I, The Villainess, Will Seduce All The Heroines Instead
Chapter 122: All of Sera’s Affection Points Went Back To Zero?!

Chapter 122: All of Sera’s Affection Points Went Back To Zero?!

I already have enough problems, and now it looks like I’m going to get another one!

The kiss, though brief, had shattered any semblance of composure she had left.

Evelyn had caught her completely off guard. The lingering warmth of the kiss still danced on her lips, and the taste of it lingered, suffusing the tension that now gripped the room.

For a brief moment, Verena was still, unsure of how to respond.

Her mind raced, trying to make sense of the sudden boldness Evelyn had displayed.

This was no longer the shy, timid girl she once knew.

This Evelyn was someone far more self-assured, and Verena wasn’t sure how to handle it.

She glanced at Sera, whose face was a strange mixture of disbelief and... something else.

Was that jealousy?

No, it couldn’t be.

Sera was too prideful for that, wasn’t she?

[Affection Status Update – Target: Sera Anverre]

[ALERT: Catastrophic Affection Drain Detected!]

[Cause: Unexpected public display of betrayal affection.]

[Result: All previously accumulated Affection Points with Sera have plummeted to zero.]

...

...

[System Notification: Affection Update!]

[Target: Sera Anverre]

[-35 Affection Points]

[Affection Points: -3]

...

...

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

[You’ve Entered a MISUNDERSTANDING ARC!]

A... misunderstanding arc?

Truly, she had entered one—unwillingly, but unmistakably.

First, she was blamed for a murder she didn’t even commit. It was Evelyn’s, of all people. Now, this. And though it felt inevitable, she couldn’t deny it stung. Had she really thought through what she wanted? How she planned to unite the heroines? Or how she even felt about them in the first place?

Still, in her opinion, a misunderstanding arc in a romance novel was the absolute worst. All those years of reading fluff and angst had made her painfully aware of the clichés:

— One overhears a fragment of a conversation and runs away before the explanation.— Another sees someone else getting too close and assumes betrayal.— Letters go unread, gifts are misunderstood, someone always ends up crying in the rain.— And of course, no one ever communicates until the last five pages.

Honestly? Predictable. Exhausting. And now, unfortunately... personal.

No... I refuse to let this novel devolve into some insufferable love triangle—just like Beatrice’s volume! That disaster was a narrative trainwreck!

"I-I’m sorry, I..." Sera’s voice trembled, small and wounded, the usual fire replaced by discomfort. It wasn’t hard to see why—she likely thought she had misread everything, only to be met with the harsh slap of reality: that perhaps Verena was just a flirt by nature, and nothing more.

"Yes?..." Evelyn replied smoothly, her tone sweet but edged with possession.

Truly, this girl was her Empress—if only because she had a talent for sabotaging Verena’s chances with the other heroines.

Not that Verena would’ve minded, if her life didn’t quite literally depend on successfully seducing them all.

She was cornered. Absolutely cornered.

And her mouth moved before her brain could slap on the brakes.

"I’m polyamorous!"

"I—what?" Sera managed.

"I mean, I prefer deep, emotional connections with multiple people," Verena added hastily, hands flailing like she was trying to physically shovel her way out of this mess. "Love is... expansive! Why limit it to just one person when I can suffer under the weight of three different emotional disasters at once?"

"YO-"

"No, no, let her finish," Evelyn said, her eyes dark with ill intentions and shock. "I want to hear how this philosophy developed in the span of twenty seconds."

"I’ve... always been like this. You know. A lover of hearts. A collector of chaos. A curator of affection. It’s definitely not because I’m terrified of picking one of you and dying from a broken system flag, or anything like that."

The girls stared at her.

"...So you’re saying this isn’t about commitment," Sera said slowly, narrowing her eyes. "It’s about strategy?"

Verena smiled nervously. "Yes! And love. And strategy. A strategic love."

She was so dead.

Because any woman with an ounce of self-worth would never settle for someone who couldn’t commit to just one heart.

And that truth was written all over Sera’s face. Pride wounded, trust unraveling. She was a girl of fire and principle, after all. Predictably, her affection points had reset to a clean, icy zero.

Still, Verena had to remind herself that this world, despite its archaic magic systems and royal intrigue, was, in some curious way, more open-minded than the modern one she’d left behind.

Polyamory, while rare, wasn’t unheard of. It was just that... none of these girls signed up to share.

Will she die tonight in her sleep, strangled by Evelyn’s deceptively gentle hands?

Highly probable.

"Oh, I already knew that," Evelyn said breezily, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear with unsettling calm. "Does that mean... you like Sera?" Her lips curved into that disarming smile, the kind that knew far too much.

"P-PFFT! Whaaat..." Verena let out a laugh far too high-pitched to be natural, glancing between Sera and herself with panic. "O-Of course not..."

"HMPH! WHY WOULD I EVER FALL FOR SOMEONE LIKE HER?!"

"EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY!" Verena snapped back.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

[Sera was caught off guard by your sudden confession...]

[While still flustered, she respects your honesty.]

[Warning: Proceed with caution. She is still suspicious.]

...

..

[System Notification: Affection Update!]

[Target: Sera Anverre]

[+2 Affection Points Earned!]

[Affection Points: -1]

...

...

Unfortunately, or the entire next day, Sera seemed to vanish, deliberately avoiding Verena at every turn.

***

Sera sat alone on the stone staircase near the northern courtyard, her knees drawn up and face buried in her arms.

The late afternoon sun cast golden slants of light through the tall windows behind her, catching on the dried streaks down her cheek.

She’d hoped for solitude, some quiet to scream inside her head without anyone interrupting.

But peace never lasted long in this place.

"Now, this is quite the rare sight."

The familiar, maddeningly smug voice slid into the air like honey over velvet.

Her head jerked up instantly. "GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU FREAK!"

Selvis Drevrin stood a few steps above her, arms lazily crossed, his navy coat flaring behind him like it always did when he made these ridiculous entrances. His golden eyes gleamed, catching every twitch of her annoyance.

"Ouch," he said with a theatrical wince. "Wounded, truly. And here I thought I’d come to offer my delicate, noble hand in assistance."

"Shove your delicate, noble hand somewhere unpleasant," Sera snapped, wiping her eyes roughly.

He chuckled. "Ah, the fire returns. That’s more like you. But forgive me for asking—what tragedy has struck our brave little knight this time? Dropped your sword? Lost in love?"

She hissed and turned away. "None of your business."

"Everything about you is my business," Selvis murmured, descending a step and lowering his voice to something velvet-soft. "You’re far too amusing to ignore."

Verena, crouched just around the corner behind a pillar, sucked in a sharp breath.

She had finally caught up to Sera after spending the day noticing her strange absence—only to see this disaster waiting like a wolf in flirtatious clothing.

Selvis offered Sera a handkerchief. "Wipe your face, darling. A knight should cry only when no one is watching, and well... now you’ve been caught."

Sera stared at the handkerchief for a moment, her lips twitching. "Stop talking like that. It’s weird."

"Is it weird that someone shows you care?" he asked lightly, brushing a gloved finger under her chin. "Or is it just unfamiliar?"

Her eyes widened, vulnerable. "Why... are you being nice all of a sudden?"

"Because I can’t stand seeing beauty dimmed by self-doubt," he said with a small smirk. "And because I’ve been watching you. Not in a creepy way, of course."

"It’s definitely creepy."

"Charming, then."

"I said creepy."

"You keep saying that, but you haven’t run away," Selvis pointed out smoothly, leaning against the railing beside her. "Tell me—would you hate me less if I took you on a walk instead? Perhaps a date?"

Sera blinked. Her brain short-circuited for a full two seconds before she sputtered, "W-What?!"

"I find myself curious," he said, his smirk softening just enough to make it sincere. "You’re quite unlike any of the girls fawning over me. That alone deserves a dinner."

Verena, from behind the pillar, silently cursed into the void.

No. No no no. This couldn’t be happening.

Her plan did not involve Selvis Charming-McSmirkface swooping in with a bouquet of metaphors and gallant lies.

And worst of all—Sera looked... conflicted.

The girl who once called every men an idiot now sat frozen, the flush creeping up her cheeks betraying her.

"I’ll think about it," Sera muttered, looking away.

"That’s all I ask, kitten."

"Stop calling me that!"

Selvis laughed, the sound low and victorious, and stood up. "Until then."

He turned with a final glance, his golden eyes glinting with a quiet promise, then disappeared down the hall.

Sera sat there stunned, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted.

And Verena leaned against the stone wall, dragging a hand down her face.

"She’s slipping," Verena whispered to herself, "And now I’ve got to compete with Mr. Velvet Tongue over there..."

This wasn’t just a setback. It was war.