Struggling as a Villain

[Late night]

Spreading your ether like a sheet was too easy to just think or speak hypothetically. However, it took a lot of dedication and hard work to form a lump before spreading it in the surroundings evenly to not create any ripples.

He only slept for five hours last night and since the morning he has been training non-stop.

His mother was worried but she never told him to stop—believing in Richard's judgement and allowing him to do whatever he deemed right.

Lilia was also encouraged to train her master after seeing his diligence. She was providing every minute detail for him to form the perfect orb of ether and by afternoon he succeeded. However, since his control over his magic wasn't that good, he was only able to form an orb the size of an adult's fist.

Lilia suggested to keep on practicing and enlarging the orb but Richard said,

"No, it's okay. I need a small area of detection as of now."

His statement aroused a tinge of suspicion in Lilia.

What could be the cause that her young master was so wary of? Who can make the son of Duchess Scarlette so cautious? Such questions didn't leave her mind even for a moment when she was teaching him but she knew even if she tried to ask he wouldn't tell her.

He doesn't trust her—a fact which Lilia has recently discerned. Well, she was just a mere maid and a part-time teacher of his, so there was no point in raising her expectations.

She didn't ask anything further and helped him spread the small lump in his surroundings.

Maybe it was because he was accustomed to AOE spells, he was able to allocate the ether easily in his surroundings—a feat which greatly surprised her.

He was able to unfurl the ether in all the directions however it wasn't easy for him to retain the detection for long.

And now, it was already night when Richard plopped down on the ground while breathing heavily; sucking in as much air as he could.

Sadly he was only able to reach that point where he was able to comfortably lay out his ether but couldn't work on the 'interaction' part where his ether would have come in contact with other entities that came in radar and allowed Richard to know if anyone was trying to attack him.

"You did well, my lord." Lilia helped him to get rid of his boots since his feet must be hurting. Once she took it off, her heart became heavy.

He has been standing for so long that his both feet up to his calves have been swollen and red. His legs were trembling because of overwork.

The sight made her feel both sad and proud.

"Thanks to your guidance, I at least have the base of detection." Richard couldn't tell if he could have found any better teacher than Lilia who would have allowed him to do this crash course in just two days.

He was quite restless about the event tomorrow but now with better magic control, he was feeling somewhat better.

While thinking about tomorrow, he closed his eyes and before he could realise he fell asleep.

***********

"..mm..." Richard mumbled in his sleep as he slowly opened his eyes. He didn't remember what was the last thing he was doing or where he was.

His vision slowly became clear and suddenly he felt someone was near him.

He suddenly straightened his back in alert and raised his hand which was already coated with flames.

"Fufu~you have become quite proficient in conjuring flames," In the illumination of the flames the beautiful visage of the familiar redhead came into view.

Richard was startled to find his mother in his room as he asked, "What...are you doing...." His question died in his mouth as he saw her hands which were currently applying medicine to his reddened feet.

There was a bottle of pain-relieving gel resting beside her and the pain from his feet was already half gone.

"Why are you applying the medicine yourself? You could have told a maid or something." Richard was slightly embarrassed to let his mother—a Duchess no less—be tending to him like this.

Bellarine softly smiled at her son as she reminded him, "Did you forget? Every time you got injured or after a tiring day at school, I always applied medicine to your wounds."

Richard didn't have much of recollection of such details but in his past life, his sister usually cured him after he got injured fighting bullies and later zombies.

Thinking about her, a smile formed on his face as he laid back on the bed.

Silence ensued in the room as Bellarine slowly moved her hand up and down his feet, softly and tenderly.

Since he has consumed a lot of potions during training he no longer can drink any more or he would feel nauseous and his body might receive adverse effects because of forced recovery. Once in a while, this didn't feel bad.

"Baby..." Hearing her slightly quieter voice, Richard hummed questioningly.

She remained silent for a moment before hesitantly asking, "Is there any reason for you to force yourself this much?" With her eyes turned solemn she added, "Is there someone that scares you?"

There was no doubt about it. If Richard says 'that' name, Bellarine might as well wage war against the Emperor. Although he would have been relieved if 'that' person disappeared suddenly, considering the plot he couldn't let it happen.

Shaking his head, he answered her vaguely, "I don't want to take chances when I would be in a foreign land. After what happened I want to be fully prepared for any situation."

What he said wasn't a lie. He wanted to become strong and self-dependent so he didn't need to get berserk every time someone attacked him.

Bellarine kept on looking at her son in silence; expecting him to tell her the reason behind his anxiety. However, he didn't.

With a sigh, she told him, "Well, I won't force you, but if something happens, use this to call me." She took out her ring and extended it toward Richard.

Richard supported himself with his elbow and reached out for the ring—when suddenly Bellarine showed her quickness and slid the ring on his ring finger.

"Wh-what...." Richard was baffled upon finding the ring already at the base of his finger before he looked at his blushing and giggling mother.

"Hehe~don't think about it much~" Saying so, she hopped off the bed, planted a soft kiss on his head and after wishing him a good night, she hopped away.

Richard sat there with his upper body still half bent and his lips parted agape in shock.

Did he...just get engaged?

*********

[Earth]

It was late at night on the eighth day since she came here. Bella was getting along(?) with people as her brother taught her to. She did her best to talk to people but they made her so annoyed that she often ended a chat abruptly.

She didn't like people much. In comparison to them, zombies are better. Just making weird sounds and if about conversation then she could use her dagger to talk to them.

She was currently sitting on the front porch since she was given the duty of the night guard today. She currently was cleaning each section of her dagger, like it was more important than her own life. The look of fondness she had in her eyes could easily make someone fall into a daze.

She recently saw her brother in a dream—making a great effort to become stronger for her sake. She was greatly motivated by that and began to train more rigorously as well.

'Tch...' She inwardly clicked her tongue when suddenly an unwanted presence approached her from behind.

She could feel the bastard's lecherous gaze sweeping over her, but until she didn't find another place to stay, she had to tolerate him. After all, this shit stain is the leader of the group.

"You are polishing it again? Quite fond of it you are, it seems?" The man who was clearly in his early thirties sat down beside her without minding the fact that she was avoiding him until now.

Bella got up and was intending to walk away when suddenly he held her hand.

*Shwish*

"Wooah! Easy there..." In the nick of time, he removed his hand or Bella would have detached it without another thought.

She glared at him ferociously before warning the pig head, "Know your limits before it's too late."

Her aquamarine eyes shone dangerously under the moonlight. The bloodlust she emanated was purely terrifying. However, the other party was stubborn as well.

While watching Bella's spongy ass, as she walked away, the man licked his lips and uttered under his breath, "Now more than that dagger, I desire that body of yours."

**********

A/N:- You need to die, mister. She already has someone in her heart.

I hope the chapter was enjoyable. Drop a review to help the new readers. Thank you.