Villain's Odyssey: Enslaving heroines, Conquering Villainesses
Chapter 34: Strange

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Strange

"..." Silence reigned in an office where a man dressed in a black suit without the coat sat, facing another young man who was coincidentally dressed the same way—white shirt and black pants. The only differences were their hair colors and the glasses the older man wore, which caught the light from the large windows behind his mahogany desk.

"...How much do you remember?" the man asked suddenly, breaking the heavy silence between them. Azalea ’gulped’ quite imperceptibly, but the man—who was an expert in dealing with people of all sorts—caught this subtle gesture, though he didn’t comment about it.

"I don’t remember anything... I don’t know why, but I just don’t," he ’frowned’ in ’frustration’, the expression carefully crafted to convey the right amount of distress. It was rather ’irritating’ not to remember anything that led to this moment, or so his performance suggested.

"Sigh, it’s okay," the man’s gaze ’softened’ with what appeared to be genuine sympathy.

"...Mm," he nodded, avoiding the man’s direct gaze at every point in the conversation. It seemed he was really ’intimidated’ by the man’s presence, his shoulders slightly hunched in a display of nervous vulnerability.

"I will tell you why you are here," the man said, leaning back in his leather chair. Azalea took a calculated breath, then ’forced’ himself to overcome the suffocating feeling and look the man in the eyes with trembling determination.

"You saved my daughter, and a healer from a neighboring kingdom," he said, removing his glasses to clean them with deliberate care. "For that, I want to appreciate you... you may not remember what happened, but the persons you saved testified to your bravery. For that, I must thank you," he said, offering what appeared to be a genuine smile.

...Humans are such complicated beings, Azalea thought, studying the duke’s expressions for any tells.

[Why do you say so?]

He doesn’t fully believe my ’loss-of-memory’ alibi, but he decided to overlook it because of his daughter.

[...Not all humans are this emotion-driven, though]

No, every human is... after all, everyone has a weakness... if there isn’t one, it just hasn’t been found yet.

[You make it sound as if you are not human yourself]

...Is that the case, though?

[...That’s... debatable]

Without memories, I feel like an entity inhabiting a shell. It’s emotions that breed conscience, it’s emotions that make a being truly alive, it’s emotions that make a being truly HUMAN.

[...That’s not 100% correct... but, it is to a great degree]

So you do agree to a certain level.

[It is not untrue, after all]

I see.

Hmm. But to think even Vivian supported Anna’s story... I didn’t account for that possibility.

[You might not yet understand, but throughout history, all those who manipulate other beings at some point understand an indisputable fact... A living being can never be fully controlled... Only one entity performs this without consequences]

Let me guess... fate.

[...]

...So what exactly do you mean by CONSEQUENCE? Realizing the entity was unwilling to speak, he decided to let it go for now.

[Balance]

...Cause and effect, huh? Azalea thought, realizing that no matter how much he planned for the future, certain things were bound to go off course because of a certain annoying variable.

’Balance’.

There must always be a balance.

The laws of motion.

For every action, there is an EQUAL but OPPOSITE reaction.

A reaction of equal measure is required for there to be equilibrium.

I understand that my actions would at some point bring undesired results... But that doesn’t explain Vivian’s actions. Why would she try to help me? he pondered.

[For the same reason she had sacrificed herself to save you in that world]

Which still makes no sense.

Yes, he might have enslaved her, and might have manipulated her just as he did with Anna. But from the very beginning, he knew the ’act’ he put on couldn’t fool her. She was someone who sensed emotions, and throughout their stay in that Legacy world, she probably hadn’t sensed anything even during moments of ’kindness,’ so she definitely didn’t fall for his performance. However, he would be a fool not to notice that over the months he spent with both Anna and Vivian, both girls began to change strangely, Vivian’s transformation being the most disturbing. Something was wrong... and he had a feeling that SOMETHING was related to the slave seal.

There was something he didn’t know.

What are you hiding about the effects of the enslavement? Tell me, he demanded, as all facts led to that one endpoint.

[...]

You won’t say? he narrowed his eyes internally.

[...Soon, very soon]

Hmm.

"What do you wish for?" the duke asked with clasped hands, and Azalea’s eyes widened in ’disbelief’.

"Um... I... I don’t know what to say," he responded, appearing utterly ’flustered’ about the situation.

"I see... I sort of expected this," the duke said with a knowing nod, and the young man remained silent, playing his role perfectly.

"...I can’t keep you here for long," the man suddenly said, and Azalea ’frowned’ with apparent concern. "Why?"

I see.

[It’s just as you predicted. You really are one interesting fellow]

It’s only common logic. He must have taken me from Albion soldiers by force, and with the aid of the king, kept me safe. But it’s only a matter of time before political tactics kick in. Against a powerful kingdom like Albion, there’s only so much he can do in such a delicate situation. In order not to provoke a war...

[So he’s throwing the problem to someone else]

And that’s exactly what I want.

"Taking you in has caused a lot of issues. I’ll be honest—as much as I am grateful you saved my daughter, the situation is quite delicate and my hands are tied. So you can no longer stay here," he said with a solemn look, and Azalea’s complexion turned paler, as if he understood the severity of the situation.

"So... what will happen now?" he asked ’apprehensively’, his voice carrying just the right note of fear.

"I will send you to the best place that can protect you until you recover your memory."

"...W-where?"

"Vermillion Academy," he said, and Azalea could sense it in his gaze—the duke was studying his reaction carefully.

He wanted him to react to this in a certain way.

Could it be he sensed I manipulated Anna into suggesting this? Azalea thought, while his external appearance remained the same—pure confusion mixed with curiosity.

"Vermillion Academy?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

"It’s an educational and combat-oriented institution that trains students to achieve the peak of their strength to be able to make it to the Arcane Legacy," the duke explained, watching every micro-expression. "There was a certain student who was expelled last semester. With my connections, I was able to make some adjustments, and you would be taken in the young man’s place. Everything is already arranged—you just have to appear before the dean," he said, and Azalea nodded in understanding.

"Um... thank you," he said with heartfelt gratitude, and the man nodded approvingly. He liked speaking with intelligent people—there was no need for lengthy explanations. The young man seemed to have grasped the situation he was in.

"You may leave... have breakfast and get ready. You’ll be taken there today... I am truly sorry if this may seem inadequate, but this is as much as I can do for you," he said, genuine regret coloring his tone.

"No... it’s alright. Nursing me back to health... it’s already reward enough," the young man said with a strained but grateful smile.

"...Good."

...

...

Click.

"What do you think?" the duke asked, his gaze fixed on the door where Azalea had just exited.

"...He seemed... like a puppet," a voice sounded from the shadows behind him, belonging to someone who had been observing the entire exchange.

"...Exactly," the duke said, removing his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose wearily. This was the first time he had faced such a situation. The young man, though seemingly ’alive,’ was at the same time... not. There was something fundamentally hollow about him, as if he were merely going through the motions of being human.

"Sigh... Well, he is no longer my concern," he sighed with the weight of difficult decisions. "You may go."

"...Understood," the voice replied, followed by the subtle sound of movement as the hidden observer departed.

"Ugh," he rubbed his forehead, feeling the onset of a headache. "The things I do for my daughter," he muttered to himself, staring out at the morning light filtering through his office windows.