Viella stepped out of the Ferrari, the door closing with a solid thud. Lily followed silently, her eyes sharp and observant as always.

Viella stood for a moment, scanning the familiar street until her gaze landed on her own villa.

"My pretty house~" she whispered, a touch of longing in her voice.

The garden was perfectly taken care of and the stone walls gleamed under the sun, but no one was on the sight. There were no guards at the posts and no maids.

"Seems like Dante fired everyone yet took a good care of the house," Viella muttered, her lips pulling into a thin line. "Tsk tsk. That man... he really intended to keep me locked in his own mansion. So that even if I escaped I won’t be able to return to my own villa"

She turned her head slowly, her eyes fixing on the imposing structure standing right beside her property - Elias Mansion.

The last time she had entered those gates, it was for a simple cup of coffee and a contract to save her life.

Viella looked at Lily, who was scanning the area already making up plan on how to do stuffs. Seems like this isnt her first time.

She leaned in, whispering one final set of instructions.

"Remember, your only target is the Original Book. Also check if they’ve recovered the dagger and-" Viella paused, giving her a stern, knowing look.

"Specially do not steal any new gun you see that looks interesting."

The predatory sparkles in Lily’s eyes died instantly. Her shoulders slumped, and a long, disappointed sigh escaped her lips.

"Okay, My Lady," Lily muttered, her voice lacked of its previous excitement.

Viella let out a weary breath.

"Good. Now, good luck. Make sure to not get caught or else we both ain’t leaving this place alive," Viella said.

Lily nodded and left. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Viella walked toward the massive iron gates, the afternoon sun hitting her at just the right angle to make her skin look radiant. As she approached, the guards straightened up, their expressions shifting from boredom to genuine surprise.

They stared at her, clearly failing to recognize the girl standing in front of them.

One guard stepped forward, keeping his tone respectful but firm. "I’m sorry, Miss, but this is private property. We can’t just let anyone wander in."

Viella stopped and tilted her head, a slow mockery escaped her lips. "Anyone?" she repeated, her voice dropping..

"Are you seriously implying I’m just ’anyone’?"

She took a step closer, her gaze pinning him down.

"Did you just insult me to my face? Or do you actually have no idea who I am?"

The guard didn’t budge, though he looked slightly more tense than before.

"It doesn’t matter, Miss. Our boss doesn’t see anyone at this hour. We can’t let you through without a scheduled appointment. Please move along."

Viella didn’t look annoyed, she looked like she was enjoying the incompetence.

"A schedule? Tell your boss if he doesn’t open these doors in three seconds, I’m going to start making my own entrance through his front lawn."

Meanwhile Elias stood still watching everything through the tinted glass of his second-story study. Elias swirled the liquid in his glass.

A sassy smirk played on his lips. He didn’t need the intercom to know she was causing trouble. he could practically feel her energy from there.

He been waiting for last 2 hours and there finally she is.

He tapped his earpiece. "Let her in," he commanded.

The guards eyes widened as the order crackled through. Without a word, they stepped back, and the heavy gates began to open.

Viella smirked, her eyes darting to the guard who had just tried to block her. "Seems like your boss does want to meet someone at this hour after all," she remarked, stepping past him without waiting for an apology.

As she crossed the threshold, a small security detail fell into step behind her. She didn’t let them rattle her. Instead, she kept her chin high as a maid led her deeper into the heart of the estate.

Viella scanned the interior, her brow lifting slightly. Everything had changed.

He was really playing me back then, she thought, a bitter taste in her mouth. He’d acted like some simple, wealthy young guy. In reality, he was the architect of this world’s suffering, standing on the same level of influence as Dante himself.

As she was admiring a particularly intricate vase, a smooth voice came from the grand staircase.

"Is the vase to your liking, Miss Viella?"

She turned, her eyes fixing on Elias as he stood still. Eyes piercing hers. He was dressed elegantly with waistcoat fitting him perfectly, a sassy smirk playing on his lips.

"Definitely," Viella replied, her voice steady despite the adrenaline. "A quite... interesting choice of decor, I will say."

Elias chuckled as he reached the final step.

"Indeed, I sure do have some quite interesting choices."

He stopped just a few feet away, his gaze locking onto hers. His eyes shone with a sharp, predatory light as if he were reading the very thoughts she was trying to hide.

Viella felt a sudden shiver trace down her spine under that piercing stare, but she refused to look away.

Elias stepped more closer. He didn’t stop until he was standing right beside her, the scent of his expensive cologne hit her nostril.

He leaned in, his voice a low that only she could hear.

"You look beautiful today," he whispered, the words vibrating against the shell of her ear.

Before she could pull away, his fingers reached out, catching a stray strand of her hair. He lifted it slowly, his eyes never leaving hers, and took a lingering sniff.

Viella stood perfectly still, her heart beating fast, but her expression remained cold. She knew this was a power play, a way to remind her that in this house, he was the author and she was merely a character he could touch at will.

The four guards stationed around her exchanged bewildered glances. Their stoic professionalism cracked for a split second as they stared at the girl in the center of the room.

That’s Lady Viella?

They had heard the stories. Everyone in the underworld had. They knew of a woman who was vicious, loud, and prone to throwing fits of rage. They expected someone vicious. Instead, they saw a girl who looked fragile even her attitude made her look soft. Yet here she’s unafraid while their master toyed with her.

Elias began to circle her, his steps slow like a predator circling it’s prey.

"I never expected you to be brave enough to come here, specially all alone....Viella... quite interesting."

Viella didn’t flinch. She met his gaze with a smirk.

"You’re forgetting I’m the same person who ruined your plots, Elias."

Elias’s smirk widened, his eyes glinting with a dark, playful malice. He took a step closer, his presence looming over her.

"You’re still so sassy, even after seeing the impact I still have on my own book. Should I say you’re naive, or just dumb? Hmm? Tell me, Viella."

He leaned in, his voice sounded a bit irritated.

"Aren’t you scared? What if I kill you right now? Dante isn’t here to save you."

"I know you won’t," Viella replied, her voice steady.

Elias stopped, his brow arching in genuine curiosity.

"And what made you think that I will be merciful? In this house, it’s me who plans who can breathe and who can’t."

Viella let out a short, mocking laugh, her eyes reflecting the sunlight.

"Well, if you wanted to kill me, you would’ve done it long ago, the moment you sneaked into Dante’s house just to warn me and give me that week-long deadline."

Elias leaned back slightly, his interest visibly piqued.

"You wanted a game, didn’t you?" Viella continued, her voice gaining confidence after seeing she successfully caught his attention.

"You wanted to toy with me. That’s why you’re fixing the plot again and again. Am I wrong, hm?"

Elias broke into a sudden, loud laugh. He reached up and playfully wiped his ear as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

"So you’re not as dumb as I thought, hmm. But again it’s not fully true"

Then, his laughter died instantly. His face went cold, and he stepped back into her personal space once again. The atmosphere in the room shifted from playful to suffocating.

"But I wasn’t joking about those days," he said, his voice dropping to a low, vibrating tone. "You have only a few days now, and the clock is ticking."

His handsome face had a glint in his eyes that could make anyone shiver. He leaned down until his lips were inches from her ear.

"I wonder what will happen..." he whispered, his breath cold against her skin. "...when the time runs out."

Across the hall, behind a heavy curtain, Viella caught a glimpse of Lily’s shadow. She was moving toward the back stairs. The game was on.

The hallway fell into a sudden, suffocating silence as Elias stopped his pacing. He stood directly in front of Viella, his shadow stretching across the marble floor.

"You still have time left," he murmured, his voice sounding like a final warning.

"Choose wisely... do you want to surrender and be my puppet or do you want to die by my hand?"

"Surrender? Puppet?" Viella scoffed. Sh tilting her chin up to meet his predatory gaze head-on.

"A villainess never surrenders. She fights until the end, until her very last breath and I am pretty sure no one could know that better than you"

Elias’s eyes darkened, a flash of genuine irritation flickering beneath his amused mask.

He slowly reached into the inner pocket of his silk waistcoat and pulled out a compact silver handgun.

He didn’t point it at her. Instead, he used the cold barrel of the gun to slowly caress her jawline.

The metal was freezing against her skin as he traced the curve of her face.

"I am still giving you a few more days to think, Viella," he said, his voice dropping.

"But be cautious of your words. Do not make my patience run out before the deadline."

He leaned in even closer, the cold muzzle of the gun pressing slightly against her skin, right below her ear.

The four guards stood like statues, their breath hitching as they watched the scene. They never expected lady Viella to stay so calm in this situation..seems like the rumors of her being heartless were true.

"I don’t like waiting," he whispered, his eyes locking onto hers with a terrifying intensity.

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TO BE CONTINUED