I'm the Villain, But the Heroines Keep Choosing Me-Chapter 57: Hurtful Truth

He couldn’t look at her for this. Turned away, staring at his notes on Seria, the clinical analysis of how to corrupt another person.

"The corruption is accelerating. Each time I use the abilities, each time I go too long without anchor contact, it gets worse. And one anchor – one person – can’t hold back that much darkness." His hands clenched on the desk. "I need a second anchor."

Silence. Then: "Another woman."

"Yes."

"Someone else you’d need to – " She couldn’t finish the sentence.

"Corr– Build the same kind of connection we have." He still couldn’t look at her. "I hate this. I hate that I have to ask this. But the alternative is losing myself completely, and eventually – "

"Eventually you’d hurt me." Her voice was small. "Because you wouldn’t care anymore about hurting anyone."

"Yes."

More silence. He could hear her breathing, unsteady, trying to process.

"Do you – " She stopped, started again. "Do you know who?"

"Yes." He said without turning. "It’s not random. The anchor can’t be just anyone. It has to be someone trapped by their own burdens, someone I can help free so they can help free me from mine. Like you."

He heard a soft sound – plop of water hitting fabric. A tear.

The sound shattered what remained of his composure. He started to turn, to go to her, but she spoke first.

"Don’t. Please. I need – I can’t look at you right now." Her voice was breaking. "After everything. After the Church, after the forum, after finally thinking it could be just us – "

"I know."

"You’re telling me I’m not enough."

"I’m telling you the darkness is too much for one person to hold back." His voice was rough. "It’s not about you being insufficient. It’s about me being too corrupted for any single anchor to manage. If there was any other way – "

"But there isn’t." Flat statement.

"No."

"And if you don’t do this, you’ll lose yourself. Become the monster everyone fears."

"Yes."

Another soft sound. More tears hitting fabric.

Damien’s hands clenched until his nails drew blood. The corruption had retreated with her presence, but it had left him with full emotional capacity to feel what he was doing to her.

Maybe that was crueler.

"I need time," Elara said finally, voice steadier. "To think. To process this."

"I understand." He finally turned, but she’d already moved toward the door, not looking at him.

"Elara – "

"Please. Just – give me time." She left, closing the door softly behind her.

Damien stood in the empty study and felt something in his chest crack that the corruption hadn’t managed to touch.

He’d broken her heart.

To save himself.

To save her from what he’d become without the anchors.

But in this moment, the cost felt unbearable.

[RELATIONSHIP STATUS: SEVERELY STRAINED]

[ELARA: Processing betrayal/necessity]

[DAMIEN: Emotional anguish while corruption temporarily held back]

[WARNING: Without resolution, anchor bond may weaken]

He sat back at his desk and forced himself to continue planning, because stopping would mean dwelling on what he’d just done.

Captain Seria Thornwood. Hostile, suspicious, actively investigating him for demonic collaboration. Loyal to the hero who hated him. Professionally trained to resist exactly the kind of manipulation he’d need to employ.

And he had to make her fall for him while his corruption made genuine emotion nearly impossible.

"Impossible" was just another tactical challenge.

He pulled out his father’s intelligence reports on Seria. Time to learn everything about the woman he’d have to corrupt next.

---

The reports were thorough. Duke Cornelius maintained extensive files on every notable figure in the capital, and Seria Thornwood was definitely notable.

PERSONAL HISTORY:

Born to minor noble house with strong military traditions. Three older brothers, all soldiers. Father a decorated general who died in demon incursion five years ago.

Mother remarried to merchant, relationship strained.

Joined city guard at sixteen – youngest recruit in decades. Rose through ranks through merit and brutal competence. Made captain at twenty-three, breaking century-old record.

COMBAT RECORD:

One hundred and Thirty-seven confirmed demon kills. Multiple commendations for tactical brilliance. Specialized in paired-sword technique inherited from father. Known for taking calculated risks that looked reckless but were actually precisely measured.

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS:

Close friendship/potential romantic interest with Hero Aldric Brightblade. Serves as his combat instructor and tactical advisor. Relationship ambiguous – either deep friendship or unacknowledged mutual attraction.

No confirmed romantic relationships. Married to duty by most accounts.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE:

Driven by need to prove worth in male-dominated military hierarchy. Father’s death created guilt – she’d been on leave when incursion happened, arrived too late to help. Compensates through relentless competence and refusal to show weakness.

Suspicious by nature and training. Sees threats everywhere. Trust is earned through demonstrated competence over extended time.

Values: Honor, duty, competence, straightforward honesty. Despises manipulation, political games, using others for advantage.

CURRENT MISSION:

Investigating Lord Damien Valcrest for suspected demon collaboration or corruption. Has circumstantial evidence but no proof. Convinced he’s dangerous to Saintess Elara and kingdom security.

Damien studied the profile and felt the corruption making clinical assessments.

Seria was trapped by her father’s legacy. By the need to prove herself constantly. By duty that demanded she sacrifice personal desires for professional responsibility. By suspicion that kept her isolated even while appearing competent and integrated.

Different cage than Elara’s, but a cage nonetheless.

The question was how to help her see that while she actively investigated him as a threat.

STRATEGIC APPROACH:

Traditional seduction wouldn’t work – she’d see through it immediately and it would confirm her suspicions.

Charm wouldn’t work – she valued competence and honesty, not social grace.

Manipulation wouldn’t work – she was trained to detect it.

So what would work?

Damien leaned back, thinking. The corruption made strategy easy but humanity difficult. He needed to see her past her persona to corrupt her properly, but the corruption made everyone into tactical elements.

Catch-22 that would be amusing if it wasn’t preventing him from saving himself.

Then he noticed something in the reports. A small detail about her investigation methods.

She was building case against him. Documenting every suspicious incident, every use of shadow magic, every time he’d appeared at convenient moments. Proper investigation, thorough and methodical.

But she was doing it alone. Not involving other guards officially. Not going through proper channels.

Why?