A Regressed Villain: Heroines, Villainesses and Me?

'I don't hear anything.' Standing near the door, Rihane kept looking straight outside the room while ignoring what she heard. As she turned to notice, the CEO of the IT company slowly left the room with a sunken expression.

"Sir Jimphue, what happened?" The director looked towards the exiting CEO of Croceatech, who had informed him about the arrival of the Marquess at the academy. The director tried to inquire about the kind of task he was assigned, but the only thing the director noticed was his lost look and the sweet beads of perspiration and a particular hint of tremble etched on the CEO's face.

"Call the management team for an urgent meeting; it's the Marquess's orders." Ignoring the professors, Jimphue ordered his secretary, who instantly took out her phone before following behind him as both of them quickly left the corridor in a hurry.

"This?" The director and professors, looking toward the disappearing back of Jimphue, felt slightly awkward since he didn't even answer them about what happened, but they were soon consoled by Dr. Freddie, who was standing there. He came forward and added, "He just wants to complete the task as soon as possible; don't mind him."

"O-oh, sir, no, it's understandable." The director, suddenly hearing the words of the CEO of Pharma, glanced towards him as he showed a soft, gentle smile, wearing spectacles as he kept looking in the direction of Jimphue.

"Now send in the Pharma one." Hearing Avendial's voice, Rihane slightly flinched before maintaining her posture, knowing it was her second task. She called out the CEO of the pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Freddie nodded and entered the room, wearing glasses and being a former doctor and a well-respected member of society. However, hearing how the Marquess didn't even call his name to summon him felt slightly awkward.

Though he didn't care about it, upon entering the room, he directly bowed and greeted, "It's my pleasure to be in your presence, Sir Croceaus. Please entrust me with my work."

The man bowed, but he also noticed a hint of the expression on Mr. Jimphue, the CEO of Croceatech—who wore a depressed and horrified look, though he had composed himself, which was not unnoticeable to the keen eyes of the man who had reached this position by crossing over several individuals in his path, even going so far as to have killed many of them.

He was CEO not only because he was competitive and the best but also because he crushed anyone who could have posed a threat to him.

Avendial folded his hands on the desk, his eyes fixed on Freddie. "Mr. Freddie, I need you to start a global health initiative. Something big, something that looks like we're saving the world."

Freddie raised an eyebrow, noticing the subtle hint of calmness and that cold aura which he always noticed in this man. But today it appeared uncaring, "What do you have in mind, Marquess?"

Avendial's voice was steady and sharp. "I want blood samples and DNA from people with the same blood group as me. But here's the key: governments can't know what we're really after. Spin it as research into genetic diseases or pandemic preparedness. Partner with health organizations, offer free health screenings—whatever you need to make it believable."

Freddie blinked, then nodded slowly. "Understood. And the real goal?"

Avendial leaned in, his gaze unflinching. "Family details, personal data. I want everything we can gather on them without raising any suspicion; also keep priorities on those who can be grateful for our hard work. I need people who see everything as a gift from God and us as their apostles."

"I see..." Freddie nodded before placing one hand on his mouth while pondering the motives behind his orders, before lifting his gaze to look toward Avendial, understanding things, "Sir, do you want loyal people who can die for you?"

'?!'

"I-I am sorry, Sir, I didn't—" Freddie stumbled for a moment as his eyes noticed a cold glare from Avendial's blue eyes looking down on him, causing his heart to skip a beat, remembering the expression of the CEO who left before him. He thought that he should have controlled his mouth and only followed the orders of superiors.

"What is your blood group, Freddie?" Avendial calmly inquired while already noticing how Aecilia was looking towards him as if pondering something.

"S-Sir, AB+," Freddie trembled while answering the question since he had just been assigned the task to collect the blood group similar to that of the Marquess. Once he had gotten the chance to learn about the Marquess's blood group because, due to having advanced equipment, his blood samples were sent to the laboratory in city A for some testing, it was found that the Marquess had AB+.

"Congratulations, Dr. Freddie, you are the first chosen one," Avendial said while tilting his head, looking at the man who was smart enough to understand everything just by words. Unlike the previous man, this one was sharp and somewhat decent enough to be considered for giving tasks.

This made Avendial choose him as his first testing subject.

"I-I am honored, Marquess," Freddie trembled as his instincts told him that something was definitely wrong and that he shouldn't have revealed his blood group just now. But giving everything to his luck since it is always great, he just hoped inwardly.

"Huh? I also have the same blood group; then shouldn't I be the chosen one too?" Aecilia arched her brow while her gaze was glued to Avendial, feeling confused since she also had the same blood group and in the whole world, only 4% of the population has the same, so what does it matter to have a common blood group?

".....No, these positions are only for males," Avendial said while shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders, causing Aecilia's mouth to twitch upon hearing him make a clear gender discrimination just because she was a woman. But she remained static and only averted her gaze.

"So, Mr. Freddie, should I consider you one of those loyal people who can die at my command?" Avendial then returned his gaze toward the man before inquiring with a firm voice, wanting to hear something that could be assuring.

"Th-that's, I-I," Freddie felt his composure shattering as he directly felt the pressure and weight of the Marquess's words.

It might appear to be an overstatement, especially since those were merely the words of someone with greater wealth and authority. However, for someone as astute as Freddie, who had also climbed over various people to achieve his status, he understood all too well the implications of dealing with someone capable of turning their words into reality, someone who could easily crush him at any moment.

Right now, he was stuck in his own mind, not understanding if he should just lie and escape this moment or tell the truth and see the consequences, making him clench his jaws as he answered, "N-no, Marquess."

"Hm, good then, bring the grateful men who can die instead of you, given your standards. Let's compensate with 20,000 men; you have six months' time," Avendial watched as he noticed Freddie's eyes trembling, darting nervously in his direction. Even Aecilia cracked one eye open to look at him, clearly surprised by his bold statement.

He had just declared his desire to have 20,000 brainwashed men who were willing to die for him.