Scamming in My Next Life as a Villain! [TCF Fanfiction]

Chapter 3: Fortunate Meetings in an unfortunate event

It has been three weeks since the First Prince left, he departed shortly after his proposal. Cale sat on the chair on the balcony of his room. Looking at the dark sky and getting slight shivers from the cold breeze, he continued to think. If his grasp of time was right, the fourth male lead and his soon-to-be stepbrother-Basen-would be arriving within a short period of time. 'It's tomorrow' Cale thought. Just like the original Cale, he decided not to partake in the wedding, being satisfied with watching from afar.

He had thought for a while already, to treat Basen nicely so that his soon-to-be younger brother, would support his slacker life, as Count Henituse. He would be free from the duties of the heir once Basen arrived, which made him quite excited. Although he soon remembered that his paternal cousins were not accepting, he would have to do something about that. He has to protect the boy for the time being, and then leave the heir duties to the younger one once he has settled in. But then he recalled a much bigger problem, the only reason that Basen became heir was because the original heir-Cale behaved badly. He had no plans of garnering attention for himself by doing some horrible acts, besides, it would increase the chances of him dying. He then thought of the only possible solution, stepping down from the position of the heir.

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The next day came faster than Cale thought it would, he did not get enough sleep due to thinking too much about the future. He once was again woken up by his closest servant, however, it was earlier than usual. He, of course, knew the occasion but chose to pretend that he did not. After all, his father chose to not inform him about his wedding. He blinked his eyes a few times to adjust to the brightness emitted by the sun, it was always annoying when Ron opened the curtains to let the sunlight in. The redhead sat up but he still leaned on the bed lazily, he was aware that it was an important day but he didn't get why he still needed to get ready even though he was not invited nor informed.

Cale sighed softly and then he looked the butler straight in the eye. It was quite surprising that he did not feel shivers down his spine but it might have stemmed from seeing Ron as a father figure as well as the years he had spent with the latter. His vision finally cleared and the first thing he saw was the butler's signature, benign smile. It looked quite vicious. The redhead quickly avoided his gaze and moved his legs so that it was dangling off the side of the bed. He slipped his feet on the soft, fluffy slippers of his and then stood up.

"Is there anything special today, Ron?" Cale chose to ask, it was so that he didn't seem suspicious about knowing the event despite not being informed. "The Count is getting married, Young Master" Ron responded with his benign smile faltering. The butler's expression screamed disappointment, after all, he served the deceased Countess and considered her as his sole master.

Cale forcefully widened his eyes and parted his mouth to express his "shock." He looked quite pitiful as sorrow was planted in his face. As the butler saw this expression, Ron looked at the child with a worried gaze. After catching sight of the gaze that the older gave the redhead, the latter couldn't help but be proud of himself as he had just fooled one of the most dangerous assassins there is. 'I could win an Oscar with this acting of mine' the younger thought, smiling smugly in his mind. The redhead looked down to further perfect his acting, he let out a small "Oh" and then pressed his lips together in a thin line. Cale nodded toward the butler, still avoiding the latter's gaze, he walked straight into the bathroom to take a bath.

Once he had entered the room, he closed the door behind him and took off his clothes. Cale first dipped his foot to test the temperature of the water, afraid of it being too hot and burning him. Once he felt satisfied with the warmth, he went into the bathtub and soaked himself, the water making a splash motion because of the sudden weight. He leaned back to the edge and let his body relax to the warmth. He had never had a bath and barely had showers in his past life, more so since the start of the apocalypse. He always felt good and relaxed when bathing, especially since his whole body could feel the warmth. Cale wet his hair and fully cleaned himself. He then lazily stood up and grabbed the robe near him, he slid it up his arms and tied the belt upfront securely. He stepped out of the bathroom and was greeted by Ron holding the clothes he was required to wear for the day.