I'm in Love with the Villainess!-Chapter 191: A Shabby City

The way back to human territory was uneventful—almost stupidly uneventful for a rescue mission. And the reason wasn’t a mystery. Every single camp we passed was already destroyed.

Some were completely encased in ice, others were just filled with corpses with slit throats, and most were riddled with so many bullets they looked like twisted pieces of modern art.

They didn’t even bother asking me any questions or what had happened to Evelina. To them, what mattered most was getting us to safety, not satisfying their curiosity.

"We’ve arrived."

The huge reinforced door of the vehicle opened, and beyond it, the bright rays of the sun temporarily blinded me...

There was a mansion...

Well, a mansion at heart.

It looked more like a fancy, abandoned homeless shelter. The Imperial Guard hadn’t been lying when they said this was frontier territory.

Even our new home was in ruins.

CLUNK!

The door closed behind me as I stepped out, and of course, none of our new citizens were there to greet me.

It could’ve been because we were unpopular... or because we’d arrived at a drastically different time than expected.

But... I was sure it was a mix of both.

***

The mansion wasn’t any better on the inside—shabby décor, outdated newspapers, and, worst of all, gaudy old paintings of the previous owners.

For a program personally assigned by the emperor, this was the last thing I expected.

Were they planning to train us by stripping away our assets? I guess it could work—it makes sure we won’t turn into tyrants by forcing us to earn our power.

But they could’ve at least given us a warning.

I stepped into what seemed to be the master bedroom: a huge space with a queen-sized bed, where I gently laid Evelina down.

She was still asleep, to my surprise.

Then again, she wasn’t a weak succubus. I guess she needed more than just ambient mana to wake up.

"You guessed right..."

The succubus from her choker emerged, sitting on the nightstand beside the bed as she yawned.

"How are you awake, but not her?"

"Not important. The explanation’s really boring." The succubus looked around, taking in the new room, and immediately frowned as she took in the details.

"Seriously... is this it?" She pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them. "Boring~."

"Keep an eye on her."

"Oh~? And where are you going?"

"I’m making sure she doesn’t wake up and immediately start working."

"How devoted."

"I expect you to be just as devoted as I am."

"Roger that." The succubus gave me a teasing salute.

Now then... what’s first on the agenda?

I looked around the mansion, checking if Azrael had left anything behind. When I reached the foyer, I noticed a stack of papers I’d somehow missed while escorting Evelina to the bedroom.

They were beginner tasks—or as the title on the first page put it: "How to Rule Territory 101."

Pretty casual name for the first task in such an important program. But when I think about it...

If Azrael was the one who made it, then it kind of makes sense. He gives off the vibe of an old man trying to act like the cool headmaster who fits in with his students.

But also... not really.

Am I overthinking this?

I shook my head. "What the hell am I thinking?"

Pushing the thought aside, I focused on the first item on the list.

Survive, stabilize, dominate.

I say "first item on the list," but it was more like it was literally the only item on the paper. The other stacks were the same as well. Every single one had the same large, bold text written on it.

Was this some sort of joke? A logistics error?

"They have to be kidding me, right?"

"I mean, you’re already the son of a Marquis, and my master and the two blondes aren’t nobodies either. Maybe they expect you four to fend for yourselves?"

The succubus emerged again, this time teleporting above a bookshelf, her tail curling around the most interesting book she could find.

"Think I don’t know that?"

"A girl’s just trying to help~."

Sigh...

I looked through the papers again. But what did I expect? Of course, I saw nothing new.

Just simple, straightforward, and completely useless instructions for someone dropped into the middle of nowhere with a half-dead city and zero information.

I let out a quiet sigh and rubbed the back of my neck.

"Guess I’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way."

I wasn’t exactly a ruler in my past life, nor did the Arden of this one ever bother touching a book about ruling in the first place. So... I’ll just have to do things my way.

Information first.

I stepped outside again, the wooden doors creaking as I pushed them open. The sunlight was softer now, dipping slightly as the day dragged on. The air carried a faint dryness, less vibrant than Eryndor, less alive than the elven forests.

Frontier indeed.

The "city," if it could even be called that, stretched out beyond the mansion gates. A scattering of worn-down houses, some abandoned, others barely held together. Smoke rose from a few chimneys, thin and hesitant.

People were here.

They were just... hiding.

"Oi."

My voice wasn’t loud, but it carried.

A curtain twitched in the nearest house.

Good. That meant this place wasn’t a complete ghost town.

I stepped forward, boots crunching lightly against gravel.

"Come out."

Silence.

Then—

The door creaked open just a fraction.

A man peeked out. Late thirties, maybe. Sunken cheeks, tired eyes. The kind of look people got when survival became routine instead of a struggle.

"...You one of the new lords?"

I tilted my head slightly.

"That obvious?"

Bang!

The man shut the door in my face.

"Yeah, I figured that would happen."

Looking at myself, I couldn’t really blame him. I was a guy in my early twenties, filthy from head to toe after trudging through the forest, suddenly showing up in this sorry excuse for a city.

Of course, he ignored me. To him, I probably looked like some disgraced noble who’d ticked off the wrong superior and been exiled here as punishment.

"I should look around. There’s no way the academy dumped us here with nothing."

At the very least, there had to be a city hall or some kind of government office. I should have servants or officials at least, someone assigned to help me rule this mess.