Struggling as a Villain

There was no doubt; that the person chained up by the wall was none other than his childhood friend.

Her condition made his heart heavy. All the color from her face was drained, her eyes were hollow and lifeless. The girl seemed nothing but a ragged doll that existed just because she was forced to.

The same lively girl who always waited for him near his house so they could go to school together. The same person who always motivated him to keep looking forward. The same person who used to smile so brightly that it made him feel warm.

"Rena..." Along with grief, Richard was feeling frustrated about why he couldn't find her when the apocalypse broke out. If he had been, then Rena would have remained safe beside Bella all this long.

"Feels pity? Well, I guess you will." The voice of the young man who was lazily sitting beside Rena echoed in the cell.

Smoke erupted from his balled fist as Richard looked at the dead meat with burning fury.

"Release her...and I promise your dogs will get your bones to chew."

Jin grinned; he loved such people who, until the end, thinks that the game was in their favor.

Crossing his leg, he rested his hand on his knee, before suggesting, "Why don't you try and break the bars first?"

Richard's expression remained the same as he held the metallic bar—however, the moment he tried to burn them, the collar around Rena's neck began to stiffen, choking her as she struggled to breathe.

He instantly removed his hand and absorbed all the heat from the bars.

Jin's grin widened, "You see, the technology I developed was just to keep her caged up. Any foreign substance that enters the cell will harm Rena in one way or another."

"What do you want?!" Richard barked, his tone and demeanor suggesting the extreme frustration he was feeling at the moment.

The young man leaned forward before replying, "Nothing."

Richard frowned, "Tell me your price—whatever it is, I will pay you. Just let her go-"

"You got it wrong, mister. I don't greed anything; the power, money, and men I have are all I can sacrifice just right away if I want to."

Through his gritted teeth, the redhead asked, "Then why are you doing this to her?!"

"Because I hate Rena." His answer was quick and simple. There was not a speck of complication in his eyes, nor did his demeanor suggest that he was hiding his true motive.

Richard was flabbergasted and failed to say anything after that—allowing Jin to explain.

"I used to love her. After my mother, it was only she who took care of me as a family member. I adored her...wanted to protect her from the world. However, when I confessed to my feelings, do you know what she said?"

The aura of the man began to flicker, signifying his agitation as he muttered through his gritted teeth,

"She said she already has someone in her heart."

The cell began to shake, and the air turned heavy by his aura as Jin added, "She was my everything. My life, my love...and I wanted her to see me as her everything as well! Was it too much to ask for?! I loved her, so it's natural for her to love me back! But no, she was still dreaming of some long-dead childhood friend!"

Richard frowned, "So you chose to cage her up."

Jin's lips turned into a malicious grin before he nodded, "Yup~if she doesn't want me, it doesn't matter. I will still keep her close and torment her every day until she accepts me as her one and only."

Richard took a deep breath; he could not be rash here. This guy was not only evil but crazy as well. He will end up killing Rena if Richard makes any hasty decision here.

With his heart rate a bit more calmer, the redhead asked, "What are you going to do now? Not like you will just keep her caged up for the rest of your life."

"No, of course not. After all, my dear Rena has already received the necessary punishment for her sins."

With his lips stretching into a face-splitting smile, the man added, "So soon enough, I will drain all her life force, and along with her, I will leave this world."

Richard frowned, "What do you mean by that?"

"Soon, you will know, mister. An all-out war is approaching and when it arrives, my beloved and I will watch everything from the afterlife~"

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[Clion]

That night, after training and the discussion with Bennet, Bellarine could be seen moving toward her room.

She was staying in the palace for the time being, since commuting from her mansion would be a hassle.

She had a talk with Bennet about her suspicion; she disclosed how she felt about all this. For some reason, in the corner of her mind, she believed that they were being lured into this war.

However, as someone who was devoted to his people and his duty, Bennet simply stated,

"Even if this is a trap, I will make sure that the other side can no longer hold the ability to endanger innocent lives."

Bellarine didn't expect anything more than that from him. She has trained him for a couple of years, so she knows how headstrong the guy is.

'Well, if things really turn out to be complicated, I will just burn down everything to cinder and get rid of this mess, once and for all....' With such thoughts, she was heading toward her room, from where she would write another letter to Lilia and ask her about her baby.

However, before she could have entered her room, a soldier called out, "Lady Scarlette, Your Majesty has summoned you."

Bellarine clicked her tongue, "What does he want now?" Her demeanor made the soldiers around her shiver, but the informer didn't hesitate to disclose,

"Your Holiness has arrived and they wish your presence in the conference hall."

"..." This is surely going to be messy.

.....

The Pope of the Cathedral was the person she wanted to meet the least in this world.

After all, Bellarine had never had a good relationship with the church; even in the previous lifetime, she didn't get along with the people who had only a single life motive: to serve God.

Bellarine never liked such stubborn people who could go to any length to prove the other one wrong, if they said anything against their God.

'If it's some bullshit once again, I might as well just withdraw my participation in all this and return to my baby.' With those thoughts, she finally entered the conference hall where a weary Gideon, the chief advisor, Bennet, and Duke Aeromore could be seen.

Turning her eyes, she found the Emperor and the familiar face of the Pope looking back at at her.

Her mood was already irked seeing that face but she held her distaste and approached them, "Yes, Your Majesty? Did you need something from me-"

"I want you to not participate in this war." The Pope suddenly called out, making Bellarine frown.

"And who are you to decide what I should do and what I shouldn't?" She challenged, not liking how the man just talked to her.

The worshipper's brows knitted in a tight frown as he voiced, "As the servant who is devoted to the benefit of humanity, I cannot allow you, an evil worshipper to take part in something which can risk hundreds of lives."

"But, Your Holiness, Duchess Bellarine has devoted herself to this war. She has taken an oath to erase the threat which has been threatening the lives of our citizens." Hayden voiced.

"Indeed, Supreme One. If anyone then it's Bellarine who could ensure minimal casualties from our side in this war." Gideon supported.

The Emperor had a slight frown as he asked, "Why are you going against everyone here?"

"Because I know, when the time comes she will take their side and betray us. Again."

**CRACK**

The wooden surface beneath her feet cracked, and the whole place was overwhelmed by Bellarine's presence.

Hayden began sweating profusely and the others felt a grave sensation clawing at their consciousness.

Seeing her growing aura, Bennet suddenly got up and said, "Excuse my impudence, father, but you are accusing the wrong person here."

Suddenly, the tide of the conversation shifted as the blond-haired spoke, "I know Commander Bellarine better than anyone in this room, and I can confidently say that regardless of the situation, she won't ever betray us."

He snarled, "And you bet your life on that?"

Bennet narrowed his eyes as he heard the Pope adding, "Can you take an unbreakable oath that you two will eradicate the source of this chaos? Tell me."

Bennet's eyes turned cold before he said, "If that's all it takes for you to stop disrespecting my teacher, then yes, I will take the unbreakable oath."

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A/N:- There is this Holiness, and there is that Holiness in my other work. Sigh~