The Villain Reborn as Game's Final Boss

Chapter 284: Meet my partner [2]

"Now that I think about it, you two look like sisters when seen together."

Ana commented as she ate the food from her plate.

"Uh... I guess."

On Ana’s remark, Alicia scratched her cheek in an awkward acknowledgement.

Ashlyn, on her part, simply looked at Alicia’s blonde hair before gently stroking her own.

"Have you decided your partner?"

Interrupting the conversation, I looked at Ana, who narrowed her gaze as if suspicious of my motives.

"No."

"Then partner with her."

I looked towards Diana, who paused to raise her head, with the food still in her mouth.

"You don’t have to force yourself."

Diana, sensing Ana hesitating on the decision, munched her food before uttering the words.

"I-It’s not like that. I... uh... I mean with the princess—"

"It’s only for an assignment. You don’t have to live with her."

Seeing Ana blush, I made the comment, earning me a sharp glare, though the former was quick to change her expression.

"It will be my honour, Princess."

Sitting at the table, Ana bowed at an awkward angle.

"Have you decided?"

"Hm?"

"The partner."

Alicia clarified with a curious gaze.

She had now settled down quite a bit and was no longer avoiding my gaze—

Alicia lowered her head as I stared into her eyes for a second longer.

Maybe she hadn’t settled yet.

"Meet my partner."

Not commenting on her behaviour, I raised my right hand in the direction of where Ashlyn sat, making everyone turn their heads at the same time.

Ashlyn, on her part, simply looked at everyone, though she managed to show a small smile at the end.

"I hope you won’t have an issue with it."

Ashlyn’s voice dropped low as she whispered in a tone of apology while looking at Alicia, who had a... hurt expression on her face?

Was she hurt because I didn’t choose Victoria?

Maybe.

"No-No... it’s f-fine."

Feeling all eyes on her, Alicia dismissed it with a wave of her hands in a hurry.

"I was just surprised that you were on good terms with Brother—Kael, I mean."

Alicia awkwardly spoke my name at the end while looking at me.

Was she hesitant about calling me brother again?

Haa...

It was just some time ago that the girl had hugged me, and now she was trying to close all the distance that she had created with Kael.

I was a little hesitant about the way in which I should approach this situation.

Should I be friendly with her like how Kael had been in his childhood, or should I take a balanced approach?

"We... had a deal of sorts, and that resulted in our partnership."

"I will be supporting Ashlyn in the coming elections, so partnering with her now seemed like a natural choice."

"..."

I clarified what Ashlyn had failed to.

Was the Levaith princess trying to be gentle with Alicia, knowing that she would be hurt seeing her brother support a house that had always been a rival of the Frosts?

Well... it didn’t really matter to me what Alicia thought.

At the end of the day, Alicia... she was just a backup, nothing more.

Looking at Alicia, her eyes had turned downcast as she simply nodded her head in response to my words.

The atmosphere around the table had turned unusually quiet, as if everyone was trying to lessen the impact of my words.

Not paying attention to the people around me, I concentrated on eating the food from my plate.

The meat tasted as usual, and even the other dishes were good enough.

Hm?

Sensing a gaze on me, I slightly raised my head from the plate, only to see Ashlyn staring at me.

Her eyes... they seemed curious—

"What is it?"

"..."

My sudden question took Ashlyn by surprise, though she quickly managed to compose her reaction.

"If you have some time after the meal, I would like to discuss a few things."

"Sure."

Though I still had a neutral reaction on my face, the same couldn’t be said for my thoughts.

Honestly, I was surprised by the quick decision on the side of the Levaiths. After all, Ashlyn wanting to discuss something with me meant that her father had either rejected my offer or... accepted it.

Both decisions, irrespective of their benefit to me, were commendable within such a short period of time.

Though knowing what kind of person Damian was, it shouldn’t have been surprising for me.

He had always been an ambitious man, and betting on someone like me... Damian wouldn’t miss such an opportunity even if he had to sustain some loss in the process.

And I was betting on this very behaviour of Duke Levaith to make him move according to my wishes.

Still, it wasn’t like Damian was a kid whom I could manipulate at my will.

No.

I had to be subtle in my approach while letting Damian feel all the benefits that he could derive from me.

"Who are you going to partner with?"

I was a little curious about it.

"Sister."

Alicia still had her eyes downcast as she whispered the words in a tone that was barely audible.

Well... not that I hadn’t expected such an answer.

Who would Victoria partner with if not her own younger sister?

Nodding my head, I once again began to eat the food, though I could sense Alicia’s eyes on me from time to time.

It was as if she wanted to see what my reaction was, but sadly for her... it didn’t really matter to me if she had partnered with Victoria.

I had just asked the question to confirm my thoughts, though I wouldn’t deny that I was expecting Alicia to ask for my opinion in choosing a partner.

Honestly, I had wanted her to partner with Noah to broaden my board, but well... it wasn’t like that was the only way to use that guy.

Manipulating Noah was easy, with the only issue being his god-like instincts.

Noah, as the protagonist, had always been adept at knowing if someone was targeting him.

Sigh.

A cheat that was reserved only for the protagonist in the game. Though there were many ways to manipulate the guy without having to directly meddle in his affairs, and Alicia... she was just the best girl for this task.

Still, it wasn’t like I wanted Alicia to date Noah.

No, I wouldn’t want that hypocrite to get things as per his expectations.

What I wanted was to let the guy have a taste of the dessert while preventing him from eating the thing altogether.

I wanted him to crave Alicia without being able to truly get close to her.

Even in the game, Alicia had always been able to sway Noah’s decisions, so when the guy would grow stronger in the future, I would need this little sister of mine to play with him.

Haa...

That would require Alicia to be actually close with him without entirely falling for his protagonist charms.

This...

It would be a difficult thing to achieve, given that love had always been blind in nature, but well—

When had I ever shied away from a challenge?

Looking at Alicia, I could see her poking the food with the fork in her hand.

"Have you finished?"

I asked while fixing my gaze on Ashlyn, who had nearly finished her food.

"Yes—"