Ascension Of The Villain

As the dusk settled in the next day, Iyana found herself at the entrance of the Ashstone Manor. The servants greeted her as usual, like a regular guest, not even surprised to see her anymore at odd times.

"Good evening, my lady," came Clyde's voice, flashing her an enthusiastic smile. "What brings you by so late? A scheduled date night with My Lord, perhaps?"

His teasing glint didn't go unnoticed by her as she rolled her eyes. "No. Just dropping by to check if His Serene Grace got himself kidnapped for the third time or not."

Clyde chuckled. "No worries. He didn't get kidnapped. Howeverrrrr," he paused a bit for humorous exaggeration, "he did get swallowed up by the library."

"What, did he stumble upon an irresistible novel series he can't put down?" Iyana arched an eyebrow.

"Who knows?" Clyde shrugged his shoulders in a playful manner. "Maybe he will tell you himself if you ask." He nudged her towards the direction of the library. "So, why don't you go ahead? You know the way, don't you?"

Iyana shook her head, exhaling through her nose in exasperation, and made her way towards the grand library in the west of the manor.

As she got closer, her palms came up to rub her upper arms, soothing and calming herself.

Don't think about the investigation around him, she repeated to herself.

Yesterday, during the investigation, no sooner had Vyan's name popped up in her mind as a suspect, she pushed it down. There was no way Vyan would do something so reckless as planning to assassinate the emperor with an explosion. Sure, knowing him, he was not above killing the emperor, but he wouldn't choose this route.

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After all, Vyan had a twisted preference for slow, agonizing deaths.

So, her purpose for coming here tonight was genuinely to check up on Vyan. His mood had been down for the last few days; something had been bothering him enough to forget having meals and sleeping.

Pushing open the library doors, she realized his situation hadn't changed much.

A tray of food was getting cold on one side of the table, while on the other side, Vyan slept with his cheek resting flat on top of the thick books spread out in front of him.

Iyana quietly closed the doors and approached his motionless body on the chair. Her fingers traced over the worn out books, reading a few of the titles, like 'Mental Instability Is A Not Myth,' 'Lost Of Balance Between Reality & Imagination,' 'My Crazy Life,' 'Stages Of Trauma And How To Deal With Them,' 'Possessed By A Devil… Or Not?' and etcetera.

"What the hell have you been reading, Vyan…" Iyana muttered under her breath, her expression skeptical and confused. Why in the world would he be reading something like these? Why would he want to know how to deal with mentally unstable people?

Tearing her befuddled gaze away from the weird books, she looked at Vyan—the dark bags under his eyes, the exhaustion on his face, the pages underneath his head possessing rippled streaks, the words smudged by what were most likely droplets of tears.

With her chest churning, Iyana's hand reached out to touch his hair, tenderly stroking his head. "I wonder what it is that's been making you cry like this." Her fingers threaded through his soft dark hair. "I hate seeing you upset."

She leaned down to place a featherweight kiss on his cheek and whispered, "Isn't there something I can do to make it all miraculously better for you?"

Vyan's eyes fluttered open, and her heart almost paused. His wine-red eyes met violet eyes in a hazy daze, only inches away from each other. And suddenly, she felt like a deer caught in front of a carriage, unable to move or talk.

"Um—" Her poor attempt at forming a sentence was forgotten as a lazy, dopey smile spread across his lips. And here went the butterflies.

"Iyana," he murmured, his voice gravelly with sleep, a hint of wonder and excitement exuding through his tone.

For a moment, she just kept blinking and staring into his all-consuming eyes before she realized she was going to get sucked into them for eternity if she didn't snap out soon. His eyes were too addictive to not stare into, after all. Not to mention, Iyana's resistance against this particular man was close to zero.

We are so close… If I lean just a little closer, I can even kiss him– wait, oh, no, what if he thinks I was actually sneaking in a kiss?

Realizing how their closeness might be interpreted by Vyan, her cheeks colored with a subtle shade of pink. So, she quickly straightened up and was about to take a step back.

"Uhm, hey, hi. I just, uh, I saw you were sleeping—" But before she was successful in backing away, a pair of arms caged her in by the waist.

Vyan pulled her closer, almost instinctively, like he was afraid she would disappear if he let go.

His head rested against her stomach, his face nuzzling into the soft fabric of her dress with a playful, almost childlike eagerness. He sighed contentedly, his breath warm against her skin. There was a quiet hum of comfort vibrating through his chest that made her heart pound harder than usual.

"Stay," he whispered, his voice barely audible, like his vulnerability was a secret meant only for her.

At first, she was too taken aback by the gesture to respond, just frozen under his bold embrace. But when his touch settled in and became comfortable, her hand slowly moved to his hair. Her fingers ran through the locks with a gentleness she wasn't aware she possessed until recently. She let herself indulge in the warmth of his body, in the way he fit against her as if he belonged there.

In response, his arms tightened around her waist. Together with his gentle yet tight embrace, there was a silent plea in his touch, as if he was seeking solace in her presence. And Iyana would be damned if she didn't give the solace he so desperately wanted.

"Hey," she called out in a whisper, her fingers massaging his scalp and earning a pleased hum. "Do you, uh, want to sleep with me?"