"Why is it taking so long?" Victor muttered under his breath; it had already been fifteen minutes since Vesperine left for the kitchen.
He lifted his left hand. To any ordinary eye, it looked like a normal hand, flesh and bone, nothing unusual. Yet beneath that illusion lay cold tal, carefully crafted with the help of Lyirrs. Over it, he had layered Nightfire’s illusion so seamlessly that even he almost forgot he lost his hand.
’Not bad... I guess, I should treat Lyirrs later,’ Victor thought, slowly clenching and unclenching his fingers, watching how naturally they moved, how convincingly they looked.
"Please accept my apologies for the delay."
The voice arrived soft and sweet, carrying a subtle warmth that lingered in the air.
Victor turned toward it...
Vesperine stood near the doorway, a tray balanced gracefully in her hands.
But the tray was not what held his attention.
When he had first arrived, she had been dressed casually, almost carelessly. Now, that simplicity had vanished, replaced by sothing deliberate, sothing crafted to unsettle in any man’s chest!
She had changed into an outfit that balanced elegance with danger, as if each thread had been chosen to provoke without revealing too much.
Even before, in those casual clothes, she had been beautiful, though Victor would never admit it aloud.
Now, however, the transformation was undeniable... The purple top hugged her form, its deep cut framing a bold cleavage that drew the eye without hesitation. The long brown skirt flowed around her, clinging just enough to emphasise her narrow waist and the gentle curve of her hips.
She revealed little skin, yet the restraint only deepened the allure, leaving the imagination to wander where the eyes could not.
She was indeed... a dangerous kind of beautiful.
Her twin tails, soft and voluminous, swayed with each step she took, moving in quiet harmony with her body. Her gaze, however, told a different story. It was steady, sharp, carrying a flicker of sothing predatory, sothing that watched rather than simply looked. [Imgincmt]
She moved forward with slow, deliberate catwalk steps, her hips swaying with a natural rhythm that felt almost intentional. Not exaggerated or forced, but just enough to draw attention, just enough to make it impossible to look away.
Vesperine inwardly smirked, her thoughts curling with satisfaction. ’Haha... look at you, staring so openly. This is your punishnt for hurting my heart... now you’ll feel it, little by little. Yes... suffer for it~Hahahah~’
A quiet, almost theatrical, villainous laughter echoed in her mind as she reached the table and gently placed the tray down.
As she leaned forward, the fabric shifted just slightly, enough for Victor to catch a clearer glimpse of the deep curve her top struggled to conceal.
While pouring the tea, she let her gaze flicker toward him, subtle and quick, only to find exactly what she expected.
His eyes lingered, drawn without resistance.
’Hmph... shaless,’ she thought, though the curve of her lips betrayed her amusent. ’Looking at my chest without even trying to hide it... How bold.’
Setting the teacup before him along with a small plate of biscuits, she lowered herself beside him with an ease that suggested she belonged there, as if the space had always been hers.
She lifted her own cup, taking a slow sip, her shoulders rising in a faint, casual shrug, as though she had not noticed his gaze at all.
"Is sothing on my face?" she asked softly, her tone light, almost innocent, though her thoughts danced with quiet laughter. ’Already captivated? That was faster than I expected... too bad for you~MUHAHAH~’
Victor shook his head, his expression calm, almost unreadable. He reached for the teacup, his fingers steady as he lifted it, taking a asured sip before answering.
"Indeed."
The single word landed heavier than expected.
Vesperine froze for a brief mont, ’What? Sothing on my face?’ A flicker of uncertainty crossed her mind as she instinctively prepared to check.
Then his voice followed, calm yet precise.
"I now understand why Aether told to be wary of you."
Her expression tightened, the playful ease vanishing as she turned toward him fully, a faint frown forming. anwhile, Victor remained composed, sipping his tea as though he had said nothing unusual at all.
"Wary? So... he told you?" she asked, her voice quieter now, edged with curiosity and sothing more cautious beneath it.
Victor lowered the cup slightly, "We are friends."
Vesperine bit her lower lip, her shoulders tensing as if her body had already decided to flee before her mind could catch up, when—
"There’s no need to be vigilant."
"H-Huh?"
Victor gently placed the teacup down, the faint clink echoing between them as he turned his gaze toward her, steady and composed.
"I am not here to harm you in any way."
Vesperine’s brows drew together, suspicion surfacing through her confusion. "Even though your friend tried to capture before?"
A quiet chuckle slipped from him, "As I said before, he is wary of your existence, Vesperine."
"My existence?" she repeated, her frown deepening as unease crept into her thoughts. ’What is he talking about?’
Victor’s lips curved into a faint smirk, "Let tell you a story... about a brave young girl who walked straight into a dragon’s territory, boldly claiming she carried the Dragon Emperor’s child. Does that sound familiar?"
He leaned closer.
The earlier playfulness drained from her expression, replaced by rising panic. Sweat gathered along her skin,
"I... I... W-Well..."
"I won’t ask why you did it," Victor said calmly, cutting through her stamring before it could take shape.
"H-Huh?"
Her eyes widened, disbelief overtaking fear for a brief mont. ’He won’t? Even after I tried to infiltrate his Empire?’
Victor tilted his head slightly, as if he could hear the storm of thoughts racing through her mind.
"Didn’t I just call you a brave young girl?"
His hand lifted, fingers brushing beneath her chin, guiding her face upward. The touch was firm yet controlled, forcing her trembling gaze to et his.
"Not only did you enter my Empire," he continued softly, "you even managed to deceive the great supre general... soone stronger than ."
Her breath faltered, her body growing warr as anxiety surged. "A-Are you here to punish for that?"
A soft laugh escaped him, almost amused. "Punish?" His smirk deepened, a flicker of sothing unreadable passing through his eyes.
"No... I was simply curious."
He released her chin; she showed a slight disappointnt, but Victor didn’t care and reached for his teacup again, taking a calm, unhurried sip.
"Curious?" Vesperine echoed, her voice laced with confusion. Her thoughts spiralled, unable to find footing.
Nothing about him aligned with what she expected.
"So I investigated," Victor continued, "A person who could potentially be a danger to is not soone I can ignore."
He said with a cold tone that made Vesperine sweat like bullets,
"There is no background on you," he went on, "No trace of where you ca from, no record of how you entered the academy. And yet... your na was already listed among the accepted students."
Vesperine’s fingers twitched at her side, her heartbeat quickening as unease crept deeper into her chest.
"What’s more," he added, his voice dropping slightly, "even the professors and the principal have no idea how your na appeared there and who registered you."
A brief pause followed, heavy and suffocating.
"A complete mystery... isn’t it?"
Her eyes trembled, her throat tightening as she swallowed hard. The urge to run surged through her, instinct screaming at her to escape, to disappear before it was too late.
But before she could act—
"I don’t care."
"H-Huh?"
Again, Vesperine was flabbergasted.
Vesperine stared at him, completely thrown off balance, her thoughts stalling as if they had hit an invisible wall.
Victor looked at her calmly, "Everyone has their own secrets," he said, "I have no interest in digging into them... as long as those secrets are not used to harm ."
Vesperine blinked, her lips parting slightly as she struggled to process his words. "B-But... I infiltrated your Empire."
"But you didn’t harm anyone... did you?" Victor asked calmly, though inwardly he added, ’Except Drakhairs, who was harassed by his soldiers for so reason.’
Vesperine blinked, confusion flickering across her face before she slowly nodded. "Yeah... T-Then—"
Victor cut her off smoothly, his tone steady. "The reason I ca here is to look for answers... about those ch-suits you ntioned while speaking with Aether."
Hearing that, Vesperine’s expression tightened, her brows drawing together as tension returned to her body.
"So you ca to capture , too?" she asked, her fists clenching once more. ’That fucking asshole... I’m really going to—’
"Of course not. I am not like Aether."
Victor’s voice slipped in before her thoughts could spiral further.
"Aether asked about you a long ti ago, and since we are friends, I told him everything about you and... it seems that conversation made him wary of you ever since. After all... a person with no history, appearing out of nowhere, and sohow having multiple Arcane Kings at her side..."
He paused briefly, "That is undeniably suspicious. Anyone would be cautious."
Vesperine blinked as she slowly nodded. ’That... actually makes sense,’ she admitted inwardly.
But then her gaze returned to him with even more confusion, "But... aren’t you wary of too?"
After all, everything he said applied just as much to him.
Soone like her should naturally raise alarms.
’Then why isn’t he?’ she wondered, studying his face carefully. ’The more I talk to him... the less I understand him. What is he thinking?’
Victor gave a small shrug, "Yes..."
For a fleeting mont, disappointnt flickered across her face.
"But... in a different way."
Before she could react, he leaned closer, closing the distance between them until his presence pressed against her senses. His voice lowered, carrying a teasing edge that contrasted sharply with his earlier seriousness.
"You shouldn’t be so obvious when trying to covet , Mrs Vesperine~"
!!!
Her entire body stiffened.
A deep flush spread across her cheeks in an instant, her composure shattering as she instinctively pushed him away.
[ 4000 AP]
[ 4000 AP]
[ 4000 AP]
"W-What are you talking about? C-Covet you?" Vesperine stamred.
Why was she reacting like this?
Wasn’t this her plan from the very beginning?
To pull him into her harem.
To make him forget everyone else.
To make him look at only her.
To seduce him... and turn him into hers.
Her Next Puppy?
And yet—
’W-Why am I getting flustered?!’ she scread inwardly, her face burning as her hands trembled slightly.
Victor watched her with clear amusent, a wicked smirk tugging at his lips. "Sweet... I was just joking. Hahaha..."
His laughter ca light, almost playful, as he reached out and pinched her cheeks without hesitation.
"You’re really adorable, even though you’re trying so hard to act like a seductive one~ Hahaha..."
A vein twitched visibly on her forehead as she bit down on her lip, ’T-This is not how this is supposed to go!!’
Her eyes sharpened into a deadly glare as she looked at him, then instinctively shifted her gaze above his head.
Nothing.
No heart ter.
Unlike every other target she had dealt with, Victor showed nothing. No visible progress, no asurable reaction, no sign that her usual thods were working.
She had always wondered why.
But now...
Now she understood.
She freaking understood.
’He is the final boss.’
Victor simply smirked at her.
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