A Guide to Raising a Villainess-Chapter 132: The Bloody Game (2)

I immediately jumped to my feet, not believing my ears.

"What kind of madness is this?!"

"Calm down, Lady Grace," Richard said. His smile widened. "It’s only a game."

I stepped back slightly, unable to believe what I was hearing. Only a game... How could he say that after uttering something I could not comprehend even for a single moment?!

At that moment Richard slightly turned his head, and my gaze slid past his shoulder. I noticed that from all sides, almost imperceptibly, we were surrounded by guards. Any attempt to escape would have been meaningless.

My heart clenched.

I was certain that I was in a hallucination, that this was some kind of nightmarish dream from which I would wake up at any second.

I looked around, searching for at least some hint of reaction from the others.

But instead of the expected horror or panic...

They were calm.

Yes, there was tension on their faces, but it was restrained tension. No screaming, no trembling, no terror.

Angela stood with her back straight, her eyes carefully following the prince’s every movement. Enoch seemed composed to a frightening degree, while Lionel and Serpens... their gazes were piercing, cold, as if they already knew what would happen and what awaited them next.

And the longer I looked at them, the stronger the fear gripped me.

Why are they not afraid? Why are they watching so calmly what, to me, seemed like true madness?

I felt my palms clench into fists, and my body felt as though it were about to tear apart from the internal strain.

More and more, it seemed to me that I was simply losing my mind.

"So, dear guests," Prince Richard said with a smile, "are you almost ready for the game?" His voice was soft, but there was a trace of excitement in it.

"We are ready," Angela suddenly said in a neutral tone. "What must be done?"

"In fact, the rules are very simple," the prince said, raising his hand. At his signal, servants brought a tray with six dagger blades, each adorned with a delicate golden pattern.

"One of you will leave alive," Richard reminded them, "and the rest will not. You must decide which of you deserves to continue living, and who must become part of this game."

The people in the garden looked at one another, their eyes filled with fear and curiosity. Serpens, Lionel, Angela, Enoch, and even the prince himself looked as though their fates had already been sealed.

"How does it work?" Serpens asked.

Richard answered him:

"Each of you will receive one dagger. You must choose which of those present you consider the most suitable to kill. After that, you will be required to throw your dagger at the chosen player. If you strike correctly and kill them, you remain alive. If not — you die."

"...And what if I make a mistake?" Lionel asked quietly.

"Then you will be forced to complete a task that will determine your further path. But in any case, you must make a choice."

For a brief moment after the prince’s words, silence fell over the garden.

It was strange, almost unreal — the faint rustling of leaves and the night wind swaying the lantern lights seemed to be the only witnesses to what was about to happen.

And then, to my even greater horror, everyone present truly began to carry out the prince’s insane whim.

He lifted his gaze, and his golden eyes gleamed in the soft lantern light.

"Choose which of those present you consider the most suitable to die," Richard said calmly.

My knees gave way. My heart pounded wildly, my palms sticky with sweat. I stood there, holding my breath, unable to believe that this was truly happening.

They exchanged glances. Their looks were cold, but in their eyes fear and determination were mixed, as though they had already accepted that the next step must be taken without hesitation.

Serpens, always the skeptic and rationalist, spoke quietly, almost in a whisper:

"I choose her."

I did not immediately understand what he meant, and only when his gaze settled on Angela did my heart tighten.

Angela, holding back a sigh, gave a slight nod of agreement. There was fear in her eyes, but also a calm acceptance of what was inevitable.

Enoch stood motionless, observing everything. His lips curved into a faint, strange smile.

"So be it," he said.

I felt a chill run down my spine.

Lionel... He raised his dagger, and his gaze was merciless.

"I choose him," he said coldly, pointing the weapon at Enoch.

Richard nodded, as if confirming their choices. "Excellent," he said. "Now each of you will throw your dagger at the chosen player."

Serpens, who had chosen Angela, stepped forward. He raised the dagger and, with the precision of a marksman, threw it toward the girl. The dagger sliced through the air and struck her directly in the chest.

Before I could comprehend anything, her body collapsed to the ground, blood pouring out. But the most horrifying thing was that a strange, quiet smile remained on her face, as if she understood that this was the end and accepted it.

A sinister silence hung in the garden. I was paralyzed with horror, unable to believe what was happening.

And then the prince began to applaud.

"Excellent! Simply excellent!" he exclaimed, as though this were a scene from a play rather than a bloody tragedy. "Continue!"

Next came Lionel and Enoch. Lionel raised his dagger with extraordinary calm. His movements were slow and cold-blooded.

He hurled the weapon, and the dagger went straight into Enoch’s throat. The man let out a short rasp and fell to the ground, crimson liquid splashing across the grass.

I could not hold back a scream.

Only Lionel and Serpens remained. They stood opposite each other, their eyes meeting, and for a moment a dead silence settled between them. No words, no movement — only a tense stare.

Richard could not endure the silence. His voice cut through the dark garden, sharp and commanding:

"Come on! Faster!"

I stood frozen, feeling cold sweat run down my back.

In the end, Serpens smiled faintly, as if accepting the inevitable, and allowed the young man’s dagger to strike him directly in the chest. His body swayed and then collapsed to the ground. Silver hair spilled over his shoulders, and his eyes closed in eternal silence.

Lionel stood motionless, watching him fall. A strange mixture froze on the young man’s face, and he continued to stare at Serpens as though trying to grasp the meaning of what had happened. For a moment, his expression faltered.

But of course, it was not the end.

In the next second, a dagger, as if guided by an invisible hand, plunged straight into Lionel’s chest. He let out a hoarse sound, staggered, and fell to the ground. Behind him stood Richard. His golden eyes gleamed in the dim lantern light, and his gaze was as merciless as a sentence.

I opened my eyes and finally realized the full horror of what had happened.

The garden had turned into a scene from a nightmare. The ground was soaked in blood, and bodies lay everywhere — Angela, Enoch, Lionel, Serpens. All were dead.

All except me and the prince.

Richard stood in the middle of this nightmare. In his hand he gripped a bloodied dagger. His ceremonial suit was ruined, and a strange smile was frozen on his face — calm. Peaceful.

He took a step closer. His golden eyes were fixed on me, and within them flickered a strange mixture of mad determination.

"Grace..." he said quietly, almost tenderly, "now it is over. Everything that was important to you... it no longer exists."

I could not move. I stood there, staring at his face, unable to comprehend what had happened.

"Grace Weinstein... you can belong only to Ruby. Only to her."

Suddenly he drew the dagger. My hand jerked toward him, but it was too late. The prince, without hesitation, almost ritualistically, pressed the blade to his own chest.

"I am not permitted to live any further after this," he said softly. "It is finished."

And a moment later he fell to the ground. His eyes closed, his breath ceased, and I remained standing alone in the horrifying silence of the garden.

I tried to scream, to run to him... but my legs gave way.

My body weakened, and I lost consciousness.

Darkness enveloped me instantly, leaving only a cold, hollow sense of emptiness... and the horror of what had just occurred.