A Strange But Effective Villainess Life - Chapter 83

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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 83
I stood there in a daze for quite some time when I heard hurried footsteps ascending the tower. More precisely, I heard someone rushing up the tower.
“…Your Highness?”
The person who had climbed to this great height at an astonishing speed was none other than Sezare Levin. I stared at him in shock, momentarily speechless.
“What? What brings the Marquis here…?”
“Are you injured anywhere?”
Sezare Levin strode toward me and gripped my shoulders.
“I heard you fell from the tower. Are you alright? Yes?”
“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”
I blinked and answered with a bewildered expression. No, it made sense—of all people, Sezare Levin should have been the least surprised to hear such rumors.
“We made that portable parachute together, didn’t we?”
Because we had been creating that magical artifact together all this time. A light, compact cloth that could unfold instantly when infused with mana. A magical device designed to reduce descent speed by utilizing air resistance—we had even named it together: the “portable parachute.”
“I naturally assumed it was meant to lower objects!”
Sezare Levin spoke as if utterly exasperated.
“How could I have anticipated that a person would use it?”
Fair point. It was certainly an unprecedented method. But my calculations regarding the tower’s height, my mass, and the expected air resistance had been precise, and I was confident I wouldn’t be injured.
“If Your Highness had told me you were going to jump off wearing it, I would have absolutely refused to cooperate!”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s dangerous!”
I stared at him blankly.
His eyes held unmistakable concern. When I descended with the parachute, Alex had already caught me, so my family knew I was safe. This was the first time I had ever seen such worry in his gaze.
“Weren’t you even frightened… acting so recklessly with a body that can’t use aura at all… if you had actually fallen without it, you would have died instantly…”
Even his hands gripping my shoulders trembled slightly.
“Ah… yes.”
I laughed awkwardly in response.
“You’re right. Actually, when I was falling, I was scared too?”
How could I not be frightened? I trusted my magical artifact crafting skills, but the actual sensation of falling wasn’t pleasant. Especially since I hadn’t jumped of my own accord—being pushed by someone else, that feeling…
“Even though I had anticipated it, being pushed by someone was incredibly shocking.”
During the fall, I had indeed been caught in the shock of thinking, “Wow, Melissa really did push me?”
“Is that all?”
Sezare Levin sighed and spoke.
“You created such a dangerous situation yourself, and that’s all you felt from it…?”
“No, that’s not it…”
I tilted my head and answered. Actually, there had been someone I thought of while falling.
“I thought about how the Crown Prince must have experienced something far more absurd and terrifying than this.”
“…What?”
“Think about it.”
I looked at Sezare Levin and shrugged once.
“He fell faster, from greater heights, and in a completely unexpected situation… and I realized that this fear was truly greater than I had imagined?”
Sezare Levin stared blankly at my face for a moment, then sighed.
“…The Crown Prince handles his aura well. It’s completely different from how he uses his body compared to the Princess, who would die instantly if she fell.”
“In any case, the Crown Prince must have been terrified, and if it turned out that someone from the picnic group betrayed and pushed her like people were gossiping about, he would have been even more shocked. That’s what I thought.”
“….”
“Personally, I don’t like the Crown Prince, but that was… unfortunate.”
No matter how I thought about it, I found the Crown Prince utterly infuriating for not appearing until right before my execution.
Well, but what was Sezare doing at that time? When I checked the original work, Sezare wasn’t in the Capital. He had already left the Capital before I was repatriated to the Empire.
There was no detailed description of whether Melissa had any particular interest in Sezare. Well, Sezare was incredibly handsome, but it seemed Melissa didn’t find him particularly impressive.
“…Ah, speaking of which, Sezare, how long will you be staying in the Capital?”
“Pardon?”
Sezare, who had been wearing a strange expression, tilted his head in confusion.
“I’ll be staying. I have no plans to leave the Capital for the time being.”
“For the time being….”
“Probably for life.”
“Hmm.”
According to the original work, he was supposed to have already left after the hunting tournament? It seemed something unexpected and urgent would happen to Sezare around that time.
“I’ll be staying here. As long as the Prelai Ducal Residence remains in the Capital.”
Sezare looked at me quietly and smiled. I gazed at that smile as if enchanted, then suddenly startled and asked.
“Ah, but Sezare, how did you get into the Ducal Residence?”
“I said it was an official visit. That I needed to see the Princess.”
“My, did they open the door for you? At this hour? Without prior invitation?”
“The Princess visits the Marquis’ Mansion every day, does she not? When I said she had left something important behind, they opened the door.”
“My, well, usually a servant would relay such a message….”
“Young Master Joshua said, ‘I see, so a lowborn commoner came in person,’ and didn’t suspect anything.”
“….”
“The Duke also said, ‘Don’t worry about it. If that bastard clings and won’t let go, I’ll just suppress him with power appropriately.'”
“….”
So they had opened the door by completely disregarding Sezare. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I spoke awkwardly.
“You must have felt bad….”
“It’s fine.”
Sezare looked at my face carefully once more and spoke.
“After all, I confirmed with my own eyes that the Princess is safe. That’s enough for me.”
Ah… my heart tickled. The night breeze was cool, and Jeonseogoo was still sleeping, and there were no summoned creatures eavesdropping on our conversation.
In the place where someone had pushed me, another person was now cherishing me and worrying about me. Sezare’s cravat was disheveled, and his cufflinks weren’t aligned properly either. The Sezare I knew was someone whose clothing was always perfectly neat without a single wrinkle.
“What do you mean, you were completely disregarded just to see that I’m fine, and it’s okay?”
“Yes.”
Sezare laughed softly.
His hair, slightly tangled from how urgently he must have rushed up, swayed in the wind—different from usual. With the urgency from confirming my safety gone, he was leisurely and relaxed as always.
He asked as if amused.
“Do I seem like a fool to you?”
“Yes.”
At my quick response, Sezare let out a pleasant laugh, then shifted his gaze to the dark night sky and spoke playfully.
“Yes, I’m a fool for you.”
What kind of fool laughs with such a cool expression and creates such an atmosphere?
“In the past, now, and in the future, I’ll keep being one, so please take care of me, Princess.”
Until now, I’d thought I despised fools like Melissa. But now I realized Melissa wasn’t a fool at all. So what kind of fool was “a fool like Sezare”?
‘…What’s certain is, I don’t seem to dislike it.’
Sezare continued speaking.
“Even if I hear you say outright to my face that you don’t like me, I’m the kind of fool whose pride is in the gutter—laughing just from seeing your face… I probably am, after all.”
His eyes looking at me were now full of laughter. With his dignified posture and refined features, he spoke such words so arrogantly that the contrast was striking. The fact that I found that appearance attractive felt strange.
This man probably likes me a lot. And it seems I don’t find that so bad. My heart tickled and felt strange. I felt like I might burst out laughing at any moment, yet also felt a tender ache.
I pretended not to notice, keeping my hands in the pockets of my indoor clothes. Then a small letter caught in my hand.
‘Ah, this.’
It was the letter I’d received from Piyak when I left him with Grandfather and Joshua. It was probably a letter from the Crown Prince’s post box. I thought I should check this damned letter as soon as Sezare left, and I laughed awkwardly.
Perhaps because I seemed uncomfortable, a brief silence fell between us.
Sezare had been laughing leisurely when he suddenly spoke.
“Princess, is there something you’d like to say?”
“Pardon?”
“Since earlier… you’ve had the look of someone wanting to say something.”
Wow, Sezare really was incredibly perceptive. In fact, I’d been holding back words since earlier.
“Ah… you’re very perceptive. I actually had something I wanted to say, but somehow the timing got away from me….”
“Say it now.”
“It’s not particularly important….”
“Even so.”
Sezare stepped closer to me and spoke gently.
“If it’s something you’re thinking about, Princess, I’m curious about everything, no matter how trivial.”
“It’s not trivial… actually. It’s something I really do want to tell you.”
Sezare raised his eyebrows as if telling me to go ahead.
I’d missed the timing a bit, but if he was giving me the chance to speak even this late, I wanted to say it. So I took a deep breath and spoke.
“There’s one thing I want to point out. Earlier, you said the Crown Prince’s situation and mine during the fall were completely different, right?”
“…The Crown Prince uses aura well. If you fall, it’s instant death—your body usage is entirely different from his.”
I expected to be confused hearing about a stranger’s situation, but Sezare’s eyes widened. His expression seemed to hold some anticipation.
“…What… then, even if they were the same… was there something? Between the two of you?”
Looking at his genuinely serious face, I let out a shallow sigh and answered.
“Gravitational acceleration.”
“…Pardon?”
“In that situation, the gravitational acceleration acting on us was the same regardless. It’s the same value for all falling objects.”
“….”

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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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