A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 130

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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 130
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The attack on Enoch came as quite a shock to Hitten as well. Though the kingdom was crumbling, Enoch was still a king. Yet someone had breached his guard and struck him down.
“But we still have the dark magic left, don’t we?”
Dolores brushed Hitten’s shoulder soothingly, reassuring her son that everything would be fine.
“If Edmund returns, we can simply use it again. This time, let’s make sure he consumes the full dose in one sitting.”
“But how are we supposed to cover the shortage of gold right now…?”
The dark magic circle drawn on the scroll only responds to gold. And gold was the currency of the Empire. In the end, it meant they needed money.
But now the House of Purbis no longer provided political funds, Loyte had returned to the Guards making it difficult to receive dirty money from criminal organizations, and the club house had closed. Of course, money was still coming from other sources, but it was far from sufficient.
“At this point, there’s only one way.”
Dolores spoke firmly, her eyes gleaming.
“Raise the taxes. Nothing generates money quite like collecting from the masses.”
“But we need justification…”
“Justification can be created.”
Hitten’s expression hardened. There was only one justification for suddenly raising taxes significantly. War.
“Let’s announce that Enoch stole military secrets from the state. Besides, Enoch can’t speak right now anyway, can he?”
Dolores laughed wickedly as she spoke.
“Say we’re planning an all-out war with the Solar Kingdom.”
Hitten nodded slowly.
Taxes for war preparations were perfect for sudden collection. After all, no one believed they would lose a war against the Solar Kingdom. The kingdom had been crumbling ever since Enoch took power anyway. The Empress’s position would become somewhat awkward, but Hitten had no reason to consider such things.
“Excellent, Mother.”
Hitten smiled and clapped his hands.
“I’ll issue tax collection notices to the nobility first.”
“Of course, they’ll make a fuss at the noble assembly about these sudden taxes. But once we’ve collected the money, we can convince them at the assembly by promising greater compensation after our victory.”
Neither Hitten nor Dolores actually intended to wage war. They would simply collect the money under the pretense of war preparations, then postpone the actual war by using the Empress as an excuse. And the Empress would bear the blame anyway.
“I wonder if Kiana Prelai will attend that assembly too.”
Dolores clicked her tongue in displeasure.
“I don’t want to see that girl ruin our plans again.”
“You seem to have a particular dislike for that Princess, Mother.”
Hitten shrugged as he replied.
“I heard the entire Prelai family has gone to their northern territories. Even if she wanted to interfere with our plans, she won’t be able to. The distance is simply too great.”
“Is that so? I wonder why they went there all of a sudden?”
Dolores rested her chin on her hand indifferently.
“Anyway, I heard there’s a terrible cold snap hitting the north due to the worst weather anomaly… I hope Hyde Prelai never returns.”
Hyde Prelai. The most perfect man she had ever seen, like a textbook example.
He was neat, proper, sensible in all matters, gentle and righteous—the heir to House Prelai. And he was also Dolores’s first love, though that was long since ruined.
“You seem to have a particular dislike for that Princess, Mother.”
That was only natural. Kiana looked exactly like Enes in her youth. Dolores despised how Enes, despite being nothing but an orphan, received Hyde’s love and lived happily in House Prelai.
Though she was called Empress, she and the Emperor didn’t even love each other, and her son wasn’t even legitimate. Dolores hated seeing Enes happier than herself. Perhaps all of this had begun because of her feelings toward them.
Seventeen years ago, Roki, Hyde’s younger brother, had come to Dolores with three scrolls capable of unleashing dark magic.
“I want to give Melissa a Summoned Beast. I heard she has a nephew the same age as Melissa. If we take that child’s Summoned Beast, it should work.”
Roki told him to use the remaining two cards to place Hitten on the throne. In any case, he had found the only person who needed Ortson’s heart. At that moment, Dolores added one more condition.
“I want to get rid of Enes, and I need your cooperation with that. Ah, should we make it look like an affair? Then your daughter won’t come under suspicion either.”
Roki looked at Dolores with eyes that said she was truly vicious, but he didn’t oppose the plan.
“Everyone will think Enes’s daughter isn’t a true Prelai anyway. If you really care about your daughter, you should lay that kind of groundwork, shouldn’t you? It would be troublesome if your daughter came under suspicion, wouldn’t it?”
Dolores looked at Roki with a soothing smile and laughed.
“You said your daughter was on your mind as you were dying, right? Don’t worry too much. I’ll take good care of that child. With a Summoned Beast, she’s a proper Princess of Prelai equivalent to a direct descendant, isn’t she? She’s the same age as our Hitten, so if their hearts align, I wouldn’t mind matching them.”
Of course, that was naturally a lie. Internally, she was thinking, ‘How insane, to match a lowborn child with maid’s blood mixed in as Hitten’s partner….’ But in any case, Roki didn’t hesitate and agreed to follow Dolores’s plan.
And with Roki’s help, Dolores discovered the secret passages of the Duke Prelai’s residence. After that, she called Enes over as if they were close and forced her to write a note. The plan was to place it in bed tonight and play a prank to surprise her husband.
And to the reluctant Enes, she said, ‘That’s enough, you don’t want to do it? I’ll just leave it. I’ll dispose of it,’ and threw it in the trash right there.
Dolores smiled faintly and rested her chin on her hand.
Roki, her only collaborator, was living on borrowed time even then. In other words, all the power of dark magic was in her hands.
‘After that, there was no contact, probably? He must have died quietly somewhere.’
Enes was dead, and her children were just fighting like dogs. Instead, her own son would rise to the highest place in the Empire.
‘After all, I’m the final victor.’
Dolores smiled wickedly as she thought this.
‘Hyde, because you didn’t choose me… not only your daughter who resembles Enes, but all of Prelai will be thoroughly ruined.’
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The Prelai territory was located at the northernmost part of the continent. This was because the founding patriarch Elika Prelai had publicly declared, ‘I will eternally protect the Empire’s furthest frontier.’
“Wow… the scale….”
And the Prelai Castle standing firmly in the Prelai territory was truly magnificent. The Duke’s residence in the capital was also antique and grand in scale, but it was incomparable to this. The massive castle harmonizing with the vast mountain range was enough to make my jaw drop.
Joshua, visiting for the first time as well, seemed somewhat dazed. By size alone, it was even larger than the Imperial Palace, and the castle walls were dizzyingly high.
“Ahahahahaha! Kiki! My Kiki has arrived! Ahahahahaha!”
And Julius stood tall in that enormous castle and welcomed us very warmly.
“Are you cold? Ahahaha! It’s a bit cold here! That’s why I made something like this myself!”
Julius placed a massive rabbit fur ear muff on my head, saying he had hunted it himself.
【Wow. The ear muff is bigger than my face.】
It was so large that even Lea was amazed. It was so warm that I could barely hear anything.
“Your room is this way, Kiki. I’ve already decorated it to suit your taste.”
Or rather, to be precise, he only welcomed me. Julius spoke dismissively to Joshua and Grandfather.
“You two just squeeze in and sleep in any empty room. There are plenty of rooms.”
Of course, Grandfather didn’t back down either.
“Where is Julius’s room in this place? I heard two beasts live there? If that’s the case, I can consider it an empty room and sleep there.”
Hmm. From what I could see, the discord in Prelai wasn’t just a problem of our generation.
Julius even openly revealed the reason for his favoritism toward me, saying, ‘Our Kiki resembles Enes, so doesn’t she look completely different from those irritating Prelai people from the start!’ He hadn’t been able to say it so openly before, but now that he could speak honestly, he seemed very relieved.

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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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