I Am The Game's Villain Chapter 584 584: Date With Layla [3]

The rest of the al, Layla spent comfortably seated on my lap.

Since she insisted, I ended up feeding her every bite, sharing the al between us as she leaned into , completely at ease.

For over an hour, we remained like that—our warmth mingling, our scents intertwining, wrapped in our own little world. Neither of us wanted to move, but eventually, to our shared disappointnt, we had to part and leave the restaurant.

Of course, if I truly wanted, I could have paid extra to keep our spot for the entire day. But even I had limits.

Once outside, we didn't bother with parks or any scheduled activities. Instead, we simply walked through the streets, side by side, Layla clinging to my arm and resting her head against my shoulder. A contented smile played on her lips, as if nothing in the world could ruin this mont.

After a while, I broke the comfortable silence.

"Are you sure you don't want to buy anything?" I asked, glancing down at her.

Layla lifted her head slightly, peering at with mild amusent. "Buy what exactly, honey?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe so souvenirs? It's Central Vedelia, after all. People dream of coming here."

Central Vedelia—the heart of Sancta Vedelia, ho to the legendary Holy Tree of Eden. It was a renowned tourist destination, but also one of the most restricted places in the kingdom. Layla and I, as high-ranking nobles, had easy access, but that wasn't the case for most people.

She wouldn't have many opportunities to visit, so I figured she might want sothing to rember the trip by.

Layla humd thoughtfully. "Souvenirs, hm? I'll think about it… but for now, I just want to make as many mories with you as I can, honey."

I chuckled. "I'll be back in a month. You won't have to wait that long."

She sighed, her grip on my arm tightening slightly. "I know… but a month still feels long. And now that I've seen you, I don't want to part from you anymore."

Since John was here, Layla was the only one who could help her father, and it was clear that he relied on her a lot. She wouldn't say it out loud, but I knew she didn't like leaving him alone for too long.

"If he gets mad, just tell him you were with the Guardian of the Tree of Ymir," I said with a smirk, lifting my right arm. It was wrapped in bandages to conceal the emblem of the Guardian, which was a little too bright and attention-grabbing for my liking.

Layla giggled, her eyes sparkling with amusent. "My husband, the great Guardian of the Holy Tree of Ymir," she said playfully. "You should've seen my father's reaction, honey. He was clearly happy about it. But…I left at the worst possible ti."

I raised a brow. "Worst ti? What do you an?"

She hesitated for a mont before answering. "Celesta's Hero of Eden was summoned, and I was supposed to be there to et her. But instead, I left to see you."

I blinked, completely caught off guard. "Hero of Eden?"

Layla nodded. "Yes, a Hero from another world. Like you, I suppose?" She glanced at as teasingly.

A frown ford on my lips. Hero of Eden…? What the hell?

Was there sothing like that in the Third Ga? I didn't rember it. Then again, I barely played the third installnt. Maybe it was possible? But even in Eric's notes, there was nothing about a 'Hero of Eden.' Sure, it had been more than ten years since he last played, and he admitted to forgetting a lot of details, but still…

"Another world, huh…" I muttered under my breath. Could this so-called Hero be from my Earth?

Layla tilted her head slightly. "Yes. I even searched through your mories, but I found nothing about a Hero of Eden," she said. "So I have no idea either, honey."

"My mories?"

She smiled and flicked her fingers, summoning a golden sphere that shimred with an ethereal glow. "Yes, your mories. Nihil gave them to , rember?"

The sphere pulsed, and suddenly, a projection appeared.

I saw myself at the academy, standing beside Ephera.

And in front of us—

["W–Wait, I'm sorry, man! Jayce told to do it!"]

A guy was on the ground, crawling backward in fear. His wide, panicked eyes were locked onto Nyr, who stood over him.

["Jayce, huh?"]

Nyr stepped forward, his expression unreadable as he lood over the student, who flinched and scrambled backward in panic.

Wait...I think I rember this.

It was that ti.

That guy—at Jayce's order, had pushed Shayna down the stairs.

It was supposed to be , but Shayna had stepped in, shielding , and ended up tumbling down instead. She broke her arm because of it. I still rember how she stood there afterward, cradling her injured arm, a plaster cast wrapped around it. Even now, in this projection, she looked uneasy.

["Y–Yeah, sorry, man. H–He promised money, and I kinda need it—ughhh!"]

Before he could finish, Nyr slamd his foot into the guy's chest, knocking him back down. Then, without hesitation, he pressed his heel against the guy's arm, pinning him to the ground.

His face turned deathly pale as he stared into Nyr's cold green eyes.

["N–Nyr…"]

Shayna hesitated, taking a step forward, but Ephera stopped her with a gentle grip.

-Crack!

["G–Gyarghhh!!!"]

A gut-wrenching scream tore from the man's throat as Nyr rcilessly stomped down, snapping his arm without a shred of hesitation.

["Tell that coward to face next ti instead of hiding like a rat,"] Nyr said.

He trembled, tears streaking down his face as he clutched his broken arm. He was in too much pain to even reply.

That was when Ephera stepped in. She crouched beside him, resting her hands on her knees as she looked down at him with a calm expression.

["Does it hurt?"] She asked.

The man bit his lip hard and nodded desperately, his whole body shaking.

A small, almost delicate smile graced Ephera's lips. ["Did you ou try to hurt Nyr?"]

["N–No…!"] He stuttered, shaking his head frantically.

Ephera's smile didn't vanish, but her blue eyes darkened. ["If Nyr had gotten hurt… do you have any idea how I would have felt?"]

Her tone was soft, almost affectionate. But her face? Completely devoid of warmth.

The man didn't answer. He couldn't. He was frozen in terror.

And now that I thought about it… he left the academy not long after this. At the ti, I thought it was because of . But was it really?

Did Ephera… do sothing?

["What the hell are you doing?"]

Nyr's voice rang at that ti. His frown deepened as he looked at Ephera.

She turned to him, beaming. This ti, her smile was real.

["Don't be so jealous, Nyr, I'm right here,"] she teased, reaching for his wrist.

["Get off."]

["You're so cute when you're grumpy like this, Nyrel~."]

Though I had looked awkward at the ti, I hadn't really tried to shake off Ephera's hand. I simply walked alongside her, letting her do as she pleased.

["Do we just leave him there?"]

Shayna's voice had been uncertain, her gaze flickering toward the man groaning on the ground, his body twitching in pain. Drool slipped from the corner of his mouth as he clutched his broken arm.

["Let him die. He deserves that much."]

["Nyrel?!"]

Shayna had stared at , dumbfounded, while Ephera rely giggled, amused by my response.

Then, she turned to Shayna with a reassuring smile. ["Don't worry, Shayna. He won't do anything against us. I'll tell my brother to take care of it. I don't want Nyr to go to jail, after all."]

Shayna hesitated before nodding, relieved. She hadn't been concerned about the student himself—only about what he might try to do in retaliation.

["What about Jayce?"]

At her question, Nyrel's expression had darkened.

["I've been too patient with him."]

["But if you do sothing, he could get you expelled…"] Shayna said, worried. Jayce's family held influence—too much influence.

["Then I'll just transfer."]

["You're not leaving the academy, Nyr."]

Ephera suddenly pulled on his arm.

["You stay with ."]

She looked up at , her expression unusually serious.

["What?"]

Ephera grinned right after.

["You won't last long without around, Nyrel. I've already beco too big a part of your life."]

She puffed out her chest.

"Alright, enough, Layla," I said quickly, pulling myself out of the mory.

"Oh, Honey, you looked so manly when you broke his arm," Layla said, her cheeks flushed as she gazed at with open admiration.

I grimaced. "I hope I don't have to break arms just to look manly."

Layla giggled softly. "No, you don't. But I have to be honest… seeing your violent side truly excites , Honey."

I blinked. "It… excites you?"

She nodded eagerly. "Mhm. Look, even Ephera looked thrilled back then."

She gestured toward the mory again, highlighting Ephera's quite intense gaze, as if she wanted to devour . That was just typical Ephera gaze. Silent, smiling, watching.

But a realization hit . "Wait, you still have those mories?"

Layla tilted her head, looking at like I had asked sothing obvious. "Of course, Honey. How do you think I waited a whole year for you? I've always been sleeping with the background movie of your life playing in my head."

I froze in embarrassnt.

"…Every night?" I asked.

Layla smirked, stepping onto her tiptoes before leaning in, her breath warm tickling against my ear. "Every day and night." Then she nipped my ear lightly. "Honey."

A sharp shiver ran through my body at the sensation, and before I could stop myself, I pulled Layla into my embrace.

"You just can't help yourself, huh?"

Layla's laughter was breathy, teasing. "How could I?"

I smiled and leaned in, about to kiss her—

—but then I stopped.

Layla did too.

At the sa ti, we both turned.

Soone was approaching.

My eyes widened as I saw who it was.

Elizabeth.