Struggling as a Villain

Holding her shoulders softly, he told her, "I would have loved to be with you, but you have your work to look after, no?"

Richard was convincing his mother to return to the Duchy, while the lady was protesting to be with him. It was no surprise that she didn\'t like to get separated from Richard again, but the situation at home needs to be monitored as well.

Bellarine pouted and crossed her arms loosely below her chest. Through those puffed lips, some words of complaint seeped, "You no longer want to be with your old Mom, just say it already."

Richard raised his brows in clear surprise before he leaned forward and whispered in a coquettish tone, "After what happened when you came to my rescue, do you think I would feel like letting you go?"

Very rare instances arrived when Bellarine showed such a shy expression. Her eyes became round as she innocently stared at her beloved man.

Richard softly brushed his thumb on her cheeks and bit her earlobe playfully—sending a jolt down her spine. Thankfully, there was no one in the carriage to disturb their romance as Bellarine leaned back and enjoyed the passion her Richie was directing at her.

Richard\'s soft kisses were directed towards her pristine neck as he heard Bellarine moaning in delight and biting her finger to stop those noises from leaking.

His left hand began to roam around her soft and attractive body. He softly put it under her left teat and gently massaged them.

The atmosphere inside the carriage began to heat up as Richard felt his pants tightening and his thing, raring to take her.

However, "Let\'s stop here for now."

Bellarine made a disappointed sound feeling the warmth of his lips and hands disappearing all of a sudden.

"This is not the place and the right time to do this," Richard told her. Since the carriage wasn\'t soundproofed and the soldiers stationed around were all superhumans, it wouldn\'t be surprising for them to hear what was going on inside the carriage.

And Richard wasn\'t into exhibitionism.

Bellarine understood what Richard meant as she didn\'t insist on continuing and soon the duo got out of the carriage—only after cooling down their \'heat\' a bit.

The farewell between them was quite an emotional sight for the others. Bellarine seemed nothing but reluctant to get separated but she didn\'t have any option.

Richard then remembered he had something to give her, as he asked the system for the communicator.

"This?" Holding a cylindrical steel can in her hand Bellarine tilted her head in puzzlement.

She looks adorable.

Richard gestured for her to wait as he made some distance from her and told her to connect the artifact to her ear.

Bellarine, still very much confused, did what her son asked, and in the next moment,

"I love you, Bella." Her eyes widened, and heart trembled to hear her Richie\'s voice through the device and the content of the message he decided to share.

She remained frozen on her spot with the can connected to her ear.

Richard returned to her side already while the lady remained in the same constant position.

"We can talk with this for a minute in a day. If there isn\'t any emergency, then I will contact you late at night." To help her get out of her daze, Richard spoke those words.

The device doesn\'t have to be used a minute constantly. The overall duration of communication in a day was one minute so this small message he passed just now wouldn\'t be much of an expense.

Bellarine felt excited about hearing her son\'s sweet voice every night and the farewell became a little less painful for her.

Once the carriage of her mother was out of sight, only two people remained.

Without turning to look at the girl, Richard asked, "So you decided to stay after all, huh?"

"There was no chance for me to leave my master\'s side."

Richard grinned as he turned to look at his maid. He believed that his mother might actually drag him back, but fortunately, after she talked with Lilia, she didn\'t seem that reluctant.

"Okay then, my beloved maid, train me to your heart\'s content and make a man worthy to be your master."

A pretty smile extended her lips, as Lilia diligently nodded, "As you command, my lord."

—————***—————

Elizabeth was currently sipping on early morning tea in the back garden of the palace.

Her mind became a little dull in the morning, so she couldn\'t think of a concrete plan for the future.

She had her father\'s support, a lot of wealth and resources, that\'s why she would prove to be the most useful individual to Ethan.

Haah~Ethan....

Thinking about him she couldn\'t help but sigh in delight.

The only man who had ever been able to make her heart race that much and make her realize this emotion called love.

"Someone looks lovestruck."

Hearing that voice, Elizabeth furrowed her brows and glared at the violet-haired bitch who calls herself a master alchemist.

"Eleanor." Well, Elizabeth had formed a tolerable relationship with her during the last few days when they were fighting against the Evil Lord...so kicking her out instantly wasn\'t that necessary.

"Your wariness is still fresh as usual." Eleanor chuckled as she poured herself some tea and added, "Well, not like I don\'t feel disgusted to share the table with you."

"Is that so? Then why did you bother to show your pathetic self to me? If you wanted, I could have sent some high-class tea to that excuse of a house you live in."

Leave it to Elizabeth and she would voice out the precise thing which could hurt the other party the most.

However, Eleanor had long gotten accustomed to such insult that\'s why she didn\'t show any reaction and took a brief sip of the tea.

Elizabeth kept her gaze constant on Eleanor and asked her again, "Why. Are. You. Here?"

Eleanor completely ignored her growing agitation and asked the girl something completely different, "You don\'t know anything about Ethan\'s past, right?"

Elizabeth was taken aback upon hearing that name as she asked in a suspicious tone, "What do you mean?"

"What Ethan used to do before joining the academy and what was his life before he was hailed the Hero? You know nothing about it, right?"

The golden eyebrows of the Princess were closer than ever before, as she gritted her teeth and asked the damn whore, "Are you trying to flaunt here? You should know-"

"Can you stop being a bitch some time and listen to the other person to the end?" This time Eleanor narrowed her eyes and spat those words in an annoyed voice.

Elizabeth closed her mouth and waited for the other one to continue. If this was about Ethan, Elizabeth couldn\'t rush things. Even if she had to face some humiliation...

Eleanor heaved a sigh as she put the cup down and asked her, "I am going to give you a chance to know him better. To know what struggle he went through. The true self of Ethan...I am giving you a chance to know it all."

"Tell me!" Elizabeth was eager and that could be seen through the way she slammed her hands on the table and raised her voice.

Eleanor smirked as she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms haughtily under her modest breasts.

"First tell me what did the Goddess tell you?"

Elizabeth\'s vigor came to an instant halt as the cloud of suspicion surrounded her once again. With her fist clenched on the table she asked the violette, "How do you know that the Goddess told me something?"

"Because, at the time of time reversal she gave a message to all four of us separately."

"Then first tell me your message!" Elizabeth demanded.

Eleanor smirked, "I am trading Ethan\'s information in exchange for that message. I think that\'s a fair deal?"

Elizabeth gritted her teeth and pondered only for a few seconds before she took a decision,

"The Goddess gave me a warning."

Eleanor, in an amused fashion, said, "Interesting. Continue."

Elizabeth scowled at the other one, but she didn\'t resist telling the whole thing, "She warned me that if I took the lives of innocent people, slowly I would start forgetting my memories of the last timeline....and also about Ethan."

"---!!"

Eleanor was surprised, in all honesty.

She stared at Elizabeth in disbelief for several moments.

The psychopath who treated human lives as the least matter of her concern was now warned to be cautious of her actions or she would lose all those precious memories with Ethan? Indeed it\'s a matter worthy to be warned.

\'No wonder she didn\'t attack Richard right away...\'

Eleanor was now assured that Elizabeth wouldn\'t take any unnecessary steps that could hinder them in the future.

As such, she didn\'t hesitate to reveal Ethan\'s whereabouts.

"He is in a town called Awsperg...working as an adventurer. Go find him."

—————***—————

A/N:- Hmm....