The Lustful Villain: Every Milfs and Gilfs are Mine!-Chapter 80. Mere Luck (I Knows It Wasn’t)

Rex watched the conversation from across the square and noticed how Mara’s body language changed when Helena made the offer. That was a real and honest sense of relief, which meant that Mara had been more worried about the change than she had let on.

Good. People who were grateful were easier to manage, and having Mara in the capital, where he could maintain access to her, was considerably better than having her disappear into some random border town.

"Rex!"

He turned around and saw Diana coming toward him with a bow in her hands and a look of challenge on her face. Iris and Lily were behind her, both grinning in a way that made it seem like they knew what was going to happen.

Diana said, "You still owe me a rematch."

Rex raised an eyebrow. "Right now...? We’re going to leave in a few hours."

"That’s why it has to be now! I’ve been preparing so that I won’t lose to some mere luck again," she said, holding up the bow. "And this time, I’m not going to go easy on you."

"Mere luck," Rex said again, his voice full of laughter. "Is that what we’re going to call it?"

"That’s what I’m calling it until you prove me wrong." Diana’s face showed how competitive she was. "We’ll go with ten arrows each."

"And the most accurate shot wins! The loser has to..." She stopped, clearly trying to think of something that would be embarrassing enough.

"Helpfully," Lily said, "Carry the winner’s bag for the first day of travel."

"Ah! That’s actually perfect," Diana said.

Rex thought about the offer. His foresight told him that he would win if he used his telekinesis, which he had already done once and could do again.

But it also showed him that there might be benefits to losing on purpose. Diana would be more open to other kinds of attention later if she was in a good mood and felt good about her skills.

"Deal," he said.

They made targets out of old boards and put them on the edge of the village. A small group of people came to watch, mostly because they were looking for any reason to forget about the destruction around them and the uncertainty of the future.

Diana went first, and her shots were excellent, even perfectly accurate. Nine of her ten arrows hit the center ring, and the tenth one was only a little bit off.

She was shooting at a level that was good enough to win, and she knew it.

Rex got in line and started his own run. He threw his first shot on purpose to make it look like he was nervous or hadn’t practiced enough.

The second and third were closer, but they still weren’t right. He had tied Diana’s score by the time he shot his tenth arrow.

"Sudden death," Diana said, clearly excited by the competition. "One shot each, and the winner gets everything."

She shot first, and the arrow hit the target dead on with a satisfying thud.

Rex took his time lining up his shot. The Foresight showed him exactly where the arrow would go if he just let it fly without any telekinetic help.

It would be close, but not quite in the middle.

He let go, and the arrow hit the target exactly where his foresight had told him it would. The shot was close enough to be considered good, but Diana’s shot was clearly better.

"Hell yeaaahhhhh~!" Diana raised her fist in the air, and Iris and Lily both cheered.

"Way to go, Iris! But I think we know you’re a bully to challenge a beginner like that." Iris laughed sarcastically.

"Hehehe, she’s always like that when she loses because of mere luck," Lily said.

"Shut up, you two! All of this is about the pride of an archer that you two won’t even get!" Diana said while patting her chest.

Rex acted like he was tired and shook his head. "Seems like you win fair and square... alright, your bag will be carried with my pride now."

Diana was smiling widely now, the kind of open, unguarded happiness that made her normally serious face look younger and more relaxed. "I knew I could beat you when it counted."

"And it seems like that mere luck had run out, hahaha!"

[DIANA VON STARLIGHT: 39/100 → 44/100]

Five points were gotten just from a competition that was thrown on purpose and the good feelings that came with it. Rex thought it was a fantastic investment.

He said, "Well played," and meant it in a way that had nothing to do with archery.

...

In the middle of the morning, four big carriages with reinforced frames and what looked like small defensive spells worked into the wood arrived. There were maybe two dozen soldiers in the colors of the capital’s guard with them.

All of them looked alert and professional.

And there was a man in charge of them who could only be Theo.

He was tall, with dark hair and a face that made it look like he smiled a lot but took his work seriously. He was broader across the shoulders than Elliot but not quite as tall.

He wore armor that was more useful than pretty, and he had a shield strapped to his back that was at least as tall as he was.

Iris walked up to him as soon as the carriages stopped, and Theo’s face lit up with real happiness. They hugged for a short time, like close family members do, and then they started talking quietly about timing and logistics.

Rex paid close attention to how Diana reacted. When Theo came into view, she became very still, and the way she held herself was different from how she usually looked when she was ready for a fight.

This was nervous energy, the kind that comes from wanting to do well and being scared of failing.

Lily, bless her clever little heart, saw it right away. She came up to Diana and said something that Rex couldn’t hear, but whatever it was made Diana’s face turn pink.

Diana said, "I hate you."

"No, you don’t," Lily said with a smile.

Then she pushed Diana with her hand on her back, moving her sister toward where Theo was standing.

Diana tripped a little, caught herself, and then saw Theo, who turned and smiled at her.

"Diana...! It’s been too long, hans’t it?" His voice was warm and happy. "Iris told me that you all went through hell because of a Goblin King and the Demon Seed incident."

"I’m glad to see you made it out."

"H-Hey, Theo," Diana said, and her voice was a little higher than normal. "Well, yeah, of course! It really felt like hell, but we really made it out! I’m glad... also uh... can’t wait for more threat like that...?"

Rex had to stop himself from laughing while watching this from twenty feet away. Diana Von Starlight, a tactical genius and perfect archer, seemed to have lost the ability to put together full sentences.

"Are you okay?" Theo asked, his face showing worry.

"Fine...! Very fine, yes! Uh... How are you?" Diana was able to put together a full question.

"Tired from the ride, of course, but otherwise good." Theo looked back at the carriages. "Everyone should be loaded and on their way in an hour."

"Lady Valentina wants you all back as soon as possible."

They kept talking, and as the conversation turned to safer topics like travel routes and estimated arrival times, Diana slowly calmed down.

Lily walked back over to Rex, looking very happy with herself.

"Good job," Rex said softly.

"I’ve been trying to get her to talk to him for years." Lily whispered back, "Sometimes you just need to give them a little push."

Theo spoke up so that everyone could hear him after a few more minutes. "Okay, everyone, listen up!"

"I’m happy to tell you that Lady Valentina and the Council of Aethelgard are letting all the civilians from this village stay in the capital for a short time while we deal with the demon raids."

"Once we determine it’s safe, you can either return home or choose to stay permanently if you prefer. Additionally, all of this will be rebuilt even better, complete with guards to protect it from any threats!"

Aethelgard. That was the name of the capital. Rex filed it away in his mind.

Theo went on, "We have four carriages."

"Three for civilians and supplies, and one for Lady Helena’s party."

"Load up quickly, and we’ll be on our way soon."