I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 35

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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 went up the hill saying I would find a lost friend, and entered the forest just like that.”

I lowered my eyes and quietly nodded my head.

“In the end, you nearly died after encountering wyverns and a pack of Nephas in the middle of the night…”

Father’s voice was as cold as midwinter frost. I gulped down my saliva.

“You barely survived, but that guy ended up in such a state… is what you’re saying.”

At the end of Father’s gaze was Casian, who was sitting awkwardly perched on the bed.

He still had bandages wrapped tightly around his legs.

“You explain it.”

At Father’s voice, Casian tensed his shoulders. Soon he shouted spiritedly in a voice full of military discipline.

“Th! That! The Miss had someone she was looking for! So we went to the hill! But suddenly she ran into the forest…! I tried to catch her but couldn’t! When I came to my senses it was night, so we had to escape…!”

“…Stop.”

Father, who had cut off his words, let out a deep sigh. Then he turned his eyes to me. His expression had hardened slightly.

“Was it perhaps because of this.”

“…”

“The reason you said you wanted to follow along to the temple.”

Under the gaze that struck directly at my face, I quietly nodded my head.

Father’s eyes were very cold, but now I knew the real meaning contained within them.

‘He’s not angry right now.’

He’s worried about me.

I anxiously rubbed my palms together.

“Well… actually…”

Then I glanced at Casian. Father quietly opened his mouth.

“You go out for a moment.”

Casian nodded vigorously, then got up from his seat and left the room with a limp.

An awkward silence settled over the room that was finally left with just Father and me.

‘…This is trouble.’

I haven’t even thought about how to explain this yet…!

Like Rubel said, I didn’t know Father would really return in just two days.

After anxiously racking my brain, I finally squeezed my eyes shut and opened my mouth.

“Well, I actually…”

As if asking what on earth it was, Father’s brow furrowed slightly more.

I hesitated for a few more seconds, then muttered very quietly.

“…I found the Prince.”

As soon as the words ended, a suffocating silence arrived. I took a quick deep breath and let it out.

“Not the Prince currently in the Empire, but the missing Prince who was the Previous Emperor’s son.”

Then I slightly raised my head to gauge Father’s reaction, and opened my mouth in a daze.

Father, who rarely showed expressions, was staring at me with his eyes wide open.

His lips, which had been stiffly rigid, slowly opened.

“…Rubel.”

“…”

“You’re saying you found Rubel.”

I nodded with a bewildered face.

In that moment of continuing silence, Father suddenly leaned forward and asked in a lowered voice.

“Did you tell this fact to anyone else.”

I opened my eyes wide, then quickly shook my head and answered.

“N-no one knows. I only told Father. As you saw earlier, Casian thinks Rubel is my friend.”

Father’s expression softened considerably. But still, somewhere in his eyes, wariness and suspicion floated.

‘He must be curious about how I was able to find Rubel.’

But I couldn’t confess everything truthfully.

If I did that, I would have to reveal that I’m actually not the real Selene.

I clenched my fist with hands that had broken out in cold sweat and thought.

Even knowing all the facts, would Father accept me as his daughter?

…No, probably not.

‘He’s already been tormented by guilt over losing his wife for so long.’

I didn’t know how he would react if he found out that his daughter wasn’t real either.

Between worry and fear, I suddenly felt an unpleasant feeling as if I had stolen something that belonged to someone else.

‘Come to think of it, where did the real Selene go?’

Could it be that she went completely wrong because of Father Mayer’s brainwashing? That her soul disappeared and I entered her empty body?

But whatever the truth was, one thing was certain. I couldn’t confess everything right now.

I quietly raised my head. Then I muttered in a trembling voice.

“It was thanks to the holy relic.”

“Holy relic?”

“Yes, the holy relic that Calista had come to retrieve. That holy relic reacted to me.”

Father’s pupils grew slightly larger.

“It reacted, you say.”

“When I first touched the holy relic, I felt a strange vibration and then some man appeared.”

“A man appeared?”

“Yes. That man told me where Rubel was.”

With Father frozen in front of me, I slowly took out the pendant from inside my collar.

The pendant reacted to my hand as if it had been waiting and emitted a faint light.

“The reason I didn’t return this to Calista was also because of that.”

“…What do you mean.”

“That man seems to know a lot of information that ordinary humans don’t know…”

I finished speaking and quietly lowered my head. Either way, my face was burning from mixing lies with the truth.

‘…Is it okay to lie like this.’

Guilt washed over me, but I had no choice. For now, this was the best option.

‘…Not yet.’

It’s too early now to reveal the fact that I’m not the real Selene.

And this is all…

‘To protect Father and this family.’

Right. Didn’t Father Mayer say so? That Fratrer would soon become the state religion.

If so, the Temple’s power would only grow day by day from now on.

But House of Tigris earned the Temple’s hatred because of me.

No, it probably wasn’t just simple hatred.

Not only did I steal the holy relic, but I also threatened Calista, who was a high priest, and sent him back.

Then Father’s quiet voice was heard.

“So that legend was real after all.”

“Legend?”

I opened my eyes wide and raised my head.

Father was tapping the table with an expression of pondering something deeply.

“Yes. That the ancient god Fratrer sealed his disciples in three holy relics.”

“Sealed his disciples…?”

“There’s a legend that he loved them too much, so when their lifespans ended, he sealed their souls in holy relics to let them live forever.”

I opened my eyes wide.

I recalled Adam’s appearance when we first met, saying ‘Shall I say I’m an angel?’

‘Was Adam really a disciple of the god Fratrer?’

As I blinked, Father muttered.

“…Well done.”

I froze, doubting my ears.

“Pardon?”

“Whether the legend was true, I only found out now, but there’s no harm in having a sacred relic in our possession.”

Father was staring at the pendant hanging around my neck with a calm expression.

“But we should investigate a bit more about why the sacred relic responded to you. And…”

Father’s red eyes gleamed quietly.

“Where is this prince you brought back?”

That evening.

‘Won’t you help us just this once? We need to hide Rubel for now. That would be safer for both us and Rubel.’

Aleon gazed at Selene’s face as she slept peacefully, leaning against his shoulder.

They were inside a carriage heading toward the Ducal Palace.

Though it was earlier than scheduled, they had to return to the estate as quickly as possible given the circumstances.

All because of the ‘missing prince’ sitting right in front of them.

“I remember meeting you when I was young… Duke Tigris.”

Aleon met the golden eyes that were quietly observing him.

A face that looked exactly like the Previous Emperor he had once sworn loyalty to.

The last time he saw that face, it still seemed to retain some childish features.

Aleon, who had been quietly studying Rubel’s now sharper features, opened his mouth.

“Selene said we should hide you.”

“She told me the same thing.”

Even though Aleon had dropped formalities, Rubel remained composed.

Aleon chuckled and lifted one corner of his mouth. But his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“You’ll be joining my forces.”

Rubel’s pupils dilated slightly.

“I hope you weren’t expecting better treatment than that. Times have changed, and you’re likely to be in danger wherever you go.”

Their gazes met quietly in the darkness.

“However, the Tigris Knights are different. Even the Emperor cannot carelessly interfere with my forces. For now, it will be the safest place for you.”

Rubel slowly nodded. A very quiet silence followed.

Then, Aleon, who had been quietly observing Rubel, added:

“…I once served your father with genuine loyalty. I thought it was my duty to be loyal to the Empire’s Imperial House.”

Rubel’s expression slightly furrowed.

He couldn’t understand why Aleon was suddenly bringing up the past.

But Aleon muttered in a coldly subdued voice.

“But not anymore.”

His red eyes gleamed sharply.

“I don’t care whether you’re of imperial blood or the missing former prince.”

“…Then why are you taking me with you?”

“Because my daughter wants it. There’s no other reason.”

Rubel finally understood Aleon’s intention.

“So if you cause any problems for my daughter…”

Aleon’s eyes flashed menacingly. At that sight, Rubel burst into laughter.

“That won’t happen. Even if such a situation arises…”

“…”

“I can handle it myself.”

One of Aleon’s eyebrows slowly raised. But then, murmuring sounds could be heard from beyond the carriage window.

Something ominous was being felt from outside.

Aleon glanced at Rubel with suspicious eyes once, then carefully pulled back the curtain so as not to wake Selene.

Through his keenly alert senses, he felt the presence of dozens of dangerous auras.

“…Ghouls?”

As he muttered, someone brought their horse close to the window and stuck their face in. It was Kopel with his sword drawn.

“Captain. Their behavior is strange. They’re just circling around and won’t attack.”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. These creatures usually charge at humans on sight… Should we attack first and deal with them?”

Instead of answering, Aleon closed his mouth and slowly turned his gaze toward Rubel.

Rubel was sitting quietly in his seat. But his golden eyes shone very clearly in the darkness.

Aleon, who had been maintaining silence, finally spoke.

“…So it’s you.”

Indeed, he truly carries the blood of the Imperial House.

“The reason there were no monsters in the Cursed Land.”

Even as the two men’s gazes clashed sharply, Selene continued sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the world.

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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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