Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son-Chapter 113 [Club House Competition] [1] [Father-in-law]

"Sigh."

A tired sigh escaped my mouth as I walked down the stairs of the bus assigned for our travel from the teleportation portal of the Medonica Dukedom to the stadium.

Squinting my eyes against the light, I stretched my body and looked around the place as I stepped down from the bus hovering in the air.

'...This girl'

As my eyes adjusted to the light, I turned back to look at the silver-haired girl walking down the stairs after me.

'..She is seriously in need of help.'

Again, she is back to hurting herself like she used to.

[...Why do you even care?]

'Because if her emotions are not kept in check, she will lose control!'

And that means I would have another headache to take care of.

[...Can you handle her if she loses control?]

'...No.'

[...Right, Vessels get a hike in ranking whenever they lose control]

'Yeah'

That's the problem.

If every awakening Vessels gain a few extra rank for a short amount of time.

And in every awakening, that temporary rank increases.

'...She might reach 9th Primeval at her second awakening stage.'

"..What are you looking at?" I blinked my eyes twice as I heard her sweet voice addressing me.

....Ahh, was I staring at her all this time?

"...Nothing." I replied quietly, turning away from her.

The rest of the team also got down from the bus as I moved towards chubby.

"Hey, chubby." I greeted him with a light smile.

"My name's Seth." He grumbled softly, which I chose to ignore.

"Lose some weight, buddy." Slapping his stomach, I said, making him wince in pain.

"Why?" He asked, stepping back, away from my range.

"Why?" I questioned back, "Dude, the first time I saw you, I thought you were pregnant or something."

"Hey, I am not that fa—."

"Yo." Interrupting him, Oliver greeted us, walking close. "What are you guys doing?"

"Am I fat?" Seth asked with a bleak look on his face.

"Dude, you alone are one third of my friend circle." Patting his shoulder, Oliver replied with a bright smile.

His shoulder slumped down as he asked softly, ".. Really?"

"Nah, don't be sad. Keep your chin up." Oliver replied, smiling.

But as if he remembered something, he continued, "...Oh, right, you don't have a chin."

"Alright, listen here!!"

We shifted our gaze as Daphne shouted, grabbing our attention.

"You guys have an hour to get ready and come inside the stadium where the rules will be explained," she informed, looking at all the teams. "...The staff will take you to restrooms. Follow them."

A group of female staff soon came towards us.

They bowed down in unison before gesturing for us to follow them.

"Oye, Az." As we followed them, Oliver whispered while Aimar also joined us, "..Look at Ivan."

I followed his gaze and found Ivan walking beside Christina and Athela.

He was trying to talk with both of them, but only Athela was replying.

".. Should we gang up on him?" Aimar mumbled, rubbing his chin.

"W-wait, N-no, you can't do that." Frightened, Seth stammered aggressively, shaking his head. "...He is Counselor Nevaeh's son. Even the emperor listens to her advice."

"So what?" Shrugging, Oliver replied, "...We all know here that he is a mama's boy like Az—Arghh."

"I am not." Slapping his chest, I rebuked, glaring at him.

I glanced back at Christina again.

She was also looking at me as she smiled softly, waving her hand.

I waved back, ignoring Ivan's threatening look before I continued to walk.

"You not gonna help her?" Oliver asked, walking beside me.

"What makes you think she needs my help?" I asked, glancing at him.

"...Right."

"... Call me if you ever need to beat that piece of shit." Grinning widely, Aimar said, "That reminds me, where is Ethan?"

"Aye, don't be a jerk." Oliver grumbled, glaring at him.

He shoved his middle finger in his face, and I did the same.

We soon entered a hotel within the stadium. The staff led us to our room, passing through a hallway filled with doors for different rooms.

"...Anyway." Rubbing his hands, Oliver whispered, "Should we go for a little ride after this is over."

"Su—."

My words stopped abruptly as someone grabbed me, covering my face with his hand.

Fuck!!

I desperately tried to move my body to free myself from whatever took hold of me, but it was meaningless as I couldn't do anything.

'Huh?'

But my struggle slowed down as I looked at Aimar and Oliver grinning at me, waving their hands while Seth looked confused.

But before I could understand their reaction, I heard the sound of a door opening, and the next instant, my world spun.

"Arghh."

My head splintered in pain as my body collided with the sofa placed inside the room.

"Hello there, brat."

Groaning silently, I turned my head towards the familiar voice where I found a blue-haired tall middle-aged man glaring at me with a furious expression.

"Father-in-law?" Frowning, I mumbled, confused as to why he was picking up a table.

"Don't call me that!!" His voice stormed within the room as he threw his hand back.

"Fuck!"

I cursed, twisting my body at the last second to barely dodge the table, which collided with the wall behind, its debris scattering around.

"The hell are you doing, old man!!" I shouted, flipping my body over the sofa to use it as a cover as he once again picked up a chair.

"What did you do to my daughter, brat!!" He roared, throwing the chair at my face.

I ducked down, avoiding the blow before I yelled back at him, "What did I do!?"

"You have the nerve to ask me that!?" He growled, removing everything on his way to come close to me, "After defiling my little daughter!!"

"She isn't little!!" I stepped back, jumping on the bed to create some distance. "And it's not like I forced her."

...Why am I even defending her?

I could just walk out saying I didn't do anything.

But....

"Like I would believe you!!" His rage flared up as he made a whip of electricity that was hot enough to cut the bed into two halves.

Of course, he won't believe the words of a guy like me.

"You can ask your daughter!" I shouted, glaring at him as I jumped down from the bed. "Anyway, you already trust her enough to tell the empire's secret!!"

"What secret?" Frowning, he asked, throwing the bed to the side.

"About Shyamal!"

"What?" His expression morphed into confusion as he asked, "What about her?"

BAAM!!!

Before I could reply, the door of the room slammed open as a beautiful girl with blue hair entered the room, trying to catch her breath.

She looked around the now-destroyed room before she glared at us, "...What are you guys? Kids?"

"He did it." I flawlessly shifted the blame towards him.

"You brat!"

"Okay, stop it, both of you." She walked between us, stopping her father.

"Christi—."

"Can you give us some time, please?" Turning back, she requested, looking at me.

"Fine." I gently nodded my head before walking out of the room, closing the door.

.....

.....

.....

Just as Azariah walked out of the room, Christina turned to face her father, who stood, clenching his fist.

"Sigh ..Come here." Grabbing her father's arm, she moved towards the sofa before making him sit on it.

"He is an immature brat." Sitting down, David complained, pointing at the door. "I have seen him drunk, trying to—."

"I know, he is immature." Cutting his words, Christina agreed, nodding her head and taking the seat beside him. "But he is only fifteen, he will grow up."

"And you want to marry him?" Controlling his boiling anger, he asked, turning towards her. "He can't provide you anything. All he will have is need. You guys will never be equal in your relationship."

"I know that as well." She again calmly nodded her head, replying, "After all, he isn't the best guy in the world."

Reaching out, he touched her cheek as he whispered, his voice pleading, "..I can find someone better for you."

"Of course, you can." She nodded her head again before looking into his eyes. "...But you won't force me to marry someone I don't want, will you?"

"Do I want to? No." Shaking his head, he replied, his voice serious, "Will I do it for your happiness? Yes."

"How does grandpa sound to you?" Smiling cheekily, Christina asked, making her father frown.

"Don't try to blackmail your father." He rebuked, glaring at her.

"Hey dad, you always say that you can't save your love, right?" She knelt down, placing her head on his lap, whispering softly, "... Please don't stop me from saving mine."

"...I always regret neglecting your mother, Christina." Stroking her head, he replied, leaning on the sofa, his voice sad and tired.

"...But sometimes things just end. Sometimes we don't get a second chance... Please don't make the mistake I did... Chasing after someone else and neglecting the one you deserve."

"Then why did you engage me with him in the first place?" She grumbled with a bittersweet smile on her face.

"I wasn't in my right mind that time... because of my mistake, our dukedom was on the edge of collapsing." He informed, his hand patting her head softly.

"...That time, Esmeray came with the idea to engage our children to stabilize both our dukedoms."

"...So, mother-in-law was the one who initiated the engagement." Her voice turned cold as she asked.

"...I shouldn't have accepted her offer." David sighed tiredly, reminiscing about his past mistakes.

Christina gently removed her head as she stood up, "That won't change my answer... If I will marry someone, then it will be him."

"And I would never let that happen." He stood up as well, his voice serious, "Never."

"...When I said I would only marry him." Looking into her father's eyes, she replied, "...I wasn't asking... I was declaring."

Turning around, she walked towards the door without looking back.

"One day you would need love as well, daughter." Softly, David whispered, making her halt in her place. "And then...even in the crowd, you will find yourself alone."

Without looking back, she replied firmly, "...He will be there for me."

"...What did he do!?" David shouted, his voice furious yet concerned. "...What did he do to deserve to be your beloved!?"

Christina remained silent, her hand instinctively reaching towards the necklace she wore, grabbing it tightly.

She looked down as if lost in deep thought, as if debating with herself.

Her eyes drifted back towards her father as she replied gently,

"...That's a secret."