I'm in Love with the Villainess!-Chapter 133: My Father, the Marquis?

*** Arden Estate - Guest Room

We moved the conversation from somewhere else, talking in my bedroom, where my father had assumed we did something, which was not exactly the best place to talk.

Especially for something important that concerned Evelina and her father’s plans.

"So, when did you two meet?"

He asked, sitting on the opposite couch from us. He was very casual, unnervingly so. Was this really my father?

[Photographic Memory]

It’s definitely him when it comes to appearance, but personality-wise? There was something different about him.

He acted normal, but the fact that he wasn’t panicking when Evelina herself was talking to him was strange.

The Vance Arden who was barely described in the novel would never be this calm.

"My lord, can we please talk about Highwood first?"

Evelina said, her earlier calmness and relaxed state now completely gone as she heard my father’s brief explanation of what had happened in Highwood.

She had completely gone from playful to political in the blink of an eye.

I had never seen her this serious before.

And knowing what plans her family had there? I don’t fully blame her. Especially hearing about his mention of a marquisate.

Hearing that the dwarves were gone was good, but that? That was completely different...

"I suppose having House D’Arclight know about what happened would be beneficial." Vance sighed; he would much prefer to talk about why Evelina was here in the first place.

But he also didn’t want to irritate Evelina any further.

Even if something had happened to give him this confidence, no noble family would ever want a conflict with the D’Arclights.

"Besides, you also deserve to hear it, Cael."

He added, before crossing his legs and grabbing something from underneath his coat. A parchment stamped by both the prime minister, king, and the emperor himself.

"W-What?"

Evelina was taken aback; that was not something that anyone should have, especially for what she once thought was just a simple baron.

"Where did you get this?"

I asked, Evelina wasn’t the only one who needed answers.

[Counteracting divine punishment from {Nyx}]

I still needed to know what the cause of this was... and why it triggered when he appeared.

"I invaded Highwood," he said bluntly. "As they say, the best defense is a good offense. After that, Highwood was officially declared Arden territory, and since it bordered another nation, I was also elevated to Marquis."

Vance leaned forward slightly, resting his hands on his lap.

"That’s everything."

The news didn’t match the way he said it.

He was elevated to Marquis? Crushed the dwarven rebels? That’s not news that you could deliver stone-faced like that. And even crazier, not something my father could have achieved if the novel had still any say in how the world worked.

"H-How..."

Evelina asked, but before she could finish.

Vance had already planned to answer with a physical demonstration.

"Let’s say... I had a very powerful backer."

He grinned, and behind him, the shadows began to warp, the entire room going dark as two slits appeared behind him that resembled eyes.

[Nyx glares at you]

[Nyx expresses surprise at seeing you again]

[Nyx did not expect your connection with her new patron]

So that’s what happened...

So after Nyx abandoned me... did she choose Father instead? But why? She didn’t choose her in the novel, and even if she abandoned me, it makes no sense for her to choose him.

Unless...

The system had something to do with it.

But that’s all theories, I couldn’t exactly act rashly, but for now... Nyx doesn’t seem aggressive, and I can counteract her punishment. There was no need for me to rush to conclusions yet.

FWOOSH!

"Satisfied?"

Father asked, undoing his control over the room.

"Y-Yes..."

Evelina answered with a slight tremble in her voice, that kind of magic... it was like seeing a mirror of Corvus, but more... godly in nature.

She didn’t seem to sense it was Nyx herself, considering her reaction. For all she knew, it was a very powerful dark spirit or elemental that had bonded with him.

Like a demonic contract, just far more stable and weaker.

"I apologize if I have offended you."

Evelina suddenly stood up and bowed before returning to her seat beside me. A D’Arclight had pride, yes, but they also knew when to show respect to any useful asset.

Just like how she treated me when we first met.

"None taken, besides, I’d rather not have my son hate me for holding a grudge on his new girlfriend."

"Father, that’s enough..." I shot back.

But in a way, this was actually a good thing. If my father had really conquered Highwood and raised our family to a marquisate, then Evelina’s original plan in the novel would proceed without a hitch.

Her entire scheme depended on Highwood being stable—and now it was. She even had the added advantage of being the lover of the new Marquis’s son, who ruled it.

"But why was there no news about this?"

I asked, and there were still some holes in his explanation.

"They didn’t want to divert the attention from Eryndor’s examination to me, especially since the Lionbrights are attending, apparently. I assume you’ve seen them?"

"More than I’d like to be honest," I replied.

*** A Few Minutes Later - Estate Gates

After everything... surprisingly not much dramatic stuff happened.

Apparently, father just wanted to visit and tell me the news himself, not only that, but also wanted to confirm the rumours about an eccentric Arden hanging out with a D’Arclight.

Even the academy rumours had reached him.

How terrifying...

Not sure why he decided that nine in the evening was the best time to visit, though, but considering that he now had the literal goddess of darkness and night with him...

Nothing is strange anymore...

"Please take good care of my son. I know he can be a hassle."

Vance chuckled, already preparing to leave. He was still responsible for stabilizing new territory; he couldn’t stay for long.

Also... take good care of me? Did he not hear about my entrance results at all? If anything, I can take care of myself.

Not sure why I was this bothered, though.

Guess I even inherited some of the original Cael’s relationship dynamic with him. I was no less his son, even if I am a completely different person now.

"I will," Evelina answered to my surprise, but then added, "Please don’t tell anyone about what you saw today."

Guess if she can’t gaslight or trick my father into thinking what he saw in my bedroom was casual, the best she could do was make sure he wouldn’t talk about it.

"I won’t."

Father waved off, snapping his fingers and disappearing almost instantaneously.

[Dark Step]

FWOOSH!

Even his casting time was stupidly fast...

Looks like I now have a new goal to plan for, make sure Nyx doesn’t jeopardize everything I’ve done so far just because I abandoned her for a demonic prince.