I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 161

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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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Duke Belmart.

Sebin Belmartre did not come to see his second daughter Grace’s face until she began to babble.

Meanwhile, he hurled verbal abuse at his wife Sidian without missing a single day.

“You useless woman.”

“It would have been better if you had died when you were pregnant with the first one!”

“You are the root of all problems…! Damn it, why did such a woman come to House of Belmart…”

He was endlessly cold to his wife, whose health had deteriorated after childbirth.

At the same time, he began to lament his own situation of not having a son.

After wandering around the manor with a dark face for several days, he finally found a solution.

He decided to bring others into his bedroom to replace Sidian.

Young and healthy women, unlike her.

“This is shameful, so keep it strictly secret.”

Having given such orders to the servants, Belmart was rather brazen in front of Sidian.

“If I have a son with one of them, you will keep your mouth shut and raise him quietly. Understood?”

Sidian could not give any answer.

She just sat alone in the dark solitary confinement, staring for a long time at the women coming and going from the manor.

Grace remembered forever that lonely figure seen beyond the rails of the baby’s crib.

Seasons changed, and time passed.

When Grace turned four years old.

“…Shh, Grace.”

On the way back from a walk on the backstreet with her sister Gloria, who was ten years older,

Grace saw the face of the man called father for the first time.

Tall stature. Healthy build.

Sebin Belmartre, with his graying hair neatly combed back, looked as huge as a giant to her.

‘The Giant of Belmart.’

The protagonist of the family legend that had been passed down through generations, which her mother and sister had read to her from old books.

The giant who saved the first Belmart when he was threatened by a large lion in the field.

The giant healed Belmart’s wounds and became his eternal friend.

Until Belmart had children, and those children had children, and descendants grew up for generations.

‘The Giant of Belmart’ became the guardian in the family legend for that reason.

However,

“It’s your doing, isn’t it? It’s your doing! You must have cast a curse!”

“Honey, that’s not it, I…”

Crack—!

With a dull bursting sound, Sidian’s body was pushed to a corner of the corridor.

Grace, hiding in Gloria’s arms, suddenly realized.

The Giant of Belmart was not kind, and this was not inside a fairy tale.

“Gasp…”

Sister Gloria held her breath and hugged Grace deeper into her arms.

And she began to tremble with her face buried in Grace’s hair.

The sound of fierce kicking continued for quite a while from beyond the corner.

“If it’s not your doing, then how will you explain this! How does it make sense that all those countless women, as if they made a promise, couldn’t get pregnant even once!”

Sebin Belmartre had brought countless women into his bedroom over the past three years.

With the sole determination to have a son.

But none of them bore him a son.

No, it would be more accurate to say that none of them even got pregnant.

Even Sidian, who was constitutionally frail, had carried his child twice!

For him, it was beyond frustrating—it was devastating.

“You cast a curse. You cast a curse. You used forbidden magic, didn’t you? Otherwise, how does all this make sense!”

“Honey, that’s…”

With a thud, Sidian collapsed to the floor once again.

The Duke coldly turned his back on his fallen wife. And he called for the butler.

“Paul!”

The butler came running hurriedly.

“Lock this woman at the top of the castle. Don’t give her even a sip of water until she confesses what forbidden magic she used!”

“B-but, Master…”

“Don’t my words sound like words to you!”

His angry voice echoed thunderously through the manor.

The butler hastily lowered his gaze and nodded.

The servants behind hesitantly approached Sidian.

Sidian called out to the Duke in a voice that seemed about to break.

“…Honey, Sebin. Please…”

But the Duke did not look back.

Sidian was led away by the servants’ hands just like that.

The sisters watching from behind the wall held their breath even deeper.

But then, the Duke who had turned around began walking toward them.

Gloria’s body stiffened in shock.

On the other hand, Grace peeked her head out from her sister’s arms with strange curiosity.

And she made eye contact with Sebin who appeared around the corner.

The Giant of Belmart with an extremely angry face.

“…”

A giant who was not kind but violent.

Grace stared intently at Sebin Belmartre.

Duke Belmart’s gaze, meeting those eyes, also sank strangely.

What is this skinny little rat-like thing?

And he remembered.

Right. Her name was Grace, wasn’t it.

This was the first time seeing the second failure that Sidian had given birth to. But…

When he lowered his gaze further, he saw his first daughter, whom he had never shown affection to despite her being almost fourteen.

Gloria was crying until her nose tip turned bright red.

Her appearance, trembling and crying without even making eye contact with him, overlapped with Sidian’s image.

Belmart felt an inexplicable displeasure and looked at Grace again.

A frame that barely seemed to reach his knees.

But her raised head was straight.

Her eyes looking directly at him were also clear.

The second daughter Grace was somehow different from the first.

“…At least she’s better.”

Having unconsciously muttered this, he soon slowly passed by Grace.

Unaware that the child’s persistent gaze was following him from behind.

“Grace… No, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Grace suddenly awakened from her reverie. She raised her head and Gloria was there.

“Sister, it’s been a long time.”

“Yes.”

Gloria’s cheeks were gaunt as she answered.

Perhaps from lack of proper sleep, her eyes were sunken, and her wrists visible beneath her sleeves looked fragile enough to break.

“It seems you’re still having trouble eating.”

“….”

Gloria gave no answer. She remained silent for a long while before opening her mouth.

“I heard the news and… came running immediately. I’m sorry about His Majesty’s condition…”

“Not at all. Please make yourself comfortable, sister.”

Gloria stiffened momentarily.

After looking at Grace with her haggard face for a moment, she nodded weakly.

“Understood.”

A cold silence settled over the drawing room with just the two of them.

Grace looked at the lukewarm tea that had grown cold and asked.

“What about Father?”

“…He hasn’t arrived yet. He’s very angry.”

“You must have had a hard time, sister.”

At those words, tears suddenly welled up in Gloria’s eyes.

“I…”

As her words trailed off, thick teardrops finally fell onto her knees.

Grace silently watched her sister.

Gloria had lost Meg.

Of course, Meg hadn’t died or been seriously injured.

But that child was a daughter Gloria had kept close to her heart her entire life.

For such a daughter to suddenly be sent to a monastery, perhaps Gloria’s reaction was only natural.

“Do you resent Lady Tigris?”

It was a question that came to mind upon realizing that the Lady of Tigris had been involved in Meg’s being sent to the monastery.

Gloria, who had been sobbing, looked at Grace.

Then she shook her head with a miserable expression.

“No.”

“Then?”

“I resent Father. And I resent myself.”

Taking a thin breath, Gloria wiped her tears with her sleeve.

“I raised that child that way. I raised her foolishly. To be self-righteous and arrogant.”

“….”

“You know it too. Father… favors those who resemble him.”

So I thought it would be fine to raise her that way.

At Gloria’s voice, which sounded somewhat self-deprecating, Grace silently lifted her cold teacup.

The wind grew stronger and stronger.

I looked outside where the storm was raging, then turned my head.

Rosette was reading a book in front of the blazing fireplace.

Estelin sat at the table, lost in thought with a blank expression.

“Has any news come in?”

When I asked with a hopeful heart, Estelin looked up and shook her head.

“No. The Imperial Palace seems to be in chaos too. They’ve kept His Majesty’s collapse strictly confidential from the outside…”

Rosette let out a scoffing laugh as if it were absurd.

“They summoned all the nobles and made such a commotion, and now it’s confidential? As if that would work!”

I nodded.

“…Right. Their response is a bit strange, isn’t it?”

The Emperor had collapsed from someone’s assassination attempt.

‘Then shouldn’t recovery be the top priority?’

If they had determined that the fallen Emperor couldn’t recover his health,

the Imperial Palace should have moved carefully to ensure Prince Xenon could safely inherit the throne.

Not summoning all the nobles and making a commotion like this.

‘What is the Empress doing at a time like this?’

Grace was a wise Empress.

Even in the original story, she was described as someone who received the complete trust of the people and imperial nobles.

I quietly frowned.

‘Could it be that she’s already finished preparing to put Prince Xenon on the throne?’

Did she summon the nobles to the Imperial Palace to quickly get through the succession ceremony?

The Emperor’s absence was a great danger to the young Crown Prince.

There were always those who would try to eliminate the prince and steal the throne during such gaps.

‘It was the same before.’

Before the imperial power changed hands.

All the tragedies of the previous generation had also begun with the Former Emperor’s sudden death.

Rubel had to flee, and the Former Empress, left alone in the Imperial Palace, met a lonely death.

The one who seized the throne at that time was none other than Simon Albertine, the current Emperor.

But this time, he had collapsed.

The Empress, famous for her wisdom, was doing something suspicious.

‘There’s something going on.’

I approached Estelin.

“Estelin, is there a communication stone in the manor? Preferably one with security features?”

“I think I’ve seen one in Father’s study. Why?”

“I’d like to borrow it for a moment.”

If there was someone suitable to ask about this situation, there happened to be a very appropriate person.

‘Father was summoned urgently, so he might not have been able to make contact yet.’

My person planted in the Imperial Palace for a day like this.

It was time to contact Oscar.

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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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