A Regressed Villain: Heroines, Villainesses and Me?
Chapter 23: 25- Now it's Alfred's turn

'What should I do with these?' Avendial pondered as he sank into the bathtub. The lukewarm water enveloped his skin, bringing a bittersweet sensation as he felt the various small injuries scattered across his body. The cold water of the lake at the Princess's palace had concealed the scratches and faint marks, but now they were evident in the warmth of the water.

At that time, he had jumped into cold water to use it to erase bite marks and nail scratches, rather than simply arriving in the open to distract them. He had covered it up with the bathrobe provided by Lady Margaret.

'I will only have ten months this way.' Avendial slowly rested his head back with his eyes closed as exhaustion took over his body, yet his mind half-slept, thinking about the earlier two months when he would need to awaken two individuals.

His mind roamed around the thoughts of the time he had in his hands to utilize before a year was complete from today, and things became even more complex.

'Margaret will take a month and then rest another month.' Avendial loosened his body to relax from the mental fatigue caused by the decisions he had made to change everything and return to the past at a very great cost.

The sensation of warm water, the aroma of soap, and relaxation slowly caused him to fall asleep while thinking about his second target, who needed to be by his side in the sequence of upcoming events.

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As the night faded away, giving way to the sun's rays enveloping the Royal Kingdom in a gentle warmth, Princess Katheria's palace was not overlooked as they journeyed towards an extravagant white marble mansion, less than a mile from the princess's residence, highlighting its grandeur.

The nearer a property or asset was to the princess's palace, the more value it held, as there was often some emotional or materialistic reason for its proximity.

Inside one of the rooms of the mansion,

"Hm...what are you doing here?" Slowly, as morning light filtered in, Avendial's eyes fluttered open to reveal deep crystalline blue pupils that resembled sapphires, complemented by whitish hair that accentuated the overall allure of his face.

He turned his head to the left, where at a distance, a woman was seated on the floor with her knees folded while her tear-stained amethyst pupils looked downward.

Feeling a soft sensation on his skin, he realized he was lying on the bed, covered by a blanket, and distinctly understood who could have brought him here from the bathroom, as he had fallen asleep there.

"...I—I am...sorry."

But instead of getting a proper answer, he only heard some mumbles from Rivia, who kept looking downward with her eyes not meeting his. Tear stains and even nail marks on her hands revealed the self-harm she had caused herself due to thoughts known only to her.

"Was I asleep in the bathtub?" Avendial could at least guess that much, but he wanted to hear the exact time when she brought him out to determine if his curse had helped her as he had expected.

"Yes... I brought Master out three hours after entering the bath," Rivia answered, her body exhausted from crying and regretting the mistakes she had made yesterday. She had been seated there all night, reflecting on how much her stress had burdened her master.

It was evident that she noticed him not leaving the bathroom for more than an hour, but as time passed, her anxiety grew about him potentially acting out of anger towards her.

Even knowing his anger toward her, she still decided to go inside, aware that she could even get herself thrown out of the Croceaus family. She felt anxious and held on until she finally entered the bathroom three hours later.

"Did you carry me yourself or pull me?" Avendial glanced at the woman whose messed-up purple hair, dark-circled eyes, and small injury marks near her nails revealed her state.

'So, she didn't regain her regeneration,' he thought. But ignoring all this, he analyzed how her wound hadn't healed yet. He needed to understand if his curse was working as it usually did in his past life to utilize it to his advantage.

"F-For forgive me, Master, I carried you out of the bathtub." Rivia flinched after hearing his words, which seemed to show dissatisfaction since she had already created so much trouble. Still, she tried to touch him, but she didn't regret this after knowing how fatal it could have been to leave him inside the bathtub.

'Hm, but she got her physical strength back.' Avendial's face formed a smile as he turned his eyes toward the ceiling, feeling satisfied about the similarity of his curse's effectiveness from his past life, assuring him.

To be exact, his first curse could be considered a poison for Synergy, which is the basis of anyone's strength, making him disabled in the sense of Empyreals.

Simply put, his body could repel the energy, but not the byproducts of it, meaning he can't nullify some attacks made using Synergy, proving that the curse doesn't have any advantage except making him a discarded, unfavored one.

However, in his journey on the initial floors, he had survived by using his own body as a weapon. This means that if he used a knife to cut a small mark on an Empyreal and laced it with his own blood, what would happen?

Of course, it would nullify the Synergy of that Empyreal, making them the same as a normal human.

Though it may appear easy for Avendial to guess this, according to his memories, which are still vivid.

On 24th October 2032, he saw a rampaging Empyreal on the third floor who killed everyone: all the Croceaus Loyal Soldiers, Alfred, and finally half-killed Avendial. With his bloodied hand, Avendial stabbed that Empyreal.

That was the day he came to know about his body's ability to neutralize an Empyreal.

Though he didn't know if it was a boon or a curse, today, lying on the bed and looking at the ceiling on January 14, 2031, he knew it was a curse.

"Do you know what you did, Rivia?" Not turning his head while calming himself due to the memories that shouldn't have resurfaced once again filled his mind, he inquired as he prepared to handle this woman.

"I...I am...sorry," Rivia clenched her fist, her eyes heavy and burning from being opened without blinking all night. Yet, hearing his words once again reminded her of her mistake as she pleaded in a tone less than a whisper.

"Go and prepare to meet the Princess and send for Alfred," Avendial ordered as he listened to her stand up and felt the sound gathering as she turned towards the door, where she had just left without looking back at him.

He knew she felt guilty, but guilt could never guarantee absolution and shouldn't be granted to someone without allowing them to see the consequences and feel gratitude for being forgiven.