A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 103

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 103
Sezare continued speaking without dropping his smile.
“It just so happened I saw the 5th Guard Commander, who had recently retired and fallen into despair, so I thought I’d make the connection.”
“Then that invitation….”
“I merely suggested it. Accepting the invitation was your choice, Young Man.”
“….”
“It must have been quite a meaningful visit for you, wasn’t it?”
“….”
It felt as though I had been caught in some scheme of Sezare’s, yet I couldn’t quite voice a complaint. After all, going to the Kartro Estate had been my own choice. And seeing that young man who dreamed of joining the Guard had made me reflect on my own original aspirations as well….
I couldn’t bring myself to ask Sezare something like ‘why did you go so far as to send me there?’ After all, it was wrapped in good intentions.
“Commander Loyte of the 1st Guard has returned, hasn’t he?”
Sezare spoke while sipping his tea with elegant grace.
“You should consider returning as well. The Guard won’t be the same as it was before.”
“It could return to how it was. After all, as long as there’s someone above me.”
Nix was someone directly appointed by Hitten anyway. It was a position where someone else of Hitten’s choosing could be inserted at any moment. I was pointing out that very fact, but Sezare didn’t demand any detailed explanation about it.
“Well.”
He simply responded in a languid yet gentle tone.
“Then take your time and observe carefully. In any case, the Guard does need someone like you.”
There was something subtly superior in his tone. I felt a surge of irritation but held it back. This wasn’t what I had originally intended to say.
“…In any case, the movements of the Levin Domain seemed quite systematic. As if they were about to launch an offensive soon.”
“Is that so? I should have someone look into it.”
“….”
“Since it’s the opinion of a capable person.”
Sezare smoothly brushed aside my words with a response that was neither affirmation nor denial. I eventually gave up on further questioning. After all, I was hardly in a position to press the matter.
“And secondly….”
Feeling a subtle pressure, I swallowed dryly before speaking.
“Since the two of you aren’t truly in a romantic relationship, I’m thinking of trying to get closer to the Princess.”
“Hmm.”
Sezare set down his teacup with elegant grace. Then he gazed quietly into my eyes and asked.
“Why are you telling me this in particular?”
“…It just seemed like I should. It appears you’re fond of the Princess as well, after all.”
At my words, Sezare let out a low laugh. It was a laugh that seemed genuinely delighted. I added as if making an excuse.
“Even spending just a short time together, one could tell.”
“That’s true. Such things are hard to hide. In fact, I don’t even want to.”
“In any case, since it’s a contractual romance, it will naturally come to an end. Then there will inevitably come a time when Lady Kiana has no lover, and so I’m telling you this straightforwardly in my own way….”
Sezare rested his chin on his hand as if finding it interesting. Then, smiling slightly, he cut off my words.
“Is that how you’re handling this situation?”
“Pardon?”
“A person with righteous thinking acts that way. Well, even I from my past would probably have acted the same.”
“Uh… well….”
“And fair and square at that… I feel quite ashamed, actually.”
“…Yes?”
“It makes me look like garbage for sending the Young Man outside the Capital.”
Avian’s mouth fell slightly open. This was something he had deliberately avoided mentioning earlier, yet it came from Sezare’s lips.
“About the Baron of Kartro and that charming Young Man….”
He spoke slowly, drawing out his words.
“I connected you two with good intentions.”
“….”
“It seemed like the Young Man Avian had an interest in Lady Kiana. I found that fact difficult to bear.”
“What, what are you saying?”
“If I left it alone, you’d keep showing off in front of the Princess. I didn’t have any official grounds to stop it.”
“Wait, then….”
“Do you like the new Town House?”
At Sezare’s leisurely question, Avian’s face went pale.
Then that Incense Merchant who suddenly appeared and destroyed the Drawing Room, ultimately making it impossible to invite Kiana… Now that he thought about it, he had spent an excessive amount of money renovating the entire house.
“The Ducal Family’s Town House should be of that standard. I’ve wanted to renovate it for some time anyway.”
“Y, you….”
“Shall I offer some advice?”
Sezare smiled faintly and met Avian’s eyes. In that moment, Avian found himself unable to speak. Those golden eyes, alight with laughter, were sharp as a predator’s.
“I once had the experience of being robbed of what was mine while acting fairly and gently.”
He spoke in a kind tone.
“But now, someone more precious than that has appeared to me.”
Avian felt a chill run down his spine. Pressed down by the oppressive aura, he still could not speak.
‘…An aura?’
Kiana had definitely said this man couldn’t use his body….
Wait, what would Kiana know about this man? Right now, I’m not even sure if this person is the same man who was fidgeting beside Kiana, saying he’d squeeze lemon juice on him.
“I can do anything to keep that person from being taken from me. Even if it’s excessively despicable.”
“….”
“I know you’re a good person. That’s what irritates me more.”
“What do you mean by….”
“As for the end of our contractual relationship… well.”
Sezare’s eyes smiled wickedly.
“There will be no circumstance where I leave the position of Lady Kiana’s lover vacant. So you shouldn’t hold any expectations.”
Though he spoke as if offering friendly advice, it was nearly a threat.
That was when Kiana returned from the restroom.
Sezare completely withdrew the languid killing intent he had shown Avian. Only then did Avian realize that the oppressive aura he had felt truly originated from an aura.
But if Sezare was an aura user, then the military strength of the Levin Domain was far more powerful than anticipated? As Avian’s thoughts grew complicated, Sezare spoke warmly.
“You’ve arrived, Princess.”
Then he smiled, his eyes crinkling affectionately.
“The tea must have gone cold. I’ll have some fresh water brought.”
“Just drink it as is, I suppose….”
“As is? Cold tea loses its flavor. Please wait. I’ll brew it fresh for you myself.”
That obsequious attendant demeanor again. Avian swallowed hard and studied Sezare carefully.
‘That man is dangerous in every way. And Lady Kiana doesn’t even know much about him.’
And the more uneasy Sezare made him feel, the more Avian found himself unable to abandon his concern for Kiana. It felt like facing some great villain, but precisely because of that, Avian believed he could never give up on Kiana.
* * *
That night.
The Countess of Alcyone sat alone in thought in the garden of the Countess’s Manor.
“Sigh…. Must I really follow the words of that fake princess?”
The Countess of Alcyone, quick to assess situations, had realized that Kiana was far more cunning than Dolores. The way she wove together various incidents and orchestrated them to her advantage was both vicious and exquisite.
“She’s the type I absolutely don’t want to make an enemy of, but….”
The Countess of Alcyone fell into deep thought.
“…Is switching sides now the right move… There might be more I can extract….”
Kiana had presented certain terms as compensation. But both the Countess of Alcyone and Kiana knew this well: since their relationship was not based on trust, negotiations could be reopened at any time. If the Countess of Alcyone demanded something more, Kiana would concede a bit further. The question was how far this battle of wills would go….
In that moment, the Countess of Alcyone’s hair was sliced clean off with a whoosh.
“Ahhh! What?! What is this!”
Simultaneously, a dagger embedded itself in a nearby tree. Someone had thrown the dagger and cut her hair. It felt unreal. Her skin crawled, and if she had tilted her head back even slightly, she would have been dead.
As she jumped up in shock, a man emerged from the darkness, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.
“Y-you….”
This was inside the Countess’s Manor.
The Countess of Alcyone felt her head spinning. She had screamed, yet not a single servant came, and an outsider had walked in so casually in the dead of night?
“I hadn’t intended to go this far.”
While the Countess of Alcyone trembled, her neatly severed short hair quivering, the uninvited guest spoke in a languid tone.
“I got a bit angry at the mention of a fake princess.”
Sezare tilted his head slightly as he spoke.
“I got so angry I made a mistake?”

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