I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 16

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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 opened my eyes to a cool sensation felt from my toes.

The first thing that came into view was a vast sky spreading out before me.

A clear sky without a single cloud stretched in all directions.

“Wh-what is this!”

As I bolted upright, I saw my two legs floating in mid-air.

At this shocking sight, I let out an ‘Aaah!’ and stumbled backward, soon bumping into something and tumbling forward with a thud.

“Ugh…!”

When I lifted my head, the surroundings had changed.

A wide playground.

An old concrete building topped with a blue roof.

This place is…

“Sebin Lee, what are you doing?”

At the face that suddenly appeared before me, I blinked anxiously.

Short-cropped hair, plump features from eating well.

A face so familiar it was etched into my mind.

“I told you to go check what today’s snack is.”

“…”

“Why did you come here and bump into me, you idiot? Are you blind?”

The child in front of me suddenly shoved me. At that harsh touch, I helplessly collapsed back to the ground.

A situation I knew all too well.

No, a memory I thought had become somewhat blurred by now.

My palm stung as I pressed it against the Orphanage Playground floor after falling. I felt a throbbing pain in my wrist too.

The child spat on the ground and growled.

“What are you staring at so annoyingly, damn those eyes!!”

At the sight of the child threateningly raising their fist, I quickly covered my face with my arms and curled up.

If that fist hit me, it would definitely hurt. For several days, no less.

How did I know? Because I had already been hit countless times.

He was the director’s son who had beaten and tormented me throughout my time growing up in the orphanage.

It was the moment I squeezed my eyes shut with all my might, anticipating the violence that would follow.

But no matter how much time passed, I felt no pain.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw someone’s back blocking my view.

“Stop it.”

It was a calm but firm voice.

Then the director’s son spat out some low curses and soon gave up, turning his back and walking away.

‘…What?’

Isn’t this a memory from the past?

In reality, there was no one who saved me.

As I stared blankly at that scene, the stranger turned around and extended their hand.

But…

Their face was surrounded by light and couldn’t be seen.

I reflexively squinted my eyes.

Everything else was clearly visible, but only this strange figure’s face was obscured by light and completely invisible.

I opened my mouth with a confused expression.

“Who… who are you exactly…”

“Selene.”

I stiffened at the name the figure murmured.

‘Not Sebin Lee?’

The surroundings were gradually becoming brighter.

“…Forgive me.”

A somehow sad-sounding voice echoed again in the space where I was.

I stared at the light-surrounded figure with confused eyes, then urgently shouted.

“You, who are you? What… what do you want me to forgive?”

The other gave no answer.

Meanwhile, the surroundings continued to brighten. The light became increasingly blurred.

I jumped up and reached toward where the figure had been. But my hand touched nothing.

Only a faint outline barely remained now.

The gentle voice echoed once more.

“I’m sorry for… you. We’ll meet again. Until then…”

The voice, breaking up and growing smaller, finally disappeared completely. I frantically looked around.

The Orphanage Playground and the kids who had bullied me in childhood had all vanished.

In the empty White Space, I was completely alone. Suddenly, extreme fear washed over me and I contorted my face.

“Where… where did you go.”

Tinnitus rang in my ears and I felt pain in my chest. I wrapped my arms around myself and cried out desperately.

“I, I’m still here…!”

There was no answer. Only my frightened voice bounced off something and returned as an echo.

I sat down on the floor with a dejected expression.

Then I buried my face between my knees. My hands trembled, and my vision kept blurring.

“I, I’m here… I’m still remaining…”

Hot tears flowed down my cheeks along the palms covering my face.

‘This is a dream. It must be a dream.’

Suddenly I felt all strength leave my body and my head tilting to one side.

I lost consciousness once again.

Selene lay as if asleep. Red marks were still vividly visible on her neck.

Duke Aleon Tigris gazed at Selene with eyes colder and more sunken than ever before.

Walter, standing beside him, asked the guard behind them in a deliberately stern voice.

“What happened to that man.”

“He’s in the Underground Prison. Count Bastin is preparing the torture…”

Then Duke Aleon Tigris, who had been maintaining silence, muttered lowly.

“You can cut off everything.”

“…”

“Except the neck and tongue.”

Walter interjected.

“But Your Grace. That man is a priest of The Grand Cathedral. If we rashly do such things, The Order won’t stand for it…”

“Shut up.”

Walter closed his mouth.

Aleon’s eyes were blazing fiercely.

Walter had never seen him with such eyes, not even on the battlefield.

One more word might cost him his head, but he resolutely opened his mouth again.

It was to fulfill his responsibility as an aide.

“…You need to be calm right now.”

His voice was resolute.

“There might be someone who ordered this from behind.”

“…”

“If we want to deal with them all at once, we need to save the cards we’re holding. If we make a mistake and that bastard dies…”

Duke Aleon Tigris’s hand trembled. But the trembling soon stopped.

As if forcibly suppressing something, he let out a short sigh through his teeth and reluctantly muttered in a murderous tone.

“…Tell them to stand by for now.”

The guard bowed his head and left. A suffocating silence descended upon the bedroom.

“I kept thinking something was strange.”

Breaking through the silence, Aleon ground his teeth.

“Even though Selene had been avoiding me since that incident, she never refused to even look at my face.”

His voice trembled faintly with rage. Unable to bear it any longer, Walter spoke cautiously.

“…Please calm down first.”

“We’re returning to the territory soon. Summon the troops and send spies into The Grand Cathedral.”

“But Your Grace. Returning to the territory isn’t such an easy matter. First, you need to obtain permission from the Emperor to return…”

“Two years!”

Walter shut his mouth at the Duke’s roar. Duke Aleon Tigris was glaring at him menacingly.

“A full two years. Maybe even longer than that. I’ve left Selene to suffer like that all this time. And in my own house, no less.”

“…”

“If things had gone just a little wrong!!”

Walter kept his mouth shut. The Duke’s red eyes shook dangerously.

“…I might have had to lose Selene just like Hemera.”

Walter looked at the Duke and slowly nodded his head.

“I’ll summon the retainers as soon as dawn breaks.”

Then the Duke added with empty eyes.

“Request an audience with the Emperor. The sooner the better. After this mess, I can’t ask to stay any longer.”

Walter bowed his head and left the room. His steps were urgent. There was much to do.

He had to find all those behind Father Mayer and any informants hiding somewhere in the manor.

However, as he hurried down the corridor, he gradually slowed to a stop. Then he muttered very quietly in disbelief.

“All this time, everything the young lady has been doing…”

He had simply thought it was the lingering wound of losing her mother at such a young age.

His master probably thought the same. But that wasn’t it.

Veins bulged on his forehead.

Though he tried to maintain composure in front of his master, Walter couldn’t help but feel rage surging within him too.

He recalled Selene’s image from when they met in the garden a few days ago, smiling brightly and waving at him.

‘How dare they, against House of Tigris.’

The sound of his footsteps echoed fiercely through the empty corridor.

Meanwhile, on the backstreet of the manor.

The shadows of two anxious-looking people stretched long in the moonlight.

“Now, what should we do now! This is all because of you! I told you that intensifying the education in this situation would be a path to mutual destruction!”

“Please calm down.”

A composed voice calmed the other voice that was raging frantically.

“There’s still a way.”

“What way could there possibly be! Father Mayer, who was in charge of the education, has been captured! Now if he starts naming those involved, I’ll be…!”

“We just need to make sure he can’t open his mouth.”

Silence fell between the two at this unexpected statement. The now even more composed voice echoed quietly.

“H-how do you plan to do that? The one in charge of his interrogation is Count Bastin, notorious for his cruelty. That very Count Bastin who’s called the worst among the Tigris retainers!”

“Exactly. We just need to make him lose his mind. So he can’t feel even the most terrible pain.”

“What do you mean…”

“Didn’t I tell you before? ‘That person’ is far more remarkable than you imagine.”

Clouds slowly covered the moonlight.

“You just need to watch your tongue.”

“…!”

“Until the next orders come down.”

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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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