The Villainess With A Heroine Harem

Chapter 820 Deceptive Shell

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Emilia was well aware of the fact that Norman regarded her as an 'ignorant' child. He was neither the first, nor the only one around to 'underestimate' her like that, after all.

Far too many people believed what they saw and heard too seriously. And once they'd categorized someone as a certain type of person in their hearts, it was easier to selectively ignore some hints instead of changing their already established thoughts.

Of course, since she'd worked so hard to act like that, the crimson-haired girl would never fail to make the most of the opportunity.

Her glittering-blue eyes and smug yet charming smile made it so that, not to mention Norman, even those scrutinizing her far more carefully never once doubted the authenticity of her words.

Even the most skeptical of them only worried about her bragging too much, with their perception of Emilia already solidified as a somewhat arrogant but easily deceived little girl.

After a while, Norman led her to an isolated bedroom after he had already extracted everything he felt he needed from the young girl, then bade her goodbye with a smile.

"Take a nap, or go play that game again if you like. There's one of those game capsule things here, too."

He even ruffled Emilia's hair fondly on his way out, just as he often did to his own little niece, completely unaware of the cold edge hidden beneath the beautiful girl's outwardly twinkling eyes.

Her expression didn't change even after the door closed and she was 'alone'. Despite the cozy little room carpeted in pink being in complete contrast with the otherwise cold military complex, Emilia knew there must be hidden cameras and other 'bugs' around, after all.

Norman might act like a 'good elder' in front of her, and maybe it was possible that he really started thinking of her as a 'good kid' in his heart, but Emilia felt no pity in 'deceiving' him. If he really knew the truth, she had no doubt that the middle-aged man wouldn't think twice before ordering his subordinates to subdue her team.

Not to mention, even if Norman treated her like that, Emilia understood very well just how much certain people in power obsessed over having eyes and ears everywhere. Moreover, while he might really believe her, even the middle-aged man who looked at her so warmly just moments before wasn't above using certain underhanded tactics on her if really needed.

After all, since she was so easy to use, wouldn't it be a pity to not exploit her to 'convert' some of her more rebellious teammates more thoroughly? To make the most out of a tool, one must first fully understand how it works. And what better way to do that than through observation?

His words rang true in many ears. Compared to a steady stream of power, such a one-time boost was really too insignificant.

They argued over it furiously over and over, and in the end, the idea most of them had at some point, yet refused to acknowledge, finally remained the only one they had left.

The unnatural powers that gave them such a headache seemed to ultimately all stem from 'Arcadia', and while the strength of those players who actually 'awakened' seemed to be completely random at first, the descent of the 'Tower of Heaven' made them wonder if that was really the case.

There was no way to figure out how it all worked, but since Arcadia was the source of it all, and the Crimson Witches were currently one of the 'best' teams in the game…

"How about we let them continue growing…?"

Despite many of them having the same thought, they instinctively rejected it.

"They're much weaker than the awakened near the tower at the moment, aren't they?"

"Hmm. Not to mention, even if they could somehow be nurtured and grow to become stronger, it won't be easy to discipline such volatile threats."

Another fierce argument ensued, but despite their 'fierce resistance' to the idea, a sense of helplessness slowly grew as the realization started dawning on them.

Would the fate of their country really need to rest on some undisciplined brats?

No matter how they thought about it, with such unreliable tools being their 'ace weapon', their prospects in the upcoming and unavoidable war seemed… extremely bleak.

Even if they were still young enough to be brainwashed and trained, it was almost impossible for them to reach a satisfactory level before it was too late.

Several of them couldn't help but have the same pessimistic thought.

'We're doomed… aren't we?'

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