A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 144

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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 144
* * *
A melancholic atmosphere settled over Duke Prelai’s manor.
【Baby, it’s not your fault.】
Lea tapped Piyak’s shoulder with her tail as she spoke.
【Summoned creatures have no choice but to fulfill their master’s wishes. Even if you’re worried about Kiana, there’s nothing you can do about it.】
【But… but!】
Piyak whimpered as he muttered.
【I can’t even go see Kiana… Because I haven’t met Kiana, I still can’t control my power well. It’s my power, so why can’t I use it properly? Why can’t I do anything?】
【Your power exists entirely for Kiana’s sake.】
The jeweled bracelets layered around Lea’s tail jingled softly.
【I also possess the incredible ability of humanization, but in the end, I only fulfill Joshua’s wish of ‘not wanting to ruin my image.’ This isn’t something you can decide.】
Wolf, who had been dozing lazily beside them, also chimed in.
【The snake’s right, birdbrain. I’m constantly jumping around for Alex’s temperament, aren’t I? Honestly, I go to plenty of dangerous places, but that’s what it means to be a summoned creature’s happiness.】
And then Hou joined in as well.
【Right. I drank poison and suffered for years because of it.】
【What’s this? You’ve gotten quite boastful when I wasn’t looking?】
Kitty, Hyde’s dog summoner, asked with a puzzled tone. It was Lea who answered that question.
【He’s been acting like Scari lately.】
In any case, all five summoned creatures gathered in one place were gloomy. Not only Piyak, but the other summoners had also been influenced by their masters’ depressed moods.
【Joshua is really worried. If I’d known it would come to this, I wouldn’t have said the magic engineering field should fail. Though, Kiana didn’t say our newsletter “Lorelai” should fail either.】
Wolf also sighed in response to Lea’s dejected words.
【Alex is similar. He regrets every day that he didn’t talk to Kiana when they were younger. But back then he just beat everyone up without talking to anyone.】
【Only Hyde would do that.】
Kitty scratched behind her ear with her hind leg and interjected bitterly.
【He couldn’t stop black magic, and when he couldn’t resist Roki’s provocation and crawled into Arun, he suffered every day because he couldn’t see our Kiki grow up.】
At those words, Hou raised his body and asked seriously.
【Roki provoked him?】
【That’s right.】
Kitty nodded and answered.
【He acted as if something terrible would happen to Kiana if he didn’t chase after him immediately. And then he left Hyde alone in Arun and ran away. Honestly…】
Kitty’s eyes grew dark as she recalled that time.
【It was vicious. I can say with certainty that no parent could hear that provocation and not chase after him.】
A brief silence fell. Then Lea carefully interjected.
【But Roki is definitely dead, right? Joshua spent a long time figuring that out. If there wasn’t even a proper funeral held…】
Hou answered that question.
【Roki’s summoned creature has now left this world. If you see that, it means he’s dead. Anyway…】
Hou pressed his wing to his forehead as if troubled.
【I never knew Roki hated Hyde so much. Though, he’s been losing to Hyde since childhood.】
【Piyak hates Roki.】
Piyak fluttered his wings and pouted as he reached his conclusion.
“It’s all because of that person that things turned out this way.”
That was true. The greatest victims among them were Piyak and Kiana, and the summoned creatures nodded their heads in melancholy.
“I hope Kiana comes back soon.”
Piyak eventually buried his face against Lea’s back and let out a sob.
* * *
When I opened my eyes next, Mother was much younger.
I looked down at a Mother far younger than myself. Eight years old? Nine years old? Mother at that age stood quietly before a grave in black clothes, holding flowers.
“Mother, Father…”
Now that I thought about it, Mother had said she lost her parents when she was young.
“I said so many things like ‘take me with you’ and ‘how am I supposed to live alone,’ but I won’t say such things anymore.”
Mother whispered quietly, tears dripping down her face.
“Because if I say such things, Mother and Father will only be hurt…”
The northern winter was harsh, and Mother’s earlobes were already flushed red, her scarf fluttering in the wind.
“Instead, like Mother and Father’s last wishes, I will truly keep my feet firmly on the ground and live happily.”
Mother wiped away her tears with her gloved hands as she spoke.
“I’ll miss you every single day, but I’ll try to meet new people I love and find joy in life. Mother and Father said they wanted that for me.”
Snow began to fall.
“I will live well. I’ll get along with my new family, meet a man as wonderful as Father, and have many beautiful children. I always wanted a younger sibling, so I’ll have lots of children.”
Mother set down the flowers and forced a smile.
“Thinking about that helps me understand Mother and Father’s hearts. If I were to die, I think I would say the same things to my children. To draw strength from those who worry about me, and to build a future with other people.”
After taking one deep breath, Mother turned around.
A short distance from the grave, Julius stood restlessly. When Mother approached, he smiled with relief and placed large earmuffs on her head.
And Mother took Julius’s hand. In the distance, I could see Duke Prelai’s castle.
Ah. There must be a reason I came to this particular moment in the past… I thought, watching Mother’s back as she climbed into the carriage with determination.
‘Is this the last thing Mother wanted to tell me…’
That Mother lived happily with her feet firmly planted in reality, so I too must live that way.
Mother knows best that yearning to see someone every single day, but even so, I must turn around and try to find joy among those I love again.
No matter how sad, I cannot stand before a grave forever.
“I understand, Mother.”
I murmured to myself, watching the carriage depart for Prelai Castle, leaving the grave behind.
“I already knew. That I have to go back.”
But just as Mother couldn’t leave the grave for a long time, I too couldn’t turn away easily.
I took one deep breath, wiped away my tears, and nodded.
“I’m going back now.”
To those who worry about me, to those with whom I will build a future together. Just as young Mother took Julius’s hand and went to Duke Prelai’s castle to meet Father, and then met my brother and me…
“Goodbye.”
Tears mixed with words that wouldn’t reach her.
“Goodbye, Mother…”
I truly, truly will miss you always.
And once again, light flooded my vision.
* * *
When I opened my eyes again, I still wasn’t home.
I furrowed my brow and looked around. Finding nothing, I trudged through the sprawling garden when a familiar tree came into view.
‘Huh? This place is….’
【That’s right.】
I nearly screamed in shock.
【This is the Tailize Tree.】
Beneath that colossal tree I’d once visited with the Emperor stood an unexpected figure—the Grand Cleric Mayer, dressed in rags. Yet his tone was far gentler than when I’d met him before.
【I am Elika Prelai, your ancestor.】
I drew a sharp breath, eyes wide with astonishment.
“…But, Ancestor, why are you in such a wretched state….”
That was all I could manage to say. Mayer continued in an awkward tone.
【I had no choice. My spirit needed a living person’s body to reach you. The Grand Cleric was the only one whose wavelength matched….】
Instinctively, I knew Mayer—or rather, Elika Prelai—was right. But given how utterly disheveled he looked, I couldn’t bring myself to say something like “It’s an honor to meet the first family head.”
“Yes…. Well…. How do you do….”
【I’m not thrilled about it either…. But anyway.】
Mayer’s sly expression as he heaved a deep sigh wasn’t particularly pleasant to witness.
【When Ed and I sealed Ortson’s heart, we thought something like this might happen someday. So as I died, I left behind a fragment of my consciousness.】
Elika Prelai, wearing Mayer’s face, continued.
【So when Edmund Tailizes, that child, wished to break through dark magic and save you, I divided the possibilities and channeled my power toward the path with the highest chance of success. Besides, he’d already detoxified nearly all the poison, so there was no need to restore his body.】
This was a conversation I couldn’t help but relate to. So I answered with admiration.
“I like that too! Dividing the possibilities and weighing the odds!”
【Of course. You resemble me greatly. My summoned creature, Quack, also possessed the ability to traverse space-time.】
A hint of longing crossed Mayer’s face. Indeed, when Elika Prelai left this world, her summoned creature would have returned to its proper place. Usually, when a summoner dies, their summoned creature departs this realm as well.
【In truth, your Ed is also very much like my Ed….】
“Hmm, I see.”
So I nodded, looking at Mayer.
“The elemental components that made up the first ancestor decomposed and circulated organically over countless ages, and by chance, a large portion came to me and Sezare.”
【Uh, what?】
“Of course, the probability is extremely low, but it’s not zero. Well, miracles can happen. After all, when you look at the bigger picture, all matter circulates.”
Mayer shook his head at my words.
【…I wasn’t quite at that level. Usually people talk about past lives or reincarnation, don’t they?】
“Not me. I studied magical engineering.”
【Well, I don’t know what magical engineering is, but if that’s ruined….】

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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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