Struggling as a Villain

Nora didn\'t want things to repeat, worse, things going in a far worse way than they did last time. And the way things have happened recently, with all the drama which Elizabeth and Eleanor caused, Ethan hasn\'t been able to grow his strength at all.

Forget about helping him to become stronger, the four regressors have somehow prevented him from reaching the stage where he should have by this point.

This is bad news. Not only for Ethan but for humanity as a whole.

\'Eleanor has become a hindrance..., but for some reason, the Goddess is still supporting her...\' Nora was forced to think whether Eleanor had taken the right path of isolating Ethan so he could grow significantly and make him see Richard and the Scarlette family in a bad light.

Was it really necessary to antagonise someone who could become a great asset during the war? And even if Richard had joined the dark side, the method of abducting someone close to him, to corner Richard is not the method on which Nora would ever rely.

This is outright evil. Something that suits Ambrobates.

"Nora," Hearing that voice, the elven princess looked up from the book and found the blond Princess standing there.

Elizabeth had a frown on her face as she approached her.

"Did you receive the signal for gathering?" Elizabeth asked, and unusually she was alone at the moment.

As she sat down, Nora shook her head up and down, "Yes, I did. But it soon disappeared before I could have realised what it was about."

"Possibly a meeting between the apostles, from which we were excluded," Elizabeth spoke with a roll of her eyes.

Nora felt slightly anxious, "Are they planning to snatch the blessing from us just like Emily? Given none of these meetings happen against the will of the almighty one."

Nora was apprehensive to be stolen from her memories and so was Elizabeth. Considering the recent behaviour of the Apostles excluding them and also the deities no longer contacting them, their fear has elevated.

Elizabeth remained silent, before she solemnly suggested, "What do you suggest? Shall we go against Richard to show our purity?"

Nora was flabbergasted, "After fighting Eleanor to protect the Scarlette family, you are willing to go against them now? Won\'t Emily\'s sacrifice go to waste like this?"

Elizabeth snarled, "Listen, Nora, all I care about is my memories and Ethan. I don\'t care what happens to this world. I never understood all this crap about Light and Darkness. And if I have to go against Scarlette Richard to retain my memories, I am willing."

Nora turned silent upon hearing that. Truth be told, she has several doubts regarding this situation now after she gained knowledge about the Dark Star in this life.

If not counting Scarlette\'s family guilty of siding the evil, then was there any other way of not getting discarded without going against Richard?

"Eli....you know...that Ethan sees Richard as his friend, right?" Nora asked; her tone suggesting uncertainty.

Elizabeth heaved a sigh, "I know...that\'s why I am hesitating until now." Clenching her fist she added, "As much as it pains to say this, Ethan respects Richard for the kind of person he is. His strength, confidence and devotion for his family has become a source of Ethan\'s admiration.

And proving to him that Richard is a being who would be standing with the other side during the war, would be a tough task."

Nora was about to respond when suddenly, there was an uproar from the nearby,

"Let\'s go! The headmaster is announcing something!"

"In the auditorium right?! I think it\'s about the matter related to yesterday!"

"Let\'s go!"

Hearing those words, Elizabeth frowned and instantly got up.

Nora hurriedly asked, "Where are you going?"

As Elizabeth began to walk, she answered the girl, "Ethan earlier said that he was going to the auditorium. I have to be with him."

Nora, naturally, followed the Princess to the place where everyone was moving. Earlier, there was an announcement of a gathering in the hall. However, Nora was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn\'t pay attention.

Inside the dome, there were numerous students gathered, some to skip the classes, and some were eager to hear about what happened yesterday.

Nora didn\'t come out of her room to check on the situation. However, in the morning, she heard from the other students that Kevin Butcher had tried to force himself on Amelia.

That\'s why, when Nora heard that Kevin died, she didn\'t feel surprised. At all.

"There he is..." Elizabeth muttered under her breath, and Nora also looked at the place she was looking at; only to find Ethan sitting there all alone.

The duo approached the silverhead before Elizabeth asked, "Did you come here for the announcement?"

Ethan smiled, "Yes, I wanted to hear what the Headmaster has to say regarding the matter. Come, sit with me." Ethan, as gentlemanly as ever, offered his seat to Elizabeth and brought two more for Nora and himself.

Nora, for now, was on friendly terms with Ethan, and the elven princess was quite happy with the development. She wasn\'t as proactive as Elizabeth in jumping on him, so this slow progress was more than enough for the girl.

"Did you have lunch?" Elizabeth asked, to which Ethan nodded.

"And your medicine? Did you take it?" Ethan, with his teeth peeking out, grinned.

Elizabeth sighed before she softly reprimanded, "Once we return the first thing you do is to take your meds, okay?"

"Aye, aye."

Seeing them so close made Nora\'s heart warm, and a very slight pain of envy born within her. But well, Elizabeth has earned that spot beside him.

"Students," Every eye turned towards the stage where the older one stood. The noise of the chattering died down as the Headmaster began, "As you all must have received the news of the crime that transpired yesterday."

No one responded, but everyone agreed. They, indeed, have heard about what happened yesterday outside the girl\'s dorm.

Marcus added, "The act of entering someone else\'s personal space, more so, a female\'s dormitory cannot be regarded as a mischief or a prank. That\'s a crime, through and through."

The heaviness in his voice seemed to have made the quiet room, even silent. Marcus, by no means, seemed pleased. He was extremely upset.

After a brief pause, he said, "Kevin Butcher was executed by the same person whom he offended. She would have only been held accused if the father of the culprit, that is, Viscount Butcher, had filed a complaint against her. However, the wise Viscount accepted the punishment which his son suffered from and doesn\'t hold Amelia responsible."

Some people gasped and some were too astounded to give a reaction. Which father, in their right mind, refuses the opportunity to bring justice to his own child?

Many people thought that it was the influence of Duke Hawkbridge, that prevented any further proceeding in the matter.

But the only one, Hopper—the sidekick of Kevin—knows the real reason why Viscount Butcher didn\'t show any interest in accusing Amelia. That man just doesn\'t care about Kevin. At all. If anything, Hopper believes that the Viscount might be satisfied with the results.

"Silence," Max commanded in a stern tone, and instantly, everyone quieted down.

Once they gained everyone\'s attention again, Marcus restarted, "As about student Richard, then he attacked Professor Max since Kevin was under his protection. And since Student Richard holds a deep relationship with student Amelia, he wasn\'t able to hold himself back from harming Max."

Without taking any break this time, fearing that students might start to gossip again, Marcus said, "However, after thinking about it with a calm head, Richard realized his mistake and wanted to rectify things by apologizing to Professor Max. After all, Student Richard understands the importance of law and order, as such, he feels-"

"We won\'t let it happen!" Suddenly, a group of fifteen students rose to their feet and interjected the Principal.

Every eye turned towards them as they heard one of them showing protest, "Lord Richard did nothing wrong! You can\'t make him apologize!"

"Yes!"

"Lord Richard didn\'t do anything wrong! This is injustice!"

They were apparently, the fan club of Scarlette Richard, showing protests against letting their Lord lower his head in front of anyone.

Very timidly, Ethan also raised his hand in protest, making Elizabeth slam her hand against her forehead.

Nora now realized what Elizabeth was saying when she talked about Ethan being respectful toward Richard.

Richard helplessly sighed, as he felt Amelia pressing her foot on his, to show her displeasure.

Glancing at her, he found the raven-haired smiling sadistically, as she said, "Lord Richard~why is it that every fan of yours is a girl?"

Richard, truthfully, was curious as well.

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A/N:- Thanks for reading.