The Villainous Me Turned the Losers into Blackened Bosses-Chapter 272 - Deeply Entangled

—

Will pulled the white earring from his ear.

He examined it closely. Exquisite craftsmanship, likely commissioned from a master artisan. Treya always obsessed over quality and detail when it came to gifts for him.

`If it can track me, she probably added the tracking magic later herself—it’s a common, widely used spell type, and the demon side likely has similar versions.`

“Disabling the magic isn’t hard. It’s just...”

Detecting and destroying tracking spells was literally first-year curriculum material at the academy. Dungeons often featured similar traps, and since most students at Entark First Academy were nobles—prime targets for tracking—it was arguably the most practical magic they learned in their first year. First, you detect the spell’s properties and structure, then you use a deconstruction spell to break it down. The latter part was easy, like playing a game of Minesweeper.

He knew the process intimately. Being a Hysterm meant plenty of people had tried to slap “monitoring” devices on him over the years.

But... the whole process took a solid, uninterrupted thirty minutes.

Time he absolutely did not have right now.

So—

The only logical option was—

“Hmph.”

Will raised his hand, the earring glinting.

From a pure efficiency standpoint, just chucking it right here was the best move. Maybe even run a bit further and toss it in the opposite direction to throw her off. That was his usual way of thinking.

Just smash it on the ground, and he could...

But...

His hand lowered slowly.

“...Can’t do it.”

He hadn’t forgotten a single gift anyone had given him. Not Eir’s birthday cakes, not the ring Leah had given him that currently resided on his hand... Every trinket, decoration, and practical item received over the years was carefully stored, treasured in a safe, important place back home.

This earring... Treya had specifically commissioned it—a matching ‘couple’s item’ in the opposite color to the black one he had given her.

Even though his original gift of the black earring had been... unintentional in its romantic implication...

Still...

This felt like a ‘response’ to his sincere gesture back then. Treya had given him this matching earring with genuine heart.

He opened his hand, staring at the piece nestled in his palm. The white earring shimmered brilliantly in the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees. It was even more exquisitely crafted than the black one he’d given Treya. The materials might not be dungeon-related, but they were undoubtedly more expensive.

The cool metal rested against his skin, its flawless surface reflecting the shifting patterns of the leaves overhead.

He remembered spending some time picking out Treya’s black earring, focusing mostly on stats—how much demonic affinity adaptation and agility it would grant her.

...He rarely thought about being ‘repaid’ for his actions.

But undeniably, this white earring felt exactly like that—a ‘reward’ for his efforts.

“Hooo...”

Will recalled fragments of Treya’s ‘control’ over him.

Though the ‘him’ back then felt less like Will and more like a perfect, fabricated husband for the Empress, constructed from false memories.

But still...

Her smiling face as she woke him from bed;

Her gentle smile as she took his hand to walk through the palace;

Her radiant grin as she swept him up during the engagement announcement;

The smiles she wanted him to ‘see’, the genuine joy usually hidden beneath her composed exterior, peeking through only for him—

Those felt real.

“I actually managed to escape... yet now all I can think about is Treya pampering me in the palace, living the life of the ‘Empress’s little canary’.”

“Am I developing some kind of Stockholm Syndrome?” (tln : google it guys, its basically hostage fallin love with the kidnaper)

“But honestly... those memories she shoved into my head...”

“A happy family. Parents who loved me unconditionally. A lover who would always love me back, shouldering all financial burdens and pressures.”

Lost in thought, Will first cast a detection spell on the earring, analyzing its properties and structure. Then, he layered on the highest-level information-blocking spell he could manage, even though he suspected it would be nearly useless against whatever demonic magic Treya might employ.

But even so...

He wanted to keep this gift—this ‘response’ from Treya.

Whether throwing it away led Treya to find it, or if he actually destroyed it... it felt like it would hurt both Treya and himself. Even knowing it was likely the reason she could track him.

He sighed, clipping the earring back onto his left ear.

If being tracked was inevitable, then his only hopes rested on Eir finding his message... and Shuna somehow escaping to help him.

Since coming to this world whose story he supposedly knew, he rarely faced situations like this—completely ‘unknown’ developments. Situations spiraling beyond his control.

And...

A ‘boss’ he was utterly unprepared for.

It felt like playing a game with a detailed walkthrough, only to find halfway through that someone had hacked the game, replaced all the data with totally unfamiliar bosses, and buffed them tenfold.

...And then realizing the hacker was himself.

Step by step... from failing to recognize Leah as a ‘Witch’ capable of creating pocket dimensions within dungeons; to underestimating the peak Treya had reached through her dealings with demons...

He felt his confidence wavering.

Could he truly understand the ‘girls’ he had cultivated, down to every detail, like he used to?

And did he... did he really understand this ‘world’ at all?

Will gently touched the earring.

“Truth is... I really am deeply entangled now.”

“Standing ‘outside the painting’, feeling nothing for them... that’s absolutely impossible.”

“Standing ‘atop the story’, completely controlling them... that also seems...”

“...impossible now.”

...

Dragging his still-healing leg, feeling the dull ache, he pushed himself onward—downward—further into the woods—

He’d never realized how vast this mountain forest truly was.

The exhaustion from a sleepless night began to creep up from his toes, slowly spreading through his entire body.

“Hah... Hah...”

Will panted heavily. The pristine white suit Treya had dressed him in was now torn and stained.

He finally stumbled to a halt.

And sighed again.

Because someone was already standing there, blocking the path he intended to take.

Treya.

“No need to run anymore, Will,” she said, her voice calm.

She seemed to have changed clothes again, now wearing a flowing black gown—no, wait, that was the wedding dress. The one he had helped pick out. Just the sample version from yesterday, not yet custom-tailored.

So, he hadn’t managed to escape Treya after all...

Not only had he failed to escape...

She’d even had time to change into a beautiful dress.

“You can’t possibly outrun a carriage, Will. Especially not when the royal family knows this terrain far better,” she stated matter-of-factly.

“Yes... I-I’m well aware,” Will admitted, his voice thin.

“...That rather skilled adventurer who came to rescue you? I’ve already confined her to a room within the dungeon,” Treya continued.

But the calmer she sounded, the more her words felt like they were boxing him in, pushing him towards a dead end with no escape.

“It’s a room I constructed temporarily using ‘memory’. For a demon’s dungeon, memories make the best raw materials...”

“Because memories are often infused with the richest emotions. I am not a monarch who completely disregards rules; I won’t kill an uninvolved party—especially not your friend, Will.”

“Of course...”

Her voice shifted subtly.

“...my dearest...”

Will stared intently at her.

The way she said “my dearest” transitioned from icy control to a cloying sweetness.

“...that is contingent upon your willingness... to complete our ‘wedding’.”

The forest remained the same forest.

Yet, white ribbons began to unfurl, draping themselves along the edges of the trees.

Turning the quiet woods into...

A wedding venue.