Reborn As The Minor Villain In A Romance Fantasy Novel

Chapter 260: Photoshoot

"So not only did you fail to get the Reaper’s Scythe... but you also failed to get items for yourself?" The Clan Head, who was the same Blazer that had been talked about in the auction, sat behind an ornate mahogany desk while his fingers were steepled together in clear disappointment.

Opposite him were two of his many children... the Heroine and the Feuerklinge heir. Without their masks, they looked striking, especially the girl with her crimson hair cascading down her shoulders like liquid fire.

"It was all his fault, Clan Head." She immediately got to blaming her brother. "He wanted to reserve the money for something special... and then tried to buy the pup that we gave the auction."

The Clan Head gave him a look... one with pure annoyance radiating from his eyes like heat from flames.

"You really tried to buy that defective thing...?" The Clan Head asked, his tone dropping to something dangerously low. "Did you forget why we decided to sell one of Armageddon’s children out in the first place? It’s sick and will never reach the potential that Armageddon has. Why would you try to buy such a defective thing? With your sister’s allowance no less?"

The brother shifted uncomfortably in his seat, clearly regretting his decisions. "I thought... our enemies would—"

"You thought wrong." The Clan Head said as he placed both hands on the table with a heavy thud that made both children flinch. "Any person with a right mind... and is an enemy of our clan would know that it is defective and abstain from buying it, so in the end it was a dumb prediction."

He leaned back in his chair, the leather creaking under his weight.

"I’d rather you would have shown that confidence during the bid for the Scythe, but then again, I can’t blame you." He admitted with a heavy sigh. "50 billion is a very steep price... especially for a weapon that takes so much to power up properly. But then again, we must negotiate with whoever bought it. I will find the buyer myself and see if we can arrange something."

He waved his hand dismissively.

"For now, you are dismissed. Both of you."

The two stood up simultaneously and left the room shortly after, stepping out into the hallways where several maids were waiting attentively, their heads bowed in respect.

"You dumb woman..." Her brother muttered while walking in front of her, his footsteps echoing against the marble floors before he disappeared around a corner and out of sight completely.

She exhaled deeply, releasing all the tension that had been building in her chest.

It was hard being the only daughter among three self-serving pieces of trash who constantly tried to undermine her position in the clan hierarchy.

She took out her phone and saw that her Stitch had a shit ton of notifications lighting up the screen.

’What the...?’ She thought with confusion as she opened her Stitch post.

She immediately looked at the post that she had made of herself and the masked man, and it had blown up with about ten million likes already.

’Huh?’ She blinked repeatedly and looked in the comment section, her eyes widening with every scroll.

[Omg Baby... you took a pic with Lucius 🙂‍↔️ (200k❤️)]

[How did he smell... Good as usual? (198k❤️)]

[If I met Lucius in real life, I wouldn’t let him out of my sights tbh 😖💕(197k❤️)]

[Girl you’re so lucky I’m literally crying rn (195k❤️)]

[THE WAY HE’S LOOKING AT THE CAMERA THO (193k❤️)]

[I would have asked for an autograph immediately (191k❤️)]

[Why does he look even better in person??? (189k❤️)]

[Please tell me you got his number (187k❤️)]

Everything was talking about Lucius... which made her wonder where that connection had even come from.

She had taken a picture with a masked man and posted it casually, but regardless of her confusion, she decided to check out Lucius’s main page to understand what was happening.

And there it was, clear as day.

He had taken a picture in front of that same golden door with his mask off by half, revealing just enough of his perfect features to drive people absolutely insane.

He looked hot... devastatingly so, and she twitched as she stood frozen in the hallway, her cheeks flushing pink with sudden realization.

The post already had like 68 million likes and apparently it was posted about twenty minutes ago.

’Are there people spawn camping his account?’ She couldn’t help but think, absolutely bewildered by the numbers.

The masked Number 2 had told her that he was a bit popular on Stitch... not that he was outright Lucius von Hohenberg, one of the most famous people in the entire world.

’I can’t believe I actually met Lucius in real life.’ She thought, her heart racing as she stared at the image on her screen. ’And I was sitting right next behind him... for a while. We were in the same auction room, breathing the same air.’

Then she decided to walk off to her room but she had to glance at the screen once more just for confirmation.

’He really is as handsome as they say.’ She thought before finally putting the device away for good.

...

Lucius stretched as he sat on the bed in his hotel room, completely shirtless and watching some reels on Stitch.

There were really funny ones there that kept appearing on his feed, making him chuckle occasionally at the creative content people were producing.

Then he suddenly got an idea that sparked in his mind.

"I remember Rita talking about some thirst trap edits." Lucius muttered under his breath as he searched them up on Stitch, and the top one had 30 million likes sitting right at the number one position with a thumbnail that immediately caught his attention.

And he decided to play it out of pure curiosity.

’It would be nice to see edits of myself.’ He thought as he tapped it, genuinely interested in what people were creating with his limited public content. ’Let’s see what the internet has been cooking up.’

The edit started with a beautiful song playing over the speakers, something dramatic and intense that immediately set the mood.

It opened with a very handsome man with brown hair in locks sitting on a chair and talking at the camera with perfect lighting and composition.

Lucius looked at the man’s face and it was obvious that genetics were carrying him hard... he looked absolutely perfect with chiseled features and striking eyes that could make anyone stop scrolling.

The man’s video continued for about five seconds, showing him smiling confidently at the camera while the music built up tension.

Then there was a "MOGGED" text flashing dramatically over the screen in bold letters as the music dropped hard, and several clips of Lucius came in, completely overtaking the previous person in every conceivable way.

There was a scene from the time he was modeling professionally, his face perfectly sculpted by studio lighting as he stared intensely at the camera.

Another clip showed him from the time when he was in the dungeon looking effortlessly powerful, covered in monster blood but somehow still looking devastatingly attractive.

Then there was a candid shot of him at some event, his jawline cutting through the frame like a weapon.

Each clip transitioned smoothly into the next, perfectly timed with the music drops and builds.

He was debatably far more handsome than the first guy, and the comments section seemed to unanimously agree with that assessment without a single dissenting voice.

[The way this isn’t even a fair comparison 💀 (50k❤️)]

[Lucius really just exists on a different level (48k❤️)]

[That first guy is handsome but Lucius is literally unfair (47k❤️)]

[Genetics really said "let’s go crazy with this one" (45k❤️)]

He immediately reposted it to his own page and looked at the caption that the creator had written with obvious frustration.

[Wish he had a lot more clips... imagine the edits we could make 😭 This is already fire but we’re working with scraps tbh]

’So I’m the one nerfing my own edits, huh?’ Lucius thought with genuine amusement, a smile playing on his lips.

If they had more clips to work with... then he would get far better edits circulating around social media. ’I understand what to do now. I need to give them more content to work with.’

He left a comment then returned back to watching reels and scrolling mindlessly through his feed.

’But I’ll take action tomorrow... I’m too lazy now.’ He decided, setting his phone down beside him on the luxurious hotel sheets. ’Besides, I should probably eat something first.’

Just then the door cracked open slowly and Lilliane stepped in, her fox ears twitching adorably and her fox tail swishing behind her as she held some food in her hands on a covered tray.

"Master... good evening." Lilliane said softly, closing the door behind her with her tail in an impressive display of dexterity, and standing right beside his bed with perfect posture. "I have been assigned to give you food by Lady Selene."

She held up the covered plate, and the smell of freshly cooked pasta wafted through the room.

"May I sit down and feed you...?" She asked with hopeful eyes, her tail swishing back and forth in anticipation.

Lucius didn’t reply immediately, but he patted the bed beside him in clear invitation, shifting slightly to make room for her.

She sat down gracefully, careful not to spill anything, and removed the cover to reveal that it was just a bowl of perfectly cooked spaghetti that she began rounding up carefully with the fork.

Then he reached out and touched her tail without warning, making her yelp audibly in surprise, nearly dropping the fork.

"Master~ I’m sensitive there and my ears..." She said as her cheeks turned bright red, her tail twitching involuntarily in his grip.

He was holding her tail and stroking it gently, even pulling on it in a way that sent shivers up her spine... it made her heart thump nervously in her chest. "Please be gentle..."

"I never imagined this is how soft a tail would be." He pressed it experimentally and his hand practically sank into the luxurious fur, making Lilliane bite back a moan that threatened to escape her lips.

The way he was stimulating it... it made her insides feel uncomfortably wet and warm and her breathing became slightly ragged. "It’s like touching a cloud. Alright, you can feed me now."

He let go of her tail and it flicked around repeatedly, moving with a life of its own in erratic patterns.

"What does it mean when your tail does that...?" Lucius asked curiously, watching the motion with genuine interest.

She replied as she brought the fork to his mouth, feeding him carefully and making sure not to spill any sauce. "It means I’m happy... very happy, Master."

He accepted the food, chewing thoughtfully while she continued to prepare the next forkful.

"I see." He said after swallowing. "So it’s like a dog wagging its tail when excited?"

"Something like that, yes." She confirmed, twirling more spaghetti onto the fork. "Though we Beastkin have much more control over our tails than regular animals do. We can express more nuanced emotions through the movements."

And just then, the door opened again with Emilia stepping in with a triumphant grin plastered across her face, her blonde hair bouncing as she moved.

"I won this round as well so I’ll be sleeping in your room today~" She announced victoriously, closing the door behind her with a decisive click and locking it for good measure.

She smiled mischievously as she saw Lilliane and Lucius together on the bed, clearly feeding each other in what looked like an intimate moment.

"Let’s do a threesome~~!!!" She declared enthusiastically, already moving toward the bed while pulling off her jacket.

Lilliane’s face turned even redder. "Lady Emilia, please! I’m trying to feed Master properly!"

"You can feed him while I join in." Emilia countered with a wink, climbing onto the bed from the other side. "Efficiency is key~"

Lucius just shook his head with amusement, accepting another forkful of spaghetti from the flustered fox girl.

"No we will not be doing a threesome, you perverted girl."

...

The next morning, all of the girls stood assembled and Lucius stood with them in a real professional photoshoot stage, each of them wearing casual but carefully coordinated nice clothes that complemented each other perfectly without being too matchy-matchy.

Selene had finally gotten her turn to pick where they were going for the day, and this was where she had decided to bring everyone after much deliberation.

A high-end photography studio that celebrities used regularly, complete with professional lighting, multiple backdrop options, and a world-class photographer.

The studio itself was massive with white walls, industrial-style lighting rigs hanging from the ceiling, and various props scattered around for different photoshoot concepts.

There were racks of clothing along one wall in case they wanted to change outfits, and a large monitor displayed the photos in real-time as they were taken.

Lucius was sitting on a designer chair and she was on his lap now, positioned perfectly for the camera with her silver hair draped elegantly over one shoulder.

They were going to take pictures with everybody individually first, and then they would take one big group picture at the end to commemorate the occasion and probably frame it somewhere.

She held him close as he wrapped one hand around her waist possessively, his fingers splayed across the fabric of her dress, and then she smiled brilliantly at the camera with genuine happiness radiating from her expression.

"Cute." He said quietly near her ear, and she blushed at the unexpected compliment, her silver hair shimmering under the professional lighting that made her look almost ethereal.

Just as the man using an ultra-resolution high-standing camera adjusted the lens with practiced precision and pressed the button with perfect timing.

"Aaand... perfect!"

A flash filled the air as the couple was snapped completely onto a beautiful picture that appeared on the screen of the camera in stunning clarity, every detail captured perfectly from the lighting in their eyes to the way their bodies fit together naturally.

"Wonderful picture! Wonderful pose! Wonderful everything!" The photographer exclaimed enthusiastically, reviewing the shot with obvious satisfaction and zooming in to check the details. "The chemistry is absolutely perfect! You two look like you belong on a magazine cover!"

All the girls watching suddenly found something new to compete for... they were going to get the perfect framed photo with Lucius, each determined to outdo the others and claim the spot as having the best picture.