A Regressed Villain: Heroines, Villainesses and Me?
Chapter 98: Chapter 100 - Avendial getting blackmailed (1)

"You want to know?" Avendial observed Aria as she immersed herself in the conversation, her curiosity piqued by the carefully constructed lies he was weaving.

However, he didn't particularly care about her fascination.

He decided that he only needed to add one more piece to the puzzle before calling it a day.

His strategy was not to reveal everything to her today, ensuring she wouldn't feel as if she knew all there was to know—which might lead to her losing interest or, worse, forgetting what Lin had done to her.

Instead, Avendial planned to drop breadcrumbs for her to follow, allowing her the autonomy to piece the information together herself.

By withholding certain details, he believed it was best to keep her in the dark, giving her mind the space to process these revelations.

This approach would help her willingly embrace the information rather than questioning his motives or doubting him.

The human mind is undeniably complex, but this same quality often leads to errors, especially when overloaded with information.

"Hm…" Aria nodded, her gaze fixed on him in anticipation, clearly focused and ready to absorb whatever he had to share.

"In the future, you will die at Lin's hand," he stated.

'!'

He noticed her eyes widen in shock, yet surprisingly, she seemed to be processing this unsettling information, maintaining her composure.

Her fists clenched, betraying the inner turmoil brewing within her mind.

Avendial recognized it was time to retreat, giving her space to digest what he had just shared, avoiding the risk of overwhelming her further.

"It's class time; you should head there now," he said, brushing past her before she had a chance to react.

'Huh?' As he walked away, she stood there, entranced by the weight of his words regarding Lin's impending betrayal.

"Wait! Professor—" Aria turned sharply, her hand reaching out in an instinctive attempt to stop him as he paused, already five steps ahead.

He turned back, offering her a cold, piercing look.

"Listen, I know you too well, Aria. You'll eventually accept the fact that you're destined to die at his hands and start trying to mend your relationship with him," Avendial remarked.

He had observed her behavior and saw how, despite her unique ability to perceive Lin as the protagonist and herself as the villainess, she still harbored affection for him.

This stubbornness concerning Lin made Avendial even more certain that he needed to create distance between them.

Aria had recently endured an emotional breakdown, and though she seemed to be healing gradually, he recognized her mind adapting to the pain, growing calmer over time.

This demonstrated her mental resilience.

It was evident that breaking down the emotional barriers of someone as strong as she was required a thoughtful approach.

Previously, he would have needed a different set of circumstances to achieve this, but now, with a fleeting opportunity to breach those defenses, he had planted a seed—one that could grow and eventually shatter her walls from within.

What he needed most was to exercise patience, allowing the situation to unfold while subtly orchestrating events in the background.

His aim was to ensure that she began to doubt herself, becoming his eyes—eyes that would only see what he wanted them to see.

"N-no, I would never!" Aria protested, grappling with the turmoil inside her.

After everything that had happened, especially Lin's outburst in front of everyone, she couldn't even fathom looking at him again.

Yet, a nagging doubt lingered—why would Lin want to kill her?

"Sigh," Avendial let out a heavy sigh, his eyes keenly observing her body language.

At first glance, it was clear to him that Aria was preoccupied with the immediate situation rather than contemplating the future he had warned her about.

Today's incident, where Lin had attempted to slap her, overshadowed any rational thought of what lay ahead—namely, her death at the hands of Lin, the protagonist of this twisted tale according to Avendial.

Inside the tower, Avendial had always found it challenging to deal with intelligent individuals compared to those who were less astute.

Aria was the quintessential example; despite having the facts laid out before her—his identity as a regressor, Lin's attempt to harm her, and the likelihood that he would eventually kill the villainess—she remained stubborn.

Instead of accepting the danger, she displayed an almost stubborn immunity to the reasonable conclusions drawn from his stories.

Avendial knew he needed to leave her with the most impactful words in this moment.

He cast her a disappointed look, then turned to walk away.

As he moved, he allowed her to hear his last remark, spoken softly yet with undeniable weight, "You are immature, Aria. No..." He paused, adding as he continued to distance himself, "You are not my Aria..."

"....I.." Aria stood frozen, watching Professor Aven's retreating figure as he left her in the garden, surrounded by vibrant greenery and blooming flowers.

Her mind spiraled, caught in a struggle to comprehend whether she was still searching for excuses to defend Lin.

She was acutely aware that whenever it came to him, she weakened—unable to take a stance of her own.

The words Aven had left her with lingered, striking a chord deep within her.

Initially, even after hearing that her future self had prohibited him from sharing anything with her past self, she still saw the warmth behind his eyes—emotions that were both directed at her and simultaneously distant.

"What should I do?" Her gaze fell to her dress, its hem brushing against her nails as she stood there, lost in thought.

She understood that this man had come to the academy for her—just to warn her, breaking the promise he made to her future self, just so he could protect her from what was now inevitable.

Yet, here, like an idiot, instead of appreciating his efforts, she just wanted to uncover how she met her death at Lin's hands.

Knowing how her future self had revealed everything about her ability to Aven, it was evident that she had placed immense trust in him.

Countless doubts and questions swirled in Aria's mind.

But from the observations made today and the information gathered from Aven, she was aware that he and her future self shared a connection—love, to be precise.

The pain of knowing that he disregarded the commitment to her future self and still came here to warn her weighed heavily on her.

All this only made her understand how different she was from her future self. Read latest chapters at m_v-l'e|-NovelFire.net

As she watched the last traces of disappointment, anger, and a hint of sympathy on Aven's face fade into the distance when he left, she felt a profound realization settle within her.

She—her present self—had failed him.

Standing inside the garden where the gentle breeze filtered through the air, ruffling the leaves and brushing her hair with a light touch, she looked downward in disappointment at herself. Only one thought occupied her mind, and her lips formed a mumble: "I... am... sorry, Aven."

---

'This would make it much easier,' Avendial, exiting the garden, stepped onto the platform leading to the corridor, moving as he placed his hands in his pockets, effortlessly moving while thinking about how he had gotten a very good opportunity to deal with Aria's issue.

He moved, prepared to enter the classroom to deal with Amrita, knowing that the corridor was most likely empty due to students entering the classroom.

'!?!'

He moved ahead, and when he passed the third pillar where he could easily see the garden, a familiar face and smell made him stop in his tracks. He turned slowly, just a bit away, and locked eyes with a woman who was staring towards Aria, prompting him to call her out. "...Aecilia?"

"Oh, it's you, Marquess....," Aecilia, who had been observing everything since earlier with her folded hands, tilted her head, looking back with a narrowed gaze, meeting Avendial as she added with a small smile, "You seem to be enjoying yourself, aren't you?"