Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son

Staring at the ceiling, I rubbed my face when I felt the familiar presence leaving my radar.

Since the moment I woke up, I had been having a bad feeling. Perhaps it was because of her.

The moment Adaliah entered the city, I had been able to feel her presence.

My instincts wanted me to kill her right there and get it over with.

But a part of me firmly believed it would only make things worse.

’I also have no idea how Esmeray will react after her death.’

With a tired sigh, I got up from my bed while buttoning my shirt. Taking a band, I tied my hair while I debated on the best way to deal with Shyamal.

’I can’t get her too agitated otherwise it will trigger an awakening.’

Dealing with a vessel had always been a pain. Things could go south at any moment.

’I also need to find a way to get Shyamal out from under the influence of Taishareth.’

The earlier I did that, the better it would be for Shyamal.

As I walked down the staircase, I found Christina leading the silver-haired girl into the main hall.

Both of them were looking at each other like two cats ready to fight.

Christina sat down gracefully on the sofa with her legs crossed elegantly.

She had already taken notice of me, and so had Shyamal.

On the opposite side, Shyamal sat down as well, with the same grace.

Her silver hair flowed behind her while her crimson eyes stared directly at Christina without backing down.

The atmosphere in the hall felt strangely suffocating.

Shyamal smiled when she turned to look at me. "Himmel."

I held back my sigh and walked toward them carefully.

Without a care for the maids and Christina, she almost jumped at me, giving me a tight hug.

Her soft body pressed tightly against mine while her arms wrapped around my waist possessively.

"...I missed you."

The moment those words left her mouth, I hugged her back.

I could practically feel Christina’s gaze piercing through my skull.

’Fuck my life.’

Trying to maintain my calm, I gently patted Shyamal’s head.

"I missed you too."

Her crimson eyes brightened instantly at my reply.

She let go and led me towards the sofa, forcing me to sit down.

Then, she sat down on my lap, leaning back comfortably. Due to the height difference between us, she easily fit within my frame.

Christina leaned back and kept staring at the young woman.

A thin smile appeared on her face. "That must be uncomfortable." She said. "Why don’t you sit down—."

"I am fine." Shyamal cut her off. "And I am sure Himmel is fine with it as well."

She leaned back and looked up at my face. "Isn’t that right?"

Her crimson eyes stared directly into mine with complete confidence.

"...I am fine with it." I replied after a brief pause.

Christina’s smile widened slightly.

"...Of course you are."

What’s with that sarcastic tone?

The maids standing nearby quietly lowered their heads and began retreating from the hall one by one.

I was so glad they weren’t the talkative types who always gossiped.

Shyamal looked strangely satisfied by my answer as she leaned further back against my chest.

One of her hands wrapped around my arm possessively while her long silver hair spilled over my legs.

’I really can’t catch a break.’

Christina folded her arms beneath her chest before speaking calmly.

"How are you here?" She asked. "Did you already do all of Esmeray’s handiwork?"

"Yes and no." Shyamal replied, folding her hands. "She gave me the mission to keep Himmel safe."

"Why would she do that?" She asked, tilting her head. "Himmel is strong enough to protect himself."

"...I don’t know." Shyamal shook her head. "It’s hard to guess what’s in her mind."

Christina suddenly stood up from the sofa gracefully and walked closer.

The moment she stopped beside me, I immediately understood something bad was about to happen.

She looked down at Shyamal and smiled softly.

"Move a little."

"...Why?" Shyamal asked cautiously.

"So I can sit too."

"There is another seat—."

Ignoring her complaint completely, Christina suddenly sat down beside me anyway.

To be more accurate, she sat down half on the sofa and half on my lap.

Christina leaned her head gently against my shoulder while looking victoriously at Shyamal.

"...Much better."

The silver-haired girl glared at her.

’Urgh, why do I find this hot?’

Shyamal blinked and turned to look at me with innocent eyes. "Can I beat her up?"

"No." I said firmly. "No fighting."

"...What if it’s only a little?" She asked hopefully.

"No."

Christina let out a soft chuckle against my shoulder.

"That sounds very tempting though."

She leaned in and wrapped her hands around my neck, making me lean into her as her lips touched my face.

"But it will destroy our new home."

The silver-haired girl immediately narrowed her crimson eyes.

Christina doubled down on her attempt as she leaned even closer against me while gently fixing my collar like a devoted wife.

Shyamal suddenly grabbed my other hand tightly and pulled it around her waist.

I let out a sigh and stood up, shrugging both of them off even though they were unwilling to leave me.

"Let’s go out." I said, stretching my body. "I don’t want a fight first thing in the morning."

Shyamal pouted her lips but she didn’t deny it. She just stood up and wrapped her hand around my arm.

"Alright!" She said cheerfully. "Let’s go have some fun."

Christina didn’t speak. She just turned and began walking towards the back garden.

I led Shyamal out as well while keeping my distance close to Christina.

The cold morning breeze brushed against my face as we stepped into the back garden.

At a distance, there were more people sitting under the shade of the tree.

They were the Princess of Mermaids, Epione, Zenith, Heather, Elijah, Aimar, and...Nymeria.

Shyamal clung tightly to my arm as her eyes landed on them.

"....Seriously, why are there so many women?" She grumbled in a low voice.

"You tell me." Christina added. "It’s like he is collecting different species of women."

Shyamal nodded her head like what Christina said was the absolute truth.

’...Weren’t you guys fighting just a while ago?’

Holding back my complaint, I looked at Nymeria who was strangely staring at Shyamal.

Zenith wasn’t even looking at us, pretending like we didn’t exist.

When we arrived, Aimar greeted Shyamal. "Still as crazy as before, aren’t you?"

"Shut up." Shyamal barked. "Otherwise, I will beat you into a pulp."

Aimar shrugged like his point had been proven without saying anything.

He looked at me, then at the women attached to my sides, before finally shaking his head in disappointment.

"...Disgusting."

"Fuck off." I replied instantly.

Heather let out a soft laugh while Elijah silently drank his tea like he wanted no part in whatever chaos was about to happen.

Epione blinked curiously at Shyamal while her crimson eyes slowly widened.

"...You are pretty."

The silver-haired girl paused before smiling brightly.

"You too."

’What’s with them?’

I thought inwardly before asking, "What are you doing outside this early?"

Shyamal let go of me before she looked around the place.

Nymeria stood up. Without a word, she poured a cup of tea for me.

"We were just chatting." Elijah replied. "Epione called us out."

I turned to look at the girl who shrank slightly. "...It wasn’t anything special."

I took the cup of tea from Nymeria’s hand.

"...Thanks."

She nodded quickly before stepping back.

I turned my gaze back to Epione. "How is Liraz?"

"He is doing good." She replied, smiling. "For some reason, he had been on edge lately. He was staring at the sky all night."

"...I see." I mumbled softly. "I will take a look later."

She nodded her head and said, "I made some progress with the singing technique." She smiled brightly. "I should be able to master it in a day or two."

"That’s wonderful." I replied with a slight smile.

’You must be happy, Inna.’

Hmm?

Strangely enough, she didn’t respond to my words. ’Where did she go?’

As I took a sip of the tasteless tea, my gaze shifted towards the two ladies from the sea.

Kana was giving a complicated look towards Elijah while Kaelia still had that blank look on her face as she stared at me.

I frowned but didn’t say a word to her. Instead, I focused on Zenith who was silently looking down. "What happened to you?"

"Uh, nothing?" She replied, shaking her head. "Don’t worry about me."

I gave her a deep look but before I could speak, Christina, who was standing on the side, called me. "Himmel."

I turned towards her when she pointed at the sky. "What is happening?"

Lifting my head, I looked up.... Even though it was early morning, the sky began to fill with blinking stars one by one.

The moment the stars appeared, the entire atmosphere changed.

Even though the sun was still hanging above the horizon, the sky looked as if night had forcefully overlapped with morning.

Elijah stood up from his seat while gripping the table tightly.

"...What the hell is this?" Aimar muttered under his breath.

The banging of the sky, which hadn’t been that loud before, began to intensify.

My heartbeat spiked as memories that weren’t mine began to appear in my head.

That primal warning spread through every nerve in my body.

At the same time, Christina and Nymeria’s bodies lit up with golden runes appearing all over their skin.

A static sound rang through the sky, forcing me to look at the speaker used for disaster announcements.

From the speakers, traditional music began to engulf the entire city.

The melody was ancient.

The moment it spread across the city, every single person in the garden froze.

As the melody began to pick up, a tearing feeling made my heart bitter.

Fragments of unfamiliar memories exploded inside my head.

High in the sky, a black hole appeared out of thin air, its suction force disassembling everything.

From the void created by the black hole, an old purple dragon flew out.