Don’t Look for the Resurrected Villainess - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 26

Lilia, who had been looking at her barely touched teacup with a melancholy gaze, shouted at the Duke’s back.

“I’ll go to your study later and take care of it for you, Father!”

The Duke seemed too preoccupied with his serious conversation with Frigian to pay attention to this side. Lilia watched the two men walking away with lingering eyes, then sighed and said.

“Both of them seem to have a lot on their minds because of elder sister, Mother.”

“Anelli has always been a child with strong pride since she was young. When she was being stubborn, it was nearly impossible to dissuade her.”

At the name ‘Anelli’ that came directly from the Duchess’s mouth, Lilia’s neat eyelashes trembled slightly.

Holding her teacup with both hands and fidgeting with the cup’s surface with her fingers, Lilia muttered as if talking to herself.

“I thought she would act more maturely since she was chosen by God… There must still be some resentment left.”

The Duchess drank her tea silently. At first glance, her face looked no different from usual, but Lilia easily noticed that the Duchess was thinking about Anelli.

On the day Anelli was beheaded, the Duchess couldn’t bear to watch the scene, and when news came that Anelli had been resurrected, she couldn’t sleep for quite some time. It was impossible not to know that some kind of lingering attachment remained within her.

Lilia reached out and gently wrapped her hand around the Duchess’s.

“Don’t worry, Mother. Elder sister must be missing her family in her heart too.”

At the gentle comfort, the Duchess took a quiet deep breath. She calmly withdrew her held hand to grasp her teacup and looked at Lilia with her usual smile.

“Yes.”

At the warmth that slipped away from her hand in an instant, Lilia’s eyes wavered for a moment, but she soon spoke in a cheerful voice as if nothing had happened.

“Mother, where was I in my story? Oh yes, Lord Maxel…”

* * *

“It’s been a while, Elder Brother.”

Heinrih, who had been walking toward the end of the long corridor pretending not to notice the other person, frowned.

He pressed his lips into a straight line and stopped walking, then slowly turned around. He had thought he might encounter him when coming to the Imperial Palace, but now that they were actually face to face, it wasn’t pleasant at all.

The person standing before him was his younger brother, and also this country’s Crown Prince.

“I see you’re on your way back after greeting His Majesty. How is Gelben?”

“Fine.”

“I wondered what business would make Elder Brother personally request permission to go out. I heard you were at the library the whole time?”

“There are books that can only be found there.”

At his answer, Maxel let out a faint laugh. With his slightly curly blonde hair and blue eyes, Maxel looked exactly like a prince who had just stepped out of a fairy tale.

Even before becoming Crown Prince, there were rumors that half the noble ladies of the Empire had feelings for Maxel, which circulated like a joke.

Heinrih remembers when Maxel became Crown Prince and thus became engaged to Roam’s second daughter.

The two of them suited each other well. What more needed to be said? What tormented him more than the fact that he had ultimately lost in the power struggle was the undeniably perfect match the two made.

Standing proudly, Anelli was as serene as someone standing in their rightful place, and also arrogant.

Perhaps watching her like that, he had thought: I could have stood there beside her. How incompetent he was for ultimately missing his chance.

Such self-loathing and shame made him stay even more confined within the palace.

“I heard Anelli was discovered near Gelben, during the period when Elder Brother was in Gelben?”

“So they say.”

“Did you also hear that Roam and the Temple’s search party let her slip away?”

“As you know, I was only at the library before returning.”

“I thought Elder Brother would be interested in news about her.”

Heinrih remained silent. Maxel stared at Heinrih quietly, then turned his head. Beyond the large window in the corridor, the sunset could be seen fading. Crimson light cast long shadows in the corridor.

“His Majesty wants to bring her into the Imperial House. Did you know?”

“Yes.”

“He probably has adoption in mind, but you never know. Perhaps Elder Brother’s long-held unrequited love might see a touching light. His Majesty would naturally consider such methods too.”

Maxel’s voice was utterly emotionless. Heinrih stared quietly at Maxel’s profile as he looked out the window.

“Do you think she would want that?”

“Since it’s His Majesty’s will, her opinion wouldn’t carry much influence. Even if that weren’t the case, Anelli is a woman who has lived her entire life to enter the Imperial Palace. There’s no place more suitable for Anelli than here.”

“Then what about you?”

At the sudden question, Maxel turned to look at Heinrih. Though Heinrih had been defeated, he was still a member of the Imperial House. Maintaining a calm and composed expression was not difficult for him at all.

“If she becomes my fiancée, would you be completely fine with it?”

“Do I look like I’m suffering from some naive fever like Elder Brother?”

“Imagine it.”

As much as Heinrih’s lips curved into a smile, Maxel’s lips pressed together rigidly.

“Her pledging eternal love with me before God. Her being held in my arms and being happy because of me. Anelli Roam kissing me, looking only at me, moving for me, allowing only me to call her name. All the things you might have once enjoyed but will no longer be permitted.”

Deep shadows fell across Maxel’s face as his smile completely disappeared.

The shadows created by the sunset light outside made Maxel’s expression even more chilling. However, Heinrih smiled even more brightly.

“Ah. But you have that innocent ‘Lilia Roam,’ don’t you.”

“Watch your mouth.”

At Maxel’s low warning, Heinrih scoffed.

“You should stop calling ‘Roam’s second daughter’ by ‘Anelli’ yourself. She’s a woman who might become my fiancée now.”

The corners of Maxel’s tightly pressed lips trembled. Heinrih stared quietly at Maxel like that.

In Gelben, Anelli had told him he resembled Maxel. That was quite a blow to his pride. Had he been standing before her with such a face? The mere thought was horrifying.

Heinrih continued speaking gently, trying to hide his sinking mood.

“An engagement with Anelli Roam. I’m delighted and excited. Thank you for showing me such a possibility. As expected, His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince is magnanimous even to defeated political rivals. Thanks to you, I think I’ll sleep well tonight.”

Heinrih bowed his head exaggeratedly, then turned around indifferently. His footsteps echoed unusually loudly in the silent corridor.

“…”

Maxel, who had been watching Heinrih’s retreating figure with cold eyes, also turned in the opposite direction.

The sunset light that had painted the corridor red disappeared, and gloomy darkness fell outside the window.

* * *

“This is pretty bad.”

“You think so too, Lady Anelli? How could they make so many illegal magical tools…!”

“This is only half of them. Did you inspect them properly? Half are defective?”

At my irritated question, Jeon closed his mouth. He just moved his lips as if at a loss for words, then held his forehead and groaned.

“The problem is that half of them work properly! These illegal magical tools haven’t undergone functional safety inspections!”

“It’s natural that illegal distribution can’t go through official safety inspections.”

“…I can clearly see that you and I perceive the problem differently, Lady Anelli.”

Jeon shook his head with a resigned expression.

“You must have spent a lot of money, but forget about the money and give up on the ones I’ve sorted out. If you use these wrong, you’ll lose limbs. Especially this one. This is meant to be infused with magic power and exploded, but if you try to use it, your arm will be blown off before you can even throw it.”

“The money doesn’t matter. Tell me what’s useful among the ones that can be used.”

Jeon, who had been about to explain why they were defective, quickly pushed all of those aside. Instead, he brought over and spread out the ones that could function normally.

“Officially distributed magical tools are required to have the creator’s seal. It’s not just to indicate the source of manufacture, but it’s like finishing work for the stable activation of magical tools. Illegal magical tools don’t have that. So you need to keep in mind that they’re generally unstable.”

“I know.”

“What I’ve selected are ones that seem like they’ll perform their intended function. At least these will operate normally when activated. But the power… might not manifest exactly as described in the manual. From here to here are offensive magical tools, and these are auxiliary ones.”

Should I look at the offensive ones first?

While scanning the items with my eyes, I picked up the bracelet closest to me. It was a bracelet with a design that gave no consideration to aesthetic function. Just looking at it, I really didn’t want to wear it.

“That one has three attack spells imbued in it. Just from the formula, it seems to be fire-based, but the power might be slightly different from what’s written in the manual.”

“Is it area-of-effect magic?”

“Probably. Fire-based spells tend to be area-of-effect by nature. Even when you try not to make them area-of-effect, they often end up that way. So don’t use that in narrow spaces if possible. You might put yourself in danger, Lady Anelli.”

I nodded and immediately put the bracelet on my right wrist. Then I picked up another bracelet as thin as thread.

Compared to the thick bracelet from before, this one seemed to be made with pitifully little gold. The thread bracelet had a single round green gem hanging from it.

“This is a shield?”

“Ah, that’s right. It seems to be an unexpectedly high-level shield. It’s the most useful magical tool among these, but unfortunately, there’s a limit to how many times it can be used. I was curious about who made that one.”

“Will it block powerful attacks too?”

“Yes. It’s possible. Compared to the others, that shield magic was made very carefully. So if you think an arrow is coming, use it without fail.”

“This fire magic too?”

When I held out my right wrist and asked, Jeon looked at me with puzzled eyes. I held the thread bracelet in my left hand and added an explanation.

“I’m asking if I could survive alone by casting this fire magic in a narrow space and then blocking it with this shield.”

Jeon, who finally understood my question, asked back with a pale face.

“…Do we really need to imagine such a combination?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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