Dante stepped out of his room and headed downstairs, his gaze fixed forward as if I were nothing more than a piece of furniture.

He didn’t even glance my way before taking his seat in the dining hall. Moments later, Nonna walked in, her eyes passing right over me without a flicker of recognition.

Lily and I sat on the couch, watching this bizarre silent movie unfold. I leaned toward her, whispering out of the corner of my mouth,

"Are we invisible or something?"

"It appears to be my lady" Lily whispered back, her eyes narrowing.

Then came Alina. She happily walked into the room, carrying a tray and serving breakfast to Dante and Nonna. As she poured the tea, she cut her eyes toward me, flashing a sly smirk.

"I want to rip that smirk right off her face," I said, my fingers digging into the cushion of the couch.

"Should I do that for you now, my lady?"

Lily suddenly popped up. Her hand moved toward the hidden fold of her skirt, and for a second, I saw a flash of cold steel.

"Whoa, hey!" I grabbed her arm and yanked her back down. "Sit down! This crazy girl..."

"She is an eyesore," Lily muttered, though she settled back into the cushions. "And her tea-pouring technique is amateur at best."

I kept my grip on Lily’s sleeve.

When I looked up from Lily, I realized the "invisibility" had worn off instantly. Every head in the room was turned toward us. Dante and Nonna were staring, their expressions unreadable.

"Ah, darling, you were there?" Nonna said.

"I didn’t even notice you. Come, have breakfast. Alina made such delicious pancakes."

I gave a stiff nod and walked over to the table. But the moment I pulled out my chair to sit, Dante abruptly stood up. He hadn’t even finished his food,his plate was nearly full. Without a word or a glance, he turned and walked out of the dining hall.

Alina’s smirk deepened. I ignored his attitude. I can just deal with later first let me have some food.

Just as I settled in, Alina approached with hot tea. I saw it in her eyes-the way she angled her wrist, the way she prepared to "stumble." She was going to dump the hot tea on me.

Not today, honey.

Before she could even start her fake trip, I swung my hand out with intentional force. I didn’t wait for her to play victim. I made the "accident" happen on my terms. I slammed my hand into the glass, sending the sticky liquid flying directly onto her white apron and silk blouse.

Splash.

"There," I said, leaning back with a cold smile. "You wanted it to fall, right? There you go. Saved you the trouble of acting." I whispered so only Alina could hear it.

Alina’s triumphant smirk vanished instantly. She stood there dripping, her face turning a bright, angry red as the hot tea soaked through her clothes.

Lily, standing behind me, made a muffled sound that was definitely a laugh.

"Oh, dear," I added, looking at my clean hands. "I guess you’ll have to go change now. What a shame. Don’t forget to apply some ice on your hands too"

Nonna watched the scene unfold, her expression remains neutral, though her eyes flickered with a strange glint. "Yah, Alina, go change up, dear," she said dismissively. "It seems like Viella simply didn’t notice you were there."

I almost choked on a laugh. Didn’t notice? I practically launched that tea at her. But I just gave a polite, innocent nod toward Nonna.

Alina’s face crumpled. She looked like she was about to burst into tears, not the fake, manipulative one, but actual tears of pure frustration. She turned on her heel and walked away with a gloomy face.

I sat back and took a calm sip of my water.

A win is a win, no matter how small.

Just as nonna and everyone in the hall left, Lily came over my side.

"She’s going to go cry to the ’Lord’ now," Lily whispered, leaning over.

"Let her," I muttered. "If she wants to play the protagonist, she needs to learn that the villainess has better aim this time around."

I looked toward the hallway where Dante had disappeared

Time to deal with this mood swing princess.

"Lily, Did you bring what I asked for?" Lily nodded and handed me the gun. The same gun which original Viella owned.

"But my lady, what are you going to do with the gun?" Lily asked confused,

I ran a finger along the barrel, the chill of it grounding me. "Well, Lily, all of a sudden I want to become the original villainess. After all, the story would be incomplete without one, right?"

Lily nodded. "Look at Nonna’s move and observe everyone, anything unusual and let me know," I told her as I walked towards Dante’s office.

As I reached, I saw the door already open and Alina’s crying sound coming over. I rolled my eyes and went in.

Dante was holding an ointment, applying it to Alina’s burned hand, and looked deadly at me. "Did I not tell you to not bully anyone from my manor, Viella?"

I shrugged. "Since we are about to get married, doesn’t that mean what’s yours is mine, my dear fiancé? And I can do what I want with my people."

Alina’s eyes reddened and she hiccuped, looking up at him with practiced misery. "Do... don’t get mad at Lady Viella, Lord Dante. She’s your fiancé," she said, her voice trembling. "It’s probably my mistake. I am sorry..."

A smirk came on my face. I know how hard it must have been for her to say that.

Dante’s gaze shifted from her shaking hand back to my smirk, his eyes narrowing.

"You’re getting bold, Viella. Do you really think a ring gives you the power to do anything you wish in my own house?"

I let out a laugh and held out the gun, pointing it right at Alina.

Dante’s voice grew colder. "What do you think you are doing?" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Alina suddenly started shaking, genuine fear finally replacing the fake tears in her eyes.

I smirked. "I am doing what I wished to do... in your own house, my dear fiancé. And right now i wish to play with my gun"

"I... I think my hand is fine now, Lord Dante. I apologize for the trouble. I am sorry, Lady Viella, it was my mistake. I should take my leave." With that, Alina ran off.

Dante didn’t even try to stop her. He just stood there, his dark eyes still on me and coldly told me to leave

"Leave," he muttered "Leave before I do something you don’t wish to see." with that he just sat on his desk and started doing his paperworks, not acknowleding my presence.

But I wasn’t leaving yet. I placed the gun down.

I walked right up to his desk and stood besides him. leaned over it, forcing him to look at me.

"The ’Dante’ Infront of Alina couldn’t stand me. And The ’Dante’ yesterday wanted to lock me away. So, which one am I talking to right now?"

He finally stopped writing. He looked up, and for a split second, the cold mask flickered.

"You’re talking to the one who owns everything you have," he said, leaning back and crossing his legs.

I leaned forward until our lips were barely a breath apart. I could see the reflection of my own defiance in his dark pupils.

I whispered, "I know you’re pretending... playing the part of the cold, obsessed lead. Pretending to be controlled by a ’plot’ just so you can hide what you’re really planned underneath."

Dante’s pupils shook slightly, the pen he was holding broke with a snap. He stood up and pushed me onto the desk caging me totally,

"Is that what you think?" he murmured.

His ink-stained hand didn’t pull away. Instead, it slid down from my neck, tracing a slow, burning path over my shoulder and down my side, finally coming to rest high on my thigh.

The wet, black ink smeared across my skin, a cold contrast to the heat of his palm.

"Let’s just pretend what you said is true, then," he said, his voice sounding like a threat.

My breath hitched as his grip tightened on my thigh, his thumb grazing the hem of my dress. For a heartbeat, I thought he was going to pull me closer, to finish the distance between our lips. But just as quickly as he had cornered me, the pressure vanished.

He stepped back, his eyes returning to calm. He looked down at his ink-covered hand, then back at me, still sitting on his desk with a stained neck and a racing pulse. Without another word, he turned on his shoe and walked out of his own office, leaving the door swinging behind him.

I sat there in the silence, my skin tingling where he had touched me. He hadn’t denied it. He had just... played along.

I hopped off the desk, smoothing out my dress even though the dark, messy stains remained. A genuine smirk played on my face

As I walked out into the hallway, Lily was leaning against the wall, waiting. The moment she saw me, her eyes traveled from my ink-stained neck down to the dark handprint on my thigh. Her jaw practically hit the floor.

"My lady..." she started, her voice a mix of horror and utter confusion. "Did you... play with a giant squid? Or did you decide to become a calligrapher in the last ten minutes?"

I let out a soft laugh, wiping a smudge of ink from my jaw, only to realize I was probably just spreading it further. "Something like that. Let’s just say Lord Dante had a bit of a... pen mishap."

Lily stepped closer, her eyes narrowing as she inspected the mess.

Lily sighed, pulling a clean handkerchief from her pocket and trying to scrub at my neck. "Well, while you were busy being a human canvas, I saw Nonna helping Alina with her burned hand"

"Seems like her next target is Nonna," I murmured. "Well, let her be. Let her feel like she’s winning for now."

------------

I walked into the bathroom. I stripped off the ink-stained clothes and stepped into the thick, steamy spray. The heat bit into my skin, but it couldn’t wash away the ghost of his touch.

Afterward, I stood before the fogged-up mirror, wiping a clear patch with my palm. I stared at my reflection, my eyes tracing the faint, dark smudges of ink that still clung to the curve of my neck and the pale skin of my thigh.

I remembered the weight of his hand, the way he had trapped me against the desk, and the way he had looked at me.

"No matter how much you act, the burning obsession in your eyes can’t fool me, Dante," I whispered to my reflection.

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TO BE CONTINUED.