The Villainess Will Not Bring Dishonor To Her Family

165 - Peace Talks - Part 3

Landon's Point Of View

It's hard to breathe.

Chills run down my spine, making the warm great hall seem cold and haunted, despite the happy cheers around me. I force a smile through the discomfort, but no matter how I try to ignore it, the murderous gaze locks onto me again... and again.

The feeling of unbridled malice lingers and causes the hairs on the back of my neck to rise again.

When people want to kill you, there are many ways they can look at you. As I killed my father for the throne, and started cleaning out the corruption, I have experienced quite a few of them. Everything from the fearful one that doesn't want to do it, to the emotionless one which quietly plans your death merely because it's business.

This... this is one I've only tried twice before.

It's the look my father had just before I killed him... and the look my ex-girlfriend had when she saw me with Yuriko, and as she sunk the kitchen knife into my guts over and over until I could only watch as she turned towards Yuriko and killed her in the same way.

The overwhelming malice of a personal grudge strong enough to want you and whatever you love dead.

What causes my stomach to turn, is but a single phrase:

I don't know what I did to deserve this.

If I don't know why I am hated, then how can I even attempt to calm her down? Not only that, but because of this hatred from her I realize that what we know of Lady Lily is way too little.

We know that she was an actual military officer. Otherwise she would not have been able to pull off what she did at the siege of Castle Celeste so shortly after she reincarnated, and that she might be from a strict family since there are no rumors of her lack of manners other than some violence at a tea party... I'm not even sure that whoever is inside Lily Celeste is really a woman... what is worse is what we know rumored about her as Augustus.

'A demon that cuts people in half without blinking' from the battle at Ice Claw Keep

'A blood drenched slaughterer without mercy' ... from the siege at Castle Celeste where none of the Zocrian soldiers were spared.

A person like that wants me dead, and the only person holding that person at bay is Lionel Tepet, the character in the game that enjoyed watching people suffer. Lionel holds her back with a caress of her hand and a worried gaze, and my instincts tell me that if that hand was not in his grasp, then it would be on my throat.

At first I thought that Satoshi had noticed the situation as he glared in their direction... but his gaze was filled with nothing but jealousy and anger towards Lionel. Ignorant of the situation. Was he always like this, or is he blinded by the fascination of his own character?

I guess it's possible that he thinks her glare is merely caused by the way we forced Ristaze to surrender... if that was all, then her anger would fade with time... probably...

But the fury in her eyes is directed at me. Not anyone else.

Clink- clink-

I end up jolting as Satoshi brings everyone's attention to him.

"With the peace negotiations finished we will now begin the party."