I Just Wanted Revenge, But Everyone Loves Me - Chapter 71

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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 71
Meanwhile, the one infuriated by the building’s explosion was not the Emperor alone.
‘That bastard told me not to blow anything up, and he was so emphatic about it.’
He went on and on about how it would be treason and all sorts of dire warnings.
At this point, I’m starting to wonder if he actually wants to blow something up himself and that’s why he keeps telling me not to.
‘I hope the kid’s alright.’
Even if she’s a bit unhinged, she’s got skills worth respecting. She should be able to defend herself well enough against anything short of a serious attack.
Blowing up the building was probably meant to draw attention this way. It was a decision born from confidence that she could protect a child of that caliber.
But contrary to that reassuring thought, Veronika’s feet wouldn’t budge easily.
……
A memory from the distant past.
Veronika’s face grew cold as she recalled the day she’d lost a friend helplessly.
‘Will she really be safe?’
The child happened to have the same hair color, and her demeanor was similarly gentle and docile.
Though Hyacinth was there with her this time, there was no knowing what might happen.
The tiny child stayed with Veronika, impossible to brush aside.
But the surge of emotion passed quickly. Veronika drew a slow, deliberate breath.
‘No. It’s still okay.’
Nothing has happened yet.
If something truly had, we agreed to set off fireworks.
Since we haven’t reached that point, the worst hasn’t come to pass.
Veronika took another slow breath. It was too early to judge everything.
‘I need to focus on what I have to do.’
If I can just get safely into the main palace as planned……
“What are you standing there spacing out for?”
……!
Veronika almost cried out as she spun around. Her brother, from whom she’d been separated just moments ago, was standing right in front of her.
“Hell. You scared me half to death!”
“Tch. You certainly don’t hold back.”
“Then give some warning before you show up!”
Veronika examined her blood relative with irritation from head to toe. “So. What’s suspicious?”
“There’s something even more troublesome than those priests.”
“Something more troublesome than them?”
“A snake.”
“A snake?”
“A white one, wandering around the grounds. It had a red jewel embedded in its head.”
It looked exactly like—
“A demon beast.”
“……A demon beast?”
Veronika echoed in disbelief.
She, too, had only ever seen demon beasts in books.
“Could you have been mistaken? It was sealed a thousand years ago—why would it appear now?”
“I don’t know either.”
Rodrigo had been genuinely startled at the sight of it. At first he’d wondered if he was seeing things, but—
The creature’s appearance was far too alien for that.
And that red jewel was suspicious too.
“You said something was embedded in its forehead. Demon beasts don’t have features like that……”
Veronika’s lips parted as understanding dawned. “Could it be… being controlled?”
“That’s a possibility.”
Rodrigo didn’t deny it.
“If you’re going to brainwash something, you need to mark it to show who the master is.”
“But……”
That was Forbidden Magic. Under imperial law, it was a grave crime, severely punished.
The Magic Tower restricted it so stringently because it was so dangerous. And here, in this vast Imperial Palace, someone was controlling a demon beast that was supposedly sealed a thousand years ago?
“The fact that it’s wandering openly in the Palace Garden and no one’s captured it suggests the Imperial Court already knows. The odds are high.”
“Would the Emperor really be mad enough to do this? With all the nobles present?”
No matter how she thought about it, it seemed reckless.
But—
“There’s a purpose. Some reason worth unleashing a demon beast for.”
And that purpose might be—
“Bangkadium.”
Veronika’s brow furrowed.
“It’s still reckless, no matter how you look at it.”
“When you’re backed into a corner like that, even impossible decisions become possible.”
Bangkadium had already escaped. If rumors spread that he had evidence, that he’d been wronged—
“A man like him wouldn’t stay quiet.”
He was fearful by nature.
Always worried someone would steal his position. As Emperor, that vulnerability was inevitable, but he took it to an extreme.
Like someone with something to hide.
“You can’t kill Bangkadium outright.”
Somehow he has to be isolated again.
“And for that, there’s no better show than this.”
If word gets out that he’s using Forbidden Magic to control a demon beast, the Emperor’s faction and the nobles will tear him apart with glee.
His image is already in ruins.
“Without evidence, they’ll assume he can’t come forward.”
Then they’ll use that opportunity to isolate Bangkadium again. Even if he tries to make a comeback, he’ll be powerless.
“How tedious.”
By that logic, it doesn’t matter if some nobles get hurt or killed by the demon beast.
‘Or maybe he plans to have it attack on purpose.’
That would only intensify the anger directed at Bangkadium.
“So what are you going to do? We can’t just leave this as is.”
Now that she knew the plan, she couldn’t sit idle.
Rodrigo grinned wickedly.
“They went to all the trouble of preparing something for us.”
We should make sure they get to show it all off.
* * *
The explosion had been loud enough to be clearly heard even from the main palace.
The nobles murmured among themselves at a sound far beyond mere fireworks.
“What in the world is all this commotion? The knights only keep saying they’re investigating……”
“Surely it’s not a terrorist attack or something? I’m scared and want to leave, but they say we can’t go anywhere right now. This is awful……”
“Even if they’re investigating, shouldn’t they at least explain what happened?”
The anxious nobles kept glancing toward the entrance of the Banquet Hall.
They wanted to leave out of fear, but the knights stood in their way, insisting the investigation was ongoing.
……
Sis, disguised as a servant among the crowd, observed his surroundings even as he distributed wine to the nobles.
Of course, no one recognized him. He had the Special Necklace that Hyacinth had made.
A lower-tier version of Illusion Magic that altered appearance and voice.
As the former director of Iztel, he himself was on the Named Wanted List.
Without access to magic, this was the only way for him to infiltrate undetected.
‘I have no idea what’s going on.’
A sudden explosion.
‘It wouldn’t be the young lady.’
So was it Hyacinth’s side?
Perhaps something had gone wrong there.
‘I should withdraw.’
Now that the knights were beginning to question the nobles one by one, he wasn’t safe either.
‘Besides, I need to secure evidence anyway.’
Sis, who had been carefully reading the room, slipped out of the Banquet Hall along with the other servants.
Separating from the crowd proved easy enough. He recalled the route he’d scouted beforehand and began to move.
But the moment he turned a corner—
Sis’s tongue clicked silently as he spotted the figure coming from the opposite direction.
His reflexive response was to lower his head.
A moment later—
……
Just as the other figure slipped past him with inches to spare—
“Wait.”
The Emperor, who had come to a halt, turned back to look at Sis, whom he’d just passed.
“Where are you headed?”

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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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