I Reincarnated as a Noble Bastard, So I'm Seducing All the Villainess
Chapter 44: Sealing A Deal With The Dark Witch

Chapter 44: Sealing A Deal With The Dark Witch

I made sure to take Ravenna to a safer, quieter place so she could clear her head after the scene my father caused. Seriously, the poor girl is in such a shock that she can’t stop trembling and moves properly only when leaning against me.

I have no idea what my the Duke did, but it seriously traumatized her. Leonhardt accompanied us to the palace gardens, which I thought would be the best place to catch a breath in the midst of this chaos.

We’re now sitting in a gazebo. This tranquil place doesn’t suit my rotten personality or my carelessly spread legs. Ravenna barely holds a teacup steady, her lips and fingers tremble by trying to do anything.

"What’s wrong with you?", I ask, thinking this might be an overly extreme reaction to that situation.

"You... didn’t see?"

"See what? I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"H-How can you live near that monster?"

I tilt my head, still trying to understand what the hell she means by all this mystery. I eventually give up and shrug, it’s not like I’m a genius to figure out the kind of mental manipulation my father uses to scare people so much.

Thinking in retrospect, it’s mentioned how frightening Duke Moonlight is, but to me, he just seems like a normal man who’s two heads taller than me and has monstrous strength. Oh, wait, "normal" probably isn’t the best term to use in this situation.

Leonhardt watches the surroundings like a owl, turning his neck mechanically from side to side. It’s a bit bizarre, but the fact that he doesn’t want to kill Ravenna already calms my heart a lot.

Now, let’s get to the real subject.

"Hey, do you hate me?"

"Very much, just not more than Philomeu and my uncle. You’re in third place."

"Oh, I love your affection, thank you. Hey, do you want to do the Silver Scar ritual or not?"

"Why do you talk about it so casually? It’s something important and special for witches, how can someone like you...!"

"Ah, shut your ass, Ravenna. I went through hell giving you a hand. Can’t I even abuse being a little arrogant or even a bit of a bastard? Look, I want to help you. There’s a group of lunatics after us, and part of your power disappeared with that contract with Karthak. The ritual is a way to equalize the playing field, especially considering they’re going to drag an army of golems to the Imperial Capital soon."

I adjust my fringe and roll my eyes. This shit is so tiring. At first, the idea of destroying the original Sword of The Iron Maiden story was cool, but now, with me going up and down and getting screwed over, I realize it’s worse than I ever imagined.

My relationship with the Moonlight family is terrible, not to mention no one will help me with this. I’m just a normal guy with a bunch of luck and bad luck hanging in the balance. Being alive is a blessing compared to all the craziness occurring lately.

Ravenna squeezes her eyelids shut and took a deep breath, an effort that seemed to cost the last shred of sanity keeping her upright.

"Why did I get involved with someone like you?"

I prefer to keep silent, letting her think carefully about her next move.

Philomeu is the son of a bitch who orchestrated most of this mess, and he’s also will be the villain responsible for the inevitable destruction of the Imperial City if I don’t act now.

Ravenna’s motivations don’t matter, she’d be dead right now if it weren’t for me, but I can’t tell her we’re in a story I read in my world.

Knowing the facts of Sword of The Iron Maiden is also irrelevant when you’re in a situation where they’re almost useless.

I don’t have the luxury of time to spend months training magic to learn something amazing, much less can I go to the other side of the continent to find a powerful master to help. Things here need to be resolved now, not later.

"You still have a choice", I finally said, breaking the silence. "You can get up, pretend none of this exists, run away to some forgotten forest, and live in a rotten cabin until you die of old age... or, you can do the ritual with me and help us smash Philomeu’s face into the ground. It’s your choice, I just need to remind you that I’m not the one giving up on that dream of making the world a better place."

"The Silver Scar ritual is no joke, Darius."

"Look into my eyes and tell me if I’m joking or not."

Ravenna flinches seeing my serious expression. This time, there were none of our games of lies or the jokes we play when we’re outside high society. This is the real me, the guy who wants to fix the situation and come out on top.

"You’re falling apart, girl. If you want to cower because you can’t handle it, so be it, I’ll find someone else to lend a hand with this. It was a crazy choice to save you, I realized that ever since you kidnapped me during the trial. But then I saw a sincere girl who had a desire to change things around her. Now, I find you here, trembling because you faced my father, afraid to perform a simple ritual and get revenge on those who belittled you."

She said nothing. I was harsh with my words, wasn’t I? Yeah, this day is full of jabs coming from my tongue. Nothing better than this to weigh on my mind on bed and relive these scenes. I’ll blame myself for saying this things, I know myself better than anyone to be sure about.

"Anyway, that’s it. You’ve shown me many sides of yourself... and I’ve done the same. I thought you had enough confidence in me to go through with this plan to perform the ritual."

I see Leonhardt out of the corner of my eye, pretending to observe the bushes and birds flying from branch to branch. The damn guy was hearing everything and recording our conversation in his dysfunctional head, but there was little I could do.

He’s an inquisitor and knows about the ritual, of course it’s strange he doesn’t even try to intervene or offer an opinion.

"Why do you still want to do this?" Ravenna whispers. "You’re not even a witch."

I shrug.

"Because, even if I’m an idiot and a son of a bitch, I don’t wish ill on anyone, and because maybe, by some fucking miracle, I can put a little of my trust in someone else who simply wants to do good, even if that person only uses the wrong means... until now, at least."

The witch lowers her face. I know it’s wrong to put my chips on a crazy woman like Ravenna, but there’s only two options: accept that the entire city will fall into ruins, or get as much help as possible to avoid our story’s Bad Ending.

She closes her eyes for a long time, pondering what to saay. Honestly, I’m even anxious for the answer. After an eternity, her dagger-gray eyes open, this time with a hint of trust deep in her soul.

"Alright... I’ll do the ritual."

I offer a brief smile, not one of those roguish ones that are my specialty when I’m in brothels with prostitutes, but the kind you make when you’ve won something after a long struggle.

"Nice, it’s a deal. Want to start now?"

"N-Now? I thought it would take time to find a location, the materials, and..."

"What? What are you talking about, girl? We’re literally in the palace! Two words from me to the Duke or one of the servants and anything appears on a silver platter!"

The shock on Ravenna’s face is actually cute. I don’t care that much, we have everything at our fingertips to do this immediately!

Leonhardt remains where he is, motionless, his hands clasped behind his back. His expression is unreadable, as if he knew this would happen all along.

A war inquisitor watching two such unconventional figures seal a pact that defies tradition, politics, and logic. Strange to accept, right? Is he perhaps regretting technically helping an enemy?

"The ritual needs to be performed under the right conditions", Ravenna says, wanting to counter my haste. "It’s not possible to do it here!"

"Spare me. We have a top-notch alchemist to create liquid silver, your uncle is literally under our feet to get blood by ripping an arm off and there are some elves just around the corner. We saved some slaves, remember? They literally speak Elvish and can help you!"

"Oh..."

I guess it took her too long to realize how favorable the situation is. Everything can be resolved quickly, I don’t even know how she didn’t notice it before.

"One question, does the ritual hurt when it’s done?"

She raises an eyebrow. "Of course, it does."

"Great. You need a dose of pain anyway."

I get kicked in the shin under the table.

"Bitch!"

"You deserved it."

Ravenna’s angry face eases the weight on my conscience and simultaneously creates a mental note to get some sweet revenge in the future. Well, it doesn’t matter anymore.

Ravenna extends her hand, palm down and face slightly flushed.

"Thank you, Darius..."

Aww, how cute, showing gratitude for the first time in her life?

"You’re welcome, witchy."

I kiss that pale, delicate skin, sealing our agreement. I really love it when villains show themselves to be fragile like this.