Stealing Heroines’ Affections Is My Job as the Villain

Two weeks later…

In the grand hall, Vritra sat behind a large table, surrounded by Lords Edmond and Gordias, Princess Luciana, and Lady Katherine with her two sons.

Behind Vritra stood his loyal servants, Neron and Ghislaine.

Esmeralda was also there, standing confidently behind the princess.

Normally, she would only attend because of the princess, but today she was also there to support Katherine in any way she could.

They were finally about to discuss the circumstances of the entire situation with Cedric and Kris.

Lord Edmond cleared his throat and began the talks with his usual serious tone and stone-faced expression.

"That fool Cedric… He worked so hard to build this city, but in the end, he still dared to commit treason in the worst way possible."

Gordias nodded steadily and replied.

"I think it's because of what Gladius City means to him. House Bluesteel has given everything, every drop of their blood… to protect the city's culture and traditions. They hated the idea of serving under Duranzia, even though they had no choice. But somehow, our ancestors managed to negotiate a deal that allowed us to become a semi-autonomous feudal nation under Duranzia."

"Exactly, Gordias. But Cedric wanted more. He wanted Gladius to be completely independent again. I'm sure even his alliance with the Military Kingdom of Serathen was just a way to use them against Duranzia, our great nation. He couldn't let go of his pride in Gladius and kept fighting, even if it meant going up against powers far beyond his understanding."

Lord Edmond shook his head, pretending to be sad, though in reality, he was relieved.

He and Gordias had been the real traitors all along, secretly betraying the nation.

Now, thanks to Vritra, they had the perfect cover.

Gordias glanced around the table at everyone, then closed his eyes, ready to add to what Edmond had just said.

"Good grief. He let his pride destroy him."

This time, the quiet man said few and kept his words brief.

Lord Edmond nodded to those words and continued.

"Well, we've already given him a punishment severe enough to quiet the crowd. We stripped him and Kris of all their property, invoked the [Decree of Unpersoning] on them, and even executed them in secret. What more can we do?"

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This was the moment when Vritra was supposed to speak up, but instead, he just sat there quietly, a small smile on his smooth, handsome face.

『Well, the high-ranking nobles in the Royal Court, along with royals like Luciana, seem pretty indifferent to everything going on. It makes sense that they wouldn't want to dig deeper into the situation.

『They know that destroying the political structure of Gladius City is important, but they've never figured out how to do it without breaking their contract or raising any suspicions. Plus, Cedric is also part of the Royal Court, which probably made any plans to overthrow Gladius difficult to organize.

… Hmm, my presence changed things.

『Now, this gives Duranzia the chance to take full control of Gladius, and the royals are staying quiet because the nobles in this city already suspect them enough, even though the royals really haven't done anything. In the end, the real criminals in all of this are just Cedric, Kris, and their accomplices.

『I had Edmond frame a few more nobles from the Greenleaf and Bluesteel families, but they'll likely be shown leniency from execution and instead sold off as slaves to the settlements in the Red Desert.』

Everyone looked at him, waiting for him to say something, but he seemed to be taking his time to gather his thoughts.

"Alright… I have a suggestion."

When Vritra spoke, Katherine was the one most frightened.

"Boys, come here…"

She pulled her sons closer and tried to look brave, even though she wasn't really the type of woman who could pretend to be strong.

If she had been a little more modern and not shaped like the traditional wives many nobles in Duranzia preferred, she might have been able to act tougher… but that just wasn't who she was.

Katherine had spent most of her life feeling trapped and believing she couldn't make her own choices.

Her feelings were easy to understand.

『I offered my body to God Vritra, hoping he will give my sons the life they deserve. I don't care about myself; I just want him to keep his promise and honor our agreement.

『I won't lie and say I didn't enjoy my time in bed with him, but that's not the main point. My heart feels and beats differently whenever he's around… but that's not the main point either. I feel so alive when I'm with him again, like my old self, but I also… I really don't know.

『Please, God Vritra, just don't forsake me…』

Katherine saw the scared faces of her two little boys, and nothing hurt a mother more than witnessing her sons in fear without being able to comfort them.

They were confused, hardly able to understand what was happening or where their father was.

All they had was their title and their mother.

Depending on whether Vritra chose to betray her, they might only have Katherine.

Vritra smirked at her.

"Katherine, you look bothered."

Katherine calmly bowed her head and quickly answered.

"N-, No, my lord… I am fine."

"That's good to hear…"

The young lord chuckled softly.

He and Luciana spent all of last night figuring out how to finalize their plans so they could bury everything in the royal records and move on.

They came to a smooth conclusion, even if it had a very rough and undecided start.

The plan was to show leniency only to Katherine and her sons, while many other nobles from Bluesteel and Greenleaf would lose their titles for being associated with the treasonous nobles, Cedric and Kris.

Their confiscated territories (the Blue and Green Districts of Gladius City) would be merged, and a significant portion would be given to Lady Katherine and her sons as compensation for being major victims of House Bluesteel.

Most of the undeveloped land and other parts of the Blue and Green Districts would be allocated to Vritra and Luciana under the order of the kingdom.

While Luciana made most of the decisions, Vritra was there to guide her in the right direction instead of directly manipulating her.

He could see that Luciana was becoming more suited for a leadership role, so he needed to teach her indirectly about the importance of being ruthless in politics and taking advantage of any opportunities that come with being royal.

"Luciana, would you?" Vritra requested.

"Yes, my husband."

Luciana smiled at Vritra brightly then went on to address both the two lords and an anxious Katherine.

"We've decided to protect a significant part of the inheritance that belongs to Lady Katherine and her sons, which also includes their noble title.

"Our plan is to leave some developable areas of the estate for Lady Katherine while we work on the undeveloped parts, using only personal financial support from God Vritra.

"The Royal Court has chosen to keep only the monetary inventory from Cedric and Kris and has left the domains and their people to my husband and me to decide how to distribute them.

"So instead of dividing these lands among lesser nobles, my husband and I have chosen to keep some of it for ourselves and give the lot of it to Lady Katherine. Is that fair?"

This news brought Katherine to tears.

"M-, My princess… I-, *sniffle* I…"

She pulled her sons tightly to her chest, hugging them as she cried tears of joy and kissed their heads. The young ones didn't really understand what was happening, but they could sense their mother's happiness and hugged her back.

Esmeralda watched this and smiled.

Neron remained indifferent.

Ghislaine rolled her eyes and groaned a little.

Vritra shot her a side-eye, and she quickly started whistling like an innocent young lady, looking around the empty grand hall as though it was fascinating.

The most dissatisfied person there was Edmond.

『Tch! This bitch princess didn't even pass a single territory on to me. How dare they──?!』

His fists tightened with frustration.

On the other hand, Gordias was just happy to be alive; he could worry about the land grants another time.

Katherine wiped the tears from her soft cheeks and lifted her head to look at God Vritra.

The young lord had a calm expression and gave her a mild smile.

Just as she was about to thank him, Vritra raised a hand and waved it dismissively in a casual manner.

"No need. I'm simply doing my part, remember?"

He then folded his arms and turned his attention to the visibly frustrated Edmond.

That sight alone was enough for him.

[Ding! You've put the "minor villain" Edmond Redwood in his place once more. The user has earned +20 Fate Value!]

[Luciana is even more in love with you. Her affection for you has grown by 40 points!]

[Esmeralda's affection for you has risen by 50 points!]

[The "female character" Ghislaine remains neutral…]

[Katherine's love and trust in you grows stronger. She is unable to fight her deep feelings for you at this point! Her affection for the host is now up by 200 points!]

[Ding! +20 Fate Value!]

The perfect conclusion.