Villain's POV: The Heroines Want Me!

The entire time the two were having fun, Rize had the idea that Venera simply wanted to enjoy herself before things got extremely busy and leisure time like this one was going to be scarce and hard to come by. He thought she simply needed someone to go with her, and he was just lucky enough to be there at the right time and the right place.

Never did he imagine that she did all of that for him.

'She thought about… me?' He frowned. It should've made sense since she saw him in a favorable way and even treated him nicely, something nobody had done before. However, Rize still found himself completely wrecked by the realization. He had lived two lifetimes never receiving any kindness from people.

No one had ever thought of him or tried to do something for him out of the willingness of their hearts. He was always ostracized and hated no matter where he went. The looks of hate and anger that he received were engraved in his mind.

"You will never amount to anything, fatty!"

"Haha, look at him, he tripped and fell! It's the first lap, dumbass!"

"Oh my god… he smells so bad…"

Those images of him being looked at with mockery and disdain. The trauma… The pain he suffered and the life he led after it. It all was hell on earth, his hell.

'Why… Why would they do that to me? What did I do to them? Did I hurt them? Did I…'

"Rize?"

Suddenly, Venera's concerned voice snapped him out of his daze. "Huh?"

"Why… are you crying?" She asked in a hesitant tone.

"...!!" That was when Rize felt the wet sensation on his face. Touching it slowly, he saw the droplet of water.

"H-Huh?" Rize blinked as he started wiping his face. "No, it's nothing, I'm just… Haha, my eyes are just tearing up… Nothing behind it."

He panicked in his mind as he kept wiping the tears quickly while Venera watched him with a conflicted look on her face.

"Was this trip… not good?" She asked. "I'm sorry…"

"What?! No, no, it's the opposite… I'm just… Yeah, very touched by your kindness. Nobody had done this for me before." He said with a warm smile. "It means a lot to me."

"..." Venera didn't know what to say, seeing Rize's teary eyes and soft smile. 'He had lived as an orphan for years before being found by Geralt. It must've been hell to be raised in that kind of environment. I don't blame him. This is the first act of kindness he ever received…'

That thought was hard to even imagine, but it also made Venera understand Rize even better. Behind that strong, sarcastic front was a child who had never gotten anything in his life, and he had to work hard to earn every spot he got.

The sheer gratitude in his eyes toward her. She had never seen it before… Not in someone from her circle. They either wanted it out of malice and greed, or out of expectations that she would do said thing. Nobody had truly stopped and thanked her for something before.

"You don't need to thank me. We are partners now. We have each other's back." She said with a confident smile. "I look forward to what we will do."

"Yeah… *Sniff* Man, I'm so pathetic." He said as he sniffed. "I'm supposed to be tough at all times, and here I am… tearing up."

"Haha, nobody is looking; don't worry. It's a secret between us." Venera chuckled, which made Rize laugh too. The atmosphere became even warmer as the two finally received their food and started eating.

They chatted through the meal casually. They felt how easy it was to talk to the other person. There was no burden, no scheming, no overthinking… Just two friends sharing a nice meal. It felt so refreshing and different for both that they found themselves looking for more.

But, eventually, the meal came to an end.

"That was very tasty," Rize said as he wiped his mouth.

"Yeah, not bad at all," Venera replied.

"If you would excuse me. I need to go to the bathroom." Rize said as he wiped his mouth.

"Yeah, go ahead."

Standing up, Rize left his seat and walked into the bathroom. It was a standard one with several stalls to the side and the sinks to the other side. At first, Rize didn't see anyone inside, so he simply went about his business and then walked out to wash his hands.

'Sigh, I really cried in front of her. This is so stupid.' He thought to himself. 'I'm so stupid! I'm such a dumbass!!! How can I do such a dumb thing?!!! Am I stupid?!'

Grabbing his head, Rize fought the urge to scream. He felt so embarrassed that he wanted the ground to split open and eat him.

"Sigh… Whatever… It is what it is; I need to focus and do my best. You got it, young man." He said as he stared at his reflection in the mirror, trying to hype himself up. At the same time, he heard the door to a stall next to him open and a man walked out. He had a normal suit and was rather inconspicuous.

'Hm, I didn't really notice that he was here.' Rize thought to himself as he grabbed the tissues to dry his hands and was about to turn around.

But at the very last second, Rize saw the man open his bag, and he saw something in it that caught his eye.

'A gun?' Rize's eyes turned colder as he shifted his gaze to the man himself. 'His attire doesn't suggest a cop or a Royal Knight…'

Staring at his face, Rize could see that he appeared rather restless. His hands were also clenched.

"..."

He realized all of that in a split second as he turned around and walked out of the bathroom. Heading back to Venera, he sat down with a serious face as he leaned forward.

"I saw something in the bathroom." He said.

"Hm?"

"Someone has a gun in his bag… He didn't appear to be a law enforcement officer." Rize added. "I don't know, but he seemed very suspicious."

"..." Venera's eyes turned serious. "Where is he?"

Rize turned around and signaled to a particular man who walked out of the bathroom and started heading to the exit.

"Should we call the police?"

"... No, wait," Venera replied. "Let's see if he actually means to do something harmful or not."

"If you say so."

Rize knew that he could be very wrong and cause trouble if he wasn't sure of his suspicions. But, at the same time, his gut feeling told him that this was a lot of trouble and he should not drag the princess into it. However, knowing Venera, she would never let a criminal do whatever he wanted under her watch.

The two left the restaurant and started following the man from afar. He walked casually before he pulled out his phone. He looked all around him, seemingly very alert to his surroundings.

However, the two were far smarter, as they avoided being noticed and blended with the large crowds.

Unbeknownst to them… This small encounter was about to change everything.