BJ Villainess Chapter 354

I swallowed dryly.

 

“Are you scared?”

 

As if entranced by his gaze, I nodded. When I finally came to my senses, a sterilized needle was already glinting before my eyes.

 

“Huh? Yes… a little…”

 

So that long, thick needle was really going to pierce my flesh…? I’d never had my ears pierced on Earth, and now, in this possessed world, I was about to get earrings for the first time. The expected pain made me tense.

 

Ilya lightly tapped my stiff cheek and said, “I don’t think it’s just a little bit.”

 

Was it just me? Somehow, it felt like he was teasing me.

 

“If you’re that tense, it’ll hurt more. Relax your body.”

 

“That’s not something I can just do at will.”

 

As I trembled, Ilya, seeming at a loss, pulled my tightly clenched hands and wrapped them around his own waist. “Then do what you like most.”

 

“What? W-When did I ever say I like something like— Ow!”

 

Ilya distracted me and, without warning, poked the needle through my earlobe.

 

Heartless person. Ruthless person. How could he do such a thing while I let my guard down…!

 

As I opened my mouth in shock, Ilya chuckled, lifted my chin, and gently closed my mouth again. “One down.” He moved the needle to the other side.

 

I squeezed my eyes shut in resignation, and once again, a stinging pain brought tears to my eyes. “That hurts….”

 

“Too bad.”

 

Ilya mercilessly pierced both ears, fastened the pearl earrings firmly, and even treated them. He was both ruthless and gentle. After the pain subsided, all that was left was a warm heat spreading through my whole ear.

 

Ilya carefully examined me with the pearl earrings on. “They suit you.”

 

“…No way. Look at what I’m wearing.” I awkwardly let go of him, feeling guilty that maybe I was being too selfish, and unable to meet his gaze any longer.

 

Just then, the butler knocked on the door from outside. “Master, urgent news from the Holy See.”

 

“Come in.”

 

The butler, who entered, delivered the news with an unusually flustered face. “The daughter of Holy God has appeared. His Holiness has ordered all cardinals to gather at once.”

 

Right. Now that the coming-of-age day has passed, the real game is about to begin. I’d known this would happen, but for some reason, my heart stung. How foolish of me. Did I really hope I might be the daughter of the Holy God?

 

After possessing this body and coming to this world, the story had started to diverge from the original game scenario. So I’d wondered if maybe I had become the daughter of the Holy God instead—but it looked like Theresa was still just Theresa.

 

“That’s good news. Go ahead, Lord Ilya.” Luckily, my voice came out calm. But I couldn’t meet Ilya’s eyes. I was terrified he’d see through this embarrassing delusion.

 

I wasn’t confident about myself. I couldn’t believe that I was someone who could truly be loved, or that this affection and attention would last. Never lived such a life like that, it’s no wonder I had no faith in it. Confirming objectively that I was nothing special to him was scary. It was easier just to remain anxious, not knowing anything. That way, at least I could hold onto hope.

 

“Um, then I’ll go take a bath now. Thank you for the earrings. I’ll use them well!” Like running away, I left the room.

 

* * *

That day, Ilya didn’t return from the Holy See. Why? What was happening that kept him away? In the original scenario, the daughter of the Holy God was supposed to stay at Ilya’s house. Deciding this shouldn’t have taken so long, so it was strange.

 

The next day, I went to the Holy See under the pretense of giving a mission report, to see for myself what was going on. But the archbishop appeared and told me that the cultist of the Evil God was ominous, and that I couldn’t enter right now.

 

“Is the meeting running long because that ominous person is living at Ilya’s house?”

 

In the end, it seemed I was the reason he couldn’t come home.

 

“What the heck. I’m really a nuisance.” I’d worked tirelessly for the empire for the past half year just to avoid this. Yet my very existence seemed to be holding Ilya back.

 

One bad thought led to another. By the time my endless self-blame spiraled into the idea that maybe I should leave the empire, Ilya finally returned to the mansion.

 

The daughter of the Holy God must have come with him, right? I steeled myself. She’s the protagonist of the game. I need to see what kind of person she is, help her defeat the cultists of Evil God, and prove I’m not a bad person too.

 

But what if the daughter of the Holy God refused to acknowledge me and attacked me? What would I do then? In that case, should I just run away…?

 

Lost in thought, I soon found myself standing in front of Ilya’s room.

 

“Lord Ilya, this is Theresa.”

 

The moment I announced my arrival, the door flew open.

 

“I heard you came back, so I wanted to greet you—”

 

“Come here.”

 

As I tried to greet him properly, he pulled me into his arms. Thud—the door closed behind me. The heat radiating from his body pressed against me fiercely, while the room itself was silent.

 

“Lord Ilya…?”

 

Ilya hugged me as if leaning on me, letting out a silent sigh. The rise and fall of his back proved it. I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel how exhausted he was. I instinctively patted his back in comfort and asked, “Did something happen?”

 

“Nothing happened…”

 

Suddenly, something felt off. His words are oddly slow. He seems a little out of it too. I thought I needed to see his face to check, and when our cheeks brushed by chance, I felt an abnormal heat. “You have a fever!?”

 

“I’ll be fine if I rest.”

 

“Well, of course, but anyone needs to rest when they’re sick, right?”

 

It didn’t make sense. He possessed such strong holy power that he should never fall ill.

 

“I’ll help you lie down.” As I said this, Ilya became heavier.

 

What the…? Wasn’t he standing fine just a moment ago? Struggling, I managed to get him onto the bed—almost throwing him down. But unexpectedly, he wouldn’t let go of my waist.

 

“Uah!” Thanks to that, I tumbled onto the bed with a yelp.

 

Covered in hair like a tangled net, I looked at Ilya through the strands. He had his eyes closed, but there was a slight smile on his face.

 

“So you still have enough energy to joke around. That’s a relief.”

 

Ilya replied in a low, husky voice, “I told you, I’m fine from the start.”

 

“Alright, but at least let go of my waist. What if someone sees us like this?”

 

“It’s fine.”

 

“No, it’s not!” I struggled and finally freed myself from his grip.

 

Ilya was pretending to be fine, but up close, I could see his eyes were flushed, his cheeks were red and hot. Other parts of his face were excessively pale, and his whole body was burning up with fever.

 

Maybe I can heal him? With that hope, I tried to heal him with my abilities, but it didn’t work at all.

 

“It’s not an illness, so you can’t heal it that way. Don’t waste your strength.”

 

“Then what should I do? What will make you better?”

 

Ilya took my hand and pulled me into his embrace. “Stay by my side. Don’t go anywhere.”

 

His words made me worry that I might misunderstand, so I averted my eyes and changed the subject. “I’ll at least put a cold towel on your forehead.”

 

Ilya then pressed my hand against his forehead.

 

Why is he acting so needy all of a sudden? Though I was worried, my heart ached and fluttered at the same time. The funny thing was, this fluttering only made my pain worse.

 

Feeling conflicted, I gently brushed his hair, and Ilya, his gaze unfocused, murmured as if to himself, “Is it because of the earrings?”

 

“What is?”

 

Ilya, running out of energy, gave a final whispered answer before falling asleep. “Because you’re pretty.”