I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 46

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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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“Huh?”

When I asked back in surprise, Rubel turned his gaze away with a slightly tense expression and said.

“You were beautiful even when you were covered in Nephas blood in the Cursed Land.”

Looking at him being endlessly serious, I soon burst into laughter.

“What, are you trying to comfort me right now?”

“….”

“Well, thanks for the words at least.”

I could feel Rubel staring intently at me.

I approached the wall and leaned my back against it. I felt completely drained for some reason.

It seemed dealing with people all day had been too much for me.

‘It’s been a while since I felt this kind of fatigue.’

The people gathered here all treated me with smiling faces in front of me. So there was no way to know which of them harbored hostility toward me.

Especially when I thought that the one who sent Father Mayer might be among them, goosebumps rose on my arms.

I fidgeted with my nails and muttered.

“Looking at today, our family still has a long way to go. Even if I’m one thing, there were people giving harsh looks even to Father, who’s one of the Four Dukes.”

As I spoke, the pressure weighed down on me once again.

After collapsing and regaining consciousness, there was so much to do but not enough time.

When I was struggling alone, it was hard enough, but now that there were people around me, it felt doubled.

‘Maybe it’s because my desire to live peacefully is too strong.’

While I was lost in deep thought, Rubel took a step closer to me. Then he suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him.

When I looked at him in surprise, Rubel frowned and said.

“Selene, you’re bleeding.”

I looked down with wide eyes.

Blood was indeed flowing from my fingertips. I must have unconsciously picked at them until they bled.

“…Ah. So I am.”

As I looked down at my stinging fingertips, Rubel let out a short sigh.

Then, still holding my hand, he started walking somewhere.

“What, where are you going?”

“Somewhere you can calm down.”

At those words, I slowly started walking after standing there dazed.

‘…Right. Rubel was a prince.’

Since arriving at the Imperial Palace, Rubel had seemed so calm that I had momentarily forgotten his status.

Rubel continued walking without hesitation.

After passing through the lawn spread out in the palace backyard, a garden thick with low bushes appeared.

Rubel entered a small path between the bushes as if familiar with it.

I followed him, carefully holding up my dress hem as I moved.

And finally, I opened my mouth in a daze at the scene that unfolded before my eyes.

“There was a place like this in the Imperial Palace?”

This was another garden hidden within the garden.

Between the tall trees and bushes surrounding the area, a small pond was visible. My gaze moved to the large willow tree right next to the pond.

The old tree was gently swaying its drooping branches in the wind.

It was such a peaceful scene that all the worries churning in my head completely scattered.

“How did you know about this place?”

When I asked in a bewildered voice, Rubel answered quietly.

“It’s a place I used to come to often with my parents when I was young.”

I paused and looked at him.

Rubel was gazing ahead at the pond with a somewhat strange expression.

The sunset reflected on the calm ripples, creating dazzling sparkles.

Rubel slowly sat down on the grass and said.

“I was looking for a place away from prying eyes and this came to mind. I didn’t expect nothing would have changed this much.”

I watched his hair swaying in the wind and then sat down beside him.

Rubel muttered quietly.

“Seeing it in person makes it even stranger.”

“What does?”

“Someone other than Mother and Father being called Empress and Emperor.”

I closed my mouth.

‘So Rubel was only pretending to be fine on the outside too.’

I couldn’t rashly guess what he might be feeling. I asked deliberately casually.

“What kind of thoughts did you have?”

Then Rubel’s gaze, which had been fixed on the pond, turned toward me. After maintaining silence for a long while, he opened his mouth.

“I was thinking about why I feel like my home has been stolen.”

My eyes widened slightly. However, I quietly met Rubel’s eyes and nodded.

“…That’s understandable. It’s natural to feel that way.”

Rubel avoided my gaze. Then he smiled faintly and said.

“I envy you. You always seem so confident. Is it because of your ability?”

I paused. Come to think of it, Rubel thought I had the ability to see the future.

It was because of the lie I had inadvertently told on the day I first met Rubel.

“Um….”

It was the moment I was looking for something to say in response.

“That person was always confident like you too.”

At Rubel’s words that followed calmly, I widened my eyes.

“What are you talking about?”

“The person who had the same ability as you.”

I slowly closed my mouth.

Come to think of it, on the day we first met in Plau, Rubel had said something like this before.

That he knew someone with the ability to see the future.

‘I was too frantic then to think much of it. But it was really true.’

Rubel’s eyes quietly gazed at me. Finally, he slowly parted his lips, breaking through the silence.

“It was our mother.”

“…What?”

I looked at him with confused eyes and asked back.

“What did you just say?”

“The ability to see the future, our mother had it.”

Silence flowed slowly. My brow furrowed involuntarily at the hard-to-believe story. I shook my head.

“That can’t be. In the history books….”

I had already confirmed this many times long ago.

The Former Empress was recorded as having no manifested ability.

That’s why she lived with the stigma of being the Empire’s first royal family member without abilities, and was also revered by some as ‘the mother closest to commoners.’

‘But she actually had an ability?’

An ominous premonition slowly began to rise.

“If the Former Empress could see the future as you say, then why….”

Did she take her own life? When you’re alive like this.

I barely swallowed the words that had risen to my throat. Rubel looked at me with deeply sunken eyes.

As if reading my mind, he answered.

“Mother didn’t take her own life.”

Golden heat flickered beyond those eyes.

“She absolutely wasn’t the type of person to do that.”

I crossed the Imperial Palace garden quickly with a hardened face.

‘So that was the reason Rubel came to the estate, even pushing himself hard in the original story.’

More than reclaiming the throne, she wanted to find out who killed her mother, the Former Empress.

If that’s the case, then perhaps.

‘Could the Former Emperor’s sudden death also be connected to this?’

My body trembled at the chills running up my spine.

‘But that doesn’t make sense. Who would do such a thing, and why…’

As I clenched my damp palms, the Imperial Palace had come into view.

I could see people leaving the hall, indicating the ball had ended.

‘Could it be the Temple’s doing?’

In the original story, the Tigris Family was the mastermind behind everything. The Temple appeared as Estelin’s ally.

But after possessing this body, it didn’t seem to be entirely like that.

The fact that the Temple tried to brainwash me to attack Estelin had been newly revealed.

‘The Temple used Estelin and House of Laurent as tools. From the beginning, to achieve their own purposes.’

In the end, everything that happened in the original story was orchestrated by the Temple.

Of course, thanks to my persistent efforts, the current situation was very different from the original.

Laurent and Tigris were developing into a more harmonious relationship than ever before, and I had obtained the sacred relic that the Temple treasured so dearly.

My gaze turned toward the high-ranking Temple officials dressed in white priestly robes.

If the Temple is hiding something more…

‘Of course, it’s too early to make definitive conclusions.’

But,

“Selene.”

At that moment, Father, who had spotted me among the crowd, approached with large strides.

I quickly put on a nonchalant expression and smiled brightly.

“I was touring the Imperial Palace and got delayed. The garden was beautiful – did you see it?”

Father, who had been quietly observing me, nodded. Then he walked toward the carriage.

I followed Father while glancing toward the high-ranking priests.

‘I don’t see Calista.’

I thought he would naturally appear today since he’s someone of the rank of Sanctuary.

A faint wrinkle formed between my brows.

‘Did he get dismissed for failing to retrieve the sacred relic?’

My head was filled with all sorts of complicated thoughts.

As soon as I arrived at the manor, I headed straight to my room.

I approached the neatly organized desk and rummaged through the pile of documents stacked there.

Soon, I found something among them and began examining it carefully.

‘To properly investigate the Temple, I first need to build more connections with the Imperial House.’

As things stand now, it’s difficult to do anything freely.

Father had been pushed out of politics, and while House of Tigris had military power and money, it lacked the most important thing – connections.

So to create ties with the Imperial House…

‘I definitely need to use that person.’

There was only one method that came to mind immediately.

The next day, I headed to the meeting room as soon as I opened my eyes.

As I sat alone in the empty meeting room examining documents, I heard the sound of the door opening.

“You called for me.”

I slowly raised my head.

Someone was standing hesitantly at the entrance with a puzzled expression.

It was Martin Dunbaum, the doctor who had treated me when I collapsed from Father Mayer’s attack, and my personal physician.

“Martin. It’s been a while.”

I smiled warmly and gestured for him to sit. He approached with a tense expression and took a seat.

“Suddenly calling me to the meeting room – what’s the matter? Are you feeling unwell somewhere…”

I smiled softly and shook my head.

“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine. I called you here for something else today.”

When I smiled, Martin flinched and stared at me. I let out a small laugh and said,

“Don’t tell me you’re still holding a grudge about me calling you a quack?”

He bristled and clenched his fists as if feeling wronged.

“Th-that’s naturally…!”

I let out a small laugh.

And I recalled his words from that time about not being able to gauge my body’s ‘vessel.’

Back then, I thought he was making an obvious excuse, but looking at it now, it wasn’t particularly strange either.

‘Since I’m a possessor, there might be differences between me and the people of this world.’

The fact that my vessel isn’t visible is probably for similar reasons.

“I’m sorry about that time. I must have misunderstood something. So, the reason I called Martin today is…”

I smiled brightly and got straight to the point.

“On the day you came to examine me, you were about to say something but stopped.”

He tilted his head.

“Why, you were trying to explain what you did before coming to our family, but Walter interrupted and you stopped – that’s what I remember.”

He made an “Ah” sound and nodded.

“I remember. That’s right.”

“I called you because I wanted to hear the rest of that story.”

“What? Just for that…”

After tilting his head with a puzzled expression for a moment, he opened his mouth.

“It wasn’t anything special. I was going to tell you that I had been overseas. In the Kingdom of Sorad, located north of the Empire.”

My eyes sparkled. It was because my prediction had been exactly right.

“Did you happen to treat rare diseases there?”

Martin’s eyes widened greatly.

“How do you know that, Miss?”

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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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