The Villainess Is My Cute Daughter

Adrian nodded slowly.

”We can work with that.” Adrian muttered.

”What about you?” Wang Lei asked eagerly.

”As for me,” Adrian lied. ”I just got a very normal, standard system. It doesn’t really do anything special.”

”Oh.” Wang Lei muttered, sounding slightly disappointed. ”Okay. So you don’t have anything special like me.”

Adrian shook his head.

”Well, I don’t have anything special like you do.” Adrian agreed. ”But I do have my blessing, and at the exact same time I have to deal with my curse. But it is honestly more fun this way since trying to figure out a way to do things while actively dealing with the curse limitations is basically like a puzzle. I think it’s fun. It’s almost like you are playing the game on Easy Mode, and I am stuck playing on Hard Mode.”

Adrian took a step closer, dropping the friendly tone entirely.

”But unlike you,” Adrian stated coldly. ”I had a massive head start. So it will be incredibly hard for you to ever get the better of me. And honestly, you will never be able to. Because now, no matter what you do, you will be directly under me anyway. Even if you manage to grind and get physically stronger than me, you will have no choice but to obey my orders.”

He stared right into Wang Lei’s eyes.

”So do things well, and I will treat you well.” Adrian promised softly. ”If you go against me, you will just die. So whether you want me as your best friend or as your worst enemy, it all depends entirely on you.”

Adrian reached through the bars and gave Wang Lei’s shoulder two firm, heavy pats.

Then he turned around and walked away, leaving Wang Lei with his own messy thoughts.

He walked up the stone stairs and pushed the heavy prison door open. Marquis Draven was standing right outside in the hallway, waiting patiently.

Adrian stepped out, and Wang Lei trailed awkwardly right behind him.

”He will be working directly under me from now on.” Adrian told Draven. ”And I will personally make sure that he doesn’t cause any more trouble. You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

Draven nodded slowly and looked down at the bruised, chubby man.

Wang Lei just offered a stiff, awkward bow.

”I am sorry for causing trouble.” Wang Lei apologized quietly. ”I really was brainwashed out there.”

Draven just gave a curt nod. He didn’t really care about this dude.

Adrian looked at Draven, then back to Wang Lei.

”Follow me.” Adrian ordered.

The three of them started walking down the quiet mansion hallway.

”So.” Draven started, breaking the silence. ”What do you think about the war?”

Adrian glanced sideways at the Marquis but kept his eyes locked on the hallway ahead.

”Well, it’s not like I have a real choice in the matter.” Adrian said dryly. ”But it’s not like the Emperor explicitly told me to go to the frontline and fight. He just told me to participate in the war, didn’t he?”

Draven opened his mouth to argue, but he closed it almost instantly.

Instead of responding, Draven reached into his spatial ring. He pulled out the royal scroll and unrolled it, quickly reading through the Emperor’s exact wording again.

Draven just started laughing.

”Yeah.” Draven chuckled, shaking his head. ”He literally just listed your name in the draft. There is no mention in here about you having to draw a sword and fight. It’s the exact same phrasing for your private army. It’s the same generic phrasing for every single noble listed in this draft.”

Adrian gave a slow, arrogant chuckle.

”Well.” Adrian smirked. ”Since he never specifically clarified my role... I am not going to fight. I will just march out there with you guys, and I am just going to chill in the backlines. Though I am not going to make my slacking off that apparent. We will see how it goes.”

Draven nodded, rolling the royal scroll back up.

”Well, at least you can legally get away with that.” Draven conceded. ”But you really do need to think about the big picture here. Those mana crystal mines sitting under that territory are incredibly important. If the Avarice Kingdom gets to permanently control that specific plot of land, they are going to get very, very strong. And that is going to be incredibly dangerous for the entire empire. It would be better for all of us if we just take control of the territory back as soon as possible.”

Adrian just shrugged his shoulders.

”I really don’t see how that is my problem.” Adrian replied bluntly. ”But trust me on this. If the Emperor sees that his little noble coalition isn’t working out... he will have no choice but to attack them on his own. There is no way he is just going to ignore a massive, untapped mana crystal mine that easily. After all, that mine is probably the most valuable thing this empire could ever have. So he will eventually participate in the war himself once he feels that our efforts are failing.”

Draven nodded heavily and let out a long sigh.

”Well, at least you have the luxury to sit back.” Draven grumbled. ”As the officially appointed Lead Commander, I will have no choice but to march forward and fight.”

Adrian just shrugged again.

”Well, try not to lose your mind out there.” Adrian advised casually. ”Just tell your men to stay strictly on the defensive. Even though it is technically our job to go on the offensive to take the territory back... just tell your soldiers to hold the line and make sure they somehow survive the initial clashes. I will think about something to help. We just need to stall for time until the Emperor gets impatient and moves his own troops.”

Adrian paused.

”The worst thing that could happen is him getting angry at us and yelling.” Adrian said. ”But there is no way he is actually going to punish us heavily for stalling. If we decide to go against him, he will not be able to take the military and financial damages we would inflict. So I am pretty sure he is smart enough to not provoke us too much right now.”