A Villain's Survival Guide

The hardest question Leomaris had the displeasure of meeting was whether to take Alicia Silverbird’s hand or not.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

He looked at the outstretched hand. Felt the gaze of all those around him. He lifted his eyes and locked them with Alicia’s. He could only wonder what her motives were.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

He kept drawing back to the letter. How affectionate it had been. But they knew nothing about each other; in fact, this was their second time ever meeting.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

He didn’t know what taking her hand meant, not particularly. But he knew he couldn’t refuse. Even if it was a trap. Not with all these gazes on him.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

’I came here for networking, didn’t I? At the very least, this could improve my reputation.’

And despite knowing Alicia most certainly had a hidden agenda, he couldn’t antagonize her. He couldn’t use ’Learn’ to figure out her motives, not when he wasn’t sure it would work. Besides, he knew he was going to take her hand anyway.

A soft, gentle smile tugged at his lips. He took her hand all the same. "It would be my pleasure, Ace Alicia."

Not a crack in her expression. As though she had known from the start that Leomaris wouldn’t refuse. With a sharp smile, she dipped her gaze in respect.

"It’s settled, then..."

Alicia took point. She walked Leomaris toward the wall, where they were almost isolated, with not many eyes lingering on them.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Leomaris met her gaze. He expected a word or two about her interest in him. But instead, she waved toward a maid passing with dressed desserts.

She hurried to grab one, gesturing for Leomaris to help himself. His confusion wasn’t his greatest concern at that moment, he knew it wouldn’t be solved that easily.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

His golden eyes traced the tray. Fruits, cakes, pudding, biscuits, and chocolates decorated with a refined sort of care that made the decision feel like more trouble than it was worth.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

None of them interested him, however. These sweets were suitable for his fiancée, Raine. As for Leomaris, having spent most of his adult life feeding on bitter medicines in the hospital, his taste was more accustomed to sour and bitter things.

He glanced at Alicia, who enjoyed her cake. For a moment, he toyed with the idea of having one too, if only so he wouldn’t come across as arrogant or rude. In the end, he thought better of it.

"Would it be possible to get something less sweet?"

Leomaris handed the wine to the maid. She vanished and returned almost immediately, a piece of dark chocolate in hand.

Leomaris smiled. "That feels like it."

When Leomaris’s eyes found Alicia again, she was smiling, quietly amused.

"They say the devil takes the best of us. But I always knew you were never truly like the rest of them."

Leomaris frowned. What on earth was she talking about? What did that mean?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

But she didn’t explain. Instead, her attention settled on his cane.

"The Apostle of Death must be good at everything, after all. There is a certain elegance in the way you carry that cane, unlike anyone else."

Leomaris gave an awkward smile. "Actually... I’m not all that perfect."

Alicia laughed softly. "I guess you’re right... you can’t handle sweets."

Leomaris went along with it. But nothing made sense to him. Why wasn’t she saying anything? She was far too free in her manner for his liking, as though they were old acquaintances and not strangers.

’Should I...?’

At this point, he found himself leaning toward using his ability on her. He already had far too many enemies and was currently occupied with not being killed by the Crimson Order, his father, and Emerald.

Having one of the strongest cadets gunning for him as well would be quite the pickle.

’If there’s anything I can do... I can fix it and regain her trust, at least...’

Not a word passed between them, yet the word rang clear in his mind. ’Learn...’

Anticipation seized him. He waited to learn whatever secret she was hiding, to make sense of the mystery behind her actions, but five seconds stretched to ten and then twenty, and nothing came of it.

He used the ability once more, just to be sure. And still, nothing happened. That alone was enough to unsettle him further than before.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

’Am I misreading her... or is she really that strong?’

He clenched his teeth. He was getting ahead of himself, and he knew it. Learn didn’t work on anyone stronger than him, and he had the scars to prove it.

"I heard you will be having a Citadel Simulation test this Monday," she said with a casual expression.

"One piece of advice: do not focus too much on passing. Try to understand the structure and attack patterns, even if it means failing. Those simulations are based on real raiding events."

Leomaris furrowed his brow. He was feeling guilty enough about too many things as it was, and Alicia’s helpful demeanor was doing nothing to ease it.

"You’re one of the most promising first-year cadets. I’d like to work on a mission with you someday before I graduate."

She smiled genuinely, eyes squeezing shut in the manner of a child utterly absorbed in their favourite dessert.

"Don’t fail me, Apostle of Death."

The moment she finished speaking, a short blonde girl appeared in the distance and called her over. She went, though not without waving at him as she walked away, smiling and all. Something Alicia Silverbird hardly ever did.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Leomaris gulped bile.

’What’s exactly going on here?’

He knew she was hiding something, or at least he had. Now his mind wasn’t quite so certain. That, and the frustration of having wasted precious memories on his ability, sat not too well with him.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

He’d burned through too many memories overusing his ability, and the worst of it was that he never felt them leave. There was no way of knowing which ones had been traded away and which hadn’t.

After a few seconds, he sank his teeth into the dark chocolate with an aggression that surprised even him.

’On the bright side, I think holding her hand would at least give me some good reputation.’

As he stood there, a sharp tug on his shirt drew his attention. He turned toward it and found himself looking into the eyes of Charlotte Greenwood.

She wore a navy dress, her dark hair slicked softly to her shoulders. Leomaris knew she was beautiful, but the sight of her now made him question his morals, given that he had once used her as cover to block an explosion.

"You look... beautiful, Charlotte."

Charlotte blushed, if only slightly. But then her gaze wandered toward Lucius and Warner, who stood off in the distance.

Lucius waved first. Warner merely nodded, a knowing smile playing on his face as though silently acknowledging him for something.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"You’re here... I’m guessing Alfred isn’t with you, because, well, he’s Alfred."

Charlotte nodded, and Leomaris reached out his hand for hers, only for that small movement to darken his expression. A sharp pain was making itself known around his back.

He brushed it off with another smile.

"How about we head to the others and have a little fun? The night is still young, after all."

After that muddled encounter with Alicia, he wanted nothing more than to use this to clear his mind.

But after a few steps, the pain in his back intensified. With each stride, it grew sharper, slowly unravelling his composure and the elegance he carried with his cane until it became a burden altogether and he dropped it.

He told himself it was a muscle pull from his reckless training and willed himself to endure it a little longer.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

But it wasn’t...

Another step, and the pain was threatening to send him to his knees.

One more, and he was on one knee, sweat breaking out across his face, his body trembling faintly.

Charlotte panicked. "Am I okay?"

Even through the distortion of her words, her concern found him. But it did little for the pain and even less for the confusion taking root in his mind.

’Di—did Alicia attack me? How?’