A Regressed Villain: Heroines, Villainesses and Me?

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Aecilia tilted her head a bit, giving off a playful vibe, but the sharp glint in her golden eyes hinted at something much more calculated.

Around the circular table, the Sertsul family elders and branch heads were focused on her, and these weren't the kind of people who were easily impressed or shaken.

Sure, they were a bit eccentric, but their loyalty to family prosperity was rock-solid.

Their lives revolved around the idea that the Sertsul name was everything. In that moment, though, they looked more like restless predators wanting to get their hands on information that had shaken all of them.

Naturally, given that this was a meeting arranged by the head of the family, it was assured that this information was 100% true and proven.

So they did not doubt it. And given the importance of such information, they were restless.

"Y-yes, tell us, Aecilia—"

"Why would I?" Aecilia's voice was calm and steady, with each word pronounced like she was making a deliberate point.

She wasn't about to back down or appease them, and naturally, she could do nothing except follow the words that the Marquess had told her after they left the Free Cities for the Kingdom of Thaloris.

He had instructed her to complete some tasks—the first task was with the Sertsul family, and the second was for her to meet Princess Katheria Arihphiam.

Turning her attention towards the elders in the hall, she smiled as their reaction came quickly, and honestly, it was pretty predictable.

"How dare she!" one elder erupted, slamming his hand on the smooth wood table, his deep-set brows furrowing as his aged cheeks turned red with a mix of anger and disbelief.

"Does she not understand how crucial this knowledge is?!" another elder snapped, her hawk-like features tightening with indignation. "This could boost our standing tenfold!"

One elder leaned in closer, his knuckles going white as he gripped the table's edge. "Aecilia, you need to trust your family! What you know isn't just yours; it's part of our inheritance!"

The uproar filled the chamber, with voices overlapping in a chaotic mixture of outrage and admonishment.

These people were used to power and respect, and they thrived on highly calculated cooperation for their collective legacy—the legacy of Sertsul family.

Aecilia's defiance was a total slap in the face to the order they held dear.

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But through all the noise, Aecilia simply smiled, a small yet knowing smile that seemed to pull the tension even tighter.

Eventually, she raised a hand, making a subtle gesture that seemed to command silence. Her audacity was infuriating, but no one could deny the authority radiating from her gaze, especially after being told that the speaker of this meeting would be her by the head of the family.

"I'm not saying I wouldn't tell you," she stated plainly, her voice slicing through the clamor. "I'm just saying I didn't find it out on my own. Someone else told me."

The room stilled, her words practically daring them to challenge her further. A flicker of suspicion crossed the elders' faces.

They were not okay with the idea of outsiders identifying information they lacked.

Their extensive network of spies and informants stretched across the Arinphiam Empire; the very thought that someone outside their family could know more than they did?

Yeah, that was both unsettling and unacceptable.

"Who?" a stern voice rang out from the far side of the table, the speaker's wrinkled face etched in a frown.

"Who told you this?" another elder demanded, impatience and distrust seeping into his tone.

Aecilia's smile widened slightly, but it didn't hold any warmth.

She scanned the room, lingering on each face as if daring them to push her more. "Do you want to know their name," she teased, "or something way more significant?"

A murmur of curiosity spread through the room. The elders exchanged glances, their anger taking a backseat to intrigue.

It wasn't every day someone in the family had information strong enough to challenge their authority except the family head.

"What could be more crucial than knowing how to create Empyreals?" an elder finally asked, skepticism and demand mingling in his voice.

Aecilia's expression shifted, the playful smile fading as she leaned forward, her voice dropping to a serious tone. "They know how to kill an Empyreal."

The room, which had buzzed with argument moments before, went dead silent.

The elders froze, their faces displaying disbelief mixed with unease.

The idea seemed outrageous, even heretical, but Aecilia spoke with a certainty that couldn't be brushed off easily.

"Do you even understand what you're saying?" one elder finally managed to ask, his voice wavering slightly. "Empyreals are the height of human evolution! They're practically invincible!"

"They're not gods," Aecilia shot back, her tone as biting as winter winds. "And this method doesn't rely on brute force or any of the secret techniques you've put your heart and soul into for decades."

Aecilia also mentioned the secret matter of the Sertsul family, which has been developed over centuries to provide superhuman strength to its members, just like the strength possessed by her and Billie.

The truth about the Sertsul family's past was a secret they guarded fiercely.

To outsiders, their story began when the royal family turned on them, stripping away their wealth and forcing them to settle in a barren wasteland.

But the real story was far darker.

The emperor of that time, infatuated with the family's founder—a woman renowned as the most beautiful of her era—couldn't bear her rejection.

What followed was more than punishment; it was an act of spite and obsession.

Not long after they were exiled, tragedy struck. The founder's husband was killed in what was publicly called an accident, though everyone in the family knew better.

It wasn't chance—it was the emperor's wrath, carried out by his newly formed army of monsters called Empyreals.

His love had turned to hatred, and the Sertsuls were paying the price.

On the surface, the founder appeared to accept her fate. She focused on rebuilding her family's fortunes, starting a business that would go on to define the Sertsul name—pleasure houses, alcohol, and all things that were unexpected by nobility.

But beneath that calm exterior burned a need for revenge.

Quietly, she began studying medicine and poison, pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.

Her dedication paid off, and in time, she became something the world had never seen before—a superhuman with skills and strength far beyond ordinary limits—though not like the monsters of the Royal Family.

A few months later, the emperor fell ill and died.

Officially, it was an unfortunate illness.

But within the Sertsul family, the truth was clear: the founder had struck back.

She had avenged her husband, using the very knowledge and power she had spent years perfecting.

And naturally, knowing that in the future things would once again become grim, all the methods she developed and started to work on were passed down to her family from generation to generation.

Aecilia, inspired by the founder's history, dedicated herself to becoming superhuman.

She trained rigorously and studied fervently to emulate the founder, who had even killed the Empyreals that had killed her husband on order of the late Emperor.

Although these events were largely forgotten over time, the Sertsul family preserved these tales, reminding themselves of their legacy and their resolve to confront any adversary.

Inside the hall, murmurs arose again, but they were quieter and more cautious.

The elders were practical, and although their first reaction was to reject such a claim, the implications were far too significant to ignore.

If Aecilia was telling the truth, things could shift dramatically—not just for the Sertsul family but for the entire nobility.

One of the younger members, his voice shaky yet pushing forward, said, "So, you're saying this… method doesn't even need someone strong enough to face an Empyreal?"

"Exactly," Aecilia confirmed, her tone final. "The method I'm talking about can take down an Empyreal without needing strength at all."

Her words lingered in the room like a sword hanging by a thread.

The elders, despite their usual confidence, couldn't hide the flicker of unease in their eyes.

These were people who thrived on control and valued strength, loyalty, and efficiency above all else.

The thought of an Empyreal—an embodiment of perfection—being toppled by something intangible was definitely unsettling.

"This is madness," one elder woman murmured, but even her voice lacked conviction. She glanced around, almost seeking reassurance from her companions.

"And yet," Aecilia continued, her voice steady, "it works. All it takes is to hit the one thing even an Empyreal can't manage—emotions."

"What are you talking about?" another elder interrupted, frustration creeping in.

Aecilia's gaze sharpened, her voice now cutting like a knife. "To kill an Empyreal, you've got to shatter their emotional state. Overwhelm them. Break them. Once they're off balance, they lose the control that makes them formidable and boom."

The silence was thick.

The elders exchanged uneasy glances, their usual resolve shaken.

"What does this boom mean?" Sure, they were quirky, but their unwavering focus on the family's success meant they couldn't just brush off Aecilia's heavy words.

"Ahem, I mean, they will explode on their own," Aecilia coughed, clearing her throat, knowing that it's always a hassle to talk with these people who don't understand her words.

Finally, one elder spoke up, his voice low but steady. "How do we know this isn't some kind of trick?"

This revelation wasn't just dangerous; it was game-changing. But what if it was just a trick, and while confirming this, someone sacrificed their life?

Naturally, none of the members of the Sertsul family would ever shy away from sacrificing their lives for the family, but dying futilely wasn't an option.

"Here," Aecilia threw a tablet onto the desk, which soon lit up, and a video started to play on it.