Villain's Odyssey: Enslaving heroines, Conquering Villainesses-Chapter 76: Emilia’s obsession

"Is all this really necessary?" Jenny asked, leaning against the doorframe with her arms folded as she watched Asher meticulously style his hair. He was dressed in a crisp black long-sleeve shirt and matching trousers, looking far too put-together for what was supposed to be a simple conversation with Maria.

"Am I imagining it, or are you starting to sound like my wife?" he asked, catching her eye in the mirror with an amused smirk.

Jenny’s frown deepened. "You wish."

He shrugged with infuriating nonchalance. "I’m going somewhere else afterward," he said finally, slipping his hands into his pockets as he turned to face her, clearly ready to leave. The fever that had plagued him that morning was completely gone—apparently, some healing hands and rest were all he’d needed.

"Where?" she asked, tilting her head with curiosity.

He gave her a flat, unreadable stare.

Jenny was wearing a sleeveless black blouse with thin straps, topped with a pink patterned short jacket that was more decorative than functional—really just artfully arranged fabric styled in a fashionable way. Her short white skirt showed off her smooth legs, and she’d paired the outfit with the currently trending white shoes that all the girls were wearing. Her hair flowed freely around her shoulders, catching the light as she moved.

"What?" she asked, noticing the way he was staring at her with that blank expression.

"Why the hell are you interrogating me like this? I don’t poke my nose into your business, so why are you acting like I owe you explanations about mine?" He asked with a blank gaze.

Jenny pouted, clearly annoyed. "Well, forgive me for being a concerned roommate," she said, walking toward her wardrobe with deliberate steps. "Go screw yourself."

Asher looked genuinely surprised by her outburst. She was the one person he couldn’t completely figure out. Was she into him? Possibly. Or possibly not. He honestly couldn’t tell, given how intense her reactions became whenever they touched on that topic. Could she possibly be a tsundere?

Of course he knew what a tsundere was—after all, he’d been a cultured young man in his previous life as Noel. But the chances of Jenny actually being a tsundere seemed slim. She acted this way with that guy Tobi too, so this was probably just her normal personality. Though if that was the case, she’d definitely be giving a lot of guys the wrong idea. Was that why Tobi had reacted so strongly back then? The young man obviously had a crush on her—only someone as dense as a black hole wouldn’t see the writing on the wall. He’d seemed genuinely horrified by the possibility of them being a couple, which said everything about his feelings.

’Come to think of it... I can’t let anyone else have her yet.’

That phrasing was a little possessive, but he didn’t seem to notice—or rather, care.

The reason behind that thought was simple: her newfound power. He couldn’t let her fall in love with some random guy, because that would mean losing his greatest protection. So he had to find a way to make her fall for him instead. Madly in love would be ideal... or maybe not, he thought, recalling Emilia from his previous life.

If Jenny became as obsessed with him as Emilia had been, and given her current strength, the chances of escaping her if things went south, would be slim to none. So it wasn’t advisable, but then again, he could only truly trust her if she was that obsessed with him. Now he was caught at a crossroads of sorts. The more obsessed she became, the less likely she’d be to leave his control, but on the other hand, the higher the chances of her actually reaching the point of tying him up—just like Emilia had done at some point when he’d tried to escape her mansion as Noel.

He’d gotten help from a maid who’d been taking care of his basic needs, managing to guilt-trip her into trying to help him out of his situation. But that had backfired spectacularly. Not only was the maid killed so brutally that he was traumatized, but he was also tied up in Emilia’s room for such a long time that thoughts of escape fled far from his mind.

She’d kept breaking him down while simultaneously being sweet to him, making it seem like she was only trying to help, like she was the only one he could trust. With time, he’d actually let himself go. He’d stopped trying to run away and let life take its course. What else could he do? She had power, money, and influence—she could do anything and get away with it. So he’d stopped fighting and began trying to actually love her.

And he had, damn it. It wasn’t hard. Aside from the fact that almost any mention of another girl sent her into full lunatic mode, she was sweet and loveable—or at least he’d been able to convince himself of that later.

Well, until ’it’ happened.

’Come to think of it, something still doesn’t feel right about that memory,’ he thought. What she’d done before he died didn’t make sense. She’d been too obsessed with him to do that—it just wasn’t adding up no matter how he tried to look at it. Could there be something wrong with that memory too? Was there something more to his death?

’Sigh, let’s focus on the current matter,’ he thought, watching Jenny prepare to change outfits for what felt like the nth time that day.

"Why don’t you come with me?" he asked with a charming smile.

"What? Why would I want to do that?" she asked, not bothering to look at him.

"Well, I just remembered that since what happened yesterday, I still can’t properly control my ether," he said with calculated vulnerability.

"So?" Her red eyes finally turned to look at him.

"Well, what if she tries to molest me?" He gave her a horrified expression, suddenly looking quite fragile. For a moment, she could swear he seemed to be surrounded by a pink background with floating heart-shaped sparkles.

"Then don’t go. How’s that my business?" she said, frowning.

He sighed dramatically. "Fine, I’ll go... defenseless... probably get molested... multiple times." He looked even more dejected now, and she could really swear he was in some pink, fluffy, sparkling background with heart shapes flying around.

"Multiple times?" she asked with a blank expression.

"Well, someone stronger than me could just... abduct me, after she’s done with me," he said with theatrical despair.

"Aren’t you being a bit too narcissistic? You may be handsome, but that’s not exactly rare. There are other handsome guys out there, and they aren’t being kidnapped left and right because of it," she pointed out with dry logic.

"Really? Tell me, Jenny," he said, walking up to her. She unconsciously took a step back.

"What?" she asked, suddenly aware of how close he was.

"Name one person you’ve seen who’s more handsome than I am," he said with complete seriousness.

"Tsk, get out of my sight, you shameless bastard," she said, but there was less bite in her voice than usual.

He laughed, the sound genuine and warm. "Fine, I’ll go on my own then."

She didn’t respond, turning back to her wardrobe with what might have been a slight blush on her cheeks.

He walked toward the door, pausing with his hand on the handle. "You know, if something does happen to me, you’ll probably feel guilty about not coming along to protect your helpless roommate."

"Helpless, my ass," she muttered, but he caught the slight concern in her voice.

"See you later, Jenny," he said softly, and stepped out into the hallway.

The moment the door clicked shut behind him, his expression shifted completely—from playful and vulnerable to cold calculation. The charming smile disappeared, replaced by something far more predatory.

"She isn’t immune after all," he murmured to himself, already planning his next moves. "Fine, let’s see what I can accomplish in a few days’ time."

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A/N-Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation! Also, if you have enjoyed the story so far perhaps you can try dropping a review, the author would appreciate that, thanks!

A/N-Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation! Also, if you have enjoyed the story so far perhaps you can try dropping a review, the author would appreciate that, thanks!

And also, I would love powerstones!