A Regressed Villain: Heroines, Villainesses and Me?

The chandelier above cast a soft, golden glow across the spacious lounge of the Grand Opulent Hotel, creating an air of luxury and intrigue.

A trio sat around a round table by the window, their quiet murmurs nearly drowned out by the background hum of other guests enjoying their evening.

The woman in a sleek black gown leaned in, her sharp features and intense gaze exuding an authoritative presence. "Is she on her way?" she asked, her tone clipped.

One of the men, a stocky fellow with a slightly receding hairline and a scar just above his eyebrow, nodded. He nervously fidgeted with his collar, betraying his unease. "Yeah, Lady Margaret should be here soon. Her car left about an hour ago, so she'll arrive in around thirty minutes."

The younger man, lean with slicked-back hair, interrupted with an anxious chuckle. "She thinks this is just another deal. She expects us to discuss business, not her impending fate."

The woman smirked, a confident glint in her eyes. "Exactly. She's good at crafting perfumes and securing clients, but she's stepping straight into a trap. With the Vrandins backing us, her influence won't save her this time."

The stocky man glanced around the room cautiously. "Are we absolutely sure the Vrandins are solid on this?"

"They're fully committed," she replied, her tone authoritative. "Lady Neha Vrandin herself signed off on this plan. It seems she has her own grievances with Lady Margaret."

The younger man chuckled again, though the sound was laced with anxiety. "But isn't it widely known that Marquess Croceaus supports the Grafia family? What if…"

"Stop thinking for yourself," she snapped, her voice sharp and uncompromising. "We cannot afford to second-guess ourselves. This plan needs to unfold without a hitch. One mistake, and the Vrandins will drop us faster than you can say 'noble allegiance.'"

The stocky man nodded, his face pale but resolute. "The poison's ready. It'll be slipped into her drink before the meeting even begins. If she tries to back out, we have a contingency plan. The guards won't let her leave the hotel alive."

The woman leaned back in her chair, rhythmically tapping her fingers against the table, her eyes fixed on the doorway. "Alright, let's just wait and see what unfolds."

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."...you can say that," Margaret said, catching Avendial's attention. He turned his head to follow her gaze and noticed both Aria and Etrinia glancing curiously in his direction, their expressions mirroring the situation. Unlike other hotel guests, the two women seemed particularly invested in him.

"I see. Why not bring them along then?" Avendial replied, playfully engaging with Margaret's jest. Margaret, pleased by his response, nodded and waved to Aria and Etrinia, inviting them to join her.

---

"What am I doing here?" A trainee walking beside Aria wondered aloud, not fully grasping why she found herself trailing behind people she didn't even know. She recognized the woman in the front—one of the successful female entrepreneurs who had built her business from the ground up. Despite her noble lineage, the trainee didn't enjoy the same level of wealth and comfort.

Little did she know, the same woman had just encouraged her to follow along with these seemingly suspicious individuals.

"Don't ask me; I want to know, too," Aria replied. She didn't find anything particularly special about that woman, considering she was unawakened and shared stats similar to her own. Yet, it appeared that Marquess had taken a keen interest in her, just as he had shown interest in other trainees. Unusually, Marquess seemed surrounded by women rather than men this time.

As Aria's gaze drifted again, she felt a chill run down her spine. She noticed a woman with amethyst hair and matching eyes striding along the footpath, casting a cold look in her direction.

Observing Rivia's expression, Aria felt more puzzled. Even though Avendial was surrounded by several women, only his bodyguard, Rivia, regarded her with such disdain, as though she didn't consider anyone else a rival. It seemed to Aria that perhaps she was the only one thinking of these women as potential competitors for his attention—she was the one at the edge of irritation. Rivia, who was much closer to Avendial, obviously knew all too well who these individuals were.

"By the way, wasn't Vrandins also transitioning into this business?"

A voice from the front pulled Aria back to the present. She focused her attention on Avendial and Margaret, who were engaged in conversation.

"Yes, it appears they're facing losses, but why mention them....wait, don't tell me Marquess— ," Margaret replied, recalling recent conversations about friends and family who had been struggling in their businesses. Investors were rapidly withdrawing their support, suggesting they were being targeted by a rival noble family. As the implications sank in, Margaret realized Marquess was hinting that the Vrandin family was behind the trouble.

She knew she was there to secure a deal related to plots and land essential for her new perfume chains inside City A. Yet, she also recognized the need for dialogue with influential figures in the area, given that a meeting had been arranged.

If what Marquess suggested was accurate, the situation could be more complicated than she had anticipated.

After all, she wasn't naive; she understood that the Vrandins were gradually being cornered. They would undoubtedly resort to increasingly drastic measures.

Her suspicions about the matter were further confirmed by thoughts of Marquess, who had been targeted by Patric Vrandin during the Aphrodisiac event that fateful night. Marquess was also one of her business's investors, reinforcing her belief that the Vrandins could potentially take aggressive actions against her, even resorting to underhanded tactics.

"It's fine, I am here to protect Lady Margaret", Avendial in a teasing tone replied, as focused his eyes towards the way as they entered. The other gate of the hotel, which was not far away from them, arriving, as while entering, His words caused a chuckle from Margaret.

"Indeed, it's pleasure to be saved by a knight", Margaret Just added in a humorous way as followed along.

"I must say, Lady Margaret, being a Marquess, I am offeneded you called me a knight"

"fufu, I apologies Marquess"

'....' Aria While moving and hearing their conversation, they slowly realized that there was no romantic thing like what they expected between them. It was more like a friendship, as their conversation were simply vague and as if habitual.

It was more like the conversation between friends rather than what she feared.

---

Finally arriving outside a room, as its doors slumped open revealing a hall room, inside which at the center was a dining table where seated was four people as Avendial made his way inside. Behind him drilled four women in particular—Rivia, Etrinia, Aria, Margaret and her assistant.

Moving as he arrived towards the table with his hands resting on his pocket, observing the people who seemed clearly unfamiliar to him, clearly making him understand they were not of that much importance in the future, so getting rid of them wasn't a hassle, as according to his memory there was a poisoning event that had occurred in here and assistant of Margaret was the one who died.

Though the event was soon enough investigated and ended with the arrest of these four of them but it was true that behind it was Vrandin who were of the main target, especially Neha Vrandin who could be considered a selfish and ambitious woman who went as far as to plot against Margaret until the end.

Setting aside their apprehension, all four individuals seated around the round table slowly rose to their feet, uncertainty evident in their expressions as they beheld the unexpected number of people accompanying Margaret. They had anticipated only her or perhaps her assistant, not a gathering of several others.

"Greetings, Lady Margaret, but…" The woman who stepped forward to greet Margaret did not even attempt to disguise her dissatisfaction and confusion. She directly inquired about the identity of Margaret's entourage.

As Margaret glanced at the other women and men, it became clear they resembled celebrities, which made her hesitate to compliment them or ask questions. The uncertainty in her voice was apparent, heightened by the obvious prestige of the group before her.

"Are you Cristopher Adriaha?" Margaret quickly asked, noticing that the woman's manners seemed lacking. She directed her question to the man who appeared to be the focal point of their displeasure.

"What?—" The woman opened her mouth to respond, her brow furrowed in confusion at Margaret's question. But before she could voice her thoughts, one of the men interrupted, saying, "It's me."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Hm. So, why did you bring this woman and the other three people here?" Margaret inquired candidly, trying to clarify the situation, as this meeting was ostensibly about a business deal between her and Cristopher.

"Huh?" The man's look of surprise betrayed the fact that he had not expected such a question from her.

"I am his business partner," the woman interjected, raising her hand with a firm gaze fixed on Margaret, her tone steadfast.

"Same here. And beside me is my investor, Marquess Croceaus," Margaret informed them, echoing the importance of her companions as well.

'!?!'

"Wh-what!?" The four of them were visibly taken aback upon hearing the name of the man accompanying Margaret, who had nonchalantly taken a seat at the table before anyone else could react.

Their eyes widened in shock as they processed the unexpected turn of events.

Naturally, they had expected the meeting and the poisoning event to go as flawlessly as possible. However, suddenly the person involved was Marquess Croceus, who was clearly well known and had much more influence than the backing of the Vranden family. Stay connected through empire