I Just Wanted Revenge, But Everyone Loves Me - Chapter 81

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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 81
“Just tell me you’re worried. That’s all.”
Hyacinth mumbled carefully, and I too found myself staring at the Duke with a slightly bewildered expression.
Though his tone was a touch rough, the content itself…….
‘It sounded like he was worried about me.’
That’s how it came across.
Don’t worry too much about him. Focus only on what needs to be done ahead.
Even if his words were clumsily chosen, their meaning came through perfectly clear.
I felt something catch in my chest and couldn’t help but fidget with my hands.
The anxiety that had gripped me over the Count dissolved in an instant.
All thanks to the Duke’s single sentence.
‘That I would live a different life from now on.’
Did that mean Bangcardium would protect me? If I’d interpreted it right, there was no more reassuring promise in the world.
To receive a dragon’s protection.
The Count’s shadow, which had seemed to encompass my entire world, now appeared trivial for the first time.
A confidence bloomed within me—as if I could accomplish anything at all.
It was a strange thing.
‘I’m glad.’
Fresh as it was to think it, I felt genuinely grateful to have come to Bangcardium.
And equally grateful that my judgment hadn’t been wrong.
Leaning against the Duke’s chest, I blinked slowly. Perhaps it was the sudden release of tension the moment I decided everything was all right.
Sleep began creeping over me, strange and insistent.
‘Nothing has happened yet.’
My revenge was only just beginning.
From now on, it was the Count who should be afraid, not me. He would never lay a hand on me again.
The moment I grasped that truth clearly, something locked away within me snapped free. It was a liberation I had never felt before.
“Duke.”
“What.”
“Thank you for accepting the deal.”
“!”
His stride halted abruptly.
But already half-asleep as I was, I failed to notice his moment of shock.
I rubbed at my heavy eyelids and let out a small, unmistakable yawn.
‘I shouldn’t fall asleep like this.’
I needed to see my sister, needed to check on Sis.
A child’s body was vulnerable to fatigue.
In a way, it was a miracle that I’d held on this long.
“Mmm…….”
Wrapped in warmth like I’d never known before, I let my eyes fall shut.
Perhaps that was why.
“……I should be the one thanking you.”
I didn’t catch the soft murmur he spoke beneath his breath.
“How is it you still can’t express yourself honestly, even now.”
Some time later, once Hyacinth had confirmed the child was fully asleep, she lowered her gaze.
It had been the same with the Duchess. Whether it was a dragon’s trait not to express one’s true feelings—no, wait. If anything, Veronika was perfectly forthright, wasn’t she?
Hyacinth concluded that the problem simply lay with the head of the household and swallowed hard.
“Hyacinth.”
“I wasn’t thinking anything disloyal!”
“?”
Lohaife stopped and turned to look at the mage. A chill crept down Hyacinth’s spine despite herself, and her eyes darted about.
“I, I was. My apologies.”
“…….”
“Why, why did you call me……?”
He asked with obvious tension written across his face.
“What do you know about the Count of Amelot?”
“……Isn’t it Amelot?”
“It’s all the same.”
No, it’s not at all the same.
The only thing they shared was the initial consonant.
“The Amelot Count Family—I know of them only vaguely. They don’t wield much influence within the Capital itself.”
“That so?”
“Yes. I saw them in person for the first time today, actually…… Ah, but they seem to have some connection with Chancellor Jerban.”
“Why’s that matter.”
“I don’t know myself, truthfully. I had no interest, so I didn’t investigate further.”
“Then investigate starting now.”
“Yes? Right now?”
“The child went rigid the moment the Count appeared. Like she’d seen an insect.”
Though in truth she’d tensed from fear, the one who could clarify was already asleep.
“Understood. I’ll begin first thing tomorrow—”
“Begin tonight.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hyacinth nodded obediently.
“Brother…… what?”
Veronika, who had been standing at the front of the carriage, opened her eyes wide. The child she’d naturally assumed would be awake was sleeping soundly in her brother’s arms.
“She seems to have fallen asleep from exhaustion. It’s nearly midnight already.”
Sis, who had been waiting alongside them, added a comment. Lohaife nodded.
“It’s about time for sleep anyway.”
“Hand her to me. She must be tired from the trip, right?”
Veronika subtly extended her hands, ready to dust off the child in the guise of concern.
“Not particularly.”
Lohaife, who had seen through the shrewd maneuver instantly, pivoted sharply away.
“Isn’t she tired? You had to be more exhausted than she was, surely.”
“Not at all.”
“Just give the child to me. I can carry her more comfortably.”
“She’s comfortable sleeping where she is.”
“Won’t she be happy to see my face when she wakes?”
“Later. It’s not as though she’ll never open her eyes.”
“Madman.”
She exhaled sharply as her brother climbed into the carriage.
The mage, who had sidled up beside Veronika, whispered.
“That thing—what do they call it again? The denial of something. I can’t remember the name.”
“No idea.”
Just give me back my dust.
* * *
“Extra edition! Extra edition!”
“The Bangcardium lockdown has been lifted!”
The most significant change following the Emperor’s birthday celebration was undoubtedly the image of “Bangcardium” itself.
A criminal who had murdered the Crown Prince and escaped from prison, fleeing the Capital.
But when the truth emerged—that it was all a false accusation, a scapegoat caught in a carefully orchestrated script—the people reeled in shock.
“So, then she really was imprisoned unjustly?”
“Certainly…… well, one can understand the escape then. If she hadn’t, she might truly have remained imprisoned forever, mightn’t she?”
“And her house—a thousand-year lineage’s status crushed to dust. Everyone cursed Bangcardium so viciously while she was locked away, didn’t they?”
They had witnessed firsthand how words, not swords, could kill a person.
If Bangcardium had simply remained quiet, if she had failed to gather evidence of her innocence, how would history have recorded her……?
The nobility pressed hands to their chests in relief.
Moreover,
“The Imperial Court was too harsh. When you think about it, even with clear evidence, didn’t they fail to properly direct the investigation?”
“Everyone trusted His Majesty. But Bangcardium…… she had been in seclusion for so long.”
With this affair, the nobility found themselves disappointed in the Imperial Court and seized with worry.
No matter how long Bangcardium had remained out of sight, she was a house no one could easily touch.
Yet she had been driven nearly to isolation, sent even to prison.
And to Iztale, no less.
The Empire’s worst prison.
‘Could it be my turn next?’
None could fathom why Bangcardium had been targeted, but given how things stood, there was no certainty that another house wouldn’t be next.
And so the nobility, alarmed though they were, refrained from speaking loudly as they once had.
They only whispered among themselves, very, very discreetly.
“Do you think Bangcardium will remain in the Capital now?”
“Perhaps not? At least for a while, I suspect they will.”
“Then…….”
What will she do now?
* * *
“Sob, sob, sob. I’m a worker bee. Sob, sob, sob, I work hard. I’m a worker bee. Sob, sob, sob.”

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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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