The Villainess Wants To Retire-Chapter 150: Another Villainess

ERIS

I was enjoying this far more than I probably should.

The thought drifted through my mind as I watched Vetra’s composure rebuild itself, watched her gather the scattered pieces of her dignity and arrange them back into the facade of imperial authority. It was fascinating, really, the speed with which she recovered. Most people, when caught off guard like that, took precious seconds to regroup. Vetra managed it in the space of a heartbeat. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Impressive.

I found myself studying her with the same attention I once reserved for political enemies and chess opponents, cataloging every detail, every micro-expression, every tell that might reveal the woman beneath the title.

What kind of villainess was she?

The question intrigued me more than it should. In my previous life, before awareness, before rebirth, I had been a creature of fire and fury. Wild. Unhinged. The kind of villain who burned first and considered consequences never. My cruelty had been a living thing, immediate and devastating as wildfire, consuming everything in its path without discrimination.

But Vetra...

Vetra was different.

She stood there, spine perfectly straight, hands folded with deliberate grace, her expression settling back into serene authority as though the past few moments had been nothing more than a mild inconvenience. Every gesture was measured, controlled, calculated for maximum effect with minimum visible effort.

Not wild at all. Not unhinged.

Calm. Collected. Controlled.

And that, I realized with a thrill that made my pulse quicken, made her infinitely more dangerous.

Because the wild ones, the creatures of impulse and rage, they were predictable. You could see them coming, read their movements, anticipate the flames before they struck. But the calm ones? The ones who smiled while planning your destruction, who moved with patience and precision?

They hit you where you least expected. When you least expected. With weapons you never saw being forged.

The realization settled over me like recognition of a kindred spirit, though one who had mastered all the things I never had. Control. Patience. The long game.

"Another villainess," I thought, and the idea delighted me in ways I couldn’t quite name. "Possibly even better at this than I ever was."

The prospect should have worried me. Should have made me cautious, defensive, wary.

Instead, it made me want to laugh.

Finally. Finally, after all the insipid courtiers and trembling nobles and people who fell over themselves either to worship or fear me, here was someone who might actually provide a challenge. Someone who understood the game, who played it with skill and ruthlessness, who wouldn’t crumble at the first sign of opposition.

A worthy opponent.

Vetra’s voice cut through my thoughts, smooth as silk drawn across steel.

"How brave of you," she said, the word ’brave’ carrying the distinct flavor of ’foolish.’ "To speak so boldly in a court where you have no allies, no power, no protection beyond what my son chooses to grant you." Her smile was winter given form. "I wonder how long such bravery will serve you here."

The threat was clear, wrapped in concern but unmistakable beneath it. Your time here will be very short.

I let my own smile deepen, matching hers degree for degree in false warmth and real danger.

"How kind of you to worry, Your Grace. Though I confess, I wonder if you should perhaps be more concerned with your own... longevity... at court." I tilted my head slightly, the gesture almost sympathetic. "After all, circumstances change so quickly. Today’s certainties become tomorrow’s memories. One never knows who might find themselves... displaced."

The redirect was subtle but unmistakable. You might be the one who doesn’t last.

Vetra’s eyes flashed, genuine emotion breaking through the careful mask for just an instant before control reasserted itself. She turned her attention to Soren, who had been watching our exchange with an expression I couldn’t quite read.

"How prescient," Vetra murmured, her gaze never leaving her adopted son’s face. "You have brought us exactly what will destroy this empire, my dear boy. It is only a matter of time before she shows her true colors." The words were directed at Soren, but meant for the entire court. "And when she does, when the mask falls and the monster emerges, remember that I warned you."

The silence stretched, taut as a bowstring pulled to breaking.

Then Soren spoke, his voice carrying across the courtyard with quiet, absolute authority.

"Eris’s true colors," he said, each word deliberate, unmistakable, "are exactly why I chose her to be my bride."

The declaration landed like a stone thrown into glass. Around us, the court collectively forgot how to function, nobles frozen mid-breath, servants halted mid-step, even the wind seeming to pause in shock at what had just been stated so baldly, so publicly.

Soren had not merely defended me. He had claimed me. Endorsed me. Declared to his entire court that whatever darkness they feared in me, whatever cruelty or chaos or ruin they anticipated, he welcomed it. Wanted it. Had chosen it deliberately.

Vetra’s face went very still, the kind of stillness that comes before avalanches.

Then she scoffed, the sound soft but cutting, and turned away with the kind of dismissal that speaks louder than words ever could. Her ladies and servants, who had been standing frozen throughout the exchange, suddenly scrambled into motion, skirts swishing as they hurried to follow their mistress up the palace steps.

The Regent Empress departed without another word, without a backward glance, leaving behind nothing but the echo of her disdain and the clear message that this was far from over.

The moment she disappeared through the palace doors, the entire courtyard exhaled.

It was almost comical, really, the way they all breathed out together, shoulders dropping, postures loosening, as though they’d been holding themselves rigid against a storm that had finally passed. The tension that had made the very air difficult to draw into lungs dissipated, replaced by the low buzz of frantic whispers and barely suppressed gossip.

I turned slightly, found Soren watching me with an expression that bordered on awe, and felt something warm and unfamiliar curl in my chest.

He had just declared war on his own adoptive mother.

For me.

The realization should have felt heavy, burdened with obligation and debt.

Instead, it felt like possibility.

Like the opening move in a game I was very much looking forward to playing.