"Excuse me, Duchess. Have fun," Lucien said as they arrived at the party, turning to Ivy, who was looking at him with eyes he could not understand.
He had business to do in the palace today, which was one of the reasons he had accepted Ivy's dumb request, because no woman could ever force him to do what he didn't want to do.
"Wait, you are leaving me here? Who was it that said they didn't want to come?" Ivy panicked, holding his hand, stopping him from going. Her voice was soft and low.
Where was the villain going anyway? She believed that the system might have kept another unexpected mission for her, and it would be related to Lucien. Her gut feeling was just warning her.
Because of this, she couldn't let him leave her side. She bit her lips, the hold on his arm clenching more with force, though it could not cause pain to Lucien.
Lucien raised his brow, observing her expression. "Because I came because of you, that doesn't mean I'll waste my time, Ivy, and make it none fruitful," he said, his hand tapping gently on her head—an act that he seemed to be quite used to now.
He needed to go wherever he wanted to go, and Ivy couldn't stop him. The bunny should mind her business while he minded his own business also.
"Now excuse me," the last of his words echoed in her ears. Ivy stood there perplexed, watching him leave in a flash, her hands that had been clinging to him breaking with a snap.
She watched his back as he walked away. For some reason, she couldn't let him go. Why couldn't she let him go...?
He should come back to her. Ivy's gaze remained locked on the place where Lucien had left, and she couldn't take her eyes away.
Her body, subconsciously on its own, found a nearby spot, and she sat down. She needed to clear her mind... the turbulent, disturbing feeling.
"You need to start talking, host. What was all that drama in there?"
The system appeared before her, making Ivy flinch, almost falling off her chair. The question the system asked didn't make sense to Ivy. It juggled around her like it was about to reveal a big secret or deliver some juicy gossip.
Ivy side-eyed the system, wondering if it had gone odd in the head because it was saying words that didn't match her current mood.
She wondered if the little guy had forgotten its bad attitude toward her days ago, and now here it was, talking to her like they were best pals.
"Look at you. You're all flushed. I think you're falling for the mission target instead of him falling for you," the system jumbled and said, referring to what it had observed.
Its host wasn't looking at the villain with the same eyes as when they first met. She was looking at him differently.
So, the system felt something fishy was going on, and it went to do its investigations—with the help of its new upgrade. Yes, it had gotten a new upgrade but hadn't mentioned it to Ivy.
This new upgrade lets it see the emotional status of a person and their feelings toward another person.
And the feeling Ivy had towards the villain was stuck at 88%, which she wasn't meant to be having. That kind of feeling for the villain should be the opposite, and as for the emotional state of the villain towards Ivy, the system couldn't say.
The villain was a villain, after all. It was just his stupid host forgetting that fact because of the villain's charm.
"No, I don't love him, system. I'm doing all this to survive, all this for myself and not the villain," Ivy said, glaring at the system.
For a moment, she wanted to believe what the system had said, but she refused to. She definitely wasn't in love with the villain. It was all for her mission.
She was doing this just to survive, and it should be the other way around. It was the villain who should be in love with her now. She giggled in her heart.
The villain was flirting with her as a way of showing his feelings. If not, why wasn't he the maniacal monster as written in the book?
"Oh, is it, host? Then I must say that your acting is quite top-notch. I must say, because the blush is too realistic," the system said, flying up high. Ivy raised her head, following the system's movement.
"Why are you talking to me in a sarcastic tone? I feel so," she said, pointing at the system and gnashing her teeth. The damn bot was mocking her!
She could see it clearly in its tone.
"Host, I would be a fool to believe that you are not in love with the villain," the system said, flying back to the chair, sitting on it, its large eyes looking at Ivy and confessing what it thought in its heart.
Ivy turned and held the system's face. "Birdy, let me tell you something. Humans are selfish, and they can stoop to any level just to get anything that they want," she said, her gaze locking on it, letting it see her seriousness.
"Are you understanding me, Birdy?" She repeated herself, trying to make it more clear. The system did not know the weird emotions that it had caused to start forming in her heart. If some sorcerer were here, her emotions would have been good enough to produce a thousand dark magics.
"Ah, I understood it very well, host. That you said you were selfish," the system said, flapping its feathers at Ivy's face, making her lift her head. It turned its butt to her.
If the host was going to be stupid, let her be stupid. It would not interfere in her feelings when anything went wrong. She was a mature woman; she should have learned to decide for herself.
Ivy's eyes had turned red, where the system could not see. "Yes, I'm selfish. And don't forget, system, you are the one that brought me to this level.For something that you should have done—giving me a free transmigration—you ended up giving me system missions and made me work like your slave," her voice rang out in muffles.
She was regretting everything. Regretting why she ever thought that this would have been a fun adventure. She regretted buying the novel and adding it to her shelf.
Her emotions were a mess, and all her hatred seemed to be directed at the system.
"Sorry, host. I didn't know you felt that way. I should excuse myself now; you need a quiet moment,"
the system said, its once overly excited voice no longer excited. Its mood was like rain pouring on someone's roof under stormy weather.
Ivy's eyes widened when she heard what the system said.
"No, system, wait... I didn't say that you should leave..." she yelled, stretching her hands, trying to stop the system from going, but the system had already left.
The system had left her sad. She thought about it in her heart, looking down at the tears in her hands.
Her feelings were a mess, jumbled with incoherent thoughts.
Ivy couldn't stop herself; she just buried her face in her knees, bursting out into tears.
"Ha, wahhhh," she cried, her tears grieving out her confusion, pain, and sorrows.
"Why is this young lady crying?"
Ivy heard footsteps and a voice accompanying the footsteps.
Who was it that had come? Ivy wondered, raising her head to see.
"Ivy?" The man standing with bunny ears called, looking at Ivy.
Ivy's heart was shocked at who it was. Her heart raced.
"Roland?" she called to confirm if it was who she thought it was.