A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 115

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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 115
“Your Highness, Crown Prince.”
It was I who broke the silence that had settled between us once more.
“Did you perhaps… like me back then?”
“Pardon?”
“When we were children. Did you really like me back then?”
“…Are you truly asking me such a thing here and now, Princess?”
“Why not? Besides, back then I was nothing but a hopeless little villainess in the making, so why on earth would you?”
The Crown Prince chuckled softly. Then, tightening his grip on the arm supporting me, he spoke gently.
“Well, I did like you regardless.”
I blinked slowly.
“Even after displaying such shameful behavior in front of Melissa and Lord Rodrigo?”
“Each time you seemed unhappy, which troubled me, but I still liked you.”
“…You said you only just realized I had my summoned creature taken. So all this time, you must have thought I wasn’t of Prelai blood either, didn’t you?”
“To be honest, I did consider that possibility. But regardless of such things, I still liked you.”
I found myself at a loss for words. Before such unwavering devotion, my body could only tremble faintly.
“I’ve spent a very long time pondering why I liked you so much, Princess.”
The Crown Prince’s intonation was so artificial that I couldn’t quite discern his true feelings. Yet his characteristic refined speech, measured pace, and precise pronunciation clung to my ears.
“Back then, I was a most useful young man. I trust you understand the reason without my explaining it.”
Ah, so one could describe ‘the perfect heir to all things’ as ‘useful’… My heart ached thinking of how much darkness that bright, cheerful boy must have endured to speak of himself in such terms.
“Everyone flocked to me because of that, but there was a girl who showed no interest in me whatsoever, too absorbed in pursuing something utterly useless.”
Useless?
“The principles of the Clock Tower and such things.”
Well… I had pursued that knowledge purely out of genuine curiosity, not for any ulterior purpose.
“I didn’t think deeply about it then, but it seems I was instinctively drawn to that aspect of you.”
I buried my face against his broad back. The forest path shrouded in pale mist felt like a dream.
“You are someone capable of loving even useless things purely and sincerely.”
My heart pounded fiercely.
This man had discovered in me a virtue I myself hadn’t known existed, hidden beneath my brilliant misdeeds and cruelty in childhood. The realization that someone had recognized my light even during that period I’d wanted to erase from my life struck me strangely, bringing an ache to my chest.
“Don’t burden yourself with this—it’s not a confession.”
“What?”
“You are the last remaining dream of my childhood. You are the light of my youth that I cannot discard no matter how hard I try.”
His tone was strangely monotonous and detached, making his emotions unreadable, yet somehow that made my heart flutter all the more.
“That boy always harbored a confession he dreamed of making. When I find my place and face you once more as Crown Prince and Princess, I shall fulfill that boy’s pure devotion.”
I didn’t know what to say. And in moments like these, silence was the safest path. So I held my tongue, refraining from debating the ‘definition of the utility of learning’ that circled in my mind.
After that, we arrived before the Nepel Monument in silence.
“Then, Princess.”
The Crown Prince turned back with proper courtesy as the mist grew noticeably thinner.
“Should the opportunity arise, I shall see you again next time.”
I spoke to his back, already receding into the distance.
“…I have a favor to ask.”
Though the distance was considerable, I thought he would be able to hear me well enough.
“Don’t go to Arun. I’ll handle that place. Do you understand?”
The autumn hunting tournament. According to the original story, after this tournament ends, Sezare disappears from the Capital.
Since Melissa shows no interest in Sezare, there’s no further mention of him, but he never returns to the Capital afterward. When some time passes and Prelai is accused of treason, Sezare is nowhere to be found, and the Crown Prince shows no movement either.
Back then, I couldn’t believe those words, but now….
He wouldn’t have left me standing before my execution by hanging. I felt that conviction vaguely but surely. So it was clear that something had happened after he left the Capital around this time.
“If Your Highness goes to Arun, I fear you will never be able to return to the Capital.”
I don’t know exactly what happened before my regression, but a hypothesis naturally formed. Sezare—no, the Crown Prince—goes to the Arun region to destroy Ortson’s heart but fails and never returns.
So now I shouted once more after his back as he disappeared from my sight.
“Promise me you won’t go to Arun! I’ll resolve that place in a few days! Trust me!”
* * *
Suddenly, the thick fog that had swept through the Spirit Forest headquarters and its western section lifted. Hiton made a fuss about what was happening, but no matter how much he investigated, there was nothing particularly remarkable to find.
“Well, it wasn’t that long a time anyway, and the Spirit Forest always has mist, so perhaps it’s some phenomenon related to that?”
Loyte, who had thoroughly searched the forest, reported coldly.
“Besides, there are no victims to speak of.”
The victims were Hiton and Dolores themselves. They hadn’t even been able to execute the conspiracy they were plotting.
“Still, since everyone was quite startled, perhaps we should conclude the hunting tournament here.”
Hiton also nodded hastily, fearing that thick fog might roll in again. He was terrified that he might become the Crown Prince’s target. No matter how much the knight commander tried to convince him that even a Sword Master couldn’t breach the Imperial Palace’s defenses, he couldn’t relax knowing he couldn’t defeat all these knights.
“Wrap it up, wrap it up! Then the awards….”
That was when Alex appeared at headquarters on the Gray Wolf, laden with a tremendous amount of game.
“…Ah, no… when exactly did he arrive….”
I’d just heard he arrived, but the sheer quantity of beasts was unreasonably absurd. People whispered that even hunting all day long wouldn’t yield that much.
Avian’s jaw dropped at the considerable amount of game Alex had brought.
“I mean, suddenly all these beasts came rushing in. This is my first time seeing something like this.”
Alex said, dusting off his hands.
“I always spend more time searching than actually swinging my sword anyway. They just came rushing in like someone was driving them toward me?”
Without even needing to look at the other hunters’ catches, the victor was clearly Alex.
Avian unconsciously let out a sigh, ha, ha. Loyte whispered with a consoling look, ‘Alex is truly remarkable. So we really didn’t need to compare long and short,’ but Avian was thinking of someone else.
‘Count Levin… just who are you….’
Earlier, when Avian was excited about catching a large stag and possibly winning, Sezare had suddenly appeared before him.
“You seem to be aiming for the wish token, but it would be better not to hold back.”
Avian was genuinely startled. He hadn’t noticed Sezare’s presence at all until he was leaning against a nearby tree.
“I wouldn’t let you win.”
Sezare looked at Avian and smiled with ease. He didn’t even carry a sword, so it seemed he had no intention of hunting, yet he spoke that way.
“I rather like people like you. So I’m giving you this advice. It would be better to abandon futile hopes quickly.”
With that, Sezare said his piece and vanished. Avian couldn’t even see his departing figure, which he found unbelievable.
‘…Then the person who drove the game toward Alex Prelai… could it be Count Levin?’
Avian unconsciously swallowed hard. Just what kind of person was Sezare Levin?
The Prelai family arrived at headquarters later along with the other nobles. It was Scari, Joshua, and Kiana. Sezare said he had urgent business and left first.
“Alex?”
Scari’s eyes trembled as he watched Alex ascend the podium.
“You’re… right now… actually on the podium? Not just slashing and running away? You’re actually following procedure? Really?”
“Ahem.”
Alex wiped the blood splattered across his face while looking at Kiana. Of course, since he was wiping blood that he normally wouldn’t bother with, the sight only became more grotesque.
“Well… I wanted to have a conversation with Kiana…”
At those words, Hou, who had been following Scari, cried out in astonishment.
【No profanity! Unbelievable! He’s become a new person!】
Joshua and Lea were also staring at Alex with expressions as if they might faint at any moment.

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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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