Struggling as a Villain

There have been very rare occurrences when Richard has felt this flustered as he was right now.

The casual flirting and teasing his mother directed at him was one thing, but appearing before him while wearing lingerie, which showed more and hid less...indeed, this was something unusual.

"Baaaaaaby~You are here..." Her slurred voice and reddened face gave the impression that she was drunk. However, Richard knew his mother's tolerance towards alcohol was quite good...then how come?

"Ah, wait! What are you doing?" Richard tried to stop her and send her away, but before he could stop her she suddenly began to march towards him with unsteady strides.

*Splash*

He barely had the chance to hold her to prevent her from hitting her head against the pool rim. Her fiery red hair, which was collected in a bun, got undone because of the abrupt movement, and they fell like lava in front of Richard. Her warm and soft body remained in his hold as Richard hesitantly asked her,

"Are you okay?"

"No...I am not..." Her answer came almost immediately but there was a heaviness in her voice that concerned Richard.

He never had seen his mother drunk before, nor had she invaded his privacy this much in the past. And this attire...this was new as well.

There was indeed something wrong.

"What happened mom, just tell me. I will do something about it." He thought that the discussion with the guests at the celebration had worn her out or someone might have passed a comment that the Duchess didn't like.

However, when she parted her blazing red lips, the words that came out stunned him, "I didn't like it....for you to be so close to other girls...I didn't like when you followed the Princess into some private space...I didn't like it...I hated it! I hate them!"

She closed her eyes and shook her head from left to right to show how much she disliked seeing Richard near other girls. However, she didn't know what kind of situation it was for Richard and also, that the Princess could never have those romantic intentions towards Richard.

Suddenly the Duchess moved into the pool to draw even closer and pressed him against the rim of the pool. The heat her body was producing made the water even warmer and her womanly scent overwhelmed his senses.

They were close enough that her breath hit his face and her eyes were the only thing he could gaze at.

In such proximity, she coquettishly whispered, "I can also give you what they can..." Her hand held his and she guided it towards her rear.

Richard was so dazed that he didn't even realise where his hand was as he subconsciously clenched his claw on her bubbly butt and caused her to moan,

"Mmm..." She closed her eyes and leaned forward to rest on his chest—allowing him to touch as much as he wanted.

Richard has always felt that Bellarine thought of him as more than just a son. He was also attracted to her since the first day he woke up after rebirth. Not only did she have a great figure and a charming face, but he also liked her sweet and bubbly personality

Richard was, at that moment, ready to cross the line with her. He was a man with urges and when such a bombshell of a woman was throwing herself at him, he couldn't behave like a saint.

However, before taking any step he wanted to ascertain something.

"...you are not going to regret this, right?" He didn't know anything about his biological father, and there was no mention of him in the book as well; that's why Richard was feeling a little troubled about taking this final step.

What if she regrets betraying her previous partner? What if she was just trying to keep Richard by her side by doing all this? What if she never intended to let him cross this ultimate line?

There were numerous questions and Richard didn't want to enter into that kind of relationship without hearing her response.

"Mom...please tell me how you feel about me...hey, Mom?" Hearing no response from her at all, Richard shook her a little and separated her from him—only to find her eyes closed and the woman soundly asleep.

Richard sighed seeing this. He was struggling inwardly and 'outwardly' so much after Bellarine suddenly made her appearance...and after making him all hot and bothered she was sleeping peacefully.

Such unfairness.

He heaved another sigh before picking her up in his arms and walking out of the pool.

Drying himself and Bellarine, Richard used a bathrobe to cover her body and after closing his eyes, he undone her wet linger from her.

He didn't check whether she was wearing any underwear(most likely not) before he carried his mother to the bed.

Thankfully, there was no one inside his room, or seeing Richard carrying Bellarine in this state might have created several rumours.

Softly putting her down on the bed, Richard had to make a quick round to the bathroom to relieve himself thrice before he calmed down and returned to sleep beside his mother.

Today was probably the most eventful day of his life.

—**—**—**—**—**—**—**—**

[Next morning]

As the sunlight peeked through the small gaping between the curtains, Richard frowned in his sleep and slowly woke up.

Stretching his body a little, he straightened his back and looked around in a daze.

'Hmm?' The other side of the bed was empty. His mother was nowhere in the room.

'Haah...I wanted to talk to her...' In the mansion, it would be awkward to face her now in front of the servants. He wanted to have a proper conversation with Bellarine in his room.

Getting up, he freshened up, brushed his teeth and changed his clothes.

Just outside the door, there was a familiar maid waiting—who genuinely surprised her.

"Good morning, young master."

"Lilia...? Why are you here?" Richard never expected to see the brown-haired maid here since she was told to stay back.

However, her following words brought greater shock, "Madame Duchess sent her familiar with a letter to come here as soon as I could so I took the liberty to use the Teleportation." Throughout, she remained clueless, like she didn't expect her master to be unaware of her arrival.

Richard had a frown on his face as he couldn't discern the reason for his mother to call Lilia.

Turning away he began to walk towards the main hall to find Bellarine.

Lilia followed just behind wordlessly as they soon reached the reception area, and there Richard found the blue-haired maid named Violet.

"Where is Mother?"

Violet was momentarily startled to face Richard all of a sudden, but under Lilia's stern gaze, she collected herself soon and responded, "S-She has gone to the main palace because of some work and will return late today."

Richard's eyes narrowed as he asked, "Did she leave any message for me?"

Violet nodded before relaying, "Madame said that the young master should depart for the Duchy in the afternoon since she might have to stay here in the capital for a bit long."

Richard, for a long time, remained silent.

Both Lilia and Violet were baffled as they shared a glance, but neither of them knew what was going on inside Richard's head.

He tilted his head and mindlessly stared at nothing in particular.

Breaking the silence, he asked Lilia, "You told me there is a mountain in the North which would help me train better?"

Lilia's confusion elevated to be asked of such an unrelated matter but she didn't make her master wait for long and responded, "Yes...there is. The Sage Temple."

Richard hummed before he asked again, "Take me there instead of home."

Lilia was startled as she reminded him, "But master, it would take at least a month to finish training there."

"I know, but there are only three months left for the Academy to start and with my current pathetic self, I cannot present myself as the son of Lady Scarlette."

Lilia was still unsure. She mentioned the training casually, while she was telling him about her days as a trainee. However, she never thought her young master, who rarely stayed out of his mother's sight for more than a day, would talk about a month-long trip.

However, following her master's orders was her duty, so after a brief contemplation, she said, "As you wish, my lord. However, shouldn't we first inform Madame Duchess?"

"No." The sudden refusal surprised the two maids since this was a very big decision he had made, and he didn't want his mother to know about it.

Something definitely happened between the two.

********

A/N:- So let's address a few things.

First, someone said the pace is very slow, but is it? I am trying to develop everyone's character and give a general idea of how they behave. Building relationships needs time, especially in the initial stage of the story, so I am taking things a little slow.

Next, about their relationship. I know things have become awkward, especially from Bellarine's side, but there is a specific reason for that.

Soon, things would be sorted out. I won't be blue-balling again. Don't worry.

Send some PS and comments.