I Don't Know The Playthroughs Of The Returned Villainesses - Chapter 24

“Aslan, I’m serious. Do that again and you’ll really get hurt.”

“…Alright.”

What was I witnessing? A scene I hadn’t even considered possible was unfolding before my eyes.

The moment Aslan mentioned something about being played, a fist flew out of nowhere, silently, and connected with Aslan’s solar plexus. An expression of pure rage.

Aslan, struck squarely by Sephir’s fist, crumpled to the ground.

‘…Did that really just happen?’

Aslan wasn’t a spoiled noble who relied solely on his family name; he was a diligent worker who proved his worth through his own abilities. He wasn’t someone who would be easily taken down…

While Sephir turned away and walked off for a moment, seemingly to cool down, I cautiously approached Aslan, who was still sprawled on the ground.

“Aslan, why are you still lying down?”

His response:

“I made a remark that offended a lady, so I am simply paying the price.”

He was clearly embarrassed. I had asked why he wasn’t getting up, and he was making excuses for being punched…

“Just get up. Sephir went somewhere; she’s not here anymore.”

“That’s a relief.”

Aslan immediately got to his feet the moment I said Sephir was gone.

“…”

I had wondered why Ninian found Aslan so frustrating, but now I understood.

“So you only got up because Sephir isn’t here…”

“I’m right here.”

“…?!?!?!”

I was about to continue, but Sephir’s voice, suddenly whispering in my ear as if licking it, sent shivers down my spine. And for good reason. Something sharp was pressed against my back.

“Sephir…”

“What.”

“Is that… a dagger against my back?”

“…A mistake.”

I heard a shuffling sound, and the sharp sensation against my back disappeared.

‘It really was a mistake, then.’

I had never accidentally drawn a dagger from my clothes before, but I would take her word for it.

Relieved, I turned around to…

“Aaron. What did you mean by ‘maybe’ earlier?”

Sephir was staring at me with a chilling smile. I thought she had put the dagger away, but I felt like I was being stabbed by another one.

“…Sorry.”

Her sulking continued for several minutes.

*

“Anyway, let me introduce you again. This is Sephir.”

Sephir bowed her head.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aslan Reinhardt, next head of the Reinhardt Duchy. I am Sephir Livris, a humble trader.”

A quick and concise self-introduction, befitting a trader. However…

“Hmm…”

Aslan’s expression shifted.

“Is it deception, for the Empress to call herself a humble trader and conceal her status as a chieftain’s daughter, assuming the duchy wouldn’t know? Or is it reckless, assuming we would?”

Aslan began to dissect the information Sephir had concealed, cornering her with his words.

“It’s simply that I’m not foolish enough to waste time introducing myself to a duchy that would already know everything.”

She evaded his question smoothly.

“Let’s clarify one thing before we continue.”

Aslan’s demeanor had changed so drastically that I almost doubted he was the same person from moments ago.

“Are you here as the chieftain’s daughter? Or as the Empress?”

He needed to know whether Sephir stood before him as a noble leading the beastkin or as the ruler of the Underworld. His response would depend on her answer.

A brief silence followed.

Sephir met Aslan’s gaze directly and spoke.

“I’m here as Aaron’s friend.”

A bold statement.

‘…Why me?’

I, the person whose name was being used, felt a little awkward.

Another silence fell.

However, Sephir and Aslan seemed to have completed a silent conversation through their gazes.

“Then, I look forward to working with you. It seems we’ll be seeing each other quite often.”

“Of course. The feeling is mutual.”

Their self-introductions concluded with a warm handshake—

“However,” Aslan added, his voice laced with a warning stronger than any of his previous words, “given your status, please understand that I cannot fully trust you yet.”

“The same goes for me.”

A beautiful ending, with both sides understanding each other. Meanwhile, from my perspective as a third party…

‘You two can act all serious, but that doesn’t erase the fact that you were just punched in the gut and were embarrassed moments ago.’

It just looked like they were trying to cover up their awkwardness with a solemn atmosphere.

Well, as long as things were resolved, it was all good. No harm, no foul.

“So, are the introductions over?”

I spoke in a relatively bright tone to lighten the increasingly heavy atmosphere.

Both of them turned their attention to me at the sound of my clap.

“Then, please teach me about aura.”

They seemed to have forgotten in their little standoff, but the purpose of this meeting was for me to learn about aura. They exchanged glances and gave each other subtle nods I couldn’t see before turning back to me.

“Alright. Then first, sit in front of me.”

I sat cross-legged in front of Aslan as instructed.

“It seems you’ve done some research. Sitting in a lotus position right away.”

“Do I look like someone who wouldn’t know something like that?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

To think that was how Aslan perceived me…

“Aaron, I’m going to step away for a bit.”

Sephir’s voice reached me as I settled down in front of Aslan.

“Uh… sure.”

Sephir couldn’t help me learn about aura anyway. There was no harm in her going somewhere.

“See you later.”

I turned and waved to Sephir as she walked away.

She stopped.

The constant wagging of her tail and twitching of her ears ceased, replaced by a slight flinch. Her straightened posture faltered, and she stopped in her tracks.

“…Okay!”

She didn’t turn around, but she responded affirmatively before running off, leaping onto a tree and disappearing from my sight.

“Is this a different kind of playing field?”

“Let’s just proceed quietly.”

There he went again, the moment Sephir was gone.

“Now, take a deep breath and focus your senses.”

Aslan’s aura washed over me as he spoke in a serious tone.

“I’m going to channel my aura now, so try to feel it.”

Aslan placed his palm on my back, right behind my heart.

‘I wonder what it feels like…’

Thump

My heart pounded loudly in my ears. At the same time, I started to feel a faint… warmth? emanating from my heart.

It was like… the kind of heat you felt when you had indigestion, but without the discomfort. Perhaps like a soothing warmth that a medicated patch could alleviate?

The warmth in my heart started to move…

“Huh?”

And then it vanished.

I concentrated on the sensation, trying to hold onto it. The warmth, presumably Aslan’s aura, that had entered my heart through my back, passed right through my chest.

“Hmm… Let’s stop for a moment.”

Aslan signaled for me to stop. I unfolded my legs and exhaled.

“Is something wrong?”

I didn’t even know if that warmth was aura yet, but Aslan’s expression was grim, as if something was already amiss.

“Well… don’t be surprised.”

Aslan covered his mouth with his hand, seemingly deep in thought. Then he spoke.

“Aaron, I think you already have aura.”

*

Meanwhile, Sephir, who had abruptly left, was perched on a tree branch, tossing a snow-white orb in the air.

“Why don’t you come out now? I know you’re nearby. I can smell you.”

Below, in the dim evening forest, amidst the shadows of the giant trees, a head of pure white hair, faintly illuminated by the setting sun, emerged.

Purple eyes peered out from beneath the leaves and shadows.

It was Vivian.

“It’s you.”

Vivian looked up at Sephir, her face expressionless, her voice flat, as if utterly indifferent.

“It was you all along, wasn’t it?”

Sephir, as if she had already known, leaped gracefully from the branch and landed softly like a cat.

“You’re the bitch who’s been destroying my observation familiars.”

“You’re the bitch who’s been peeping into Aaron’s room.”

Their gazes locked, their eyes reflecting their emotions. Vivian’s empty gaze, Sephir’s sharp glare.

Sephir tossed the orb she was holding towards Vivian’s feet.

“…Tsk.”

Vivian clicked her tongue as the eyeball-shaped orb rolled to a stop beneath her feet, deflating with a sound like air escaping a balloon.

Then, without hesitation, she crushed it beneath her heel, grinding it into the dirt as if releasing her frustration.

Sephir drew a dagger from inside her clothes and tossed it in her hand.

“I let you off the hook yesterday when you destroyed one of my familiars. You think I’ll let you do it again?”

Her golden eyes narrowed, her pupils contracting. The fur on her tail stood on end, looking more like sharp needles than soft fluff.

“I was holding back because Aaron was there.”

Her previously relaxed tone turned as cold as the autumn wind. Sephir no longer exuded the predatory air of a hunter before a kill; she was radiating pure, unadulterated hostility. She resembled a wolf, poised to tear the throat out of any creature that dared trespass on its territory.

“…You mangy bitch.”

Vivian’s doll-like, expressionless face finally contorted as she spoke.

“Stop following my assistant around like a whore.”

Only then did I realize. Vivian’s blank expression wasn’t indifference. It was a habitual mask, hiding emotions she couldn’t express.

“Huh?”

Sephir’s face twisted in disgust.

“Why are you calling what’s mine your assistant?”

A crack appeared in Vivian’s mask.

“Yours? Aaron?”

Something beyond mere anger flickered in her eyes.