I'm in Love with the Villainess!-Chapter 198: A Sensible Corrupt Politician...?

The third floor felt... different.

Not in any flashy way—no gold walls or gaudy displays of wealth. Just quieter. Cleaner. Too clean, actually. The kind of clean that didn’t happen on its own in a place like this; someone was maintaining it regularly and deliberately.

Even the guards here were different. No slouching, no bored expressions. They stood straight, eyes forward, actually paying attention.

"...They’re trained," I muttered.

"Obviously," Evelina replied without looking back. "You don’t run something like this with idiots."

Fair enough.

We stopped in front of a pair of double doors. They didn’t look particularly special at first glance, but the material felt sturdier than it appeared—reinforced, probably, with a faint metallic grain that caught the light.

A guard stepped forward.

"Names."

"Evelina D’Arclight."

There was a pause. Not long, but just long enough to notice. He knew that last name was familiar, but just like the rest of them here, it seemed he didn’t know the full weight it carried.

"And you?"

"Cael Arden."

There was a shorter pause this time. It looked like he recognized my name as well... just not as much as Evelina’s.

The guard nodded, turned, and knocked twice.

"You may enter. Please leave all weapons beyond this point."

"We’re empty-handed, don’t worry," I replied, as Evelina walked in first and I followed behind her.

The office wasn’t what I expected.

No ridiculous decorations, no piles of gold or expensive junk meant to scream status. Just a clean, methodical space: shelves lined with neatly labeled documents, a broad desk with everything placed where it belonged, and wide windows opening out over the city, its scattered lights bleeding through the glass.

Behind the desk sat a man who looked exactly like the sort of person who would run a place like this.

Mid-forties. Neatly dressed. Glasses. A composed face you’d probably trust at first glance, if you didn’t know better.

Lord Hosuh, I’m guessing.

He didn’t stand. Didn’t greet us. Didn’t even bother pretending to be polite.

"...So," he said, giving us a brief, measuring look, "more nobles."

Evelina smiled and walked forward like she owned the room.

"Oh? Were you expecting us?"

"No," he said. "But I wasn’t expecting you not to show up either."

...Annoyingly reasonable.

"Sit," he added, gesturing lazily at the chairs in front of him.

Evelina sat without hesitation.

I didn’t. I stayed behind her, a half-step to the side, arms crossed. It was fun acting like a bodyguard again; it was nostalgic in a weird way.

His eyes flicked to me for a second, then back to Evelina.

"Let’s not waste time," Evelina said, crossing her legs. "You know why we’re here."

"I can guess."

"Then guess."

He leaned back slightly, studying her.

"You’re either here to take control, negotiate, or complain."

"...And?"

"And I don’t really care which one it is yet."

Blunt.

I like him already. It makes things easier for both of us. After Evelina’s complaints about idiots in the Cold Iron District, I wasn’t sure she’d be able to stop herself from destroying the entire building if she realized she was talking to another idiot.

Evelina tilted her head.

"Then let’s skip to the part where you do care."

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Alright."

Evelina placed a document on the desk.

"Our assignment."

He didn’t even glance down. Seems like we weren’t the first the empire had sent to stabilize the frontier.

"You don’t need to check?" Evelina asked,

"No."

"...That saves me the trouble then."

"If the academy sent you here," he said, "then you’re either capable or expendable."

"Which one do you think we are?"

He looked at her again, this time a bit more carefully. For a moment, his gaze dipped—barely, but enough.

"...Capable," he said. "At least, if my memory serves correctly? I don’t have much knowledge of nobles that aren’t local to this area."

Evelina smiled, doing her best not to sigh in disappointment. She still needed to remain as friendly and seductive as possible, after all, and she couldn’t do that if she went around punishing everyone she met for not knowing who she was.

"At least you’re honest."

"So," he continued, "what do you want?"

"Resources."

Straight to the point.

"For?"

"Rebuilding the outer district."

That got a reaction. Not a big one, but there was a small shift in his expression, in the way his fingers tapped once against the desk.

"...Rebuilding?" he repeated. "You know I can’t allow that."

He let out a quiet breath through his nose. Not quite a laugh, but close.

"Look, if you’re here to rule over us, then you’d better do it within our rules. You work for the betterment of the inner district, or you leave, is that clear?"

"That’s assuming we’re here to be enemies."

Evelina leaned back slightly.

"You’ve already built something that works," she said. "I’m not here to tear it down."

That, finally, seemed to interest him. His posture shifted, his attention tightening.

"That’s new. What did you have in mind?"

It was clear from his sudden interest that most people who approached him before had looked down on the way things worked here. He’d never expected someone to actually be comfortable with... all this corruption.

Especially not from two people who looked like young adults—the age when most still believed in morality and justice, if only out of naivety.

"The outer district is dead weight right now," she continued. "Refugees, no jobs, no structure."

"Your point?"

"I fix that with your help."

"And in return?"

Evelina shrugged.

"The inner district gets a cut of that success."

There it is. Simple, clean. Very Evelina.

He stood and walked over to the window, looking out at the city as if weighing numbers only he could see, or pretending to, at least.

"You know what? fine. You two seem morally bankrupt enough to trust..."

Hosuh laughed, leaning back in his chair as he looked at us. Evelina hadn’t even needed to use a single bit of succubic magic to get him to agree.

"Tell the receptionist I’ve granted you permission to talk to the head of finances. But I’ll warn you... he’s far more crude than I am."

He said it while very obviously looking at Evelina, he obviously knew the head of finances would definitely react to her appearance for a lack of a better term.

"Please watch where you’re looking," I said—not because of jealousy. I’m obviously very secure as her lover. It was more to make sure we didn’t seem too easy; showing a little bit of authority should help with that.

"No need to worry. She’s a bit too young for my liking. Now off you go."