I Am The Game's Villain

"I've heard about the incident, Amael," Christina said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"You heard, sister? Aren't you proud of me?" I asked with a smirk while slipping on my shoes.

"Not at all! The Teraquin House, Tepes House, and Dolphis House are furious with us, brother!" Christina complained.

"Well…" I averted my face, unable to offer a convincing retort.

In my defense, the Tepes House furious against us was just because of an accident!

"I'm proud of you, Amael!" Mom approached me, tousling my hair with a proud grin.

Unable to resist, I smiled back at Mom.

"Mother! You shouldn't always spoil Amael! The Headmistress sent us several million for the damages caused in Zestel and in the Academy!" Christina interjected.

"It's just money, dear. Our image is much more important. Knowing that Melfina is now indebted to us is really putting me on cloud nine," Mom exclaimed with an ecstatic smile.

After all, I did save her granddaughter by beating Manuel's ass.

Christina grimaced at Mom's reaction. "I can't believe it."

"Come on, sister. I will take care of them, don't worry," I reassured her, feeling sorry for her being the only rational person in this family, but unable to change the situation.

Christina's expression softened as she pinched my cheeks. "Be careful, little brother."

"Y-Yes," I nodded.

"You should consider joining one of the three organizations at the Academy if you want protection or power, Amael," Christina suggested as I walked out of the mansion.

"Right, I will think about it."

Ah, the three organizations of the Academy.

The Student Council.

The Presidium.

And the Social Committee.

The scouting will begin soon.

I had already decided to join one of them, but I'm still hesitating on which one to choose. Should I take into account where Victor and Celeste are? I don't know.

I still have some time to think anyway.

…

…

I departed half an hour earlier than my usual time to meet someone. We had agreed on a secluded spot a little away from the Academy, under the shadows of a tree.

Approaching the tree, I noticed she was already there, leaning against it with her back, clutching the strap of her shoulder bag with both hands. A distant look adorned her pale face as she observed the birds in flight.

"Elizabeth," I called out, stopping a few meters away.

She turned slowly, managing a small smile. "Thanks for answering my call."

It seemed like she was feeling a bit better, able to engage in conversation compared to a week ago.

"No, I also think we should have a proper conversation," I replied, shaking my head.

We hadn't spoken to each other at all last week, unintentionally avoiding one another.

No.

I avoided her because I knew she was even more affected than me. A woman's purity was more sacred and vital than a man's. I might not have cared much about mine, but women were more sensitive in that aspect.

There was a reason why we chose to talk today before heading to the academy. First, Elizabeth was finally back to school after a week of absence, and second...

"Everyone should be aware already," Elizabeth muttered, averting her gaze.

Right.

Mother had informed me that all the Great Houses and other important families of Sancta Vedelia had been rightfully informed about the engagement between Elizabeth and me. An engagement between two Great Houses was a rare and significant occurrence. It was essential to inform all the important Houses of this news.

"I didn't answer my friends' calls," Elizabeth admitted. "I don't know how to explain to them how the engagement happened and why it did. It shouldn't have happened because I was intended for someone else."

Intended for someone else? Who?

I wondered silently, but decided to set that thought aside and nodded at her. "I also didn't tell anyone, obviously, but both of us can't avoid the questions now…"

"Also, we obviously would not tell anyone the true reason behind our engagement," Elizabeth's voice suddenly turned cold as she looked at me with a neutral gaze.

"Of course, I don't want this news to spread either…" I said with a forced smile.

[<Otherwise, Layla will be here the next day to take your second time forcefully.>]

Indeed...

And the mere thought of it was terrifying.

Elizabeth nodded, indicating we were on the same wavelength.

"At school, they will be confused as to why we were engaged and would want plausible answers," Elizabeth said.

That was right.

From their perspective, our engagement made no sense at all. Even though I was from the Olphean House, for them, I wasn't Alea Olphean's child, the Head of the House and thus not from the main branch. I doubted Duncan Tepes would have agreed to give his granddaughter if I turned out to be Thomen's son. The Great Houses of Sancte Vedelia held that much importance.

There might be a solution, and it would be to declare the truth to everyone, stating that I'm Alea's son and Connor's and Christian's younger brother, but...

"I prefer to keep my status a secret, Elizabeth," I admitted.

She was the only student of the academy from Sancta Vedelia, along with Selene, who knew about my origins, and I preferred to keep it under wraps for now. It might be dangerous. The people who tried to kill me when I was a kid might come back. I preferred to find them first before revealing my origins.

Elizabeth nodded, but her gaze lingered on me in silence.

When I looked back, confused, she spoke. "I heard that Senior Connor and Senior Christina had a younger brother, but I thought he had died."

"Well, there were some complications," I replied ambiguously.

"You don't resemble any of them…" Elizabeth flashed a genuine smile for the first time.

"Everyone says that," I chuckled.

The atmosphere lightened a bit between us, and I felt a twinge of happiness. I genuinely liked her as a person.

"So, how do we explain this to them?" Elizabeth asked.

Good question.

Our sudden engagement couldn't be justified by reinforcing our House, especially since I was considered a criminal under rehabilitation. It complicated things.

Only a nonsensical or emotional reason could make sense of our engagement, and that reason was...

"How about this?" I scratched my cheeks awkwardly. "We could just say we fell for each other and decided to ask our parents…"

Silence followed, and I couldn't bring myself to look at her. Yet, this seemed to be the only plausible reason for our sudden engagement. We could explain that we grew closer over the last few months, especially as we were in the same group in the craftsmanship class.

After a long minute, Elizabeth sighed and nodded. "I think this might be the best option. But are you sure about that? I heard you're already engaged to someone else."

"Right… Layla. I'll talk to her, don't worry…" I assured.

"I hope Ms. Layla won't antagonize me," Elizabeth said with a small chuckle.

"No, I'll handle her. It's just for now, Elizabeth," I reassured her. "As soon as you find someone you like, we'll break off the engagement, don't worry."

Elizabeth lowered her head with a bitter smile at my words. "I don't think I'll ever find someone like him again."

Her whisper reached my ears, but I chose to ignore it.

"By the way…" I hesitated, not wanting to bring up the subject, but it was really bothering me. I lowered my collar, revealing the trace of fang bites on my neck. "It's really itching me… do you know-"

Before I could finish, Elizabeth stormed away from me, leaving me alone.

"Huh?"

I couldn't see her face, but her ears were beet red.

"Great…"

I had inadvertently disrupted the brief moment of normalcy we had achieved.