I’m the Main Villain but the Heroines Are Obsessed With Me

39 – 19. Celia’s Determination

While Ian was riding the wave of success and gaining people’s recognition, Celia was leading a rather difficult life.

To be precise, she was very concerned about the current situation.

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The declining grades and reputation were a problem, but the biggest problem was that despite Ian being the backbone of the family, she felt like a helpless flower in a greenhouse, unable to do anything.

She thought to herself, “I was powerless…”

It was shameful to realize that she had achieved nothing and was experiencing burnout, and she desperately needed a space to heal her heart.

But the biggest problem was that there was no space where Celia could feel at ease.

Celia recalled the moment she had dinner with her family back at her ancestral home after a long time.

Her father, who had participated in the New Year’s event and returned home around dinner time, and her siblings who adjusted their schedules accordingly.

The host of the solemn atmosphere was Wignorun, who was her mother.

“You must have had a hard time traveling such a long distance.”

“It wasn’t that difficult. There were many new events, and seeing the lively territory that was different from before made me feel good.”

“Oh. I heard that the head of the Volkanov family was in critical condition, so I thought you wouldn’t be able to focus on the event, but I’m glad it ended well.”

“It has ended. And it was more than just that. It was on a remarkable level. The food and the operation of the event were all satisfying.”

The sight of her father, who praised the event hosted by Volkanov over and over again, seemed strange to Celia.

“I didn’t expect my father to say such things.”

What kind of person was her father? He always showed a good side and spoke kindly to his children, but if they weren’t his people, he would objectively evaluate them ruthlessly.

Of course, he was Kilian’s friend, but even if he was the son of a friend, there was no reason to give him a good evaluation in a first meeting situation where he didn’t know his thoughts or beliefs.

However, her father praised Ian. It was as if honey was dripping from his mouth.

“He seemed to like it so much.”

She couldn’t remember exactly what she said because her father praised him so much. But one thing stuck in her mind.

“The solo event that was prepared was really impressive. It was amazing. As soon as I saw it, I decided to invest 20 billion Vallus through the housekeeper. If the competition is held in our Wignorun, it will boost the morale of the people who are getting bored.”

“20 billion Vallus? Did I hear that right?”

Celia couldn’t hide her surprise at her father’s determination to invest such a huge amount without any hesitation.

Like all rich people, her father was always cautious when it came to money issues and would spend days and nights contemplating before making an investment.

The sight of her father saying he would invest in such a short amount of time was a huge shock.

Of course, if it ended here, there would be no problem.

While she was idle, Ian was leading the family, so if she made an effort, she could eventually raise the reputation of Wignorun and boost morale.

But unfortunately, Ian’s success had backfired on Celia as well.

The second eldest sister, Ethelinda, who was lying down and listening to her father’s words, had said this while looking at herself.

“You seem to have made a good decision, Father. If that happens, we can gather many tourists in the territory as well. Of course, the problem is whether they will hold the competition for our family over there…. Oh right! Celia? When you were young, didn’t you get along well with Ian, that child? Why don’t you give it a try?”

“Ahahahaha. Me, really?”

The damn second eldest sister laughed hesitantly and said so.

Celia immediately realized that she had said those words to tease her… but unfortunately, she didn’t know how to handle this situation.

“We’re not close anymore… how do I even respond?”

How can she bring up that topic in a situation where they have become practically strangers just before becoming lovers?

“I can’t. I can’t do it!”

In the end, Celia had no choice but to silently eat the food placed in front of her without responding to Ethelinda’s words.

She hoped that this silence would transfer the topic of conversation.

But the conversation did not go as Celia desired.

“Celia, won’t you say something to your sister?”

“T-That’s….”

Eventually, Celia had to confess the truth under her father’s gaze.

Yes, they were close when they were young. But now, they are no longer close enough to have intimate conversations.

She confessed everything.

Every time she opened her mouth, she felt a rush of embarrassment as if she were revealing her flaws.

But it was an unavoidable situation because she knew that if her father became angry, something uncontrollable would happen.

Recalling that time, Celia let out a deep sigh.

“Haah. Really.”

Recalling the bitter words she heard from her father and siblings felt like her insides were about to burst.

Each conversation that had taken place at that time felt like tearing apart her insides. But the most painful thing was the quiet words her father had uttered.

“Even now, you should come to your senses and surround yourself with people who can help you…”

Form a friendship with someone who can be of help? Then, were the people around her now not helpful?

It felt unfair to Celia.

By just listening to their words, it felt like she was playing around with street ruffians.

“Of course, Ariel’s comrades have a bad background. But there’s no need to go that far….”

From commoners to fallen nobles, it was a lineup of wildly outrageous individuals who had deep relationships with the Duchess’s daughter from the Empire.

However, Celia had considered their inner character and abilities to be more important than their background.

“And Ariel is a warrior. She is loved even in the Volkanov family…. She was a better child to my parents than Ian, who treated them disrespectfully….”

I thought that if I accompanied Arielle, who was almost like the treasure of the empire, my father would praise me as well.

I thought I would be able to receive my long-awaited father’s approval. But her father did not think so.

Whenever her father heard her boast about her friendship with the hero, he always regarded it with unease.

“You have always been like this. Always Ian! Ian!”

Even when Ian did not receive recognition from Vulcanov or made a big mistake at the hero party, her father always wrapped him up.

Ian is not a child who would listen to such evaluations. There must have been some kind of thought behind it, he said the same thing.

Is that even words? Why on earth does her father overestimate Ian more than Ariel, who is a hero? Celia couldn’t understand at all.

But what really drove her even crazier was that her father’s words were right.

Compared to the mysterious Ariel, Ian is constantly increasing in value.

Since the situation has become like this, Celia had no choice but to lower her self-esteem.

For her, who could not build a position with the ancestors due to her sickly body, rebellion was no longer even a dream.

To live with the help of her family in the future, she had to show a good impression to her father even now.

That was the reason.

“Haah. There must be something here, right?”

The reason she searched desperately to find Ian.

Celia wiped away the sweaty droplets on her forehead with a handkerchief and took a deep breath.

“If he’s not here, I don’t know where to go anymore….”

She searched around like she was searching for Ark to find Ian, and in the end, the last place she arrived at was none other than the training ground.

Knowing how sincere he is about training, Celia was convinced that Ian would be here.

She opened the door of the training ground and went inside, leaving behind the physical training room and the training ground she usually used.

“Ian usually used the self-training room, right?”

There were places with scarecrows and various training systems, but for some reason, Ian insisted on using the empty self-training ground.

Although it was hard to understand why he did not use the state-of-the-art magic engineering training system, she decided not to interfere.

Anyway, that wasn’t important.

Thump thump!

Her footsteps echoed in the empty corridor. The end of the corridor was the illuminated first self-training room. Ian must be there for sure.

“What should I say….”

While pondering over such trivial worries, Celia was suddenly at the entrance of the training ground.

Having finished her thoughts, Celia first glanced inside the training ground through a small crack.

“Yeah. I should check if Ian is here first.”

Suddenly, when the door swung open, wouldn’t anyone be startled to find a total stranger inside? That’s what she thought as she tentatively pushed the door open.

“Gasp!”

She saw Ian, the man with golden hair, embracing a woman from behind.

“What… What’s going on? Why is Ian hugging another woman?”

She couldn’t believe it. Ian had always been indifferent to women, so seeing him embrace someone was a shock.

They weren’t on the best terms at the moment, but Celia, who had known Ian since childhood, felt that this situation was incomprehensible.

She knew, from her memories, that Ian was not the type to embrace anyone.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with hugging someone of the opposite s*x. There were no rules against dating in Arc, and relationships between students were a matter of personal freedom.

In other words, it didn’t matter who Ian was dating or hugging. However, Celia had a reason for her strong reaction.

“Why does my heart ache when I see that sight?”

She clenched her chest. She didn’t care if her uniform got wrinkled; she couldn’t bear the pain otherwise.

“Ian… Why are you hugging that girl?”

Since childhood, Ian’s side had always belonged to her. They had both been lonely, without any friends, and they had complemented each other’s shortcomings.

They had always been there for each other in times of sorrow and joy.

The first time they held hands was with Ian, and he was the first to confess his feelings.

That’s why Celia had always thought of herself as the first for Ian. Now that they had grown apart, it no longer had any meaning. But she believed that he still missed her.

Didn’t he save her just a little while ago? He could have easily passed her by, washing away his emotions.

Ian had definitely saved her.

“But… that sight…”

Was it all just a misunderstanding?

Had she become nothing to Ian now?

A corner of her heart ached. A stabbing pain dominated her body, and she felt like she couldn’t regain her composure.

Of course, she knew she was being hypocritical.

It was her who had abandoned him, and she knew how foolish it was to come here and be disappointed in Ian.

“I know, I know! It’s a shameless and naive act!”

But she couldn’t help the pain in her chest when she saw that sight.

Even though their relationship had crumbled, Celia still believed it wasn’t too late. The spark hadn’t gone out, and with effort, it could blaze back to life.

I thought there was still a chance, and even if I changed my mind now and approached him, I didn’t think it would be impossible to reconstruct our relationship…

“It wasn’t true? Did you really erase me?”

As soon as she saw the woman with blonde hair being embraced, it felt like that thought was being shattered.

Even in that moment, an unbelievable sight was unfolding before Celia’s eyes.

“Captain?”

“Don’t think strangely…”

“Well, I was just momentarily confused…”

“Ah… Ahh.”

She didn’t want to believe it. She wished that the scene unfolding before her eyes was just a dream.

She even tried biting her tongue with all her strength to wake up from this nightmare.

But what remained was only a sense of emptiness and bitterness that she had become nothing to Ian.

At the same time, jealousy began to well up in her heart.

At the same time, Celia’s eyes flickered.

“This can’t go on… Again… Again!”

She had to approach him. How much it hurt her to see the princess comforting him during the visitation.

Even though she herself, as a lady-in-waiting, couldn’t lay a hand even on a princess level woman like her. But she thought that if it were the woman in Ian’s arms right now, it would be a problem she could solve.

“Her name was definitely Eri Evelehart… A female writer.”

Compared to her, was she not the daughter of a duke?

Not just any duke, but a lady-in-waiting of the famous Changsul martial arts family.

It meant that she was not someone insignificant like a female writer.

If she approached Ian actively, there would surely be a chance.

“Yes. I can make sure that woman doesn’t even catch his eye.”

Eventually, Celia made up her mind. To take Ian away from that woman and restore their relationship.

She believed in herself. She knew Ian well.

The problem was now how to approach him…

“Hmm… What should I do?”

There are several ways, but perhaps the best thing would be to offer help and create an opportunity to make a genuine apology.

In the past, she would have known that the family was in a difficult situation and approached with an offer of help.

“But no, that’s impossible.”

With the potato business, Volkanov has once again gained momentum, and Bulkanov has completely raised its stock prices, hasn’t it.

Approaching those who no longer craved wealth with capital was a foolish endeavor.

“So… should I aim for that?”

Celia recalled eavesdropping on a secret meeting the family elders had discussed.

She sought the council chamber to personally apologize for the disturbance during the mealtime chaos.

Fortunately, she overheard her father discussing something with the guests.

“Definitely. The savages are showing remarkable arrogance. Due to this, the royal family requested our support for Volkanov.”

If there were to be a punitive expedition, it would undoubtedly require a significant number of forces.

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While the savages weren’t individually powerful, their collective intellect would be challenging for Volkanov to handle.

“That’s right! Moreover, I heard that the current Lord is in a perilous situation.”

The Empire’s master, Kilian, was battling with madness. Of course, Ian and Arlie were still there, but they couldn’t possibly fill Kilian’s shoes.

“What if I lend my assistance?”

If she supported them in their time of military shortage, it might yield positive results.

If she made a significant contribution in the upcoming expedition, it wouldn’t be difficult to mend their strained relationship.

“Yes, let’s give it a try! Ian is surely having a hard time!”

With that thought, Celia clenched her fist.

To help Ian, she needed to improve her skills.