I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 194

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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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“G-get away!”

A terrified voice echoed through the Grand Garden of the Imperial Palace.

A soldier in imperial uniform was frantically backing away.

“Grrrowl…”

Before him, a demon beast’s two red eyes gleamed.

As the creature opened its maw wide, poison spewed out between its blade-like teeth.

The soldier sat down on the ground with a pale face.

“Kieeeek-!”

The moment he squeezed his eyes shut.

Slash-

A cold sound cut between the two.

The demon beast’s head dropped with a thud at the soldier’s feet.

The severed body collapsed to the ground with a heavy sound.

The soldier looked up in a daze.

A figure that anyone who had ever held a sword in the Erbia Empire could never fail to recognize.

“D-Duke Aleon Tigris, Your Grace…?”

Aleon Tigris stood before him.

“Where is the Emperor hiding?”

Leading countless Tigris forces that comprised ninety percent of the Empire’s military strength.

The area around the Empress’s Palace was littered with corpses.

The marble floor that had always gleamed was soaked with blood, and the walls were broken and in ruins, traces of fierce battle.

“A-Aleon is coming! He knows about what happened ten years ago!”

Inside the tightly locked Inner Chamber, Simon paced anxiously around the bed.

“What should I do when he breaks in?”

“…Your Majesty.”

“Surely I won’t have to abdicate the throne like this? No, no. I can’t let it end so futilely…”

“Your Majesty.”

“Ha, isn’t there another way…! I must stop Aleon! At this rate, not only you and I but even Zenon will…”

“Simon!”

Only then did Simon close his mouth.

Grace spoke in a solemn voice with furrowed brows.

“Calm down. Father said he would provide military support.”

Simon’s eyes gradually widened.

“Duke Belmart will provide troops?”

“Yes. Also, the Frater Order is conducting a ritual as well.”

“A ritual?”

“A ritual that can bring the demon beasts from beyond the rifts under our command.”

Simon’s eyes grew increasingly larger.

“The demon beasts from the rifts? I-is that really true? Is such a thing really possible?”

“…It’s possible. Though it requires a great price.”

Simon asked as if he couldn’t believe it.

“W-why didn’t you tell me this until now? I thought the Imperial Palace would be helplessly attacked…! No, wait. The rift demon beasts on my side!”

The corners of his mouth rose endlessly.

“Then even if Aleon invades the Imperial Palace, we can stop him, can’t we? Yes, is there a way to confirm if the ritual is going well?”

Grace sighed and rose from her seat.

She quietly walked to the window and drew back the curtains.

Under the red sky, two pillars of light could be seen piercing clearly into the ground.

“…It’s already succeeded. That second pillar you see there is proof of it.”

“My goodness, how could this be… As expected-!”

Simon smiled brightly and grasped Grace’s hand.

“Even though we’ve been distant, in critical moments it’s still the Order that becomes our strength…!”

He gazed at Grace with an excited expression.

“Now you don’t need to worry about anything! When the rift demon beasts are on our side, what is there to fear?”

“…”

“Rather, this worked out well, very well indeed! Now we can use the demon beasts to stop the rebel forces and close the rifts.”

Simon’s eyes gleamed.

“What’s the scale of the army your father provided? Is it enough to completely purge all the Tigris elite soldiers?”

Grace nodded expressionlessly.

“How fortunate! Since he’s learned the secret, we can’t let him live much longer. The Lady’s talent is quite regrettable, but that too is unavoidable.”

Simon continued, gazing at Grace with affectionate eyes.

“You and Zenon are always my priority. You know that, right?”

“…”

Grace responded with silence instead of words.

As she had said, one of the two pillars cutting through the air was proof that the Order’s ritual had succeeded.

In other words, it meant that ultimately fifteen hundred sacred blood offerings had been made,

And through that, Frater’s power had been strengthened.

Pope Pector would have received the power to command the rift demon beasts.

The power to control all those tremendous demon beasts.

Moreover…

‘They said a dragon appeared at the Southwest Military Camp.’

While ordinary demon beasts were also powerful, a dragon’s power transcended all of that.

The only demon that could blow away an entire city with a single breath.

So if Pector gained even the dragon’s power, this battle would be as good as over.

‘The Tigris forces will be annihilated.’

No matter how excellent the combat power of the Duke’s elite soldiers, they could never surpass a dragon that transcended humanity.

It was a future where victory for her, House Belmart, and the Frater Order was certain.

Though Simon, who was currently so excited, wasn’t in that future.

‘Once things are finished, the rifts will be closed. According to Pector, a sacrifice mixed with royal blood is needed.’

A sacrifice mixed with royal blood.

In the current Empire, only Simon, Zenon, and the missing Prince could fulfill that condition.

However, the missing Prince’s whereabouts were unclear, and Zenon was both her son and Duke Belmart’s pawn.

The successor who would naturally inherit the throne when Duke Belmart gained half the Empire in the future.

Zenon would never become a sacrifice under any circumstances.

Then only one person remained.

‘Cut Simon’s throat with your own hands. To make up for the failure two years ago, you must do at least that much.’

‘…’

‘Anyway, when the Empire splits in two, he’ll be completely useless.’

Grace’s gaze turned to the second drawer of the nightstand beside her bed.

Inside was a short sword that Duke Belmart had sent.

Ancient sorcery was engraved as inscriptions on the blade.

She knew that sorcery.

Even Simon, who possessed tenacious vitality as his ability, could not escape this curse.

She quietly stared at Simon.

This made it the second time. The second time she had decided to kill him.

‘…Poor and foolish man.’

When I first met Simon, he was just a second prince with a cheerful personality who had no particular interest in the throne.

I was the very person who planted the ambition in him that would lead his life to ruin.

Even so, Simon trusted me deeply.

Two years ago, when he nearly died, he never suspected me at all.

Instead, he apologized for getting me involved in such an unpleasant affair and tried to reassure me.

And that was still the case now.

“It has always weighed on my mind. When I think of how much you suffered for me to reach this position…”

“…”

“To think I stained the hands of someone as wise and good as you with blood, how much mental anguish you must have endured.”

Simon tightly grasped Grace’s cold hands.

“That I am in this position is all thanks to you. I ascended to the throne on the path you showed me, and you alone are my only companion. How happy and grateful I am… you wouldn’t know.”

“…”

“So Grace. Once this matter is finished, you can finally rest easy too.”

Simon’s touch as he stroked the back of her hand was very affectionate.

Grace lowered her eyes, feeling somehow uncomfortable.

Ten years ago.

She had the Order kill Kione and even eliminated Hemera.

Simon believed that the reason she had taken such actions was for his sake.

That Grace had eliminated those wives to keep in check Tigris and Laurent, who would obviously oppose his accession.

Thanks to this, the two dukes fell into despair, and Simon ascended to the throne without them having time to properly investigate the life or death of the enemy prince Rubel.

However, the real reason Grace eliminated Hemera and Kione wasn’t that.

She remembered it clearly.

When she went to the Imperial Palace for the funeral procedures after Former Emperor Jesper’s death.

The look in Former Empress Sharlina’s eyes that she encountered then.

‘…Thank you for coming, Lady Belmart.’

It was a sad and calm voice, fitting for a woman who had lost her husband.

But Grace felt it.

The fact that Sharlina knew something.

Her pitch-black pupils told her everything.

‘I know it was your doing.’

That you’re the one who used Simon to kill my husband.

That you’re even targeting my son.

And that you’re planning to kill even me in the end.

‘I already know all of that, Grace.’

The moment she saw that expression, Grace changed her plan.

She decided to eliminate Rubel, who would inherit the throne, as quickly as possible.

However, Sharlina spirited away her son before Grace could even make a move.

The prince’s sudden disappearance. But she couldn’t fool Grace’s eyes.

The prince hadn’t disappeared but had hidden himself from her.

‘She anticipated that I would target the prince.’

But how did she know?

How could Sharlina, who was unmanifested, have grasped her intentions?

Even if she had figured out her plan, how could she have safely evacuated the prince while evading her eyes?

Grace agonized over this, then soon gave up.

After all, if she just eliminated Sharlina—no, ‘only’ Sharlina—everything would be resolved.

Or so she thought.

[I shall give you a small help. A little assistance to complete your ambition.]

That voice.

The voice that kept being heard even when she didn’t want to hear it spoke.

[The Former Empress told your secret to her two close friends.]

[It means they too know of the darkness within you.]

That was her reason for having to eliminate Hemera and Kione.

Thud- Thud-

A massive vibration was felt in the darkness.

“…It’s coming.”

Michael muttered in a tense voice.

At the same time, a bright light rose from Estelin’s hand.

“…”

Just as cold silence and extreme tension descended,

“Kieeeek-!!”

As expected, a pair of eyes flashed red in the darkness.

Next, hundreds of sharp spikes immediately flew toward us.

However,

Rummmble—

A massive earthen wall rose up in front.

Estelin turned around in surprise.

“A-am I doing this right, sister?!”

“That’s right, Aison! Meriyang, it’s coming from the left!”

Several unfamiliar faces were unleashing their abilities against the demon.

The one commanding them was Rosette.

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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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