A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 138

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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 138
* * *
I gripped Joshua’s dagger tightly. Father shook his head slightly as he looked at me.
“No, how could our Kiki possibly wield a blade with those thin wrists of yours?”
Father clicked his tongue at me as if I were someone who hadn’t eaten in three months and ten days.
“Shouldn’t you eat something first before attempting to break anything?”
Father’s expression grew infinitely wistful.
“Speaking of breakfast, it makes me miss our Alex. That quiet, timid child used to complain about not wanting to eat breakfast, no matter what.”
At the mention of “the quiet and timid Alex,” Joshua’s pupils trembled. According to Grandfather, when Mother was alive, Alex had been docile too. It was an excessively distant past of Alex that everyone except Father had forgotten.
“That fragile child is acting as the family head proxy… I must hurry to the Capital. We can’t have him trembling nervously in the Nobility Council or something like that. Let’s all just have breakfast together and depart quickly.”
The Nobility Council. It was probably happening right about now. Thinking of that, Sezare came to mind.
‘I wonder if he’s returned to silver hair and blue eyes by now?’
I couldn’t quite imagine a silver-haired, blue-eyed man with Sezare’s features.
‘I miss Sezare.’
I gazed at the last translucent heart fragment with no pattern drawn upon it and thought.
‘I want to tell him that one of the many hypotheses we set up just in case seems to have been correct…’
That was when my eyes suddenly met Piyak’s.
‘Ah…’
Now that I thought about it, Piyak hadn’t said a single word until now. It was truly rare for Piyak to remain silent.
‘He’s nervous.’
The tips of Piyak’s wings trembled slightly. I could see that Piyak’s gaze continued to be fixed on the heart engraved with the Prelai pattern.
We had not achieved a true summoning. Piyak still couldn’t fully transfer his memories to me, and he didn’t even know what his abilities truly were.
But that didn’t mean I didn’t understand what Piyak was feeling right now. That feeling of being anxious and having no choice but to try… All those hours of pointless training following the Spy Maid every night were perhaps a symbol of Piyak’s anxiety.
‘I know because I’ve experienced it. Anxiety about one’s very existence cannot be resolved until it’s completely revealed…’
In truth, I didn’t mind if Piyak spent his entire life just delivering letters for the foreseeable future, or even if he couldn’t do that. But I hated seeing him trembling with such anxiety.
Now I finally understood what it meant to Grandfather when I first saved Hou. I also understood what Joshua meant when he said, “If you save Lea? I’ll even wrap Alex in luxury.” Summoned creatures were tremendously precious to their owners, and so even the smallest pain was difficult to witness.
‘Never mind breakfast… Let me resolve Piyak’s situation first.’
There was no time to think further.
‘I need to know the truth.’
I brought Joshua’s dagger down upon my Prelai heart fragment.
“Hey! Why so hard…!”
In that instant, I felt an enormous force exploding from my body like a storm. Joshua’s voice became blurred in an instant, and my consciousness grew hazy.
Father caught me as I collapsed and shouted.
“Kiana! No, why won’t this child listen to her parents!”
All strength drained from my body, and I couldn’t tell Father, “I’m sorry, but your smell is too revolting—please step back for a moment.” It was lamentable.
“You must take after me, you brat! Didn’t you also ignore my words and crawl all the way into Arun!”
Grandfather’s voice booming loudly grew distant and faint.
“Kiana!”
“Kiki!”
My family called out my name in alarm, but I couldn’t even respond.
* * *
My vision spun in dizzying circles. My body flipped back and forth along the boundary between unconsciousness and awareness. I couldn’t understand what was happening.
‘But… what in the world is this situation? Why can’t I get my bearings? What is this?’
That’s when my vision brightened, and I heard the soft flutter-flutter-flutter of small wings.
Unlike before, the connection felt perfectly complete. From far within the light, Piyak flew toward me with his tiny wings flapping earnestly.
【Kiana!】
Piyak’s thoughts reached me clearly from afar.
【My Prelai… I will remain by your side for all my days, and whatever you desire, I shall fulfill it with all my power.】
That was unmistakably the standard incantation all summoned creatures recited upon summoning. Because there was no way Piyak would ever say something like that on his own.
‘Ah, so this is…’
And so I thought with an overwhelming heart.
‘This is a real summoning.’
With an inexplicable surge of emotion, I began running toward Piyak through the light.
The summoning that should have naturally occurred when I was eight years old was happening now. Infinite trust and fulfillment overflowed through my heart, and I felt the natural connection forming. So this is how we share memories and exchange thoughts with each other.
【Wait! The power that was sealed all this time is surging in at once! I… I can’t control the power!】
…Ah, wait. Why does such an unsettling remark have to accompany this glorious moment?
Moreover, Piyak’s memories began flooding in chaotically. Unlike before, they weren’t in text form. Truly, complete memories. Of course… they were rushing in far too overwhelmingly.
That’s when a thought I’d brushed past moments ago suddenly replayed like a lie.
‘I miss Sezare.’
Wait, why at this moment…?
‘I want to tell him that one of the many hypotheses we set up just in case seems to have come true…’
Suddenly, one hypothesis came to mind.
Right now Piyak was confidently saying ‘I will fulfill whatever you desire’ before panicking with ‘I can’t control the power!’ I wanted to shout ‘Hey, that’s the thought I just brushed past!’ but no voice came out.
And then my vision brightened once more, and even Piyak disappeared from sight.
* * *
A sharp poison needle shot from Hitten’s pen nib like an arrow.
This pen, specially crafted to fire poison needles, naturally passed through weapons inspections. Pens were permitted items to begin with. And since Hitten was a Crown Prince holding imperial authority, it was only natural.
‘In the end, this is my victory, Edmund.’
For a brief moment, Hitten thought with satisfaction.
He didn’t fully understand the situation, but the dark magic from last time seemed to have been half-stopped by Scari Prelai. Because after Scari and the Emperor had their private audience, the Emperor absolutely refused to give him the Crown Prince position. A Prelai loyal to the imperial house would have been presumptuous enough to intervene. But here and now, there was no room whatsoever to save the Crown Prince.
The dark magic had already been completed immediately after collecting taxes in advance. He had drawn the dark magic circle on the final scroll received from Roki and extracted the poison. People don’t know much about dark magic. If Sezare dies from this poison, he planned to say, ‘How dare you impersonate the Crown Prince. The direct bloodline of the Tailizes royal family is immune to poison.’ Of course, he would have to pay the price for bringing weapons into the council chamber, but that was simple enough.
Suddenly, there was justification for killing a person. He could insist, ‘Impersonating royalty is immediate execution. I merely carried it out in advance.’ It was a perfect plan in every way. That’s why he waited until the word ‘Crown Prince’ came from Sezare’s mouth. Hitten too found the scale of the Levin Domain forces burdensome, and so he needed a justification that anyone could accept for killing Sezare.
The dark magic, now barely activated, would manifest through the poison buried in the pen nib beforehand and kill Sezare. However, if there was a mistake on Hitten’s part, it was that he didn’t know the Sword Master well.
In that briefest of moments, Sezare simply sidestepped slightly and dodged the poison needle. The needle embedded itself directly into the wall.
“Ah, so this is…”
Sezare spoke with a bitter smile he couldn’t suppress.
“So this is the answer from my brother who waited so desperately for his younger brother?”
Even Alex, who had been busily beating imperial knights, stopped moving.
“Hey, wait a moment.”
And he whispered to the knight he’d been sparring with, his face quite amused.
“Let’s go watch that.”
The knight, who had been trading blows with Alex for wages rather than any genuine grudge, nodded quickly. In that moment, Sezare rose slowly to his feet and approached Hitten.
“It seems rather similar to what you did six years ago.”
Like a cat cornering a mouse, Sezare moved with unhurried leisure. His demeanor made it clear to anyone watching.
The victor of this game was Sezare.

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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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