Ascension Of The Villain-Chapter 322: Chivalry Is Dead

His voice cracked just slightly on the word 'tests.' He was proud of that detail. He'd never been to an academy, but he could guess college was a higher level of academic institution, and he knew enough about fancy academic systems from Iyana and Clyde to fake it. A broken heart and finals week? Classic combination.

So what if he didn't have paper money?

That didn't mean someone else couldn't cover the bill. It's not like he wanted to do this. But hunger had a funny way of humbling even the proudest men. He could be loyal to Iyana and still scam a girl for a meal to survive.

"Aww…" the girl cooed sympathetically, her brows knitting together. She reached across the table, her hand gently coming to rest over his. "That's awful. I'm so sorry. I'm here to listen if you want to vent."

The contact made his skin crawl ever so slightly, but he didn't flinch. His expression remained carefully soft, melancholic, and just vulnerable enough.

"I don't know," he said quietly, withdrawing his hand after a second like it was all too much. "I don't feel like talking about it. I was just going to grab a quick bite and go home."

He reached for his coat pocket.

Time for the final act.

A pause. A frown. A pat-down. And then—

"…Oh, shit."

He looked perplexed, tapping the other pocket as if that would magically fix it.

"I must've left my wallet at home." He shook his head, lips pressing into a thin line. "Geez, I must be out of my mind."

Standing up, he gave her a tight, sheepish smile, the kind that said 'don't worry about me, I'll survive… barely.'

"I guess I'll just head back and cook something up. It's fine."

But the girl was already rising to her feet, waving a hand.

"Hey, no, you don't have to do that. Let me pay for you this time."

Vyan pretended to be scandalized. "No, no, how could I let a girl pay for me?" That was actually so terrible of him. As a gentleman, he was stretching himself by burying his chivalry six feet deep.

She rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "Oh, come on. Who even cares about stuff like that anymore? Men-women, we are all equals. It's 2025."

Wow, there are men here who willingly let the women pay? What a weird world. Chivalry must be dead.

She moved toward the van. "What pizza would you like?"

"I… I don't know," he said, playing hesitant, twisting his lips as if the thought of accepting help wounded his masculine pride. "I feel bad." He genuinely did.

"Don't," she said firmly. "Seriously, it's nothing. So? What's your pick?"

"Any one's fine," he murmured like a man too heartbroken to have preferences.

"Alright then."

As she turned to go place the order, Vyan slumped back into his seat, rubbing a hand over his face with an exhale. He closed his eyes for a moment.

The things he had to do for food.

Gods above.

He was the wealthiest man in the entire empire. A grand duke. A feared name. A man who had enough wealth to probably buy this whole nation.

And here he was.

Tricking a stranger into buying him pizza because he didn't have this nation's currency.

The irony was so thick, it almost made him laugh.

Almost.

Instead, he just muttered under his breath, "Goddess, what have I stooped to… My parents are probably turning in their graves."

When the girl returned, balancing two plates and two drinks, Vyan felt slightly bad for letting her carry everything, but the next moment, he thought of how he really didn't care much for helping other people with stuff like this unless that woman was Iyana. He was only her knight. Let chivalry be dead.

The girl slid an empty plate and a drink across to him and grinned. "Hey, we never exchanged names. I'm Anna. What about you?"

"Vyan," he said simply.

"Should we add each other on socials?" she asked, pulling out the little glowing rectangle everyone in this world seemed obsessed with. "What's your account name?"

Socials… social media. Right. He remembered Leila's voice echoing in his mind, enthusiastically explaining how it connected people from miles away, how it was practically a digital life.

"Oh, I don't have one," he said, voice carrying a sheepish note. "I turned it off after the breakup."

Anna gave him a baffled look. "Who does that? You're just giving your ex the satisfaction of thinking she broke you. Terrible move."

Vyan chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah... I guess I wasn't thinking."

With a playful sigh, Anna dug into her bag and pulled out a small notepad. She scribbled down something and tore the page off, handing it to him.

"My number and socials. Call me when you get home. I'm guessing you also forgot your phone today?"

"You guessed it."

"Seriously, who even leaves home without their phone?" ƒгeewebnovёl.com

Her tone was playful, teasing, and sweet. She had a certain innocent, kind charm that he could see other men falling for. And for a moment, something pinched inside Vyan's chest.

Guilt? Possibly. Maybe she wasn't just another flirt. Maybe she was simply... nice. And here he was, milking her kindness like a two-faced street scammer.

Still, as she brought the pizza once it was ready and their conversation meandered through harmless topics, he relaxed. She was curious, but never pushy. He offered safe, vague answers, and she accepted them without suspicion.

They were nearly done when she leaned back and smiled, "You know what you need? A night out. There's a club nearby; we can head there. Music, lights, good vibes, it'll help you blow off some steam."

Vyan hesitated.

Something about that offer didn't sit right. He'd never liked the idea of drinking to forget. Back home, nobles often drowned their problems in wine and women. He always thought it was a pathetic escape.

"I'm not really into that," he said, trying to sound polite. "But thank you—"

"Oh, come on," she pouted. "I need a partner to go in. Don't leave me hanging. I'll feel miserable going alone. And you don't even have to drink. Just… think of it as paying me back."

He hesitated again. Her tone was playfully pleading, her eyes shining with mischief rather than menace. She didn't seem like a bad person. Perhaps, she had only approached him to take him to the club as her partner. And realistically… what else could she do? She was just a girl.

So he nodded slowly, offering a crooked, unsure smile. "Alright... just for a bit."

Little did he know…

That girl could do so much more than he expected.