A Villain's Guide to Saving the World-Chapter 46: The Great Villain! Takes the Stage...?!

The Third Prince sighed, but smiled nonetheless. Even if he felt conflicted, it didn’t matter now; with Lucian and Reid both declaring their allegiance publicly, they couldn’t back out without facing major backlash.

"Then I will do the best that I can," the Third Prince said, raising his sword high.

"The people of Greywood and its great Duke will not regret this decision!" he shouted, riling up the crowd even more.

At the back, Lucian placed his hands on his waist, surprised at how influential Reid was.

I’m literally here with an army of shadows, yet they just forgot about me because of Reid and the Prince?

He shrugged it off before walking up beside the Third Prince, mirroring Reid but standing on the other side.

Lucian smiled wide, conjuring a dark ball of energy within his other hand before dispelling it immediately.

"So then, are we just gonna pose here?" Lucian chuckled, flicking his gaze back at the shadow army behind the three of them.

"As my gift to you as your first retainer, I’ll let you keep this shadow army," Lucian said slyly, casually leaning on the Third Prince’s shoulder.

The Third Prince kept smiling for the crowd, though irritation crept into his expression.

"You sure are brave, aren’t you?" the Third Prince replied, sheathing his sword.

Reid, beside the two of them, shouted once more.

"The night’s still young, my friends! May the party resume!" Reid then headed off alone into the crowd to help calm the nerves of the worried nobles and ease the lingering tension.

The Third Prince ran a hand through his hair, glad the attention was no longer solely on them.

Lucian nudged the Third Prince with his shoulder playfully, testing the prince’s boundaries to see how long it would take before he lost his temper.

"So, what now? You’re gonna bring me to the capital?" Lucian mockingly suggested.

The Third Prince sighed. "Well... yeah?"

Lucian’s mouth dropped open at the straightforward response.

The Third Prince sighed again at Lucian’s expression but smiled slightly, amused to see such a beast of a man showing a little humanity.

"We leave as soon as the ball formally ends. I’m quite a busy man, after all," the Third Prince said, heading towards the crowd to continue hosting the ball.

"And that includes you," he added with a laugh.

Lucian rolled his eyes playfully, shrugging himself off.

"Man, didn’t expect him to just shrug off the fact I used hellfire that easily," he muttered.

As Lucian prepared to head back to the crowd, Fey suddenly ran towards him.

Fey reached Lucian a little distance away from the others, where the ball had moved outside due to the manor’s damage from the earlier attack.

"You’re a crazy idiot, aren’t you?" Fey gasped for breath from the run but quickly recovered by snapping his fingers, summoning green fireflies that surrounded him and seemingly wiped away his fatigue.

Lucian laughed. "I just pledged allegiance to a prince and became his retainer—what’s so crazy about that?" he said, even though he knew full well what Fey meant. He just wanted to have some fun.

Fey raised an eyebrow and frowned at Lucian’s teasing, then punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"I know you’re just messing with me," Fey sighed. "I guess we’re kinda in a bit of trouble now," he added, laughing.

Fey pulled an insignia from his pocket—the same design the Prince wore on his clothes: a three-headed dragon with a weapon at its center. But unlike the Prince’s sword, this insignia bore a glaive.

"I swore allegiance to the First Prince," Fey said, scratching his head.

"This kinda makes it hard for us to interact now..." he chuckled, pocketing the insignia again.

Lucian raised an eyebrow. Some tension due to succession made sense, but even simple interactions with nobles were now a problem?

"And why is that?" Lucian asked, placing a hand on his waist.

Fey sighed at Lucian’s cluelessness once more.

"I’m starting to feel like a plot device meant to give you world information," Fey muttered before continuing.

"The royal selection is being held in the capital. Each prince will take a test along with every ally they’ve made across the entire continent—even from beyond the kingdom."

"Think of it like a deathmatch," Fey explained, flicking his head toward the lively crowd, "except nobody really dies—they just fight it out. Should make for the right kind of spectacle."

"Should we head back soon?" Fey asked.

Lucian laughed at Fey’s description.

"That’s definitely a unique way of picking an heir for a kingdom. But hey, it’s better than basing it purely on age," Lucian said, strolling toward the ball now being held outside.

"Let us enjoy the night, shall we?" Lucian winked at Fey before using his shadow Dominion to instantly teleport.

Fey chuckled, watching him vanish.

"Don’t have to ask me twice," he muttered, following after him.

Lucian reappeared in the middle of the ball, earning curious glances from the crowd—the new star of the night, the one who had conjured an entire army of shadows and pledged allegiance to the Third Prince alongside the Duke.

"I almost forgot..." Lucian chuckled, snapping his fingers. Instantly, the shadow army began to move, patrolling the entire courtyard.

"Should make another attack nearly impossible," he mused.

Suddenly, Lucian felt a hand on his arm—a touch that felt oddly familiar.

He quickly turned around, finding Ignir and the other members of his cult, along with Varen, all looking at him with pride.

"I can’t believe it! You just swore allegiance to the prince! And with such a cool power too!" Ignir shouted, grinning from ear to ear, clearly thrilled to see Lucian again after so long.

Lucian ruffled Ignir’s hair, a rare warmth flickering in his chest before he quickly masked it with a smirk.

"I’m just that good, child," Lucian laughed, before turning his gaze to Varen.

"And how’s the job I gave you?" he asked with a smile.

Varen puffed out his chest, laughing confidently.

"Not long now until the slums consider you their true ruler, my lord!" he declared.

Lucian chuckled, raising a finger to his mouth. "Don’t be so loud now," he said with a wink.

"Who are these people?" came a voice from behind—The Third Prince, curiosity lacing his tone.

"Your followers, perhaps?" He raised an eyebrow

Lucian chuckled, turning to face the prince.

"My ever-faithful little shadows," he said with a smirk.