A Runaway Villainess, Now Healing In An Enemy Country - Chapter 56

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Episode 56】

“…Irene!”

Kalian reflexively caught Irene as she collapsed.

Her wrist was far too thin compared to how terrifyingly powerful her magic was. It wasn’t threatening at all. Yet whether it was only in his eyes, the surroundings were in chaos.

“Too close! It’s dangerous!”

“We must kill her immediately, Your Grace!”

Leaving the noise behind, he thought coldly.

Why had Irene suddenly become like this.

No, rather whether it was too late or not yet too late. No. Before all of this, where was Lishie. About ways to reverse the situation…

What? How?

“Hah…”

Black fluid dripped from Irene’s eyes.

He had seen many people turning into Vermin. He had personally dealt with many of them too. He had never thought about their past lives.

He always followed principles and rules.

But this time.

…He absolutely could not do so.

With all thought stopped, he examined her almost instinctively. He could tell without even lifting her clothes.

There was a hole in her heart. It was a wound that would have killed any human instantly. The abnormal regeneration speed of Vermin seemed to barely keep her breathing, but how long would it last?

“…”

Kalian knew it was meaningless, yet he deployed every magic he knew to stop the wound. It didn’t properly heal, and he certainly couldn’t cure it.

After all, with magic…

[It’s regrettable that healing magic doesn’t exist.]

A hallucination he had heard sometime rang like tinnitus.

He agreed with those words to his bones.

Despite being renowned as a combat mage, he was ridiculously devoting his life to healing magic that didn’t even exist.

In truth, wanting to rebuild the Mage Tower and pathologically collecting related materials was all because of that.

He had someone he wanted to save…

“If the second child is a daughter, I want to name her Irene.”

“Is that taken from the first Countess’s name?”

“Yes. She lived the longest in history.”

Why did such old memories surface at this moment?

That’s right. Irene had caused problems even when she was in her mother’s womb. Every time they checked her pulse, she alternated between life and death.

Every physician who examined her predicted she would be stillborn, or even if somehow born, wouldn’t live long.

But Irene was born alive and was healthy enough to run while holding a sword. Kalian had once been grateful to God for that fact.

…Had he?

He couldn’t be certain of his own memories and emotions.

In fact, regarding Irene, it had been that way for a very long time.

From when that child was born, when his companion who suffered furnace-like high fever left one dying wish and closed her eyes.

“You’ll love her for my share too, won’t you.”

Kalian had sworn he would, but for some reason, from the moment he faced Irene, he became unable to keep that promise.

Those who haven’t experienced it wouldn’t know.

The sensation that his entire heart, mind, and every cell in his body seemed to violently reject that child.

“…Your Grace!”

Swoosh!

Lost in thought, Kalian suddenly lost hold of Irene due to rough hands. A scar crossing the right eye. It was that knight from before.

She raised her voice regardless of rank.

“Please come to your senses! You were almost bitten!”

Those words were correct.

The current Irene had no reason. And the instinct of Vermin was always slaughter and predation.

Without realizing it, Kalian had been on the verge of having his hand torn by Irene’s teeth. But such a thing didn’t matter at all.

“…Don’t interfere.”

Crash!

Once again, lightning made of magic struck down.

Raw curses without even pretense were heard, but he ignored them and approached the fallen Irene.

He could save her. If just a little more time was given, if a miracle like the hunting competition two years ago came.

He made uncharacteristically hopeful assumptions and deployed magic as gently as possible.

He would restrain her like this, move her to the Grand Temple, and somehow use holy power. Just as he finished this irrational decision.

Whoosh―!

A blade thrown hastily from somewhere pierced Irene’s chest.

Everyone gathered here failed to notice that presence. After a moment passed, black blood gushed from her.

“…Ugh.”

And with that death rattle, her breath stopped.

Her blackened fingertips brushed against Kalian. They were cold. It wasn’t just about that sensation.

He froze like someone with a blade pressed to his heart.

In his mind, which shook violently as if meeting a storm, as if his heart was being torn, Irene’s voice played.

More resolute than ever…

“It’s too late.”

No.

Not knowing what shouldn’t be, he thought suddenly. A loud tinnitus pierced his eardrums like an awl as if it had been waiting.

And…

A sensation of being freed from invisible chains that had dominated his thoughts. A sensation as if the world was turning upside down overwhelmed him.

Suddenly, along with rain pouring from the sky.

* * *

“Please reconsider, Your Highness!”

Rain suddenly fell though it wasn’t the season.

Unpleasantly soaked by it, Chessier stared at the white group that dared to block his path.

They were the priests who had recited long, pedantic blessings at this engagement ceremony. They stood straight without being intimidated by the Prince’s sharp momentum and shouted.

“The Countess has disappeared. You cannot respond so carelessly!”

“Please declare a state of war!”

For mere priests to approach the Empire’s Prince without even pretending to bow.

“…God’s reputation is certainly high.”

Chessier didn’t bother to hide his raging bloodlust as he muttered ominously.

Though feeling fear and pressure from the well-trained knight’s aura, not a single one of the priests blocking his path retreated.

“The Countess’s safety is directly the Empire’s safety.”

It certainly wasn’t wrong.

Whether Lishie was mad or sane, beautiful or ugly, good or evil, regardless of all those factors, as long as she was the Countess, her safety was directly connected to the Empire.

And he was a Prince born and raised as the Empire’s leader, so it would be right for him to be desperately searching for the missing Countess.

However, he wasn’t really considering anything regarding Lishie. Because all his thoughts led back to Irene.

“By His Majesty’s command, the Citadel blockade order has been issued, and even at this moment, we’re searching for the Countess like hunting lice. What more is lacking?”

“But Your Highness!”

“The Citadel is already in chaos. Declaring a state of war would only unnecessarily increase the people’s anxiety.”

He continued speaking as he coldly surveyed the assembled crowd.

“And… if the Countess’s disappearance becomes widely known to the public, the Temple will suffer the greatest damage.”

Since this was true, all the clerics who had been petitioning the Prince shut their mouths like clams.

That was precisely their dilemma.

The Temple’s honor, which had fallen over the past hundred years, had surged dramatically with Lishie’s appearance.

All the wealth, rights, and benefits that the clerics currently enjoyed came from divinity. So if the Countess disappeared, all of that would turn to nothing.

The Countess had to be found, but they couldn’t announce her disappearance on a large scale. Their leader, the High Priest, was the type who would rather hide the Countess’s absence than lose his wealth.

“We just need to properly capture Irene Baltres alive, Your Highness. It’s absurd to say we can’t inflict a single wound when catching such a criminal.”

A male cleric who looked older than his actual age due to his mustache spoke with feigned solemnity.

“Capturing is more difficult than killing, and ensuring no injuries is nearly impossible. Surely you know this well.”

Yes, I know.

But Irene must not be harmed.

He didn’t know exactly what incident had led to this conclusion or what emotions were behind it. In the end, Chessier made a counterargument for the sake of arguing.

“That Irene is involved in Lishie’s disappearance is ultimately based only on circumstantial evidence.”

“Your Highness!”

A knight’s heavy voice abruptly cut off his words.

For some reason, an ominous premonition struck him at that moment.

He was seized by an impulse to silence the knight. However, the loyal knight’s report came faster.

“Urgent news from the West Gate Station. Irene Baltres has turned into vermin and been killed!”

Those words sounded more like fragmented pieces than a sentence, failing to register properly. Therefore, it took a long time for him to understand the report.

“…I can’t believe it.”

“How should we proceed with the search for the Countess—”

“I need to confirm it with my own eyes.”

With those words, Chessier began walking. Without even realizing he was running.

* * *

Moments of choice always come.

To move forward, one must make choices whether they like it or not, and it’s wise not to look back at the abandoned options.

So I tried to look only ahead as much as possible. More precisely, I was trying to do so. Looking back would bring regret, however small.

But.

Thump, thump-thump.

Just now, my heart was still beating irregularly because of that series of events.

‘That was dangerous.’

…Not for me, but for the Duke.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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