Struggling as a Villain

"Ah!" Suddenly he remembered the reward he received from the Goddess in exchange for saving Ethan.

The vanishing cloak.

Getting up, he went to his cupboard to look for the cloak. However, the first thing his eyes landed on was the artefact through which Richard talked to his mother.

\'Strange...she hasn\'t called me since yesterday...\' Richard picked up the steel can and connected it to his ear. However, despite waiting for several minutes, the other side didn\'t pick.

\'Maybe she forgot to carry it to the capital...or might be busy with work?\' Although he guessed that Richard knew his mother more than anyone else, and as such, he felt slightly anxious.

"Steffani?"

Just as he called, a maid, not more than twenty years old and with short black hair, entered his room before saying, "Yes, young master?"

"Where is Lilia?"

"She is helping Violet in bathing. Should I call her?"

Richard wanted to send a letter to his mother through Lilia\'s soul spirit but since she was helping Violet, a girl who couldn\'t accept help from anyone else, he shook his head,

"No, let her be. Once she comes out just tell her that I am going out for a while."

"Understood, my lord." Saying so, the girl walked out.

Deciding to contact his mother tonight through Lilia, Richard focused on the cloak which was not very difficult to find.

He has kept a separate cabinet in the wardrobe which only could be accessed by Richard and no one else.

While he was unlocking the safe, he asked the system, "How many Quest Points do I have now?"

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, host, for reaching the first milestone!]

[Quest Points: 110/300]

[Ding!]

[The first tier has been unlocked and the host would gain the opportunity to unlock one feature of the system, among these three;]

[Status screen]

[Shop]

[Universal map]

[Note: None of the system features can be bought in the shop.]

Richard hummed a bit as he pulled out the cloak and sat down on the bed.

Although he had already made his choice, he asked, "Can I gain the other two options as I further unlock the tiers?"

[There definitely is a possibility, host.]

Richard shrugged, "Then grant me my status panel already."

[Ding!]

[Command received!]

[The integration would take three hours to finish.]

[Time remaining: 2 hr 59 min 57 sec]

Richard was happy with his choice. Now he finally could see what his status was and where he could utilize the accumulated points.

While he was at it, he checked on Bella—or so he was about to when suddenly Lilia entered the room,

"You called me, my lord?" Fresh out of the bath, she was extruding an allure that caught him off guard.

Raising his brows, he looked at the girl\'s glowing face, slightly damp hair and that bombshell of a body.

She was currently wearing a nightdress that offered the sight of her thick and healthy thighs, and the deep neck of her dress allowed Richard a slight peek at that valley.

Lilia didn\'t shy away from that gaze which was practically getting drunk in her allure. She wore this dress for her master, so naturally, she felt thrilled to be devoured by his gaze.

"I can\'t tell if you really want me to patch up with Amelia or not. After all, how can I leave you after you are showing such a ready-to-be-preyed side to me?"

Lilia shyly smiled before suggesting, "You should go and talk to her now; otherwise, if you embrace me now, I am sure we won\'t be leaving this room until morning."

Lilia was aware of her master\'s appetite, and as a diligent lover, she tried her best to keep up with him. And knowing how long he could go, she knew she wouldn\'t be able to sleep until dawn.

Her suggestion pushed him into a dilemma. He needed to apologize to Amelia, but Lilia was looking extremely sexy right now, and he couldn\'t decide what to do.

In the end, he took a coat off the hanger draped it over her shoulder and covered her front to stop himself from staring at her.

"Do me a favour, Lilia, and send a letter to Mum, asking if she is well."

Lilia was surprised to hear that, as she asked, "You didn\'t talk to her?"

"No, she hasn\'t contacted me since yesterday."

Now, this was concerning. Lilia knows the obsession of the Duchess for her son and for that lady, who was far away from her love, to not contact him. This meant something bad must have happened already.

However, Lilia didn\'t want to panic her master so she just nodded and said, "I will send a letter immediately."

Planting a soft kiss on her forehead Richard whispered, "I know I can rely on you. Now wait for me here, I will be back in an hour."

Saying so Richard wore the cloak and disappeared from the room.

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Sitting near the window of the new room she received, Amelia stared at nothing in particular.

She has wept for long and no tears rolled down her eyes anymore. She was completely clueless about what she should do.

She got mad at Richard even though she didn\'t have the right to. She was his friend, and as a friend, she should have been worried about him and glossed over the fact that he chose not to tell her.

More so, she should have been glad that he was thinking for her good and didn\'t involve her in the matter, which could have gotten her punished.

....if only Amelia has just the feelings of friendship towards Richard.

She likes him and she has made that clear to him as well. It was the first time in her life that any man except for her father had made her feel secure and protected.

Her interests, hobbies, and behaviour did not seem as weird or bizarre; rather, Richard accepted them with open arms and even complimented her for being unique.

He appreciated her for what she was. He never asked her to change or discouraged her from pursuing her dream.

He isn\'t like other men she has met through school or formal gatherings. Richard doesn\'t want his wife to be just bound to social norms and do whatever they want to do. Maybe it was because he was brought up by a single mother that Richard respects women this much.

These small things were quite big for Amelia. Everything about Richard attracted her and made her feel that if there could be anyone she wanted to spend her life with, then it could be no one else but Richard.

"I guess I was hoping a lot..." With a sad smile, she uttered, only to hear an unexpected response,

"No, you were-"

Amelia quickly took out her dagger and threw it at the person. Her reaction was so quick that she realized the familiarity of the voice after the dagger was caught by the person.

"R-Richard?" Inside her room, standing right before her, was the same person about whom she couldn\'t stop thinking.

Richard slowly kept the dagger on the table, before crouching before the girl and looking at her.

Those warm eyes held anxiety and elation. The redness around her eyes signified how much he had hurt her, that even the usually indifferent Amelia wept until her eyes turned red.

Heaving a sigh, he held her hand before asking, "I have hurt you a lot, no? By not trusting you, I have betrayed you, and for that, I want to apologize."

With his head leaning down, he added, "Whatever punishment you deem worthy, I am ready to accept it. But please don\'t cry anymore."

Amelia turned her face away as she mumbled, "I have no right to punish you."

Richard remained silent for a bit before uttering under his breath, "I didn\'t want to do this in this way...but I guess I have no other option."

Amelia slowly turned her head as she saw Richard getting up and stepping back.

Once their eyes met, Richard finally confessed, "Although I might not be a perfect partner and someone who can devote my life solely for you, but it\'s a fact that I, Scarlette Richard, like you, Hawkbridge Amelia, as a woman and wants to spend my life with you."

Amelia\'s mouth hung low as she looked at Richard with her eyes parted wide and slowly asked, "Y-You aren\'t j-joking right?"

"I don\'t look sincere you? Well, let me-

"No, no, it\'s fine." Richard nodded to that and stopped himself from getting into the formal proposing pose.

Amelia rose from the bed and slowly approached him, before asking, "Are you sure about this, Richard? You aren\'t saying all this just because you are apologetic right?"

Richard shook his head, "I will never play with someone\'s feelings, Amelia."

Amelia stopped in her track and suddenly asked, "Then can you prove it," Richard frowned, as Amelia slowly stretched her arms weakly and asked, "Spend the night with me, Richard."

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A/N:- Okay, I feel bad. Like really bad.