Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!-Chapter 7 -: 6 Nickel Valentina.

As soon as the voice called out, Rosalina’s face turned cold. She calmly changed the room back to how it was before.

She opened the door. "What is it?" she asked in an irritated voice.

The maid standing outside kept a respectful look and answered, "Miss, the young lord is here."

A frown appeared on her face, ’Why is he here?’ She thought, feeling annoyed inside. But her face showed nothing.

"Hm," Rosalina gave a small sound in reply. She slowly walked toward the hall.

After walking for a bit, Rosalina reached the hall.

A man sat there with his legs crossed.

He had long black hair tied back and a mature face that made him look like he was in his twenties.

"Nickel..." Rosalina muttered when she saw him.

He was her eldest brother and the first in line to take over the family.

Nickel looked up as she entered. He smiled and said, "It’s been a while, sister."

Rosalina returned a small smile and sat down across from him.

"Yes, it has," she replied politely.

But inside, she was very angry. ’This trash... What does he want now? I was having a good day, and now he’s here to ruin it.’

Nickel kept his gentle smile. He spoke softly, "I heard something happened at the academy today..."

Rosalina’s face stayed calm. When she first heard he had come, she had somewhat guessed why he came here.

Still, she didn’t expect the news to reach him so quickly.

"What happened?" she asked in a calm voice.

Nickel tucked a loose strand of black hair behind his ear and leaned forward slightly.

"I heard the heir of the Hayes clan proposed to you. Is it true?"

"So?" Rosalina answered. Her voice was flat, her face calm, no surprise, no blush, nothing.

Nickel’s smile flickered for a split second before he smoothed it back into place.

"I also heard... you refused him?"

Rosalina said nothing. She just stared at him with bored, empty eyes.

He already knew why she looked at him like that.

For years Nickel had been the shining star of the Valentina clan, talented, respected, first in line.

Then Rosalina was born.

S-rank mana affinity, Arcane Core stage of Bodily Ascension, and peak Compression stage of Mental Ascension.

With just one small step she would reach Spirit Core and the early stage of Conversion, where she would choose her true path.

’And those eyes...’

Nickel’s jaw tightened. His molars ground together behind the perfect smile.

"You should have handled it more calmly, sister," he said softly. "Getting angry at him was... unnecessary."

Rosalina stayed silent for a moment, then let out a cold snort.

’Does he think I’m an idiot?’ she thought, her expression turning icy.

She stood up slowly. The fake smile vanished from her face. Her voice dropped, sharp and freezing.

"You have a lot of nerve coming here and talking to me like that."

Nickel stared at her without any change in his expression.

"You’re spying on me," Rosalina continued, staring straight into his eyes.

"Waiting for any slip-up so you can crush me. Don’t pretend I don’t know what you’re thinking, ’brother’."

She had always known. This useless man had been watching her every move, searching for weakness.

’Because of him, I had to act so cold toward my Julius...’

Her heart burned with anger, but her face remained a calm stone.

’If I don’t make you pay for this one day...’

"You think I’m naive?" she said quietly. "Get out. Leave now...before I make you leave."

The air in the hall felt heavy. Nickel said nothing. He only looked at her, the gentle mask still on his face.

"Don’t get angry, sister," Nickel said calmly.

"You don’t have to be so extreme. I’ll leave."

He stood up. The smile on his face looked empty, more like a mask than anything real.

He turned and walked toward the door, slow and steady.

Then he paused.

"Ah... by the way," he said without looking back, "Father sent you this."

He reached into his jacket, pulled out a round orb the size of a fist, and tossed it toward her.

Rosalina caught it easily. She said nothing.

Nickel stepped through the door.

The gentle look on his face broke the moment he crossed the line. His eyes turned cold, hard like ice.

A faint blue screen appeared in front of him. No one else could see it.

*System Notification*

*Quest Completed: Meet the Villainess*

*Objective: Confirm her feelings for Julius Augustus Hayes and gain trust from Cyprian Thorne*

Rewards have been given*

*[Warning: Do NOT attract the attention of Julius Augustus Hayes.]*

Nickel stared at the last line. His fingers twitched.

He kept looking at the screen for a long time. His eyebrows pulled together.

"This isn’t right..." he muttered. "The villain proposed to the villainess this early? In the original story, there were no scenes from the villain’s point of view..."

Slowly, he turned his head and looked back toward the hall where Rosalina was still standing.

A cold feeling ran down his back. Not because of her.

Because of that name.

Julius Augustus Hayes.

The true monster of this world.

Gifted in mind. Gifted in strength.

His schemes were so deep that even the feared Villainess, the terror of the hero himself, could not match him.

Nickel’s breathing grew shallow.

He remembered how cruel and evil that man was.

If the hero had not possessed the power to return to the past, the story would have ended again and again.

"If I want to survive, I must stay away from him... and help the hero." He murmured.

If Julius noticed him, even once, Nickel knew what would happen.

"The Villainess is not a threat. In the end, the Villain will kill her. What I need to do is simple, I must not draw their attention." He murmured to himself.

He then looked back at the door and spoke, "don’t get ahead of yourself, Villainess..." he said softly.

Then he gave a small, bitter laugh.

"...Sorry. Sister."

His lips curved into a smile, but his eyes stayed cold.

"I’m not the useless extra you remember."

A twisted, bizarre smile spread across his face as he disappeared down the hall.

Meanwhile, Rosalina looked down at the orb in her hand. She channeled her mana into it.

The orb pulsed and grew larger until it reached the size of her palm, then stopped. She opened it quietly.

A letter slid out, along with a small, shining treasure.

The letter was from her father, the Patriarch of the Valentina family.

She read it in silence. With every line, her eyes grew colder.

A faint, sharp killing intent flickered in her gaze.

"Cyprian Thorne!"