Chapter 4

"I'm here on official police business," Violet declared.

She frowned ever so slightly, her eyes flashing with detest when she noticed Ethan's flippant demeanor.

Violet had no idea how things would've gone if the original plot had unfolded. Initially, she would've been put off by Ethan's dismissive, devil-may-care attitude. However, Ethan's identity and abilities would slowly be revealed, and after he saved her a few times, she would slowly fall for him, eventually becoming his woman.

But now, thanks to Clement's interference with the plot, she felt even more disgusted by Ethan's behavior.

"Kindly show some respect. Also, I need you to come with me."

"You want me to leave with you?"

Leaning against the chair, Ethan crossed his legs and eyed Violet curiously. "What kind of trick are you playing, babe? Why should I leave with you?"

"You know what you did," Violet declared. She was getting fed up with his arrogance. "You've been reported to the police and are now under suspicion for aggravated assault. You'll need to come with me for further investigation."

"I was reported to the police for aggravated assault?" Ethan was dumbfounded. "What the hell is Clement playing at? He's the heir of the Lakeworth family! Why would a wealthy scion like him call the cops on me?"

Ethan had considered all the possibilities—but not this. Instead of resorting to the predicted move of hiring thugs to come after him, Clement had reported him to the police!

"Let's go."

Several police officers surrounded Ethan.

After mulling it over, Ethan chose not to resist. "I'll come with you."

While he was confident he could easily take out Violet and the other police officers, he'd only just arrived in Grusoire and lacked connections with the authorities in the city. Therefore, if he resorted to violence, he'd end up a criminal.

If that happened, how was he going to make anything of himself in Grusoire after that?

His only choice was to concede for now and head down to the police station with Violet.

"There's been a misunderstanding, Captain Shaw!" Ruth cried out as she looked anxiously at Violet. "Clement Lakeworth harassed me first! Ethan never would've gotten into a fight if Clement hadn't done that."

"That may be true, but he has gone too far," Violet said with a grim smile. "Clement simply made some inappropriate comments, but Ethan here assaulted Clement's bodyguards. His actions can be considered excessive use of force.

"The case will be settled based on Clement's attitude and any possible private settlement agreed upon by both parties."

After giving Ruth a subtle hint, Violet said to the other police officers, "Take him away."

"Don't worry, Ethan! I'll talk to Ms. Hanover at once," Ruth declared, watching anxiously as the police officers led Ethan away. "I'll ask her to negotiate with the Lakeworths!"

As he was being escorted out of the bar, Ethan spotted Clement lounging beside his Bugatti Veyron, watching him with a smug smile.

"Clement! You're despicable! You're absolutely shameless!" Ethan roared, his expression twisted in anger. "If you've got any balls, you'd call your men over, and we'd fight fair and square!"

Having only arrived in Grusoire not too long ago, Ethan hadn't had a chance to build up a network of connections in the city. His only trump card was his formidable strength.

After letting out a derisive scoff, Clement looked at Violet and said, "See, Captain Shaw? With that attitude of his, he doesn't seem like a peaceful, law-abiding citizen at all. You'll need to enforce the law properly and seek justice on my behalf."

"Get in the car, Ethan," Violet instructed, her eyes flashing with disdain.

Even a prominent scion like Clement was being so courteous and respectful. What gave Ethan, a mere bodyguard, the confidence to be this arrogant?

Well, Violet didn't know that such arrogance was par for the course when it came to these sorts of genius protagonists who were coming out of seclusion and looking to make a name for themselves in the city.

Why wouldn't Ethan be cocky when he possessed such invincible strength?

"What a loyal minion you are, helping that vermin!" Ethan snarled, believing that Violet and Clement were birds of a feather.

"Move," Violet demanded as she shot Ethan a furious glare.

She was trying to help him, but he couldn't even see that!

"You have affected Ethan Hunter's state of mind and disrupted his relationship with Violet Shaw. A minor alteration in the designated plot trajectory detected. You have gained 3 luck points and 2,000 villain points."

"Whoa! That much?"

Clement's eyes lit up when he heard the system's announcement. Who would've thought that causing a disruption in Ethan's relationship with Violet would earn him this many villain points?

It seemed that separating the leads and earning the Chosen One's hatred was a shortcut to earning villain points.

Ethan was basically Clement's source for villain points! He made a mental note to pop up in front of Ethan and farm some villain points whenever the opportunity came along.

"What now, Clem?"

Royce was completely stupefied by Clement's unusual move. Looking rather clueless, he asked Clement, "Shall I have a few death row inmates sent to the holding cell and have Ethan…" He made a throat-cutting gesture.

"Nope. Definitely not," Clement replied, quick to stop Royce from proceeding with his foolish idea. "Don't do anything stupid and cause trouble for me."

He knew that if such an arrangement was made, Ethan would easily deal with those criminals. Moreover, the favorable impression Violet had of him, which he worked so hard to earn, would vanish without a trace.

Clement wasn't going to do something that silly.

I'll be making my own arrangements for this," he declared with a smile. "Remember what I said earlier. We're peaceful, law-abiding citizens. Everything will be handled in accordance with the law."

Meanwhile, Ruth walked up to Clement and introduced herself, saying, "Mr. Lakeworth, my name is Ruth Camden. I'm the secretary to the CEO of Celestia Pharmaceuticals."

She didn't expect him to do something as unexpected as calling the police, either.

"Oh. Hi, Ms. Camden. Did you need something?"

After learning that she was a secretary, Clement immediately figured out that she was possibly one of the female supporting characters. She had most likely been won over by Ethan already and had a close relationship with him.

It was extremely unlikely for him to be able to throw a wrench into her relationship with Ethan. Therefore, being the villain, Clement couldn't even be bothered to fake any sort of pleasantries. He glanced at Ruth and said, "Cut to the chase, Ms. Camden."

"This was all just a misunderstanding, Mr. Lakeworth. Please don't hold it against Ethan."

Ruth, who'd been hit on by Clement while she was dancing in the bar, had to put up with the aggrievedness she felt. She looked at Clement, saying, "I apologize to you on Clement's behalf."

"Do you think an apology from you is enough for me to forgive him for his disrespect? Will that instantly heal my men's injuries?" Clement sneered condescendingly. "You think too highly of yourself."

"What do you want, then?" Ruth asked, her expression grim.

She wondered if Clement wanted to force her into offering herself up to him.

"I only have a simple request."

Clement looked up at the stormy sky. The almighty power of fate and censorship was far too terrifying.

As soon as he got the idea to coerce Ruth into sleeping with him, he shuddered involuntarily. He now knew that it wasn't just the female protagonists he couldn't use force against. It included the female supporting characters as well.

Even though he couldn't use force, being a villain, Clement still grabbed Ruth by the jaw and said, "What I want, babe, is…"