I Bought the Villains With Money - Chapter 67

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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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Episode 67.
Jennis felt her way along the wall for some time before coming to a halt. She leaned her forehead against the stone.
‘There she goes again, talking to the wall.’
Why did she keep speaking to the wall like that? Could Jennis be a Witch?
The Kingdom acknowledged magicians, but not Witches.
If a woman were exposed as a Witch in the Kingdom, she would be confined to the Temple and spend her entire life in penitential prayer.
‘If Jennis turns out to be a Witch, I’ll protect her.’
Perhaps I should purchase the Temple’s silence ahead of time, just in case Jennis was ever seized.
‘So she can live comfortably even if they take her.’
Bribing one or two priests wouldn’t be enough, though…….
“Ow!”
While I was contemplating a future for Jennis, something scurried across the top of my foot.
I yelped in surprise.
The cheerful music stopped, and the acrobat mid-somersault froze.
Every eye in the room turned toward me.
“Is there something troubling you, my lady?”
Oskin rushed over from somewhere, asking the question.
“Something just ran across my foot…….”
Since I couldn’t identify what it was, I let my words trail off.
Oskin gestured, summoning a servant.
“I’ll investigate at once.”
I nodded. But where was Jennis?
I lifted my head to search for her. In that moment, I caught sight of Jennis watching me with a barely suppressed smirk.
A hunch came to me that whatever had crossed my foot was connected to her.
“Agh! Aaaaah!”
The servant checking beneath the table landed hard on his backside.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
Oskin pressed the servant for answers. The man opened his mouth to speak, but there was no need.
“Aaahhh, it’s a rat! A rat!”
The creature that had scrambled across my foot was now scurrying over the servant’s body, revealing itself at last.
A ash-grey rat with particularly striking pink nostrils climbed up onto my table.
“Catch it now! What are you doing? Why can’t you catch it?”
Naturally, the party hall erupted into chaos.
“My sincerest apologies, Princess Diana. There shouldn’t be any rats in here…….”
Shouldn’t be rats? Rats are everywhere. I’ve devised and implemented strategies to eradicate rats from the Kingdom more than once. Yet I’ve failed every single time.
The rat is the first creature to which I’ve conceded defeat.
“It’s quite alright, Oskin. But what shall we do? I’m afraid I’m too startled to enjoy the party.”
“You’ve had quite a fright. Perhaps we should retire inside.”
Oskin suggested I go in. If he were to arrange another party tomorrow, I could simply mention today’s incident and claim I’m too unnerved to enjoy it.
I staggered about, feigning shock, and Jennis, who had drawn near without my noticing, supported me.
“Did it work, my lady?”
“It was perfect, Jennis. But I think I need to indulge in one more whim.”
“Are you having trouble walking from the fright? Shall I carry you?”
“No—I’d like to hear an interesting story.”
“I’m afraid I’m not a gifted storyteller…….”
Jennis murmured glumly.
“Storytelling talent isn’t necessary. You yourself are fascinating to me. Jennis, I need to hear your story.”
Whether you’re a Witch or not.
I need to know, so I can make plans.
***
[Witch.
Noun) 1. A person who uses sinister arts to stir base desires in others, leading them toward evil.
2. A person who uses natural materials to create substances whose effects cannot be verified.
3. A person who wields the demonic power that opposes God’s sacred Divine Power.
—Source: Petrola Kingdom Dictionary]
In Petrola, Witches are objects of fear and hatred.
According to rumor, Witches use grass and stones of mysterious efficacy, along with the blood of various animals, to bewitch people.
The bewitched are said to develop resistance to Divine Power and grow vicious in temperament, so the Temple has come to regard Witches as enemies and launched widespread persecution.
And there are whispers that plagues descend upon villages where Witches have dwelled.
Occasionally someone claims to have been aided by a Witch, but such voices are rare indeed. And since defending a Witch would result in one being branded a Witch oneself, people raised their voices together in condemnation.
In the past, the Temple indiscriminately rounded up anyone suspected of witchcraft.
The criteria for selection were inconsistent and far too broad: those who loitered around the mountains in the evening, people who talked to themselves frequently, those who favored the color red, burned strange incense at home, or made medicines in the neighborhood without proper credentials—the list went on and on.
These suspected Witches were then examined by the Temple’s priests to determine whether they truly were Witches.
The method was simple: they channeled Divine Power into the suspect and observed whether they suffered in response.
Did anyone ever pass that test? Not to my knowledge.
Curiously enough, every person reported ended up being declared a Witch and locked away in the Tower.
No test is one hundred percent accurate. Yet somehow, this one was.
‘Strange, isn’t it.’
There was clearly something amiss on the Temple’s side.
But what that was didn’t matter right now. The large-scale persecution of Witches wouldn’t happen for another five years anyway, and all I needed was to know whether Jennis was a Witch or not.
The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that Jennis couldn’t be a Witch.
‘Because Jennis had once suffered severe burn wounds and received treatment at the Temple.’
If the Temple’s method of identifying Witches was based on their rejection of Divine Power, then Jennis was no Witch.
Still, I needed to hear it from her directly.
I pushed Jennis into the room and locked the door behind us.
Jennis instinctively sensed that I was about to say something serious and cast her eyes downward.
“Jennis, can you talk to rats?”
I asked before even sitting down. Jennis’s body jolted violently. Her face turned white and rigid, like a wax doll.
“I—don’t—know—what—you’re—talking—about.”
Jennis answered stiffly without meeting my gaze.
She really couldn’t lie to save her life.
I spoke firmly.
“You can’t lie to me, Jennis.”
Jennis’s expression crumbled. She fell to her knees with an audible thud.
“Miss, I—I’m not going mad, I swear! Miss, I just… I can hear them. Honestly, I don’t know why I can hear them. I really just… I can, I promise. Please don’t cast me out.”
Perhaps I’d been too abrupt.
Seeing Jennis so terrified, I felt a pang of guilt.
“Jennis, thank you for being honest with me. Come now, why don’t we sit down?”
“No, miss. I’ll accept whatever punishment is fitting for having hidden this from you all this time.”
Jennis groveled, pleading.
“Jennis.”
I called her name coldly, precisely to calm her mounting panic. At the icy edge in my voice, Jennis lifted her eyes to meet mine.
I cupped her tear-streaked cheeks and asked:
“Have you ever used that ability to harm me?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Good. Then you won’t use it to harm me in the future?”
“Never! I would never want to hurt you, miss. If my ability ever became a detriment to you, I would leave at once.”
There was unwavering resolve in Jennis’s eyes—not a trace of deception. Once again, I confirmed the depth of her loyalty to me.
“Jennis, calm yourself and listen. I don’t find your ability troubling at all. Honestly, I think it’s remarkable.”
Surprised by such positive words, Jennis’s eyes widened.
Depending on how I used it, Jennis’s ability could bring me tremendous advantage.
If her swift access to news had been thanks to this ability all along, then surely I too could use it to gather all manner of intelligence.
‘And an animal-based courier service!’
Until now, I’d been exchanging Secret Letters using birds, but training birds took far too long, making the service expensive.
But if I used Jennis’s rats as a short-range communication tool?
‘I’ll provide Jennis with fair compensation, though it would be far cheaper than maintaining trained birds.’
And rats never get caught. The routes they use are far too covert for human eyes to follow.
“R-really?”
“Of course! So treasure that talent of yours. But Jennis—”
Now I needed to confirm whether she was a Witch. I bit my lower lip, then released it.
I knew the answer already. Jennis didn’t speak in any peculiar way and was pious enough to donate a portion of her wages to the Temple each month.
Still, there was always that one-in-a-million possibility.
“Yes, ask me anything. I’m prepared to tell you everything, miss.”
Jennis’s tone was resolute.
“Are you a Witch?”
“P-pardon?”
Jennis was so startled that her voice caught in her throat.
“No, absolutely not! Miss, I’ve even received the Baptism!”
Jennis shook her hands and head frantically. Based on the information I already had, her daily conduct, and the honest light in her eyes, she was indeed no Witch.
“It’s not a misunderstanding. I simply needed to confirm. And now that you’ve assured me, I’m relieved. But Jennis, know this—even if you were a Witch, I would never cast you out.”
Jennis, who had been making such a fuss, grew quiet. She stared at me for a long moment, then suddenly threw her arms around me.
“Miss, thank you. Thank you so much.” Her voice cracked.
Her voice wavered as she thanked me, and it trembled toward the end. My shoulder grew damp with her tears.
I hadn’t fully grasped the wounds Jennis must have endured because of her ability to speak with rats, nor the weight of carrying such a secret through life.
I lifted my hand to her back.
“That’s an incredible gift, Jennis. Truly remarkable. You could be a heroine from a novel.”
I offered comfort the way one might console a child.
“Miss, aren’t you… afraid of me?”
The Villainess Bought Out the Bad Guys (Serialized)
Author │ Lee In-hye
Publisher │ Kim Joo-hyung
Publishing House │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd. – Tiramisu
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ 11th Floor, Ace Techno Tower 8th Building, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, #1101)
Email │ [email protected]
Homepage │ http://blog.naver.com/jayplemedia1
© Lee In-hye 2021
※ This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. pursuant to a contract with the copyright holder,
and the content may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.
Violation of this restriction may result in both criminal and civil legal liability.

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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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