How the Villain Invests in the Female Lead

I nocked an arrow and drew the bow, aiming at my targets. I was ready to release it at any moment.

As soon as they entered the trap zone, my wife, without hesitation, manipulated her sewing needles to attack them, drawing deafening screams of pain.

I released a series of arrows toward them, the arrows sinking deep into their bodies. Some candidates realized it was a trap and immediately tried to escape the area.

"Damn! I Knew it. It’s a trap!" a candidate yelled in anger while clutching the arm that had been pierced by my arrow.

I continued shooting arrows at them. This was the perfect time to sow confusion and disrupt their formation. That way, the traps I had set around the area would have a much higher chance of succeeding.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhh! My feet!" a candidate screamed in agony as a bear trap snapped shut around his feet.

Several candidates nearby suffered the same fate, but they were still the lucky ones. The unlucky ones fell into the spiked pits and were impaled on the stakes, dying instantly.

[Current Score: 7 Points]

I smiled as I continuously released arrows at the candidates, who had been slowed down by my traps. One after another, they fell.

+1

+1

+1

...

Combined with my wife’s attacks, we soon wiped out all of the candidates.

[Current Score: 16 Points]

"Very good."

I quickly headed over to my wife and checked her condition.

"You see? My plan worked."

My wife stared at me with resentment-filled eyes before huffing,

"Your plans always disgust me. Using your wife as bait?"

I sighed and quickly checked the ranking board.

~~ Ranking broad~~

1, Lancelot du Lac/ 62 Points

2, Scarlet Pendragon/ 52 Points

3, Tristan de Lyonesse/ 40 Points

4, Maria Fairchild/ 40 Points

...

32, Doran Todd/ 23 Points

...

40, Bobby Hill / 20 points

...

50, Henry Albert/ 16 Points

53, Arthea Albert/ 14 Points

...

200, Shawn Stephens/ 4 points.

...

1234, Alicia Stephens/3points

..

3453, Alina Hill/ 2 points

..

I frowned.

"Seems like we need to work harder. Our ranks aren’t as high as we need to be."

Then, I quickly concealed the spiked pits with leaves and reactivated all the traps around the area before hiding myself in the nearby bushes.

My wife resumed her role as bait, attracting candidates to the area. Indeed, my plan was still working to some extent. A lot of lower-potential candidates were drawn here.

With the support of the traps, we could kill them easily without facing much difficulty.

My score rose from 16 points to 32 points. My wife reached 30 points.

However, as time passed, candidates with higher potential also began to appear, and my traps no longer worked as smoothly as before. In those situations, I had to reveal myself and fight them directly.

Of course, they didn’t cause me much trouble.

Around three hours later, my score had reached 53 points, while my wife had 49 points.

As we prepared for the next group of candidates, I narrowed my eyes when I saw them.

Three [F+]-Rank candidates and one [E –]-Rank candidate.

The four of them leisurely walked toward my trap zone, barely showing any concern. One of the three [F+]-Rank candidates stepped forward and formed a strange hand seal.

Just half seconds later, a horde of Shadow Wolves emerged from the ground, clearing the way for them. All of my traps were completely neutralized as the wolves sniffed them out and warned their master.

Their howls echoed throughout the area as the candidates approached my wife.

I let out a sigh and simply stepped out of the bushes, heading toward my wife. There was no reason to hide anymore.

My wife’s eyes flashed with cold fury as she growled,

"It’s you, Tristan... I didn’t expect a loser like you to come looking for me."

I raised an eyebrow upon hearing that. It seemed my wife knew this guy. I assessed the handsome mannequin standing ahead of us.

Tristan smirked.

"You sure talk big for someone in your current state—a cripple. You’re no match for me now."

Then, he glanced at me. A cruel grin spread across his face, enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.

But I merely stared back at him with my usual hollow eyes.

"Greetings, third son of the Ninth Round Table Knight... Oh, I forgot. Your father is no longer a Round Table Knight. After all, he lost in the Holy War against the demons."

Well, he was trying to piss me off, but unfortunately, I wasn’t the kind of person who would be provoked by such cheap words. So I simply stared at him calmly as usual while simultaneously assessing my chances of winning this fight against four enemies.

Tristan chuckled.

"You’re far different from the rumors, Sir Henry. I have to compliment your acting throughout all these years. Honestly, I hope you succeed in taking the heir position from your brothers."

I replied in a neutral tone.

"Get to the point."

Tristan smirked.

"You’re exactly the type of person I like to work with, so I won’t beat around the bush."

"I want you to become my subordinate and hand your wife over to me."

I answered without hesitation.

"No."

Tristan tilted his head in amusement, about to say something, but I cut him off.

"Don’t talk anymore."

...

"So, all of you will fail the exam," Tristan said as he gestured for his subordinates to act.

Shadows began to emerge around my wife, as if they had been preparing for this from the very beginning. I immediately understood why. While talking to me, they had been buying time to send their shadows toward my wife.

"He’s smart."

I simply stared at my wife with my usual emotionless eyes. However, not only had Tristan prepared a plan, I had already prepared an escape route for my wife.

Suddenly, an unexpected figure appeared. A charming man descended from the sky, releasing a wild aura that instantly erased the shadows surrounding my wife.

"Don’t hurt my concubine."

Lancelot landed in front of me while glaring at Tristan. Then, he turned toward me.

His eyes filled with irritation.

"You don’t deserve her."