The Villainess Wants To Retire-Chapter 442: False Calm

"Your Majesty, again, my apologies," Jorel began. "But you needed to know immediately. The search for Lady Bianca... we have reports."

Soren’s jaw clenched. "Where?"

"In the capital," Jorel said. "Multiple witnesses have spotted her in the lower districts over the past forty-eight hours. She’s been seen near the grain docks and the weaver’s quarter."

"How reliable?" Soren demanded.

"Confirmed by four separate witnesses, Your Majesty. She isn’t hiding well—or she doesn’t care to. She was spotted wearing a tattered cloak, but the dark blue hair is unmistakable."

Ryse stepped forward, his brow furrowed. "She’s either desperate, or she’s planning something and is beyond caring about detection. She’s staying in the city."

Soren’s mind went immediately to Eris. Bianca’s obsession with the "usurper" was well-documented. If she was in the capital during the Long Dark, she wasn’t here for the scenery. She’s hunting, he thought, a cold dread settling in his gut.

"And Viktor?" Soren asked. "Is he secure?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Jorel confirmed. "He was taken without further incident. He is confined in the high-security cells, guarded by a double rotation. No visitors. He is awaiting trial alongside Lady Vetra."

One threat was behind bars, but the more volatile daughter was still a shadow in the streets.

Soren didn’t hesitate. "Double the search. I want every available guard on the streets before the snow traps them. Question the witnesses again... I want her pattern, her timing, everything. Find out where she’s sleeping."

He turned his focus to the palace itself. "Triple the security around the Empress’s wing. Discreetly. I don’t want her feeling like a prisoner, but I want a wall of steel between her and the rest of this palace. No one gets close to these doors without my personal clearance."

He looked at Ryse. "Coordinate with the city guard. Lock down the inns and the soup kitchens. If she’s in the city, she needs food and shelter. Find her, Ryse. And when you do..." he paused, his voice turning cold. "Bring her in alive. I want answers about what she and her father as well as Vetra were really planning."

Jorel bowed and hurried off to execute the orders, leaving Soren and Ryse alone in the flickering light of the sitting room.

"The festival," Ryse said, his voice quieter now. "We had to close it. The temperature is dropping faster than I’ve seen in years. Most of the citizens are already home, securing their shutters and preparing for the freeze."

"Good," Soren said. "The sooner they’re off the streets, the easier it will be to spot a lone woman in a tattered cloak."

They spent a few minutes covering the logistics of the Long Dark. The supply status was adequate; the storehouses were bursting with grain and salted meat, and the firewood stockpiles were sufficient for a two-month freeze. The city was prepared for the hibernation.

"Keep me updated," Soren said, dismissing his commander. "Any news, immediately. I don’t care if I’m sleeping."

Ryse bowed, a small, knowing smirk returning to his face. "Of course, Your Majesty. Enjoy your... evening."

Soren gave him a mock glare. "Out."

As Soren walked back toward the bedroom, the weight of the night began to settle on his shoulders. Everything was converging. The "reality crack" he had seen during the demon attack still had no explanation. The beasts were behaving unnaturally, the seal on Eris’s magic was fluctuating, and his letter to Master Aldwin—the only man who might have answers—remained unreturned.

Something felt fundamentally wrong. It was the calm before a chaos he didn’t yet understand. He felt a sudden, fierce surge of protective instinct. He needed to be near Eris. He needed to know she was safe.

When he re-entered the bedroom, Eris was sitting up, the blanket wrapped around her shoulders like a regal cape. She took one look at the tension in his jaw and the way he held his shoulders.

"What was that about?" she asked directly.

Soren considered deflecting, but he knew it was useless. She would smell the lie on him. He crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed beside her.

"News," he said. "i should have told you this before but Viktor has been arrested . He’s in the cells."

Eris nodded, a flash of satisfaction in her eyes. "Good. About time that snake was caged."

"But Bianca escaped," Soren continued, watching her reaction. "She attacked a guard during the arrest and used her magic to flee."

"She’s been spotted in the capital," he added. "Multiple times over the last two days."

Eris’s expression shifted, her eyes narrowing as she processed the information. "So she’s hunting." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Most likely," Soren said, reaching for her hand and squeezing it. "And she might be out to get you. We’re not sure yet..."

Eris let out a short, scoffing sound. "Please, Soren. Don’t insult me. I can handle a desperate noblewoman with a grudge."

"I know you can," Soren said softly. "But I still worry. She’s unstable, and she has nothing left to lose. And then there’s your seal..."

The real concern wasn’t Eris’s skill. It was the fact that her magic was acting like a dying star—unpredictable and volatile. If the seal cracked during a fight with Bianca, she could level half the city.

"The old dragon is asleep, Soren," Eris said with a strange, calm certainty. "In fact, I think he’s been asleep for a very long time. He isn’t the threat you think he is."

Soren blinked in surprise. "You sound very confident. Like you’ve know him personally..."

Eris gave him a small, cryptic smile. "Well... I guess you could say that."

Soren stared at her. What? He wanted to press her, to demand what she meant by that, but his mind was already swirling with a dozen other mysteries.

He looked at his hands, feeling the hum of his own ice magic. They were standing on the edge of a discovery, something fundamental and world-changing. Their world had secrets they were never meant to know, hidden truths buried beneath the ice and fire.

Soren was lost in his spiral of worry, his eyes fixed on the flickering shadows on the wall. He was drowning in "what-ifs."

"Soren," Eris said, her voice sharp enough to cut through his thoughts.

He blinked and refocused on her. "Sorry. I’m just... thinking."

Eris shifted her position, looking at him with an expression that was almost too casual.

"Speaking of dragons..." she began, as if she were asking if he wanted more tea. "Do you think you’re one?"

The world stopped. Soren’s brain suffered a complete and total short-circuit. He froze, his mouth slightly open, the question echoing in the silence of the room.