A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 140
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 140
* * *
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the Otherworldly Realm once again. I instinctively understood that this was the place Piyak used whenever delivering letters.
【Kiana, I’m sorry!】
Piyak fluttered his wings anxiously.
【I understand I need to grant what Kiana wants, but I can’t control my strength properly…】
“Don’t apologize. Don’t say things like that. Thanks to you, I was able to verify my hypothesis. Everything worked out perfectly.”
Piyak was truly remarkable. Now I could understand his ability. It was spatial-temporal displacement. The fact that he could transport me all the way to the Capital in a single move just because I briefly thought about wanting to see Sezare was an ability of extraordinary magnitude….
In any case, I could confirm with my own eyes that there was no third dark magic. Hitten was struck by that poison stinger and screamed loudly, but he didn’t die.
Everything was one of the multiple hypotheses I had painstakingly constructed. Roki likely escaped Arun with three scrolls.
‘He probably used one for Melissa and gave the remaining two to Dolores.’
But would someone as greedy as Roki, even with a terminal condition, really make such a losing deal? I found that questionable, so I had already asked Joshua to investigate Roki’s death.
“You know, that thing you asked me to look into? Uncle Roki’s funeral. No one actually saw it happen, though.”
Just as I suspected, Roki’s death was quite ambiguous. Grandfather had only heard from Melissa that “Father has passed away.”
So I came up with a hypothesis. The possibility that Roki had deceived Dolores. And I could only be certain of that after seeing the final heart fragment.
I had predicted that dark magic would be completed by the time the nobility paid taxes under the pretext of war. But the fact that Tailizes’s mark wasn’t engraved meant it didn’t function.
‘The last one was a fake scroll. Even if he drew the dark magic circle to create poison, it would only generate ordinary poison.’
Of course, I still don’t understand why Tailizes’s stone was destroyed so ambiguously….
That was when I heard Piyak’s urgent voice.
【Kiana, we’re moving again! I think we actually came to the Otherworldly Realm because of that! To fulfill your next wish!】
“Huh? Where on earth? Did I even have a next wish?”
But honestly, my wishes were being granted incredibly fast. It was fine that I thought about wanting to see Sezare and got transported to him, but what is this… I barely saw him for a minute?
And in that moment, the thought I had made earlier came back to me like a lie.
‘I need to know the truth first.’
‘…The truth?’
That’s right, that was the thought I had next.
‘But how am I supposed to know that truth?’
As I blinked, my vision flickered.
* * *
When I regained consciousness, I saw a dense coniferous forest. Wind howled fiercely amid the accumulated snow. Now even Piyak was no longer by my side. As I looked around, a strange sight caught my eye.
‘Tribesmen?’
A group of people dressed completely differently from the Empire gathered before me. They all wore the foul-smelling beast leather clothing that Father wore.
‘…Sezare?’
And surprisingly, Sezare was among them. He was nearly drenched in beast blood, having apparently broken through to this place alone.
‘Even for a Sword Master… is this even possible….’
I stared at Sezare with a dazed expression. I tried to move closer to them, but they didn’t perceive me.
Sezare said something to the Tribesmen, and they murmured among themselves before handing him something.
‘What is that?’
Remarkably, it was a stone tablet containing all three heart fragments intact and unbroken. But the one Father brought clearly had the heart marked with Tailizes’s symbol shattered!
“There was someone who always kept this close to their heart and desperately protected it, but he died not long ago. He really wanted to see his family until the very end, but it’s a shame it didn’t work out.”
The tribesman spoke to Sezare with his distinctive accent.
“In any case, it’s an ill-omened object for us, so there’s no harm in an Empire citizen taking it. But are you truly certain you can return?”
I blinked, observing the situation unfold. The one who had been guarding the stone tablet was unmistakably my father, and given that they’d mentioned he’d died not long ago….
‘Could this be a life from before my regression? Something I didn’t know about while I was at the Academy?’
Sezare accepted the stone tablet without expression. He then briefly explained that he’d accidentally learned of dark magic’s existence and had come all this way because of it.
It seemed that before the regression, Sezare had gone to the Spirit Forest alone, discovered the truth, and come directly here. With his exceptional physical abilities, he’d managed to push through the monsters for a long time and arrive at this place solo.
“I must return. There are other victims besides myself.”
Sezare’s gaze turned to the heart fragment on the stone tablet, upon which the Prelai Family’s crest was carved.
“I need to go discuss this as soon as possible.”
It was obvious who he meant to discuss this with. Of course, it was me.
“If you are the subject of this curse, shouldn’t you destroy this stone?”
One of the tribesmen asked curiously, and Sezare answered while securing the stone tablet.
“What’s already happened is already done… receiving compensation for power isn’t urgent. I simply want to meet with the other person involved soon and discuss this matter. I don’t want to rush unnecessarily, in case any variables arise.”
I had prioritized the summoned creature over that variable, and look where it got me. I’m now drifting through spacetime, unable to control this overflowing power.
“That person must be quite helpful then?”
“That’s not quite it….”
Sezare spoke with a faint smile.
“Perhaps it’s simply that having an excuse to meet them feels good. We’re merely using each other plainly, after all.”
“What kind of madman would dive back into those monsters again just for someone they’re merely using plainly? You like that person.”
“I erased such emotions long ago. I’ve simply been watching over them for a long time.”
“You don’t like them, yet you watch over them for years? That’s completely creepy and downright obsessive stalking.”
After a few parting words, Sezare immediately drew his sword and turned back. It seemed he intended to return by fighting through that tremendous battle once more.
And once again, my vision spun. I whirled dizzily for quite some time, with Sezare breaking through the monsters in the background. I couldn’t tell how much time had passed. I simply spun round and round in a dream.
I knew time was flowing rapidly. No matter how fast, the distance from where my father was to the Prelai Dukedom was simply too great.
“What did you say?”
And when Sezare arrived at the Prelai Dukedom, the nearest Imperial territory.
“…Treason?”
Having made the round trip across considerable distance, he’d been away from the Empire for a long time. During his absence, he learned that Hitten had accused the Prelai Family of treason.
“Then what of Princess Kiana Prelai?”
“She’s been sentenced to execution by hanging. The execution date is….”
Ranaq, his aide, rustled through the report.
“…Today.”
Sezare’s eyes widened. Ranaq stammered as he continued.
“There’s nothing we can do… The Capital is too far from here… Even if we depart now, we cannot stop it….”
That was the truth. The physical distance was too great; there was nothing Sezare could do now.
“No… No.”
Sezare muttered like a madman with a frustrated expression, then looked at the stone tablet he held in his hands.
He swallowed dryly for a moment.
I could understand his heart. He was now hoping for a miracle.
I didn’t know how Tailizes’s heart fragment returned the distorted power, or why. But in any case, miraculous and wondrous things were possible. And hoping desperately that this miracle would grant his wish….
Without hesitation, Sezare shattered the heart fragment inscribed with Tailizes’s mark.
“Please….”
As white light poured forth, Sezare murmured.
“Let me be able to save Princess Kiana….”
And in that moment, far away in the Prison, I was gripping Melissa’s shoulder and crying out.
“Hey, stay with me. Unless we go back to the past, how are we suddenly supposed to get into the Convent?”
“Yes! That’s it! Exactly that! The past!”
Melissa nodded, her eyes gleaming.
“I possess tremendous divine power. I have to try. Don’t I?”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————