I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 139

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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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I’ll protect you.

Those were words he could never give back to her, not even as empty promises.

They were too light to casually utter like lip service, because the situation he found himself in was far from simple.

Rubel Albertine could not protect Seleneae Tigris.

That fact made him desperately hopeless.

It would be fortunate if he didn’t put her in danger instead.

For now, not being a hindrance to her was the way to help her.

Like last night when Yanan’s Moon filled the night sky.

Rubel quietly closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.

The thoughts that had been tangled like knotted thread in his mind became clear one by one.

Memories from his childhood.

Among them, fragments he had only vaguely remembered recently after discovering Mother’s Cottage rippled through his mind.

‘My goodness, Sharlina. He looks exactly like you!’

‘Hemera! I told you to call me Charlotte in the Imperial Palace. What if someone hears?’

‘What? I keep telling you, you worry too much. Did Rubel inherit that meticulous personality of yours too? A child shouldn’t be like that from such a young age.’

Laughter that rang out peacefully in the garden full of blooming flowers.

Behind the ladies with happy expressions, there was a small child peeking out his head.

Surely, that day was when he first met Seleneae.

When he was very young, the day when the two duchesses came to visit his mother at the Imperial Palace.

A small laugh escaped his lips.

He had thought it strange somehow.

Seleneae’s appearance when they first met in front of Plau’s Inn had felt familiar from the very beginning.

Recalling that time naturally brought a small smile to his lips. But Rubel soon erased his expression.

Because he remembered the point when all that happiness ended and terrible loneliness began.

‘Rubel, you must run away. Get out of here, you must… you alone must…’

His mother’s face, soaked with tears, was still vivid in his memory.

Mother was someone who could see the future.

She could keenly sense the deaths that would occur around her. Just as she had sensed Father’s death in advance.

So Rubel vaguely knew.

What the real reason was for Mother sending him away from the Imperial Palace, and what her feelings were at that time.

‘She must have seen my death too.’

What Mother had wanted to prevent above all else was surely that.

His own death that would follow after Father’s death.

Rubel had carried that wish of his mother’s as a burden of guilt throughout his solitary upbringing in the Cursed Land.

That was why he had closed his eyes even though he sensed something strange about Mother’s death and Father’s death.

He had been too young then.

Mother had sent him out of the palace even at the cost of her life, and thanks to that, he was breathing.

A life obtained that way could not be happy. But he couldn’t give up either.

So Rubel buried his guilt. He decided to rationalize his own existence and kept thinking.

That he must not let Mother’s sacrifice be in vain. That survival was more important than anything else.

Such thoughts relieved the burden on his heart. But at the same time, they made him hate himself enough to want to die.

A cool silence continued in the room. Rubel, who had been silent, slowly bent one knee.

His gaze was directed toward Seleneae.

“…You’re right.”

He had always waited for the right time. He thought that was all he could do.

Because the situation was dangerous. Because of Mother’s last words. Because he was still lacking so much.

But today he learned something new.

Time is not something you wait for. The more you wait for it, the further away it gets.

“You’re… right.”

It was like an answer to the question Seleneae had asked him. His gaze deepened endlessly.

He knew.

He had already left the Cursed Land on his own, and the world had changed long ago.

All thanks to one person.

Rubel took Seleneae’s hand that lay neatly on the blanket.

And slowly drew it toward his chest.

His heart beat so violently there was no room for excuses.

He slowly lowered his head and murmured softly.

“…How could I not like you.”

And very quietly, he pressed his lips to the back of her hand.

It felt like hot blood was flowing through his head. Only one thought filled his chest.

If, just if.

‘If I’ve grown tired of hiding anymore.’

If he had begun to feel disgusted with this kind of life.

If he hated that his existence was a threat to Seleneae, and wanted to raise legitimate questions about his parents’ suspicious deaths even now.

What he had to do was clear.

Rubel was, yes, cautious by nature like his mother as the Duchess Tigris had said, but he was by no means a foolish person.

The first thing that needed to change was himself.

He needed power enough not to fear the ‘danger’ Duke Haren had spoken of, or even more than that.

Having realized this, he could never return to his previous mindset.

Rubel whispered in a voice that suppressed his emotions.

“…So wake up, quickly.”

The night sky was still unbelievably bright.

The door slowly closed.

Only after the quiet footsteps had completely faded away did I open my eyes. And covered my mouth with one hand.

“…What.”

The back of my hand was burning.

It felt exactly like my heart had moved from my chest to the back of my hand.

“He, he, he just now…”

I stammered as I looked toward the tightly closed door.

‘How could I not like you.’

His voice echoed low in my ears. My face was so hot it was numb.

‘What is he…’

I squeezed my eyes shut once and opened them. When I turned my head, I saw the window with curtains tightly drawn.

Looking at the light seeping through the gaps, it seemed several hours had passed since I collapsed.

‘First, first let me calm down.’

I took a deep breath and widened my eyes. Then I stared at the ceiling and thought.

‘As planned, the public trial will be held soon.’

I had demanded a public trial, staking not only my own wealth but the entire wealth of the Tigris family.

Because I was that confident.

Even if the Temple desperately refused because they had something to hide…

‘They’ll have no choice but to proceed due to pressure from the Emperor and other nobles.’

It was actually very fortunate that the Academy’s situation was broadcast to the entire Empire through the magic mirror.

The claim that Dearmant, long considered an ancient monster, might actually be a sacred sprite was an event that would interest everyone in the Empire.

Moreover, the entity requesting re-verification was none other than one of the Four Dukes, the Tigris Family, which has been rapidly expanding its influence recently.

And considering that an enormous amount of wealth equivalent to several decades of the Empire’s budget hangs on the results of this verification….

‘No matter how hard the temple tries, the verification will proceed.’

Everyone would be curious about the results. Including the Emperor, the Empire’s highest authority.

I organized in my mind the conversations I had exchanged with Kerus before meeting Father.

The history of the Fratrer Church, and the ancient god Fluma who has now disappeared.

Even though I had only heard a brief overview, the stories Kerus told me were incredible.

‘First of all, the most shocking thing was that Fratrer isn’t actually the creator god.’

The one who created everything in the beginning wasn’t Fratrer.

It was Fluma.

After being in complete darkness for a long time, she molded mountains, created rivers, and raised the sky, then thought.

It would be nice if there were souls to share all this beauty with.

Thus was born her first creation, who resembled her greatly,

the soul Fratrer, whom she loved dearly.

She shared part of her power with Fratrer. And together with him, she strived to make the world even more beautiful.

Humans were also born during this process, and before long, Fluma came to love humans very deeply.

There was an invisible bond among humans. Watching them made every moment warm and bright.

Fluma envied the fact that they could belong somewhere under the names of family, lovers, and sometimes friends.

So based on the love they possessed, she created three souls closer to humans or to herself as a god.

Adam, Amon, and Amicus.

Unlike when she created Fratrer, these three souls loved Fluma absolutely.

Fluma loved them too, but she soon felt a contradiction.

She realized that no matter how much they loved each other, it could never be the same as human emotions.

Perhaps it was natural.

She herself wasn’t human to begin with.

“What are you thinking about so intently.”

Just then, a familiar voice came from right beside me. I turned my head.

“Kerus?”

The window was open, though I didn’t know when it had been opened.

The curtains fluttered slightly, and Kerus stood before them in human form.

His long silver hair swayed gently in the wind.

“What brings you here?”

As I sat up in bed, Kerus frowned.

“I saw you collapse. I was curious if you were alright.”

“….”

“If you collapse, we won’t be able to prove that we’re Sacred Sprites, will we.”

I stared intently at Kerus, who was avoiding my gaze for some reason. Then I let out a small laugh.

“You’re worried about me right now, aren’t you?”

Kerus flinched and looked at me.

“Wh-what do you mean I was worried about you.”

I smiled as I looked at his cheeks, which seemed to have reddened somehow.

And I brought up something I hadn’t been able to say earlier due to all the commotion.

“Thank you for listening to my request to reconsider the war.”

Kerus’s expression became quite serious.

“…It all happened because of Fratrer’s schemes anyway. It’s also my fault for misunderstanding humans.”

“Still, Kerus lost a lot.”

Kerus’s blue-green eyes turned toward me. He looked slightly surprised.

“I’m sorry about losing your kin.”

“…What.”

“But as you saw from the Academy people’s reactions, they don’t know anything.”

Kerus nodded.

“Right. We discussed it among ourselves too. The time when humans started planting Creda Trees coincides with when the Fratrer Church’s clergy visited this area.”

“Is that really true?”

“Yes. It means Fratrer planted Creda Trees in this region to narrow our territory and incite humans to attack us.”

I frowned and asked.

“What exactly is Fratrer’s problem?”

Kerus hesitated and looked up at me.

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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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