seems it has already begun. If Duke Kapento indeed adopts that commoner son as the rumors say, the competition will only intensify.”

“Ah, the princess’s handsome escort wizard, that student?”

As the conversation turned this way, everyone became even more curious about Theresa Squire.

“This summer’s ball is going to be quite exciting.”

It promised to be a social season brimming with hotter gossip than ever before.

* * *

While the ladies were speculating about the marriage market’s prospects, Ozworld, having finished the polo game, wiped his sweat-soaked face with a towel. Despite starting early in the morning, his clothes were drenched due to the summer heat. The wet white muslin shirt clung to his muscles, pleasing the onlookers.

As Ozworld, with his long legs, sauntered over, Kike appeared and whispered in his ear. “The disciplinary committee has summoned you. You must respond immediately.”

“What for?”

“David has been named a suspect in Chehope’s murder. The channel managers, who were allied with Chehope, claim you are behind it.”

“

.” Ozworld ran his fingers through his hair, his usually impassive face colder than usual. “I see. I’ll go there shortly.”