I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 178

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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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The memories that returned were vividly clear beyond measure. I was not Lee Sebin.

The person who had truly been Lee Sebin,

The one who had lived struggling to endure in that place called South Korea was…

‘It was Lady Kione.’

When I raised my head, I saw a person frozen with a bewildered expression across from me.

‘…Father.’

The one I had thought was a stranger all this time.

The one I thought I had been deceiving…

“What, what does all this…?”

I couldn’t say anything while watching Father’s face endlessly contort.

The returned memories slowly overlapped above that sight.

‘Selene, come here.’

Father in the recovered memories.

He had a much younger and more innocent face than now.

I hadn’t known how warm and gentle his affectionately calling voice was.

‘Aleon! I told you not to keep doing that! What are you going to do if you keep indulging the child’s pickiness?’

‘…Still, the child dislikes it.’

‘Then you have to make her eat it even by force! Seleneae Tigris? Sit down quickly. You have to eat all the carrots to grow tall.’

‘If she takes after me, she’ll surely grow naturally…’

‘Aleon—!!’

Happy memories.

‘Wow—! Father, are all these mine?’

‘Yes.’

‘All of this much?’

‘Yes.’

Even at that time, civil wars frequently occurred in the Empire.

Therefore, Father, who often left the castle, always returned with an armful of gifts for me.

‘Where’s mine? Don’t tell me there isn’t one?’

‘Of course there is. It’s right here.’

‘Where?’

‘Here.’

Father who smiled with a slightly reddened face and playfully pointed to himself,

And Mother who embraced Father as if she couldn’t help it.

Not one thing to throw away,

Those were days that sparkled like gems.

…Until Mother suddenly left.

“Until now, you had forgotten all memories before being consumed by brainwashing.”

At the voice that sounded disbelieving, I silently swallowed my sobs.

My throat and eyes burned painfully from crying so much.

“When you awakened from the brainwashing, you had a dream that Hemera had planted, and though the brainwashing was broken because of that dream… that you believed you were fake all this time…”

It was a voice mixed with sadness, bewilderment, and confusion.

I bit my lips tightly and lowered my head.

A long, long sigh continued from across.

“Hemera… Hemera…”

It was then that silence continued beyond the finely trembling breathing.

“…Then now, are you alright.”

It was a very low voice that seemed to barely suppress emotions.

“You said you recovered all memories while unconscious, so now…”

When I raised my head, I saw Father quietly looking at me.

“Are you alright now, Selene.”

Tears welled up and I held my breath for a moment.

And I looked at Father with trembling eyes and moved my lips.

“I… I am…”

“It must have been hard all this time.”

I closed my mouth blankly.

Father’s eyes looking at me were completely wet like mine.

“Fearing that if your identity was discovered, I might abandon you, that someone might attack you… you must have been very afraid.”

“…”

Father’s head slowly dropped.

“…Now I understand. The reason you were so desperate. The reason you suffered alone.”

“Huu, uu… I…”

I finally couldn’t hold back and burst into sobs again.

Warm body temperature embraced my body.

“…You worked hard.”

Father held me tightly and buried his face in my shoulder, speaking lowly.

“Thank you… for coming back.”

I bit my lips and embraced Father’s back in return.

All kinds of emotions mixed and settled over my body that began trembling again from crying.

“I will kill the Empress.”

In the study where Father, I, and Walter had gathered.

Walter, startled, looked at Father.

Father continued speaking.

“Looking back, that woman was indeed suspicious even then. There was no evidence, but if we look for circumstantial evidence, there was plenty.”

“…”

“Also, after that incident, the only ones who gained any real benefit were Duke Belmart and Grace.”

Father’s brow furrowed even more as he finished speaking through gritted teeth.

At the same time, the chair’s armrest cracked and broke.

“Your Grace, killing the Empress recklessly would be treason.”

At Walter’s troubled words, Father slowly raised his gaze.

His eyes flashed dangerously.

“Treason?”

And he asked.

“They would be the ones who committed treason first.”

The meaning contained in those words was clear.

Grace and Duke Belmart had killed the Former Emperor who was praised as a wise ruler.

The Temple had acted as their lackeys.

They had even laid hands on the Former Empress to seize power,

And not satisfied with killing the two duchesses who were her friends, they had schemed to destroy the houses.

“While we’re at it, we should involve the Temple too. My sword might break trying to cut off all the necks of those involved.”

At the ice-cold voice, Walter was about to open his mouth to say something when.

“…Father.”

As I cautiously stepped forward, both their gazes focused on me.

“I agree. With cutting off Grace’s head.”

At those words, Walter flinched.

“Miss. That should be considered carefully…”

“If it were up to my heart, I’d want to kill that woman with my own hands right now.”

Silence fell over the study.

I met Father’s gaze as he looked at me with an unreadable expression.

“But what if we fail?”

“…”

“She’s like a snake. What if we end up being counterattacked?”

“…”

“Then everything becomes meaningless.”

The end of Former Empress Shalina, who was Rubel’s mother,

The death of Duchess Laurent, whose dream was to live happily for a long time.

And finally, my mother Hemera’s sacrifice too.

“I don’t… want that.”

My throat became scratchy again, so I deliberately widened my eyes.

Father lowered his gaze to the table silently with a complicated expression.

I told Father every single scene I had witnessed while unconscious, leaving nothing out.

The three people I had met repeatedly in the basement of the general store.

The deaths of me, Rubel, and the Estelin sisters that they had tried to prevent.

And the destruction of the two families.

“Mother… was afraid.”

“…”

“More than something happening to herself, she was afraid that Father and I might get hurt.”

Father’s red eyes slowly sank.

“I will complete the future that the three of them dreamed of.”

“…”

“So let’s wait just a little longer, us.”

The fragments of memories I had glimpsed were only partial after all.

The puzzle was still incomplete. I had only put together about half of it.

“It’s not time yet.”

Walter quickly looked at Father.

He seemed to be waiting for Father’s agreement to fall from his lips.

Soon Father’s mouth slowly opened. But the words that came out were not what I had expected.

“Yes. But Selene.”

“…Yes?”

“You said you saw Kione and Shalina’s deaths in your dream.”

I nodded while recalling the memories I had seen while unconscious.

“I saw them. More precisely, both their funerals…”

“Then did you also see your mother?”

I hesitated.

When I reflexively turned my head, Walter was looking at me with a serious expression without any sign of surprise.

I slowly shook my head.

“…No. Mother… I didn’t see such scenes of Mother.”

The last scene I saw was Duchess Laurent’s funeral.

At that time, Mother was still alive. She was planning to plant a dream in me.

As I blinked with a confused face, this time Walter spoke.

“Miss. You said you had recovered memories of the past.”

When I nodded, Walter continued.

“Do you perhaps remember the day there was an intrusion at the castle, that is, the day the Duchess disappeared?”

My eyes gradually widened.

“…No.”

The memory of the day Walter mentioned, when there was an intrusion at the castle, wasn’t in my head at all.

All the events before being brainwashed had returned unless they were from very early childhood,

But strangely, only the memory of that day remained completely blank and empty.

At that moment, something was slowly extended before my eyes.

An old piece of paper. What was written on it was in Father’s handwriting.

I’m just going away for a while.

So I’ll return. To your side.

“Before our marriage, when I was drafted for war.”

“…”

“A letter I wrote directly and left for Hemera.”

I picked up that letter with a confused face.

“But the dead Joanne Bardi had this. When we re-investigated her belongings a few days ago, it was discovered among them.”

Joanne Bardi.

The moment I heard that name, another forgotten memory came flooding back like a tide.

“Anna’s sister…”

Joanne, who had been very kind to me too, gentle and spirited.

I quickly raised my head and asked in a half-believing voice.

“Why on earth did Joanne have this…”

“Hemera kept all the letters we exchanged in a box. That box was in the bottom drawer of the nightstand next to the bedroom.”

“…”

“And that drawer was one that even I couldn’t open without the key that Hemera carried with her.”

I slowly closed my mouth. Walter stepped forward.

“So Joanne Bardi must have received this letter from the Duchess.”

“…”

“According to Anna Bardi, Joanne Bardi was heading somewhere that day, saying she had something to do.”

I sat frozen in place in a daze, then looked down at the letter again.

I’m just going away for a while.

I’ll return.

The words were as clear as if they had been written yesterday.

‘Mother gave this to Joanne that day?’

The night there were intruders.

Mother’s blood was found throughout the manor.

So much blood that one couldn’t even think she was alive.

So naturally, Mother must have passed away.

And since the intruders had targeted Mother from the beginning, I had only thought that they had taken Mother’s body away.

But Joanne, Mother’s most cherished maid, had this piece of letter.

I stared at the letter intently.

I’ll return.

And I muttered.

“So you’re saying that Mother… might still be alive?”

A few days later.

Several carriages departed for Rishion along with the flower petals that had begun to scatter.

It was a new beginning, and time passed quickly.

Nine seasons changed like that, and finally summer came again.

Twenty-one years old.

I had my name placed on Rishion’s early graduation list.

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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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