Unfortunately, I'm an Evil Villainess

Chapter 92 - Demon Subjugation (IV)

I was glad that Damian was at least as reasonable as my worst nemesis and agreed to be transferred to another unit the next day. The mage that replaced him was a friend of his, who was quiet but kept a disconcertingly close eye on me, probably at my brother's request. He was still less alarming than him, and I regretted that it had come to this.

Oscar had arranged the transfer, and I wanted to speak to him the first chance I got. It wasn't until the afternoon that I finally got a chance during our ride to talk to him privately.

"I apologize on behalf of my brother for his actions yesterday."

"It's fine. I've forgiven him, as he is my future brother-in-law."

I smiled, happy that he admitted we would get married one day. In contrast, Princess Elizabeth would also be my sister-in-law, but I intended to remove her as soon as I was in a position of power to do so. Even if Oscar were planning to do that towards Damian, I didn't think I needed to worry about it. It would be the kingdom I would have to be concerned for.

Despite his aloofness, I supposed it was natural for the male lead to be more virtuous than the villainess. Oscar's expression was of his usual indifference, and one couldn't have possiblely imagined that he almost got murdered yesterday.

"Thank you for keeping this affair discreet."

"You're welcome. It's for the best."

I wondered what he meant and decided to appreciate that he probably took into consideration our situation as well. Damian couldn't scare him into breaking off our betrothal, so he thought I was worth the effort. I smiled again. After all, he was the true male lead, and I wouldn't expect anything less. I decided to venture a bit.

"I heard you went to the opera with Lady Catherine."

"I did."

In the ensuing silence, I let out a slow breath through clenched teeth. Mother taught me well, allowing me to match him in the art of concealing real feelings, but he ought to have had the emotional intelligence anyway to continue without my prompt. Alas, he wouldn't be the male lead otherwise.

"Why?"

"She asked me to. I felt an urge to be near her."

An undeniable attraction! How many times had I read that in my past life and swooned hopelessly? Now that I was on the other side of the equation, I wanted to find those old web novels, print them out, and burn them.

"I thought you didn't care for her. There has been gossip."

Nothing I couldn't deal with, especially since it hadn't been the social season, but he didn't need to know that.

"I'm sorry. I've asked her to stay away."

I almost laughed, but upon further reflection, I was oddly touched. He'd unknowingly sent away his destined love for me. I'd managed to make him like me enough for that. With him next to me, I could almost relive the night of my birthday, and that made me pleased enough to shove this opera business out of my mind.

I focused on hunting demons, and I did so quite cheerfully and successfully. We didn't talk a lot, but his company was pleasant, and though it wasn't exactly fighting side by side with us commanding our own knights, we spent everyday together. We were strong and our troops made excellent progress, and I felt gleefully powerful. About two weeks later, we were arriving at the foot of the mountain.

"Are you ready, my lady? I mean, this is one of the demon king's generals we're talking about. His Grace was very specific that if I let you even get one scratch- well, I guess that ship sailed a while ago. Still, please try not to get anything that won't heal by the time we get back."