Celeste disappeared back into the crowd, leaving me alone near the pillar with my thoughts racing.
Mother warned me about consequences.
Celeste warned me about Aldric's retaliation.
And I just got completely FLUSTERED by a foreign prince.
This is NOT how I planned today to go.
"You look flustered," Nyx observed from my shoulders. "That's new."
"Shut up, Nyx," I said.
"The foreign prince got to you," Nyx continued. "Very undignified for a villainess."
Even my FAMILIAR is mocking me.
This is HUMILIATING.
"I said shut UP," I said.
"He IS very attractive," Nyx said thoughtfully. "And powerful. And clearly interested in you. I approve."
My familiar APPROVES.
Of the devastatingly handsome foreign prince.
This is my LIFE now.
"Are you actually considering being CAREFUL?" Nyx asked. "That doesn't sound like you."
Careful.
Being careful doesn't sound like me.
But being SMART does.
And right now, smart means recognizing that I've made a powerful enemy.
And potentially made a powerful ALLY.
An ally who happens to be devastatingly handsome.
And radiates dark magic.
And makes me blush.
Fuck.
I scanned the room, looking for Prince Riku, and found him near the throne dais talking to some Astervane nobles.
But his attention was clearly elsewhere.
He's looking for me.
He's scanning the room.
He's—
Our eyes met across the reception hall.
He smiled.
That smile should be ILLEGAL.
That smile is a WEAPON.
That smile is going to get me in SO much trouble.
I quickly looked away, feeling my face getting warm again.
This is RIDICULOUS.
I'm a VILLAINESS.
I destroyed the Crown Prince yesterday.
I'm building a reputation as someone DANGEROUS.
I shouldn't be getting flustered by a pretty face.
Even if it's a REALLY pretty face.
Even if he radiates dark magic like it's COLOGNE.
Even if—
STOP.
Focus on STRATEGY.
Focus on CONSEQUENCES.
Focus on the fact that Aldric is going to retaliate.
Focus on the fact that I need to be SMART about this.
I took a deep breath and forced myself to think clearly.
Right.
Strategy.
Mother wants me to think three moves ahead.
Celeste wants me to be careful.
They're both warning me that Aldric is going to come for me.
So what do I do?
I build alliances.
I make myself VALUABLE.
I make myself so POWERFUL that destroying me would be more trouble than it's worth.
And maybe—
Maybe I make an ally of a devastatingly handsome foreign prince who practices dark magic openly.
Maybe I turn this attraction into something STRATEGIC.
Maybe I use this to my advantage.
That's what a smart villainess would do.
That's what someone who thinks three moves ahead would do.
I looked back across the room at Prince Riku.
He was still watching me.
He's interested.
Genuinely interested.
Not in Original Isabel.
In ME.
The reincarnated villainess who destroyed the Crown Prince.
The one who practices dark magic openly.
The one who's building a reputation as someone DANGEROUS.
He sees all that.
And he LIKES it.
This could work.
This could actually WORK.
If I'm smart about it.
I raised my wine glass in a silent toast—to consequences, to strategy, to the game I'd just started.
To devastatingly handsome foreign princes who make me forget how to be a proper villainess.
To alliances that might be more than just political.
To the fact that this version of events is SO much better than the original game.
Where Original Isabel was engaged to Aldric and died in every route.
Where she never got to meet someone who saw her darkness and was DRAWN to it instead of repulsed.
Where she never got to feel this... whatever THIS is.
I took a drink, and my smile was absolutely savage.
Let's see who's REALLY in control.
Let's see who's better at this game, Aldric.
Let's see if you can destroy me before I become UNSTOPPABLE.
Because I'm not just building power anymore.
I'm building ALLIANCES.
I'm building a reputation.
I'm building something that can't be destroyed by one self-righteous prince with wounded pride.
And maybe—
Maybe I'm building something ELSE.
Something that involves a devastatingly handsome foreign prince.
Something that makes me blush and forget how to speak.
Something that's probably a TERRIBLE idea.
But also—
Also sounds FUN.
I looked back at Prince Riku one more time.
He was still watching me.
Still smiling.
This is going to be LEGENDARY.
And possibly FATAL.
But mostly legendary.