I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 857: Lunishia, Tessara And Olga [2]

”You have never been to Edenis Raphiel before, have you?” Edward asked Tessara.

Tessara shook her head lightly, her dark green hair shifting over her shoulders.

”No, my King. This is my first time.”

”Then enjoy it as much as you want,” Edward told her. ”Do not mind me.”

Tessara was a banshee. Like the others of her kind, she depended on Edward’s mana to sustain herself, yet this had never been a burden to him. The amount of mana he possessed was large enough that the presence of a few banshees outside barely affected him.

Still, Tessara lowered her gaze in quiet refusal.

”I would rather discover Edenis Raphiel with my King,” she said. ”If you are willing.”

Edward glanced at her for a moment, then gave a small nod.

”If that is what you wish.”

His eyes shifted toward Samara.

She was seated close beside him, but her expression had changed. The happiness she had shown only moments ago had faded into something quieter. Her fingers rested together in her lap, and she looked down rather than meeting his gaze.

”What is it?” Edward asked.

Samara shook her head.

”Samara.”

At the sound of her name, she drew a small breath.

”I...” Her voice caught briefly. ”I wish I could stay with you as they do.”

Edward understood at once.

”They are banshees,” he said. ”And you are not one anymore.”

Samara remained silent.

”I gave you a new body,” Edward continued, his voice calm. ”A new life. Freedom.”

”A new body, a new life, and freedom do not mean anything without you,” Samara whispered.

She turned her face away, unable to hold his gaze.

Edward reached toward her and gently placed his fingers beneath her chin, guiding her face back toward him. Samara’s blue eyes lifted reluctantly until they met his.

”If you truly wish to remain by my side,” he said, ”I will never refuse you, Samara.”

For a second, she only stared at him.

Then she nodded.

The change in her expression was quick. The sadness in her eyes softened, replaced by a brightness she could not quite hide.

Edward’s lips curved faintly.

”I will have you enrolled at the academy,” he said. ”Not as an ordinary student, but as an attendant of the King. Would that be acceptable to you?”

Samara’s entire face lit up.

She nodded again.

”Yes,” she answered, barely able to contain the happiness in her voice.

Edward smiled at her reaction and lowered his hand.

”Edward!”

Lunishia suddenly appeared in front of him, leaning over the back of the sofa with a grin.

”What?” Edward asked, turning toward her.

”Come,” she said, already reaching for his arm. ”Olga has finally found a girl she is interested in.”

Before Edward could object, Lunishia pulled him up from the sofa.

Edward allowed himself to be dragged across the room, his gaze falling on Olga. She sat beside Layla, whose teasing smile made it immediately clear that Lunishia was not exaggerating.

The moment Olga noticed Edward looking at her, she blushed and shook her head.

”Who?” Edward asked as he approached.

”N-No one,” Olga replied quickly. ”I only thought she seemed kind. That is all.”

”It is Rania,” Lunishia announced with a wide grin.

Olga shot her a look of betrayal.

”Rania,” Edward repeated, his expression becoming dry. ”Freya’s Guard Commander. She is not good for you.”

Olga’s brows rose in disbelief. ”Why not?”

”She may be a good person,” Edward said, ”but her first loyalty is to Freya and to Elyen Kiora. She is bound by duty. You should find someone who will choose you first, someone who will look after you, not someone who may be forced to leave you behind whenever duty calls.”

Layla let out a soft laugh.

”Honey, you are such a father,” she said, crossing one leg over the other. ”I already fear for your daughters whenever they bring someone home.”

”It is for Olga’s sake,” Edward replied.

Olga looked up at him, her earlier embarrassment giving way to a small, thoughtful expression.

”If you do not like her Edward, then I will not pursue anything,” she said. ”I only thought she was nice. It was nothing more.”

Edward reached down, tucking dark strands behind her ear.

”I am sure you will find someone perfect for you,” he said.

Olga’s lips lifted into a small smile.

”What about me, Edward?” Lunishia asked right after, still holding onto his arm. ”Can I have your approval too?”

Edward glanced at her.

”You found someone as well?”

”Yes.”

Lunishia nodded eagerly and pressed closer to his side, her red tail swaying behind her.

”A very handsome man,” she said. ”Silver hair, silver eyes...he saved my life, he is like a Hero for me. In fact, he is my Hero!”

Her voice lowered playfully as she leaned toward Edward’s ear.

Then she bit at it.

Or rather, she barely grazed it with her teeth before Olga grabbed Lunishia by the arm and pulled her away.

”Hey!” Lunishia complained. ”Olga!”

”Stop bothering Edward,” Olga replied dryly.

Layla giggled from the sofa, clearly enjoying the sight.

”You will need to do far better than that if you want to impress Honey,” she said, her smile bright with amusement.

”Oh! The banshee girls are here!”

Tihana’s voice came from the staircase before she herself appeared at the top of it. She hurried down the last few steps with a bright smile when she spotted Lunishia, Tessara, and Olga gathered in the living room.

Lunishia tilted her head.

”Tihana, have you grown again?”

”I am not going to stay the same forever like banshees, you know,” Tihana replied with a giggle.

Lunishia placed one hand over her chest as though deeply offended.

”Hey, we grow too,” she said. ”It just depends on the age we died.”

Her gaze drifted toward Samara.

”Samara was fifteen when she became a banshee, right?”

Tessara nodded softly.

”She was. But she received her new body two years ago. By her real age, she should be around eighteen now.”

Samara, who had remained quiet near Edward, gave a small shrug.

”I do not think it works the same way for me,” she said. ”I am not really just Half-Elf Half-Vampire anymore. This body was created through the Holy Tree.”

Her existence had become something entirely unique. Though she had once been a banshee, the body she possessed now was neither fully human nor truly connected to the life she had lived before. It had been formed through Edward’s soul, the sacred essence of Ymir’s Holy Tree, and a soul newly forged for her own existence.

She had been given a second life.

But it was not actually exactly like her original race.

As a result, even the question of whether she would age normally had no simple answer. Her body might grow, change, or remain as it was; none of them could truly know. She was something new, something that had never existed before perhaps.

Perhaps because though Cleenah told Edward doing that was dangerous and breaking divine laws, he thought maybe Cleenah would have done it already and maybe even the previous Goddess of Banshees.

”That sounds like a hassle,” Lunishia said, waving one hand dismissively. ”I would rather remain with Edward forever as Banshee”

Her tail swayed behind her as she leaned closer to him, clearly pleased with that simple conclusion.

Tihana hummed thoughtfully.

”Growth is different for us Enigma Beasts,” she said. ”We grow really fast, and we mature faster too.”

Edward’s gaze immediately fell on her.

”Do not tell everyone that you are an Enigma Beast,” he said.

”I know, Dad,” Tihana replied smiling. ”You worry too much.”

”Enigma Beasts are extremely rare. There are people who would do anything to get their hands on one,” Olga said besides.

Her dark amber eyes rested on Tihana.

”Some would try to capture one. Others would try to enslave one.”

Layla’s expression grew still.

She reached up and gently stroked Tihana’s hair, her touch warm and protective. Tihana leaned into it instinctively, her earlier cheer softening.

”Such cruel people,” Layla said. Then her smile returned, but there was no warmth behind it. ”To hunt something so beautiful simply because they want to own it.”

The air around her seemed to cool.

”They deserve worse than death for trying to enslave such wonderful creatures.”

Edward did not comment on Layla’s words. He simply looked at Tihana for a moment before speaking.

”They will be fine,” he said. ”Once we are finished here, I will send them back to Celesta with Belle.”

He did not intend to keep Tihana and Orlin in Edenis Raphiel for too long.

The island was safe in its own way, but the world surrounding it had become increasingly unstable. Too many eyes had turned toward Edward after Veyra. Too many people were asking questions, making plans, and looking for weaknesses. Keeping the children nearby for an extended stay was not something he wished to risk.

If it had been entirely up to him, he would have brought them to Utopia permanently. There, under his authority and with Freya and Elizabeth, they would have been safer than almost anywhere else in the world.

But Tihana and Orlin loved Belle deeply. Belle had become their home in every sense that mattered, and she could not simply leave Celesta now that new responsibilities kept her there. In the end, Edward had chosen to let the children remain under her care.

Tihana’s smile faded into a sulk.

”So we will not see you for months again?” She asked.

”No,” Edward said. ”I will try to come see you.”

Tihana narrowed her eyes at the answer.

Before she could complain, Belle appeared from the kitchen with Orlin beside her. The faint sounds of dishes and cooking followed them into the living room.

”Or we can visit,” Belle said. ”It is not as though I will be buried under work in Celesta all the time. I can come to Utopia now and then with Tihana and Orlin.”

”Yeah,” Edward replied. ”We will see.”

”There is no ’we will see’,” Tihana said imitating Edward’s voice. ”I will definitely come at least once every month.”

”Tihana, dear,” Belle said, chuckling, ”go help your brother in the kitchen.”

Tihana pouted deeply.

With a sigh, Tihana turned away and went toward the kitchen. Orlin offered a small wave to Lunishia, Tessara, and Olga before following his sister.

Belle watched them leave, then looked around the living room again.

”The house has certainly become crowded already,” she said with a quiet chuckle.

Her gaze moved from Lunishia to Tessara, then finally settled on Olga.

”Lunishia, Tessara... and the new one is Olga, if I remember correctly?”

Olga nodded.

Belle’s eyes softened.

”Such an adorable girl,” Belle said with a small giggle.

Before Olga could react, Belle reached out and patted her hair.

Olga froze beneath the unexpected touch.

Her dark amber eyes lifted toward Belle for a brief second before she quickly looked away, as though pretending not to care. Yet the faint color that rose to her cheeks gave her away.

Belle’s smile widened.

”Aren’t you rather selective when choosing your banshees, Edward?” She asked, casting him an amused look.

Her gaze passed from Olga to Lunishia, then Tessara, and finally Samara, who had once been a banshee herself.

”They are all very pretty.”

”Obviously,” Layla said with a playful smile. She leaned comfortably against Edward’s chest. ”To stand beside Honey, you need to meet quite a few conditions.”

”There are no conditions,” Edward replied.

He had moved to sit beside Layla on the sofa, his tone dry as always.

”I simply took them in after seeing them.”

”Through a contract, was it not?” Layla asked.

”Yeah.”

Edward’s gaze shifted toward the others.

”I see them,” he continued. ”I see who they were, what happened to them, and how they became banshees. They die, yet they cannot move on. They remain trapped after death, unable to go forward.”

He paused briefly.

”So I pull them out.”

Layla looked up at him with a softer expression.

”Then you are saving them,” she said. ”Like a hero.”

Edward glanced down at her.

”Is that really accurate?”

Belle laughed and looked toward Lunishia.

”What do you think?”

”Very accurate,” Lunishia answered immediately, giggling as her red tail flicked behind her. ”Edward saved me.”

Olga gave a short nod.

”He saved me too.”

Tessara lowered her eyes for a moment before looking back toward Edward. A small, sincere smile appeared on her lips.

”He did,” she said quietly. ”He saved me as well.”

Belle let out a soft sigh, though her expression remained warm.

”I do not care what you want to call it,” she said. ”But you should take responsibility for the girls you bring close to you, at the very least.”

Edward grimaced faintly.

”Where did that come from?”

”You know very well where it came from,” Belle replied, rolling her eyes.

She sat down beside Olga and, apparently deciding that the first time had not been enough, patted the younger girl’s hair again.

Olga stiffened once more, looking even more helpless than before.

Edward glanced toward the kitchen.

”Is it really fine to leave those two alone in there?”

”Completely fine,” Belle replied. ”You have been absent from their lives so often that you do not realize both of them can cook now. Orlin is much better at it, certainly, but Tihana can help.”

”I agree,” Layla added. ”Orlin cooks very well.”

She smiled, remembering.

”Once, when I visited, he was home alone. He made me quite a feast. He will certainly be very popular with girls in the future.”

”In the future, yes,” Edward replied. ”For now, he is far too young for that.”

Layla looked up at him, amused.

”So protective,” she said with a giggle.