Chapter 86 | Survival Guide for the Otome Game's Villain

The next morning, Erich was stared awake.

When he opened his eyes, the young princess, Nora, was leaning right beside his pillow. Resting her chin on her hand, she stared at him without blinking, and there was no telling how long she had been watching him.

Seeing him wake up, Nora's eyes curved into a sweet, honeyed smile, making her look like a completely different person from the red-eyed girl who had thrown herself into his arms the previous night.

“You're awake.”

“Yeah,” Erich murmured, instinctively shrinking toward the far side of the bed.

He had actually slept quite well last night. After all, those days of traveling and studying magic had exhausted him to the bone. But now, he was wide awake.

The young princess stood up and walked barefoot across the carpet to pour him some water, looking back at him as she walked. But that look in her eyes...

It was the look of a hunter watching a prey that had finally fallen into their trap.

Erich took the glass, took a sip of water, and tried to suppress the creeping sense of unease in his heart.

“Nora, don't you have to go to class today?”

“No classes this morning,” the young princess said, sitting back down on the edge of the bed. “I had a maid request a leave of absence for me. Don't go anywhere for the next few days; just stay here with me. The matters outside have been mostly settled.”

The situation outside had indeed been resolved for the most part.

Unable to withstand the pressure from various factions, the Lombard family had finally pushed forward a minor noble named Pelton to take the fall. They claimed Pelton had forged evidence under the family's name to frame an innocent man. After surrendering the mining rights to several ore veins and a portion of their profits along the northern trade route, the matter was finally put to rest. Erich's wanted poster was withdrawn, and the academy was notified that his name had been cleared, allowing him to return to class at any time.

From the moment he was wanted to the clearing of his name, the entire affair hadn't lasted very long. Ultimately, it had very little to do with him anyway; he had simply been caught up in the power struggle between various factions.

And so, Erich was kept in the princess's room.

The first day was fine. Nora busied herself arranging food and daily necessities for him, dragging him into conversations and asking how much hardship he had suffered during his time away, without doing anything out of line.

But by the second day, things began to feel a bit off.

The young princess's gaze grew increasingly intense. No longer satisfied with just sitting next to him and talking, she would lean close at the slightest opportunity to adjust his collar or stroke his hair. “Your hair is shorter,” she would murmur, or “These clothes are a bit old,” all while showing no intention of pulling away. When night fell, she would slip under the covers, pressing her entire body against his, and whisper, “Erich, you'll stay in Radiant City forever, right?”

“Yes,” Erich replied.

“Then... will you always stay by my side from now on?”

The question made Erich's heart skip a beat. He had to choose his words carefully. “I'm a student at the academy. Where else could I possibly go?”

The young princess tightened her grip around his waist.

In the middle of the night, Erich woke up to find that the young princess wasn't asleep either. She was staring at him in the moonlight with a clingy, intense gaze that carried implications he didn't dare ponder too deeply.

If he stayed any longer, he would eventually be eaten alive.

On the morning of the third day, Erich made up an excuse, saying he needed to visit Old Barto at the graveyard. The young princess pouted heavily, but she ultimately let him go. Before he left, she stuffed a bag of warm pastries into his hands. “Come back as soon as you're done,” she insisted.

“Alright,” Erich agreed, though he secretly thought, whether I actually come back is a different story.

He walked with brisk steps as he left, moving almost as fast as he did when fleeing for his life.

By early October, the weather in Radiant City had already turned chilly, and most students had switched to winter clothing. Erich walked halfway across the campus and followed the path toward the graveyard. From a distance, he could see the gravekeeper's cabin. Old Barto was squatting by the entrance, basking in the sun with a wine flask cradled in his arms, looking completely at peace with the world.

Upon seeing Erich, Old Barto's eyes instantly lit up.

“Oh! Little Erich is back! You've gotten thin, so thin. You must have suffered quite a bit out there, haven't you?”

“I did alright,” Erich said with a smile. “How have you been these past few days?”

“Splendid, just splendid,” Old Barto said, rubbing his hands together with a beaming smile. “It's just that... the weeds in the yard have been growing like crazy. I can't keep up with them on my own, and I was just worrying about what to do.”

Erich knew exactly what he was getting at. When he had first arrived, the graveyard had also been overgrown with weeds, and he had ended up clearing them out.

“I'll clear them out this afternoon,” Erich offered.

Old Barto nodded in delight and turned to head inside to boil some water for him.

Standing at the doorway and looking at the familiar cabin, Erich felt a rare sense of peace wash over him.

He pushed the door open, stepped inside, and froze right at the threshold.

There was someone in the room.

A woman was sitting beside his old desk. She wore a neat, crisp maid uniform, and her long, pale silver hair cascaded down to her waist. Seeing Erich enter, she slowly stood up and bowed slightly toward him, a faint, unreadable smile playing on her lips.

“Welcome back, Master Erich.”

Erich promptly shut the door.

Standing outside, he braced himself mentally before slowly pushing the door open a crack.

The pale-silver-haired maid was still standing in the exact same spot, her posture unchanged. Seeing him peer in, she nodded slightly again, her face wearing that same emotionless smile.

Erich shut the door once more.

This time, however, he couldn't close it. A hand pressed against the door from the inside, and the maid pushed it open, leaning halfway out. “Please come inside, Master. It is cold out.”

Erich stared at her for a long moment before finally letting out a sigh and stepping inside.

Bypassing the maid, he sat down on the bed. A dilapidated wooden cabin, a man and a woman in silence—the entire scene felt undeniably bizarre.

“Ahem,” Erich cleared his throat. “What are you doing here, Vivian?”

He had recognized her at first glance. In the memories left behind by his predecessor, this woman appeared with astonishing frequency. Vivian was a commoner orphan adopted by his predecessor's mother when she was still alive. She had been raised in the estate as a maid and was later assigned to Erich as his personal maid.

As for how his predecessor had treated her...

From a young age, his predecessor had looked down on this commoner girl. While his mother was alive, he had exercised some restraint, limiting his cruelty to cold words. But once his mother passed away, he had found endless ways to torment her. He made her stand in the courtyard all night in the dead of winter, “accidentally” spilled scalding soup on her hands, and forced her to clean up the shards of antique porcelain he had intentionally smashed, leaving her hands cut and bloody. Later, he had gone even further; on several occasions, he had genuinely tried to kill her.

Anyone else would have died a hundred times over. That Vivian had survived to this day was a testament to her sheer luck.

Yet now, this maid who had been tormented nearly to death by his predecessor was sitting right in front of him.

Why on earth was she here? No matter how much he racked his brain, Erich couldn't understand.

“Because I am your maid, Master,” Vivian replied.

Erich frowned. “I have been expelled from the family, Vivian. You are no longer my maid.”

Vivian merely repeated, devoid of emotion, “Because I am your maid, Master.”

“Then how did you find this place?”

“News about you is not difficult to come by.”

Erich realized he had no leverage against her. Her completely impervious attitude left him at a loss for words.

Fine. He decided to change the subject. “You don't plan on living here with me, do you?”

The cabin only had one bed, and he could hardly make her sleep on the floor. If it came to that, he would probably have to pack up and move back to the academy dorms tonight.

Vivian gently shook her head. Walking over to his side, she leaned down and whispered into his ear:

“I have my own lodging, so there is no need for you to worry, Master.”

“However, please remember, Master, you are no longer an Edmond. You must act with caution and restraint, or you may find yourself losing your life when you least expect it.”

Erich felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He turned to look at her, but Vivian had already straightened up. Taking two steps back, she bowed to him, her face still wearing that same unreadable smile.