I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 116

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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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“What did you just say? Who likes who?”

Just then, a voice from the end of the corridor broke the silence.

Rubel, who had been frozen, stiffly turned his head. I also slowly lowered the finger I had been pointing at him.

“Professor Sadina?”

Professor Sadina was looking at us with interested eyes. She strode toward us.

“I was just coming to get you, but what’s this interesting story about?”

She looked back and forth between me and Rubel with a strange expression. Then she lifted one corner of her mouth.

“Like? Do you like him, or does he like you?”

Her hand moved back and forth between me and Rubel.

I moved my lips with reddened cheeks. Then Professor Sadina’s expression brightened considerably.

“Oh ho, I got it! You like the old man’s grandson.”

“N-no, I don’t!”

When I shouted without thinking, Sadina burst into laughter.

I looked at Rubel with a resentful face. Then I gestured toward Professor Sadina and whispered.

“You, you…! Hurry up and say something…!”

But Rubel had a blank expression, completely dazed. Just as I was about to open my mouth again in frustration.

“…When does the verification begin?”

Rubel finally spoke. In a low, blunt voice.

“Ah, the magic verification.”

Professor Sadina, who had been laughing while holding her stomach, suddenly looked up. She blinked as if just remembering and answered.

“It will start soon. We need to hurry if we’re going to conduct the entrance exam at midnight.”

She quickly turned around.

“Time is short, so hurry and follow me.”

I stared blankly at Professor Sadina’s retreating figure.

Rubel immediately followed behind her without hesitation. Without making eye contact with me at all.

“…Huh?”

A short exclamation escaped my lips.

Running away. That was definitely running away.

I stared at his retreating figure with clenched fists and an incredulous expression.

Next to the holy water stand containing the liquid for magic verification, there was a table split exactly in two.

“So that breaking sound was this…?”

As I muttered quietly, a welcome shout came from across the room.

“Miss!”

Walter, who had been reviewing several complicated-looking documents, ran toward me.

Father, who had been looking out the window beside him, turned his head.

“…Selene!”

Father’s face filled with a bright smile. I smiled widely and quickly walked toward Father.

“Father!”

So happy to see him, I hugged Father tightly and exclaimed.

“I missed you so, so much!”

Then I heard affectionate laughter from above my head.

“Yes, those three weeks felt like 300 years.”

But our touching reunion was quickly interrupted.

“Good heavens. I’m getting such chills I think I might lose my eyesight.”

It was because of Professor Sadina’s muttering as she watched us with a pale face.

Embarrassed, I quickly stepped back. Then I smiled awkwardly and said to Father.

“Ah… I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy these past two weeks, I was just so happy to see you…”

Father shook his head and smiled. Then Walter interjected with a tearful expression.

“Miss, I was truly worried!”

“Walter! It’s been so long, have you been well?”

When I smiled brightly, Walter shook his head and answered.

“Don’t even mention it. As soon as you departed, His Grace…”

Walter glanced at Father. Then he carefully continued.

“…Well, let’s save that story for later. I have something urgent to tell you, which is why I took the liberty of following here.”

“Something urgent to tell me?”

Walter smiled brightly.

“Congratulations! The trade route development project proceeding under your name has been completed.”

My eyes widened at those words.

“The trade route development – you mean the one leading to the Kingdom of Tassen? That was supposed to be completed early next year!”

Walter nodded and pulled out several sheets of parchment from the documents he was holding to show me.

“Yes. But several nobles from Tassen voluntarily provided manpower to the construction site. It seems they wanted to advance the trading by even a day.”

“So that means…”

“Yes. As soon as it was completed, we finished registering the trading company name you mentioned first, and we’re currently transporting goods to the intermediate warehouse.”

A smile gradually spread across my lips.

“My goodness, then trading will begin soon?”

“That’s right. I really wanted to tell you this news in person, so I worked very hard to come along. You were very interested in this matter, weren’t you?”

Walter smiled and gestured to the huge document bag behind him. The leather bag was packed full of all kinds of documents.

“Walter…”

How did he know I’m greedy for money…!

Somehow feeling moved, I said boldly.

“Once the Academy business is finished, I’ll make sure to give you a proper incentive.”

“Pardon?”

“A bonus… I mean additional compensation. You’ve worked so hard all this time.”

Walter rubbed his philtrum awkwardly and answered.

“I was just doing what I should naturally do.”

I looked at him fondly and then turned my head.

Father looked somewhat displeased, and Professor Sadina was standing in front of the holy water stand doing something.

‘Right, the magic verification.’

I had momentarily forgotten because I was so happy to see Father and Walter.

The reason I had entered this room.

When I turned my gaze, I saw Rubel having a conversation with Duke Haren in one corner of the room.

I couldn’t hear the conversation well, but both of them didn’t look displeased.

As I watched Rubel’s profile as he occasionally smiled, I slightly furrowed my brow.

‘It’s good that it seems to be resolved well, but…’

When it comes to difficult questions, he just runs away, doesn’t he?

The back of my head still stung from what happened earlier.

‘All this time I was just frustrated wondering why Rubel kept avoiding Estelin.’

In the original story, the two fell in love at first sight.

But until now, no matter how much I tried to bring them together, they remained indifferent.

‘Far from falling in love at first sight, they seemed to be losing interest in each other more and more.’

But to think it was because Rubel liked me…!

My face heated up again.

But thinking about it that way, all of Rubel’s strange behaviors made sense.

How he was uncomfortable when I touched men too often, and how he sometimes gave incomprehensible looks to Casian or Ansun.

Even how he would blush and avoid the situation whenever he said something.

‘I just thought he was very shy.’

“…I’m really crazy too.”

When I muttered to myself without thinking, Walter glanced at me.

But I didn’t hold back the rising sigh and let it out deeply.

When I lived as Sebin Lee, I don’t think I was this oblivious, so I wondered how things had come to this.

‘Well, of course I thought Rubel would naturally end up with Estelin!’

But thinking about it again, it wouldn’t be that strange even if those two didn’t end up together.

From the moment I possessed Selene’s body, the original story had already changed drastically.

First, Eria didn’t die, and thanks to that, she became close to Estelin.

Not only did I rescue Rubel from the Cursed Land several years early, but I also won the Thanksgiving Festival and met all sorts of people.

So instead of steadily following the execution route as I should have been, here I was taking the Academy exam.

I glanced sideways to look at Father.

‘And what about the Tigris family.’

The family was more prosperous than ever. Father’s position in the Empire was also growing day by day.

Also, though it wasn’t certain, we had roughly figured out who we should consider our enemy.

‘In this situation, it would be nonsensical for only Rubel and Estelin to follow the original story.’

And if Rubel really liked me… well, that wasn’t entirely implausible either.

‘I was the one who got him out of the Cursed Land early, and I was the one who hid his identity and ensured his safety all this time.’

His gratitude must have gradually grown and turned into romantic feelings.

But still, somehow it felt embarrassing.

I unconsciously bit my lips when Sadina, who had finished preparing something in front of the holy water stand, spoke.

“We can begin now.”

At those words, Duke Haren and Rubel, who had been conversing, turned their gazes. The two slowly approached Sadina.

As Sadina conspicuously tilted the thin, long bottle she held in her hand, a transparent reagent mixed into the holy water stand.

After confirming the liquid mixed well, Sadina gestured toward Duke Haren.

“Now, everything’s ready, so let’s start with the Dean.”

Duke Haren, with a very tense expression, nodded and approached the holy water stand.

“Just dip your hand in the solution and release a little bit of your magic power.”

Duke Haren silently followed Sadina’s instructions.

As he pushed his hand into the solution in the holy water stand, the transparent liquid created ripples.

Soon, magic power spread from within along with a hazy light. The liquid began to sparkle little by little.

Sadina, who had been carefully observing something, raised one hand.

“Mm, that’s enough.”

Duke Haren stepped back. And he wiped his wet hand on a cloth that had been prepared behind him.

Sadina checked something more before opening her mouth.

“Next.”

Now it was Rubel’s turn.

“Just do exactly what that gentleman did. If the quality of the two magic powers match, the liquid will turn silver, and if they don’t match, the color will turn dark black.”

At those words, Duke Haren clenched both hands tightly.

I watched Rubel with a tense expression.

Rubel himself had a calm face showing no signs of agitation whatsoever.

Soon he put his hand into the holy water stand.

As his large hand was completely submerged in the solution, magic power began to flow out.

Sadina smiled slightly after confirming the gradually changing color of the liquid.

“Indeed.”

The solution in the holy water stand was, needless to say, a vivid silver color.

Without any cloudiness or darkening anywhere, the solution sparkled as if real silver had been melted down and rippled in the holy water stand.

Duke Haren, who had been watching, approached Rubel and spoke in a somewhat choked voice.

“…Good work.”

Rubel nodded and withdrew his hand from the holy water stand. Professor Sadina smiled leisurely and looked at my father.

“Well, now only the guarantee remains. Though there’s only one witness.”

All verification ceremonies in the Erbia Empire required a guarantee procedure. This was especially true for magic power verification.

Even though it wasn’t a practically meaningful process, the people of the Empire traditionally valued that procedure.

Father, who had been standing next to me, slowly stepped forward.

And after checking the liquid in the holy water stand, he looked around at the people in the room and spoke calmly.

“I declare by the sacred window that witnessed the verification.”

It was a low but clear voice.

“I, Aleon Tigris, guarantee that the bloodlines of these two people are the same, and swear before the name of the Empire that there is not a single falsehood.”

I paused while listening to the guarantee declaration.

Because something was strange about the oath.

What should have been “Prater God” had been changed to “the name of the Empire.”

Then suddenly, I remembered what Rosette had said a few days ago.

‘Come to think of it, did everyone hear that the Central Temple construction fell through?’

‘Your father directly requested the related matter to His Majesty the Emperor. And that was at the regular Council of Nobles.’

Right. At that time, what Father had requested was definitely the reduction of the Temple’s authority.

Because of that request…

‘Even the guarantee declaration oath was changed.’

I felt strange and couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

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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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