I, The Villainess, Will Seduce All The Heroines Instead-Chapter 12: A Rotten Core (Evelyn’s POV)

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Evelyn's P.O.V

"You dirty whore!"

Verena burst into the scene, eyes blazing as she caught sight of Evelyn and Duke Raphael together. It was a celebration for his return.

Coming from a declining household, Evelyn had been raised under strict, suffocating rules. A distant father, a mother lost too young, and a family name hanging by a thread had made her an easy target.

But above all, she had been taught one thing:

Smile. Please. Be perfect.

Any slip, any unlady-like behavior, was met with screams, punishments until there was nothing left of her but a doll in a dress.

She hadn't expected this. She just wanted to celebrate and be with the Duke Raphael, the man she's known since childhood, but never got too close until that time where she got lost and rescued by him.

Since that moment, he became her savior. But he got engaged to Verena, and everything ended up wrong since that day.

CRACK!

The slap landed across her cheek, white-hot pain blooming across her skin.

It stung so bad.

Her trembling fingers reached up, touching the aching spot as tears welled in her eyes.

'What did I do to deserve this?'

But when Evelyn looked back, she saw something unexpected, hesitation in Verena's eyes, quickly followed by regret.

"Are... are you alright?"

Her tormentor. The very woman who had just slapped her. The thorn in her side. Asking if she was alright?

The confusion rattled her to her core until Raphael stepped in, ever the knight in shining armor, shielding her as always.

But that wasn't the last time. When she was in the academy for the entrance exam, the Duke wanted to clear things up with her after what had happened.

"D-Duke Raphael, we can't... not here..." Evelyn whispered, arms wrapped tightly around herself. "You're engaged to Verena..."

And besides... she didn't deserve him.

"I love you, Evelyn. I never wanted to marry Verena! She's nothing but a thorn!"

Her heart clenched. She wanted to believe him. She always had.

"B-But still!" Her voice wavered. "I'm just... a girl from a fallen household. I don't deserve anything. I'll just be a parasite beside you..."

"Must you drive me insane?" His voice was raw, trembling, vulnerable.

And then everything blurred.

Raphael lunged.

Evelyn barely had time to process the rush of heat, the overwhelming push and pull of emotions. She wanted to admit she liked it, but she couldn't.

"Get your hands off her!"

A sharp voice cut through the moment.

Her tormentor, once again defending her. 

As much as she wanted to despise this woman, Evelyn couldn't ignore the envy crawling at her.

Verena was everything she wasn't. Outspoken, abrasive, intrusive. She didn't ask for space; she claimed it. She was assertive, demanding, commanding. She had a presence. A background.

Evelyn had none of that.

And to make it worse was that her beloved Raphael was engaged to her.

Verena might have been mean, but at least she knew her worth.

Evelyn never had. But she didn't expect her tormentor to say the things she never knew she wanted to hear:

"You are not loved simply because you are desired. Attention is not affection, and submission is not devotion. Do not mistake being wanted for being cherished."

That made her question everything. But was Verena truly her tormentor? Or was she tormenting her with the truth?

In an attempt to earn her father's attention, she took the entrance test for the Warden Department, a path completely opposite to her nature.

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With Libra as her Sun Sign, Evelyn was gifted with Balance Magic, though she had no idea how to wield it. 

She annihilated everything in sight. She was surprised herself.

Every projection, every illusion in the arena gone in an instant.

"Did you see that?!" Someone gasped.

Everyone was shocked to see that the noble girl who was a nobody had done such feat with ease.

For the first time, she truly felt her own power. It was so sudden.

'Is it because... of the recent events lately?'

And just like that, she passed.

Standing among the other accepted applicants, Evelyn barely had time to process what had happened before she caught sight of Raphael's stunned face.

"H-How are you here?..." he asked, his voice laced with confusion.

Somehow, that hurt more than it should have. Perhaps it was natural that he doubted her.

Though, the event before her acceptance was most likely the main factor. She couldn't believe what she did.

The Conduitor of Capricorn was insulting Verena.

And something inside her snapped. She clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and stepped forward and hugged her tormentor.

"I-I..." she stammered. "D-Don't bully Verena..."

The room fell silent.

'Oh my god. That came out so weak.'

Her face burned with embarrassment. That was supposed to be a grand moment!

Verena just gave her a pat on the shoulder, completely unfazed.

"Good job. You defended someone for the first time," she said, grinning. "Do it more often, alright?"

Again. Her tormentor said exactly what she wanted to hear.

And it infuriated her.

Why was she even defending Verena? What was the point? But deep down, Evelyn already knew the answer.

Because she was a people pleaser, trained to smile, to be agreeable, to make herself tolerable enough for others to like her. Even if those people tormented her.

She was rotten, wasn't she? Rotten, selfish, and weak. Especially when she saw something she didn't want to see.

"Wanna be friends?!"

Evelyn turned just in time to see a beautiful woman, painfully beautiful, maybe even more than her, clinging to Verena like they'd known each other forever.

She felt threatened.

Not because she wanted Verena's love or affection. It's not love that she felt.

It was because without Verena, she felt hopeless. Co-dependent. She became instantly attached.

Verena was supposed to be the one to pull her out of the shadows, to make her feel safe. She always needed someone to lead her, to anchor her, to give her direction.

She wanted to be her friend. She needed to be her friend. Because if Verena wasn't by her side... then who was she?

And now, watching someone else latch onto Verena so easily. Laughing, smiling, taking up space that should have been hers—

Evelyn felt instantly replaced. She was supposed to be her only friend.

And she hated that feeling.

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