[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess":3,"chapter-i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-chapter-192":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","I'm in Love with the Villainess!",{"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},895065,1171,"Chapter 192: Generic Corruption...?","i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-chapter-192",192,"\u003Cp>The buildings were at least three stories tall, with pipes running along every floor, carrying energy, water, and air to the people living inside. If I compared it to the Academy, to Eryndor... heck, even to the slums—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This place felt ancient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So outdated that even a slum could outclass it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The streets were empty too. Completely empty, so much so that I ended up walking right down the middle of the road.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wait... huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I squinted into the distance. Something moved. Something fast. Something loud. Something you absolutely wouldn’t expect to see in a place like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is that...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Dark Step]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I teleported to the shadow of the nearest light pole, barely avoiding the speeding vehicle as it shot past where I’d been standing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The hell?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a disbelieving laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was wrong with this place? How could a car like that be worth more than almost every building I’d seen here combined?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The engine roared as it sped past, kicking up dust and loose gravel in its wake. Sleek, polished, and completely out of place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eyes narrowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wasn’t just some random civilian vehicle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was money, real money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in a place like this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That only meant one thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned, watching as the car didn’t slow down, not for the broken roads, not for the empty streets, not for anything. It drove like it owned the place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or like it had nothing to fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Interesting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stepped out from the shadows, brushing dust off my sleeve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A town where people hid behind doors, where curtains barely shifted, and footsteps died the moment you listened for them...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But something like that could just drive through the center without a care in the world?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something was very wrong here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Dark Step]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I vanished again, reappearing on the rooftop of a nearby building, my eyes locking onto the vehicle as it weaved through the streets below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t heading out. It was heading deeper in, toward the city’s center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course it was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, keeping pace with ease, I let the wind brush against my face. It carried with it something faint—not just dust, not just decay, but... luxury? Extravagant, loud, and obviously familiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deeper I went, the more intense it became, whether that was good or bad depended on how you looked at it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silent buildings gave way to a loud, bustling center packed with merchants, caravans, and traders. It was obvious that no one here was a local or an ordinary citizen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These people were wealthy, the kind of wealthy that wore tailored suits and carried spotless firearms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...So that’s how it is.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The car finally slowed as it approached a large structure at the heart of the district.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike everything else, this one stood tall, intact, reinforced, and very much alive. Fresh paint on concrete. Steel frames. Glass that hadn’t been shattered or scavenged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lights on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guards posted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Weapons visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There it is.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I landed silently on the edge of a rooftop across from the building, crouching low as I observed the scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vehicle rolled to a stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Out stepped a man dressed far too well for a place like this, even compared to the other wealthy men here; he was obvious—clean coat, polished shoes, tailored fit, not a speck of dust on him despite the road.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, armed escorts followed. Their movements were sharp, practiced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Organized. Disciplined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not thugs. Not civilians.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Private military?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or worse...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Found you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A slow smile crept onto my lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So this town wasn’t abandoned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was being squeezed. Bled dry from the center out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glanced back the way I came, toward the rows of silent houses and shuttered windows, then back at the building that pulsed with guarded life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Survive, stabilize, dominate... huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that sounded a lot more interesting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before I just jumped in and announced my presence, I needed to look around. Merchant stalls, guns, and even some slave trading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bit of everything, really.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what worried me more was a sign, just discarded in an alley near the massive structure. It read \"City Hall.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Dark Step]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I teleported over to it and checked it more closely. It seemed to match the few faint scratches left on the huge structure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like it had been torn off... no, not like. It had definitely been torn off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So that entire thing used to be the city hall?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. This far from the capital or any major territory? Of course something like this would happen. Frontiers are the perfect place to topple a government and set up your own illegal capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now the question was: were these people opportunistic raiders and criminals, or just corrupt nobles and officials who took over the place?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plenty of questions, not many answers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Azrael and the academy really couldn’t have picked a better mess, huh?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Dark Step]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I teleported back to the mansion bedroom and sat beside Evelina, who was still asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t just dive into fights and try to fix everything myself. This was just as much Evelina’s territory as it was mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I needed to wait for her to wake up before I completely ruined everything this city had going for it. Besides, she was the expert.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d need to read a hundred more books before I even knew what the hell I was doing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Succubus.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah?\" She suddenly appeared from under the bed, grabbing my feet to try and spook me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What the hell are you doing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m bored. My mistress is asleep, and this mansion has nothing to offer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She teleported again, this time appearing beside Evelina and lying down next to her. \"Anyway, what do you need?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When will she wake up?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tomorrow.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Guess that works for me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re not going to ask how to wake her up faster?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No. After everything she did back in the Cold Iron District, she needs her beauty sleep to be in top shape.\" I stood up, stretched my back, and looked around the messy room again. \"As for me, I’ll make this place worthy of her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1031,"2026-06-03T05:52:53.768Z",1,"novelbin.me","db66640a7a2cd5460c4936c88ff539144b6965dd78351c180a6812546e490893","i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-chapter-193","i-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-chapter-191",324,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-in-love-with-the-villainess-cover.jpg"]