Villain's POV: The Heroines Want Me!

After idling around for a bit, Rize finally stood up and started changing his clothes into the clothes he was given. The attire was a formal white suit with beautiful decorations on it and a small cape dangling to the side. It appeared as if he was some sort of Royal Knight, which made him smile seeing his reflection in the mirror.

"Not too shabby. I look so cool." He adjusted the strands of his hair before he nodded and turned around to leave. However, before doing that, he recalled to do something. "Geralt told me to use this perfume he gave me. Hmm… It smells nice."

After trying it on, Rize finally was ready for meeting the king. At the same time, he heard a knock on the door.

"Mr Rize. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm coming."

Taking a deep breath, Rize finally walked out of the room, only to be greeted by Rob. The man was surprised for a second seeing Rize. He had already known that he was good-looking, but this young man was certainly very handsome.

'Haha, Her Highness might like it.' He thought to himself.

"Mhm, you look dashing, sir."

"Thank you… I never wore something like this before, so it's very odd."

"You will get accustomed to it. Now, let's go. His Esteemed Self is in his office. He will see you there."

With that, the two walked through the corridors and reached the main stairs as they went up to the third and then the fourth floor. Each floor had a completely different vibe from the one before. Each one had a different purpose, and each one showed the endless wealth the Royal Family possesses.

When they reached the floor where the King was, Rize was surprised to see the golden statues resting on both sides of the path. The air was so pure and clear that Rize felt like his lungs were getting rejuvenated by breathing it in.

Walking through the path, they finally stopped before what seemed to be a double door.

"This is His Esteemed Self's office," Rob whispered. "Wait here, please."

"Understood."

Then, Rob knocked on the door. A few seconds later, a deep voice replied.

"Come in."

The man walked in and closed the door, leaving Rize behind. He stood there, awkwardly looking around him.

'I wonder where Venera is now. She probably knows I'm coming today. I really hope she doesn't give me a hard time. I'm banking on the fact that she would be normal.' He thought to himself as he controlled his breathing. 'Anyway, focus, Rize. You need to focus on what will happen now.'

A minute later, the door opened, and Rob peeked at him. "You may come in."

Rize adjusted his posture and walked inside with a confident look on his face, trying to remain calm and collected before the king. However, he was immediately taken aback by the huge office room.

It was way bigger than even his house, with a large library of books, a kitchen, a large table for meetings, and a big wooden desk near the panoramic glass wall that overlooked the entire city.

Behind that desk sat King Theodore. His face didn't change one bit from years ago, and his presence became all the more oppressive. Almost instantly, Rize felt like a huge weight had been added to his body that made moving, or even breathing, harder.

'He makes me feel suffocated without even doing anything… What kind of crazy power does this man have?' Rize thought to himself.

"Leave us alone, Rob."

"Understood, Your Highness." The man said before he nodded at Rize and left. Immediately, the entire pressure was applied to Rize as he felt like he was standing before a deity. The man was simply mythical and the leader of the strongest nation in the world. His achievements were endless, and his name alone struck fear in the hearts of countless individuals.

Rize was standing before a living legend.

At that moment, that man was busy reading a piece of paper in his hand, completely ignoring Rize's presence. The latter didn't move from his place, waiting silently for the King to finish reading.

The atmosphere was weirdly tense and awkward, but Rize kept calm.

Eventually, after what felt like forever, the king put the paper down and looked at Rize. He didn't say a word as he eyed him up and down.

"You haven't awakened yet?" He asked with a calm yet commanding tone.

"No, Your Highness," Rize replied.

"I see." The king said before he leaned against his chair. "So, what if you don't awaken? What are you going to do?"

"..." Rize was taken aback by the question. Of all the questions he expected, this was not one of them, and it completely pushed him off balance with his planned and rehearsed answers.

'He's testing me.' Rize squinted.

"I will give my position to someone who is more capable than me, Your Highness," Rize replied.

"Oh?" The king seemed surprised. "So you think you're the most capable of protecting my daughter?"

"Yes, Your Highness. I believe I could serve Her Highness the princess well." Rize said with a calm and straightforward tone.

The king stared into the boy's eyes and was surprised by his resilience. He had a wisdom within them that didn't fit his age at all.

'Interesting.' Theodore thought.

"I'm sure Geralt had already told you about what you need to do. I have been keeping an eye on your progress through Geralt, and he gave me quite the positive feedback about you."

'Geralt really does like me…' Rize fought the urge to smile.

"Geralt is an old friend of ours and someone we trust. So, that being said, I will give you the chance to protect my daughter. Of course, your efforts will be rewarded handsomely, Rize."

"Thank you for this opportunity, Your Highness. I will make sure to do my best serving the Princess and making sure she is always safe."

"And one more thing, Rize. You are aware of where my daughter is going soon, correct?"

"Oh, absolutely, Your Highness. The Academy Entrance test, correct?"

"Indeed. At your age, it is a very important step. Being admitted into the Academy would be a huge step, especially for my daughter. Being her escort, you will also enroll and undergo the test. I expect you to pass with flying colors and be in the same class as her."

'Same class… As in the SP class… Yikes, isn't that like 0.00000001% of people enrolled being able to join that class? It's not just extremely hard… You have to be one of the best talents in the world to join that class…'

Rize, naturally, was worried about that. While he knew he was talented, he wasn't sure if he could rival other geniuses. They were all freaks of nature, and Venera was one of them.

'No, I can't let that happen… While Rize did not join that class in the main story, I need to join it to be able to control the narrative and keep the plot going as I want it to.' Rize thought to himself. 'If I'm out of it and things get even more out of control, I would be screwed.'

"Is that understood, Rize?"

The King's question snapped him back to reality.