Villain's POV: The Heroines Want Me!

Chapter 97: Chapter 97- The Light

Chapter 97- The Light

It was as if Venera took a bucket of ice-cold water and poured it on everyone there, and Rize immediately felt it as he tried to stop his expression from changing. ’What the hell are you doing, Venera?!’ He screamed in his head. ’I don’t need to be defended; I’m just a nobody!’

Even if Rize didn’t like how the king spoke to him, it was still the bloody king, the man who could eradicate his existence with a single thought. All he could do was just nod and accept anything that many said. Yet, Venera, being Venera, decided that it was not something the damn king should be saying, and she voiced her thoughts loudly without any hesitation.

”He is someone tasked with protecting you,” Theodore said with a calm yet threatening tone. ”Expecting him to do his job is the least we could do.”

”And I’m the person responsible for him. If someone is to talk to him, it’s me.” Venera replied. ”That is our agreement.”

Venera had previously refused to be given an escort as it seemed merely like a tool for her father to use to keep an eye on her and keep her in check. However, much to Theodore’s bad luck, Rize didn’t turn out to be the kind of person he wanted him to be, and Venera ended up growing fond of him.

She made sure to stop any attempts by her father to try and use Rize as a tool to keep her in check.

”Hey now, Theo. This is your daughter’s special day.” Elisa noticed the tense situation and immediately tried to defuse it. ”Let her make her own decisions regarding her life; she’s old enough to do that now.”

”...” Theo looked at his wife for a second before he clicked his tongue.

’Fuuuh... This could’ve gone really bad. Thanks for the save, Queen Elisa!’ Rize mused as he stepped back. ’Now, can someone please get me the hell out of this pressure cooker of a damn room?’

As he prayed for the relief, the door suddenly knocked.

”Your Majesty, it’s time.”

Hearing that felt like light at the end of the tunnel for Rize.

”Let’s go.”

With that, the door opened, and the royal family walked out as they were guided by their guards toward the stage.

Rize walked behind Venera, keeping an eye on his surroundings. At the same time, he heard a man talking to the crowds.

”Please, stand in respect to our rulers!”

Then, the royal family stepped into the light while Rize stood in the back area, watching the show silently.

His eyes gazed at the people present, and he instantly recognized many faces he had seen years ago. They were naturally older and quite different, but his memory could never betray him.

’It seems not much had changed regarding the nobles, and that’s expected... These people spend their entire lives being nobility.’

Then, Rize’s eyes wandered around until he noticed someone. A girl who stood out amongst the crowd with her flaring beauty. Unlike Venera, who had a calm and serene beauty, akin to a calm lake, this girl’s beauty was akin to an endless fire that seemed to burn brightly.

Her distinct red hair was very easy to see.

Rose Witherfield.

”That girl is here too, huh?” Rize muttered. ’Now that I remember, I did talk to her last time when she found me beating up those idiots. She said she would take care of things, and she seemed to have done exactly that...’

”Talking of those idiots... They’re here.” Rize muttered as he locked onto the trio. They grew up, but they still looked like the douchebags they are. ”Glad to see things didn’t change.”

The ceremony began rather swiftly as the time ticked down before the people’s eyes. When it was close to hitting the exact moment, Venera stood up before the crowd. Her posture was straight and confident, and her presence easily overshadowed everyone there without doing anything.

She appeared like a divine angel floating before mortals. All they could do was watch in awe, completely captivated by her very existence.

Many had their doubts before their ceremony began that maybe another mistake would happen.

However, not even a second after the clock hit the time, a humungous amount of energy erupted within Venera’s body. A beautiful white light cast its rays upon the entire room, blinding everyone as the Essence spread everywhere.

It was incredibly warm and pleasant and yet also very powerful and domineering.

”Oh my god...”

”So bright!”

”She’s exuding so much energy.”

Many were in shock at what they were witnessing. Even the strong hunters felt like they were seeing something out of this world. The energy kept growing in intensity as Venera stood there silently, staring at her own body in shock.

”Haha... This is wild.” Rize muttered. ”She’s a freak of nature. A one in a billion genius.”

Rize had already known about this, but the fact that he was witnessing it with his own eyes just felt so much different, especially now after he knew that girl, her goals, her dreams, and who she truly was.

That white light was oddly a perfect description of who Venera was: a light that guides people, a powerful light that doesn’t falter or faint because of any external factors. A light that nobody could touch or alter.

As he watched that energy grow and flourish, his smile grew wider. The birth of a genius had happened before his eyes.

The world was truly not ready.

As the light slowly dissipated and the energy started returning to Venera’s body, people began clapping loudly in amazement.

”This is the most beautiful awakening I have ever witnessed.”

”I didn’t even know the light could be so bright. It felt so warm.”

”Did we witness the sun from up close?”

The reactions tried to make sense of what they just witnessed, but nobody could truly fathom the scenes.

The only one who didn’t react was Venera as she nodded her head and returned to her seat. Even though it was clear that she was experiencing massive changes, she still held herself together and kept a dignified and elegant look.

The ceremony continued rather well, and the reactions were positive within the venue and in the entire city as they could finally cheer for one of their most precious people. The light of their empire had been born, literally and figuratively.

A while later, after dinner and after all the visitors started leaving and the venue emptied. Finally, the Royal Family left themselves and headed back to the main palace.

Well, everyone, except for Venera.

***

”Where did that girl go?” Rize muttered as he walked around the mansion for a while until he finally saw Venera standing on the balcony, staring into the distance.

”There you are,” Rize said as he walked up to her. ”Are you not going back? The party is over.”

”I wanted to enjoy the cold breeze for a bit,” Venera replied without turning back.

”I see...” Rize muttered. ”It is very nice indeed.”

”...”

The two stood next to each other, stargazing in silence. The sky was clear that night, so it was easy to see the many stars and planets in the distance.

”Hey, Venera.”

”Hm?”

”Congratulations on awakening,” Rize said.

”Thank you.” Venera smiled faintly.

”You must be tired after hearing the same sentence many times over.” Rize laughed. ”They really do like to repeat the same things.”

”It is all a bunch of nonsense. It goes through one ear and goes out through the other.”

”Yeah...” Rize nodded.

Silence took over the entire place for a few moments before Rize clenched his teeth.

”Oh well, this is as good a time as any to do it.”

”Hm?”

”I know this is really not much, but here...” He said as hepulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her.