A Villain's Survival Guide

"Uhm... what’s going on here?"

It was rough and hoarse, the kind of voice that sounded like it was being forced through a blocked nose. And yet it rang far too familiar in Raine’s head.

AAA-CHOO!

The person let out a loud sneeze and rubbed their nose straight after, and oddly enough, that did it. She knew exactly who was standing behind her.

Her body loosened up, and she turned immediately.

"Leomaris?"

She turned. Leomaris stood there in black pajamas, Hazel trailing behind in the same. Confused as she was, her sword didn’t budge from Marie’s neck.

Leomaris gave his nose another rub, shivering in his clothes as though the cold had well and truly got into him.

"Hey, you are here," Marie said with an awkward smile.

A single intense glare from Raine, and she went quiet.

Raine’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"What are you doing here, Leomaris?"

Leomaris gave her blade not so much as a second glance and leaned against the rail. Hazel followed suit.

"I can ask you the same thing, Raine. Why do you have your sword at her neck, anyway?"

The entire situation was sitting wrong with Raine. She gestured Marie out of her blind spot and pushed her down to her knees, all without lifting the blade from her neck.

Locking eyes with Leomaris again, she spoke.

"I believe she is the person you are after. I have monitored her for over a week, and all indicators strongly suggest she is the culprit."

A frown crossed Leomaris’s face. The weight of the situation was catching up to him at last. Still, he said nothing for the next few seconds. Hazel spoke up instead.

"If that is true, then I see no option but for her to be killed, Young Master."

Leomaris remained unconvinced for the most part, content to just stare. Marie, though, was panicking now, properly. Not long ago, she’d been there with that awkward smile, like the gravity of it all hadn’t quite hit her.

"Wait... wait! I don’t know what you’re talking about — I only wanted a date with him, please don’t kill me!"

Raine’s lip curved into a sneer. The words spilling out of her were doing nothing but stoking the irritation already burning in her chest.

"Thinking about it, it did strike me as strange that she would ask to see me at eleven at night," Leomaris said, his fingers brushing his chin as he considered it.

"Wait... then why did you show up? She could kill you, you know?"

Leomaris let out an awkward laugh at the frustration bleeding through Raine’s voice.

"Please, I’m begging you... I can stay away from Leomaris if you want, just please don’t kill me."

Her trembling was plain, her voice weighed down with fear. Raine felt something stir in her for a beat, then stamped it out. She wasn’t about to be mugged off by a bit of acting.

"You are good at disguises, aren’t you? That also makes you good at acting. Do not assume I will fall for your tricks."

"I’m not acting, please. I was told he’s your fiancé, but I thought... If you’re not married, what’s the harm in trying my shot? I only asked him here at this hour because they say it’s the best time to make a wish—’11:11,’ you know?"

She couldn’t work out whether Marie was simply a brilliant actress or genuinely telling the truth. Not a trace of a lie to be found anywhere in it. Even so, the sword stayed put.

Leomaris’s expression darkened as he leaned in. "What do you mean, Marie? Care to elaborate?"

"But, Leo—

Leomaris cut her off with a gesture, his attention pulled firmly toward what Marie was saying.

"I know many of the girls have a crush on you. Not only are you smart, but you’re also handsome and a son of a Duke. It’s only natural for girls to have feelings for you... I am one of the many."

Her eyes grew watery. "I only wanted to be the lucky one, you know? I just wanted to prove I’m not weak and that I deserve your attention, so I did my best... but even so, I still couldn’t find the courage to speak to you. Not until today."

Raine gritted her teeth. "Nonsense. What happened to the curse, then? Was that your idea of a friendly gesture toward someone you like?"

Marie looked lost, but her gaze found Leomaris before anyone else’s, as though he was the only one there she could stand to look at. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"I don’t think Raine would act this way without a legitimate reason, Marie. Would you mind answering her?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don’t know anything about a curse. Why would I curse him?"

Raine frowned. Technically, she had a point. She wasn’t certain she’d cursed Leomaris yet. But even though her shallow little story answered enough to make her look clean, something about it still didn’t hold up.

"Tch. If your ability is not a curse ability, then what is it, exactly?"

Almost as though the weight of the death threat on her shoulder was finally shifting, Marie eased toward the flowers, pinched one from its pot, and let it go to the ground.

The flower, the sort of thing that shouldn’t make so much as a whisper and could be blown off by the wind, hit the tiled floor and struck a metallic note.

"My ability is steel. I can turn many things into steel. I don’t have the ability to curse anyone."

Raine still wasn’t convinced. What about the shadowy energy that had circled her yesterday? And how exactly had she scarpered from this same balcony in a matter of seconds?

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "What were you doing here yesterday?"

"Yesterday? Around this time? I came here with a friend of mine. She was the one who told me about making a wish at ’11:11.’ In fact, she brought me here specifically to demonstrate it."

’A friend?’ Realization immediately dawned on Raine. ’It was her!’

She cursed herself for the oversight. Her ability could only locate one target at a time, and the person she’d been tracking yesterday was Marie. If the energy was coming off the friend, she wouldn’t have realized it.

"I think we’re being played, Young Master. Someone is staying several steps ahead of us."

Leomaris nodded in agreement. "Indeed. I believe this person knew Raine was tracking them and intentionally planted a trail that would lead us straight to Marie."

Those words never reached Raine. "Who is this your friend?"

Marie gulped, her throat tightening. "Uhhh... Uhm..."

As she struggled to answer, her expression grew darker and darker, as though something unseen was weighing upon her mind.

Raine dug her blade into her neck. "Speak. Unless you’ve decided you’d rather die."

Marie panicked. "For some reason, I can’t remember. Trust me, I came here with them yesterday. I remember that much... but whenever I try to remember who it was, my mind goes blank."

Raine’s eyes flared with anger. She couldn’t say for certain if Marie was winding her up, but she intended to find out.

"Do it, Raine."

Leomaris spoke, and somehow just his words were enough to cool her off a little.

Raine gave a nod and activated her ability. Vision had a knack for undoing weaker spells. If there was a curse on her that had taken away the memory of who she’d spoken to, she’d know soon enough.

But soon enough her eyes opened, mouth parted, confusion and defeat written plain across her face.

One look was enough for Leomaris to clock it. "No curse on her then, I take it. It’s possible whoever it was put the spell on themselves instead."

Raine didn’t want to believe it, but it was the most logical conclusion.

Marie had been with someone, and Raine was dead certain of it. She hadn’t seen them, but she’d heard their voices. There was someone else. And not only was their elusiveness getting right under her skin, but the energy they’d piled up was enough to cause serious harm. They’d already killed fifteen.

"What do you suggest we do, Raine? I trust your judgment on this."

Raine’s expression went flat. He was the one they wanted dead above all else, and he was still trusting her with something this big?

Heavy-hearted, she steadied herself and accepted it in good faith. She chewed Leomaris’s question over for a moment and made her decision.

"I believe we should continue to regard her as a suspect. If she attempts anything suspicious, I will personally deal with it. Furthermore, I suspect the culprit possesses the ability not only to erase themselves from memory through a curse, but also to conceal themselves from sight. So we’ll drag Marie along with us until she finally catches them."

Leomaris nodded in agreement. "Even if she can’t remember, she’s clearly the only person who still remembers them. More importantly, we can’t trust her yet. I agree with your decision."

Finally, Raine drew her sword away from Marie’s neck. In response, Marie bowed, proper and low, her head pressing to the floor.

"I will do everything in my power to help you find them. You have my word, I swear it on the Marven name."