I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 7

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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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“Walter!”

Walter stopped mid-stride in the courtyard at the voice calling him. He could see someone running toward him from a distance.

‘The young lady…?’

He narrowed his eyes. Looking again, it was definitely Selene.

“We meet again, Miss.”

He tucked the documents he was holding under his arm and bowed in greeting.

“What brings you here?”

“Ah, I was wandering around the manor and felt a bit stuffy…”

Walter nodded and observed Selene carefully.

While catching her breath, she was looking around at the flowers and trees planted in the garden.

‘She’s not someone who enjoys taking walks.’

Then Selene spoke.

“It’s nothing major, but I called you because I have something to ask.”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

“When is my next lesson?”

“Lesson?”

Walter tilted his head. After thinking for a moment, he made an ‘ah’ sound and looked at Selene.

“Are you referring to the day the priest is scheduled to visit?”

Selene’s eyes sparkled after hesitating briefly.

“Yes!”

“I was actually about to tell you. Father Mayer has scheduled an appointment for three days from now.”

“Three days from now?”

“Yes. Do you have any other plans that day?”

“Oh, no. I was just curious about when it was.”

Walter nodded. Then he looked at Selene and added.

“You seem to have always gotten along well with Father Mayer.”

“…Did I?”

The young lady muttered and frowned slightly. Walter looked at her with puzzlement.

But she had nothing more to say.

She simply shouted ‘Anyway, got it. See you later!’ then turned around and hurried back the way she came.

Walter tilted his head again.

For some reason, she seemed quite pleased.

‘The person who would throw such tantrums even if schedules were delayed just a little…’

Walter stared blankly at the back of Selene’s head as she walked away.

She was the one who used to look at him like he was a bug whenever he came to deliver the Duke’s messages or inform her of lesson schedules.

‘Get out of my room right now! I told you I’m not going to meals!’

Throwing objects was routine,

‘I don’t want to hear it, so make it short and get lost! Can’t you hear me telling you to disappear right now!’

The image of her shouting at him with venomous eyes was still vivid. But…

What kind of wind could blow to make a person change so suddenly like that?

Today at lunch, she had obediently come to the meal.

For the first time in two years, no less.

‘And just a moment ago…’

Setting aside how she waved goodbye, didn’t she smile brightly and say see you later?

Walter looked at the now empty garden and furrowed his brow.

‘…Was it a wound that could heal so suddenly?’

That day, rain was pouring down from the sky like a deluge.

In the dark room, Selene was sitting collapsed in front of the wide-open window, screaming.

Her white negligee was soaked with rainwater as blood of unknown origin slowly spread through it.

The curtains fluttered violently in the wind as if they would tear, and lightning struck from the sky with thunderous roars.

Selene’s face, covered in tears, was also flashing like lightning.

That was already eight years ago.

“Now, from here to here are the dresses. Here are the indoor clothes the tailor recently fitted, and these are outdoor clothes…”

I sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the colorful clothes Anna was showing me.

‘I knew it would be like this! How many outfits are all those?’

My bottom was practically bouncing with excitement.

“These are hats, gloves, and shoes… Oh my.”

Anna paused and looked at me.

“Speaking of shoes reminds me! Miss, is your scraped heel from before okay?”

Anna stopped showing me clothes and quickly came over to examine my foot. I pulled my leg back, feeling embarrassed.

“Huh? It’s fine, you don’t need to worry about it.”

“But the blister is bigger than I thought, so let’s just call a doctor…”

“Come on, calling a doctor for a scraped heel? If you have that kind of money, use it to buy Anna something delicious.”

Anna stopped talking and stared at me intently.

“Miss…”

Her green eyes seemed somehow moved. Flustered by that sparkling gaze, I muttered.

“I mean, it’ll heal quickly anyway…”

Anna nodded slowly as if she understood. Then she said with a somewhat proud expression.

“You know you’ve been different lately, don’t you, Miss?”

“Me, me?”

“Yes! How should I put it, you seem kinder. You get angry less often too. Just today, I was so grateful when you said you’d have a meal with the master.”

I recalled the face of Duke Tigris, who had sat with a cold expression throughout dinner. And I nodded.

‘If it’s been two years, it makes sense Anna would react like that.’

“Right, Anna must have been troubled because of me all this time. I’m sorry.”

“Oh my! Sorry for what? I’m the one who’s grateful that you finally seem to be opening your heart!”

‘Opening my heart?’

Anna was laughing while dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve. I tilted my head and then understood inwardly.

‘Right, Anna must be bewildered since I’m being strangely well-behaved when I used to cause trouble all the time.’

Looking at Anna, I suddenly remembered something and got up from the bed.

“Right. I think I need to go to the study.”

“The study? Do you mean the library?”

“Huh? Yes, the library! There’s a book I want to see.”

“Oh my, then let’s go together. I need to stop by the laundry room anyway. I think it would be good to start getting the winter clothes out.”

I quickly nodded.

Besides the meaningful conversation I overheard when I got lost in the manor, there was something else I wanted to find out as soon as possible.

…It’s fortunate that this house is so huge it even has a library.

‘Good heavens.’

I looked with wide eyes at the enormous bookshelves that appeared to be at least 3 meters tall.

There were so many long rows of bookshelves that I couldn’t see the end.

‘It’s incredibly huge.’

The library at Tigris Estate was much more enormous than I had imagined.

Since the manor itself was magnificent, it wasn’t particularly strange, but my excited heart wouldn’t easily calm down.

“Then I’ll come by with some snacks in a little while. You’ll be in the library until then, right?”

In the midst of the chaos, when I nodded my head, Anna said ‘Then I’ll see you in a bit’ and went outside.

I first approached the nearest bookshelf.

My gaze, which had been quickly scanning through the books, inadvertently stopped at one spot.

【History of the Erbia Empire】

The bold letters caught my eye immediately.

Though it was a script I’d never seen before, strangely I could understand its meaning as if it were a language I’d always known.

‘As expected, I can read the writing of this world.’

I had been worried about what I’d do if I had to learn this place’s language from scratch, but now I felt much more at ease.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I pulled out one book from among the lined-up volumes. It was a book covered with a brown leather binding.

【Everything About Ability Manifestation】

I traced the title carved in golden ink with my finger.

‘This should do.’

The reason why I, who wasn’t even a manifester, collapsed after drinking the Tears of God. And the cause of that unpleasant pain I felt then.

I had to find that out first.

…Manifestation means humans awakening to divine abilities.

Historically, it began with the ‘primordial humans’ and has been passed down through royal bloodlines.

The abilities awakened through manifestation are very diverse. From ‘elemental’ abilities commonly used for attacks, to mental domination abilities like ‘brainwashing’ and ‘taming’.

Furthermore, ancient records reveal abilities that control nature, such as summoning rain and creating wind.

Manifestation mainly occurs between the ages of 10 and 15…

I slammed the book shut with a thud. When I rolled my stiff neck, the joints that had been overworked for a long time made cracking sounds.

‘What the hell. It’s all just useless stuff.’

I threw the book I was holding into the pile of books stacked beside me and blinked my dry eyes.

I’d looked through several books so far, but none of them contained any information about the Tears of God and its side effects.

“No, why isn’t there anything?”

I definitely saw it in the novel. Selene somehow obtained the Tears of God and drove Eria to death.

She wasn’t particularly set up as a genius, so she probably didn’t make it herself – most likely she received help from an accomplice.

‘But how is there not even a speck of information about such a terrifying drug?’

Even after thoroughly searching through all these countless books.

I let out a deep sigh and rubbed my tired eyes. Suddenly, an absurd thought flashed through my mind.

‘It’s as if they don’t even know such a drug exists.’

And I paused.

‘…Wait, that’s it.’

I slapped my knee and jumped up from my seat.

“They don’t know about the drug’s existence yet!”

If none of the authors of these countless books knew about the Tears of God, there was only one answer.

The Tears of God was a drug that had never been revealed to this world yet. But even so, there was still something that bothered me.

‘Then where on earth did Selene get it from?’

Anna definitely said this about the Tears of God: ‘That medicine the young lady gave me.’

So doesn’t that mean Selene also received that drug from somewhere and passed it on to Anna?

“Who gave it to her?”

I felt a strange sense of unease. The conversation I’d heard in that secluded corridor earlier flashed through my mind.

‘There’s something that didn’t appear in the novel.’

And it’s surrounding Selene.

I gulped. Come to think of it, there wasn’t just one or two strange things.

No matter how much of a villain she was, Selene was only seventeen years old.

But she was thinking of killing someone she disliked? By poisoning them with drugs?

I took a deep breath and shook my head back and forth.

“Not a chance. There’s a world of difference between a kid being a bit twisted and actually killing someone.”

As I rubbed my palms together muttering ‘There’s something here, something…’, it happened.

“What are you doing here?”

Startled by the sudden voice, I ended up stepping on my skirt hem and falling backward.

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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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