Struggling as a Villain

[A few minutes ago]

It was already quite late when Richard returned to the mansion and after saying 'Good night' to the others, he returned to his room.

Naturally, no one was unaware that Richard was going to spend the night with his little sister, so they decided to give the duo some time given Bella had spent years without her beloved brother.

When Richard slipped into the covers, he found his sister was still completely awake; however, while pretending to be half asleep, she slowly snuggled close to him, her head on his arm and her arm wrapped around his chest.

"Mm…" She softly mumbled and parted her beautiful eyes. The pair of blue always makes him calm and allows Richard to feel at home.

Bella was his home.

"I am back."

"Welcome back, brother." She smiled softly, her adorable dimples making him smile, as he asked,

"Do you feel better now?" Earlier in the day, Bella released several high-intensity spells to break the barrier that the Goddess conjured. However, naturally, she wasn't able to breach the forcefield.

And due to ether exhaustion, she was quite sluggish earlier. Violet was the one who noticed her symptoms to be ether exhaustion and under Richard's stern glare, the girl laid down and allowed herself to get treated.

The raven-haired smiled, "I am fine now…that you are here." She dove into his chest, her mind and heart now filled with nothing but her brother's warmth. His presence was that resting spot which one could find in the vast ocean.

Slowly removing her bangs covering her face, Richard asked, "What happened to your hair earlier?"

Bella shrugged, "I have no clue, but it seems whenever I use ether my hair turns crimson." With a smile that showed her pearly teeth, she added, "But I love the shade. It makes me feel we are closer."

Richard heaved a sigh, "We are practically glued to each other. Now, how close do you want to get?"

"Until Bella becomes one with her brother." She chirped, and Richard took it as her childish antics.

However…she meant what she said.

However, before she could have made any move to show that she was no longer the same little Bella her brother remembered, Richard suddenly stiffened.

He sensed it…an aggressive presence approaching the mansion, urging the redhead to leave the bed.

"Brother-ah!" Then, Bella also sensed it—the presence of an annoying princess.

Richard's senses were attached to his shadows so he could tell that the person whom he was facing was none other than,

"RICHARD!!!"

"...Elizabeth." Rubbing his eyes in weariness, Richard moved toward the window and as he thought, the blond Princess was standing there looking at him…

…with tears in her eyes.

Her complexion and those tears made Richard frown, as he jumped out of the window and landed before the girl, "What happened?" Signalling to his shadow to stand down, Richard asked.

Soon the other ladies also came out of the mansion one after another.

Bellarine had a frown, "Have you lost your mind to shout like this in the middle of the night?" The lady was frustrated and that could be seen from her eyes. However, Elizabeth ignored her and moved toward Richard.

"Richard…something has happened to Ethan…I can feel it."

Richard's frown grew darker as he asked,

"Did you receive any message from him?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "No…but I had a dream…it felt like Ethan was calling out for me. Begging to be saved…" She inched closer to him and clasped her hand, "Please help me…Ethan is in danger, and I know for sure that if we don't do anything, something irreversible will happen today."

He never expected the prideful and arrogant Princess to ever show such desperation and fear. To the point where she was begging him.

"Baby, even if she saying the truth, going there would be dangerous. We shouldn't forget that the deities are directly interfering in this." Bellarine reasoned.

"Yes, Richard. We have seen to what length those people could go to keep Ethan by their side." Amelia added, holding his hand firmly, which showed that she was anxious about what decision he might take.

Elizabeth's tears never stopped as she said, "Please, Richard…help me this once, and I promise you I will become a slave of yours for the rest of my life. Even if it takes my life I don't care. Just please save him…Ethan has already suffered a lot…please, Richard." She fell to her knees while sobbing.

Elizabeth's heart was beating restlessly and the foreboding sensation never left her side. She has only felt this anxiety when Ethan fought the God of Death in the previous timeline.

Bellarine approached him and said, "It's not just because I am your mother, but from the perspective of a warrior, you would land into their trap if you go there."

"Yes, Richard. Their prominent target is none other than you as of now." Emily added, which made Elizabeth's eyes widened,

"No one but you…you, Emily are stopping him from saving the one we love?"

Emily heaved a sigh, "I care about Ethan, but to save him I cannot ask Richard to take a RASH decision. And we both know, whatever happens they won't endanger Ethan's life."

Emily and Elizabeth knew that the apostles and Eleanor were devoted to Ethan so it's certain that his life wasn't in danger.

Regardless, Elizabeth couldn't trust anyone unless she saw Ethan with her own eyes.

Amidst the growing silence, suddenly Lilia stepped forward and while holding her master's hand, she said,

"Not under the pressure of what we think or what Your Highness is demanding…do whatever you feel is right."

Richard felt a lot calmer after Lilia said those words. Truly, he was conflicted upon hearing both sides.

He remained silent for a moment before asking Elizabeth,

"Before I give my answer I want to ask you something,"

Elizabeth instantly nodded, "Yes…ask me anything."

Richard glanced at Emily before the latter nodded and erected a sound isolation barrier around them.

Taking a deep breath, Richard asked, "Tell me…how Ethan sealed Zulcriz in the previous timeline."

"----!!"

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A/N:- There is a reason why Richard didn't want others to hear about it. Anyway, thanks for reading.