Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son

"And the last one."

I whispered softly, drawing the rune of 'Decay' onto the paper.

"The 24 'Root Laws' of reality—what we now call Runes."

Leaning back in my chair, I exhaled and glanced up.

Yennefer, Zenith, and Hannah stared at the paper, each reacting differently—Yennefer remained stoic, Zenith's eyes gleamed with excitement, and Hannah... she looked terrified.

Yennefer leaned in, her gaze unblinking. "Are you certain about this?"

I remained dumbfounded as her scent engulfed my senses.

Damn, she smells nice.

I swallowed hard before replying, "You can try it on your own if you don't believe me."

"Me! Let me try first!" Zenith practically shouted, snatching the paper before summoning her staff.

Perhaps Yennefer didn't believe my words; she kept quiet. Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire

Her gaze solely on her daughter, ready to intervene if needed.

"Alright, what should I try first?" Zenith mumbled, squinting at the rune.

"We already know about the six basic elements… Maybe I should attempt a conceptual rune—"

"Try the rune of Sound and the rune of Order," I instructed.

"Why those?"

"They're the easiest to control," I replied, looking at her. "And yeah, keep the sigil short so you don't blast away the room."

She pouted. "I'm not that stupid."

With a dramatic toss of her hair, she turned her focus back to the runes.

Her free hand idly playing with her staff—a habit I'd noticed before.

'I remember Yenna doing the same,' I mused, glancing at Yennefer.

Her gaze met mine, which she quickly averted.

'What's with her?'

I rubbed my chin and turned my attention back to Zenith.

She continued to study the rune.

Seconds passed.

Then minutes.

"I am ready."

Only when half an hour passed did Zenith say confidently.

She played with her staff before taking in a deep breath.

She traced the rune of 'Sound' first, her expression serious, before carefully adding the rune of 'Order'.

Her utmost attention was on the rune.

Only when she was satisfied that both were correct did she merge them.

The two runes intertwined, forming a glowing circle at the tip of her staff.

Zenith grinned.

Then, with a flick of her wrist, she pointed her staff at me.

"Wait—"

"Pervert."

Her voice exploded through the room, amplified tenfold by the rune.

A high-pitched screech ruptured my ears, static crackling in its wake.

"Himmel?" Zenith quickly dispersed the rune as she rushed towards me. "Are you alright?"

I rubbed my ears to subdue the sound before I glared at her.

"What do you mean by pervert?" I snarled, tapping my ear.

Her concerned expression quickly turned to haughtiness. "You know all too well what this means. Hmph."

I knitted my brows in confusion.

She ignored me, her attention flicked back to the runes. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Okay, what should I try nex—Hey!"

Yennefer snatched away the paper.

"Hannah, Zenith." She said, looking at both of them. "Get out."

"Not fair, Mama!" Zenith protested, reaching for the paper. "You can't just keep it all for yourse—"

Her words died as Yennefer set the paper ablaze with a flick of her fingers.

The ashes scattered into the air.

"Out. Now." Yennefer's tone left no room for argument. "And don't speak of these runes to anyone."

Zenith pouted but dragged herself toward the door.

Hannah walked with her, but not before giving me a gentle nod.

The room turned silent as Yennefer and I stayed silent.

"Himmel."

"Yes?"

"No matter what the circumstances," She said, looking into my eyes. "Never share the knowledge of those runes."

I tilted my head. "Why?"

Yennefer sighed, pacing the room. "You're not thinking about the consequences, Himmel."

She rubbed her temple. "If anyone finds out about these new runes, they will come after you."

Ahh, She isn't wrong.

That's what the forsaken families have been doing for years.

Keeping the runes to themselves and not sharing them with anyone.

"Von Casita will be an even bigger problem," she continued, her voice laced with frustration.

"They'd kill for these runes. With them, even ancient rituals would become possible again."

I shrugged. "I can handle Casita Highbloods."

Yennefer grimaced. "Now you're being overconfident. Don't underestimate them."

She stepped closer, her voice dropping. "They're the dirtiest of them all. After all, they're humans."

I smell racism.

[<It's not racism if it's true.>]

I'll keep that in mind next time I'm racist to elves or werewolves.

[<Wait… No.>]

She leaned in, her ember eyes boring into mine. "Do you understand?"

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. "Yeah, yeah. Fine."

She smiled. "Good boy."

"....."

Fuck!

"Anyway," she continued, pulling out a blank sheet of paper, "I'll look into your so-called 'Dream' rune and see if it actually works."

She passed me the paper. "Draw it again."

I picked up a pen and began sketching the rune once more.

"If we figure this out, we can move to the next step—finding a medium." She took a seat beside me. "Any idea what you want to use?"

"Isn't a tree my only option?"

She shook her head. "Nope. You can use anything that feeds on mana. Even a beast could work."

I tilted my head in confusion. "Is that even possible?"

"Yeah," she said confidently. "As long as the space you create is big enough for a beast to survive inside it."

I handed her back the paper. "So it all depends on the space?"

"More or less." She examined the rune of Dream closely. "And you still haven't told me how you're planning to create one."

"Don't worry about it." I grabbed another sheet to draw another rune. "You'll find out soon enough."

[<Are you still debating whether to tell her about Iffa?>]

...Yeah.

I couldn't fully trust my 'children.' They were the weirdest bunch I'd ever met.

And I had no idea how they'd react if they saw Yennefer.

'I just hope Iffa doesn't bring her mama.'

Urgh.

I stole a glance at Yennefer.

She was watching me, her chin resting on her palm.

"What?" I asked, turning to her.

"Nothing," she said with a small smile, shaking her head. "Just admiring how much you've grown."

I smiled.

But before I could reply, my phone vibrated.

I pulled it out, and my mood immediately shifted.

Siersha.

I opened the message.

Meet me in two hours. Location ↑

I sighed.

My left hand trembled.

******

Maybe it was the unexpected message, or maybe it was just the situation itself, but I walked with slight tension.

After all, for the past two weeks, Siersha had been avoiding me.

Not once had she tried to approach me.

She went out of her way to ensure we were never alone.

It was frustrating.

Infuriating, even.

Her behavior doesn't even make sense.

What the hell is wrong with her?

Acting like she is someone important.

A dull ache pulsed in my left hand, pulling me from my thoughts.

I flexed my fingers, rolling up my sleeves along with my blazer as I walked down the empty corridor.

For some reason, Siersha had chosen the coffee house near Building 19 as our meeting spot.

The mostly abandoned Building 19.

I vaguely remembered something about this place from the game.

A teacher had died here—killed by a student.

I licked my dry lips and took another turn.

The corridor stretched on, identical to the last.

"...."

I think I am lost.

Is that even possible?

[<Dumb>]

'Shut up.'

I groaned and kept walking. There had to be an exit somewhere.

…

…

…

I was wrong.

The whole building was a damn maze.

"Fuck me."

I groaned, looking at the time.

It was a little past six.

I still have time.

Tweet!

"Hmmm?"

I turned as I heard a familiar sound.

My gaze quickly shifted to a small blue bird, hovering over my head.

"Liraz?" I mumbled, recognizing Echo's phoenix.

It flapped its wings, then turned, clearly expecting me to follow.

I quickly followed behind.

The scenery shifted as I moved through the corridors, following Liraz.

At some point, I started hearing voices.

Faint, but growing louder.

I quickened my pace.

The sounds grew more.

My steps slowed down as I heard a laughing sound.

Liraz stopped right in front of a girl's bathroom.

The sound of laughter was coming from the inside.

I stepped forward, twisting the doorknob, and pushed the door open.

"How does it feel, princess?"

A mocking voice echoed as four girls encircled someone.

Their backs facing me as they hadn't noticed my presence.

"Hey, don't call this bitch a princess."

The other girl said, kicking the one on the ground.

"Yeah, the only princess here is Sibry."

Another girl said mockingly as she poured down water on the ground.

No.

On that girl.

I clenched my fist and only did they notice me.

They turned around.

"Himmel?"

A girl with silver hair and crimson eyes mumbled, two horns emerging from her head.

I ignored her.

My gaze on the girl on the ground.

Shirt stripped away, soaked, curled up on the cold floor.

Epione.