Living As the Villainess Queen

He turned his head and kissed her neck. Eventually his kisses started to become longer and Eugene couldn’t help but laugh.

“Stop doing that and go to sleep,” she scolded him.

“Stop doing what?” he asked coyly, then he laid a kiss on her neck again. “This?”

“If you aren’t going to sleep then I’m going to the Arse mansion.”

He contemplated whining as he held Eugene tighter. He wanted to stay like this forever. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t need sleep, that things were different for him. He could handle a few days of being awake.

But he was beginning to grow drowsy. He felt like his body was tied down by an anchor and being drawn deeper into the bed. He had never felt this tired before. The mental drain of the past few days was taking a toll on him and he was now reaping what had been sown.

Eugene felt his grip on her loosen. Carefully, she turned to look at him and saw that his eyes were closed. Is he asleep?

He was such a light sleeper that she didn’t plan to test her suspicions. She stared at him as he lay there with his eyes closed. He looked so much younger when he was relaxed. He really is sleeping.

She had never had the chance to see him sleep before. He had always fallen asleep after her and, whenever she woke up, he wasn’t there. Finally getting to see him asleep made her happy.

I’m sorry, she wished she could tell him. Knowing that he was able to fall asleep so fast made her realize just how tense he had been. It was strange. She always wondered why this wonderful man cared that much about her.

***

After a couple of hours, Kasser woke up. When he was settled, Eugene told him all about her dream with Alber. While they were talking, a messenger came from the Arse mansion inviting them to dinner. They didn’t mind, Eugene had planned on going anyway.

In the carriage on their way to dinner, she continued to tell Kasser about the details of her dream.

“So, I should keep the seed,” she said.

When Eugene had told Alber about how she had taken the seed from the Anika meeting, the older woman had found it interesting. She said she had only learned about the seed’s existence from Eugene.

“How interesting,” Alber had said. “He’s so cunning. To think that he has a hidden card. He didn’t tell me anything about it, so there must be a way to work it against him. You said you can measure Ramita with the seed? You know, the only thing Ramita reacts to are larks. He must have used some of his energy to make it.”

“She told me that the seed must be similar to a lark’s seed,” Eugene said. “So, we should be able to use the same method to seal it.”

Kasser nodded. “Then, we’ll need spindle oil.”

If a seed was saved in spindle oil, it wouldn’t wake up even during the active season. When placed in the oil, its energy would be absorbed until it was completely melted into it. Then, it could be used for the weapons used to hunt larks and even as fuel.

“Do you think we can get new oil?” Eugene asked. “We need it to be of good quality. Do you have some from the kingdom?”

One seed per oil barrel was the rule. They couldn’t put new seeds into oil that already had a seed in it because it created the possibility of the seed cracking or the oil going bad.

The Holy City was strict when it came to lark seeds coming in, so, while the oil produced could be traded, there was no reason for new oil to be gathered. On top of that, there was the case of quality. The higher the quality of the seed, the higher the quality of the oil.

Each kingdom used spindle that grew in their kingdom and that often was equal to the larks they had to face. The Hashi Kingdom had to face the strongest larks which meant they had the best oil.

“I haven’t gotten new oil.” Kasser frowned. “I’ll try to find a way.”

“Thank you,” Eugene told him. She looked out the curtain to see why they had stopped and noticed that there was a bit of traffic outside.

Now that they had stopped talking, Kasser decided it was time for him to speak. He had been waiting for an opening for a while already.

“Eugene.”

She looked at him. “Yes?” When he looked at her hesitantly, she asked, “What is it?”

“Do you remember what you said when you woke up in the middle of your dream?”

“It’s been a while,” she told him. “I think I said something, but I don’t remember it all too well.”

Kasser’s eyes widened. “You don’t remember?”

“Only vaguely.”

“You don’t remember what you said to me?”

Eugene furrowed her brows. He was being strange. “What did I say?”

He looked a little disappointed. “You called me.”

Before she could ask what he meant, they had arrived at the Arse mansion. The servants ushered them out of the carriage and through the doors. She couldn’t help but notice how Kasser’s expression had turned into that of a disappointed child, that was the only way to describe it.