The Villainess was Loved

Chapter Sixty-Seven: When it Rains II

Breca unsurprisingly followed me to my room or whatever portion was repaired enough to consider it such.

I dismissed the workers currently installing the new tiles for long enough that I could sink into a nice warm bath.

“So are you?”

Her questioning insistence grew relentless.

“No…I don’t; I don’t know. I may want out of this. But using a child in such a way is just… I don’t know. There is no answer I can give that will satisfy you, so leave. I want to bathe.”

“Will you keep it?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I will not keep a child just to abandon it.”

The image of a black-haired woman leaving money on the run down mahogany table harassed me into a shudder.

It is odd, but I could feel the warmth of Aran’s tears on my thighs.

‘This is enough, enough for food, water, and transport, so please leave me alone. Don’t you want mommy to be happy?’

A chuckle rose from my throat at the bitterness of the memory. I had to rub my chest just to ensure the stability of my breathing.

“A child should not live with such heaviness. For example, my mother didn’t tell me I was a nymph, that she was a nymph. She would have me believe that she died of syphilis rather than my birth killed her.”

“Does that sadden you?”

“Do I sound particularly enthusiastic about it?”

“Do you know the baby’s gender?”

“No. It's too early to tell. But when the time arrives, I’ll go to the capital in disguise and confirm. I don’t think Ms know it all, will tell me. Are we done here?”

“What do you intend to do after finding-,”

“I don’t know, Breca! I. Don't. Know.”

“Can you at least tell me who you think the father-,”

“Get the hell out, Breca!”

*

*

*

Breca

Three days passed after the conversation, but she had yet to answer any more than she already had.

It did not bode with her to hear rumours of an excursion she was against, and worse, Arusei was apparently planning to wage war against the theocracy without her confirmation.

If she wasn’t pregnant, she, even though she was against it, would have married Harrel for the prosperity of Clay, or at least until they decided she was no longer useful. But now, the future looked highly unpredictable.

‘Are you sure you want to ‘get rid’ of the child, politics aside?’

Why did that question go unanswered?

She was great with kids, especially those they met along the road on their travels or was it different, now that it was hers?

Breca sighed audibly, then stretched her body entirely to the newly installed bench.

The entire place was shaping up wonderfully and expensively.

If this went on, they would be out of money by mid-spring. They had no source of income other than the royal family's monthly allocated funds, and even that is…testing.

It was as though the Emperor wanted Clay to fail or Arusei to be deemed incompetent.

Breca closed her eyes to shield them from the intense afternoon rays welcomed by the moving clouds.

‘If a child is to come, does that mean Arusei will die?’

‘Who will look after Clay then?’

‘What will happen in the case that the baby was male? Doesn’t that mean political interference?’

‘If we keep it hidden, the child could become the next heir instead of adopting the next heir.’

‘The problem with that lies in the father….’

Wreigner was who Breca wanted the child to belong to. Though it would spell interference from the duchess, rather, the entire Hyle family, he felt like the ‘safer’ option.

The Hyle family detests Arusei, well, they don’t like anyone, but she still takes the cherry on their cake of hate. Wreigner, on the other hand, is hell-bent on proving his worth to them, rendering him incapable of ever choosing Arusei over them, but wouldn’t it be nice if that was not the case?

He loves her, of that she was confident, but has there ever been a case where love, in the fullness that it came, was enough?

If the child is, on the other hand, Rheyes’s...

Breca covered her face to hide a chuckle.

‘Why do I think it's that lunatic’s kid? It’s probably his….’

If it’s the first prince, there is a high chance he will try and take the child.

Dragons, even half, are pretty racist.

‘It is a miracle that they spent the night together in the first place.’

‘But Arusei…must be thinking about all this….’

Arusei was never not thinking, and that was the saddest truth of all.

“MESSAGE! MESSAGE!!”

Raul, A young boy from the town, ran screaming up the slope.

‘Seriously, we need a gate.’

“I thought I told you that you don’t need to run yelling that you have a message from the town; what if you get, heavens forbid, hijacked by bandits and something happens to both you and the letter? Do you think we will be at peace?”

“But madame, I have a letter!”

‘Definitely moving project ‘install-a-gate’ to the top of the list.’

He passed on a white enveloped letter with the crest of…

“Gods, whose crest is this!”

“The Viscounts’.”

A voice answered from her shoulder, startling her.

“Gods!! Arusei!! Don’t do that!!”

She didn’t say anything, merely laughed my request off, then yanked the letter out of my hands.

Again, she was wet, sweat dripping profusely down her neck.

“Are you seriously training at th-,”

“Oh, look! It's about his son. I’m surprised he even knows which one.”

The little boy, Raul, neared the countess to steal a peek at the letter -sometimes, she would teach him to read with the contents- but she stiffened under the contact in such an obvious way that Raul had to apologise.

“Don’t apologise; I just don’t want you to get my sweat.”

“But you don’t even smell?”

She shot him a bittersweet smile before resuming hastily to the letter.

“There are a lot of curse words in this letter, so I will not teach you to spell today; next time?”

“Okay!”

He hastily gave her a salute, but instead of dashing off, he gawked at something in the distance.

We both followed his gaze to a white, magnificent carriage with four white horses.

A luxury we could not afford, meaning it was a person from Central.

“You think we can steal two horses?”

Arusei asked.

“I think we can borrow, that’s…Wreigner’s crest.”

*

*

*

Wreigner Hyle

A few hours earlier.

“Are you going to tell her?”

Kat asked amid the rattling of the carriage.

The roads in Clay were terrible, but he was sure that he could help whip it to shape.

“I said I would. But I’d rather talk about that.”

He pointed to the ring on her finger.

“Oh, this old thing?”

She answered with mock bashfulness, causing him to roll his eyes automatically.

‘Did Breca finally come clean ab-,’

“Alden proposed!”

His eyes widened.

“Alden?”

‘They were still dating?’

“Yeah! Oh right, you don’t know. So after we broke up, when he wanted to go to the university, I think that’s where we parted with you. We met up like two weeks later and realised that none of us was satisfied with how things went. So we agreed to try long distance, and two years later, boom!”

She chuckled.

“He proposed the day we met in town. I wanted to wear the ring when we got to Clay, you know, surprise the hell out of everyone.”

“Congratulations!”

“Thanks! I can’t wait to tell the girls!!”

“Mhhnn…you-,”

‘You think that’s a good idea?’

Was what he wanted to ask, but he didn’t feel it his place to correct her.

“Okay!”

She sat upright as though an idea formed in her head.

“Do you want to practice your confession to Arusei with me?”

“No, not really.”

“Aww boo!”

Yes, boo.

Kat was speaking from the perspective of having nothing but roses in her head, while the only reason he wished to confess his feelings was that Arusei was slipping away from him.

‘I waited too long.’

‘My lie was too delayed.’

His reason was more desperation than affection.

The mark on her neck was too light to be an assault bruise; rather, she was too powerful to be assaulted, meaning that she must have allowed someone to mark her.

Someone that wasn’t him.

His biggest suspect was Rheyes, but who in their right mind would ever question him?

So, Wreigner instead questioned Kat, who increased his reason for suspicion though she did not speak the words directly.

*

‘I don’t like the first prince, so I will help you win Arusei’s heart!’

Kat had proclaimed when they met in a pub in Central

‘You say that as though it is obvious she will not choose me?’

‘She will not. But she does have a soft spot for consistency.’

*

It was not Kat’s words that gave him the courage to try, but the fact that Arusei and Rheyes had no future.

That meant that he still had time.

*

*

*

“Wreigner!”

Arusei called his name with such a bright smile that his heart stopped.

She opened her arms for a hug, but rather than embrace her immediately; his gaze trailed up and down her body.

Something was different about her.

Other than the increase in the size of her breasts, perhaps the type of brazier (?), there was something…else, something that boosted her vitality.

She was glowing, her mana brimming, at least the bit of it that leaked from her.

“Are we in a none-hug pact or so-”

She barely had the words out of her mouth when he wrapped his arms around her soft body.

‘Gods, but she fits perfectly.’

“Oh crap! I am sweaty!”

Arusei complained, then tried to pull away from his embrace, but to him, she smelled divine, only not of cherries, but like sweat and…sex.

He did not resist her gentle attempt at detachment because his member was steadily beginning to stir, so to keep matters neutral, he turned his gaze to Breca, who had her gaze focused on Kat’s ring.

“Did you notice?”

Kat chimed.

“Alden proposed!!”

She squealed, then threw herself in Arusei’s arms.

Just like his initial expression, Arusei’s expression morphed to shock, and, in a moment too delayed, she turned her gaze to Breca as she wrapped her arms around the bouncing Kat.

“Congratulations!!”

Arusei responded, yet her concern hung on the frozen Breca, whose initial smile at their presence waned.

Her hands flew to her mouth, and her eyes wet.

“Oh gosh! Don’t cry! Don't cry; this is good!”

She peeled herself off Arusei to embrace the tearing Breca.

“I- I am so happy for you.”

Breca answered, making it clear she intended to keep her feelings buried.

Though he was concerned for Breca, his gaze turned to Arusei.

Her hand was to her mouth, her face a soft mess of shock and sadness.

An expression he had never seen on her before.

It was odd; he was starting to develop envy towards Breca.

But of course, her concern did not last long. Rather, her visible expressions did not stay.

“Come, let us leave them to it. I’ll show you inside, at least until my butler finishes training. Breca, you’ll give Kat a tour, right?”

*

*

*

Arusei Evergreen

“I would offer you tea, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”

“Why?”

“Your high brow tastes are not available here!”

I escorted Wreigner to the Parlour room, or again, what could be considered that.

“Clay is really …something.”

“Right, I like the people; they are nice, well, most of them. These repairs, though, I feel myself approaching bankruptcy.”

I gestured to the new seats brought in from the town and poured some liquor for him.

“Not drinking?”

“I’m from training; I’ll probably pass out due to dehydration if I drink.”

“Just a taste won’t kill you.”

“It just might.”

I winked.

“Damn, alright, make me drink alone, why don’t you?”

He muttered playfully, but the best I could do was smile then push the conversation forward.

“So, why are you here? What’s up?”

“The head hanging outside-”

“Oh, I’m gonna get sued for sure; he was an imperial knight.”

“Are you crazy!”

“Not more than usual. Why?”

“Why the hell are you like this!! Who is it? The birds have clawed him beyond recognition.”

“….The viscount’s son?”

“Oh, Gods….”

“It’ll be fine.”

“It’ll be fine? The Queen backs the Viscount.”

“Wreigner, stop worrying about me.”

The atmosphere changed.

“How- how can I not?”

“It’s easy, pay attention to your life! When is your engagement party?”

“Arusei-,”

“Don’t tell me you won’t invite me? Are you worried I’ll cause a scene? I’m well behaved. I mean, I’ll just have to avoid the-”

“Arusei!”

“But then again, I might be at war.”

“At war?”

“Yes, I plan to wage war to the theocracy before summer’s end!”

He stilled.

“With a puny army like yours!?”

“It’ll be fine.”

Wreigner, for what felt like ages, said nothing, merely twisted the glass in his hand as though the geometric patterns were the most fascinating thing in the world.

“I am in love with you, Arusei.”

‘s**t! I was trying to keep-,’

The thought was barely complete when he continued.

“But you seem to know that I came with the intention to confess my feelings to you.”

I said nothing, so he continued.

“So, you mention my engagement, and when that does nothing to deter the contents of the conversation, you try and shock me with-”

“Wre-,”

“Don’t! Don’t say anything if you have no intention of denying my words.”

I remained quiet.

“Seriously? Are you not too cruel?”

He scoffed, only this time it morphed into malice-filled laughter.

“Kat said that to get my feelings across to you; I need to be patient. That I need to be consistent. But do you know the only question burning a hole in my brain even as we speak- oh sorry, even as I bore you with this tired and desperate monologue!”

He buried his hands in his hair, then stood from his seat.

“Did you f*ck Rheyes?”

“Wreigner.”,

“Did you let him mark you? Did you let him kiss you? Did you let him touch you?! Burn himself into you! I did not ask you to call my name I asked you: did you f*ck Rheyes!?”