[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-am-a-villain-so-what":3,"chapter-i-am-a-villain-so-what-i-am-a-villain-so-what-chapter-138":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","I Am a Villain, So What?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1506413,1956,"Chapter 138: Playing with fire","i-am-a-villain-so-what-chapter-138",138,"\u003Cp>I watched Ariana eat her soup. It was a terrifying sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She ate with perfect etiquette, but her violet eyes behind those glasses were dissecting Clara von Marigold like a frog in a biology lab. Every time Clara giggled or tried to offer me a macaron, Ariana’s spoon would clink against her bowl—a sharp, metallic warning bell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Did I... change her too much?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I recalled the Ariana from the game lore and my early memories. She was supposed to be a timid, stuttering girl with low self-esteem who hid behind her bangs. A genius alchemist, yes, but socially invisible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl sitting next to me now was... a boss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She radiated a silent pressure that kept even the boisterous Clara in check. It was a Domination aura that I hadn’t taught her. Or maybe I had, simply by being the only person she felt safe enough to unleash it on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well then,\" Ariana wiped her mouth elegantly. \"Lunch is over.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stood up, picking up her tray.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lucien. Walk with me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t a request.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uh, right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stood up, grabbing my rifle case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clara stood up too, looking disappointed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ehh? Already? But I wanted to show Lucien the—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" Ariana cut in smoothly, stepping between us. \"We need to have some \"couple\" talks. It’s private\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Aww...\" Clara pouted, her pink twin-tails drooping. \"Fine. See you later, Lucien!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As we walked away, I glanced back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clara was still standing there amidst the empty tables. The cheerful pout was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her head was lowered, her eyes shadowed by her bangs. She was staring at my retreating back with a gloomy, hollow intensity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...He’s not yours to take,\" I heard a faint mutter, carried by the wind. \"He’s my savior... my dog... my...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A chill ran down my spine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’...I think I saved her body, but her mind is still a bit cracked.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned back around, only to see Ariana marching toward the Alchemy Wing with a pace that screamed’You are in so much trouble.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I rubbed my temples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Women are troublesome.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When you don’t have one, you feel jealous of couples. Once you have one, you get constant headaches. It was the universal law of romance, apparently even applicable in a dark fantasy novel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>****\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Academy Gardens]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We walked in silence until we reached a quiet path lined with weeping willows, far from the prying eyes of the main campus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana stopped and turned to face me. The formidable aura she held in the cafeteria cracked, revealing the pouting, insecure girl underneath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So,\" she crossed her arms, pushing up her glasses. \"You were busy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It was an emergency, Ariana.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"An emergency involving the Marigold heiress? The ’Idol’ of the first years?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She took a step closer, poking my chest with a finger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is she so important that you had to fight a Demon Summoner? That you had to carry her out of a burning crater like a prince in a fairy tale?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I didn’t carry her like a prince. I carried her like a sack of potatoes,\" I corrected. \"And I did it for Merle. And for the points.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmph.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana puffed out her cheeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re always like this. You say it’s for logic, or points, or strategy. But you always end up saving girls. First the Princess, then Elisha, now Clara.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked down at her shoes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It makes me anxious, Lucien. You shine too bright. Even if you try to act like trash... people are starting to see the gold underneath.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sighed, rubbing my temples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Women are troublesome.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I was single in my past life, I used to be jealous of couples fighting over petty things.’Must be nice to be wanted,’I’d think.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that I had one? It was a constant headache. But it was a headache I wouldn’t trade for anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I reached out and grabbed her hand. It was cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ariana.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"None of them are you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked up, her violet eyes widening behind the lenses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Clara is a victim I saved. You...\" I stepped closer, closing the distance. \"You are the one I chose.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana’s breath hitched. The jealousy in her eyes melted into something molten and hot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Prove it,\" she whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>****\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Academy bells rang, signaling the end of the day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead of taking the teleport gate, I rented a private high-grade carriage to take us back to the Commercial District.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The interior was plush velvet, dark and enclosed. The rhythmic clatter of the wheels on cobblestones created a hypnotic sound barrier from the outside world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sat back, loosening my tie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Today was exhaus—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t finish the sentence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rustle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ariana didn’t sit on the opposite bench. She moved immediately, straddling my lap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"W-Wait, Ariana?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hush.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She took off her glasses, placing them on the seat beside us. Without the lenses, her eyes were unguarded, swimming with a fierce, possessive hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She grabbed the lapels of my coat and yanked me forward, crashing her lips against mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mmph!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t a gentle kiss. It was a claim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her lips were soft but demanding, moving against mine with a feverish intensity. She tasted of strawberry lip balm and mushroom soup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hesitated for a split second, then my hands found her waist, pulling her flush against me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hah... Lucien...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She pulled back, gasping for air, her forehead resting against mine. Her face was flushed a deep crimson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re mine,\" she whispered, her hands tangling in my hair. \"I have to... I have to capture you completely. Before that pink-haired girl or the Duchess’s daughter tries to steal you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No one is stealing me, Ariana.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You don’t know that. You don’t see how they look at you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She bit her lower lip, then moved again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She kissed my jawline, her hot breath ghosting over my skin. Her hands slid down from my hair, roaming over my chest, feeling the muscle beneath the shirt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ariana... we’re in a carriage,\" I warned, my voice dropping an octave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The curtains are drawn,\" she murmured against my neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She shifted her hips, grinding down into my lap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A jolt of electricity shot up my spine. My grip on her waist tightened, my fingers digging into her soft curves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re playing with fire, Alchemist.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m used to explosions,\" she retorted breathlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>",1045,"2026-06-06T04:52:02.137Z",1,"novelbin.me","173f42293deabe86b5312c9760e43d3c1cfcabe558750ae4feb9e823182bdf53","i-am-a-villain-so-what-chapter-139","i-am-a-villain-so-what-chapter-137",230,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-am-a-villain-so-what-cover.jpg"]