Struggling as a Villain

What were the consequences of ignoring the Princess who has crossed thousands of miles to reach here and represents the trust that the elven society has shown in humans?

None.

However, since Richard had a feeling that her sudden arrival was related to the matter about yesterday, he went to meet her.

He just wore a long coat over his apparel. After descending the stairs he appeared in the reception area where the pale blue-haired girl remained seated.

She was looking at the glass lotus kept on the table while possessing a dazed look in her eyes. She was...troubled about something it seems.

From his previous life, the things which he knew about Nora were that she likes honesty and simple phrasing. Although being the daughter of the Emperor, she doesn't like politics and has a pure heart; unlike Elizabeth.

In the fan polls, she was ranked third.

"Classmate Nora, you had something urgent to tell me?" As he approached, Nora got up from her seat, but the way he addressed her reminded the girl that they weren't in a formal meeting.

She settled back down once Richard gestured before he sat across her and asked the maid to refill her cup with tea and bring him some coffee.

"You knew I like tea?"

Richard wanted to sigh, hearing her words as he inwardly mumbled, 'Not again, this wandering soul stuff...'

Shaking his head he clarified, "Since the previous cup of tea was finished, I assumed you liked it? And of course, the Northern Empire is famous for its rich cultivation of tea leaves, right?"

Nora flashed a soft smile as she said, "Indeed; I have three bags full of tea leaves which I brought from my hometown."

Richard nodded with a courteous smile before he returned to the topic, "So classmate Nora, if you have something to tell me, please hurry up a little, since I am kind of-"

"It is here," She suddenly spoke, shutting up Richard before the latter raised his brows in question.

Nora leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees before adding, "...something has the same presence as my sister, Yulan...but I am sure it isn't her."

Richard frowned, "Isn't she that person who died back in Eldoria's capital? The one who helped the experiment to take place?"

Nora nodded, albeit a little hesitantly; unsure if she should be confessing this here.

However, Richard wasn't thinking this in that direction where he would just get up and report the whole ordeal to authorities. Rather he was curious about something more pressing,

"You mean her presence...as in her ether signature is here?"

Nora heaved a sigh before asking him, "Can you keep this a secret?"

Richard slowly nodded before the girl got up and sat on the seat adjacent to Richard. Once they were a few inches apart she finally mumbled,

"I think there is something on this island which is pretending to be a human but they are not."

Richard frowned, "You mean...a clone?"

"It can be anything, but one thing I know: that thing has Yulan's ether, and using that, they might have attacked you last night."

Richard's eyes widened slightly as he understood what the case was.

However, he knew that, that day, his mother erased every clone by herself....or did she?

'One of them might have run away...' There was certainly a high possibility for one of those clones to survive the wrath of the Duchess.

And considering those clones have the ether of both Ethan and Yulan—an elf who had a part of Nora's soul—then attacking Richard wouldn't be much of a task for that being.

'But why me....ah!' How can he forget?

These clones were originally an invention of the Prime Minister's mind, the person behind the whole ordeal. And surely that man had set up some runes in those clones which would make anyone their enemy who tries to harm Phil.

And the one who killed the Prime Minister was none other than...

"Shoot..."

"--?? Do you know anything?" Nora's voice pulled him back as he turned towards her and shook his head.

"No...it's just....well, forget it. Tell me, why did you tell me this?"

Nora shrugged, "I got the word from Elizabeth that you went to the Headmaster to complain about me and stuff. And also the fact that the one who attacked you was an elf."

This wasn't surprising given Ethan must have told things to Elizabeth and then and then....

Richard took a deep breath before thanking her, "Thank you, Nora. Thanks for telling me all this. It definitely would help me find the real culprit soon."

Nora extended a soft smile, before she unexpectedly stated, "You have really changed."

Although he knew what she meant, he had to make an 'Eh?' sound to look baffled.

"No, it's nothing. Anyway, I will be going since the dormitory warden gets angry." Saying so, she got up from the seat and the duo walked towards the main entrance.

While they were en route, Richard suddenly had a thought that he couldn't stop himself from sharing,

"Hey Nora...I know it might sound selfish, but ca-"

"Okay."

Richard raised his brows, "Huh?"

She suddenly turned to look at him before finishing what he was about to say, "Help you find that clone, right? Sure, I will. After all, this whole mess was created by my sister, so some blame falls on me, right?"

"Not exactly...but well, I am really thankful."

Nora smiled in relief that she didn't have to deal with the same arrogant prick whom she didn't even bat an eye in the last life. After all, who would pay attention to a guy who calls an elf, a goblin?

However, just as Emily said, Richard has changed quite drastically after she broke her engagement with him. It seems Richard has always been irritable because of Emily's ignorance towards his feelings, but since she made it clear in this timeline, he turned out to be a very good man.

"Then, are we the only ones finding and destroying that inhumane?" Nora asked, unsure if she should invite Emily and Eleanor to this.

Richard heaved a sigh, "Well, I would have said that the two of us should be good, but-"

"I am also coming." A third person entered the conversation as she walked to stand beside Richard.

The brunette maid didn't look familiar, urging Nora to ask, "She is...?"

"My fiancée, Lilia. Lilia, this is Princess Nora." Richard introduced the two ladies to each other.

"Just Nora would do and you got a very pretty pair of eyes."

The edges of Lilia's lips extended in a soft smile as she thanked for the compliment, "Thank you, Your Highness," before returning to the matter,

"Richard, are you sure it would be good to do this without informing the Headmaster?"

Richard snickered, "Nothing goes unnoticed by him on this island. If he wanted to interfere he already would have. So no, let's not take his help and sort this out ourselves."

Nora didn't say anything against that since she just wanted the presence of Yulan to be extracted from that inhumane. And as for Lilia, she wanted nothing more than to exterminate whatever harmed her master.

"Okay then, when do we start?" Nora asked.

Richard thought for a moment before telling her, "Tomorrow after school; at that time only the patrolling unit doesn't roam around. So before the sky darkens we have to get done with it."

Nora nodded, "Then I will be waiting for you near the library."

Richard nodded to that before the elven princess walked away.

After a brief pause, Lilia asked, "Young master, as per your command, I haven't informed Madame Duchess about the incident last night....but is it really okay?"

Richard shook his head up and down without hesitation given he didn't want to involve his mother in these kinds of trivial things. She has her responsibilities and not like Richard could depend on her for the rest of his life.

...not to talk about, if she gets to know about it then in the worst case, Richard might get forced to drop out of the academy.

He didn't want that. That would be disastrous. That's why he has strictly commanded every servant working in the mansion not to contact the Duchess unless Richard tells them or there is an emergency. And thanks to Lilia's supervision he knew his command would be followed.

Although the plot has suddenly shifted and it was centring around Richard, not like for the sake of the future he would try to get Ethan involved in this or try to run away from it. That never was in the plan.

He would do whatever it takes to survive in this world, since the curse of living at others' mercy was not something he ever want to face again.

Ever.

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A/N:- Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading.