When the Villains Unite - Chapter 8; Part 3

I shared secrets with Ashik that I couldn’t tell anyone else, so even if I could tell her, I wasn’t sure I could get her to understand forbidden love since she knew nothing about it.

By the time we were finished with Aria’s love counseling and social gossip, quite a bit of time had passed. It was almost time for the Orca brothers to arrive.

They always went out of their way to pick me up when I went to the Duke of Euassis’s home, as if they were afraid I’d fall for Ashik. I pretended not to know, but the Orca brothers did have a cute side.

“Should we clean up?”

“We haven’t talked in so long, time flies! It’s almost time for the Duke of Orca and Lord Damian to arrive, isn’t it?”

I laughed at her question.

As we stood up to leave the room, we heard someone coming up the steps. Not just one, but two sets of footsteps, to be exact.

Who could it be?

I looked up and lost control of my facial expression.

Why is Ashik with Marquis Pessil? Shouldn’t they be at the palace?

Ashik didn’t seem to be expecting to see us either. He hastily schooled his expression and bowed to me.

“Princess Orca, I haven’t seen you since New Year’s Eve. Did you have an appointment with Aria today?”

“Yes, Duke. I had a brief tea time with Aria today. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Marquis Pessil, too. How have you been?”

The Marquis de Pessil was an old acquaintance of mine, having exchanged greetings two years ago.

“Yes, I have been well, and I hope you have been at peace, Princess Orca, Princess Euassis.”

“It’s been a long time, Marquis Pessil. It’s a delight to see you at the manor.”

I agree it’s nice, but why is he here?

I glanced at Ashik, and he began to explain.

“I invited him to the residence today to talk with the Marquis about his plans for the welfare of commoners. We’ll be on our way, then.”

Don’t leave it at that, set up a date Ashik!

I glared at him, trying to shoot him with lasers, and an invisible sweat formed on his back.

“I’d like to discuss tax policy next time, if you don’t mind?”

“Sure, call me the next time you’re free and I’ll stop by the mansion.”

Nice! Awww

Somehow, I feel like I’m the love guru to the siblings in this house. Maybe I’m cupid…?

With that, Marquis de Pessil left the ducal residence, having made his next appointment with Ashik. Ashik looked at his back as he faded in the distance, like a puppy eager to follow. In many ways, he was like Aria.

By the way, the Orca brothers are later than I thought. They were supposed to arrive ten minutes before the end of tea time, but the carriage with their crest was nowhere to be seen.

Did they have an accident? They’re not the kind of people to get into an accident and end up hurt, so I’ll save myself the trouble from thinking about that.

Ashik seems to be in a pretty good mood, whether it was because of this encounter or the anticipation of the next one. It was hard to tell. He’s been struggling with a lot of things, both in the original and now, but his life is about to blossom.

As I was chatting with Aria and Ashik, I heard the sound of a rumbling carriage outside the mansion. It was the Orca brothers.

“Brother, you’ll have to escort Rose.”

There was one more reason why I couldn’t tell Aria about the Orca brothers. She had witnessed my meetings with Ashik so often that she thought of me as the next Duchess of Euassis.

In fact, that was her hope. She had often commented to me that it would be wonderful if her dear friend could marry her brother and become part of the family.

Ashik now stretched out his arm to me as if was used to her being like that. Yes, put on a show.

I casually placed my hand on his arm as we walked out of the lobby. Aria was clearly amused to see us like this.

My brothers won’t like this… Still, Damian’s jealousy is pretty cute. Let’s try to stir them up a bit.

I saw the Orca brothers emerge from the carriage. Bellamy was dressed in a black uniform, as if he had just gotten off work at the palace, and Damian was wearing his knight’s uniform, embroidered in gold on white cloth.

I couldn’t help but smile at how handsome they already looked. The two beamed at me, then scowled at the person next to me.

So there goes the jealousy.

At their reaction, I glanced at Ashik. His eyes locked with mine, and as if he understood what the gesture meant, he loosened me from his arm.

The brothers’ expressions brightened a little, but what happened next was not something I expected.

As I was walking toward the boys, my foot caught on a stone slightly lifted from the ground that I hadn’t seen.

“Ah!”

My foot gave way and I tilted completely, and just as I thought I was about to fall, Ashik grabbed my waist and we both fell over.

Thankfully, I was spared a nasty encounter with the dirt, but there was a bigger problem. Ashik was pinned beneath me and our lips met.

“…Eup.”

“Oh no…”

As if our lips weren’t enough, Ashik and I were completely pressed against one another. I panicked and moved my head to cover my mouth with his chest. He looked stunned, as if he wasn’t sure what to do in this situation.

Normally, I would be thrilled to run into a member of the opposite sex in such a casual situation, but friends are friends. My lips were sore from the bump, and I didn’t feel excited at all; I was just worried since the Orca brothers were watching.

The level of jealousy this accident incited was way out of my comfort zone.

Before I could glance at them, I felt a terrifying sensation as my body flew through the air, sending me flying backwards.

“Gah!”

My heart raced as I flew through the air at a frightening fast speed during the breezy twilight. But the warmth of his embrace soon calmed my racing heart. Bellamy must have use levitation magic to pull me to him. It was aggressive, and quite out of character.

Before I could complain, I heard an intimidating voice.

“What do you think you’re doing, Duke Euassis?”

The chill in his voice, like an early spring frost, made my body tense. I didn’t have to look at his face to see the warning in his eyes. It was the same with Damian.

The Orca brothers, however, seemed to notice my trembling body, so they relaxed.

“I was just picking up the princess when she fell.”

“Ha, what kind of bullshit is that?”

“Da-Damian…”

At the glare from the boys, Ashik shrugged as if it didn’t matter, and harsh words spewed from Damian’s mouth.

It’s not good to provoke them…

I jerked my head towards Ashik, who remained silent in response to Damian, trying to tell him not to provoke them. Bellamy lowered his gaze and coldly looked at me, and for some reason, I had the feeling I should stay still.

“Why? Are you asking me to take responsibility or something? Though, I’m willing to do so if it’s okay with the princess.”

“Ha…”

You don’t have the heart to do that, Ashik, let alone suddenly speak in that tone in front of monsters. You’re the one who was floundering around when you were with Marquis Pessil earlier, so taking responsibility for what?

Aria, for her part, was visibly panicked by her brother’s strange behavior. Even if she wanted me to marry Ashik, she didn’t believe it was appropriate to say that in front of my family.

ashik is actually my fav character he’s so messy

but um next chapter or two might make readers uncomfy because its coercive/non-consensual or maybe dubious consent? i’ll be putting a warning up though

anywhosers please donate to my Kofi !!