A Regressed Villain: Heroines, Villainesses and Me?

"Khuckh—thud."

With his hands clutching his neck, one of the men fell from his chair, stumbling as he landed.

The woman remained trembling with fear, flanked by two other men, their foreheads damp with sweat.

A man with silver hair and sapphire eyes coldly observed his phone screen, his finger moving across the touch screen.

"Vrandins must be disappointed in you," Avendial remarked, having ensured that these people understood the true nature of fear—that loyalty often stems from ignorance of a fear far greater than their loyalty.

"S-sir... p-please," the woman stammered, her hands clutching the glass so tightly that she trembled enough to spill its contents.

Moments earlier, she had been told to take a sip, just like the man now lying dead on the floor.

"Drink it, or I will make sure your children are the first to have a sip," he warned without hesitation.

He had received information through a message from the information department of the Sertsul family, who were so efficient that they obtained details about the woman and the other three people faster than the conversation had begun.

He used this information against them, realizing they held little value for him.

"I-i—"

The woman trembled, tears streaming down her face as she gulped the drink in sheer terror, regretting her entanglement with these nobles and particularly with this man, who was a monster.

Thud.

"Khukh—Aughh!"

One by one, they slumped from their chairs due to the effects of the poison they had intended for Margaret.

Now their bodies lay limply dead.

"You seem to have little reaction, Lady Margaret," Avendial said, seating himself again and tilting his head to observe her expression, which appeared largely unchanged.

While there was no smile on her face, a slight impassiveness went unnoticed.

"I just can't fathom how low they could stoop."

Although Margaret had expected something like this and was aware of how far the Vrandins could go—even attempting to poison a Marquess—seeing firsthand what could have happened had she been in their place left her feeling a cold irritation.

"It's normal, then. I hope you owe me your life," Avendial said, cutting straight to the point.

He stood from his chair and smiled at Margaret, who seemed confused.

She sighed and nodded.

"Indeed, it appears I owe it," Margaret replied.

Having been among his first business partners, she remembered that at the age of 18, he was the one who approached her and could be considered her first investor.

Amid the decline of the Graffiti family, she had seen hope in that child that day, fostering a friendly relationship between them.

"Good then, Aria, explain everything to her," Avendial said, nodding before glancing toward Aria, pulling her from her thoughts.

Her eyes trembled, and her body appeared less composed than expected; rather than trembling in fear after witnessing the death of four people, she seemed to grow colder with each passing moment as she looked at the bodies until called by him.

"Huh? You mean....."

Aria sounded confused as she processed that his words meant she should tell this woman about the future.

Despite their apparent friendly terms, revealing something so crucial to a stranger felt perplexing.

Nonetheless, she followed his directive without further protest.

"And Dr. Etrinia, shouldn't you reconsider my offer to join the Croceaus Territory?"

Avendial said, looking toward Etrinia as he made his way out, followed by Rivia and Etrinia.

Meanwhile, both Aria and Margaret remained by the bodies, engaging in conversation.

"Sorry?"

Etrinia exclaimed, a trainee who had not even received an offer to join the territory, feeling confused about why he suggested she reconsider a proposal that had never existed.

"Exactly. I already know you would reject it, which is why I mentioned reconsidering it," Avendial clarified, as if aware she would likely refuse even if asked, thus not wasting time on a conversation whose outcome was certain.

He exited the hotel door with Rivia while Etrinia halted, looking after him.

'What a strange man, but...'

Etrinia found his personality and the way he handled situations perplexing, making it difficult for her to judge him.

He left without inquiring further about the reasons for her visit or the illness she was addressing regarding Astarra Diego.

'But,'

Etrinia could not shake the thought that there was a possibility he knew exactly what disease she was addressing in Astarra Diego.

Given his apparent strength, she was prompted to call out to him, "Sir Croceaus!"

Naturally, she had not considered revealing any information before, but it seemed inevitable he would eventually learn about it.

According to him, they were being targeted by the Ravan family, and it was possible that to protect her father, she needed help from someone of noble standing.

The only person she could think of who held the requisite power of a duke was this man.

Though she was unsure of his claims, it was indeed true that Astarra Diego had warned her about the potential targeting of her by the Ravan family, who sought to gather information about her illness.

This concern had now been validated, considering her father was being targeted.

Even more troubling was the fact that he was not only under threat in the priestly domain but even in the kingdom of Thaloris, specifically within the territory governed by Marquess.

Yet somehow, she felt he was at least safe, leading her to conclude that she needed to reveal everything to the Marquess.

"...Have you decided to tell me?"

Avendial halted in his path and looked back toward Etrinia, already expecting her to inevitably give him an answer, which had now become true as she called him out with that expression, which clearly showed that she had reached a decision regarding her answers.

"Yes,"

Etrinia nodded as she approached him, moving nearer enough considering the whole room had already been left behind, with the corridor being mostly empty except for Avendial, Rivia, and her as she got close enough to be hardly audible to anyone.

"Exactly, she is pregnant,"

Etrinia revealed the information, causing Avendial to visibly feel confused for a moment as he didn't expect it to be just a normal pregnancy thing, as there was nothing like this mentioned in the information provided by the Surtsul family.

It was given that the medical reports of that woman were mostly normal in the scheduled check-ups she had done on her body.

Given this, if she was really pregnant, it would have been known to him, unless he considered for a moment that it was indeed the case.

Then why would she react that way when he called her?

"...."

Observing Avendial's silent demeanor, Etrinia realized that it was indeed unprovable, considering the information she was going to give was even more than something any doctors would believe, let alone the Marquess himself.

"To be exact, she has been pregnant for the last 15 years."

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"....."

Avendial was slightly surprised when Etrinia mentioned it, but it seemed he did not find it believable at first, though it was definitely not as ridiculous as the world yet.

So, in the upcoming future, it was surprising to receive such information.

"I know it's hard to believe, but—"

Etrinia understood that he would likely not believe her and think she was lying, prompting her to clarify, but she was interrupted.

"No, I trust you on this. Tell me more."

Avendial assured her of his trust in her words as he further inquired, considering there seemed to be more to this fact than met the eye, as it was not normal for someone to be pregnant for such a long time.

"It's confusing, but there is a fetus inside her embryo that is not active.

I tried abortion medications and everything to remove it, but it appears unresponsive yet still present,"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Etrinia started to explain how Astara Diego definitely had the symptoms of pregnancy, as all the tests were positive.

Yet, at the same time, given such a long duration, whenever they tried to remove the unborn child from her womb, it didn't budge.

The last option was surgery, but the issue was that when they did the ultrasound, there wasn't a child visible in her womb, even though all the tests pointed toward a pregnancy, making things even more confusing.

In conclusion, the tests clearly indicated that she was pregnant, yet there was no visible child in her womb.

"This..."

Avendial seemed confused by this fact, as he wasn't very familiar with medical conditions, but he was at least aware that what she told him was definitely not normal.

Given the existence of Synergy, he linked it to some kind of ability that the woman had awakened.

At the same time, his mind recalled her response when he casually mentioned those words on the call.

"What is the relationship like between Astarra Diego and her husband?"

Avendial inquired, finding it suspicious.

He considered that there might be some ridiculous possibility, but he understood that maybe he could get some leads from this.