From Trash to Villain Master of Card: With Harem of Evil women-Chapter 64: The Eve of Judgment +18

Kaito’s Room — Midnight

The full moon streamed through the window, illuminating the desk where Kaito had spread out parchment scrolls filled with notes.

His speech for the Council.

He had worked on it for weeks. With help from Adelheid, Lilith, Gorman. Every argument refined. Every counter-argument anticipated.

But now, reading it by moonlight, every word seemed inadequate.

"Honorable members of the Council..."

Too formal.

"I come before you today to defend..."

Too defensive.

"Neudämmerung is a kingdom founded on principles of..."

Sounds like propaganda.

Kaito set down his quill in frustration.

How did you explain the inexplicable? How did you defend the indefensible?

He had summoned four villains. Women sealed away by gods as threats to the world order. He had rejected the role of hero. He had built a kingdom on territory that technically belonged to another kingdom before.

And tomorrow, twelve kingdoms would judge whether he deserved to exist.

A soft knock at the door.

"Come in."

Naporia entered, still dressed—clearly she hadn’t slept either.

"I saw light under your door."

"I can’t sleep."

"Me neither."

She approached, looking at the scattered scrolls.

"Is that your speech?"

"Supposedly. Now I’m not sure."

Naporia sat on the edge of the bed, her hands restless in her lap.

"Kaito. I need to tell you something."

He turned in his chair to look at her.

"I’m terrified."

The words came out like a confession.

Kaito blinked, surprised—Naporia almost never admitted fear.

"Of what?"

"Of disappointing you. Tomorrow. At the Council."

Naporia looked at her hands.

"My whole life, I’ve been good at one thing: fighting. That’s what I know. What I understand."

Her voice grew smaller.

"But tomorrow there’ll be no combat. Only words. Politics. Games I don’t fully comprehend."

She looked up, eyes gleaming with something vulnerable.

"What if I say something wrong? What if I don’t act like a Queen should? What if I ruin everything because I’m not enough...?"

"Stop," Kaito interrupted gently.

He stood and sat beside her on the bed.

"Naporia. You’ve already proven everything to me. In the contest. During the journey. Last night at the banquet."

He took her restless hands in his.

"When that noble insulted you, when everything in you wanted to destroy him... you stopped. You showed control. Dignity."

"Barely..."

"But you did it."

Kaito squeezed her hands.

"Tomorrow, I don’t need you to be perfect. I don’t need you to be the most cunning diplomat or the most eloquent speaker."

He paused, making sure she looked him in the eyes.

"I only need you to be yourself. The Naporia who rebuilt a house for a family. Who worked alongside children. Who connected with people not through power, but through heart."

Naporia felt tears forming—something she hated, something she rarely allowed.

"What if that’s not enough?"

"Then we face the consequences together. But at least we’ll have been honest."

Naporia laughed through her tears.

"You always know what to say."

"Not always. But with you... it’s easy. Because I believe every word."

They stayed like that for a long moment, hands intertwined, the moon illuminating them.

Finally, Naporia wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Alright. Then tomorrow I’ll be myself. And if those pompous nobles don’t like it..."

Kaito smiled.

"...we’ll face them together."

Naporia nodded.

"Together."

She stood to leave, but stopped at the door.

"Kaito."

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For believing in me when even I don’t believe in myself."

"Always."

Naporia walked toward the door, preparing to leave.

But she stopped on the threshold, her hand still on the handle. The moon continued to bathe the room in cold silver.

She turned slowly toward him.

"Kaito..." she whispered. "Before I go... I want to taste you. Just a little. Not everything. That belongs to Adelheid. I accept that. But let me have something of yours tonight."

Kaito felt the air thicken. He looked at her: the midnight blue dress hugging her small, perfect figure, silver embroidery gleaming like stars. The elaborate braids falling loose in strands over her shoulders. Vulnerable. Beautiful.

He stood without words. Wearing only his black undertunic, open at the collar, chest bare. He approached.

Naporia looked up, eyes bright.

"Sure?" he asked softly.

"I’m the one asking," she said with a trembling smile.

Kaito nodded once.

She stepped forward. Small hands rose to his chest, undid the cord. The fabric opened.

She knelt slowly. Her skirt spreading like spilled night. She looked up, seeking permission.

Kaito brushed her cheek with his thumb.

"Only if you want to."

"I want to."

Firm but careful hands lowered the fabric. Freed him. Breath caught in her throat. She swallowed.

She leaned in.

Lips closed first, a shy kiss. Then another, lower. Kaito held his breath.

Naporia slowly opened her mouth, enveloping him in wet warmth.

No hurry. She explored with a soft tongue, attentive lips. Rising and falling carefully, attuned to every gasp from him.

One hand on his thigh for balance. The other wrapped around his base, moving gently.

Rhythm hesitant at first. Then more confident. Deeper. Saliva glistening on her lips. Blush on her cheeks.

Kaito tangled his fingers in her braids, not pulling. Just holding her.

Naporia withdrew slowly, a final kiss at the tip. Looked up, lips wet.

"Now... you," she whispered.

She stood trembling. Clumsy fingers undid the cords of her bodice. Shoulders fell. Small, firm breasts revealed, nipples already hard.

She took Kaito’s hand, guided it to her left breast.

"Suck them," she asked softly. "Please."

Kaito leaned in. Lips brushed warm skin. Closed his mouth around the nipple, sucked gently.

Naporia gasped sharply. Hands in his hair, tangling. Back arched.

He moved to the other. Licked, sucked harder. Barely grazed with teeth. She trembled, small moans escaping.

Hips moving in unconscious circles.

"Kaito..." she moaned.

He continued until they were swollen, glistening. Then pulled away, kissing the lower curve.

He held her tight. She buried her face in his neck, breathing ragged.

Long silence. Only breathing and a distant owl.

Naporia pulled back slightly.

"Was that... good?" she asked, small.

Kaito kissed her forehead, eyelids, the corner of her lips.

"Perfect," he whispered. "You are perfect."

She relaxed against him for a moment.

"Remember this tomorrow," she said softly. "Whatever happens... we already had this."

Kaito kissed her hair.

"I’ll remember."

Naporia straightened her bodice and braids in the dim light.

"Get some sleep," she asked. "Tomorrow they need us whole."

"You too."

She smiled, tired and small.

"Good night, my king."

"Good night, my queen."

The door closed softly.

Kaito let himself fall onto the bed. He could still feel her mouth, her taste on his tongue, her moans in his ears.

He looked at the scattered scrolls.

For the first time that night, he knew that words wouldn’t be the main thing tomorrow.

The main thing was already beating in his chest.

And he would carry it to the Council.

---

Aria’s Room — Next Morning

Kaito hadn’t managed to return to his speech.

He decided to walk, clear his mind.

He found light under Aria’s door.

He knocked softly.

"Aria? Are you awake?"

"Come in."

Aria was sitting at her desk, surrounded by her own notes.

Research she had been doing during the journey.

"Did you sleep well?"

"No one in this house can, it seems."

Kaito sat in the chair beside her desk.

"What are you working on?"

Aria hesitated before answering.

"Research on... what Avernor might present today."

"And?"

Aria turned to look directly at him.

"Kaito. I have a serious warning."

Her tone made him straighten up.

"Avernor has prepared false evidence."

"What kind of evidence?"

Aria pointed to her notes—testimonies gathered from merchants, rumors overheard in inns.

"They’re going to accuse you of using forbidden magic. Specifically, summoning entities sealed by the gods."

Kaito felt cold in his stomach.

"But... that’s exactly what I did."

"I know. But the way they’ll present it... they’ll make you sound like a heretic. Like a threat to the divine order."

Aria leaned forward.

"They’ll say your queens aren’t just powerful summoned ones, but villains—the exact term used in ancient religious texts for those sealed away as fundamental threats."

"And how do you know this?"

"Because I’ve been listening. Observing. And yesterday afternoon, I overheard a conversation between the Lord Magistrate’s assistant and a scribe."

Aria touched her notes.

"They have a list of ’crimes against the divine order.’ Summoning villains is at the top."

Kaito processed this for a long moment.

"So today... it’s not just about whether I attacked first or in self-defense."

"No. It’s about whether your very existence is legitimate. Whether you have the right to exist when you use power that the gods forbade."

Heavy silence.

Finally, Kaito spoke.

"What do you advise?"

Aria looked at him with an expression that mixed concern and admiration.

"You have two options. First: deny the true nature of your queens. Call them ’powerful summoned ones’ but avoid the word ’villain.’ Technically honest but deceptive."

"And second?"

"Total honesty. Openly admit that you summoned villains. Explain why. Argue that the very concept of ’villain’ is prejudice, not reality."

She paused.

"But that’s much riskier. Because it confirms their worst fears."

Kaito leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes.

Images passed through his mind.

Adelheid fighting with a wound that nearly killed her. Lilith resolving a dispute with genuine wisdom. Naporia rebuilding a house with children. Valeria surrendering so Naporia could win.

Four women called villains.

Four women who had shown more humanity than many "heroes" he knew.

He opened his eyes.

"Total honesty."

Aria looked at him.

"Are you sure? It’s the harder path."

"Completely sure."

Kaito stood.

"If I deny what they are, I deny everything we’ve built. The whole point of Neudämmerung is to give second chances. To reject labels that others put on us."

He walked to the window.

"If I hide the truth now, what does that say? That I’m ashamed. That I think they were right to seal them."

He turned to Aria.

"No. Tomorrow I admit everything. And I defend their right to exist. To be more than the labels placed on them."

Aria smiled—small, proud.

"I knew you’d say that."

"Then why ask?"

"Because you needed to hear yourself say it out loud. To be sure."

Kaito laughed despite the tension.

"Thanks, Aria."

"You’re welcome. Now go have lunch. Or at least wake Naporia; she seems to be sleeping heavily today."

---

Drake’s Room — Same Time

Drake hadn’t been sleeping either.

He had been outside.

Infiltrating.

He used his contacts—people from when he was an Avernor hero who still owed him favors, or who at least didn’t completely hate him.

He had bribed a guard. He had followed an assistant. He had overheard conversations he shouldn’t have overheard.

And now he returned with information.

He found Kaito, returning from Aria’s room.

"Commander. We need to talk."

"What did you discover?"

Drake led him to his own room, closing the door.

"I confirmed what Aria suspected. Avernor is going to accuse you of using forbidden magic."

He unfolded the notes he had taken.

"But there’s more. They have a three-phase plan."

"Explain."

"Phase one: establish that summoning villains is an act against the gods. They cite ancient religious texts."

"Phase two: argue that your villains are inherently dangerous. They use the battle against Eldric as evidence—especially the part where Valeria nearly killed him."

"Phase three: conclude that Neudämmerung must be dissolved ’for continental security.’"

Kaito felt weight settling in his stomach.

"Dissolution. Not just condemnation. Complete destruction."

"Exactly."

Drake sat heavily.

"But there’s more. The Lord Magistrate has secured votes. At least four kingdoms have already agreed to vote against you."

"Which ones?"

"Meridia definitely. Kalthor probably. Two others unconfirmed."

"And the others?"

"Neutral or undecided. Stahl will support you, but they’re only one. You need to balance the votes."

Kaito processed all the information.

"So my only path is to convince the neutrals?"

"Yes. And that requires..."

"Honesty," Kaito finished. "I’ve already decided. I’m going to admit everything. I’m going to defend their right to exist as they are."

Drake looked at him for a long moment.

"That’s... incredibly risky."

"I know."

"You could lose everything."

"I know."

"And still...?"

"Still. Because if I can’t defend what we truly are, then we don’t deserve to exist anyway."

Drake nodded slowly.

"Then I’ll support you. No matter what happens."

"Thank you, Drake."

"But Kaito... there’s one more thing."

"What?"

Drake hesitated, clearly uncomfortable.

"If you admit your queens are villains... you have to be prepared for them to demand to see them. As evidence."

Kaito froze.

"Demand to see...?"

"The queens you left protecting Neudämmerung. Adelheid, Lilith, Valeria."

Drake touched his shoulder.

"Avernor will argue they’re too dangerous to exist. And some kingdoms will want to see for themselves. Judge personally."

"That’s..."

"A trap. Yes. Because if you bring them, you risk them causing an incident. If you don’t bring them, it looks like you’re hiding something."

Kaito sat on Drake’s bed.

"No matter what I do, I lose."

"Not necessarily. But you have to be prepared for all possibilities."

---

Back in Kaito’s Room — Just Before Dawn

Kaito had returned to his room but knew that resting was impossible.

He sat before his speech that Adelheid had given him.

But this time, he didn’t try to refine it.

He discarded it.

He took new parchment and began to write, remembering what she had written, taking the idea for something different without straying from what she felt.

Not legal arguments. Not political rhetoric.

Simply... truth.

Honorable members of the Council,

I did not come here to lie. I did not come here to hide what I am or what I built.

I summoned four villains. Women sealed by gods as threats. And I called them my queens.

Why? Because I saw in them what no one else saw. Potential. Humanity. The capacity to be more than the labels placed upon them.

Adelheid von Eisenberg. Called a heartless war machine. But I saw her weep for fallen soldiers. I saw her organize food distribution with genuine compassion.

Lilith the Poisoner. Called a soulless manipulator. But I saw her resolve disputes with wise justice. I saw her admit vulnerability.

Naporia, Empress of the Sword. Called an uncontrolled butcher. But I saw her rebuild a house with trembling hands. I saw her show patience with children.

Valeria, the Iron Butcher. Called a function without a soul. But I saw her sacrifice victory because another deserved it more.

These are the villains I summoned.

And if that makes me a criminal... then I am guilty.

But I also tell you this: Neudämmerung exists because we all deserve a second chance. Because labels do not define destiny.

Judge whether I should live or die. But judge the truth. Not the lies others have told you.

Kaito set down the quill.

He read what he had written.

It wasn’t perfect. It probably wouldn’t convince anyone who had already decided.

But it was honest.

And that would have to be enough.

A knock at the door.

Again?

"Come in."

Bram entered.

"Commander. The Council begins in two hours."

Kaito nodded.

"Thank you, Bram."

"Do you need anything?"

Kaito looked at his speech.

"No. I’m ready."

A lie. He wasn’t ready.

But he was committed.

And that would have to be enough.

---

Courtyard — Dawn

The entourage gathered as the sun began to rise.

Naporia in formal dress—darker blue today, more sober. Appropriate for a trial.

Drake in ceremonial armor.

Aria in simple but elegant clothing—observer, not active participant.

Twenty guards in perfect formation.

And Kaito.

In clothes Lilith had insisted on packing—black with silver details. Formal but not excessive. King but not arrogant.

Naporia approached.

"Ready?"

Kaito looked toward the Central Palace where the Council would be held.

"No. But we’re going anyway."

Naporia took his hand briefly.

"Then we go together."

The entourage began to walk.

Toward the Palace.

Toward the Council.

Toward the judgment that would decide their future.

The sun was fully rising now.

Tinting everything gold.

As if the world itself watched.

Waiting to see what would happen.