Don’t Look for the Resurrected Villainess - Chapter 43

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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 43

I had no intention of confronting Maxel directly. I planned to leave it to Palides and Tristan while watching from behind, ready to flee quickly.

What changed my mind on the spot was hearing Maxel’s voice muttering my name.

He had come out leisurely to enjoy the night air and was suddenly thinking of me, which seemed so strange that I moved without realizing it.

I can’t forget Maxel’s expression when he saw me then. It was the first time I’d seen him become so disheveled because of me.

「I missed you, Anelli Roam.」

That’s what he said.

How dare he say he missed me. How dare you.

How could he spout such nonsense without even a hint of respect or consideration?

“Crazy bastard.”

“…Pardon?”

“Not you.”

Thinking about it again made my whole body shiver with disgust.

“My former fiancé.”

“The former fiancé I know of?”

“Who else would there be?”

When I replied curtly, Jeon muttered with a bewildered expression.

“…It’s fortunate you parted ways with ‘Lord Heinrih’ quickly. If you had insulted royalty to his face, there would have been no way out.”

“He wouldn’t have reported me.”

If anything, he might have agreed with me.

After the commotion at the farm, we decided to hide near the city for now due to Palides being too conspicuous in appearance.

Having safely brought her out of the chaos, I feigned ignorance and rejoined Heinrih and Jeon.

We could only hear news about Maxel after dawn broke. The nobles had urgently contacted Heinrih.

Maxel, stung by bees, seemed to have returned to the Imperial Palace as if fleeing in the night. Most of the Crown Prince’s originally scheduled official events were canceled.

For the few events that couldn’t be canceled, the Emperor hastily ordered Heinrih to serve as a substitute.

Heinrih, who had made excuses about wanting to rest quietly at separate lodging in the city, sighed.

He was very reluctant to leave me alone with Jeon, but reluctantly turned to leave.

Instead, before returning, he gave me a communication magic device as a gift. It was a standard one-way communication magic device usually used for giving instructions.

「Communication is only possible from you to me. I can’t contact you first. So please don’t feel burdened and accept it.」

The necklace-shaped magic device had only a simple red gem hanging from it.

「I’ve been carrying this around hoping to give it to you if we met again by chance. I hope you’ll contact me comfortably whenever you feel like it, Anelli.」

「Don’t you think I might just throw this away or use it in some other way? That could put you in danger, Lord Heinrih.」

「That danger would be my burden to bear. But I believe you won’t do that.」

「Why?」

「Because I wouldn’t be worth that much trouble to you.」

Surprisingly, his answer was true. He was a prince who had lost power and was barely alive, and there was no particular way for me, having made an enemy of Maxel, to use him.

Ah, of course, there might be cases where I’d need to find out news from the Imperial Palace, so it would be better to keep it rather than throw it away.

Toward me, who couldn’t answer, Heinrih smiled faintly. It was similar to the expression he’d worn after I ignored his confession.

「I’ll wait for your contact. To me, you’re someone worth that much, and more.」

I eventually put on the communication magic device Heinrih had given me.

Partly because there was no particular reason to refuse, but honestly, Heinrih’s words didn’t sound bad to hear. Even if they were just empty flattery.

While I was lost in thought, Jeon interrupted my contemplation.

“I heard your former fiancé was the Crown Prince.”

“Is there anyone who doesn’t know that?”

“But why are you so affectionate with ‘Lord Heinrih’?”

“Where do you see affection?”

“If you’re not affectionate, why are you gripping that necklace like that?”

Only after Jeon’s observation did I realize I had been tightly gripping the red gem around my neck.

I naturally let go of the gem, but Jeon’s suspicious expression didn’t clear at all. Looking at him with displeasure, I lowered my gaze to the necklace.

“It’s just fascinating.”

“Fascinating?”

“Don’t you know how I died?”

Anelli Roam, the villainess of the Empire. The villainess whom everyone agreed should be eliminated as soon as possible, lest she incur divine wrath and bring down a curse.

That was me.

“It’s ridiculous. If there hadn’t been an oracle, everyone would have looked at my resurrection and argued that ‘she’s become undead, so we must burn her to eliminate her completely.'”

Glancing at Jeon, who remained silent with a stiff face, I continued calmly.

“Do you think Lord Heinrih would have approached me if I weren’t praised as a Reviver?”

Even if the affection he harbored was sincere, if my infamy had remained, he wouldn’t have approached me.

Not only that, but everyone else too. My parents wouldn’t have called me their beloved daughter, and the Temple wouldn’t have treated me so devotedly. Also…

“Maxel wouldn’t have had occasion to tell me he missed me either.”

Jeon’s eyes widened as he somehow caught my muttered words.

“That former fiancé of yours said such nonsense?”

Here’s another person who could be arrested for insulting royalty.

Seeing him indignant, I chuckled and nodded lightly.

“That’s what he said.”

“And you just listened to that?”

“Did you forget the news that he couldn’t complete his official schedule and hurriedly returned to the Imperial Palace? I had him stung by bees.”

Even at my indifferent reply, Jeon clicked his tongue with an angry face.

“Someone died and came back to life, so what’s the big deal about some bee stings? Does it make sense for someone who let his fiancée be executed to now say he missed her?”

“I wasn’t his fiancée then.”

“Anyway, you were once engaged. Even if you just spend a few days together, you develop feelings, and isn’t an engagement an even more precious relationship?”

Perhaps because of his sensitive nature, Jeon unexpectedly took my side seriously. He couldn’t be unaware of my infamy either.

Finding this unexpected, I stared at him for a moment before casually shifting my gaze forward.

“Anyone listening would think you can really develop feelings just by spending a few days together.”

In a world where even family who lived together for decades easily turn their backs, how significant could a few days together be?

At my listless muttering, Jeon frowned.

“I’m not helping you because you’re a Reviver.”

“I know. You’re someone I hired…”

“Money, of course it started with money, but that’s not everything.”

Jeon continued with a sigh-laden voice.

“I told you, didn’t I? Not everyone in the world only looks at gold coins.”

I could see his usually expressive face sink into an emotionless state.

For the first time, I looked at him carefully. His red hair, always disheveled from not being properly maintained, fluttered in the wind.

His golden eyes seemed quite dark when viewed from the side. His lips, usually busy with nagging, were pressed into a firm line.

I hadn’t noticed because he usually only showed such timid behavior, but surprisingly, Jeon had decent looks.

If I, who had lived seeing Maxel’s excellent appearance, felt this way, he probably heard compliments about being handsome elsewhere too.

Lost in this newfound observation, I casually asked.

“Then what do you want?”

He, who had been quietly gazing at the straight dirt road, answered calmly.

“Simple gratitude.”

“In the world I lived in, such naive talk doesn’t work.”

I feel this every time we talk, but I really don’t know how he traveled safely until now.

As I shook my head and tried to laugh it off, he suddenly looked back at me.

“You’re not going back there, are you?”

His golden eyes looked straight at me.

“Isn’t that right?”

“…That’s right.”

“See? So practice saying thank you from now on.”

Jeon smiled brightly. It was clearly his usual frivolous demeanor, yet something felt strange.

What is this? I feel like I’ve lost somehow.

“…Oh, Nesi! I told you not to pick up and eat just anything!”

[Stupid male! I’m not eating it, I’m checking the scent!]

When Nesi bared her teeth and showed her irritation, Jeon’s horse startled and bolted forward.

Jeon, clinging to his horse, screamed and cursed at Nesi. Nesi chased after the horse and skillfully began calming it down.

I watched this spectacle blankly before simply turning my gaze away. I didn’t know what I had lost, but to lose to such a guy. For some unknown reason, I felt ashamed.

* * *

It was definitely a monster. You might mistake it for a ghost if you saw it at night, but it was unmistakably a monster. There was no reason to be this scared.

Jeon repeated this to himself as he patted his chest.

After revealing his secret, Anelli no longer hid the Dura’han’s identity in front of Jeon.

Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate, what had initially shocked and terrified him was now gradually becoming familiar, so he was managing to endure it.

Still, that Dura’han named ‘Palides’ looked humanly too frightening.

‘A human without a neck.’

A human without a neck. It was only thanks to the helmet being firmly secured on top of the armor as a disguise, otherwise he would have nearly developed a heart condition he was never meant to have.

Near the riverbank where they had settled to rest, there were many rocks suitable for sitting. Jeon, who had been looking around, perched himself on a suitable rock. Then he looked at Anelli, who was whispering with Palides.

The sparrow, black horse, and bumblebee were also gathered around them.

‘How does he even speak without a head, really.’

No matter how many times he looked, it was a strange combination.

‘No one would ever imagine they’re a Reviver and Dura’han subordinates.’

Unconsciously shaking his head, he made eye contact with Anelli. She had been looking at Jeon with dissatisfied eyes for some time now.

Whatever was so unpleasant, she’d had that look since earlier.

「What exactly are you dissatisfied with? You need to tell me so I can fix it.」

「I don’t know. I don’t know, but I feel bad.」

No matter how many times he asked, only incomprehensible answers came back, so Jeon had simply given up.

‘Her thinking is so unique anyway, she must have judged by her own standards.’

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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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