The Lustful Villain: Every Milfs and Gilfs are Mine!-Chapter 296. Everyone Are Almost Taken! (It Excites Me To Steal Them One By One!)

Chapter 296: 296. Everyone Are Almost Taken! (It Excites Me To Steal Them One By One!)

Elizabeth fell into step beside him when the group began moving toward the Academy’s interior, and the quality of her movement had the purposeful directness of someone who had been thinking about what they wanted to say and was now saying it.

"Mind if I ask you something, Rex?" she asked.

"Sure." Rex nodded.

"So, about the contest yesterday..."

Rex stared at her.

"Last night, Lily told me a lot about it again, and I can tell that she probably admires you a lot," she said in the voice she used when she was trying to figure out what she had heard from one source and what she had heard from other sources. "Well, I can’t blame her for admiring you when you’re really that good."

"That’s what Lily is," Rex said. "She’s thorough."

"Yes, she is," Elizabeth said. "She talked about the counter to the dual-axis integration node in particular."

"I want you to know that what she talked about is not part of any current Academy curriculum."

Rex didn’t say anything.

"It exists in theoretical research," Elizabeth went on, "articles written by researchers, not instructors."

"The kind of material that ends up in restricted archive sections because it’s too advanced to be shared widely before students have a basic understanding of it."

’Ah fuck...’ Rex thought that he messed up here, so he needs to find a good excuse.

"I read a lot in my free time," Rex said. "And I demonstrate what I just read, so yeah..."

"Lily gave you those books, huh?" Elizabeth sighed. "I know for a long time that she’s my well-behaved niece, but when it comes to magic... she always steals those books without me or other instructors knowing it."

"Well, since you just beat Mr. Therion, then take it as long as you need."

Rex was taken aback. Lily had just saved him from any further questioning; not only was she glazing at him in front of Elizabeth, but she also deflected any suspicion away from him.

’Lily... you’re really a good fucking girl, huh?’

Elizabeth gave him the look she used when she had already done the evaluation and was now deciding how much of the result to show.

"The top practitioners in Aethelgard," she said, "by active magical ability, were assessed last year by the Council’s ranking committee."

"First place goes to my mother Valentina. Leonidas is number two, and my older sister Helena is number three.

She stopped for a moment.

"Number four: the Apostle Apollo Brightsoul, fully activated. Number five: Therion Morr Nightwing."

Rex heard it all, and then he asked. "Can I ask you about the second strongest?"

"Leonidas...? Ahh... that’s Helena’s husband."

"Well, he’s currently away from Aethelgard on a long expedition, which has kept him separated from my sister for an extended period, so she is likely trying to find him right now."

Elizabeth chuckled. "That explains why she’s not home yet."

"I see..." Rex then thought. "Helena’s husband is the second strongest mage, huh? Not surprised at all she’s going for someone stronger than herself."

"And it seems like they’re really not divorced but separated... but eh... I’ll ask this question later to Lily or Diana."

"What Lily described yesterday," Elizabeth said, "was not an engagement between a student and a ranked practitioner."

"What she described was closer to what would happen if someone in the top three encountered someone in the top five."

She looked straight at him.

"I don’t want you to explain it," she said. "I’m telling you what I saw and what it means because you should know that I saw it."

"Thanks," Rex said, and he meant it.

"I’m also telling you," Elizabeth said, "because tomorrow’s expedition requires someone at that tier, and Lily gave me the data I needed to be confident you’re it."

’Lily... maybe tone it down with the glazing from now...’

Rex thought about Elizabeth, specifically about the assessment she had just conducted and the way she had conducted it: direct, evidence-based, without performance.

"Oh, I also want to mention my fiancé to you, and he’s currently top 10 in the ranks." Elizabeth said that suddenly and feels like she’s trying to brag.

Rex was surprised with that reveal, and then he thought. ’Fiancé...?!"

’With that fucking MILF body... she’s not married yet?!’ Rex looked at the ring she had on her fingers. ’I always thought she already had children or some shit...’

"Good to know that your fiancé is strong to have a reliable instructor like you, Miss Elizabeth," Rex said. "So... where is he now? We probably need him for this expedition as well."

There was a small change in Elizabeth’s face. "He came this morning with Iris’s group, and he was there with them." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Is he going to be part of tomorrow’s team?"

"He was devastated with what just happened," she said, which was a specific phrase that meant something more than what it said. "And now he’s going all out to save them and get the key."

"I’ll need to know everyone on the team," Rex said. "Before we depart."

"Of course," Elizabeth said.

...

Rex heard the laugh come from the front courtyard of the academy before he could find out where it came from. This was strange because the Foresight almost always told him where the sound was coming from before it got there.

The laugh was unusual because it sounded like someone was performing it, which meant it was loud and projected in a way that took up space instead of expressing a feeling. That kind of laughter moved through the background noise of the courtyard at a speed that the Foresight didn’t see as a specific threat.

Rex located the source as fast as he could. ’Who the fuck is laughing...?’

The man walking next to Iris across the courtyard looked like someone who had just come back from the field and hadn’t yet gotten used to being back in civilization. He was still walking like someone who expected to have to move quickly.

He had the kind of appealing looks that come from someone who is aware of their appearance and curates it carefully. As he spoke to Iris, his tone suggested he was intent on ensuring she noticed his words about a recent accomplishment.

Elizabeth’s face, which Rex could just barely see, had changed into the specific warmth she used for one person.

"Alexander," she said.

The man turned to the sound of his name, saw Elizabeth, and his laugh transformed into a display of warmth; although it was a different kind of performance, it still qualified as a performance.

He walked over to them.

"Ah, my sweet cupcake, Elizabeth," he said, and put his arm around her like someone who had done it a lot before, even though the rest of it wasn’t as easy. "I was looking for you."

Rex stared at Alexander and then thought. "Oh yeah... it’s going to get interesting starting from now on... almost all of them are taken, and I can’t wait to take them one by one.’

He turned to Rex.

The evaluation that Alexander gave, which was the name Elizabeth called a moment later, was the kind of evaluation that some people did when they met someone new and had already made up their minds about the outcome before they finished the test.

"Rex Rexilion," Alexander said. "You’re the one Elizabeth, or perhaps many citizens, keeps talking about."

"She talked about me," Rex replied. "I feel honored."

"A significant amount," Alexander said, and the way he said it made it sound like he was trying to find a potential competitor and pick a specific register to make his point. "The reincarnator who saved citizens during the explosion incident."

"The student who impressed Valentina and the young man who beat Therion Morr Nightwing in a magical contest."

He listed these things with the cadence of someone reading a catalog.

"Significant for a student," Alexander said.

"I try my best," Rex said.

Elizabeth said, "Alex—"

"No, no, sweetheart, it’s a real compliment coming from me," Alexander said in a way that made it clear it wasn’t a real compliment. "These are great things for someone just starting out in their career."

"They achieved these results due to their fortunate timing and inherent talent, which allowed them to seize the opportunity."

"Specifically, the explosion incident," he said. "Good timing and good placement."

"This is what happens to smart people who are also lucky, which is the best combination when you’re still building your record."

Rex stared at him.

Rex said, "You’ve been in the field."

"Well, of course I am," Alexander said. "One of the top ten needs to be there at least."

"The ambush at the canyon site," Rex said.

Something in Alexander’s expression shifted. "That’s right."

"Iris said four got out," Rex said. "You were one of the four, right?"

"I was..."

"And the other six went deeper," Rex said, "to draw the attackers."

He held Alexander’s gaze with the expression of someone completing an observation.

"That’s impressive... coming from someone like you, who must have made some wise choices in that moment," Rex said. "To find yourself among the four instead of the six."

For a moment, the courtyard was quiet. But there are some people, like Apollo, for example, who were surprised with the fire that Rex was spitting in his mouth.

Alexander’s fists moved.

"What the fuck did you just say to me...? You punk."