Stealing Heroines’ Affections Is My Job as the Villain

Some months back…

After the heated argument between Lumis and Luciana in her chambers, the young Deva stormed back to the royal guest house with a furious expression. Yet, underneath the anger, he also felt deeply disappointed in himself for not being able to do anything useful.

『I don't understand how things can fall apart so quickly when Ymnes isn't here. I tried to follow his advice and stay inactive until he got back, and I'm starting to think Ymnes knew just how manipulative Vritra really is when he suggested that.

『If I'd listened to him sooner, maybe Luciana and I wouldn't be dealing with this tension between us. Sigh~ you know what? Forget that. If I'd just listened to old man Ymnes and stayed calm in the Throne Room like he told me to, Vritra probably wouldn't even be a thought right now.

『Honestly, I feel like I've let Ymnes down. He deserves a better prince to serve, and clearly… that's not me.』

Lumis was already thinking about letting Ymnes go as his royal advisor and appointing someone new… maybe Zorin.

Vritra's hateful words, Luciana's disgust, and his current state were all proof that he was a joke.

No one would ever take a prince like him seriously, so why would King Felmus even consider forming an alliance with a clown of a prince? Exactly.

He had already come to terms with this.

『Beatrice is clearly the better choice to lead the Blueworld household. The only reason father didn't choose her is because she refused and left the Heaven Continent long ago to start a new life here in the Central Continent.』

The young Deva's slender fists tightened.

『I've even heard rumors that she's become one of the 10 Battle Gods of Kartikeya and has crossed swords with God Shiba. And then there's me… I can't even secure an alliance that would give our people an edge over the Asuras. Sigh…』

When Lumis got back to his room, he noticed a wooden crate sitting on his bed, waiting for him.

… Hm?

He glanced around cautiously, wondering who had sent it, and began to gather mana in his palm as he approached the crate.

"I-, Is anyone around?"

His eyes bounced around some more.

"I said… is anyone here?"

Lumis clenched his fists tighter, but after a few moments, he noticed he was really alone in the room. Letting out a deep, relieved sigh, he walked over to the bed and climbed onto it, curious to see what was inside the wooden crate.

────GAAAAAASP!

What Lumis saw in the wooden crate made him go weak and tremble like a scared child.

A foul stench had filled the air the moment he opened it, and noisy flies swarmed out, buzzing as they flew around.

The young Deva fell back onto his bed.

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His eyes were wide with shock.

"N-, No… I didn't just see that… he can't…"

The image of what he'd seen replayed in his mind.

The crate was filled with nothing but rotten, ground-up flesh, and crammed inside was Zorin's severed head.

The smell was so disgusting that he almost threw up, and his chest tightened.

"Vritra…"

More than anything, at that moment, Lumis wanted to lash out, to kill and vent his frustrations without a second thought.

Fueled by pure anger, Lumis was about to get up from his bed when his hand brushed against a letter he had missed the first time but noticed now.

"… A letter?"

His trembling fingers gripped the letter, and he slowly opened it, sweat forming on his forehead. He had every reason to feel tense and uneasy… he recognized the envelope.

It was from Vritra.

[ How the mighty fall, don't they? Zorin's head should've been a clear enough message, but I see now that you require further persuasion to understand the depths of your inevitable defeat. So, I'll indulge you. After all, you deserve to know the Fate of your dear mentor, your beloved old man Ymnes.

Oh, how he fought! Like a stubborn ox, unwilling to how even as I tore his flesh from his bones.

Such loyalty… (づ ̄ ³ ̄)づ

Such misplaced courage…

It was almost pitiable… almost. But you, of all people, know that I have no pity left to give.

It look longer than I expected, you see. I was thorough, precise. I wanted to see how far I could push him before his body betrayed his will. He would not scream at first. No, not the great Ymnes. But pain breaks all men, even those who try to be fathers to lost little boys like you.

So sad… (ó﹏ò｡)

I killed him too early, so… I decided to torture his soul beyond comprehension. (•⩊•)

I burned his soul slowly, just enough to char his existence but not enough to erase him completely──not yet. The smell was… exquisite. The smell of willpower being defiled and violated in every sense is like toast meat left too long on the spit.

I gave him what he deserved… a death without honor, without dignity. I split his fleshly body open from chest to groin and left his entrails scattered across the floor like discarded trash.

By the end, there was so little left of him, you might not recognize his remains… though I'm sure you'll want to see them.

(˶˃⤙˂˶) But I'm not a monster, hihi. I sent his ashes to you, they're in the ceramic pot on your desk. I think it's only fair you get the full experience, don't you?

Anyways, sorry for going overboard with this one. Don't blame me, skill issues ◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜

Your Friend,

Vritra Kalyon Asura

Have a wonderful day (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) .ᐟ.ᐟ ]

"No…"

Lumis didn't want to believe it.

The only way to know for sure was to check himself.

With a body shaking like a leaf in the wind, he weakly stepped off the bed and made his way across the room to his desk.

『Please… let it not be so…』

His eyes watered with every step, and it wasn't just the stench of rotten flesh making him feel sick. Maybe it was because each step made him feel like he was already losing Ymnes.

Could the man who meant everything to him really be dead? If his soul had been burned to nothing, there wouldn't even be a chance for reincarnation.

"Please… no…"

Lumis picked up the ceramic pot and opened it.

Inside, he saw what looked like Ymnes's ashes.

… Urrrghh!

But as soon as he opened it, he scrunched up his face, not from pain or disbelief, but from the sharp, eye-watering smell of ammonia that hit him.

The old man's ashes were mixed with a foul-smelling green liquid. The Deva Prince couldn't figure out what it was, so he brought the pot closer to sniff again, and the stench assaulted his nose even worse.

… Huuurrgh!

He quickly pulled it away, fighting the urge to vomit. He knew throwing up would be a huge disrespect to his mentor, so he steeled himself against the disgust.

As Lumis looked around, he noticed another letter on the desk, also from Vritra.

"Another one…?"

The prince was too scared to open this one.

But he still did.

[ Oh boy ｡°(°.◜ᯅ◝°)°｡

I had a bit of a mishap and had to relieve myself in your mentor's ash pot. No worries though, the urine should dry up soon. Just pour out the ashes and keep the pot.

I mean, it could still be useful for something, right?

Trust me, it's not the end of the world. (˶ ˘ ³˘)ˆᵕ ˆ˶) ]

The ash pot slipped from Lumis's hand and shattered on the floor. Not long after, he collapsed onto the hard ground, his body trembling like a baby left out in the cold.

"Vritra… why…?"

Fear filled his eyes, and soon he lost all control, wetting himself until his pants and the tiled floor beneath him were soaked.

"I-, I don't have anything left…"

That night, the young Deva cried endless tears.

━ ━ ━ ━

Presently…

Vritra stood in front of his large window, enjoying the early morning view of the maids as they bent over, revealing the color of their underwear or how pink their slits were.

The look on his face was completely peaceful.

It would be impossible to say this wasn't the face of a man at peace with the world.

『People always say that if you want peace, you shouldn't have enemies, because a man with many enemies will never know rest. Well, that's definitely not true… I had great sex with Ghislaine, fully aware that all my enemies are either dead or mentally broken.』

Vritra nodded very proudly.

『Now, it's time for the second act…』

It was like he knew exactly what the system was thinking. In less than a second, a blue screen appeared, ready for him to take his next mission.

It was like he could read the system's mind.

In less than a second, the usual blue screen appeared with a new mission.

[Ding! A new "hero" has been discovered!]

[Ding! A new "heroine" has been discovered!]

A wide grin spread across Vritra's face.

"Wonderful…"

With a mere thought, he moved his chess pieces into place on the board with a single hand gesture.

The game has only just started.

━ ━ ━ ━

(T/N): End of vol. 1 (^-^)!!

Are there any additions you'd like me to make in vol. 2?