Yandere Villainess CEO is obsessed with me

Julian stroked his chin thoughtfully as he stared at the floating blue interface. An increase in stamina points is actually a pretty solid reward.

With a higher stamina stat, he wouldn’t be completely worn out during Victoria’s nightly physical marathons.

However, a major problem remained: Victoria currently kept him under constant surveillance at Rose Manor. If he wanted to attend the Vance family’s engagement banquet on Tuesday night, he needed to figure out a clever way to get her permission to leave the estate freely.

But how should I approach this?

Julian racked his brain, but no genius strategy came to mind. He hadn’t read enough romance novels featuring unhinged yandere heiresses to know how male protagonists usually handled being placed under house arrest.

The original male lead, Ethan Mercer, had been utterly obsessed with fleeing Victoria’s side at every opportunity. He had never compromised or cooperated, meaning his actions in the original novel offered zero useful advice.

Whatever, Julian thought, leaning back against the velvet pillows. There are still a few days before Tuesday. I’ll figure something out.

Downstairs, Victoria sat on the plush leather sofa in the living room, quietly turning the pages of a high-finance business magazine.

Watching her from nearby, Butler Chen couldn’t help but sigh softly in relief. In the past, Miss Sterling spent every single weekend buried in corporate work at the headquarters. Now that Master Vance was by her side, she was actually willing to stay home and rest.

Victoria paused, her dark eyes narrowing slightly. ”Does Julian know that I forbid him from leaving Rose Manor on his own?”

”He knows, Miss Sterling,” Butler Chen replied respectfully. ”He even asked me directly if he was under house arrest.”

Victoria’s slender fingers tightened around the magazine, her knuckles turning white. ”And how did he react? Was he angry? Did he resist?”

”Not at all,” Butler Chen shook his head. ”Master Vance was remarkably calm about it. Miss Sterling, I genuinely believe Master Vance has deep feelings for you. That is why he stays by your side without complaining.”

”Willing?”

Victoria let out a cold, self-deprecating scoff.

”He’s merely playing along.”

In her heart, she was convinced that no sane man would voluntarily stay with a dark, twisted monster like her. Besides, she knew Julian still had another woman tucked away in his past—Natasha.

She wanted nothing more than to completely erase Natasha from Julian’s heart so that his gaze would belong exclusively to her forever.

In truth, she had considered eliminating Natasha entirely. But doing so would make Julian hate her to the core. Keeping Natasha alive allowed her to retain a valuable bargaining chip to keep him tethered to her.

Butler Chen looked at her in confusion. Playing along? But Master Vance looks completely genuine whenever he’s around her...

”Miss Sterling, could you perhaps be misjudging Master Vance’s intentions?” Butler Chen asked gently.

”There is no misjudgment,” Victoria said flatly, her gaze darkening as she stared down at the magazine page.

Julian... if you are acting, you had better keep playing the part until the day you die.

Just then, Julian strolled down the sweeping staircase, spotting Victoria on the sofa.

”Victoria,” Julian called out smoothly, ”let’s take a walk around the garden together. It’s unhealthy to stay inside the villa all day.”

Come to think of it, he had only taken a quick night stroll through the estate grounds once; he hadn’t properly explored the famous gardens in daylight yet.

”Alright.” Victoria closed her magazine and stood up smoothly. ”Since you want me to accompany you, I will.”

Side by side, Julian and Victoria stepped out into the crisp afternoon air, strolling down the stone pathways of Rose Manor’s manicured gardens.

Julian glanced at the vibrant, exotic floral displays lining the walkways, his brows knitting in confusion. ”I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of these flowers before.”

Walking half a step behind them, Butler Chen politely began introducing the estate’s botanical collection. ”Master Vance, these are Purple Bamboo Irises—valued at fifteen thousand dollars per stalk.”

”Over here are rare Black Velvet Roses, roughly forty-five thousand dollars a stalk.”

”And these ghost spider orchids in the glass pavilion run about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars per plant.”

Butler Chen continued listing the names and astronomical market values of every rare specimen in sight.

Julian stood frozen in place. Holy crap.

A single flower in this garden was worth months—or even years—of a regular person’s salary! With thousands of rare species blooming across the vast grounds, this garden alone was worth tens of millions of dollars.

The world of ultra-wealthy chaebols was truly beyond comprehension.

In the original novel, Ethan Mercer had set fire to this very garden during one of his reckless escape attempts. Thinking about it now, burning down a multi-million-dollar botanical sanctuary was an absolute crime against wealth!

”Master Vance, all of these botanical specimens are maintained daily by a dedicated team of elite horticulturists,” Butler Chen noted proudly.

”Hmm, very impressive,” Julian nodded, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

They soon reached a massive, crystal-clear ornamental koi pond fed by a natural stream. Exotic, radiant fish glided through the water beneath a stone arch bridge.

”And what kind of fish are these?” Julian asked, feeling like a complete country bumpkin taking a tour of a royal palace.

Butler Chen smiled warmly. ”These are imported Grand Champion Kohaku Koi, worth roughly three million dollars each. Those crimson ones are Asian Arowana, around six hundred thousand dollars each. And those spotted rays over there run nearly one hundred thousand dollars apiece...”

”Stop, stop, stop—” Julian quickly held up a hand, interrupting him with a dry chuckle. If he listened to any more price tags, he was going to start feeling a profound sense of financial existential dread.

He couldn’t earn the value of a single one of these fish in a lifetime of normal labor. Is this the fundamental gap between ordinary humans and rich people’s pets?

Victoria turned her dark, focused gaze onto Julian’s face. ”Do you like them, Julian?”

”The flowers and fish are certainly beautiful,” Julian admitted honestly. ”Though, if you ask me, I’d much rather use a garden this size to grow delicious, fresh vegetables and raise edible fish in the pond.”

In his previous world before transmigrating, he had often struggled financially and dealt with food insecurity. As a result, he had an extraordinary passion for good food.

”If I owned a yard this massive, that’s what I’d do,” Julian added casually. ”These rare flowers and fancy fish are too delicate—they require a whole army of staff just to look pretty. It’d be way more practical to grow fresh strawberries, heirloom tomatoes, and crisp vegetables.”

The surrounding house staff and bodyguards froze in absolute shock.

Turn the most expensive, world-renowned private botanical garden into a farm plot?! Has Master Vance lost his mind?!

Even though Miss Sterling doted on him endlessly, no sane heiress would ever destroy a multi-million-dollar landscape design over a passing comment about vegetables.

In the very next second, Victoria turned her head toward Butler Chen, her tone calm, icy, and absolute.

”Did you hear what Julian said? Rip out the flowers and clear the pond. Do exactly as he wishes.”