Well, yesterday ended on a positive note for Hans: in the end, everyone calmed down and came to an agreement, after which the men locked themselves in a secret room to watch that new anime, while the women, having covered up their injuries, went out as a family to meet the friend of their youngest family member and go shopping. They felt a little guilty given that, apart from the father of the family, whose face had been injured by his wife, none of the men had been hurt. Besides, the men had told them everything and explained it all, and at first they didn't quite believe it; except for Lilith, who, surprisingly, believed it right away and just beamed at her beloved brother.
Well, in the end, they had to believe it when another dozen buckets of popcorn appeared out of nowhere. And that's how the day ended: everyone relaxed and made up.
"Okay, I've got things to do today, so don't wait until tonight," he really did have a few things to take care of with the two women today: he had to intercept one of them, Violetta, to keep her from visiting Luka, and he had a chance to make a good impression on the other.
He quickly grabbed the gun, slung the holster over his belt, and was about to head to the garage.
"Wait, I almost forgot to mention: Aurora is coming tomorrow," Hans's great-grandfather said, quickly slapping his forehead as he remembered this important detail.
"Is she coming tomorrow? … Tomorrow … is she coming? … SHE'LL BE HERE TOMORROW!!!" he blurted out sharply, his eyes flashing and his voice rising to a shout that betrayed both surprise and obvious tension.
— I'M SCREWED! I'M SCREWED!!! I'M NOT READY AT ALL!!! I'M NOT READY AT ALL!!! SHE'S DEFINITELY GOING TO CASTRA ME!!! I'M SCREWED!!! — he started to panic, screaming and pacing in circles, which drew the attention of the whole family, who watched his panic for about ten minutes until he stopped.
He quickly grabbed his great-grandfather by the shoulders.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER?! DAMN IT, I'M REALLY SCREWED!!!" Seeing that he was on the verge of tears, his grandfather patted him on the back and said a few words.
"She's a nice girl; I don't think she'd be that mean. And, honestly, I forgot all about it after yesterday."
Hans shot him a look. "I'm totally screwed," he said, summing up his panic in a single sentence.
"HAHAHA, come on, bro, are you really scared of her?" You said you had a plan to rein her in," Lilith stepped forward and, with a cheerful smile, grabbed his face.
"I was hoping I'd have at least a month, not just a couple of days… I'm not ready," he said with a hint of whining in his voice, as if expecting comfort from his sister.
His sister simply stood on tiptoe and kissed him in front of everyone, but it didn't elicit any reaction at all.
"You'll manage. And you haven't forgotten, have you? You said you had some business to attend to," his sister told him confidently, reminding him of this.
"Shit, you're right, we have to hurry," he quickly snapped out of it and headed to the garage. After checking the map, he set off straight toward Violetta.
"He's definitely screwed," his sister added when she saw her brother disappear through the door.
"It can't be that bad," said the oldest man, and everyone looked at him as if he were a bit dim.
"What?"
"Well, their family is famous for wanting to control every move their loved ones make they're obsessed with it, so he's definitely screwed," the grandfather added and turned to leave. In reality, despite the panic, he was certain his grandson had a plan: it all looked more like panic due to the unexpectedness and emotional unpreparedness than that he didn't know what to do.
"Well, let the young ones figure it out," the great-grandfather turned and walked away: there was nothing he could do to help here.
Meanwhile, not far from the hospital where Luca was staying.
Pulling up in his Rolls-Royce Phantom, Hans quickly spotted a beautiful woman with purple hair, wearing a purple dress and a purple hairpin. She was just about to enter the hospital when Hans intercepted her, rolling down his window to catch her attention.
"It's you!" she blurted out, clearly displeased by the encounter. He had not only slapped her but also beaten up her friend. Although things hadn't been going well between them lately, she still had to visit him as a good friend.
"Well, aren't you glad to see me? We haven't seen each other in so long, and you're being so rude right off the bat…" he added with a slight smirk.
"What do you want from me?" She ignored his smirk, only growing wary, looking at him with cold suspicion.
"Well, nothing special… Actually, I just wanted to apologize and, as a sign of apology, take you to a restaurant," he said, putting on a guilty expression.
"No need, I'm not interested," she quickly refused. Men like him disgusted her: domineering, strong, thinking he could do whatever he wanted, as if nothing else existed in this world besides him, as if all power were in his hands.
He annoyed her, especially with his arrogant demeanor. She had already turned around and was about to leave, but suddenly…
"I said I want to take you to a restaurant, so get in the car," he said, no longer so sweetly; it sounded more like an order that left her no choice.
Violetta stopped, her body trembled, and she slowly turned around, looking at Hans strangely. Why should she listen to him at all? How dare he act like this?!
"Are you out of your mind?.. You beast… " You jerk… and you stink, too…" the words raced through her mind in outrage, but she didn't say them out loud, she was afraid of him and instinctively obeyed. She didn't even realize how she'd voluntarily gotten into the car.
[Event recorded]
The user has ruined the protagonist's chance to get closer to the heroine.
[Effect]
Fate Points: -500
[Reward: +1000 Villain Points]
She lowered her head. How could she have gotten into the car in the first place? What if he did something to her? Who would protect her? She was sure she wouldn't be able to defend herself… or rather, he was too strong.
"See, it wasn't that hard," he said with a light, playful smile.
"What do you want…?" she asked, almost in a whisper, feeling as if she were standing before a tiger's jaws.
"What do I want?.. Well, it's very simple… I want you," he said with a predatory smile, looking at her as if she were his prey.
She was trembling; she was truly terrified. She didn't want to lose her innocence like this; she didn't want to be used like a piece of meat.
[Event recorded]
The heroine felt fear.
[Reward: +200 villain points]
"Come on, don't be so scared… I'm not some kind of monster. I'm not going to rape you, drug you, or blackmail you." "You've imagined me to be some kind of pervert who enjoys other people's suffering," he said calmly, with a strange gleam in his eyes. She was really easy to tame, she was already so afraid of him… Now it was time to show a little tenderness.
"Yeah, right," she snapped, but the tension had eased a little she had stopped trembling and darting her eyes around the cabin, though she still couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye.
"By the way, my name is Hans," he said. Strangely enough, he actually knew a lot about her, while she didn't even know his name.
She gave him a strange look but quickly turned away. She didn't understand why herself, but she didn't hate him he just annoyed and frightened her, but there was no hatred.
After exchanging a couple more sentences, they both fell silent. It wasn't worth putting too much pressure on her just yet their relationship wasn't at that level yet; at most, it could be considered a strong interest.
"Sir, we've arrived," his bodyguard said calmly. He hadn't heard what was going on in the back, since there was a partition between the front and back seats—to talk, it had to be lowered.
The door was quickly opened for him, and then for the young lady, who stepped out and stood beside him.
"Take my arm," he said in a commanding tone, and, strangely enough, despite her reluctance, she obeyed his order.
"Why am I obeying his orders? Am I really that spineless? Am I really that pathetic?" she scolded herself inwardly, fiercely hating the situation in which she was so defenseless.
But her heart was pounding wildly, not just from indignation somewhere deep inside, a strange joy was also beginning to stir… the joy of submission, which she herself had not yet realized. Her subconscious was slowly sending signals, pointing to the strong man beside her, as if whispering: submit… be obedient… let him lead.
Upon entering the expensive restaurant that specialized in seafood, Violetta looked around carefully. She wasn't from a poor family, but she wasn't from a rich one either. They could afford seafood, but not often, and not the most expensive kind.
She was more curious whether this was a coincidence or if he really knew she loved seafood. If so, how had he found out about her so quickly? He was truly powerful… and that genuinely frightened her.
They sat down, and the waiter quickly approached, explaining the menu. This restaurant offered a set menu with various dishes, unlike regular restaurants where you choose your own meal.
"Their spring seafood set is one of the best in Europe; trust me, you won't be disappointed," Hans commented calmly.
She said nothing, only lowered her head. Hans sighed quietly and lifted her chin with two fingers, directing her gaze to his eyes, trying to convey as much affection as possible with them. He did indeed have a somewhat intimidating gaze, but she couldn't walk around with her head down all day.
"Stop walking around with your head down. When I'm talking to you, look me in the eyes!" he said sternly.
"God, he's so bossy…"
"Poor girl, looks like she was forced to…"
"Well, that's none of my business. But I get the feeling this young man isn't ordinary…"
Behind him, a quiet discussion of the scene began. He simply ignored it, he didn't care at all.
Unlike Violetta, who felt as if she were being humiliated. She quickly pulled herself together and began to act more calmly so as not to attract unnecessary attention.
She didn't understand why herself, but she sensed that if she ruined Hans's image, it would reflect badly on her, too. She couldn't allow herself to ruin his image just because she wasn't even capable of looking him in the eye.
For God's sake… she wasn't that pathetic. She had to behave with dignity.
After that, everything went smoothly: they served various courses from the set menu, which Violetta was tasting for the first time in her life. Hans ate too, washing it down with white wine, and watched the lovely purple-haired girl eat. A look of joy even flashed across her face a few times, though it faded quickly, it was still clear that she liked both the food and the place.
When she finished and stepped outside, she stood beside him and looked as if she were waiting for him to tell her where to go next, as if she had no will of her own.
It was still quite early—only 11 a.m.—when he took her by the arm and told her to go to Milan from Verona; at his pace, they could get there in an hour and a half; after spending three hours there, they would return just in time for the events he needed.
She didn't know why he was taking her so far, but she didn't ask anything in his presence, she became increasingly submissive.
Well, oddly enough, they headed to an amusement park in Milan. A strange choice for courting a girl who wasn't interested in such things… but she decided to quietly play along so as not to upset him, and rode many of the rides. To be honest, they didn't impress her much.
The only thing that caught her eye was when they walked past a shooting gallery with duckies: she saw the grand prize, a giant two-meter-tall purple stuffed bear.
"Do you want it? Come on, I'll win it for you," he said cheerfully and led her to the shooting gallery.
"What do I need to do to get that toy?" Hans asked, pointing at the big bear.
"If you hit the center of that target over there, you can take the prize," he said, pointing to a very small target located about two hundred meters away. For most people, it was a truly difficult target.
"The fee is 5 euros."
"Can I use my own gun?" Hans asked calmly, taking out the money and handing it to the cashier.
"If you have one, go ahead," the vendor replied, surprisingly kindly; it seemed he really didn't believe Hans would hit it.
Well, as for carrying a weapon, while not very common in most of Europe, it is still entirely legal, so no one was particularly surprised.
"You have three shots."
Hans calmly nodded and pulled a pistol from under his shirt, which had been completely hidden beneath his clothes. At this, Violetta flinched slightly at the strange thought that flashed through her mind, but quickly regained her composure. So he has a pistol with him, so what?
Aiming, Hans took a few seconds to line up his shot and fired. With a loud bang, the bullet hit the target dead center.
"Looks like I hit it," said our villain, blowing smoke off the pistol and holstering it.
"You're right… You're a natural, kid." The cashier didn't even try to argue with him. Why bother? There are thousands of losers like him who couldn't hit a target from 40 meters away. Besides, this guy had a gun, and it was better not to cross him, so he just handed him the teddy bear.
"Here you go," Hans smiled cheerfully, handing her the bear. She had to wrap her arms around its waist, and, in fact, it covered her entire body except for her legs—it looked surprisingly funny.
"Listen, may I ask why you carry a weapon?" She was curious: depending on the reason, her perception of Hans might well change.
"Well, first and foremost, for self-defense. You understand, I'm not from a poor family." Although I have plenty of security, it's not the Nightmare way to rely on someone else's strength. True strength is what allows you to stand on your own… and protect those you care about. And it doesn't matter how you do it, with your fists or a weapon. Only one thing matters: that they're safe by your side.
Maybe that sounded a little corny, and Hans embellished some of the details, but overall, he truly believed it.
[Event recorded]
Violetta Viola is moved by Hans's words about protecting loved ones.
[Effect]
Affection: +10
[Reward: +100 Villain Points]