I, the Villainous Prince, Buy the Ruined Villainess with Money - Chapter 51-52

Chapter 51: Grandfather’s Story

……Honestly, the arena and all that stuff don’t matter anymore.

I just want to keep holding her like this until morning comes.

I float an ice board in the sky and use it as a stepping stone while dancing through the air.

“Eek……”

“Don’t look down, it’s dangerous. (Ugh! That voice is way too cute!)”

“It’s… really high up… If I fall……”

“Just hold on tight, you’re safe.”

“Yes!”

“Mm…… (Aaaah!? She’s squeezing me!)”

Then the nuisance—no, no, I mean Sebas—comes chasing after us, running along the rooftops.

Even though he’s already reached his sixtieth year, his movements are still just as sharp as ever.

“Young master, I believe this area should be it.”

“We’re quite far from the residential district… but I don’t see any building that looks like the right one.”

“The arena is located underground, young master. Shall we descend here?”

It’s a shame, but it seems our blissful moment has come to an end.

With no choice, I lower our altitude and land on the ground.

Because of the time of night and how far we are from the residential area, the surroundings are completely quiet.

“Young master, please proceed according to the plan. If you go down that passage over there, you will reach your destination.”

“Mm. I’ll leave your part to you too.”

“Hehe, leave it to me. But before that, here is a letter for you.”

“What… is this……”

It was a letter from Grandfather.

The usual greetings, asking if I’m doing well, and then telling me to do whatever I want.

This really came from that strict grandfather?

The grandfather Alvis knows is a silent, stern man who, lately, opens his mouth only to say things like “become emperor.”

“What’s this supposed to mean?”

“Hehe, it seems even His Lordship has softened a bit. When I brought up this matter, we ended up having quite a long talk.”

“You didn’t say anything unnecessary, did you?”

“There’s no need. That man can more or less see through everything anyway.”

As much as it annoys me, Sebas is right.

Because of Mother, he may have lost his political power, but people still listen to him when he speaks.

And since Sebas himself used to serve Grandfather, everything about me has probably been reported to him already anyway.

“Tch, that damn old man.”

“I understand how you feel, but it would be better to at least show proper respect.”

“…I know. It’s just my pride won’t allow it.”

“I’m sure His Lordship would be very pleased if you did.”

With that, Sebas melts away into the darkness.

Since I can leave the rest to him, I should get to work too.

Then I notice Yulia looks like she wants to say something.

“Um… that ‘His Lordship’ you mentioned……”

“He’s my grandfather—the current head of the ducal family, Zeheia.”

“The one they called the War Demon……?”

“That’s from his younger days. These days there’s hardly any trace of that left.”

As someone with royal blood, he apparently participated in the war as a general several decades ago.

They say he performed feats worthy of a one-man army.

Come to think of it, when I was little, he used to beat me up pretty badly all the time.

After Mother became the way she is, I remember seeing the fighting spirit drain out of him little by little.

“But he really cares about you, doesn’t he, Master?”

“……Once this is over, maybe I should go pay him a visit and greet him properly.”

“Hehe, I think that would be good.”

She no longer has any family left, and I never really intended to have any either.

But this time, without Grandfather, things would have been much more difficult.

So the least I can do is fulfill the bare minimum courtesy of paying my respects.

—

Chapter 52: Infiltrating the Arena

After that, we walked down the designated back alley.

Then, men dressed in black stepped in front of us, blocking the way.

“This isn’t a place for women and children to come.”

“Oh? But I have an invitation here, you know?”

“What…? …Oh, please forgive my rudeness. I never imagined it would be an invitation from a ducal house.”

“So you’ll let us through, right?”

“Yes, of course, sir!”

Grandfather’s invitation worked like magic; the men in black immediately stepped aside.

Even after losing its real power, it seems the name still carries weight.

Apparently, these invitations are only given to high-ranking nobles anyway.

One of the men in black took the lead to guide us. When he touched the wall… a low rumbling sound came out, and a hidden door appeared.

“If you go down from here, you’ll reach the arena.”

“Thanks for guiding us. We’ll head in now.”

“Yes, Master.”

We descended the stairs and met another man in black.

After showing the invitation, he handed us a pamphlet and quickly stepped back to open the door.

Beyond it… we could see a hall wrapped in roaring heat.

““WOOOOOOOH!!””

“Jeez!”

“I’ve bet on you, you bastard! Don’t you dare lose!”

“Kill him! Kill him!”

If I had to compare it to my previous life, the place felt like a downsized baseball dome.

Below the spectator seats was a circular ring, where two gladiators were currently fighting.

The audience looked down at them from above.

“Th-that’s… incredible…”

“If it gets too hard for you, tell me right away.”

“…I’m fine. I won’t get in Master’s way.”

“Then let’s sit and watch.”

We took some empty seats and began watching the fight.

On the display board were the fighters’ names and their odds.

The ones fighting now seemed to be human slaves.

“What kind of slave is that one?”

“According to the pamphlet’s background, he used to be an adventurer. It says he killed his own party members, stole their equipment, and became a slave because of that crime.”

“I see. So it’s his own fault, huh.”

“Yes…”

Even so, for kind-hearted Yulia, it must still be painful to watch.

She probably feels bad remembering her own past situation too.

While we were talking, the match reached its conclusion.

The loser lost one arm, and the winner, though bleeding heavily from his chest, let out a victorious roar.

“WOOO! I won!!”

“Damn it!”

“Gahaha! Jackpot!”

Yeah… it’s definitely pretty shady.

Still, it seems crime rates have actually gone down because of this.

So destroying the arena itself probably isn’t the best idea.

“Now then… what should we do?”

“You’re right. It would be nice if there was some peaceful way to handle this…”

“For now, let’s just wait for the report.”

After that, the fights kept going one after another.

Of course, no one actually died, but almost every match ended with someone suffering serious injuries.

And then… finally, the person we were looking for appeared.