The Rise of the Villain (1)

"Ever since I was young." Ciaran began as he walked over to the door. "There have been many rumors about me. Ranging from me abusing my aide to using my position to force myself on any girl I see." He said.

This is the moment. Ciaran thought as he walked over to the door.

Nearly ten years ago, these rumors about him started circulating when he provided the intel for Earl Kist's downfall. Foolishly thinking it would die down on its own was a mistake on his part, and now the rumors about him were running rampant.

It wasn't difficult to discover that the rumors had originated from Duke Whiteguard, which was in response to the Earl Kist fiasco and Duke Maxamus finding the Soul or Urdur. Duke Whiteguard accepted that he would never become stronger than Duke Maxamus and decided to prepare for the future.

Hence all the rumors about Ciaran Maxamus. He was trying to discredit the future heir of House Maxamus.

But thanks to Princess Olivia's scheming, Ciaran was about to clear his name and if he played his cards right. He would be able to gain so much from this.

Placing his hand on the doorknob, he couldn't help but smile cruelly as he thought all would fall before him and opened the door.

"My second witness." He paused as he allowed a tall woman to walk in.

At first glance, many would assume she was sick as her skin had slight paleness, yet all of them would be wrong as they looked at her eyes and realized she was a hunter looking for her prey. Standing nearly six and a half feet tall with black hair elegantly tied into a bun.

Everything about this woman screamed royalty. From the way she dressed to the way she walked. Even the headmaster couldn't look her in the eye as she walked in.

Professor Carmilla Arora. Also known as Thalia Ligurio, next in line to control the Sanguine Ligurio. One of the top three vampire clans and a secret romance option in the game.

Ciaran had to suppress a shudder as he remembered that nearly two months of sleepless nights had been ruined by her when she professed her love for him in the game and kidnapped him—resulting in a game over, forcing him to start over.

"Professor Arora, thank you for coming on such short notice." Ciaran said respectfully.

She was challenging to deal with, as her personality changed on a whim. Ranging from domineering to carefree and aloof. Luckily Ciaran could pick up on these mood changes and react accordingly.

"When I'm summoned as a witness for a letter of inquiry, I can't deny it." She said as she walked in.

No nonsense mood. Ciaran thought as he prepared himself.

Only to freeze when she whispered as she walked by. "Although I do wonder why your heart is racing extra fast."

Shit. He thought.

Depending on her current mood, what was about to happen could become a major headache to deal with.

"The stories about your beauty don't do you justice." He replied in a whisper.

Professor Arora chuckled softly as she walked up to the headmaster's desk. "I'm here as requested." She said as her mood shifted into serious mode.

The headmaster just pointed at the empty seat next to Olivia, to which she declined as she sat on his desk.

"So what am I here for?" She asked.

Everyone turned their heads to Ciaran, who was still at the door talking with Cas, who had escorted Professor Arora.

"Thank you." He said softly before turning to face the crowd before him. "I called Professor Arora here because she can confirm something that no one will be able to dispute." He said with a confident smile.

No one knew what he was talking about for a moment, and it even took Olivia a moment before she was able to put the pieces together and did everything she could to appear normal. But unfortunately, she was in the presence of a powerful vampire.

Professor Arora sensed Princess Olivia's heart rate increase rapidly but decided not to say anything as things just became more interesting, and she couldn't help but feel like her boring life was about to become very exciting.

"As I said before, many rumors had been spread about me, and with the professor here, she can confirm that the rumors are false." He said as he walked up to her and offered his hand. "Professor Arora, please draw some blood to determine if I'm a virgin." He added.

Professor Arora looked at him for a moment before asking. "Young Maxamus, we have never met before, so how do you know what I am?"

There was silence as the two looked at each other for a moment before he opened his mouth to speak, and no one could understand what came out of it. Except for one person, and a very dangerous smile appeared on her lips.

"Young Maxamus, be careful not to reveal a lady's secret. Lest you want to face the consequences." She said as fangs began to appear in that very dangerous smile.

"On the contrary." Ciaran paused as he also gave a very dangerous smile. "I just wanted you to understand that I have been looking forward to meeting with you." He said.

A slight blush appeared on Professor Arora's cheeks as she said. "I do hope I live up to your expectation." As she extended her pointer finger, her nail became sharp.

Olivia watched all this happing in slow motion. Her entire plan to isolate Ciaran had been pointless. All the rumors she had spread were about to be destroyed.

Now it made sense that he would always deny her every time she tried to sleep with him. He had been planning for this for so long.

He is dangerous. She thought as she watched the professor pierce his finger.

Olivia didn't even know who Professor Arora was until she started the academy, and her royal knights briefed her as a potential danger. So how did he know about her, and how could he speak the vampiric language?

Watching Professor Arora, began to shiver as her breathing became rapid. Olivia came to the realization that Ciaran had been playing her from the beginning. This made her furious, as she remembered the words he told her.

"If you allow yourself to become a pawn, don't cry when you are used as one."

I'm still just a pawn to you. She thought as she realized she had lost to him.

Everything she had done to isolate him and make him seem like a monster was about to be undone. With the backing of the headmaster, Ciaran was about to become one of the academy's most powerful students, and no one will be able to stop him, and it only took him a week.