Villain: 10x Rewards Begins With The Protagonist's Mother

’Hm?’ Dante noticed her from across the table and smiled. ’Does she like cats that much?’

She was burying her face in the cat’s fur so he couldn’t see how red it was.

’Maybe we should get one.’

If he knew what was going through her head, he wouldn’t be thinking about adopting a cat. He’d be ordering all kinds of maid costumes for her.

After the cafe, they still had a few hours left before sunset.

Both of them went to an accessories store where Natasha ended up spending half an hour trying on various things while he gave his opinion on every single one.

In the end, she didn’t buy any of them so Dante bought a hair clip for her.

A small one with a raven on it.

As they passed a photo booth on the way out, Dante pulled her inside before she could find any excuse to refuse.

The space was tiny and their shoulders were pressed right against each other.

The machine counted down and she panicked because she didn’t know what expression to make. The photos came out with Dante smiling in every single one and Natasha looking like she was being held hostage.

She wanted to get rid of them but there was no way he was letting that happen.

These were precious memories of their first date.

They grabbed food from a stall on the ground floor and ate while walking.

At some point, the sun started going down.

The light coming through the glass ceiling of the plaza shifted from white to orange. The crowd was slowly thinning out and the place was getting quieter.

They walked back to the car.

Natasha looked at the plaza through the window with a reluctant face as they drove onto the road.

She didn’t want this day to end.

It was the best day she had in a very long time.

She couldn’t even remember when she last laughed and played without a single worry on her mind.

’Why does it have to be just till sunset...?’ She watched the sun sinking behind the buildings as they passed by.

And, her eyes closed before another thought could form.

’She fell asleep?’ Dante raised his eyebrows after noticing, but it wasn’t really a surprise. She hadn’t been getting any real sleep for the past few days.

He slowed the car down so she could rest without any disturbance.

Looking at her sleeping face, the scenes from the day rushed back through his mind and a smile settled on his face.

This was the best day he had in a while too.

’But...’ He looked at the road ahead, a cold light flashing through his eyes. ’this is only possible because he’s not here.’

He thought about the night she cried leaning against his chest, pouring out everything she had been holding in for years.

Then he looked at the woman sleeping next to him. The same woman who laughed until she couldn’t breathe today, who threw a stack of bills at a claw machine, who punched a strength tester to death and ran through a mall like a teenager.

In the original story, none of that happened.

She eneded up as nothing more than an emotionless robot who existed to help that bastard manage his harem.

A bottomless anger rose in his chest. He had never felt this kind of hatred for anyone in either of his lives. At the same time, he was angry at himself too. For deceiving her.

’Don’t forget. This privilege of caring for someone is only possible because you chose to be a villain.’ He reminded himself, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. ’I chose this path and awakened the system.’

’I don’t regret it.’

’And I would make the same choice even in a hundred lifetimes!’

The car disappeared down the road as the last bit of sunlight faded behind the city.

***

By the time they reached the mansion, the sky had gone completely dark. Dante pulled into the driveway and turned the engine off.

Natasha was still asleep.

He shook his head with a smile and didn’t bother waking her up.

He walked over to her side, opened the door, and rolled up his sleeves. "I guess it’s my turn to return the favor."

He picked her up gently and princess carried her toward the mansion. She weighed almost nothing in his arms.

He climbed the stairs carefully, went down the hallway, and stopped in front of her room.

He opened the door with one hand while holding her with the other, stepped inside, and closed it behind him with his foot.

Then he stopped.

He looked down at the woman in his arms and let out a quiet sigh.

"She’s so light." He said softly, a trace of regret passing through his eyes. "But she’s been carrying so much on her own."

He placed her on the bed gently, slipped the cardigan off her shoulders, and pulled the quilt over her body. Then he paused, looking at her face for a moment before leaning down.

’She’s beautiful even when she’s sleeping.’ His eyes softened as he took a few seconds to save this face in his memory.

He reached out and brushed the hair away from her face. Then he leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers.

"Sleep well, Natasha." He said in a gentle tone.

He looked at her for a few more seconds before turning away and walking out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

But the thing was... she wasn’t sleeping at all.

She had woken up while he was climbing the stairs and had been pretending the whole time because she had no idea what to do.

She waited until his footsteps disappeared down the hallway before opening her eyes. Her hands immediately shot up to cover her burning face.

"Wha- what the hell was that just now?"

"I thought he was going to kiss me..." She touched her forehead where his had been a moment ago and realized she was overthinking it.

But then the other things came flooding back.

"But what about the way he looked at me? Did he just call me by my name? And those words?" She didn’t think she was overthinking this part. "C-could it be?"

"Does he... have those kinds of feelings for me?"