The Villainess Who Accidentally Stole Their Hearts - Chapter 25
Chapter 13.1
Ulysses was reputed to be the most upright person among the ‘Adulterous Five.’ A handsome man who was kind, gentle, and good-natured.
That was how people saw him.
‘Hah… but seriously? Three-timing?’
Ulysses was also proud to be aboard the infidelity express.
I never expected him to be innocent.
‘Out of all of them, the one who seemed the most normal? And he’s juggling three relationships?!’
Even Cleas was only juggling two relationships.
‘No, wait. It could be more than three.’
Three was just the minimum.
‘A busy, disgusting man.’
At that moment, Ulysses and Lady Bethril were exchanging pleasantries—a polite exchange, with just the right amount of distance between them.
‘…No matter how you look at it, they don’t seem like a couple.’
There weren’t even any rumors about the two of them being together.
“What’s wrong, Nike?”
Perhaps noticing that I had been staring at Ulysses in silence, Cleas asked.
“…I just thought it’d be nice if Raphael were here too.”
“Yeah. We’ve hardly seen him since he went abroad to study. Do you miss him?”
‘No. I hope I never have to see that face again.’
Right then, Cleas rubbed his forehead against my shoulder.
“Are you waiting for someone else instead of me? I know Raphael’s a close friend, but I can’t help feeling a bit jealous.”
“….”
‘This is so annoying.’
‘I wonder when he’ll finally bring up breaking off the engagement….’
I couldn’t be the one to mention it first since Zerno and my father would never allow it. However, it would be a different matter if Cleas were to officially call it off.
‘Since he’s after my status, he won’t easily bring up breaking the engagement…’
As long as I remained an obedient doll, he would keep me by his side for his own benefit. But what if I started becoming more of a nuisance?
I tilted my head slightly toward Cleas.
“Something to drink.”
“…Huh?”
“I’m thirsty. Do I need to spell it out?”
“Of course, anything for you. I’ll get you your favorite mint chocolate latte.”
Maybe it was because I had mentioned his secret meeting with Mikarin earlier, but Cleas went straight to the counter without a word.
̊ · : * ✧* : · ̊
Once I managed to get away from Cleas, I headed straight outside.
‘So, Lady Bethril is one of his cheating victims.’
It was unfortunate, but perhaps this was an opportunity for me.
A chance to help Lady Bethril.
‘If I help her, she might be willing to strike a deal with me.’
Lady Bethril really hated me, so much so that she would turn down any deal I proposed without hesitation. That’s why, after gathering information today, I planned to approach her through Leonard.
‘But there’s no need to take the long way around.’
First things first, I needed to figure out who else Ulysses was involved with. The problem was that, with my current abilities, I couldn’t investigate him.
And blindly upgrading…
Hearts Available ♥ : 4
I was cautious because I didn’t know how many hearts I would need to use. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, the power of the adulterous five was undeniable.
That meant Ulysses’s rank must be pretty high, too.
‘Oh! Now that I think about it, I got a random box!’
Would you like to use 〈 Random Box 〉?
‘Yes.’
┏ ✧·˚ : *·♡·˚ :✧ ┓
♡ R ❥ A ❥ N ❥ D ❥ O ❥ M ❥ B ❥ O ❥ X ♡
┗ ✧·˚ : *·♡·˚ :✧ ┛
‘…This is so noisy.’
%%Unlimited/Access/Pass%%
An unlimited pass?
‘Is this different from the free pass I got before?’
A freedom beyond ‘free’!
You can do a love hunt with no restrictions =͟͟͞͞➳❥
…No restrictions.
‘In other words, rank didn’t matter!’
I immediately began investigating Ulysses.
…
— Personal Relations: Belinda (Lover), April (Lover), Selena (Lover)
The first thing I checked was his relationships.
Thankfully, he only had three lovers.
However.
Lily (Ex-lover), Diane (Ex-lover), Dorothy (Ex-lover), Nara (Ex-lover), Bianca (Ex-lover), Sylvia (Ex-lover), Angela (Ex-lover)…
‘How can he have this many ex-girlfriends?’
The list just kept going.
And amidst all this…
Mikarin (More than a friend, but not quite a lover)
‘Ugh.’
What kind of nonsense were they up to now?
Mikarin was the only one who was ‘more than a friend, but not quite a lover.’
Nikaearsha (Pushover)
‘That son of a…’
I already had an idea of what the Adulterous Five thought of me, but seeing it spelled out like this still made my neck tense up.
Ulysses and I…
“You! Why are you hitting Ulysses? Do you want to die?!”
“Nike…”
“Are you stupid? Why are you just standing there?! That’s why you keep getting hit!”
“It’s okay. Nike always comes to save me anyway.”
…Because we’ve spent a very long time together.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed away the memories of the past—the memory of young Ulysses grinning brightly at me.
“What are you doing here alone?”
That was when an unwelcome guest appeared.
When I opened my eyes, Lucvan was staring at me with a sullen expression.
“What does it matter to you what I do? Just go on your way.”
“Wow… your attitude has gotten worse. You never talked to me like that before.”
“And you never acted like this with me, either. Do you think I’m an easy target now just because you think I can’t become an Awakener?”
‘There’s nothing more repulsive than someone who changes how they act depending on someone else’s power.’
I scoffed, and Lucvan frowned.
“You should work on that personality of yours. Pretty soon, no one will be able to tolerate it.”
“Look who’s talking. At least I’m equally rude to those in power.”
He wasn’t worth my time anymore.
I turned away from Lucvan without hesitation. But just as I was about to walk away…
“What’s wrong with you, really?”
He spun me around.
As the hem of my skirt twirled, Lucvan’s face drew closer to mine.
“You never treated me like this.”
“….”
“You were different with me.”
How ridiculous.
He knew how much I cherished our friendship. He knew how desperate I was, and yet—
“Losing your husband is partly your fault, too. Can you blame Cleas for what he did?”
“Let go of my hand.”
“Nike.”
“I’m not that person anymore.”
I shoved Lucvan, but he didn’t budge. Instead, he leaned in closer—close enough that I could see the light catch on every one of his lashes.
Our eyes locked in the narrow space between us.
At that moment—
“What’s the maximum sentence for sexual harassment again?”
A low voice casually slipped in.
“I don’t think there was a reward for the reporter, though.”
I turned to see a tall man standing leisurely in the light, a polished smile gracing his lips.
‘Yusril? What’s he doing here?’
There wasn’t any connection between him and Ulysses, so why was he at the birthday party?
“What are you doing here?”
“Who knows.”
He shrugged in response to my question, then turned his attention to Lucvan.
“I’d suggest letting go of her hand first.”
“What’s this? You know Duke Akelos?”
Lucvan asked me a question. Before I could answer, Yusril replied instead.
“The lady came looking for me desperately. That’s how I got to know her.”
As he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me toward him, the distance between me and Lucvan naturally widened.
Lucvan’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me standing next to Yusril.
“You were the one who went to see the Duke first?”
“…Yeah.”
“Why?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“…Did you come out here just to meet him?”
That wasn’t the reason, but—
“So, what are you going to do?”
Lucvan fell silent.
After a long pause, his lips finally parted.
“For you… there’s only us.”
It was ridiculous.
What was even more ridiculous was—
‘Why does he look so shocked?’
I let out a short sigh.
“That used to be true.”
“….”
“Could you leave now? I need to speak with the Duke.”
“….”
“If you don’t want to go, I’ll go instead.”
I took Yusril’s arm and started walking, leaving Lucvan standing alone behind us.
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