Stealing Heroines’ Affections Is My Job as the Villain

Lord Arcellion guided Prince Vritra, Princess Luciana, and Sophia to the large dining table and even pulled out chairs for the royal couple to show his respect.

Vritra took the seat at the head of the table, while Luciana sat right next to him.

… Hm?

The young lord raised an eyebrow.

The princess hardly left any room for him to stretch his legs. It felt like she was completely ignoring the large space around her and just decided to be a cute little annoyance to him.

"Uh, Luciana, there are no maids here…"

"I know, but that doesn't matter anymore!"

Luciana was so jealous she was practically turning green.

She wouldn't let go of Vritra's arm, regardless of whether there were maids or any other women around. Luciana was starting to convince herself that if she didn't cling to him all the time, other women might notice his good looks and assume he was fair game.

『Esmeralda should've taught me this…』

But why would she do that? Esmeralda wanted to be around the young lord too, so it would be a clash of interests.

『Ohhhh…』

The princess realized shortly after.

『Tch, that woman──!』

She definitely wouldn't pass up a chance to tell Esmeralda she knew about her sneaky plans once they finished their meal.

"Hrmm…"

Vritra calmly lowered his head.

"Suit yourself then."

"Hmph! Well, I will!"

The princess puffed up her cheeks and squeezed her eyes shut, choosing to remain stubborn.

Arcellion looked at the couple, unsure of what to say.

"Well, since we're waiting…"

He walked over to the wine rack, picked out a nice bottle of wine, and grabbed two fancy goblets.

After placing them on the table, Arcellion poured just enough wine into each goblet to fill them.

"I can tell you both a lot more about how I know our dear Princess Luciana."

The princess smiled at this, but Vritra stayed calm, probably because he already knew the story.

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Meanwhile, Sophia folded her arms and watched from a corner of the dining room.

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In the kitchen…

Neron stood at the kitchen entrance, eagerly waiting for the food to be served. But from the delicious smells wafting through the air, he began to question whether the Red Desert truly deserved its reputation for harsh conditions.

『Hrmm, as much as I get that it's tough to survive out here and the conditions are harsh enough that many people have died, the more I think about it, the less it makes sense.

『A better way to describe the Red Desert is that it's a place for the strong. If you have enough power or money, you can make life here pretty normal. Just look around—people seem to be enjoying themselves, eating curry and grains shipped from Serathen like it's nothing unusual.

『The poor only complain about living here because they're struggling, which is understandable. Still, I can't say I like these humans much. Everything oddly seems to revolve around them… tsk, tsk.』

He folded his arms and nodded.

Just then, someone walked past Neron, and the old man's senses kicked in like a warning sign. He quickly turned and extended the long, black claws of his fingers, ready to shred his target to pieces.

… VWOOOOSH!

The person easily dodged back and drew his sword at the same time.

────SHIIIIIIIING~!!

Before Neron knew it, the guy's sword was pressed against his neck, ready to slice.

"Why did you suddenly attack me?"

The young man asked with a bold voice.

Surprised, Neron looked at the young man's face and realized it was someone unfamiliar, yet he had a strangely familiar skill set.

It was Sadim.

『I don't know who he is, but his aura feels very threatening. It reminds me of the sacred humans from the Shritnar Kingdom. It's similar to the young lord's and maybe even Princess Luciana's… there's something oddly terrifying about this young man's presence.』

Neron studied Sadim from head to toe and grew more confused the deeper he looked.

It felt like he was standing in front of an anomaly.

… Hrmm

Neron retracted his claws and clasped his hands behind his back, acting as if nothing had happened.

"I wasn't attacking you, sir knight. I was just trying to see if the soldiers Lord Arcellion has are as capable as I expected."

That sounded believable.

When Neron had attacked Sadim, there had been little to no bloodlust in his actions.

It was mostly a habit, not an intent to kill.

For demons like him, who had lived since the Black Age, they were always aware of their surroundings, especially since enemies often ambushed them from behind on the battlefield.

『It's been a while since something like that happened.』

He told himself.

At least it was good to know he was still in shape.

Benita and Esmeralda heard some sudden noises coming from outside the kitchen, so they both looked back toward the entrance.

They saw Neron and Sadim and raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm? Is something wrong, First Lieutenant Goldtouch?"

Benita asked with a very soft voice.

To Benita, Sadim was a very familiar face around here, so she always had a smile on her face whenever he came to help in the mansion, especially in the kitchen.

At first, she thought he always helped her out in the kitchen because he was attracted to her body or maybe even her looks. However, as time passed, it became increasingly clear that this wasn't the case. There were even times when she would try to seduce him by pushing her butt against his crotch while she was pounding something in the kitchen or doing anything that required her to bend down.

However, as time passed, it became clear that wasn't the case. She eventually learned that Sadim had a girlfriend and that the main reason he frequented the kitchen was to grab some extra portions of food for his fellow knights.

Despite that, they had built a good relationship.

Sometimes, Sadim would even come to her for advice about his girlfriend, and she was always happy to help with what little knowledge she had.

"Oh, Miss Benita…"

Sadim said as he pulled his sword away from Neron's neck and sheathed it.

"I just came to see if there was anything I could do to help Lord Arcellion make the young lord and the princess's stay here memorable."

His smile took on a sly edge.

『A very memorable one…』

He chuckled mischievously to himself.

Benita didn't think anything of it and nodded.

"Mhm, alright. Just hang around, and when Miss Esmeralda and I are done cooking, I'll call you to help Sir Neron dish out the food, is that okay?"

"Oh? Alright then."

"I'll also keep some extra portions for that girlfriend of yours whose name you still won't tell me. I'm sure Lord Arcellion wouldn't mind, mhm-mmm~ ♡"

"Really? I… I would really appreciate that, ha~ha."

Sadim nervously rubbed the back of his head.

After that, he walked away, giving Neron a mean look before disappearing into the lobby.

Neron's face immediately squeezed.

『That blonde-haired bastard really shot me a nasty look! How dare he?! E-, Even the young lord wouldn't act like that, and he just does it without a care?! Preposterous!』

The old man humphed with discontent.

Benita and Esmeralda returned to their cooking.

Benita chopped onions while Esmeralda slowly pounded the remaining garlic.

"So, he looks handsome…"

Esmeralda decided to tease her fellow head maid.

Used to these kinds of jabs, Benita smiled.

"So you noticed. Who wouldn't?"

"Hrmm, he's still a bit young for you."

"Tee-hee! Says the woman who's likely slept with God Vritra. He's far more handsome than First Lieutenant Goldtouch and not much older too."

"Wh-, WHAT──?"

Esmeralda turned away, her face flushing red.

Quite an unusual sight.

"H-, How did you even know?!"

It wasn't like she had been that close with the young lord since they got off the magic airship, except for that one time she tried to feed him some cake. Other than that, she had been very professional around him.

But even that didn't fool Benita.

The beautiful, mature woman laughed at Esmeralda.

"Of course I know. I've had a similar experience with Lord Arcellion. We're both attractive women, so it makes sense we've both slept with our superiors."

Esmeralda put a finger to her chin, thinking over Head Maid Benita's words.

『I can't really put it that way. King Felmus is my superior, not exactly like God Vritra. But in the end, one treated me more like a daughter and a friend, while the other treated me more like an attractive woman. So really, there's no comparison.』

Right after, she smiled at Benita.

"I see. So it's not this knight you're into. It's Lord Arcellion. That's respectable. He seems like a capable man."

"He is, but also ignorant, believe it or not."

"Really?"

Esmeralda leaned in, more curious now.

Benita sighed heavily and crossed her arms under her round, sizable breasts.

"We've only slept together once. Though we've had a few romantic moments, it hasn't gone beyond that. I even tried using Sadim to distract myself, but not every man's into an older woman, you know?"

"N-, Not really…"

Esmeralda softly twirled her hair around her finger as she shyly looked away.

She really couldn't relate to the situation because most of the men around her were very interested in her. The first man she actually desired was a much younger-looking man who was also attracted to her.

『I… oddly feel lucky now.』

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(T/N): For some odd reason, this is my favorite chapter 🙂