Young Master's PoV: Woke Up As A Villain In A Game One Day

Chapter 493: When Your Girl Wants To Kill You And Your Mutt Wants To Know When You’re Getting Laid…

Even after Vince made Yasmeen sign a clearly one-sided deal, Michael made it clear he still wasn’t done with her. Alexia and Ray shared the sentiment.

Without another word, the three of them started… tickling her.

Yeah.

Tied down and paralyzed, Yasmeen had no choice but to endure the ticklish torture, her gasping cries choking out into tears of forced laughter.

I was fed up with their nonsense, so I left the hall. If something happened that I shouldn’t witness, I wanted the luxury of plausible deniability.

Sauntering out of the villa, I reached the poolside and halted. There, in the crystal-clear water, illuminated by the soft glow of the patio lights, was Juliana.

She was swimming in the pool, smoothly cutting through the water with lazy backstrokes.

The skimpy black bikini she had on left her pale skin glistening under the moon. She reached the edge, flipped around, and glided back toward the deep end.

I leaned against one of the pillars of a nearby cabana and let out a long exhale while enjoying the view. What a sight for sore eyes.

The muffled sounds of Yasmeen’s hysterical laughter and Michael’s triumphant cackling drifted out from the windows somewhere behind me, but out here, the night air was blissfully cool and quiet.

Juliana completed another lap, then surfaced near the steps. Slicking her damp white hair back over her head into a loose ponytail, she rested her elbows on the tiled rim and looked up at me.

The icy blue depths of her eyes reflected the shimmering water, looking even more alluring than usual. She had a way of being irresistible without ever trying. A seductress through and through.

“Didn’t see you at the dinner,” I said. “Vince profiled Yasmeen so well it felt like he was reading her mind. You’d have been impressed.”

“Meh,” Juliana casually waved a hand, wet droplets running down her slender fingers. “I had her pegged the moment I saw her. Girls like those who wear their traumas on their sleeves are not as difficult to read as they would like to think.”

Really? I wouldn’t have guessed any of it. “One of these days, I need you to teach me how to do that.”

“Sure,” she scoffed, then hauled herself up and out of the pool. Water streamed down from her shoulders to her cleavage to the narrow curve of her flat waist, following the contours of her body before dripping onto the stone tiles.

I shamelessly let my eyes wander.

Hey, don’t judge a man unless you’ve stood before a siren of a woman in his shoes… or however the saying goes.

She flicked aside a strand of wet hair from her cheek and raised a fine eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Really? Because you’re staring.”

“I’m appreciating the scenery.”

A wicked little smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she reached for the towel hanging on a lounge chair close by. Making no attempt whatsoever to hide the amusement on her face, she began drying her hair.

I pushed myself away from the cabana pillar and walked over. “So, what were you doing out here anyway?”

She went on to dab her neck and clavicles, glancing up at me from her seated position. “Swimming.”

“I gathered that,” I said, pocketing my hands. My right hand was still covered by a leather glove.

I had no need to hide it anymore, since everyone who had watched my fight with my sister must’ve known about it already. But… it was a habit at this point.

Juliana draped the towel over her shoulders and cocked her head. “Then why ask?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I was hoping for a more interesting answer.”

“Such as?”

“Plotting world domination. Murdering someone. Secretly being an ancient sea witch.”

“Hmm.” She pretended to consider it. “I did drown three people earlier.”

I was about to say something, but her answer made me stop abruptly. I blinked. She just smiled in response.

“…Please don’t joke about things I know you’re capable of,” I said.

She frowned. “Hey, who said I’m joking?”

“Juli…” I narrowed my eyes at her.

She held my gaze for a few seconds, then burst out laughing — low, throaty chuckles that made me smile as well.

The atmosphere between us dissolved into something warm and comfortable, familiar in a way it’s only possible to feel around someone you had known for a long time.

Juliana has always had that effect on me. Even when I was a kid, I had trouble talking to people in my family. But not her. Maybe it was because she was always so silent back then that it was easy to talk to her.

Or maybe I just found her easygoing.

Well, regardless of the reason, I was going to have to sully this warm atmosphere between us today.

I pulled out the chair beside her and sat down. “Uh… listen, Juli, I wanted to talk to you.”

Juliana’s expression turned to its usual unflappable calm so fast that it almost made me doubt whether I had imagined her laughing just a second ago. “Funny. I wanted to talk to you, too.”

“Me first.” I stopped her before she could go on. “I asked you to take over the right flank, didn’t I? Did you spot Princess Alice and her brother?”

My Shadow crossed her legs at the knee and leaned back into the chair. “Yes.”

“Did you engage them?”

“Yes.”

I steepled my fingers. “Then how did Alice get to me?”

This was a question that had been bugging me for a while. I checked with Kang after the Mock War was over, so I knew for a fact that Alice and her cohort came through my army’s right flank.

The question was: how did they manage to slip to the very rear?

I was afraid I knew the answer already.

And surely enough, Juliana confirmed my suspicion when she said, “Princess Alice got through because I let her pass.”

I felt my jaw tighten. “Why?”

“She got away.”

I didn’t even dignify that response with a reaction. “She got away. From you, who was probably the fastest Cadet in my faction? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“Exactly,” Juliana nodded, seriously testing my patience. “I eliminated her brother but she got away.”

“Stop playing with me!” I barked, but before I could go any further, Juliana was on her feet. Her chair toppled backward, clattering to the ground.

The very next second, she was snapping at me, angry as I had ever seen her. “No, you are playing with me! I let her get away because she told me something.”

I… I didn’t know how to respond.

Not because I didn’t expect this. I did.

Like Casey said, Thalia and her friends were prepared to deal with my inner circle. That made me think: what possible counter could they have prepared for someone like Juliana?

She was one of the strongest people in my faction. Fast, elusive, perceptive — there was no way to beat her at either brains or brawn.

So what the hell had Alice told her?

I had my guesses.

“She told me,” Juliana continued, “that you are going to join one of the wars your father has started. You’re going to join as his proxy.”

Yeah. I knew it.

Damn it, Thalia.

“Juli, it’s not what you think—” I started, but she didn’t seem like she was in the mood to listen to me.

She turned around and started storming away. “Oh, no. Please don’t bother. I’m just your Shadow. Why would you need to explain your actions to me?”

I sighed and hurried after her, grabbing her hand by the wrist. She immediately yanked it out of my grip and whirled around, coming face to face with me.

Her wet hair sent droplets flying everywhere, a few strands sticking stubbornly to her cheeks. Her eyes, though, were practically burning with seething anger.

It was so rare for Juliana Vox Blade to show any genuine emotion. On top of it, it had been a long, long time since I saw her this furious that, for a second, I didn’t know what to say.

But I’m proud to tell you that I recovered fast, possibly before she could do something dramatic like planting a kunai into my throat. “Okay, what’s with the overreaction? Can you just give me—”

“Have you forgotten our deal?” She spat the words out like they were an accusation all on their own.

“Of course not!”

“Then why are you headed into a goddamn war on your father’s behalf?”

I was really starting to get scared now.

She wouldn’t actually stab me, right?

Should I deploy my Spirit Force? I couldn’t see a concealed dagger anywhere on her body, and her bikini didn’t exactly leave a lot of room to hide one.

But I wasn’t going to underestimate her. She was the kind of woman who could possibly kill me with a towel if she put her mind to it.

Anyway, putting aside my irrational fear, I splayed my hands. “Juli, look, I didn’t have a choice—”

She clicked her tongue and turned around once again, not bothering to listen to the rest of my excuse.

That left me with no choice but to tell her, “He threatened to kill you, alright? He said that if I didn’t take the Ace title back from Thalia and assist Ezra in the war of Iron Height… he would kill you.”

Juliana stopped. Her back was still turned to me. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. “Is that all?”

I paused, huffed. “No. I… also thought this was a great opportunity to steal the position of heir from my sister. But I’m not seeking validation from my father or the elders. It’s just… if I’m the heir, I’ll have unlimited access to resources. Resources like my personal knight order, political weight, information, and so much more. I’m not going back on our deal. I’ll set you free of your Bloodworm as soon as I return, Juli.”

For a few seconds even after I was done talking, she said nothing. Then, very slowly, she looked over her shoulder. “You don’t understand your own father. This is exactly how the Dawn’s Scourge operates, be it in war or politics. He gives you two choices, and no matter what you choose, you end up playing by his rules. You lost your autonomy the moment he made you an offer.”

Juliana turned her head enough to let me catch her expression. The anger was still burning in her eyes, but concern had begun to crowd it out. “Let me guess, he played with your emotions as well? Probably apologized for treating you like he did? But when you asked the reason for the war, he deflected.”

I stayed silent.

She was spot on and she knew it.

“That’s what he does. He keeps his cards close to his chest until the very end, that cunning man. The legends about him celebrate his strength, but no one talks about how astutely he plays people,” sighing, she shook her head and looked back ahead. If I wasn’t listening so keenly, I might have missed the worry beneath her words. “Please, just… tread carefully.”

Then she was out of my sight.

I stood there, staring dumbly at the spot where she’d disappeared.

That… went better than expected.

By which I meant it went horribly.

“Great.” I had somehow managed to make her angry, worried, and disappointed in me all at once. Impressive, even by my standards.

“So when are you two gonna kiss?”

I flinched, nearly yelped, at the sudden voice. Flitting my gaze around, I quickly spotted the source.

Kang was lying in one of the daybeds, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and an open Hawaiian shirt that left his toned abs on full display.

He seemed to be reading a book, though I could tell from the smug grin creeping across his lips that he’d been listening to the entire conversation.

I glared at him. How did this fucker go unnoticed by me?

He lowered the book just enough to peek at me with one eye. “So?”

“So what?” I hissed at the mutt.

“When are you two gonna kiss?”

I rubbed my forehead. “We already did.”

“So when are you two gonna fuck?”

“Can you shut up?”

He raised his hands mockingly. “Ahh, sorry. Is my language too crude for your noble ass?”

What a jerk.

I started walking out of there when I heard him calling out from behind.

“Wait, Sam,” he said.

I stopped, but didn’t turn. “What?”

There was a brief silence. When his voice came again, it was lacking its usual edge. “I… uh, I think I never properly apologized for cornering you in the Wilds. Though you were a jackass, don’t get me wrong. But… I was wrong about you. You risked your life for us, for all of us… and you actually died. I don’t think… I…”

He trailed off, struggling to find the right words.

I finally turned around. He had lowered the book completely now, staring at me with eyes low.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Why are you being so weird all of a sudden?”

“My father used to tell me that if you do someone wrong in their life and don’t apologize, they could come back to haunt you after death. I figured since you’re going to an actual war, I’d better apologize now. Who knows if you’re coming back, right?” He beamed.

That’s it. That was the last straw. I decided I was going to strangle this bastard before I left for the war.

I took a slow breath through my nose. “Kang.”

His grin faltered. “Yeah?”

“Come here.”

“…W-Why?”

“I just want to talk.”