A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 62

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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 62
I tilted my head back and gazed up at the night sky.
Grandfather must have predicted the situation when Hou returned. He would have harbored suspicions about Hitten in his heart. But without concrete evidence, and since Hou hadn’t actually brought back the real Crown Prince, he kept silent. Besides, the Crown Prince’s fate remained uncertain.
‘If the Crown Prince truly were dead… there’s no point in stirring up trouble. It would only plant seeds of resentment with Hitten, the next Emperor.’
The Grandfather of old would have charged forward without hesitation, but now he had four troublesome grandchildren to consider. With the Emperor himself in poor health, he had no choice but to be cautious. Instead, he neither actively supported Hitten nor opposed him—he simply maintained a lukewarm distance.
‘The Emperor probably knows. It seemed that way. The fact that he never formally granted the Crown Prince position to Hitten, and his continued hope that the Crown Prince would return…’
Grandfather must have quietly told the Emperor the truth.
‘And the Emperor had no choice either.’
The Crown Prince’s fall from the cliff aligned with the testimony of the hunting picnic attendees.
Now that I thought about it, I remembered the reckless poisoning attempt against Grandfather when I first arrived in the Empire. I had dismissed it lightly, thinking ‘Why worry about poison when Hou has purification abilities?’ But…
‘Hitten must have noticed. Could his suspicions have grown from Hou being invisible to the public for six years?’
The abilities of summoned creatures were, in principle, known only to the Prelai Family. But since the Prelai were so intimate with the imperial family, the royal family had gradually become aware of some of the summoned creatures’ abilities.
‘So he attempted the poisoning first… wondering if Hou’s ability was purification and if that’s how the Crown Prince was saved!’
Of course, that poisoning attempt was exposed before it even began and fizzled out. Regardless, that’s how House of Prelai became Hitten’s target. He already found them irritating, and they were clearly on the Crown Prince’s side.
‘Now it all makes sense. Wow, I’m so clever. I’ve deduced everything perfectly.’
“Anyway, even if I let you have your way with one marriage, it will be difficult to get along well with Prince Hitten.”
Grandfather had roughly anticipated all of this…
Now that things had come to this, any chance of improving relations with Hitten was lost. Not that I wanted to in the first place.
I understood why Grandfather had hidden this from us. It concerned the succession of the imperial throne. A member of the imperial family poisoned—it was something that shook the very symbolism of the Tailiz imperial family. There was nothing to gain from letting many people know.
I moved forward with a bitter taste in my mouth.
‘Still, the Crown Prince… hasn’t he received an enormous debt of gratitude from the Prelai? Hou and I saved his life.’
Because of that, my Grandfather would face a terrible future in his twilight years.
My steps toward my room felt heavy.
If I hadn’t gone to Riloni Academy back then, Hou wouldn’t have followed me either. The Crown Prince would have died smoothly, and at least the Prelai wouldn’t have been caught up in all of this.
【He told me to follow you from afar and watch over you. To see if you were doing well, if you weren’t sad, if you weren’t suffering too much.】
On the path to the Academy, Hou had been following from far behind. I thought I had completely left the Prelai, and I believed the people of House of Prelai wanted that too.
‘In the end, did all of this start because of me?’
What was in Grandfather’s heart when he sent Hou? How much had his heart ached as he read the letters sent by the Academy professors?
My shadow stretched long as I walked through the splendid gardens of Prelai Manor. When I finally stumbled back to my room’s entrance, it happened.
【Tada!】
A bright and cheerful voice rang out.
【Piyak has returned!】
“…Already?”
Piyak, who had been fluttering his wings while holding a letter in front of me, narrowed his eyes.
【Kiana, couldn’t you at least pretend to be happy to see me?】
“Wow, I’m really glad you’re back. Give it here.”
At this speed, he had returned much faster than expected.
Piyak grumbled that I had no soul, but I immediately unfolded the letter. The contents were brief.
A date was written at the bottom. When I checked, it was the day I received the marriage proposal from Lord Rodrigo.
“Wait. So what this man means by ‘resolved’…”
The next day, Orca made a huge fuss claiming he’d been greatly wronged by the Crown Prince, and everything fell apart because of it. So that’s why the Crown Prince suddenly appeared!
I ground my teeth.
“This bastard….”
Now it was certain.
“He knows who I am….”
Everyone knew I had passed through that region during that time period on my way to Riloni Academy. The notion that he wouldn’t be curious about me was nonsense—he must have deduced my true identity.
‘And it seems I’m in trouble, so he appeared at just the right moment to take his revenge as well….’
If I hadn’t known all these facts, I might have been quite moved. After all, he was taking my side. But the timing was terrible now. I had just realized the truth that we were being accused of treason because of the incident where we saved the Crown Prince.
‘Of course, the Crown Prince doesn’t even know that Hou saved him.’
Still, thinking of being locked in prison before the regression made anger boil up inside me inexplicably. I was someone with a lot of anger.
“This bastard, how much has he benefited from our household, and he’s bragging about just that much? Who’s the one who should really be taking credit right now!”
I threw the neatly written letter onto the floor.
【Wow.】
Piyak fluttered his wings beside me and muttered.
【The person who wrote this letter seemed so pleased with themselves that they wrote it trying to look cool in every way. It’s a shame they can’t see this unique reaction.】
There was yet another fact that made my anger inevitable.
Before I regressed—that day when the entire Prelai Family was accused of treason. Even until then, the Crown Prince never appeared. He might not have known about my Grandfather’s favor. But he should have at least known I was dragged away!
In the end, it meant he pretended not to know when it really mattered.
‘This son of a bitch… you’re really pissing me off over something that hasn’t even happened yet?’
But I had no choice.
‘I have to be on the same boat as this bastard….’
Displeased, I ground my teeth hard.
* * *
That night.
I too postponed everything until tomorrow and fell asleep with Piyak. And I had a very strange dream.
“Ed, thank you. Really… you didn’t have to go this far….”
“Don’t say that. I’m always sorry I couldn’t do more for you, Eli.”
Very blurred figures of a man and a woman. But the background was extremely unfamiliar. There were buildings in a style that looked like those found in the Ancient Ruins near the Capital.
“I promise you, Ed.”
The woman cupped the kneeling man’s cheek and swore an oath.
“Prelai will forever offer the greatest loyalty to your descendants.”
‘Wait, Prelai?’
Even in the dream, I came to my senses and fell into thought for a moment.
‘The names Ed and Eli….’
It seemed Ed and Eli were nicknames… Am I dreaming of the First Emperor Edmund Tayliz and the first head of House Prelai, Elika Prelai?
“Even when the power of the gods fades one day and can no longer protect this nation’s future….”
The first head of House Prelai, Elika Prelai, declared solemnly.
“Prelai will always do their best for Tayliz.”
I had no interest in history, but I still possessed basic knowledge. And if my memory served me right… the fact that this oath was being made meant Elika Prelai would soon die.
But why does this oath of loyalty across generations feel so sticky and poignant? It’s very different from the scenes I imagined while reading history books?

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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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