I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 112

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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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“Your Grace!”

The study door burst open.

Aleon slightly furrowed his brow upon confirming the face that suddenly appeared through the door gap. It was Walter.

“It’s urgent business, very urgent!”

Aleon’s eyebrows raised slightly at his unusual appearance.

No matter how urgent the matter, Walter had always maintained at least minimal protocol. In that sense, this current situation was quite unnatural.

Aleon’s temper flared.

But whether he knew his lord’s feelings or not, Walter leaned against the study wall, panting as if he might collapse, and said:

“The southern old man, no, Duke Luke Halen has sent a telegram!”

“He must have sent it to the wrong person.”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case. He asks that you come to the Academy Jurisdiction as quickly as possible.”

Aleon plunged the quill pen he was holding in his right hand deep into the inkwell. Then he stared at Walter with a cold gaze.

“So.”

“Yes?”

“There’s no reason I should go running just because that old man calls. What’s the reason for suddenly handling business this way.”

It was a response that was not just cold but downright terrifying, yet Walter wasn’t discouraged in the least.

After all, his lord had been in that state ever since Selene left, so this reaction was familiar.

Instead of being intimidated, Walter shouted as if indignant.

“Your Grace, why are you being like this, really!”

Aleon frowned.

“Right now, even if Duke Halen asked you to do somersaults, you should do it!”

“….”

“It’s a chance to see the young lady!”

But upon hearing Walter’s following words, Aleon’s eyes went blank.

As if he’d been struck on the back of the head, life gradually returned to his previously empty face.

Walter watched his lord’s complexion change over several seconds and unconsciously rubbed his arms. Somehow he got goosebumps.

But he quickly came to his senses and added an explanation.

“They say the exam starts tonight. Originally, visits before exams are impossible, but for some reason, they contacted us asking to come as quickly as possible.”

“….”

“Perhaps if we use a teleportation circle, we might be able to see her face briefly before the exam….”

At that moment, Aleon suddenly stood up from his seat without warning. He was putting on his coat with incredibly swift movements.

“Are you going now? The preparations aren’t finished yet….”

Aleon lightly ignored Walter’s words and headed for the door.

“Go to the first floor immediately and have them start making desserts. Focus on the ones Selene likes.”

Walter, who had been frozen with wide eyes, quickly nodded. Since they had somehow obtained this visitation opportunity, it was true that they couldn’t waste it carelessly.

Moreover, it had already been over two weeks since she left, so it was about time she’d be missing the desserts made by the Tigris head chef.

Walter quickly followed Aleon, who had already left the study, outside.

‘You’ll take me along too, right…?’

Even though it would be brief, to handle business normally while away from the manor, there were mountains of documents to prepare besides desserts.

Luke Halen was breathing heavily, unable to calm down.

He was in a complete state of panic.

As his hands trembled, Sadina, who couldn’t bear to watch, stepped forward. She slammed down a glass of cool water on the table with a thud.

“Please, just take some deep breaths.”

It was a sharp voice, but worry was embedded in it.

Duke Halen looked up at her with trembling eyes and barely managed to swallow a sip from the water glass.

Then he opened his mouth.

“So…. You found someone who remembers the old couple who lived in that cottage.”

“That’s what I’m telling you. I’ve brought them outside the door, so they’ll come in immediately if you give the order.”

Sadina, with her brow deeply furrowed, continued.

“Really now, please calm down. Nothing has been revealed yet, so there’s no need for this.”

Duke Halen swallowed his violently rising breath again.

There was nothing wrong with Sadina’s words. But that didn’t mean he could calm down.

After accidentally overhearing those children’s conversation, he immediately sent people to the cottage in question.

The cottage was not far from the Academy jurisdiction, but it was clearly in Tigris territory.

‘So that was it. The reason we couldn’t find her even after searching the entire estate thoroughly.’

By just a hand’s width difference, because the child was staying in Tigris territory, not Haren territory.

‘And that photograph.’

Right after he had smashed all the dishes on the tray, Lady Tigris came running over and earnestly explained something to him.

But most of it had already been wiped white from his mind.

The only thing that remained in his memory was a single photograph the lady had shown while explaining.

Luke Halen saw a girl in that photograph.

A girl who resembled him greatly… and also resembled Riana, whom he had loved so much.

‘But she’s the Former Empress?’

She clearly looked like his daughter Sharlina, yet she was the Former Empress.

Sharlina and Charlotte Irina.

Come to think of it, even their names were similar. As if Sharlina had deliberately changed her name to live.

Duke Halen briefly wondered if all of this might be a dream. And at the same time, he resented himself for not attending the Former Emperor’s royal wedding.

If he had confirmed the Former Empress’s face even once. No, even if he had just glimpsed her.

Or if he had visited the capital even just once.

This complicated situation might have been resolved a bit more quickly.

Along with the countless thoughts floating around in his head, reality was simply unacceptable.

At that moment, one thought flashed through his mind.

When they met in the cave.

The question Lady Tigris had thrown at him.

‘How long has it been since you last visited the Empire?’

Yes, she had definitely asked that. And when he answered that it had been about 35 years, she had a strangely flustered expression.

It felt like something heavy had struck his head and passed by.

Could it be that while listening to my story, she anticipated that the Former Empress might be Sharlina?

To confirm whether he had ever encountered the Former Empress, that’s why she asked that out-of-the-blue question.

“That’s impossible….”

Luke Halen let out a pained groan. Sadina, unable to bear watching, sighed.

“If I give him more time, he’ll end up in a coffin at this rate. This won’t do. Just tell them to come in.”

The administrator guarding the door nodded.

Without time to prepare mentally, the door opened.

What entered hesitantly was a commoner woman who claimed to know the old couple who lived in the cottage.

“So… the old couple who lived in that cottage died long ago.”

Madrin, with ordinary brown hair, was puzzled about why she had been brought here, but quickly bowed her head.

The person sitting across from her was unmistakably Duke Halen.

“Y-yes. On the day the market was held in the village, the warehouse next to the stall run by the old couple collapsed….”

Duke Halen remained silent without saying a word.

As Madrin blinked in confusion, the sharp-featured woman beside the Duke interjected.

The woman’s name was Sadina.

“That couple were farmers. What did they sell at the market?”

Madrin quietly narrowed her brow and traced through her memories. There were a few things that came to mind.

“Um, from what I remember, it was medicinal herbs.”

“Medicinal herbs?”

Sadina’s eyes narrowed.

The elderly couple were farmers and the cottage they lived in was on a wide field.

Naturally, there was no way valuable herbs worth selling would just grow in an ordinary field.

“Where on earth did they get the herbs from….”

Sadina, who had been muttering, closed her mouth.

Come to think of it, that cottage was close to the forest in the Academy jurisdiction.

Just cross the boundary line marked by old fences and it would be Duke Haren’s domain, right behind the Academy.

And that forest was always lush with herbs and plants.

Sadina, who had roughly grasped the situation, narrowed her eyes.

“So the elderly couple had been going in and out of Duke Haren’s domain?”

Madrin hesitated with a slightly surprised expression, then quickly added.

“W-well, yes, but it was only very occasionally! They only picked a tiny bit of herbs, when things got really desperate, really just enough to sell for one day to help with living expenses….”

“Hmm.”

At Sadina’s contemplative hum, Madrin anxiously trailed off.

Thinking of the kind and warm-hearted elderly couple who had passed away, she felt heavy-hearted, wondering if she had said something wrong.

‘Surely these people wouldn’t dig up the elderly couple’s grave, would they?’

There were indeed such people among the nobility. But Sadina unexpectedly muttered indifferently.

“Well, that level would be cute thievery.”

Madrin looked up at her with slightly surprised eyes. Soon relief flooded deep into her chest.

‘She doesn’t seem particularly angry. That’s fortunate, but….’

But as the tension eased, questions quickly filled its place.

‘I’m a resident of the Tigris estate, and I’ve never crossed the boundary line even once, so why was I dragged here?’

There were many other strange points too. In the first place, the elderly couple they were asking about were also Tigris estate residents.

Not Haren estate residents.

They weren’t people these distinguished individuals before her would have reason to be curious about.

‘Did those old folks commit some great crime without my knowing?’

Madrin, who had slightly raised her head, instinctively observed Duke Haren’s expression.

Ever since she entered this place, the Duke had been wearing a gloomy expression the entire time.

Not only that.

He would tremble with a pale complexion, or occasionally let out sighs close to groans.

As she was secretly glancing at that sight while holding her breath, Sadina spoke up.

“Well, that aside, I heard the elderly couple had a child. Do you know anything about this?”

Madrin’s eyes widened as she pondered the word ‘child’.

A child? Did the elderly couple have a child? That couldn’t be right.

Lady Ponzi, who was the wife, was indeed a woman who always wanted children. She had definitely heard that she was even considering adoption at her late age.

Because she had often felt sorry for their situation, Madrin remembered clearly. So she shook her head.

“No, that can’t be right. They desperately wanted a child, but….”

She soon closed her mouth.

Because something else had suddenly come to mind.

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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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