Chapter 8: The Ticking Time Bomb

How does it feel to sit in a closed room with a ticking time bomb right beside you?

Neo felt the exact same way. He sat in the spacious playroom, toys scattered all around the floor. Right in the center sat a lone figure with short violet hair flowing behind her. Her lavender eyes stared blankly at the stuffed toys, devoid of any emotion.

Both of their parents had left them alone in his new playroom so they could focus on their work.

Neo sat there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Should he open his mouth and speak? Or should he just stay quiet until time passed and his mother finally came back?

Looking at her silent figure, he couldn’t help but want to speak to her. It wasn’t because he wanted to ask why she eventually tried to destroy the world, but because he was curious about her real personality. He had watched her in the anime, but seeing her sitting right in front of him, not as a terrifying villainess, but as a child, made him want to talk.

’Hmph, let’s try to say something. But what should I start with? Hello or Hi?’

He dismissed the silly thought and stepped closer. As she sensed him approaching, her eyes flicked over, staring blankly at his figure with a cold gaze. Neo felt nervous when her eyes caught his, but he maintained eye contact and sat down just a hand’s width away from her.

"Hi, my name is Neo. Who are you?" he asked, using his most innocent voice and wearing a harmless expression.

Nora didn’t speak. She just stared at him with a blank gaze, not saying a single word.

Neo felt even more awkward getting no answer, but he pushed past his pride, forced a smile, and spoke again.

"Hey, do you want to play something with me? I know a lot of fun games."

"..."

"Oh, if you don’t want to play, do you want to see my new collection of toys?"

"..."

"If you don’t want to see those, then do you want to learn how to play the flute? I can teach you..."

"..."

Neo couldn’t help but feel annoyed by the lack of a reply. It was as if she didn’t consider him a living presence worth answering.

"Hey, are you deaf? Can’t you hear what I am saying?" He leaned closer to make sure she noticed his presence.

Nora remained still, looking at him with the exact same expression. Then, she slowly turned her gaze back to her stuffed toy, dismissing him entirely, as her lips finally parted just a little.

"Annoying..."

Neo’s breath hitched. His self-control just slipped right away. After hearing that single word, he pushed her by the shoulder, forcing her down onto the floor, and glared at her with cold eyes.

"What is your deal now? Don’t you see I’m trying to talk to you as nicely as possible while maintaining my patience? It seems no one taught you basic manners, and that’s why you grew up to be such a rude and insolent girl!"

He raised his small hand to slap her. But just before his palm connected, he noticed her expression. It was still blank She didn’t react to his outburst at all. He looked down at her lying on the floor, staring straight back up at him with a piercing gaze, as if she was casually deciding whether to kill him or not.

Neo finally snapped back to reality. He realized he was actively offending the villainess and putting himself right on her hit list. He pulled himself back in a panic.

"Hey, sorry, sorry! I just lost control. I didn’t mean to hurt you, sorry, sorry..."

He hurried to help her sit back up and gently smoothed the creases on her dress.

"Are you okay?"

"..."

’Sigh... Did I just get in trouble? Has she already marked me as her first target to be eliminated? Did I just offend the one person I really shouldn’t have? Sorry, Mother and Father. It seems I won’t survive long enough to become the heir of our family.’

Neo glanced back at her, wanting to apologize more, but he paused. Saying anything else would probably just make her more annoyed. He decided to hold back for now. He would apologize again later when her annoyance melted away. At least, he hoped it would.

He continued to watch her. She just sat there holding the stuffed toy silently, saying nothing and doing nothing. She looked like a cute porcelain doll. Eventually, he just couldn’t hold back. He reached out and squeezed her cheeks. Unbearably, her cheeks were even softer and squishier than his own.

He couldn’t help but squeeze her cheeks a bit more, feeling a pleasant, tingling sensation on his fingers as a massive rush of dopamine released in his brain.

’Oh, so now I understand why the servants are so fond of my cheeks. It is really addicting. I feel like I could squeeze these for hours without getting tired.’

While he was busy squishing her soft face, he felt a heavy glare from her. Her blank eyes locked onto him with an intensity that spoke volumes; this action had truly offended her. But somehow, Neo couldn’t bring himself to stop touching her cheeks.

After a few minutes of enduring her intense glare, Neo pulled his hands away, though she continued to stare at him unblinking.

’Wait, did I really offend her just now? I just hope she doesn’t harbor a grudge against me for squeezing her cheeks. Will she actually come to kill me later in life because of this? Is she petty enough to murder me over a cheek squeeze? I can’t be sure, but I definitely crossed a line. I’m going to pay for this with my life.’

Neo folded his arms, deep in thought, trying to figure out what measures he could take to remove all the massive death flags hovering over his head.

As time passed in silent tension, the playroom door creaked open. Elara walked in to check if the children were playing nicely together. She looked at both of them from the doorway, wearing a warm, bright smile.

"Oh, it seems you two are already getting along. That is nice!"

She stepped forward, noticing Neo’s quiet expression as well as Nora’s blank one. She smiled softly and kneeled on the floor, looking right at Neo.

"Oh, it seems Neo was trying to talk to Nora. Hmm... I know Nora sometimes doesn’t like chatting with others, but she is not a bad girl, Neo."

Neo looked at her and nodded quietly without replying. He didn’t believe her in the slightest about Nora not being bad.

Elara’s gaze softened as she patted his head and continued. "I wish you could get along with her. She doesn’t have any friends. Because of her condition, she isn’t able to converse with anyone."

Neo tilted his head in curiosity after hearing those words.

"Condition?"

Elara’s eyes widened as she realized she hadn’t explained anything before leaving them to play.

"Oh, I forgot to mention... You see... Nora can’t hear anyone’s voice."

Neo felt a genuine wave of surprise. This was something new to him; he had been unaware of her deafness. Even in the anime, it was never specifically mentioned that the great Villainess was actually deaf and couldn’t hear the outside world.

After learning this crucial fact, Neo felt certain that her deafness was the only reason the male lead had been able to win against her. He must have realized her disadvantage and used it to secure his victory. That was the only logical explanation for how a newly awakened Ascendant managed to defeat someone who had been at that rank far longer than him.

Neo’s gaze fell back onto Nora’s little figure. She was quietly poking the stuffed dragon’s nose. For a moment, forgetting she was destined to become a ruthless villainess, he felt a pang of pity for her situation. It felt unfair for such a small child to suffer like that, cut off from the world, and he knew he couldn’t do anything to fix her natural flaw.

’Well, it’s decided then,’ Neo thought, a new spark of determination filling his chest. ’There is only one way to safely remove all these death flags hovering over me. I have to make the villainess my friend!’