The Villainous Me Turned the Losers into Blackened Bosses - Chapter 310

Chapter 310: The Starting Point

—

The moment Will and Shuna left—

Strangely, as Eir stood in the now-empty basement, the steam fully dissipated, the air devoid of Will’s scent, gripping the axe in her hands…

She didn’t feel as angry as she expected.

In fact…

She lowered her head, watching her shadow stretch long across the still-steaming sauna floor, her wolf ears barely visible in the dim light.

She felt—

A faint sense of… relief?

Why?

“Did he leave with Shuna?”

“That scent in the garden… It was hers, wasn’t it?”

“…He left with that shady woman.”

Was it because…

If he really left with someone as dangerous as Shuna, he’d eventually realize he couldn’t live without her?

Or was it simply…

Calm?

She looked at the axe in her hands, still stained with the blood of the boar she’d hunted earlier. The steam had cleared now—this damp, moss-covered basement looked just like the place where she’d once trained her heat resistance under Will’s watch.

Once, he’d cranked the temperature too high in his excitement. She’d stepped out, skin flushed red for half an hour. Though she hadn’t minded, Will had panicked, dumping a bucket of cold water over her head to cool her down.

Now, Eir—

Who had once struggled to put her emotions into words—

Could finally describe how she felt.

It was like that cold water, splashing over her years later.

She felt… calm.

As if, just before she could do something irreversible, she had stopped herself.

The restless anxiety and feral instincts had been suppressed.

“…Young Master.”

She set the axe down.

Step by step, she ascended the wooden stairs, listening to the creaks beneath her feet—

And before she realized it, she found herself sitting at Will’s desk in his room.

The thick history of magic he’d been reading lay open before her.

Outside the window, the moonlight was cold and pale.

“So… this is the view from here.”

“Did… Young Master watch Eir from this spot every afternoon?”

“…It’s peaceful.”

Beyond the glass, she could see—

The tiny snowman they’d built together in the garden, its shadow stretching long under the moon.

Eir stayed there, unmoving, watching as night turned to dawn.

Only then did she jolt back to reality.

“…Ah.”

“Eir… still misses you.”

“Can’t live without you.”

“Wants you to need her…”

“Young Master.”

Where would he go?

His family home, now ruined and buried in snow?

His residence in the capital, now under Treya’s control?

That left only—

Novis Town.

Where their “adventure” began—and where they had parted.

—

“Your Majesty, the remnants of the Fourth Princess and Fifth Prince’s forces have been purged. The remaining stragglers fled into the mountains, but aside from dungeons and the Adventurer’s Guild, there are no military presences there.”

“From the capital—while you feigned disinterest, the nobles and ministers linked to them have been dealt with.”

“Unless unforeseen issues arise, you may return to the imperial palace to resume governance.”

At the northernmost fortress, the rebellion sparked by Eugenie’s death had been swiftly crushed—by Treya, in just a week.

She sat draped in thick furs, her violet eyes emotionless as she listened.

This had been expected.

No—it was Will’s prediction. He had warned her multiple times: Eugenie was a threat. She had heeded his words.

“…No need.”

Treya leaned back in her chair, considering.

“The capital’s atmosphere is already tense after the purges. If I return now, it’ll only deepen the fear. A frozen lake can only bear so much weight before it cracks.”

“…Understood.”

She was exhausted.

Even with the full power of Demon Castle Zero flowing through her, the relentless pace had worn her down.

Besides, this fortress was far from the palace—from the true seat of the Demon Castle’s power. The farther she was, the weaker her connection grew.

But this decision…

Also came from Will.

He had told her:

“If you truly want to reform the Entark Empire, you must purge the old nobility—but do it too aggressively, and you’ll spark a revolt. The best method is to make them fear you, yet cling to the small mercies you grant.”

So—

Where was he now?

Their wedding—the ritual to bind him to Demon Castle Zero—had been interrupted. That maid and witch had stolen him away. And now Shuna had slipped through her fingers in the dungeon.

But she couldn’t mobilize the imperial army to search for him.

If word spread that the emperor’s consort had vanished, every faction would target him.

She already had Eir, Leah, and Shuna to contend with. Adding more enemies would be disastrous.

What she needed was a low-profile intelligence network—like the Adventurer’s Guild’s web of informants.

But the imperial family had never prioritized dungeons or the Guild.

A fatal oversight.

“Your next move, then?”

“Where was the maid last seen?”

She didn’t ask about Shuna.

Because the last person to take Will was Eir.

“At… the Hysterm estate.”

“Then that’s our next destination. Officially, we’ll say Will wished to visit his childhood home.”

“There’s an issue.”

“What?”

“According to patrols, she’s already left for… Novis Town.”

“…Then we go there.”

“And the pretext?”

“Will wanted to revisit the starting point of his adventurer’s dream—and mine.”

—