The Villainess Wants To Retire-Chapter 188: The Study Of Suspicion

The silence that followed Soren’s departure felt heavier than it had any right to be.

I stood there, acutely aware of Aldric’s presence across the room, this tired yet patient man who looked at me like I was a particularly complicated problem he’d been assigned to solve against his will.

His posture was rigid, professional, but his eyes carried the weight of someone who’d spent far too many sleepless nights protecting an empire from economic threats both foreign and domestic.

And now I was a new threat.

How delightful.

Bjorn, the traitor, had settled himself near my feet as though he’d decided this was where he belonged now. His massive head rested on his paws, tail occasionally thumping against the floor, completely oblivious to, or perhaps deliberately ignoring, the tension crackling between his emperor’s secretary and his emperor’s... what was I, exactly? Bride? Weapon? Both?

I let the quiet stretch, watching Aldric carefully organize the documents he’d been clutching like lifelines. His movements were precise, controlled, the kind of efficiency that came from years of managing chaos disguised as administration.

Finally, I broke the stillness.

"You don’t like me."

Not a question. A statement of fact, delivered with the same casual certainty I might have used to comment on the weather.

Aldric’s hands stilled for the briefest moment before resuming their work. When he looked up, his expression was carefully neutral, but something flickered behind his eyes... surprise, perhaps, that I’d addressed it so directly.

"I don’t know you well enough to like or dislike you, Lady Eris." His tone was measured, diplomatic, the kind of response a skilled courtier gave when trying to avoid giving offense while also not committing to anything resembling warmth.

But his tone said everything his words didn’t.

I tilted my head slightly, studying him the way I’d once studied ministers who thought they could lie to my face without consequence. "But you’ve heard enough to form an opinion."

He set the documents down with deliberate care, as though buying himself time to choose his next words. When he spoke, each syllable was weighted with the kind of caution usually reserved for navigating political minefields.

"Your reputation..." He paused, recalibrating. "It precedes you."

"Does it?" I moved closer, my skirts whispering across the floor, and watched him straighten almost imperceptibly. Not fear, exactly. Wariness. "And what does this reputation tell you?"

His jaw tightened. "That you were... formidable. In Solmire."

"Formidable." I tasted the word like wine, finding it insufficient. "How diplomatic. Most people use words like ’monstrous.’ ’Cruel.’ ’Witch.’"

"I chose my words carefully."

"You did." I smiled, and it wasn’t a kind expression. "But you still haven’t answered the real question, have you? What you actually want to know is why His Majesty would choose someone with such a..." I echoed his earlier phrasing with deliberate mockery, "...complicated history."

Something shifted in his expression... acknowledgment, perhaps, that I’d cut through all the courtly nonsense straight to the heart of his concerns.

"I serve His Majesty," Aldric said, each word precise. "My duty is to support his decisions. But I would be failing in that duty if I didn’t... question decisions that could affect the stability of the empire."

"So you think I’m a threat to stability."

"I think," he said carefully, "that introducing unknown variables into a delicate political situation requires... scrutiny."

I laughed, a short, sharp sound that made Bjorn’s ears perk up. "Unknown variables. That’s almost poetic."

I moved to one of the chairs near the fireplace, settling into it with the kind of practiced grace that made it clear I was claiming space rather than asking permission.

"Let me save you some time, Master Aldric. You think I have ulterior motives. That I’ve bewitched your emperor or manipulated him into this arrangement. That I’m here to seize power or destroy the empire or whatever nightmare scenario keeps you up at night... and judging by those shadows under your eyes, quite a few things keep you up at night."

His expression remained neutral, but I saw the slight tension in his shoulders. Hit the mark, then.

"I hope, for His Majesty’s sake and the empire’s, that I’m wrong." His voice was steady, but there was steel underneath. "But hoping doesn’t mean I won’t be vigilant."

"Vigilant." I let the word roll around my mouth like a sweet I was considering spitting out. "How admirably loyal. Soren is fortunate to have someone so devoted to protecting him from terrible women like myself."

"I protect him from all threats, Lady Eris. Foreign and domestic. Known and unknown."

The implication hung in the air between us—that I fell firmly into the "unknown threat" category.

I could have been offended. Could have let my fire flare, reminded him exactly why people in Solmire had whispered my name like a curse. Could have made him regret every carefully chosen word.

Instead, I smiled.

Not the cruel smile I’d worn a moment ago. Something else. Something that made Aldric’s eyes narrow with confusion.

"Everything you’ve heard about me is true." I spoke conversationally, as though discussing someone else entirely. "I was cruel. Ruthless. I burned those who opposed me... sometimes literally, sometimes through more... creative means." I watched his expression carefully. "I forced marriages. Executed nobles. Manipulated my own father into signing death warrants for men who’d merely spoken against me."

His face remained carefully blank, but I saw his hands tighten slightly at his sides.

"But," I continued, leaning back in the chair with studied casualness, "I was also effective. My kingdom didn’t crumble under my rule. It thrived, actually. The treasury was full. The military was strong. Trade flourished. The common people had food and work and relative safety... even if they hated me for how I maintained that safety."

I let that settle for a moment before continuing.

"So yes, your concerns about my... complicated history are entirely valid. I am exactly what the rumors say I am." I met his eyes directly. "But perhaps you should ask yourself why your brilliant, careful, meticulous emperor looked at all of that and thought, ’Yes. Her. She’s exactly what I need.’"