I Am The Villainess Who Will Tame Every Yandere Heroine!-Chapter 50: Suppleness

Donovan let out a soft hum, his golden eyes flicking toward Serafine with vague amusement. "You sure you don't want to reconsider? This one's a traitor. I've got far more entertaining choices. This one's half-dead and—oh, look—completely lacking in charm."

"Yes, yes, I'm aware. She's perfect."

He sighed dramatically, as if deeply burdened by her poor taste. "Fine…"

Stepping forward, his hands reached into his cloak. Every single person in the room braced themselves, their minds racing.

Even Mariella's grip on her weapon tightened, and Calix, normally exasperated beyond reason with Serafine, looked alarmed.

And then—click.

A small, unimpressive iron key dangled from Donovan's fingers.

Everyone exhaled.

Serafine blinked. "Wow. That was—"

"Suspenseful?"

"I was going to say dramatic, but sure."

The prince only smirked, strolling lazily to Clara's cell.

As he turned the key in the lock, questions buzzed in Serafine's head.

Why had Clara betrayed them? What had broken her?

And most importantly—who was the man behind all of this?

"Lady Savior!"

The sharp scream shattered the moment.

Serafine and Calix whipped around.

A man had his arm locked around Mariella's throat, a dagger pressing her own blade against her neck.

"Donovan?!"

Serafine's eyes flicked back and forth, checking, double-checking.

He had been in front of her, unlocking the cell, hadn't he? But now—he was behind them? Holding Mariella hostage?

She snapped her gaze back to Clara. No, Donovan wasn't in front of her anymore.

"Fuck. I almost forgot…"

Her jaw clenched as a sickening realization settled in.

Tenebris Lux.

The Ethos of the second prince.

A fusion of light and darkness, Tenebris Lux allowed Donovan to manipulate invisible light, a paradoxical force that bent perception, warped reality, and distorted truth itself. Unlike his brother's raw, illuminating power, his light did not reveal. It concealed.

He could shroud himself in an unseen radiance that disrupted normal vision, making him appear as a vague blur or vanish entirely. It wasn't simple invisibility. It altered how others perceived the space he occupied. The mind ignored his presence as if he had never been there in the first place.

It was a power of deception. Of manipulation. Of making truth itself unreliable.

And she had fallen for it.

She took a step back, blinking hard, reeling from the sudden betrayal.

"Why?!"

"Oh, come on, Serafine. Don't insult me."

He adjusted his grip, pressing the dagger tighter against Mariella's throat. A thin drop of blood trickled down.

"I knew it was you," he continued, a smirk tugging at his lips. "At first, it was the way you played back there. We've played together on multiple occasions, haven't we? I know your style. Your behavior. That thug you impersonated? There was no way some random street rat knew how to pull a win like that."

His golden eyes gleamed as he tilted his head.

"But what sealed it," he murmured, "was the girl."

Serafine stiffened.

"Most buyers—real buyers—don't pick a traitor so easily," he mused, his tone dripping with amusement. "They have taste. They pause. They ask. They inquire. They scrutinize. But you? You pointed at her as if…"

His voice dropped lower.

"As if you had already made the decision before even seeing her."

Serafine clenched her fists.

Donovan chuckled, his expression both impressed and entertained. "I knew you'd come for her. So, naturally, I was curious about what kind of tricks you had planned. And judging by the situation, I knew it was you..."

"You—!"

"That's probably the boy, right?" Donovan's voice was maddeningly casual, his gaze flicking toward Calix. "Your disciple?"

"And?! What about it?"

"Don't you know the reason you were outed as a fake saintess? Why everyone was so insistent on ridding themselves of you?"

The mood shifted.

Calix took a step back, his breath hitching. A tremor ran through him.

For the first time, Serafine saw an expression on his face she had never seen before—his usual wide, innocent eyes darkened with something unreadable.

He looked down.

"What do you mean?"

"He was behind everything."

Serafine didn't know what to feel. Everything was just too much right now. The cold that slithered through this wretched place, the sheer wrongness in the air, the fear in Mariella's eyes—like Serafine had the answers, like she had a plan.

And then there was him.

An enemy she had no idea how to defeat.

"You see..." Donovan started, his voice as smooth as poisoned honey.

Apparently, to push her into the position she was in now, Calix had hired this bastard to seduce the noblewoman—to get close to her, manipulate her, lead her exactly where he wanted her.

With his Ethos, Calix had twisted the emotions of the priests, infecting them with an overwhelming, irrational need to kill Serafine. To make her feel utterly abandoned by Aurelia.

They worked together, the disciple promising him something in return.

To offer Serafine. As a plaything.

"But," Donovan's smile twisted, his grip tightening on Mariella, "he never actually gave you to me." His voice dipped into something dark, something ugly. "This bitch betrayed me!"

The blade pressed harder into Mariella's throat. She screamed, choking on the sharp pain.

"And you know why I always hated you?" Donovan spat. "Because you were just like me." His golden eyes burned with a resentment that had clearly been festering for years. "But you—you got love. You got adoration. Like my brother. No, more than him! You just had to smile and people worshipped you."

He was practically seething now, his voice dripping with pure venom. "And you didn't even awaken your Ethos. I had to do all the dirty work. And you—" He sneered. "You are the biggest hypocrite... You're fucked up in the head. Ever since we were kids, I always knew you were a devil's spawn."

Serafine's grin sharpened as Donovan raged, his emotions spiraling into a storm of resentment.

'Perfect.'

She had seen this kind of anger before—the kind that clouded judgment, that made people predictable.

With a flick of her wrist, she activated Mask of Light, her form flickering, bending, distorting—until suddenly, she wasn't there at all.

The air shimmered as if heat waves had swallowed her presence, and in the blink of an eye, she reappeared behind Donovan.

He barely had time to register the shift before she struck, her palm slamming into the wrist holding the dagger. A burst of prismatic light danced across his vision, momentarily disorienting him.

Donovan snarled, his Ethos Tenebris Lux surging to life, the invisible light around him bending reality itself. But Serafine had already predicted his movements.

With Mask of Light fully integrated into her Ethos, she countered with a masterful distortion—she twisted the space between them, making it appear as if she was still in front of him when, in reality, she was already moving.

His dagger slashed through an illusion, striking nothing but air, and before he could react, her foot connected with his ribs, sending him crashing against the cold stone floor.

She loomed over him, her shimmering, ghost-like form flickering between sight and invisibility, her voice laced with amused cruelty. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Looks like you're not the only one who can cheat reality. Atleast I got my revenge now."

"H-Huh?!"

"God, you've always been such a wimp since we were kids. Anyways, you done now? It was annoying, you know, trying to figure out who took Clara and everything."

The prince was baffled. "Y-You knew?..."

"Mhm."

"How?"

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"Sorry, I'm not a villain who reveals all their plans and story in the middle of an anime fight..."

"An anime... what?"

"Calix, go treat Mariella and take out Clara. Treat her too," she instructed. "And look away."

He hesitated for a moment, his hands still trembling as he supported Mariella and Clara. He had expected Serafine to tear into him by now, maybe unleash one of her signature long-winded, narcissistic monologues about betrayal and disappointment. But instead, she was smiling. And that was somehow worse.

"Now, now," Serafine purred, tapping her chin in mock thought. "What shall I do with you, dear Donovan? Torture? Banishment? Oh, maybe I'll gift-wrap you and send you straight to your perfect little brother. What do you think, Calix?" She turned to her disciple, who stiffened under her gaze. "You are the same level as him, aren't you? Be a dear and sap all those troublesome emotions away, will you?"

Calix swallowed but obeyed. His Lumen Sensus flared to life, and with a subtle, golden glow, Donovan's sharp, furious eyes dulled into an empty void. His shoulders sagged, his grip loosened, and the fire of resistance vanished from his face. It was almost sad. Almost.

Serafine beamed at the result, then without hesitation, lifted her foot and whack!—sent Donovan's head straight into the cold, unforgiving stone.

She cackled. "Oh? Did that hurt? No? Not feeling much of anything anymore, huh?" She bent down, cupping his face with mock sympathy. "That's what happens when you mess with a woman scorned, darling."

She pulled their clothing firmly.

The fabric tore with a satisfying rip, and Serafine yanked Donovan up by the collar, her grin widening with every inch of skin she uncovered.

'Oh?' She tilted her head. 'Now this is interesting.'

Donovan was built lean and sharp, but beneath all that, there was an undeniable softness. A traitorous curve here, an unmistakable fullness there. The second prince was hiding more than just his crimes, it seemed.

"I knew it," Serafine hummed, dragging her fingers along the exposed skin just to watch Donovan flinch. "You're not just a shadow prince. You're a hidden princess!"

Donovan.

No, Donora—gritted her teeth, clearly trying to regain composure. But Serafine was already stepping closer, her voice dropping into a sultry purr.

"Now I have an idea," she mused, tapping her chin as if in deep thought. "If every little action I take earns me Ruination Points… then why not go all in?" Her grin turned wicked.

She leaned in, whispering in the now-terrified woman's ear.

"Should I make you my slave, hm? Lady... Donora?"