I'm in Love with the Villainess!-Chapter 49: Caught Red-Handed!

"Look at this."

She approached a nearby pile of gemstones and gold, likely old offerings for the long-dead ruler, and grabbed a very unassuming and covered stone.

"It’s a darkyte."

Her voice was more high-pitched than usual, looking at it with an impish grin as she pocketed it. "Do you have any idea how much one of those costs?"

"Five million aurelius, wasn’t it?"

"More than that, usually. I heard the last time one was sold was five years ago."

"Bought by the prime minister, wasn’t it?"

"Yeah, I don’t know why he wanted it, though, not like a magicless old man like him had any use for it."

"Who knows, he might have some ulterior motive."

We continued to wander the cavern, with me even finding some stuff I found interesting, and of course... something useful.

While Evelina was grabbing uniques, I was holding everything that I could bring with me.

Unlike her, I didn’t have an already vast amount of wealth to be picky about what I grab, and just about anything here would be worth thousands.

Even more so, considering they were relics long gone.

"The text reminds me a bit of elvish and—"

She stopped, feeling my hand touch her shoulder. "Is there anything wrong?"

"How about we try there?"

I pointed to one of the three unassuming holes behind the statue of Nyx.

The three trials of the Goddess, trials which granted access to the Emperor’s coffin itself and all his most prized possessions, when completed.

And of course, it required two people in order to activate.

This is where the love-theme part of the entire tomb comes into play.

The moment we entered the next part of the cavern, just as luxurious as the last, the entrance immediately closed behind us, sealing shut with a magical barrier of enhanced rocks.

It was durable enough to survive a nuclear blast, according to the novel’s description.

"What’s happening?"

I feigned ignorance, pretending I didn’t know what was going on.

[Demonic Fireball]

Evelina launched a powerful spell that was higher than normal dark but lower than chaos at the rocks that sealed the exit, but it had no effect; it easily absorbed it without any problem.

"We’re trapped."

"Look, I think that can help."

We both looked at the floating text that was hovering in the middle of the room.

First, from a language we couldn’t understand, then switching to another, into something that both of us can read.

"To pass this trial, two must express their sentiment."

Evelina read out the script, crossing her arms as she realized what it wanted.

"That’s... a very weird test for a tomb."

"Maybe the owner of the tomb had a sense of humour."

"I can’t deny that, let’s get this over with, shall we?"

Evelina looked at me, a little disappointed at the instructions; she expected something much more interesting from a cavern that literally trapped them.

"It wants us to reveal how we feel about each other, how basic."

She shrugged.

’She noticed already? How did she—’

I stopped, seeing her knowing gaze at me, she knew the whole time I didn’t just pick something random for a date.

"You should see your face, did you really think I wouldn’t find out what you were up to?"

She laughed. "I could read your mind, both physically and mentally."

"How..."

I asked, but she quickly shushed me with her finger on my lips, using her other hand to tap the choker on her neck.

"Thanks to this little gift of yours."

Her hands pulsed with a faint red energy, the same as her mind-reading magic that used to act like a lie detector.

"F-Fair play."

I replied, scratching the back of my head.

I didn’t expect to be caught so easily.

I didn’t even consider that the succubus would enhance her custom magic.

"But don’t worry, I still did agree to be yours for the day."

Evelina leaned closer to me, whispering in my ear, both as her answer to the trial and a way to take revenge for flustering her previously.

"Attractive..."

I backed off immediately the moment I heard her words, my eyes widening as I felt my heart beat faster than usual.

"H-Huh... Evelina?"

"Still so easy..."

CLING!

The script that was still hovering responded, disappearing as it unlocked the exit, indicating the trial’s completion.

It didn’t take long for me to realize what had happened...

Her mind reading also counted as me expressing my sentiment, and with her whispering her answer, the first trial immediately finished.

But that didn’t bother me...

What bothered me was her answer.

It meant my suspicion was correct.

But...

Once again.

What part of me is she attracted to!?

I grasped at my chest, calming myself down before I passed out from the excitement of hearing her whisper in my ear.

"What do you mean by attractive? Can you explain!?"

She stopped me with her hand, keeping me at arm’s length from her.

"That’s for you to find out, isn’t it?"

Evelina winked, betraying how much information she had taken from me the moment she read my mind.

But I could tell even she wasn’t perfectly fine.

Her breathing was slightly labored, a faint red creeping beneath her face.

Old fantasies, thoughts, and even how I felt, all she could gather during our small physical contact while she held my hand.

All of it was overwhelming to her.

’This man... he wasn’t lying about being in love.’