Chapter 14: To Win a Villainess
Being the most high ranked and popular at the moment, Mareeonel and Erionella sat at the table with the hostess as virtuoso's of the violin and piano played and paintings done by the finest artists were admired.
Erionella half-heartedly looked at everything as each move she had revised the previous day rolled around in her head.
Things were going smoothly but she could notice Beneditel's occasional glances that seemed to judge and scrutinize her very existence.
Though she wasn't really affected, as everyday she got weird stares from Crinoel, she felt her palms sweat as her plan to win Beneditel mainly depended on a person that wasn't here yet.
'I hope she received the invitation'
Her plan was simple and risky.
She looked at the tiny dirt stains on Beneditel's dress carefully and used the books basic plot to judge.
As previously mentioned, in three year's time, Beneditel would chase the male lead, which is her brother to the ends of the continent with the intention of taking his head, but all people would fail, including her top assassin, Veloryn who she met at the birthday ball.
So she would try to take him down herself.
Beneditel had worked so hard to be the head of her family as she was the eldest and hated the inequality given to females in the society. And in order to fight back, she would educate herself in many fields of life, including swordsmanship.
"Hey! Where's Lady Herlento!" The loud voice of a lady was heard at the gates of the Salon as the guards tried to arrest the noise.
"You cannot enter without an invitation"
The ladies tone changed to an authoritative one as she folded her arms and looked down on them before throwing an envelope into their faces and pushing them to the side.
The guards looked at the invitation and turned pallid when they realized the lady was invited by Duke Garcia's fiancée.
Waves of murmurs and whispers went through the tables as everyone looked at the lady with black hair and golden eyes. She was none other than Lady Veloryn.
'Yes! She received the invite! Great job Irliona. I might even increase your pay. But I fear the Renowarin family income would be exhausted if I continued doing that'
Every main character had a goal in the book.
Crinoel, the villain, would want to enter Ulenov and bring back his mother.
Mareeonel, the heroine, was set on restoring balance to the world of magic.
Elliot, the Crown Prince, was obviously planning to become Emperor.
Harim, was set on standing by Crinoel's side faithfully and repaying him back.
Beneditel, the villainess, wanted to become the head of her family.
And Veloryn, an antagonistic character, wanted to fulfill her dream of becoming a high ranked knight.
Even Erionella herself had a goal, which was to enter Ulenov and get the wishing stone and return back to her world and be alive for one year so her soul wouldn't be destroyed.
And in a way, all their goals were connected and had relationship with each another.
Like Veloryn and Beneditel who had a master-servant relationship in the novel.
There would come a time in Veloryn's life were she no more believed in the human race. In human feelings. And that was where she met Beneditel who became the master of her life.
To her, Beneditel's strength was amazing. Standing strong in order to become the head of her family which was similar to her goal of being a knight in many unclear ways.
"Assassinate my brother and then you will become a knight"
Veloryn would of course fail in assassinating the male lead and would eventually die.
But Erionella had realized she had a way of using all their ambitions to her own advantage. If she played her cards right, all the main characters could be under her control. She had information from the novel and knew how to survive any situation. Power was also a very important thing, so she was ready to gain it.
Veloryn was probably nineteen and Beneditel eighteen or there about. And Erionella in this body, was twenty-one, but she was thirty-two in her past life.
She was good at manipulating people and had a far more mature mindset.
"A good day to you, Lady Herlento" All eyes turned to Veloryn as she greeted Beneditel and declared her request "I'd like to challenge you to a duel, preferably with the sword"
More murmurs and whispers went through the crowd as everyone looked at the drama unroll in front of them.
'Yes! She took the bait! Phew. I wasn't ready to pretend to be a well-bred lady worthy of being the Duke's fiancée'
TWO DAYS AGO
"Hey Irliona, Sophella. Do you know how I can get an extra invitation to Lady Herlento's salon?" Erionella asked as she sat in her room, tired of racking her brain.
"I'm not sure. I've never learnt anything on Salon invitations" Sophella said honestly.
Erionella turned her gaze to the Irliona which wore a blank expression, except in her eyes which screamed a very common word these days.
"I gold is all I can give, IF you can get an invitation" Erionella said as she thought of her financial situation was not aware of yet.
"To get an invitation. Hmm, the salon opening is in two days so 1 gold may not able me to get an invitation before then…
"Fine! I small gold coin and 1 big! There! That's seriously all I can give, unless you want my arteries to explode AFTER I've fallen dead due to hunger because my family went bankrupt!"
"You don't have to make it sound so dramatic" Irliona 'mumbled' loud enough for her to hear. "I'll get the invitation in one hour time"
"Hey, you're just robbing the Lady! Don't you have a conscience, Irliona?" Sophella asked as she faced Irliona.
"I haven't bought a conscience yet. Once I've saved up enough money I'll consider buying one. But will a conscience bring in more money?" Irliona asked blankly as she walked out of the room with a basket of dirty clothes.
"W, what?" The bewildered Sophella went out too with another basket of clothes to wash, leaving the calculating Erionella to realize something.
'My invitation, allows me to bring another person! Damn, you thieving Irliona!'
BACK TO PRESENT TIME
"A good day to you, Lady Herlento" All eyes turned to Veloryn as she greeted Beneditel and declared her request "I'd like to challenge you to a duel, preferably with the sword"
Anyways, here's the plan. Veloryn and Beneditel have a duel.
As part of the law of duels, the winner gets to demand something from the loser.
I have already gotten permission from Crinoel, and he's going to assess Veloryn as a knight. If she passes the assessment, which I'm sure she will, she will then become a knight.
I have presented this opportunity to Veloryn with the condition that if she wins, her request to Beneditel will be given to me.
In the novel, Beneditel was said to be the strongest female in swordsmanship and magic, even stronger than Mareeonel the heroine, but she only could lose to the male lead.
Veloryn was second to her in skill, but in the current timeline, I am almost confident that Beneditel cannot win against Veloryn.
Why? Just wait and see.
"I accept your challenge" Beneditel said with a smirk as she dropped the teacup on the table.