Extra: Yandere Milfs Obsessed with me!-Chapter 192: Toxic Love : Just a Machiavellian Deceiver

Evelyn was the exact opposite of Ariana. Less radiant, more discreet, with an air of genuinely happy to receive her friends. I approached her with courtesy. "Happy birthday, Lady Evelyn," I said with a polite smile.

"The decorations are magnificent. Your taste is remarkable."

She blushed slightly, visibly flattered that someone would point out the decorations she had organized instead of simply saying she was beautiful. "Thank you, young Lord Paragon. That’s kind of you."

The conversation began. I asked her questions about her interests: painting, decoration, horses, feigning genuine interest.

I slipped in subtle compliments, laughed at her little anecdotes. In the space of an hour, I had secured an invitation to visit her the following week to see her new foal.

And after that party, I maintained the connection. I became assiduous. We saw each other almost every week. Our so-called chance encounters multiplied. I even called her Evy in private, a nickname she welcomed with a shy smile. We grew closer and closer... Or at least that’s what she believed.

In reality, every moment spent with her, every worthless confidence I didn’t give a damn about and had to listen to with apparent benevolence, had one single purpose: to gather information about Ariana.

"Ariana loves white lilies, you know," Evy told me one day as we walked in the gardens.

"Really? I find them a bit too common for her," I replied, pretending to think about it.

"Oh, not at all! She says their purity is fascinating. And she hates mint chocolate; she finds it vulgar."

...

"How is your friend doing, by the way?" I asked with studied nonchalance. "She always seems so... busy."

And Evy, trusting, talked. She told me what Ariana liked, what she didn’t like, her moods, her plans. She was my perfect, unwitting and willing source of information.

And on her side, she loved me, she spoke well of me to her friend, which was killing two birds with one stone.

Young and stupid, I knew nothing about love but I already understood very well the usefulness of people. And over the months, I could no longer ignore the signs. The way Evy sometimes looked at me, the higher pitch in her voice when she spoke to me, her loyalty when another noble asked her to be his companion. I suspected she saw me as much more than just a friend.

"But what the fuck do I care about how she feels?" I thought, without the slightest remorse.

She had been useful to me, and now I was maintaining a friendly, even flirtatious relationship directly with Ariana. The lessons learned from Evy were bearing fruit. Ariana, intrigued by my persistence and my perfectly calibrated attentions, tolerated me, then granted me her time.

So Evy... she was no longer useful.

On the day of her own party the following year, I had eyes for only one person. Ariana was there, more resplendent than ever, her chestnut hair with orange highlights catching the light of the chandeliers, her unique eyes, those prisms that seemed to reflect and amplify the colors of the room. I had prepared several lavish gifts. And above all, I had prepared my proposal.

I made my way through the crowd, leaving Evy aside as she approached me, her face lit with anticipation. I didn’t even look at her. My entire attention was focused on Ariana, to whom I presented the most beautiful jewel with carefully chosen, public, theatrical words. The marriage proposal, though premature, was made in a whisper meant to be overheard.

The silence that fell over that part of the room was eloquent. Then the murmurs began. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Evelyn’s face crumple. Stupefaction, then painful understanding, then shame.

She suddenly understood everything. Our afternoons, our conversations, our friendship... it had all been nothing but manipulation to reach her friend. I had used her. And on the day of her own party, I had broken her heart in public, at the same time shattering her friendship with Ariana, who now looked at her with a mixture of pity and embarrassment.

I didn’t stay to see the damage. My mission was accomplished. The consequences for Evelyn : the depression that followed, the withdrawal, the downfall that undoubtedly led to the cigarette ten years later... were not my problem.

Do I have any regrets?

"Fuck that!"

Kaiser D. Paragon was already Machiavellian back then. And that has never changed.

And even now, finding her again on this balcony, I approached her not out of nostalgia.

I know she came to see me hoping for something: an explanation, apologies, maybe more... Whatever it was, repressed love or tenacious hatred... It represented leverage. And a point of weakness in one of the main leaders of the Stavenger faction is an opportunity. She could become useful again. A loyal pawn like before.

...

It’s an ignoble and perfidious mentality that hasn’t been influenced at all by Level-Headed, but what can I do?

Even if you can love different people throughout your life. This woman... The detestable ex... The one you were ready to sell your family for... will always remain in your heart whether you want it or not, no matter the years, and I know what I’m talking about...

***

In the present.

"It’s never too late to acknowledge your wrongs and want to repair what you caused," I said, keeping my voice low to sound sincere.

Evelyn looked at me, then slowly shook her head, a weary and disillusioned smile on her lips. "After all these years, Kaiser... And now you come, and now..." She cut herself off, as if exhausted by the mere act of speaking to me. "What exactly was I hoping for by confronting you? Even..."

"Evy..."

"It’s Lady Greycastle to you, Kaiser," she corrected, her voice hardening. "We were never close, were we? You just used me to..." She stopped again, shrugged. "Anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore."

She turned to leave, with a determined step. I reached out and grabbed her forearm with light pressure. She froze but didn’t immediately pull away.

"Even if you don’t forgive me... At least let me talk to you. Just listen to me..."

"And what do you have to say?" she retorted, half-turning toward me, her purple gaze sparkling with anger.

"You’re just going to spout bullshit, like the liar you are!" Yet she didn’t pull her arm free.

’As I thought. I still have some hold over her.’

"You know... after my brother’s death, I’ve thought a lot about my past actions..." I began, deliberately lowering my voice, loading it with emotional weight.

I then spouted a flood of bullshit, talking about how Isaak’s death had supposedly affected me, broken me, forced me to see the emptiness of my former manipulations.

"Tss, how exactly did that affect you? The rumors only talk about you as a playboy; in one day you’re seen with more than four girls. You even have private mana lessons, even though you’re devoid of it. Do you take me for an idiot?" she retorted, irritated.

’Hmmm... I see, she’s investigated me. This will be much easier than expected; she’s still interested in this Paragon.’