How Could the Villainous Young Master Be a Saintess?

“You’ve seen that kind of monster before?” Vinny asked.

“No. But I believe it was most likely a creature called an Abyss-Dweller, a monster that serves Sanares, the Void Demon Pillar known as the Lord of Falsehood.”

“So there are things you don’t know much about? That’s rare.” Vinny had always told himself Aesphyra wasn’t omnipotent, but apparently, at some point, he had already started unconsciously treating her as if she basically were.

“Even I haven’t seen the minions of every Demon Pillar. You should know this: the reason the Tyrelis Continent still hasn’t been taken by the Demon Pillars isn’t because they can’t conquer it. It’s because the Tyrelis Continent has always been protected by some kind of power of laws, something that keeps the Demon Pillars at bay.”

“So even though many Demon Pillars covet the Tyrelis Continent, they’ve never been able to extend their claws here. Some of them can’t even project their own minions onto this continent. That’s why so few people have ever seen them, and why there are so few records about them. In most cases, Demon Pillars can only pierce across worlds with powerful mental fluctuations, guiding and manipulating mortals with weak wills—or twisted hearts—to make small moves for them, and indirectly achieve their goals that way,” Aesphyra explained.

“Then how did that monster appear on the Tyrelis Continent?” Aesphyra continued.

“At the time, Milian and I were trapped in the underground research institute and couldn’t get out. We found out from a diary that the place had an emergency exit, so we went there and opened the stone door...” Vinny pressed a hand to his head as he tried to recall it. “But what we saw wasn’t an exit. It was a door leading to the Demon God Abyss... I saw that bizarre world inside the door.”

“That’s enough. You don’t need to keep remembering any of that.” Aesphyra’s brows drew together as she looked at him. “According to records passed down from deranged artists who were influenced by the mental fluctuations of Demon Pillars, the memory of seeing—or entering—the Demon God Abyss contaminates your memories as a whole. Don’t think about that kind of thing any more than you have to.”

“Mm. Okay. I understand.” Vinny nodded, his mood visibly low.

“And after that? What happened to the monster?” Aesphyra asked. “Did its time run out and it get sent back to the Demon God Abyss?”

Vinny fell abruptly silent.

He already didn’t know how he was supposed to explain what happened with the Abyss-Dweller. The idea that a mere Intermediate Magus had killed a Demon Pillar minion was impossible on its face. Even if he said he had only done it at the cost of nearly dying, it still sounded absurd.

At a moment like this, since Aesphyra had already handed him an excuse, all he had to do was follow her lead. The excuse was perfectly reasonable too. Under normal circumstances, a Demon Pillar minion should never have been able to appear on the Tyrelis Continent in the first place. Even if it did manage it somehow, there would obviously be limits. Saying that its time had run out and that the laws of the Tyrelis Continent had rejected it and dragged it back into the Demon God Abyss was the most natural explanation in the world.

But...

How should he put it?

The old Vinny probably would have gone along with it.

But now, he didn’t want to tell Aesphyra that kind of lie.

If possible, he didn’t want to lie to Aesphyra at all.

Seeing him remain silent, Aesphyra didn’t press him. She simply looked at him without a word and waited for his answer.

“No. That’s not what happened.” After a moment, Vinny shook his head. “That Abyss-Dweller wasn’t dragged back into the Demon God Abyss.”

“I killed it.” Vinny spoke each word slowly and clearly.

Aesphyra was quiet for a moment before she finally said, “Vinny... you really are as hopelessly bad at understanding what I’m saying as ever.”

“Huh?” Vinny blinked, then finally caught on. “You mean—?”

“I don’t think anyone would believe that that monster was killed by you. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Aesphyra folded her hands across her middle.

“I do.” After a brief silence, Vinny nodded.

Of course he knew what she meant.

An Intermediate Magus defeating a Demon Pillar minion from the Demon God Abyss was so unbelievable that it would inevitably draw suspicion and attention.

No matter what method he used.

“Good. As long as you understand.” Aesphyra dipped her chin. “Then don’t keep talking about it.”

“I know that. It’s just... I don’t want to lie...” Realizing what he had almost said without thinking, Vinny hurriedly looked away and gave a dry cough. “D-don’t get the wrong idea. I just simply don’t want to lie about this sort of thing.”

That excuse naturally wasn’t enough to fool Aesphyra.

“Oh? Then should I praise the infamous young villain of the Camella Royal Capital for being such an honest little boy?” Aesphyra teased.

[Virtue +60.]

[Current Virtue: 7199.]

“Tch. That tone of yours—who exactly are you making fun of??” Vinny pouted.

Just then, the door was lightly knocked three times.

“Come in,” Aesphyra said.

“Young lady.” The old butler called Brill pushed open the door and looked at Aesphyra.

At that, Aesphyra immediately understood.

Is something going on?

Watching the silent exchange between them, Vinny guessed it was probably something related to Aesphyra’s family.

Without saying a word, the old butler withdrew again and closed the door behind him.

“Get some proper rest, Vinny.” Aesphyra rose to her feet. “And remember what I just told you. Don’t let your brain fail to turn fast enough and say the wrong thing again.”

“I’m going to speak with the Academy and tell them that in that underground research institute, you witnessed the Demon God Abyss of Sanares, the Lord of Falsehood, and were even transported into the Demon God Abyss itself, so it would be unwise for you to recall the scene in detail. I’ll make the full report on your behalf based on what you’ve already described to me.” With that, Aesphyra started toward the door.

“Um... Aesphyra?”

“What is it? Don’t tell me you can’t bear to see me leave?” Aesphyra glanced back over her shoulder with a smile.

“No, that’s not it. I mean, you—”

“Vinny, if you’ve got something to say, then say it. Though to be fair, I’m already used to how awkward and fidgety you get.” There was amusement in Aesphyra’s voice.

“Awkward and fidgety?? ...Forget it. I mean—aren’t you curious? About why I was able to kill that minion of the Lord of Falsehood?” Vinny asked.

“And would you tell me if I asked?” Aesphyra turned back toward him.

At that, Vinny fell silent.

“See?” Aesphyra said teasingly. “It would be pointless for me to ask. Since that’s the case, why waste the breath? You have secrets you can’t talk about too, don’t you?”

“If... if you wanted to know.” Vinny himself had no idea what possessed him. But the moment he heard her say that he had secrets, something in his chest tightened, and those words slipped out before he could stop them.

“Oh?” Aesphyra lifted her gaze slightly. “So by saying that, are you deciding to tell me after all?”

“...”

Vinny said nothing.

There were too many things he had to take into account. His situation was too special. The more people who knew his secrets, the more those people would have to share the risk with him.

He would be dragging her into the whirlpool too.

And yet...

He still didn’t want to hide things from Aesphyra.

Aesphyra was silent for a moment. Then the corner of her lips curved, and she turned to leave.

“You—what’s with you? Why are you leaving again all of a sudden??” Vinny was caught between frustration and panic. He had only just managed to make up his mind.

If he missed this chance, he might not get another one.

“Vinny, all you did was tell me whether you wanted me to know your secret. You never asked whether I wanted to know it.” Aesphyra’s lips curved faintly. “For example, when something doesn’t fully belong to me yet, I’ve always been very patient.”

With that, she reached the door and opened it.

“Aesphyra... this time, I really do owe you. You saved me again.”

“Oh~? You’re thanking me? Truly?” Aesphyra smiled. “I’ve always had a firm policy against empty promises. If you want to thank me, how about paying me in something tangible?”

“Something tangible? What kind of payment?” Vinny asked, baffled.

“For example... how about letting Miss Vinnia come out for me?~”

“You—your way of thinking is still just as weird as ever! ...Then, when do you want to see her?”

“Hm?” At that, a flash of surprise—and then teasing delight—passed through Aesphyra’s beautiful, bright eyes.

She had mostly said it as a joke.

And yet he had actually taken it seriously.

Usually, Vinny would already have exploded in embarrassed outrage by now, spraying insults at her. She had practically been waiting for the moment when he would lose composure and start cursing at her in humiliation.

And yet—

“Vinny... are you actually planning to do it?” Aesphyra smiled, all soft allure and mischief. “Tell me honestly, are you starting to enjoy it?~”

“D-don’t get the wrong idea! I’m only doing it to thank you, that’s all! There’s no other meaning to it!” Vinny snapped back angrily.

“And besides, you’re the one who asked for it, aren’t you?? And now you’re blaming me instead? What, are you disgusted by it? You dug the pit and waited for me to jump in, is that it? Tch. Fine, then forget it. I’m not doing it!” Aesphyra had judged correctly. The embarrassed blowup was always going to come eventually.

“Of course not. If you’re willing, I’d naturally be very happy,” Aesphyra said, arching a brow. “But if doing it makes you unhappy, then forget it. I have no interest in watching you stand in front of me with a miserable face, stiffly performing unwilling, awkward, meaningless body language. Just imagining it is irritating.”

“If you’re going to be that tense and cautious around me, then never mind.”

“Hey—wait!” Seeing that Aesphyra was really about to leave, Vinny called out to her again.

“What now?”

“I... I also...”

“You also what?” Aesphyra wore a face of perfect innocence, as if she had no idea what he was trying to say.

“I also... cough... I also never said I, uh...” Vinny couldn’t get the rest out.

Ahhh, saying this out loud is way too humiliating!

Vinny truly could not believe that a proud man like him would one day be forcing himself through this kind of shame just to say something like this.

Was this even still him anymore?!

“If you don’t have anything else to say, I still have things to take care of, so I’ll be going.”

“I said wait!” Vinny hurriedly called her back again. Seeing Aesphyra step out the door, he thought that maybe she didn’t care about this so-called thanks in the first place, and in the end he simply threw caution to the wind. “I—I mean, I never said... that I disliked it either!”

“Oh~?”

The result was immediate. Aesphyra, who had already stepped out, SWISHED right back in, shut the door, and wore the triumphant expression of a sly, seductive fox who had just gotten exactly what she wanted.

Vinny’s heart dropped.

Damn it! A feigned retreat!

He fell for that rotten white-haired nutball’s trap again!

“Very good, then. You said it yourself, Vinny. You like being Vinnia~”

“D-don’t add extra scenes to this! I never said that!” Vinny immediately protested.

“Oh? Really?” Aesphyra took out an audio-recording stone from her clothes. It was still active. Tossing it lightly in her hand, she looked at Vinny with a cheerful smile. “Words once spoken are like water once spilled, Vinny. You can’t take them back.”

“Ahhh! You hateful white-haired nutball!” Vinny cried out in outrage, blood rushing straight to his head.

It was over.

He was going to faint again.

Could someone please tell him how many times Aesphyra had blown up his Virtue today?!

“Even if you recorded it, all I said was that I didn’t dislike it!”

“If you don’t dislike it, doesn’t that just mean you like it?~”

“That’s just your typical Aesphyra-style logic! Since when does ‘not disliking it’ automatically mean liking it??”

“Since I said so~” Aesphyra replied with smiling eyes.

“You—!” Vinny was genuinely about to be driven unconscious by this white-haired nutball.

She really was his natural enemy.

Of all the battles they had fought so far, only the opening “Academy Carriage War” had ended with Vinny barely managing to seize the upper hand. He had landed a surprise shrimp-head attack and dealt her significant damage, scraping out a narrow victory.

After that, though, he had never beaten Aesphyra in a single verbal battle.

She pressed him down and beat him senseless every time. No matter how bizarre he got, no matter how hard he leaned into the shrimp-head tactics, he could never wound Aesphyra. Instead, he just kept getting his own Virtue blown sky-high by her in return.

This woman... this woman! As expected, he still—

“Ahhh! Fine, fine, enough already! Go do whatever you need to do! Get out! Seriously, you’re the person I hate most in the whole world!” Vinny yanked the blanket over himself and covered his face. “I have a nut allergy!!”

At that, the corner of Aesphyra’s lips lifted slightly. She left the room and closed the door behind her.

The room was left with Vinny alone once again.

“That woman...” Only after Aesphyra had gone did Vinny finally poke his head back out from under the blanket and look toward the door with a complicated expression.

Had she realized that he didn’t want to lie to her, that he still hesitated to reveal his secret, and that she didn’t want to make things hard for him... so she had deliberately said that she didn’t want to know yet?

And besides, Aesphyra had probably already finished her own practical assessment long ago.

Which meant she had most likely dropped whatever family business she had been handling and rushed here on short notice.

Vinny lay back down again. From inside his clothes, he took out the Soul-Heart—the jade bead with half an orb of emerald glassy light flowing inside it—and fell silent.